T. Green
It’s showdown time on Free Agents. As mentioned previously, Wrecking Wall is the elimination game this time around. The guys are up first. CT started out fast, but LeRoy picked the pace up a bit later on. Unfortunately for LeRoy, he had a hard time keeping his footing. CT was able to keep his balance and finish climbing the wall to win.
The girls went up next. Laurel stayed focused on the event and not all the drama surrounding it. Meanwhile, Cara Maria’s injured hand just would not allow her to get out of the blocks. As Cara stayed stuck near the bottom, Laurel scaled the wall with relative ease, winning the round. The two girls made up at the end, but it still remains to be seen how their relationship will play out long-term.
After TJ said his piece about the winners and losers, he informed the remaining players that they would be taking a flight to the Andes Mountains in Chile. Zach was a little nervous because of his previous experience with traveling to a final mission. His team won, but the competition itself was a hot, brutal affair in Africa. Traveling to the mountains this time will present its own unique set of obstacles.
Everyone was hyped as they left Uruguay to travel to the Andes. The new house was beautiful of course. But in the back, they could see a view of a volcano, which gave everyone ominous feelings. Before the big final, two more people had to be picked off. Everyone assumed there would be another mission up ahead. Imagine their surprise (and horror) when TJ told them that the last draw would take place right then and there.
The two guys and two girls who drew the kill cards would face off in one final elimination round. The unfortunate souls who had to jump one last hurdle to get to the money were Johnny Bananas, CT, Laurel, and Theresa. Johnny R. had the luck of the Irish on his side, as the rookie never had to see an elimination round. Nany and Devyn were also in the same boat. Devyn in particular played the game perfectly as someone who wasn’t the most athletically inclined.
For this elimination round, the players had to solve a series of three puzzles. Whoever solved the puzzles first and rang the bell would punch their ticket to the final. It’s ladies first this time. Laurel maintained her laser-focus and solved the first two puzzles quickly. Theresa was visibly frustrated as she couldn’t figure out where the pieces needed to go. But somehow, she made a miraculous comeback and caught up to Laurel at the third puzzle. It was neck-and-neck from there as the final puzzle was basically Sudoku. In the end, Laurel was able to solve the puzzle first and head to the final.
For the guys portion of the elimination, CT and Johnny Bananas added another chapter to their long-running rivalry. This encounter wasn’t as epic as anticipated however, as Bananas figured out the puzzles quickly and won. CT was disappointed as he just couldn’t get anything going during the round.
All the finalists were relieved to make it this far, but were also antsy about the prospect of a final that was sure to be grueling. Laurel was a three-time runner up in previous challenges, so she was determined as ever to win. Nany didn’t care for the assumption that Laurel was going to win, so she was eager to prove that notion wrong. Devyn’s main goal was to finish, which she would have to do to win any money. Bananas reflected about having to work so hard just to make it to this point. Everyone soon got the text from TJ that they would start their final at 6 A.M.
Finally, the competitors were ready to start the final challenge. TJ told them the mission was to traverse up an active volcano. This challenge would take place in five stages to get to that point. The first three are guy/girl alternating pairs, and the last two are strictly individual. It was reminiscent of The Duel, which had a similar setup for its final. After a random draw, the pairs were as follows:
1st stage: Johnny/Nany, Zach/Devyn, Bananas/Laurel
2nd stage: Johnny/Laurel, Zach/Nany, Bananas/Devyn
3rd stage: Johnny/Devyn, Zach/Laurel, Bananas/Nany
Of course, no guy wanted to be with Devyn, but at least each one would only get one leg with her. The first stage was a kayaking race down the river. Laurel and Bananas got out to an early lead. Nany and Johnny had some struggles, but weren’t too far behind. Predictably, Devyn and Zach were bringing up the rear. Devyn had a hard time handling the kayak as Zach tried his best to stay patient. At one point though, they hit a rock, capsizing the boat. The Challenge rescue raft came to pick up Devyn, but Zach was nowhere to be found. The episode ended with Zach rising to the surface and struggling to stay afloat.
