The competitors arrived back at the compound to start Episode 10 with Sarah Lacina celebrating her elimination win. She has $10,000 in her personal bank account and is eligible to compete in the final.
Competitors knew the final was approaching, so everyone strategized ahead of the daily challenge and next elimination, which would feature the men.
Sarah spoke about the Fab Five alliance ending after she had to eliminate Cashay Proudfoot in the last episode. The other members of the alliance still there included Justine Ndiba, Cayla Platt, and Desi Williams. Still, everyone had different loyalties to worry about and getting to the final.
In another scene, Ben Driebergen was hanging out with Enzo Palumbo, whom he admitted to becoming friends with during a confessional interview. The remaining Survivor men realized that Enzo and David Alexander were outliers who weren’t really with their alliance.
Ben talked to Angela Rummans about wanting to ensure they were in the final together. Angela had solidified an alliance several episodes ago when she and Ben won a daily challenge.
Angela also said in confessional she’s “locked in” with who she wants in the final with her: her Big Brother friend Alyssa, as well as Survivor’s Ben, Tyson Apostol, Domenick Abbate, and Danny McCray.
Competitors battle in Code Crossing for daily challenge
Host TJ Lavin greeted the competitors at the site of their next daily challenge called Code Crossing. It involved competitors going head-to-head in heats as they were harnessed and hanging on the side of a large, moving truck.
The competitors had to place pegs into holes on the side of the truck to create a bridge so they could move from the back to the front. Then, they had to climb on top of the truck and pull a cord to complete the task.
Whoever completed the challenge fastest would win the daily event, while whoever did it the slowest would lose. If no competitors were able to complete the task, the winner was the one who made it the farthest on the side of the truck before time expired. The loser was whoever made it the least distance across.
Each competitor got to have six pegs placed in holes on the side of the truck before they began the event. The first two competitors were Tyson and David, who had no idea where to place their pegs.
In his confessional, Tyson admitted the game was “impossible,” and he didn’t have a place for his feet to go while trying to move across the side of the truck. Neither guy could move from the back to the front of the truck before the time expired. Tyson worried about possibly finishing in last place.
Several competitors fell while attempting the daily event, including Cayla and Sarah. Dom moved pretty far across the side, setting the bar high.
Most competitors failed to get across the truck. However, Angela came up with an effective strategy with her placement of the six early pegs.
She completed the daily challenge and pulled the cord, releasing smoke into the air. In her confessional interview, Desi said it was something to be celebrated that a woman was the only one to complete the task.
TJ congratulated Angela on her victory and praised her for being the only one to get it done. He also revealed that Ben was the man who went the farthest, so he won. He and Angela each banked another $5,000 with the win. The worst-performing competitor was David in the daily event, putting him into elimination.
Elimination decision shakes up Big Brother stars
Angela and Ben met with David to find out who he’d want to go against at The Arena, and he specifically said he’d prefer Tyson or Domenick.
However, Angela talked to Ben privately, suggesting Enzo was the best option to toss into elimination. Ben said he was OK with Tyson or Dom. In confessional, he brought up again how Enzo is his friend.
Angela told Ben that Tyson was off the table for her. Ben said Enzo was off the table for him, which surprised Angela as she felt Ben was going against the alliance.
The following day Angela talked to Tyson and Danny about Ben “being aggressive” toward her when discussing elimination options. Later, Ben chatted with Angela and apologized, saying they’d go with Enzo as their best option to send in.
Angela met with David about him having to go against Enzo. David was surprised by her decision and walked off, saying, “It’s Survivor’s game.”
Ben informed Enzo he was going in and said he couldn’t do anything because Angela insisted on running the final with the Survivor guys. Enzo spoke privately with Angela about her choice to put him in against his guy David.
“I hope for people’s sake that I don’t come back in this house tonight,” Enzo announced as he walked off. He later told David he would “start a war” there if he won.
Later, David confronted Angela and Alyssa, saying he would never do that to them. Angela told Alyssa she didn’t anticipate people reacting this way.
Who got eliminated at The Arena?
The Arena elimination event was Balls In, another Challenge classic. One competitor played offense, and the other was on defense. They switched sides each round.
The offensive player had to get one of their colored balls into the bin while the defender tried to knock their ball out of the ring. The winner was whoever scored the most goals in five rounds.
Ben and Angela sent in Enzo against his friend David. TJ asked Ben what happened to “Benzo,” and he said it still exists. Justine said in her confessional that Tyson would’ve made more sense for Ben to send in.
During the event, David and Enzo were competing hard but getting gassed out. After four rounds, the score was tied at 1-1, so it came down to a final round.
Enzo was on offense, and his ball came loose near the basket, with David still hanging onto him on the ground. However, Enzo got away, grabbed his ball, and scored it for the win.
After the tough win, Enzo swore at some of his castmates in the stands. He showed love for his friend David and hugged him. Enzo joked in the confessional that he can’t win a daily challenge but can win eliminations.
TJ revealed that Enzo became the richest guy in the house after defeating David and getting his money. Enzo now has $18,000 in his bank account as the final approaches.
Following the episode, a teaser trailer arrived for what TJ called a “supersized edition” of The Challenge: USA featuring the final.
The Challenge: USA airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on CBS.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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