The episode opens with Tori and Jordan returning from the elimination. The real drama starts with Theo and Jenny barking at Rogan. They’re obviously upset about Georgia being sent home, and Jenny, in particular, is not pleased with the direction the team is taking. Joss is still distraught about throwing in Georgia, but the women of the alliance comfort him. Tori says she is ready to work, but Rogan is skeptical about her motivations, saying she is still American at the end of the day. The Brits seem to take the Patriotic dynamic significantly more seriously than the Americans do. I don’t know if that is related to newness to the show or pride in their country, but it seems pretty apparent so far this season.

Nany speaking to Josh.

Kam and Theo are talking, and even though they have been opposed to each other this season Kam is trying to comfort him. Theo is debating who he hates more between the UK and the US, and he seems pretty upset at a lot of people. Josh and Nany are talking by the pool, and it seems very dour as Nany just seems resigned to her fate as being on the chopping block.

Team UK working the cranks.

We head to the mission for the episode, entitled Temple Wall Traverse. There are six climbing walls, each with painted tiles matching roman numerals. The team is divided in half and must match their tile to the tile on the matt. Each player can only move two tiles per turn, and this is also why the opposing team is operating the cranks to move the tiles apart from each other.

Paulie looking down from the mats.

The US is traversing first, with Smashley, Cara, Paulie, Jordan, and Ninja on one side. The other side has Kam, Josh, Leroy, Nany, and Zach. Ninja, Jordan, and Paulie hop on first and seem to be moving pretty well. The UK is working the cranks hard, but those three are still able to move effectively. Zach is on the mat, but he slips and falls. Jordan and Paulie are working pretty effectively together. CT sees Theo lagging on the crank, so he takes over for him and starts moving it. Cara also falls, as does Smashley. Nany and Leroy aren’t even getting on the mats, and it seems to be Paulie, Ninja, and Jordan doing all the work. Ninja falls, but she did contribute a decent amount to that point. The US ends with ten tiles, and its Team UK’s turn.

The UK beginning to traverse the mats.

For Team UK, Dee is on the side with Rogan, Tori, and Jenny; while Kayleigh is with Theo, CT, and Joss. At the start, Rogan accidentally pulls Tori down with him, sending them both down. Dee is terrified and is unable to do it, while CT falls. Theo is stretching his legs out like Mr. Fantastic before falling. Jenny is on the wall and moving relatively effectively, while Kayleigh isn’t even willing to get on the wall. TJ calls time before Kayleigh gets on.

Josh turning the cranks.

TJ calls the UK effort “pathetic”, as the US beat them 10–4. TJ asks Team US for their Tribunal, and Paulie is elected speaker. Paulie calls in Cara Maria and Josh to the Tribunal with him. Cara doesn’t seem the happiest about this and probably would have preferred to be in the Tribunal on a female day, but Paulie wants her as a guaranteed vote for him.

Tori disappointed in her team.

They return to the house, where Tori is upset about the Team UK dynamic. They then head to nominations, which go pretty much as one would expect. Rogan tries to explain to Theo that he doesn’t feel comfortable betraying one of his alliance members, but Theo says if he sticks around, he will either turncoat or sabotage the UK in the final. UK votes for Theo, with the exception of Joss who votes for himself. Theo sticks around to talk to the Tribunal and tells Paulie if he sets him up with a layup, he’ll help him later. Zach says he would rather not know what is going on with Cara and Paulie and let it ride wherever it goes.

Tori and Jordan at the bar.

We head to the bar, where Tori says the strongest Brits are Joss, Rogan, Jenny, and Tori. Surprising she left Theo and CT out, but Rogan seems to have impressed people this season. Rogan seems to give some sort of indication he’d be willing to turn on Kayleigh in favor of Jenny and Tori but makes no guarantees. Josh is still complaining about the majority alliance, and he and Zach term the group the “Nerd Herd.” Cara says Theo wants Josh, but she stills seems to want Jordan out. The other alliance keeps giving Paulie and Cara credit for everything going on, but I think Kam, Kayleigh, Smashley, and Ninja deserve just as much if not more credit for their dominance.

Nany in the phone room.

Nany and Josh are both emotional over the situation, and I think how much of a slow roll their impending doom has been had actually made them feel much worse instead of either going in and winning or just going home. Tori and Jordan are making fun of the majority alliance, and still, seem to be as joyous as ever. Nany facetime Jenna Compono, her best friend and Zach’s girlfriend. Nany seems distraught and is in some sort of strange recording dungeon talking to the fellow Challenge vet.

Cara talking to Josh.

By the pool, Josh is talking to CT and Cara, and he and Cara have something of an argument. Josh says he has an issue with Cara and Paulie and says Cara plays a manipulative game and if they want to throw him in, they can. Nany and Josh are both more depressed than Eeyore, and they all just complain about Cara and Paulie. Tori tells Jordan should be prepared to go in, and she actually would prefer that so he can switch. Theo is prepping for the elimination and has already built quite the resume in two seasons.

Theo greeting TJ.

They head to the proving ground, where Theo is sent down again. TJ asks the Tribunal for votes, and Zach starts by voting for Joss. Paulie votes for Jordan, and Cara follows by voting for Josh, which she claims were a joke and actually votes for Jordan. I have been pretty praising of the majority alliance’s game so far, but I thought this was their first significant misstep. I thought Josh was the clear vote here because Jordan is likely to win and switch over, giving the UK a strong competitor and someone who hasn’t torched as many bridges over there as Theo has. Josh would likely lose, and Theo would either switch over giving the US a stronger guy or stay and keep the numbers the same with the US minority down one. While not having a guy on the UK to put in during a loss would be problematic, I think the loss of Jordan is a significantly greater hindrance.

Jordan and Theo swinging.

TJ introduces the elimination as Under The Hammer, and each competitor must hammer down the spikes using sledgehammers, breaking the light bulb. Whoever breaks all the light bulbs first wins. Jordan has won hammer eliminations before against Zach and has worked in construction for some time, so this seems made for him.

Jordan winding up to swing.

The elimination starts, and already you can see the clear technique difference between Theo and Jordan. Jordan is getting a full rotation on the hammer, while Theo is simply going above his shoulder and dropping the hammer. Jordan is taking a bit longer for each swing, but they are significantly more effective. Jordan is able to pull ahead of Theo and get a decent lead before getting the win. Jordan calls out Paulie and says if he wants him out, he’ll have to do it himself.

Tori accepting Jordan’s proposal.

TJ dismisses Theo, who seems really disappointed to leave after his impressive season. TJ tells Jordan he has a decision to make, and after throwing some shade at the US, he proposes to Tori. Tori of course accepts, and the majority of the cast explodes in applause and joy. Cara makes a snarky comment, which bothers Paulie. Jordan heads over to Team UK, and the only person as happy as Jordan and Tori seems to be Cara Maria. Tori and Jordan talk to the producers as they depart, and that ends the episode.

Eliminated

Theo: Outstanding season from Theo, he performed in pretty much every manner and disappointing end especially considering his situation with his eye. Hopefully, he’ll recover and be able to return soon.

Power Rankings

17) Nany: Hard to see her beating anybody besides Kayleigh at this point.

16) Josh: Josh gets a boost over Nany since it is female week next week.

15) Jenny: I think Jenny’s competitive status has been a tad overblown, but she still has more than a puncher’s chance against any of the other women.

14) Kayleigh: She’s really played an almost impeccable political game, but it seems eventually she’s going in and going home.

13) Tori Deal: It will be interesting to see who the UK puts in if they lose again, but a significant chance she goes in again.

12) Zach: He seems to be the one member in the US minority they would like to keep around.

11) Jordan: Impressive win, and at this point the UK seems to be pretty much just as strong as the US, although we’ll have to wait to see if that takes effect in the missions.

10) Joss: For whatever reason, he seems to be the part of the UK alliance that is most likely to be swept away.

9) Rogan: You could make the argument Rogan in combination with Kayleigh, has played the best political game of the season.

8) Dee: I’d say she has the best combination of competitiveness and political foothold on Team UK.

7) CT: Unless if things really get flipped on the UK, it seems set for a clean route to the final.

6) Ninja: Nice to see her team give her some praise for her performance for a change,

5) Smashley: Smashley has been in the background a lot this season but hasn’t made anything resembling a bad move yet.

4) Cara Maria: Really bad look towards the end of the episode, and her joke with Josh didn’t land either but she’s still got all the numbers to play with she needs.

3) Paulie: This was really his first bad move in the season, so the gap in the rankings has closed but has not shut yet.

2) Kam: I stand by Kam being the brains of the alliance and letting Paulie/Cara take the credit for what is going on.

1) Leroy: Really quiet Leroy episode, but nothing to indicate he should relinquish his spot up top.

Extra Notes

· Make sure to vote in our Top Male Competitors poll. Voting functions the same way as the Top Female Competitors poll.

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