The episode opens with Kam and Cain returning from elimination. The UK alliance is very pleased with their position, while Jenna and Gus are not. Wes is teaching Dee how to swim. Dee had a near-drowning incident and has yet to attempt to swim again. Wes tries to give her some positive reinforcement, and she does seem to improve.

Cara Maria and Georgia listening to Bear talk to his “cousin.”

However, things for team UK start to turn. Bear is talking on the phone to his girlfriend from back home, and Georgia overhears him talking to his girlfriend back home. Georgia and Bear start yelling at each other, and Bear tells Georgia that it was his cousin, but she isn’t buying it. Bear tells Cain and Theo, who sympathize with him but worry about what effect this could have on their game.

The men running out to grab the first piece.

We head to the mission for the episode, entitled Brain Freeze. Each team has a color of puzzle pieces and has to venture out into the ocean to retrieve them. Each partner must alternate going to grab a piece, one at a time. Once they have gathered all of them, the can start building. First three teams to finish get in the Tribunal.

Georgia and Hunter starting the puzzle.

Great mission for this episode. It was hard to gauge who performed and who didn’t, but Ninja, Bear, Kam/Cain, and Jenna/Gus seemed to really struggle. Kyle/Mattie were the first pair to get all their pieces but really struggled to put them together. Hunter and Georgia had a moment where Georgia thought they weren’t completed yet and yelled at Hunter before recounting and figuring out they were good. Turbo killed it, and for someone who couldn’t swim not long ago, Wes/Dee did awesome as well.

Wes hugging Dee after the mission.

Wes/Dee, Nany/Turbo, and Cara Maria/Theo end up getting in the Tribunal. One wonders if they will start to cut down the number of people in the tribunal at some point considering how many are left.

The Tribunal meeting.

We head to the tribunal, and things move pretty quickly. Cara Maria immediately grabs Kyle/Mattie, Wes grabs Da’Vonne/Bear, and Nany grabs Hunter/Georgia. Nany says that Hunter/Georgia are a burn vote, and any discussion seems to be left over. Wes claims to be making a vote for women everywhere, we’ll see if everyone agrees.

Wes shouting at Bear.

Hunter/Georgia are first to the ceremony and seem to know they aren’t getting called in by the Tribunal at least. Kyle/Mattie are next, and their meeting goes quick. Da’Vonne/Bear are next, and he and Wes start to get into it. As always with Bear and Wes, it is hard to tell how much they are just playing things up and how much is legitimate but nothing unexpected happens.

Wes trying to get Hunter to think with his head.

We head to the club again, where Nany and Hunter continue flirting. Da’Vonne/Bear are in the corner of the club, and Bear says that if they go in, they will call out Hunter/Georgia. Bear admits he isn’t serious but is attempting to start something with Hunter to drive Hunter back to him. Bear gets in Hunter’s face in an attempt to rile him up and turn him against Georgia. Georgia gets involved and gets into a shouting match with Georgia. Wes starts to calm down Hunter and tells him the Challenge is won with his mind, not his heart or muscles. Back in the house, it seems like Nany is going to get Hunter to make up with Georgia. However, they just hop in bed instead. Bear and Georgia also seem to make up in more ways than one.

Georgia and hunter talking.

The next morning, Hunter calls Georgia over to talk. Hunter starts to apologize but doesn’t lean into it fully. Hunter and Georgia start yelling at each other, and things get worse. Hunter eventually just leaves with both yelling at each other and if anything, they are just on worse terms.

The cast at the Killing Floor.

We head to the Killing Floor, and all that is there is a rope circle. TJ asks the Tribunal for their votes, starting with Wes. Wes selects Da’Vonne/Bear, Dee selects Da’Vonne/Bear, Cara Maria selects Kyle/Mattie and Theo selects Kyle/Mattie; leaving it to Nany and Turbo. Turbo picks Hunter/Georgia out of left field, but Nany picks Da’Vonne/Bear sending them in. Da’Vonne/Bear pick Jenna/Gus to go into elimination. There aren’t any scrub teams left, so picking a floater like Jenna/Gus makes sense.

Gus and Bear at the start of Push and Pole.

The elimination is a Challenge staple, Push and Pole (Pole Wrestle). The game is split into male and female rounds and has the competitors attempt to gain full control of a pole over their opponent. The first team to win three rounds is the victor, with men going first. Pole Wrestle has seen some of the best eliminations in Challenge history, such as Susie vs. Kimberly, Joss vs. Derrick K, and Derrick K vs. Wes (my pick for best elimination ever); so, this should be a good one.

Bear after taking Gus to the floor.

Bear tries to wish Jenna and Gus well before the elimination, but they aren’t having it. Gus headbutts Bear at one point but is unable to get control of the pole and Bear pulls it out. Da’Vonne and Jenna are next, and Da’Vonne immediately pulls Jenna to the floor. Da’Vonne is able to twist away and get the pole from Jenna, getting another point.

Da’Vonne about to score the winning point.

It is back to a male round, and Bear wrestles Gus to the floor immediately. However, Bear loses his grip and Gus is able to grab it getting a point. This one goes to the ground quickly and ends up as a draw. Da’Vonne and Wes start barking at each other before the next round. Da’Vonne is able to take Jenna to the floor and wrestle the pole away from her getting the win for Da’Vonne/Bear. TJ dismisses Jenna/Gus, getting us to the end of the episode.

Eliminated

Jenna/Gus: Easily the least dynamic pair left, keeping Da’Vonne/Bear around should create a lot more storylines.

Power Rankings

8) Kam/Cain: While both Kam and Cain have athletic pedigrees, they also have been clearly the least impressive of the teams remaining.

7) Da’Vonne/Bear: Another week, another day of Da’Vonne and Bear making it by the skin of their teeth. They keep surviving, and I kind of feel guilty for not having them higher but these teams are all stacked.

6) Kyle/Mattie: They’ve skated by for a while, and I’ve been surprised nobody outside of Cara Maria/Paulie have really taken shots at them.

5) Cara Maria/Theo: They’ve been very impressive so far, and you could make the argument for arranging five through one in any order.

4) Paulie/Ninja: They’ve certainly shown some chinks in the armor but are still a handful in any competition.

3) Nany/Turbo: Turbo is an indomitable force and Nany came to play this season. They also don’t have any clear enemies outside of maybe Da’Vonne/Bear.

2) Hunter/Georgia: Their intrateam turmoil could be reason to drop them down, but unless Georgia and Bear break for good it is hard for me to see a situation where they get called in.

1) Wes/Dee: They have made the last three tribunals, and outside of Da’Vonne/Bear and maybe Kyle/Mattie you could draw an alliance between them and every other team in the house. They are number one with a bullet.

Extra Notes

· Da’Vonne said on Twitter that apparently Wes was scheming to use his phone time to call Bear’s girlfriend himself to expose Bear to Georgia. Not even quite sure how that would work but would be Machiavelli at his finest if it happened.

· Make sure to vote in the best female Challengers of All-Time poll. Voting closes soon!

Fantasy Scoring