| abstract
| - The day begins bright and early in the High Sierras, when JD gathers the contestants still in the game for a morning chat. There are only four teams left — Purple, Green, Red and Blue — and everyone is eager to find out which players will receive Max and Kristine’s, (of the now departed Orange team) lone pyramid piece. Dakota and Kelsey of Purple are confident that it is theirs, as they’d had an alliance with Orange from day one of the contest. But to Dakota’s surprise, as he reads aloud the note behind, it is revealed that Orange still holds a grudge against Purple for not placing them in the “protected position” when the superteams were formed a few days prior. In a surprising fashion not expected by anyone, Orange decides to leave their piece to Cameron and Aeriel of the Red team! Red now has two pieces, Knowledge and Strength. Blue has five, Purple has three, Green has one. As the contestants come to grips with the latest turn of events, JD lets loose another potential momentum-shifting surprise to the game: the final four teams will create their own game for their Endurance mission, using only a batch of supplies provided to them by JD! With that notification, JD promptly leaves the group brainstorming about their game, but the teams have a hard time reaching a consensus. Everyone seems to think their own idea is the best, especially Dakota, who leaves the group stranded to come up with something without him. Finally, Kelsey and Connor create a game that, although Dakota is quite vocal about not liking, the contestants must stick with because time has run out. The teams finally meet up with JD in the forest clearing to play the game. In a change of pace, Kelsey from Purple explains the rules of the game to JD! Each team must use a pan held up by sticks to catch a ball while moving across an obstacle course. Once the obstacle course is cleared, the teams must grab a flag and run back across the course to plant it in the area from where they began. The first team to get all five of their balls into the can and carry their flag back to the starting point wins. Not only are the Samadhi and another pyramid piece (Ingenuity) on the line in this afternoon’s mission, but JD has one more twist to throw into the mix before they begin: the team that comes in last in this mission will automatically go to Temple the next day! The pressure is on big time, and JD begins the game. Purple is first to get a ball in, then Blue. Blue displays excellent teamwork, communicating at every step. Then, suddenly, Cealey’s ball flies into Blue’s lane and hits Taylor in the elbow. Alex screams in protest, proclaiming, “What the heck?” Blue perseveres and takes the lead. At one point it seems like Purple is close to catching up, but Blue forges ahead. Taylor and Connor ultimately win the game. Taylor does a celebratory dance, while the other teams look on in frustration. Blue has beaten the odds again to come out on top, while Red, the last-place finisher, is guaranteed a trip to Temple unless they win the next Temple mission. After the game, Cealey, still infuriated, tells Taylor that she hit their ball, with little response. Back at camp, Taylor says she wants to give the Samadhi to Green, because of Cealey. Connor, however, believes the best strategy is to target Purple, despite his partner’s grudge. Connor tells Kelsey that Purple is most likely getting the Samadhi that evening. Meanwhile, Cealey and Alex continue to lament over the fact that Taylor hit their ball during the mission. Cealey speculates that Taylor hit their ball on purpose, because she didn’t apologize for doing it. Later on, in a last-ditch attempt to save her team from the Samadhi, Kelsey reveals to Taylor that Cealey is telling the other contestants that Taylor cheated during the mission! Taylor starts to cry and wonders why everyone hates her. Kelsey comforts her and then suggests that she could get back at Cealey by giving Green the Samadhi. Kelsey thinks Purple doesn’t deserve it, since she always comforts Taylor. Meanwhile, Cealey sees Taylor and Kelsey talking and heads off to confront Kelsey about her new “friendship.” Later, Taylor tells Connor she is having second thoughts about giving the Samadhi to Purple. She pleads with Connor to give it to another team, because Kelsey is the only player left in the game who is still nice to her. Connor begs Taylor to be smart and to not trust Purple, since they have plotted to get Blue out of the game twice. He is adamant that they must handicap Purple, since they are the strongest team. At the same time, down below at the treehouses, Cealey is lambasting Kelsey about spending so much time with Taylor. Kelsey counters that she has only been doing that because Cealey spends all her time with Dakota now. They realize it was a misunderstanding, but then Kelsey tells Cealey that Taylor was crying earlier when she heard Cealey accusing her of cheating. Cealey is appalled and starts yelling loudly about how much Taylor cries. Ariel runs down to tell them that Taylor is now crying because she hears them talking! Cealey begins to yell even louder, and laughs at how much Taylor cries. Kelsey confides in the other girls that the only reason she is being nice to Taylor is because they have six pieces. Although envious at first, Aeriel and Cealey concede, and congratulate Kelsey on her brilliant strategy. The teams head off to the ridge to talk to JD. Will Connor’s reasoning prevail? Will Taylor agree to give the Samadhi to Purple and thus cripple the strongest team? JD asks Red if they are worried about their automatic Temple position. Cameron says they will try hard tomorrow to change their fate. JD then notices that Taylor looks unhappy. After some prodding, she admits that she is upset that Cealey called her a cheater. JD turns to Cealey, who replies that she doesn’t necessarily think Taylor cheated, but that she seemed happy to have hit Green’s ball. JD wonders why the two girls can’t get along. Cealey responds that some friendships just weren’t meant to be. JD says he doesn’t agree with that, and reminds the players that in life they’re not always going to be around people they like, but that they must make an effort to get along. He urges the two girls to try to get to know each other and move beyond the game. Finally, JD asks Blue for their decision about which team they’re giving the Samadhi to. Blue announces that they will give the Samadhi to Purple. JD breaks open the Samadhi — inside is a 5-foot-long rope. He tells Dakota and Kelsey that they will have a 5-foot disadvantage in tomorrow’s Temple mission. JD bids the group goodnight and leaves them to wonder about the events that had transpired during the day and, more importantly, what mission they will be facing next.
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