Original subtitles

You’re watching an extended episode of The Challenge,

vets and new threats.

Stay tuned after the episode for some final words

from the eliminated challengers.

[TJ] Tonight on The Challenge: Vets & New Threats,

the Challengers will be left amazed and puzzled.

Oh, [bleep] yeah. Sudoku.

One cannot go here.

-I have an idea. -Shh!

-Don’t tell me your ideas. -I-- All right.

[Theo] Oh, come on.

Hey!

[Aviv] I will tell you,

Theo and Olivia are definitely nervous.

[TJ] Some players are itching to make a big move,

while others fear making themselves a target.

I think that he’s gonna try to piss me off

and try to get them to pick him.

[TJ] Trash-talking new threat Gabe seeks redemption

as the Hangnail for his poor social game.

Will the jury save him or throw him to the wolves?

And a Challenge legend

must fight their way back into the game.

♪ exciting music ♪

♪ ominous music ♪

[Olivia] Nia was sent home due to an injury. It sucks.

And now Johnny gets to come back in the house scot-free

after he had

his whole meltdown about being the Hangnail.

There’s a reason you’re here, and it’s because of me.

Oh, really?

I am The Challenge, all right?

Just so you know.

"I am The Challenge."

That was so embarrassing.

[laughs]

[Olivia] Uh, yeah, I do.

Every dog has their day.

Olivia’s Brits had already

had their pitchforks out and now we’re gonna have to put

those away, because I’m still performing better than any guy

in the vet era.

I’ve got a great partner by my side,

and I still have a pretty good

foothold in the game,

where I will not be, uh, voted in.

[Olivia] Let’s make things

spicy around here, shall we?

♪ tense music ♪

[CT] Right now,

people are still moving their chess pieces.

You don’t want to just start throwing grenades

in the rooms and just hope something, like, works out.

Like, I’m not doing that.

We all love Bananas. We do.

Love him. And we are playing a game.

But you can sit there and act

like you’re the mayor of Challengeville

with the rookies. But the vets...

There’s a lot of bitterness and karma

that has rubbed some people the wrong way, especially some vets.

[Derek] The next elimination is a guys’ day.

We’re all thinking, like, Johnny’s gonna try

to go after somebody close to Olivia,

which is me and Theo.

To me, I’m all for keeping

our vet alliance as strong as it can be.

♪♪

[Cara Maria] For whatever the heck

is going on around the house

and not being able to play,

I would just own that [bleep].

Yeah.

[Gabe] I’m the Hangnail.

There’s a very high chance I’m going in.

It is definitely frustrating. I don’t have any opportunity

to gain any points.

I feel like, everywhere I go,

I’m getting judged. It almost feels just like

I’m walking on eggshells around everyone.

It’s a lot.

[Cara Maria] Maybe it’s time to storm that Arena,

walk in there with your pyro,

and be like, "Guys, I ain’t even gonna politick.

Put me in that elimination because I want to play."

[Derrick] Number one, you don’t want to be the Hangnail,

’cause that puts you in danger. Number two,

it’s Gabe.

[Nia] You embarrassed me.

You embarrassed yourself.

-How dare you? -[Derrick] So,

you already got two strikes against you, Gabe.

[Cara Maria] It’s your time to shine, man.

♪ bouncy music ♪

Adrienne, she named our team already.

We are the Chubsters.

[laughs] The Chubsters.

I’m Big ’N’ Beefy, and she’s Bad Bobby or something like that.

I’m pretty stoked-- Adrienne.

She crushed the hill.

-She’s a real competitor. -Yeah. You know?

And I feel good we’re gonna get some points on the board.

-Yeah. -I do.

-You got to be stoked, though. -Yeah.

I think Michaela’s great everywhere.

I think the only snag for me is if we get hit

with something like you got to carry a 200-pound worm

-or... You know? Th-That-- -Yeah.

And then she’s got to do it all by herself. Yeah.

[laughing]

[Ben] There is a lot of stress.

And a person like CT melts all of that away.

This guy has a switch that he flips

and becomes a different animal,

whether it’s in dailies or the eliminations.

But when he’s not around those spaces,

he is as real as it gets.

And he’s been cracking me up so much

that I forget he is

one of the most menacing people

in Challenge history.

[yells]

[shouts] [bleep]

[yelling]

Who’s scared of you now? What?

’Cause there’s a lot of things I can learn from a guy like him.

Baby, we’re getting points.

Points on the board.

♪ intense music ♪

[birds singing]

[laughter]

[Bananas] Uh, so, Turbo,

they call this right here "sky’s out, thighs out."

So...

-So, sky is out. -Yeah.

And your thighs are out.

No, it’s not bad words. No.

No, the ladies will love it.

No. But maybe if you say, "Sun’s out,

buns out."

[Turbo] I love my country,

but I am in L.A. now

because L.A. is freedom.

♪ Bitte don’t muhattap ♪

♪ Bitte don’t muhattap... ♪

And my dream is that, one day,

I gonna be action movie actor.

For me, it was so honorable to win my first season.

I saved my family in Türkiye.

Now I need another first place

to make my own family.

[Bananas] And if you go to a club, you say,

"I want to rock out with my [rooster crows] out."

-[laughing] -I want to rock out with my...

[rooster crows] out.

...with my [rooster crows] out.

[Bananas laughing]

Then with girls, you say

they’re gonna jam out with their clam out.

-[laughing] -With your...

clam out.

[laughing]

-[Bananas] What’s this? -Uh...

s-sky’s out,

-thighs out. -Yes.

-What’s this? -What’s this?

-[Turbo] Uh, sun’s out... -[Bananas laughing]

[Bananas] Sun’s out.

-[Turbo] Sun’s out. -Buns out.

-[Turbo] Buns out. [laughing] -[laughing]

♪ energetic music ♪

My partner’s Leo.

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Ben.

-I love Ben. -[Ashley] He was really hard

on himself on that last challenge.

[Justin] He fought hard.

-Yeah. -[Aviv] Yeah.

I love that. I’d much rather have a partner

that has a lot of heart than...

-[Michaela] Exactly. -[Ashley] Exactly.

There’s probably a strategy to choosing

the right partner at the right time.

Justin is pretty well-rounded.

[Justin] She’s athletic. She has the greatest endurance.

Like, she’s a mom, so she’s got to be smart.

-Mm-hmm. -[Aviv] And if he doesn’t

get there, you’re gonna throw him

-over your back and just... -[laughs]

-[laughter] -"We go-- we going, Ben."

♪ propulsive music ♪

[Leroy] Tay and I are partners.

Tay is riding with her trio

of Adrienne, Izzy, and her.

And they got Olivia and they got Derek.

They’re pretty stacked,

which will put us on opposite sides of the game.

But Tay competes very hard,

so I think we’re gonna be good.

[Tay] Leroy, I think he’s very underrated,

but I think he’s a very strong and social competitor.

He is really good friends with Bananas. So our...

our games don’t align.

♪♪

[Sydney] Me and Turbo together is going

to be absolutely unstoppable.

Both of us have a brain. [laughs]

Which is a lot to say in this [bleep] house.

[Turbo] Sydney, one of the baddest girls. But...

only one thing is not good from her-- she’s not humble.

But I don’t care.

She can do whatever she wants.

What’s up, everyone? How you feeling?

-Good! -[cheering]

Welcome to your next challenge.

I’m so happy to see you.

America, better to be lucky than good.

By winning the elimination by default,

you still got the two points.

And unfortunately for you, Gabe,

Nia was medically disqualified,

which leaves you as the Hangnail.

Now, as the Hangnail,

you will not compete in today’s challenge

and you will face judgment by the jury.

Today, you are playing Amazed.

[light cheering, applause]

Right here beside me,

there are 120 containers

that make a giant maze.

In that maze,

there are several puzzles.

-Here’s how it’s gonna work. -[air horn blows]

There will be two heats of seven teams each.

You’re gonna get into that maze

and try and solve one

of those puzzles as fast as you can,

and get back out of the maze.

Now, these puzzles have different levels of difficulty,

so choose wisely.

The harder puzzles are closer,

the easier puzzles being the furthest away.

It’s up to you

which one you want to solve.

[Leka] Bananas and I

have to come in number one,

because it is a guys’ week

and he has the biggest target on his back.

Seeing this maze is not scaring us.

It’s what’s inside of this maze

that’s unknown, that we don’t know what we’re about to face.

[TJ] This challenge has a 45-minute time limit.

The team to get it done the fastest

will win today’s challenge, be safe from elimination,

get eight points, and select one team

to be put up for judgment by the jury.

For the teams that run out of time,

you will be ranked by the number of correct answers

on your puzzle. The team with the most incorrect answers

will be the losers of this challenge and will be headed

straight into elimination.

So good luck to everyone.

This is gonna be amazing.

[applause]

♪ foreboding music ♪

[Yeremi] I have the best female

-in the house. -[gasps]

[Olivia] Really, I’m just confident

in our sense of direction.

We have an Amazing Racer right here,

so I’m gonna follow his lead on that,

because I can barely find my way back home.

Uh, so, yeah.

-[laughs] -It’s on you.

[Aviv] Last time I was in a tunnel situation

didn’t go so well.

This way? All right, someone just tell me,

’cause I went a completely different way.

Where am I going?

I did find a shortcut

all the way to the end, so...

maybe this time, that’ll work in my favor.

[Adrienne] I’m taking CT on his first date, because,

on a first date, I usually like to take people to escape rooms.

-So... [laughs] -So they can’t get away?

-Yeah. [laughing] -[laughing]

[CT] Well, hopefully you get me out of here.

-Take me with you. -No, I like to trap them.

-That’s the whole point. -[laughs]

[laughing] I’m just joking.

♪ dramatic music ♪

All right, everyone ready? Go!

All right, come on, come on.

Go, go, go, go, go!

♪♪

[TJ echoing] Everyone ready? Go!

[echoing] Go, go, go, go, go!

♪ dramatic music ♪

-[Leo] Ashley! -I’m coming! To the right! Go!

[Yeremi] Me and Olivia’s strategy, we want to go

into the maze a little bit

and try to find a medium difficulty of puzzle,

so that we can complete it and hopefully come in first place.

-[Olivia] See one? -Uh, not yet.

Yes. Oh, yes. Sudoku.

Honestly,

I could cry with happiness right now.

When I tell you I’m a geek for sudoku,

I take it on planes, I’ll do it on the StairMaster.

Anywhere I can take a sudoku book,

I’m taking it with me.

-You’re gonna-- We got this. -Let me stand back and look.

[Izzy] Where is it?

[Derek] This way. Come on, Izzy.

I’m so excited

to be working with Izzy because

she’s just a badass, and she’s part of our U.K. alliance

against Bananas.

-This is sudoku? -Sudoku.

[Derek] I have a goal right now to not get last place,

so I don’t go straight into elimination

and possibly be going up against Gabe.

’Cause Gabe, as much as he hasn’t been able to compete

in these challenges, he’s still a strong competitor.

[Izzy] You got two. No, look at this. This’ll be three.

Wait, are you doing this way or this way?

You can look both.

[Aviv] You got one?

-Okay, good. -[Justin] I played

sudoku maybe once or twice before coming here,

and I stopped playing it because it made my brain hurt so bad

I started to cry.

And I’m not quite sure

whether Aviv has good sudoku-playing skills.

All I know is

I have been failing math since the fourth grade,

so this is gonna be very fun.

Dump ’em.

Let’s start.

[bleep]

Big-ass puzzle.

[Leroy] This way.

Whatever puzzle we see

that we get to first,

we’re gonna do that one.

I’m not really concerned

whether it’s gonna be hard or easy.

I just want to get in there,

find a puzzle, and get it done.

All right.

You start spreading ’em out.

-Ashley, right here. -Coming!

Sudoku. Let’s [bleep] go.

-One through nine. -Put it down now.

-Put-- Get it out. -Yeah. Let’s go.

-This is my [bleep]. -I know.

I’m excited to do this with Ashley

because she’s athletic, super smart.

[Ashley] Leo is very excited.

He is like just a big golden retriever.

Right now, we have two, eight, seven

-across at the top. -Be quiet.

-Let me-- Can I do this? -Got you. Got you.

You want to try six? I only see two six.

-I see six-- -No, you don’t want--

You want a lot of the number, baby.

-Let me do this. -Okay, okay, okay.

-Shh. Believe me. -[Leo] If you don’t

do well in high-pressure situations with someone

yelling at you, this is not for you.

No three right here.

-Horizontal or vertical. -That’s not how easy it works.

I’m telling you, that’s not how easy it works, sweetie.

-All right, all right. -Okay, so...

[bleep] Okay, um...

So two’s in this box, in this square, and two is here.

Wait, wait, I’m sorry. Here, no. You’re right.

-Here, no. -Yeah, so it’s got to go here.

-[CT] Okay, yeah, you’re right. -Yeah, yeah.

[CT] Good call, good call. Nice job.

[bleep]

[bleep] [bleep]

[sighs]

-[Aneesa] Okay. -We’re good.

♪ tense music ♪

[Olivia] Get one?

[Yeremi] Yeah, I found one. Perfect.

[Olivia pants]

-Whew. -All right, Olivia.

Good job, girl.

-Good job. -[Yeremi] I definitely

want to win today.

I know Olivia is public enemy number one

when it comes to Johnny.

It definitely makes me worried. So we want

the power that is gonna come with today’s challenge.

One. Right here.

Do you want-- Double-check it. Watch.

One cannot go here. One cannot go there.

-Yeah. -Correct.

-That’s correct. Okay. -Correct. Okay, good.

Yeremi says he’s good at sudoku,

but what I’ve realized with a lot of these new threats

is that they say that they’re

good at something until they’re in front of it.

So I’m just hoping that his words match his actions.

If we solve this one,

-we can solve the whole thing. -Okay.

-Six is right here. -Six there?

So what do we have?

Four here, four here.

-Okay, we’re getting somewhere. -So then we...

[Will] [bleep] Everybody’s at a board.

[Aneesa] It doesn’t matter.

I’m good at sudoku.

I did it on the way here.

-Okay, now we take our time. -Let me look at--

-Seven. Okay. -Shut up. Shut up.

Nines are here. [panting]

Okay, let’s do eights.

-[Ashley groans] -Can I offer something?

-Yeah. -Six will have to go down here

’cause there’s already a six up there.

I know, baby, but we don’t know which one,

and you can’t just guess willy-nilly,

’cause that will mess up the whole [bleep] thing.

Don’t we have to make nine

-in this box, too? -Shh!

I know, but-but just, please-- just believe me.

-All right. -Please, please, please.

You’re not right on that.

I really wish I’d been

practicing my suduko

before I got here, because

Leo tells me that he has learned suduko

yesterday. Yesterday.

[Leo] A two, a five, and a nine.

So you need to do process of elimination.

So now he’s trying to give me tips and pointers on where

to put the numbers, and he doesn’t know

what the hell is going on, honey.

He is completely clueless.

And if he does not

shut up and get the hell out of my way,

he’s gonna see Smashley come out.

Get the [bleep] out of here!

Okay, we’re killing this. Let’s keep working fast.

Here, here, here. Okay, okay, okay.

-Just keep working fast. -[Derek] We’re missing...

[Izzy] One, two, three, four.

-We’re missing five, six, nine. -Five.

Here. There’s five.

[Derek] So this is six or nine.

But it can’t be nine, either.

-[Izzy] So it’s six. -[bleep] No.

We messed up, then.

[Izzy] Derek’s a vet,

and he’s obviously got so much experience.

However, the way he does sudoku,

it’s just an absolute mess.

Still doesn’t make sense ’cause there’s a five there.

Can we just...

Yeah. Please. Thank you.

It’s going to be faster to just

start completely over than to try to find this mistake.

I know she’s getting

a little freaked out, but I just know

that I can do this

if you just let me do the puzzle.

No, we’re good.

-I’m not worried. -Yeah.

Five has to go here, babe.

Five, five.

-So it’s five there. -Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Aneesa] Um, where are my nines? Nine.

Oh, we already have nine. This is really confusing.

Wait. No, no, no, no, no. I [bleep] up.

-Don’t listen to me. -Okay.

Aneesa’s good. She’s a little,

you know, on edge, but that’s okay.

That’s what I’m here for. I’m a good teammate to, you know,

keep cool and relax.

It has to be here.

-It can’t be anywhere else. -Yeah.

-Yeah. ’Cause it’s already-- -Good call.

-Thank you for seeing that. -Thank you. Uh-huh.

-You’re welcome. You’re welcome. -Okay.

So then that’s got to be nine. That’s got to be nine.

-Okay? Smashing it. Yeah. -Yeah, yeah, keep going.

You’re in the zone, rainmaker.

-Keep it going, keep it going. -I am. I am.

[CT] Adrienne and I are making a good team.

We’re very similar, right?

We both have crazy accents you can’t understand.

Two, we both get a little nippy. We got a chip on our shoulder.

Three, apparently we’re good at puzzles.

I mean, this is working out right now, right?

One-- that’s good, ’cause this is a one there.

-One, one, one. All right. -There. One, one, one, one.

[CT laughing]

[Olivia] What’s the last one that we need

-in this row? -[Yeremi] Let’s...

-We need a four. -Okay. I can’t find a four.

-Found a four. -Okay.

-Found a four. Check. -It’s here.

-Put it right here. -Check.

-[CT] That’s a nine. -Yeah?

-Check, check,

-check, check, check. -Check, check, check.

-[air horn blows] -Let’s go. Let’s go. Come on.

Go. Sprint. I got-- Right behind you.

[CT] We good? We good?

-[air horn blows] -We’re good.

[Adrienne laughs]

♪♪

[Yeremi] Come on. Race you to it. Come on.

-This is where we go. -[panting]

This is where we go, girl.

Not this way. Turn around. It’s okay. [bleep]

What a mistake.

[Olivia] On the way out of the maze,

we get lost. I run into Yeremi.

And I’m like, "Wait, I thought you were a human compass.

I’m so scared."

♪

[Yeremi] This is where we go, girl. This is where we go.

-Okay! -This is where we put

the burners, girl. This is where we put the burners.

Oh, we have to run. They’re right behind us.

♪

Run, quick, they’re behind us.

♪ tense music ♪

Oh, we have to run. They’re right behind us.

-[Olivia] Okay! -This is where we put

the burners, girl. Run, quick, they’re behind us.

-Watch this. -[heart beating]

-They’re right behind us. -Come on!

Let’s go.

[squealing]

-Let’s go! -[cheering]

Let’s go!

[Olivia] Me and Yeremi getting lost, even for one second,

it shows how critical

it is to never make mistakes.

We were seconds behind CT and Adrienne.

And who knows? We probably would have beat them.

-Hey, you were amazing! -[laughing]

-Had to get out of your way. -[squeals]

You, like, turned into, like, Rain Man.

I told you I’m good at sudoku!

Five. Where can five go?

-Five can go... -Five can go at the top corners.

-’Cause there’s-- -Because there’s no five

-through this row. -Shoot.

And there’s no five coming down.

Even on the sides. For the top two--

That doesn’t help, though. You need to only one spot.

Two spots ain’t gonna help you, boo-boo.

-Nine in the top left. -No.

-How do you know that? -Because you just said that.

No, I was just counting.

-That’s not right. -All right.

[Leo] I’m just trying to do my part.

Like, it’s guys’ day, but, like,

I didn’t-- I didn’t know she was like this. [stammers]

That is really Ashley to a "T."

I love the girl, but,

Jesus Christ, I thought she was about to actually kill me.

-I need this. -Wait, wait. I have an idea.

Shh! Six here.

-Don’t-don’t tell me your ideas. -All right, hey.

I don’t know if I ever want

to be her partner again on a puzzle day.

One, two, three, four, five. Give me a...

-No. Seven. -...seven.

-[Aneesa laughs] -Check, check, check!

[Aneesa] Please, God.

-[air horn blows] -Yeah, let’s go!

[shushing]

[whispering] Come on. Come on.

Five, six,

-sev-- Nine. -Nine.

-[Leroy] Check. -Check.

-[air horn blows] -Yes! Let’s go!

Go, Leroy!

Which-which way did we come?

-We came... past it. -Good job, guys.

♪

-It’s over there. -[Tay] I think.

Hope this is it.

[Leroy] Or is it this way?

-No, no. No, no. -No?

Where they just went?

[Tay] I know Aneesa,

and I’ve got a bit of speed on her,

so let’s get past them, because we need the points.

We’re at the end. It’s right here.

We got to want it!

-You dicks. Go. Come on. -[chuckles]

[whooping]

Run, Leroy!

[cheering]

[Leroy] It feels so good to perform

at a high level.

It feels even better to perform at something

that people thought that I wouldn’t be as good at.

So, ha-ha, sorry for you, suckers.

-[whooping] -[whooping]

[whooping]

-Ow!

[shouting]

-We’re good. Check? -Check.

[air horn blows]

-Thank you. -Let’s go.

-Fast as you can. -Yes. Good job, girl.

[Ashley] Where’s the eight, eight, nine? Okay.

[Leo] Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

[Ashley] Check. Come here.

You don’t hear people screaming,

we don’t got time.

-[air horn blows] -[screams]

Go. All right. Let’s get out of here. Come on.

[Ashley] Getting the [bleep] out of here.

[Aviv] Put the nine. Check.

-[air horn blows] -Check. Thank you.

-All right, baby. -[Justin] Come on.

-[cheering] -[indistinct, excited chatter]

-[whooping] -[indistinct chatter]

Let’s [bleep] go! [pants]

[Leo grunts]

Nice job, champ. Nice job, champ.

-[bleep] -Good job.

[cheering]

-Good job. Good job, guys. -[overlapping chatter]

♪ dramatic music ♪

[TJ] All right, this is heat two.

Good luck, everyone. Let’s get it done.

[Theo] One team I don’t want to win today is gonna be

Johnny and Leka.

I don’t trust Johnny,

and he’s most likely to chuck me in.

[America] It’s so funny.

Every partner I’ve had,

when we have that question,

-they always say Johnny. -Agreed.

All right, everyone ready?

Go!

Come on, come on. Come on, come on.

[Theo] Come, America.

Keep going. Keep going.

-[Theo] America, left! -Straight, straight.

-[Theo] America, left! America! -Straight.

[Bananas] As soon as we start running down this corridor,

we see our first puzzle.

That tells me that

it’s gonna be a very difficult one.

So we need to keep on moving.

[Leka] Keep going, Bananas. Keep going, keep going.

[Turbo] I am happy to be partner with Sydney.

She’s top-two badass girls, or maybe number one.

[Turbo] What the [bleep] is this?

-[Sydney] Sudoku. -Hmm?

-[Sydney] Sudoku. -Do you know?

-[Sydney] Yeah. -[Turbo] Yeah, that’s what--

This.

[Sydney] I don’t have any experiences

with mazes or puzzles.

All I know is that the cream always rises to the top,

and I am the fluffiest cream that you can find,

especially here with Turbo.

-Definitely. Where’s the chalk? -Give me. Open.

Open, open, open, open.

[panting]

Do you want to just [bleep] do this one?

[Leka] Yeah. Let’s go.

-What do you think? -Yeah, let’s do it.

[Bananas] Leka, you are

paired up with a liability here, so,

good thing it’s a guys’ day and not a girls’ day, though.

-I still want the best for you. -Why, thank you.

-Of course. -I want the best for us.

Thank you.

[Bananas] The strategy

for today’s challenge--

contain her.

[laughs]

Y’all are about to be amazed.

[Cedric] It’s a sudoku.

[Cara Maria] We got it.

-[Cedric] Can we do it? -[Cara Maria] We’ll take it.

-[Cara Maria] Yeah. -[Theo] Go back.

[Cara Maria] Just take it. I’m not running

-through this maze again. -Yup.

[Cedric] Something a lot of people don’t know, I’m kind of

wicked smart with the puzzles, so, uh, it’ll-it’ll be good.

This is a good team right here.

-We’re-we’re stacked. -Yeah.

[Cedric] And we got to get Miss Cara

on the board right here.

Yeah. Today...

today, we’re gonna turn that zero into an eight.

-Mm. -’Cause we’re gonna win.

Right here.

Do you know sudoku?

-Nope. -You don’t?

-Nope. -That’s "last place"

written all over it.

-Come on. It’s sudoku. -This is it?

All right, this is it. Do you know how to do Sudoku?

We’re about to figure it out

-right now. -All right.

Oh, [bleep] yeah. Sudoku.

[Michaela] In this challenge,

we have a great setup.

One of the biggest new threat men in the house is a Hangnail,

which means he will be very easy to vote in.

And I’ve got Ben,

someone that no man is gonna target.

So there’s absolutely

no pressure on me.

But if I’m able to win today,

we might be able to change the game.

There’s lots of people in Camp Olivia

that I would love to see go home.

-It’s gonna be these. -Eights in this column?

[Michaela] Shh.

Just use your brain, not your mouth.

-There’s no sixes here. -Yeah.

So we’re missing four in that number. Four.

I can tell that Derrick K. is nervous,

um, because it is a guys’ day, he’s not good at puzzles,

I’m not good at puzzles.

[Derrick] I know the basic rules,

but I’m still scared

at sudoku.

Okay, get me, um,

a one...

[Dee] I know I need to win

so that I can save Bananas.

So many people want him out.

We have to do this.

-Two, three, four. -Give me five.

[Theo] Oh, no. This is not good.

What-what number are we missing?

-Five? -So, we got one, two, three...

-No, five. -...four, five, six, seven...

-Nine. -Nine. Okay.

No, there’s a nine there.

God, Kaycee [bleep] taught me how to do this [bleep],

and I didn’t pay attention.

-Six. We need a six. -It can’t be here,

so it has to be here, so the six is here.

But it can go here. Hang on. ’Cause it can go here.

-No, no, no, no. -’Cause look. One, two...

No, baby. Look. Look. [bleep]

Come on. You’re smart.

One, two, three. So we’re looking for four and...

Let’s-- You-you do one, and I’ll do a separate one,

’cause we want to move a little faster.

Ben is actually a fantastic partner.

He finds a way to be useful,

and there’s nothing like a useful man.

I trust your judgement. Here.

[Michaela] Once I understand that he actually knows

how to match the numbers in each row, I encourage him.

"You take this row. Just tell me why you’re putting each number."

Okay, perfect. Let’s put that eight. Good job.

No, no, no. Seven has to be here. One is,

-or this one. -Okay, so seven.

Seven. Yeah, put seven there. Perfect.

[Turbo] I love hard things.

So we got to be faster,

and we got to figure it out fast.

My partner is a lawyer. She’s smart.

I’m sure we gonna figure it out.

Oh, come on.

[America] Are you serious?

I’m following Theo

around, and we keep hitting dead end after dead end.

[bleep]

[America] And I’m noticing,

Theo is gasping.

[Theo panting loudly]

[America] I can’t believe I picked him as a partner.

He was allegedly a part

of England’s national track team,

but you would never be able to tell,

the way he’s huffing and puffing behind me.

Let’s go.

[bleep]

-Give me the numbers. -[Theo panting]

I’m gonna come over here

-and help you out. -All right.

Four and five, six.

-Seven has to be here. -Seven. Yeah.

-Put seven here. -Yeah. Right.

One here, seven here, and we check.

Got you. One. Uh, where’s the seven?

-I got it. I got it. -You got it?

-Check. -Check.

-Did you count here? -Yeah, I counted here.

Okay, check.

[air horn blows]

[bleep]

Let’s [bleep] go.

-[air horn blows] -Yeah.

We got this, Ben.

♪ dramatic music ♪

[Ben] Oh, boy.

[Michaela] We got this, Ben. -[Ben] Let’s go.

-Turbo? -Uh-huh?

[Ben] Come on, baby.

Let’s make it there before them.

[Gabe] Come on!

Let’s go. Let’s go.

[Gabe] Let’s just go!

-Yes, sir. -We’re first?

-We’re first? -Yeah!

-No [bleep]! -Let’s go!

-Let’s go, Ben! -Yes! Yes!

[Ben] I’ve showed the grittiness,

the heart and the determination to get the job done myself.

I’m trying to be the best, so I’m here to beat the best.

And Michaela and I

came in first on our heat.

I’m feeling pretty good.

-Come on. -[CT] Oh, oh, oh!

We got another one.

-[Michaela] Good job! -[Ben] Good job!

-[Michaela laughs] -[Ben] Good [bleep], baby!

-[bleep] -Let’s go, baby!

[Cara Maria] Here.

[Cedric] That’s right here.

Okay? And then the one.

Now we’re really just [bleep] around.

[Cedric] Bro, I know.

We have to kick it

into high gear. It’s a guys’ day.

I don’t want to go into the sand.

Gabe’s a Hangnail.

Have you seen Gabe next to me?

Bro is like... I’m, like, looking up like, "What?"

That’s-- I’m a grown man.

I’m looking up to another grown man.

I-I don’t want to see him in the sand at all.

-’Cause the line is right there. -We would have

to switch everything at this point.

We just did a major cluster[bleep].

-[bleep] [bleep] -Mm.

So the nine...

So we got one...

[Nany] You would think, after all these years, that I would

know how to do sudoku.

Guys, I don’t.

And I’m good for nothing.

It is truly the blind leading the blind here.

Two. A two.

-For sure. That’s 100% sure. -It has to be.

[Leka] Ah, [bleep].

-What? -[Leka] Can’t go here.

Can the nine go here? No, it can’t.

[Bananas] Okay. We’re 100% sure about this box.

We got to look at the numbers that can’t move.

-[Derrick] Six? -[Dee] Yup, yup.

-[Derrick] Six? -There’s no six in that line.

-[Dee] Yeah, okay. -[Derrick] Okay.

-And then this is one? -[Dee] We’re good now.

-[Dee] We’re good. -Okay. Check, check, check.

-Check, check. -Check, check, check.

[air horn blows]

-Yes, yes. [shushing] -Let’s go, let’s go.

Okay, now let’s do nines. Nine right here.

-So nine here. -Wait, no,

-there’s a nine right here. -[buzzer sounds]

[bleep] No, really?

Yeah. There’s a nine right here.

Oh, you’re [bleep] me.

-[cheering] -Come on, finish it off.

[whooping]

Yeah!

Aah!

Good job, guys.

Yeah, baby!

Seven and then, uh, nine.

-We’re done. We’re done. -Okay.

[Cedric] Check.

Oh, yep.

-Uh, thank you. -I know.

Can’t go up top,

-’cause that’s a one. -Yeah.

[Bananas] Unless that one’s wrong.

[Leka] Oh, my God.

-I’m of the mindset... -Take everything down?

[Bananas] [bleep] Dude, ’cause this is...

We’re just gonna keep on... I mean...

I feel like we’re right there.

But-- Okay, but we’re not, because we just

started all off one box that was wrong.

Now panic sets in.

We have big problems.

I don’t want to do this,

but I just feel like, if we don’t,

it’s gonna be this never-ending sequence of

piling mistakes on top of mistakes.

Oh, my gosh.

-Leka. -Okay.

I don’t agree with wiping this board down,

but it is a guys’ week,

so I’m definitely gonna let Bananas call the shots.

I’m not gonna argue.

So six can’t be there. Six can’t be there. So...

-Has to be there. -[air horn blows]

[bleep]

[bleep]

[Cedric] I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry I didn’t get you

-any points on the board. -No, man, I’m sorry.

[Cedric] It’s okay.

[Bananas] Well, we lost, ’cause we literally ripped

every single [bleep] one of our numbers off the board.

[Leka] Oh, my gosh.

♪ ominous music ♪

Be honest. Who’s amazed at this challenge?

[laughter]

We’re gonna start off with the losers.

And that was...

Bananas and Leka.

Whoo! [laughs] Finally.

[Olivia] Oh.

It’s so sad. So sad.

-[TJ] So... -Wait. What happened?

I was... I was down here.

Unfortunately, Bananas and Leka, I’ll see you in the sand.

[Leroy] I don’t think I’ve ever been on a challenge

where Bananas has come in last place.

One thing that Johnny has going

for himself, going to the elimination,

is the experience.

He’s been in this game for... [scoffs] ...20-plus years.

That’s gonna be a huge help for him.

As for the winning teams of each heat,

that was Ben and Michaela...

[cheering]

...and CT and Adrienne.

[cheering]

The one team safe from elimination

and winning the Amazed challenge--

-Ben and Michaela. -[cheering]

[Ben] I think

that people are starting to maybe view me as an asset,

if not for anything other than the grit

and determination

that I’m approaching these daily challenges with.

I’m not the biggest, I’m not the fastest,

but I’m gonna die trying.

And I think Michaela recognizes that.

As a team, you are safe from elimination.

You get the maximum eight points each,

and you’ll be selecting one team

to send up for nominations against our Hangnail, Gabe.

The jury will then select

who’s gonna be going against

Bananas in the elimination. Got it?

[Gabe] As the Hangnail,

I’m definitely feeling a little bit anxious.

And possibly facing Johnny Bananas--

it’s not a joke.

All right, get out of here, everyone. Good job.

Take care.

[Leo] Johnny Bananas has a big-ass mouth on him.

He knows how to persuade people into being on his team.

But the problem is, he will always dump you off

at the very end, because that’s not your friend.

As long as we can remove those type of people,

then the new threats have a higher chance

of actually winning.

♪ dramatic music ♪

♪ Just close your eyes, enjoy the ride ♪

♪ Let the walls come down ♪

♪ One step at a time ♪

♪ Trust the process... ♪

[Bananas] This is the first time

in my 25 seasons

that I have done

so poorly in a challenge that I’m sent

directly into elimination.

There is, you know, only two people

on Earth that are impossible to defeat,

and that is Father Time and Johnny Bananas.

[Aneesa] You’re my prom date.

♪ Let the walls come... ♪

Hey!

♪ Let the walls come down ♪

-Hey! -[Adrienne] Oh, my God!

Oh, yeah.

Karma can be a bitch.

-Oh, my... -Bro, growing up in sports,

right? If you know someone’s that good,

you’ve never once heard them say it ever.

I am The Challenge, all right? Just so you know.

Bro. That just...

As a grown man, that made me get the ick.

How ironic that when you call yourself

the messiah, you’re guaranteed going into the sand.

I don’t really see this ending well

for Bananas.

I think that he’s gonna try to piss me off

and try to get them to pick him.

Oh.

[Theo] Johnny Bananas-- he’s been performing really well.

So I was quite surprised to see him lose.

If any of these boys want to make a name

for themselves,

it’s a good idea, in their best interest

to get rid of Bananas.

Like, he’s got to go.

Because you’ve spoken about, you know, the-the...

how it’s kind of playing the obvious route

-isn’t best for your game. -Yeah.

And I need people to actually move with strategy.

I don’t... I don’t see putting a rookie male.

I don’t care what side of the house he’s on.

That’s not gonna do anything.

The only option that could sway people

is a vet male.

[Michaela] Unfortunately,

a lot of these new players play

with their heart, not their head.

Ben definitely has a lot

to learn about navigating

a game like this.

Yeah.

...the reality of whether they are willing

to vote for someone else or not.

[Ben] Obviously, Michaela’s the veteran.

She has experience

in The Challenge,

she has the experience in Survivor,

and playing people is something she’s quite good at.

I thought that her and I were very tight coming into

being partners and winning this challenge,

but as the night goes on, I’m starting to think

maybe keeping my cards closer to my chest is the best way

of, uh, dealing with Michaela.

[laughter]

[Aviv] I will tell you,

Theo and Olivia are definitely nervous about Theo,

’cause I think she knows Michaela would throw Theo in.

It’s not bad that there’s some discomfort there.

What’s up, man?

You have any idea who Michaela’s gonna...?

[Aviv] We don’t know.

[Aviv] Johnny is the only person

in this house who I know

has my back 100%, and I have his.

So, this sucks.

But we haven’t seen Gabe perform.

So, unless this becomes a physical elimination,

Gabe may be a good option for Johnny.

[Derrick] Tell you what, I don’t know if there’s anybody

that’s slayed more giants than this guy.

[Bananas] There is one person.

-You, [bleep]. You, [bleep]. -[laughter]

He was like, "Cedric’s, probably the only one."

-Yeah. -Appreciate you.

Thank you for not being a hater, Benjamin.

-No. Come on. -You know, there’s a whole lot

of haters in the world.

-[laughs] -You know what I’m saying?

-Appreciate you. -I’m a lover, baby.

I’m a lover.

I’m curious, like,

in terms of the... the new threats,

are y’all 100% sold on, "Let’s just throw Gabe in"?

...’cause he pissed off a lot of the vets

with his [bleep]-talking on Nia.

So if there’s another option,

I am interested in figuring out what that could be.

[Cedric] Information warfare is

way more devastating than even winning a daily.

I give somebody a name,

it’s gonna spread like wildfire.

God forbid that it gets out.

They’d be like, "Cedric, you said my name.

I’m saying yours."

Nobody’s looking at me right now, okay?

Everybody loves me, I would like to think.

You know, they’re all like, "Cedric’s so awesome.

He’s so cute. He’s handsome. I really want to marry him."

[sighs]

[Michaela] If the game stays the same,

and you leave somebody that everyone hates,

you always have an option.

-Yeah. -No one thinks about that.

[Michaela] I think Gabe’s quest for honor

through sacrificing himself to elimination

is just foolish. Under no circumstances

do you try to win favor by putting yourself in danger.

It’s also obvious how unconnected he really is.

Whatever. It just is what it is.

♪ dramatic music ♪

You know the numbers.

And we can start from our rookie side, and you can tell us,

-on your vet side... -Vet side. Yeah.

...who’s working with

-these same five people. -Yeah. Okay.

...we have Adrienne, we have Taylor,

we have Leo, we have Jake

that will sway for...

Gabe, for sure.

So that’s five people.

So Leo talked all that stuff at the deliberation.

Every single week, it’s a rookie’s name thrown in.

Eventually, we’re gonna lose, and lose and lose,

to the point where it’s gonna be a land sweep

of the vets over the rooks.

This is just letting me know

that many of the people playing this game

either lack brain cells or just choose not to use them.

[Gabe] It’s gonna be a great competition regardless.

Um, I know it’s a hard position for you guys to be in, as well.

[Michaela] I have to decide if I can still make a move,

or else this is an absolute waste of power.

I don’t know what to do.

♪ upbeat music ♪

[Bananas] Basically, everyone

that wants me out of this game turned it up

to a million last night,

including you.

[Dee] I was having fun dancing. [laughs]

Dancing on my grave. That’s what it felt like.

[Dee chuckles]

[Dee] I’m working,

obviously, with Johnny, Aviv,

Nany, Leroy, Leks, Yeremi, Sydney.

And if Johnny leaves,

that leaves Olivia in a power position.

So, I’m a little bit worried about that.

It’s just a constant shift in power and, like,

swinging of the pendulum.

And right now, it has rapidly shifted

away from my direction.

I feel like people who may have been, like, loosely affiliated,

or people who were kind of on the fence,

it seemed like that contingency was

kissing the ring last night. That’s the way it...

I’m just saying, that’s the way it appeared to me,

because people who don’t hang out a lot

or haven’t hung out a lot, were just up everyone’s ass,

because that’s where they see the power dynamic,

-right now, shifting. -[Aviv] Right. The problem is

they don’t understand it’s, like, such short-term...

-[Bananas] I know. -[Dee] Mm-hmm.

[Aviv] Such a short-term mentality.

[Bananas] I know.

You know what they say. Sometimes

the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.

[demonic laughter]

♪ dramatic music ♪

[Michaela] What’s new? What’s on your mind?

[Ben] I was just curious where your head was at,

after last night, with that.

It doesn’t make sense for me to pull the trigger

’cause I’m not competing with the men. So, um...

It’s better for the people that are gonna directly benefit

from something to do it themselves.

[Ben] So here’s what I don’t understand.

Michaela at the club is saying, "Oh, we want

to take a big swing."

And now, she’s saying,

"Actually, it’s your decision."

I guess my headspace, then, is, like,

whatever would make the littlest waves possible.

I don’t have any thoughts about it.

Okay.

[Michaela] I decide to let Ben take the lead,

simply because the vote is already decided.

It does not matter what we do or who we select,

the house is going to vote Gabe in.

So I want my hands clean.

♪ percussive music ♪

[Theo] You know, this is

probably the easiest nomination

we’re ever gonna have.

Everyone’s kind of said Gabe from the beginning.

I don’t think anyone wants to stand out

and fight against that.

But Michaela and Ben, the top of the food chain today,

and what they’re gonna do with that power,

uh, we’re not quite sure.

So I have no idea

who they are gonna put in against Gabe.

[TJ] All right, another day,

another nomination.

If you aren’t the winners,

or the losers or the Hangnail,

then you’re part of the jury.

Winners, congratulations.

Absolutely savage.

-[whoops] -Loved it.

Ben and Michaela, I need you to select one team

to be put up for nomination against Gabe to see

who’s gonna take on Bananas in the Arena.

[Ben] So, TJ, I think

that there is a lot of internal temperature

towards one rookie who shot himself,

not only in the foot, but emptied the magazine

into his entire leg

-over the last week or so. -[laughter]

And we are in alignment

with that, thinking that Johnny and Gabe

is sort of the, uh, appropriate matchup, which led

to our logic, in that our nomination

is someone that we viewed as very safe

and secure within this house.

And so, uh, we’re gonna pick...

...Derek Chavez and Izzy.

-Bitch. -[TJ] Okay, so Derek

-and Izzy. -Smile.

[Ben] I think that nominating

Derek Chavez to go against Gabe

is something that shouldn’t come back and impact me

in any way, shape or form.

I explained to him before the nomination

the reasoning for the pick.

The way that I’ve been thinking of it is, again...

Is that gonna be a thing, though?

Everybody’s gonna follow through with it being Gabe?

[Michaela] Derek Chavez, he’s truly

the most protected man in the house.

There’s an army of silly women who are not gonna vote him in.

We could nominate him every day if we wanted,

and it’s not gonna do anything.

[TJ] Jury,

it’s time to select one man.

It’s gonna be either Gabe or Derek facing Bananas

in the Arena.

CT and Adrienne.

I mean, the consensus of the house was whoever lost

was gonna go up against Gabe.

Olivia, you sure you want to do this?

-Shut the [bleep] up. -[laughter]

I mean, our vote’s gonna be for Gabe.

[laughter]

Okay, so we got one vote for Gabe.

Olivia and Yeremi.

Michaela and Ben nominate Derek and Izzy.

And getting your name out there,

even as a burn vote, is never good.

Me and Olivia’s vote today is gonna be for Gabe.

[Olivia] If people can say your name easily,

good or bad, you should keep your eyes open.

-Gabe. -Gabe.

Our vote is for Gabe.

[Olivia] But everyone seems to be

on board with Gabe.

Everyone wants him to go earn his place back.

-We’re going with Gabe. -Gabe, this one’s for you.

[Olivia] But, also, let’s not forget,

Gabe is a unit,

and I am so happy that he’s going against Johnny,

because Johnny is an amazing competitor.

-Gabe. -Gabe.

I vote for Gabe.

[Olivia] Honestly, the matchup, to me,

seems perfect.

[TJ] All right, it’s unanimous.

It’s gonna be Gabe and Bananas in the Arena.

-I’ll see everyone there. -[Aneesa] All right,

-let’s get out of here. -[cheering, applause]

[laughter]

[Izzy] Hello. So what was the result?

-[Leka] It was Derek? -[Gabe] Wow.

-[laughs] -You’re so bad

at keeping a straight face, bro.

Your poker face is so bad.

Looking at the two people

who have ruffled the most feathers,

it’s me and it’s Johnny Bananas.

So, if I’m gonna take somebody out, might as well take out

the seven-time champ Johnny Bananas

and possibly get back into the good graces

of the people of the house.

[Derek] Just, like, don’t like being the guinea pig for...

Yeah. He feels like you wouldn’t have

-taken it as more personal. -Right.

-[Leka] Yeah. -Just hearing your name

this early...

-Is not comfortable for anybody. -Yeah, you don’t...

♪ intense music ♪

I feel good. I think it, more, made it real.

It’s hard, man. Like...

-[sniffles] -Don’t get upset, bro.

Why you getting upset?

[Gabe] I used to be a WWE Superstar,

a pro football player, but now I’m not.

And now I feel like my confidence is lost.

The thing is, lookit, right?

You’ve come in here, you’ve been yourself.

All you did was make a mistake.

And the best thing you did was apologize to people.

You laid the cards out and told how you felt and sorry.

And then, like I said, you move on.

[Gabe] Sometimes I look for people’s approval

because I don’t really get it in my normal day-to-day life.

What that stems from is

me not being completely confident, again, in myself.

It’s the unknown, you know what I mean?

And that’s-that’s the biggest thing.

Whenever I’m going into a rugby game,

I know for a fact

I can hit hard h-harder, I can hit stronger,

I can run faster.

But it’s the unknown, you know what I mean?

[Jake] If Gabe goes into elimination

and takes out Johnny Bananas,

this is gonna be massive for the rookies.

It’s your time to shine tonight.

Go in that sandpit and just give it everything.

-Yeah. -[exhales]

Your confidence should be up there.

-Yeah. Yeah. -But it’s true, though.

And, I mean, we became friends in here.

-Mm-hmm. -That was big for me, so...

-Of course. -Uh...

Chats every day. You farting.

[both laugh]

Farting every day, I’m farting more.

Jesus.

[Aviv] All right, bud.

I got something for you for good luck, but...

[laughs] ...here’s the thing: I’m gonna need it back.

-[Bananas] Oh, the... -[laughs]

The red-light district in Amsterdam,

when we went to the, uh, Banana Bar.

Waiting is the hardest part.

It’s like going up a roller coaster.

It’s that ticking up that is the most nerve-racking,

and going into an elimination is the same way.

Kick butt.

-That’s the plan. -I’ll be cheering for you.

Kick butt or die trying.

You know, I’ve just been trying to contain that and, um,

just get mentally prepared to do something that I’ve done...

...over 30 times, at this point.

♪ dramatic music ♪

♪ ominous music ♪

[Cara Maria] Ooh!

[Ben] Walking into tonight’s elimination,

I see a big,

wooden, spiked wall in the center...

-[Cara Maria echoes] Uh-oh. -...ropes coming out

either side.

I’m favoring Gabe.

This is in his wheelhouse, and I think Johnny’s

gonna be up against the wall here.

[Yeremi] A wall and a rope?

[Aviv] Mm.

-[TJ] How you feeling? -[CT] Good!

-Let’s go! -[cheering]

-[applause, whooping] -[TJ] Michaela and Ben

absolutely smashed it at the challenge. Well done.

-[cheering] -[TJ] Our winners had to

select one team to put up for judgement by the jury.

They selected Derek and Izzy.

Derek, it was a very, very close vote...

-[laughter] -Oh, shut your ass up.

[TJ] ...but the jury has spoken, and they said

Gabe is playing tonight against Bananas.

So, Bananas and Leka and Gabe, come on out.

♪ dramatic music ♪

Bananas, Leka, what happened?

[bleep] the bed, TJ. It’s, uh...

the most simple explanation.

We know why you’re down here, Gabe.

You were the Hangnail, you got voted in.

It is what it is.

Tonight, you are playing Hold ’Em Back.

As you can see, there’s a giant curved wall

right here in the middle of the Arena,

with three ropes going through it.

On one side of the wall are three tokens

with three goals and lanes for each.

On the other side of the wall is the rest of those ropes.

This is how it’s gonna work.

Now you’re gonna have two players:

offensive and defensive.

The offensive player is gonna grab that rope,

hook it to their harness

and race their token to the goal

as fast as they can.

The defensive player is gonna try

to prevent them from doing that.

Once you score all three tokens,

your time will be stopped, and then we’ll switch.

Whoever gets it done the fastest

will win tonight’s elimination and stay in the game.

Loser goes home.

Good luck, gentlemen. Let’s do this.

[cheering, applause]

[Bananas] I’m basically gonna be trying

to hold back a freight train,

so this is definitely gonna have to come down, on my part,

to speed and to strategy.

It’s gonna be like, uh, David versus Goliath.

[hawk screeches]

My main motivation for coming back right now

is to see the looks

on every one of their faces

when they have to welcome me back

into the house so I can burn the place down.

Buckle up.

[Gabe] I think a lot of times, whenever you see somebody

my size, you don’t really think

that I have the endurance.

I’m gonna be running from rope to rope to rope,

basically just switching it up on him.

I definitely care to stay in this game,

prove to all my competitors that I’m not

one to play with.

♪♪

[Derek] Bananas is in the best shape

that he’s been in in a long time.

This guy came to win.

The fact that we could get him into an elimination

this early and possibly send him home,

it’s like icing on the cake.

Like, I’m ready to see this show.

[TJ] All right, guys, you ready?

-Go! -[air horn blows]

[Bananas panting]

[Leroy] We all have to be completely silent.

We can’t say anything

because we don’t want to give Gabe the edge

to let him know how well Johnny is doing or vice versa.

If Bananas was to go home tonight, it would suck.

Bananas is the only guy

in the house that I’m aligned to.

[Gabe grunts]

[panting]

[Bananas] If I can make a combination of

scoring my tokens in a relatively short amount of time,

but also cause him

a lot of physical exertion

by continuing to pull me back, when we switch rounds,

he will have exerted a lot of his energy and he won’t be

as hard to hold back.

[Dee] Bananas is having a lot of trouble.

Any time he attaches to a rope, Gabe is on him,

and honestly, it’s starting to worry me a little bit.

I want to see him back, I want to spend more time with him.

He’s a great kisser, and it honestly

keeps my mind out of the game.

♪

[Gabe] Okay, Bananas,

you got, you got some strength,

so it’s gonna be a fight.

[both grunting]

I’m a little bit nervous, because

there’s a strategy involved, and Johnny knows strategy.

♪ percussive music ♪

[Bananas grunts]

[panting]

[Bananas] Being on the other end of this rope is

an absolute nightmare.

[panting]

[Dee] Johnny might have to ice his knees

after this, ’cause Gabe is really manhandling him.

[panting]

[Bananas] I feel like I’m trying to pull a truck.

But I still got it,

and I’m just showing the kids who Bananas really is.

-[air horn blows] -[applause, whooping]

[Aviv] Bananas finally deposits his

three tokens. I have a sigh of relief.

All right, gentlemen, you ready?

[Leka] But now, I hope he still has some fuel in the tank,

because defense

wins games.

-Go! -[air horn blows]

[grunting]

All right, gentlemen, you ready? Go!

♪ dramatic choral music ♪

[Theo] Johnny is one of the best to ever play this game.

Like, the rookies want a chance to shine in this game?

Having Johnny here would make it very hard to do so.

But Gabe, he’s not just big, you know,

he’s pretty athletic and nimble as well.

♪♪

[Yeremi] Oh, my God.

Gabe’s speed and power.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen somebody of his stature

move so fast.

♪ Run, Ricky, run, run, run ♪

♪ Jump, jump, come, here they come ♪

♪ Run, run, run, run... ♪

[Yeremi] Right when we see that,

we know this whole game has changed.

♪ Come here they come, run, run, run, run... ♪

[Bananas] Uh, apparently, Gabe...

...didn’t really lose any power.

I’m afraid to grab the rope.

I feel like my arms are gonna get ripped off.

♪ Don’t compare me to no other other ... ♪

♪ In the city, boy, they say they ... with you ♪

♪ Heebie-jeebie, that’s a bit disgusting ♪

♪ But I get it, I’m full of tension, full of spirit ♪

♪ But full of ... standing next to Lil Tay ♪

♪ When that bullet hit him, ... I miss him... ♪

[Gabe] I’m about to score that last one,

and then, boom, he’s got me.

So I just got to take a step back and evaluate.

[echoes] Breathe.

It’s time to become

the big, bad grizzly bear.

♪ Intimate, infinite rhymes, give me the baton ♪

♪ A ticking, ticking time bomb ♪

♪ Takin’ the finish line, look alive, look in my eyes ♪

♪ Look at you ... tryin’ and ya dumb, dumb, better run, run ♪

♪ ’Cause we fryin’ ’em, Eastside, where ya from ♪

♪ From, from wildin’, so be silent ♪

♪ Before my ... creep silent, with street knowledge ♪

♪ Complete nonsense, delete comments ♪

♪ Online, all lies, we see violence ♪

♪ Every day in my eyes, they killing my ... die ♪

♪ Die, pull up with the fye, get ’em, it’s eye for an eye ♪

♪ If we got to ride, ride for the ride of ya life ♪

♪ Diabolical minds, I don’t mind it... ♪

[Bananas] I mean, I’m trying-- I actually try

and, like, pull the rope sideways,

so if the rope goes through at an angle,

at least there’ll be a little bit of resistance

based on the side of the wall.

And I’m just, you know, hoping that it works.

[CT] It comes down to the last rope,

Bananas is giving everything he’s got.

But at this point, Gabe’s just doing

that backpack walk.

[grunting rhythmically]

That walk, it just, it looks familiar.

It’s like déjà vu. You don’t quite remember

when and where, but...

[grunting]

-[air horn blows] -[Gabe] Let’s go!

Put me back in the house!

Put me back in the house! Let’s go!

-[applause] -[panting]

That’s how new threats do it, baby!

-[cheering] -Yes, Gabe!

[Bananas] The most frustrating thing is,

when you put in all the effort you got,

and even on your best day, it’s not enough.

The best I could do was slow him down.

Like, there was no stopping the bleeding.

It was just, uh, making death

take longer than it otherwise would have.

-[applause] -[Aneesa] Good job, Gabe!

-Keep your head up, Johnny!

-[cheering] -Good fight, good fight!

[Gabe] I think this definitely, uh,

put a little fear in people’s hearts.

This is just me being me.

Let’s change the script, let’s switch this up.

[Bananas] If I could predict the future,

these new threats are about to take over

this game and not look back.

Wow. If you got to be in the sand,

that is exactly how you do it.

Well done to you, Gabe.

-[applause] -Good job, man.

Go ahead and rejoin the group.

Appreciate it.

I got you.

-I got you. -All right?

Good job, Gabe.

[TJ] Well, Bananas,

you’re always one of the guys to deal with.

Unfortunately, tonight, you just ran into a brick wall, man.

I know we’re gonna see you again here,

so hold your head high, man, take care of yourself.

Appreciate it.

[cheering, applause]

[Dee] I’m sad that Bananas is leaving,

but it opens the floodgate

for my game, because everyone on Olivia’s side,

they don’t have someone that they’re going to target,

now that he’s gone.

So now I can really see where people stand.

[TJ] Selection time.

We are gonna go in the order in which you finished

the challenge.

So we’re gonna start it off with Ben and Michaela.

[whoops]

♪ intense music ♪

Olivia, come over here.

Mr. Jake.

Uh, lots of girls here.

Yeah, I’ll take her. She’s confident.

She knows what she wants. I’m-a go with Sydney.

[TJ] All right.

-Adrienne. -It’s gonna be Mr. Turbo.

[whooping, applause]

I’m going with Ashley.

[cheering, applause]

-I’m choosing America. -[cheering]

I’m gonna go with big man Theo.

[cheering, applause]

Aviv.

[cheering]

-Cedric. -Oh, my sugar mama!

[laughter]

-Dee. -[TJ] All right.

I think it’s time to do this Team Dizzy.

-[Derrick] Yeah! -[whooping]

I’m-a go with Cara.

-Really? Cool. -[cheering]

Hi.

It’s time for her to be seen, so, Nany.

-Thank you, honey. -[applause]

Let’s do this.

♪ intriguing music ♪

Now what?

[TJ] All right, for the first time,

Gabe and Leka, new threats

as a team.

[contestants oohing]

[Cara Maria] They’re already ready.

They’re ready.

[Leka] Gabe and I being paired

puts an even bigger target on our back.

Hopefully, his mistakes don’t fall on me,

but also, it changes the game.

Being a rookie-rookie pair is a vulnerable spot to be in

in a game full of vets.

[TJ] All right, I’ll see you all at the next challenge.

Get some rest. You are gonna need it.

All right? Get out of here.

-[Leroy] Let’s go. -[Leo] I think everybody sees

the game for what it really is:

rookies versus the vets.

It’s like we’re going to war with half the house,

so the vets should be [bleep] themselves,

considering the rookies have higher numbers,

and we’ve just been outperforming them.

I’m hoping to see the vets panic.

Like, I’m really gonna send every single one of them

to their house, and they’re gonna have to watch

the end of the show from their couch.

♪ propulsive music ♪

There’s nothing I could have done differently,

other than come in and weigh

150 more pounds. That’s about it.

Physics, man. Big object always wins, so

there was no way I was stopping that guy.

Very impressed with the new threats.

Strength, endurance, skill.

It is going to be impossible to beat them

after we’ve seen what they’ve, uh, brought to the table.

That’s how new threats do it, baby!

[Bananas] Me being

taken out of the equation--

let’s face it: Nany,

Leroy, Aviv, Dee are gonna have

a pretty tough time now.

You win some, you lose some.

You live to fight another day.

Live fast, die young,

leave a good-looking corpse.

♪♪

[Michaela] Now that Johnny is out,

a lot of the other vets don’t know what to do.

-You want to be friends again? -[laughter]

[TJ] Your partner had to go home,

so you are alone

in a game full of teams.

[exhales]

It’s really hard to tell where the lines are drawn.

[TJ] Looks like it’s all tied up.

Now, you know I don’t like ties.

If you have a stalemate, that could also cause you to go in.

Uh...

♪ dramatic music ♪

♪ atmospheric music ♪