Returning to the house, we get another brief discussion about alliances. Nothing has changed really since the last update, so not sure why it is necessary. Tori and Jordan are talking, recapping their crazy season. We get a Team UK meeting in a room, with everyone on the team besides Jordan and Tori involved. Kayleigh initiates things, and they address Dee almost being thrown in. Dee is arguing with the guys saying she went to the Tribunal five times with Wes last season and there hasn’t been anything to show why she should be on the block instead of Kayleigh. They seem to come to some sort of truce, while in another room Kam and Leroy seem to confirm their couple status. Strange for them to be back together after how distant they were last season, but they do seem to have a genuine connection.

Team UK (minus Tori and Jordan) meeting prior to the mission.

We head to the mission for the episode, entitled Puzzling Swim. Each team has to break into pairs and swim to a buoy, and then return to the platform. Upon collecting all the keys, they have to solve a riddle. The first team to solve the riddle wins. UK will have one male go by themselves while the US has one female sit out. The shocker though is TJ announces that this mission will be a Purge, and the slowest swimming pair will be eliminated immediately. The teams start to pair up, with the pairs being Josh/Nany, Zach/Smashley, Paulie/Cara Maria, Kam/Leroy, Kayleigh/Joss, Tori/Jordan, Dee/Rogan, and CT by himself. CT and Rogan argue about who takes Dee, with Rogan eventually taking her.

Leroy and Kam swimming.

Tori/Jordan, Paulie/Cara Maria, CT, and Smashley/Zach jump off first, with Smashley starting with a backstroke. She seems to be falling a bit behind, but eventually kicks it into high gear and she and Zach seem to be the fastest pair. CT and Tori/Jordan don’t seem to have any trouble either, or they land in sending Dee/Rogan on their way. Paulie and Cara Maria are in a bit of trouble, with Cara seeming very short of breath. Paulie starts barking at her, and she and Paulie get into it a bit. However, none of the first four pairs struggle really and it would seem to come down to the last four. Joss/Kayleigh, Josh/Nany, Kam/Leroy, and Dee/Rogan are on their way, and immediately Kayleigh seems to be lagging. Nany is struggling a bit too, but Josh gets Nany to grab onto him and power the pair forward. Dee is actually not performing that poorly, and she is able to outpace Leroy and Kam by a significant margin. Joss and Kayleigh are really lagging, with Joss paddling on his back waiting for Kayleigh to catch up. They eventually get back, and both teams are working on the puzzle. The riddle is pretty simple, and Paulie figures out the answer (Chair) without significant difficulty, giving the US the win.

Leroy hugging Kam.

We get to announcements, where TJ gets to the slowest pair. TJ says Leroy/Kam and Joss/Kayleigh were the two slowest pairs, and that Joss/Kayleigh was the slowest and have been purged. Leroy, Kam, and Joss get pretty emotional, with Leroy crying pretty unapologetically. Joss is really distressed, and it’s a sudden end for a pair that was pretty close to the captain’s chair on this season. Although I agreed with the move at the time, it’s hard to not think about what could have been when Joss and Kayleigh put in Georgia. Ninja is announced as the speaker despite not even performing and she takes Smashley and Zach into the Tribunal with her.

Dee talking to Rogan.

Back at the house, Paulie and Ninja are talking and Paulie thinks it would be a good idea to trim off some of their team, specifically Josh. Ninja mentions wanting to put in Rogan for his past treatment of Dee but will consider all options. Cara and Paulie continue their minor spat with Paulie asking Cara to work on her breathing while swimming with Cara kind of deflecting the issue. Dee and Rogan are talking, and Rogan pins the conspiracy to throw Dee in on Joss. Rogan is clearly lying but Dee takes it anyways and at this point, it does make sense to just follow suit despite how manipulative Rogan may appear.

Jordan after being nominated for elimination.

We head to the nominations, and it goes as one would expect. Dee has a bit of a speech, but she votes with CT and Rogan to put Jordan in. Ninja and Jordan have a weird back and forth that goes absolutely nowhere and the nominations conclude. They head to the bar, where Leroy makes a pronouncement and Kam and Nany seem to have something of a truce for Leroy’s sanity. Rogan knights Dee and CT in the name of the UK. Considering Rogan is now the only Brit remaining I guess they need some reserves.

The elimination of the episode.

Nany and Josh are talking, and she thanks Josh for helping her. Paulie is complaining about Cara’s lack of coachability and says she has been very deflective lately. After a few brief workout scenes, we head to the proving ground for the elimination. Team UK sends down Jordan once again, now going into his second elimination. TJ asks the Tribunal for their votes, and Ninja sends one vote at Josh followed by Zach burning a vote on Paulie. Smashley then votes for Josh, sending him in against Jordan. TJ announces the elimination as End Of The Rope. Players stand on opposite platforms with a rope that runs under the hill and to their opponent. The first player to either knock their opponent off the platform or retrieve all of the rope wins.

Jordan after getting the first point.

The first round commences, and both start by pulling as hard as they can. Josh seems to be pulling aggressively, while Jordan is waiting for an opening. Jordan notices that Josh switches hand to position right before each large pull, and as Josh is pulling Jordan releases the rope and Josh is pulled off by his own force, giving one point to Josh. The second round begins, and Jordan seems to be in Josh’s head. This time Jordan feigns that he is losing balance, causing Josh to start pulling rapidly before Jordan releases the rope again, pulling Josh off and giving Jordan his second point. The third round begins, and Josh is clearly fazed out. Smashley is cheering pretty hard for Josh (ironic considering she just voted him in) and tells him if he wants his part of a million dollars, he needs to get it together. Jordan says if he wins with her, she’ll just take all of it and then wins the third round, giving him the win and sending Josh home.

Jordan going up against Josh.

Josh is pretty emotional as he leaves, and his alliance comforts him. TJ dismisses Josh before giving Jordan his props, ending the episode. Power rankings are below, but after the next episode, they’ll switch from politically based to finals predictions (if it is the final directly after that.)

Eliminated

Josh: Good season overall from Josh. While not the most natural competitor, he does seem to try very hard. I do think even more than his athleticism he needs to have a higher level of game awareness next time around.

Kayleigh: Outstanding season politically from Kayleigh, but ineptitude in competitions eventually reared its head and proved too much to overcome. She seems to be someone more in the Survivor/Big Brother mold, perhaps she’ll move in that direction eventually.

Joss: I’ve always seemed to be higher on Joss as a competitor than other people, outside of a mental blunder against Derrick he has always performed when he needed too; just has had some underperforming partners. He does need to think for himself more often though and not rely on others so often.

Power Rankings

13) Nany: Hard to see how she doesn’t see the last elimination, and I wouldn’t favor her against anyone remaining in the game.

12) Dee: She seemed to prove herself today, but with the cat already out of the bag you wonder if the UK puts her in ahead of Tori.

11) Tori Deal: She’s more likely to go in than Dee, but also significantly less likely to lose.

10) Rogan: Not sure if there are any male eliminations remaining, but at this point, CT could flip and side with the significantly stronger pair in Tori and Jordan without any repercussions really.

9) CT: Curious how this final will be formatted, but even though he won Champs vs. Stars with Tony his performance wasn’t inspiring, and he seems to be in worse shape now than he was then. If it’s teams, I think the UK is probably the favorite at this point but if it moves to individuals at all he’s in trouble.

8) Smashley: Strong drop for Smashley, but the more I think about if the UK were to pick someone from the other team if they win, she’s the obvious choice. Perhaps CT wants to establish some semblance of Team Unity and by selecting Smashley, they remove someone who is a proven asset in finals and has turned on their alliance once before.

7) Kam: She struggled in the swim but is connected enough where she should be fine no matter what happens.

6) Ninja: I think people have forgotten somewhat how impressive Ninja was at times last season, but she does have a clear hole in her game and seems pretty hated by members of her team.

5) Jordan: Hardest person to rank, but he is the clear top competitor at this point and I’m not betting against Jordan in a final, team or individual.

4) Leroy: Good to see him get past the Purge and now likely make the final, but his past final performances don’t give significant encouragement if it were to go, individual.

3) Zach: Even though he isn’t aligned with them he is clearly valued by the PLANCK alliance and I think they would put in Rogan at this point over Zach.

2) Cara Maria: She’s the one female I really can’t see being thrown in and has a strong track record in finals.

1) Paulie: He looks to be clean to the final and if it were to go, individual, I’d give him the third-best odds behind Jordan and Zach.

Extra Notes

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

Fantasy Scoring