John and Nakeisha return, triumphant, from their elimination challenge on this week’s Kicking & Screaming.
“This is the first time where the power has been so important in this game,” John says.
They choose Ben and Juliana to send to the next elimination challenge.
Host Hannah Simone visits the campsite to introduce the new prize challenge.
The winners could walk away with over $10,000 in cash.
They have to dig up blow darts, and then cross the river in one of two canoes.
They’ll use the blow darts to break a target. First team to break both targets wins.
There are only two canoes, so it’s first come, first serve to get across the river.
Jason and Elaine, and Terry and Natalie get to the boats first.
“It isn’t even fair, we didn’t even get a chance,” Nakeisha is the first to start whining.
Jason and Elaine get across first.
John and Nakeisha capsize their boat, and have to wait for the other one.
Terry and Natalie win. Brady and Claire are second.
It ends up being Nakeisha versus Elaine. And Elaine wins, sending Nakeisha and John back to the elimination challenge for the second time in a row.
The winners have to choose a box out of three boxes – they all have money in them – $10,000, $100, or $1.
Terry chooses the box with $1.
Natalie scores the $10,000.
Hannah reminds them they were at each other’s throats a few days ago.
“Chump change. I don’t give a s**t. I make more than that in a couple days,” John says.
“That’s like a million dollars to me,” Nakeisha says.
Terry decides to use butterflies as bait. Catching the butterflies is funny as hell to watch
“Time after time after time… it is not as easy as you think,” Terry says “They’ve evaded better predators than me.”
The competitors must be really bored. They have a Mr. and Miss Universe Pageant to kill time.
Ben and Juliana win. #Foreshadowing
It’s all business before the elimination challenge.
“It’s crazy to think we have a 20% chance right now to win a half a million dollars,” Ben says.
I’ve never seen her this focused,” John says Nakeisha wants to win
“Nakeisha handles things differently,” Brady says. “But she’s competitive. She has a competitive spirit.”
Juliana seems to have given up.
Elaine keeps working everybody from the back end. She thinks Juliana is tired and ready to check out.
“It just brings me one step closer to getting out of the jungle,” Elaine says.
She tells Juliana to keep in touch.
Jason thinks Ben partnering up with Natalie has hurt his team.
“How do you know more about my partner than I do?” Juliana complains to Natalie.
Well, she’s been cuddling with him.
“I dunno. I just want to get home,” Juliana says.
Ben thinks he and Natalie would be the perfect team, with no acknowledgment that he’s been neglecting his actual teammate.
Ben leaves Natalie a sweet note in her journal. As if he knows he’s going home.
“When you smell like we do and still cuddle at night, that’s real bonding,” Ben says.
Ben thinks Juliana considers losing an option. He doesn’t.
“I need to inspire my teammate. Show her it’s within her sights,” Ben says.
Nakeisha is super-focused ahead of the challenge.
“Going into this challenge, I don’t think anyone wants to win more than me,” Nakeisha says.
It’s a balancing game.
The teammates must face each other, balancing on straps over water, and walk their way down to a center mark.
The loser is whoever falls in the water first.
John thinks the fact Nakeisha was a gymnast is going to help them.
But he has a really hard time.
Ben and Juliana get to the mark first.
And then John loses his balance, and he and Nakeisha fall in.
Ben and Juliana win. Ben’s just happy because he’s going to get more stinky cuddles.
John and Nakeisha’s farewell is bittersweet.
“We’ve had kicking and screaming,” John says. “But she’s come a long way.”
“All of these boys all aspire to be like you,” Nakeisha hugs John.
She’s really going to miss him.
Best line of the night
Terry says his wife gave him permission to cuddle to keep warm.
Elaine says that’s until he finds out he was cuddling with a supermodel
Things we’re left wondering
When does the “survival” part of this show come into play? This whole deal isn’t anything more than summer camp for adults.
How did the “hard-core survivalists” feel about participating in this ridiculousness? Rumor has it they thought it was a REAL survival show when they agreed to participate.
Kicking and Screaming airs Thursdays at 9/8c on FOX.