The episode opens where it left off last week — Sylvia is distraught because she was thrown into the elimination after sacrificing herself during the eating challenge. It doesn’t help that she has a 102 degree fever. In order to stir the pot, Shane messes with Joss by telling him he broke Sylvia’s heart and then asks Brad what he would have done if it was Britni instead of Sylvia. The Marie/Kam/Sylvia/Kailah alliance want Britni in elimination. Zach asks Sylvia who she wants in elimination; she says the Brits. In an attempt to save Britni, Brad congratulates Tony on his win, and asks for his and Britni’s protection, in return he will give him…nothing? Tony smiles and shakes his hand. Then he goes upstairs to laugh about the encounter with Bananas and LeRoy, even taking a shot at Brad’s physique, saying he is “deflating” already.

Troika

They decide to put up the Brits (Melissa and Kayleigh). Marie is terrified at the possible repercussions that could come with people she nominates. She wants a rookie to make it easy, though Britni is a smart choice as she has already fought with Brad, while Natalie and Kam are rookies with connections in the game. They choose Britni in the end, much to her surprise.

Aftermath and Inquisition

Melissa is upset that she’s nominated but Nicole assures her that Kayleigh will be going into elimination. Britni is angered by her nomination, but Jemmye gives an honest and strong confessional when saying: “Britni’s game isn’t good enough for her to be upset”.

In the Inquisition, Melissa says the Troika won 8k each because Melissa made them a team. Zach and Tony want to know more about her and Nicole’s relationship because Nicole is their ally; she dodges the question and gives them no reassurance. Kayleigh explains her issue with Melissa and recalls that Melissa has taken two guys from her. An upset Britni once again voices her anger about being nominated. Melissa and Britni are giving the Troika every reason to vote either of them in.

The Club and After

Brad tells Kayleigh he hopes she comes out safe. Meanwhile, Britni is upset that her friend Tony put her into elimination (we get it Britni). Melissa is dancing flirtatiously with LeRoy and Nicole. When they arrive home, Kam interrogates Melissa about her promiscuous ways. This fight is epic. Kam is somewhat slut shaming Melissa, and vice versa, Melissa is body shaming Kam; at the end of the day they’re both taking low-blows and want to fight. Jemmye is forced to get between them. Both girls are trying to bait each other into fighting. Kailah jumps in: “She will fuck you up. I will fuck you up.” How Kailah jumped into this is weird. The next morning, Melissa attempts to spin the previous night as a bullying act. Kam is explaining the drama to Kailah, and a old hung-over Bananas asks them to just shut the fuck up. He is officially old.

Elimination

Right before the vote to go in, Kam and Melissa get into it again. Melissa calls Kam irrelevant, something she likes to do on Social Media a lot. To nobody’s surprise, after the dramatic night, Melissa is voted in.

In the actual elimination, the players are lubed up and forced to fight for/retrieve a ball that is dropped down a Plinko board by TJ. It will be in an oil pit and players must traverse the pit on their knees. First to three balls wins.

Round 1

Sylvia quickly realizes that this will not be a fair fight. Melissa bites her hand and knees her right in the crotch area. The crowd is visibly upset over Melissa’s cheap shots. Excluding Nicole, the whole audience is rooting for Sylvia. Melissa gets the first point. 1–0.

Round 2

Melissa is so fast when traversing the pit and jumping around almost like a cat at times. She continues to cheap shot Sylvia, including pulling her hair. After the last straw is pulled, Sylvia gets frustrated and decides she won’t let Melissa push her around anymore.

TJ resets the round. No point awarded.

Round 3

Sylvia gets a quick point to tie it up 1–1.

Round 4

The fourth round is Melissa beginning to fatigue as Sylvia’s size is too much to overcome. Sylvia gets another point to make it 2–1.

Round 5

Melissa tries to make a comeback. Her shorts/bottoms almost come off, exciting the fans in the crowd and at home. In the end, Sylvia pulls it out despite being sick. Everyone loves the outcome except for a teary-eyed Nicole.

Sylvia wins

The Grenades

Grenade 1: Take 10k from anyone in the game (Joss, Natalie, Bananas, Devin, Britni are the people with 10k+ in their accounts).

Grenade 2: Force someone to perform an endurance mission before the next challenge.

Grenade 3: Choose the order for the next challenge.

Episode Grade: B+

Generally, I’d give an episode like this a C-, but the elimination between Sylvia and Melissa is one that will make this episode super re-watchable over the next ten years.