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It begins in the Czeck Republic, with
Tyler in the confessional, saying that when they 1st arrived, they were all super-tired, having been on a plane for 30 hours, but "the challenge is starting RIGHT NOW."
Brad says they'll be running an unknown distance, to an unknown place.
Cut to everyone running in the dark, in what looks very cold, in a race to their destination.
Johnny Bananas says it sucks, he feels like he can't breathe and he's gasping for air.
Paula says it's awful and it sucks and it's in the dark.
The cast finally arrives at their destination, which is called The Gulag, where they are welcomed by show host, TJ Lavin. TJ announces that the 3 people who finished last in the race, (
Emily,
Shauvon and
Camila) will be the Team Captains for the 3 teams (
Blue,
Grey and
Red), who get to pick from the remaining cast members who they want to be on their team.
Camilia (captain of the
Red Team), who states that she's here to win, loves meeting new people and is not worried what anyone here thinks of her, gets 1st pick and goes with
Dunbar, followed by
Tori, Brad, Paula, Tyler, Melinda, Chet, Mandi and Brandon.
Shauvon (captain of the Grey Team), who looks like she's lost a few pounds since
The Ruins, goes next and picks
Vinnie, followed by
Laurel,
Abram, Sarah, Dan, Aiyya, Luke, Cara and JD.
Emily (captain of the
Blue Team) gets 3rd pick, chooses
Johnny 1st, followed by
Jen,
Derek K, Emily, Ty, Teresa, Derek, Katie and
Eric.
TJ explains that the 3 teams will be competing against each other, and the team that wins each challenge will recieve $20,000 in their bank account, which, over the first 9 challenges will equal $180,000. The only way to get paid is to make it to the end of the game, obviously. Then, for the final challenge, the remaining players on each team will be competing for the grand prize of $120,000. Meaning the total being given away is $300,000.
Upon completing each mission, everyone on the winning team is safe from elimination, but the losing teams are both up for elimination, where 1 guy and 1 girl from each team must be nominated to go up against each other in The Gulag. Loser goes home, obviously.
In the Confessionals:
Dunbar says it's his 4th challenge and he's flattered that he's the 1st person picked.
Laurel recalls how the girls were mean to her on the last challenge, and predicts they will still be threatened by her.
Tori & Brad announce they got married. Brad shows off his ring, Tori says she can't picture life without him.
Sarah recalls being on a team with Shauvon before, and crossed her fingers, hoping Shauvon would not pick her this time, but she did.
Ty says one of the best things about being here is Emily.
Emily states she loves Ty but there will be no more hooking up with him.
Melinda says she and Danny are going through a divorce.
Derek says he thinks he is going to be underestimated because he's gay, new and a lot smaller than most of the guys.
Katie (who may not be much of a competitor, but she looks pretty damn good for 30-year-old chain-smoker, she hasn't aged at all) says she's studying Criminal Law and wants to be a behavioral profiler, because being on these challenges has made her good at predicating what people are going to do, so she might as well get paid for it.
Eric (whose face looks super-red) says he's lost about 30 pounds and doesn't feel like he has anything to prove to anyone.
The cast arrives at the house, which is a gorgeous castle. The cast marvels at it.
Abram, who grew his hair out, reveals that he's just published his first children's book, and that he's single and enjoying it.
Tyler says, "I've always considered myself a queen of some sort, and I finally have a palace to live in." hahah. WHATEVER Tyler.
Jen reveals that it's her 5th challenge, she has yet to win one, and she's here for the money. (well duh, thanks for sharing Jen).
Paula jokingly confirms that this is her 7th challenge, and goes on to explain that losing 6 times "really changes your priorities. It's not all about being the strongest person, the most loyal, the most honest,. It's about being the most soulless, caniving, cutthroat person that you can be. I will do whatever it takes, to whomever it takes, to get to the final and win the big prize."
Johnny and
Emily are briefly shown having a discussion about their team.
Johnny tells her they have a lot of people to get rid of, and that's a good thing.
In the confessional,
Johnny says he thinks his team looks to him as a leader, which is a position he thrives on.
Dan strips down to his birthday suit in the middle of the big yard and says that since he doesn't drink anymore (he's in recovery) he feels a need to do something to be in a festive mood, and so he runs around the yard, naked.
Meanwhile, everyone is partying, drinking, laughing and having a good time.
Katie says that being loud and mouthy is just who she is, and although she doesn't see herself getting into it with anyone on the challenge, the game just started.
Meanwhile, according to
Teresa, "The Blue Team is stacked. We have the experience, we have the loudmouths, we have the athletes. We have an A-Squad."
Dunbar is also confident in his team and says they are "hands down, the best."
Meanwhile,
Cara-Marie and
Abram hit it off and start flirting...by painting and scratching each other.
Abram says he likes
Cara-Marie.
Cara-Marie says, "It's kind of fun to play with
Abram because he is just as screwed up as I am, maybe worse. The fact that he's so strange really intrigues me."
GOT IT - the 2 weirdos have found each other, it's a match made in heaven. haha. I actually don't think
Cara-Marie is all that weird, personality-wise. Sexually, she may be into some strange shit, like BDSM and all that, but she's not strange in the way she communicates and interacts with people.
Abram definitely is, though. In fact, I'd almost say the 2 are opposites. On paper,
Abram looks normal, he dresses normal, cuts his hair normal, he looks VERY mainstream, but his personality is very eccentric. Whereas
Cara-Marie's style is is anything BUT mainstream, it's very goth and totally stands out, but her personality is not weird at all. Despite his eccentricities, however,
Abram seems like a nice person, and a natural leader, which is probably why women find him attractive. He's one of my favorites, actually.
Meanwhile,
Laurel and
Shauvon get in a drunken tiff when Laurel wants to wrestle and
Shauvon declines. The two start talking shit, a few Fuck-you's are exchanged. 10 minutes later, neither can really remember what happened or why it started and go to bed.
JD notes that there are definitely a lot of strong personalities on his team, which could lead to a lot of problems.
The next day, the cast all arrives in Progue for their first mission of the Challange, which is called Gas Problems. Basically, the 3 teams will race to complete a puzzle, but in order to find the layout to do the puzzle correctly, they have to get the code to unlock the lock-box which has the map in it. In order to get that code, they have to go into a tear-gas chamber, which is hard because it messes with your breathing and your eyes.
Chaos ensues on both the
Red Team and the
Blue Team, as people sturggle to breathe, struggle with the lock-boxes and struggle to listen to each other, but
Abram steps up for the
Grey Team and leads them to victory and ensuring their safety from the next elimination.
(These missions look really fun, by the way, I'd LOVE to do something like this for $$$).
Back at the house, the
Grey Team is exempt from elimination and will be served a lovely dinner, while the
Blue Team and
Red Team sit around the living room, deliberating on who to vote into The Gulag to be possibly eliminated.
TJ announces a surprise twist - the votes will be private. Each person will go down to the basement by themselves and vote 1 girl and 1 guy to The Gulag.
Production aired some of the votes, and spared others.
Chet votes for
Brandon and
Camila.
Camila votes for
Brandon and
Mandi.
Brandon votes for
Chet.
Melinda votes for
Dunbar.
Derek (Cancun) votes for
Emily and
Ty.
Emilee votes for Katie and Ty.
Eric votes for Derek (Cancun)
Katie votes for Emily (Cancun) and Derek (Cancun)
After everyone's done voting, TJ announces that the people with the most votes are
Emilee (Cancun) and
Derek (Cancun) from the
Blue Team,
Camila and
Brandon from the
Red Team.
Camila says it's not a surprise to her, because they don't know her, she doesn't know them and this is a game.
Jen says rookies always get tossed in first.
Emilee says, "I think people will underestimate me, but at the end of the day, that's good for me and bad for them." yeah, ok, enough with puffing your chest out. Don't tell us what you got, SHOW US.
Brandon says he feels like a Rookie because he has to go in and prove himself, which is fine with him.
Derek says he's just trying to stay calm and not stress out about this. He talks to
JD about it, who says, "It is what it is, you know? Come back and be stronger."
"Hopefully and NOT go back again!"
Derek says with a laugh. The two lift their cups of wine and toast. Cheers.
The rest of the house starts partying.
Derek K says that after they find out whose going into The Gulag, the majority are relieved because they're safe, and wanna relax and have some fun while they still can.
Johnny proposes a toast, "We're all in this for the same thing: to have fun, to make money and to make love!" Everyone cheers.
Everyone is having a ball, drinking, partying, laughing and cheering, when all of a sudden, we hear
Camila scream "I didn't find the pants! Like why the fuck do I need to steal extra-large sweatpants?"
"We think you're a goddamned klepto!"
Teresa shot back. She has 2 other girls backing her,
Katie and 1 other girl, who are laughing.
I like Katie, but she seems to instigate drama, and thrive on it, so long as you don't involve her.
Camila handles herself well, denying the accusations that she stole
Jen's hat and Ty's sweatpants.
Teresa confesses they're doing this on purpose. "I wanna get
Camila a little nervous," she admits, "it's what you do in a challenge. You're not here to make friends." Yeah, ok
Teresa. Learn your place, honey, this is your SECOND challenge, you might as well be a rookie as far as I'm concerned. You're certainly waaaayyy too new to be calling the shots and declaring "what you DO on a challenge." You don't have a clue.
I personally think
Teresa just wants camera time. On her 1st challenge (Fresh Meat 2) she tries to create a love-triangle between Wes and Kenny. Now, she tries to call out
Camila for something she didn't do, in a screaming match, and gets in her face, right as the cameras come. Sooo transparent.
Camila eventually flips them off and goes into her room and starts crying.
Tori comforts her by reassuring her that they're doing this on purpose because she's new, and it's nothing to worry about. "They look stupid, you don't,"
Tori promises.
"It's kind of like a mean-sorority initiation," says
Melinda. "Hopefully, she shows the
Red Team exactly what she's made of."
I think
Tori just really likes
Camila for picking her and
Brad on the same team. hahah. just kidding. I do like Tori, though, she's classy, unlike a lot of the girls on this show.
The next day is Gulag Day and the guys (
Derek vs.
Brandon) are up 1st.
"I'm ampted up and ready to go," says
Derek. "This is my 1st challenge, unfortunately, I have to be the 1st person to go into the 1st Gulag, so no one knows what's gonna be going on but I have my team backing me up 100%..."
"I feel pretty confident, it looks like it's gonna be physical," says
Brandon. "But, then again, I can't underestimate my opponent. Gay, straight, black, white, blue, green, I don't care. My only objective is that he has something that I need and I need to get it from him, get it from him fast and get back on that bus, back to the house."
It's a good battle, but Derek eventually tires out and
Brandon wins, eliminating
Derek (Cancun).
For the female Gulag,
Camila wins, much to Teresa's disappointment, sending
Emily home.