Five girls remain. Which one won’t make it to episode 18?
New Location, Same Baggage
Goodbye Vietnam, hello Philippines. The cast is excited to be in a new country, and they settle down for dinner together. The remaining nine players reflect on their favorite moments of the season, and Bananas starts by saying he liked it when Devin went home. Michele and Tori roll their eyes, and the rest of the cast talks about their victories. Eventually, Tori brings up how divided the house has become. Bananas states “It didn’t have to be that way,” taking no responsibility for his role opposing Tori, Michele, and the Vacation Alliance. He receives little sympathy because he has the Bananas’ Angels alliance, and he can’t work with everyone in the house.
Brick By Plank
Cara Maria, Jenny, and Rachel are all targets, and the cast arrives at their last challenge of the season. All four men have made the final, but the last-place male in the daily will still be assessed a penalty that will be applied at the final. The game is called Fortress Bricks which requires the cast to run up a Spanish fortress where they’ll find 40 bricks per competitor. They must carry the bricks, two at a time, to their base. In the process, they’ll also bring up 10 planks of wood, which will be used as puzzle pieces. Whoever solves their puzzle the fastest wins. Jenny sets a fast pace for the women, but Michele is worried because heavy lifting isn’t her thing. For the men, Kyland is the front-runner, but Jordan is right behind him. Eventually, Kyland gets all of his planks to the top of the fortress and Jordan has one more lap, but by the time Jordan returns, Kyland hasn’t solved the puzzle.
The King and Queen of the Castle
Bananas is the last male to collect his final plank, but no one has won yet. He dreams of smoking his competition, and then Jordan calls for a check. He wins for the men, and the next person to complete her puzzle is Jenny, making her the female winner. Eventually, Bananas and Kyland finish their puzzles, giving Derek the penalty in the final. For the women, Rachel and Cara Maria also finished. This leaves Tori and Michele, but Michele is still working on collecting her planks. By the time Michele gets her final plank, Tori is still working. This gives Michele hope and she goes into Survivor mode. She gets through the puzzle, putting Tori in last place, which means Tori will go into The Arena even though she didn’t have a target.
From Friends to Opponents
We get to the Chamber, but there’s no timer. TJ says that he needs a decision tonight, and Rachel and Cara Maria get to plead their case. Rachel had a deal with Jordan, but the decision isn’t as clear-cut as it might seem. This season, he’s buried the hatchet with Cara Maria. The two have become friends, and Tori is also Cara’s friend. Rachel also voices her respect for Tori and says she wants to run in the final with her. Ultimately, Jordan has the final decision, and when TJ returns, he decides to send Cara Maria into the final Arena with Tori.
The Final Celebrations
After the Chamber, Bananas’ Angels celebrates making the final, but they’re not the only ones having a party. Michele, Tori, and Derek decorate Cara Maria’s room and bake her a cake to celebrate her birthday. This marks a big turning point for Cara Maria, because this season, she’s let her guard down and made friends who truly support her.
A Sinister End and Beginning
The whole cast is instructed to wear their uniforms to the Arena, but the Philippines Arena isn’t a physical space — it’s in the middle of the ocean. After a boat ride, they encounter another boat, “Sinister,” where the finalists will be staying for the duration of the final. Cara Maria and Tori will have to earn their spot on the boat by playing The Final Elimination. It’s a game of endurance, the two girls will swim into a circle of barrels and will need to tread water for as long as possible. Eventually, a snake joins the two in the circle and scares them, but they keep treading. At the 2-hour mark, TJ makes the girls put their hands up. After another 20 minutes, the girls must put their elbows above water. Both girls are struggling, but Cara Maria starts panicking. The water is getting in her mouth and eventually, she puts her arms down. This eliminates Cara Maria from the game and lets Tori advance to the final.
Stop Being Polite 