Ultimate Straining

Plot
The episode opens up with Team Boss in the luxury cabin.

 Trevor (CONF):  Look, I love first class but...first class is the fucking best

Trevor sits on one of the couches with Samantha and Collin, the three chatting about working together.

 Collin (CONF):  I'm not sure I fully trust Caelan at this point in time...

Caelan is in the workout room running on the treadmill with Andy, Catherine and Alex sit on the porch sipping coffee in their pajamas, Nathanael is asleep and Marisa, Alli and Kalee sit around and eat breakfast.

Serena and Joseph sit in one of the bedrooms, and begin to strategize.

 Joseph (CONF):  Look, I love Marisa but there's going to need to come a time...

 Serena (CONF):  This game is going to get nasty

In the Team Victory's cabin, the boys and girls have gathered on one side. They vent about having lost two challenges in a row, now officially with the least amount of players on their team.

 Rachel (CONF):  Look, I know everyone is upset but...the fact that I have made it three elimination ceremonies now is incredible, I could really have a shot at this thing

Eugenia is trying to lift everyone's spirits, but isn't doing a great job. In one of the bunks, Caroline gets Lizzie to go and silently recruit Nathan and Matt to their numbers.

 Caroline (CONF):  There's definitely another alliance on this team - I gotta work quickly

Cohen sits with Sydney, the two getting to know one another, while Kacvinsky laughs with Matt and Cooper and Eugenia lies with her head on Channing's stomach, still trying to lighten the mood.

Team Firecrotch is at the messhall eating breakfast. Ashton is satisfied her team is actually trying now, but is still cautious about her strategic game. She sits with Katie, Ruchi and Myra.

 Ruchi (CONF):  Ok it's a little weird that Ashton hasn't asked to work together yet...

Alma is confessing to Ellie that she's still concern she's on the outs, being the only girl from her grade in the competition. Ellie tells her that she's fine cause people like her.

 Ellie (CONF):  Sorry girl but you're probably a goner

The camera pans past Ilan, Connor, Becca, Clayton, Justin, Evan and Aaron laughing before landing on the loudspeaker right between the messhall and the cabins. All of a sudden, a giant "get down to the dock...NOW!" comes booming over the loudspeaker. It shows Lizzie, Collin and Katie looking confused before another "DID I STUTTER?" rings throughout the campgrounds.

A montage shows everyone sprinting toward the dock, where Chef stands wearing military garb.

 Myra (CONF):  Oh hell no

Cooper asks where Chris is, and Chef tells him to shut up before explaining that today's challenge is going to be a military bootcamp - Chef Hatchet style. The last person to survive the bootcamp win's the challenge for their team. On the flipside, any contestant who is ready to give up will come down to the Dock of Shame and ring the bell at the end of it.

He asks if anyone has questions, and Ashton, Caroline and Sam raise their hands. Chef says he's glad no one does, and proceeds to bring them to the first part of the challenge.

The scene flashes to Chef on a raised wooden platform with all of the contestants in four lines in front of him. He tells them their first challenge is to mirror his dance moves "EXACTLY" as he does (in his aggressive terms). A dance montage follows, showing the contestants doing a variation of "Thriller" but seemingly mixed with some EDM.

 Katie (CONF):  What in the fresh hell are we listening to

After a full hour passes, the contestants are dripping in sweat but not a single contestant has dropped. Andy mocks Chef, asking if that's all he's got, and Chef says he's glad he asked. The scene flashes to the bottom of the cliff, where Chef reveals the second challenge is to climb up the cliff they plunged off in the first episode. Anyone who falls or chooses not to participates is out of the challenge.

The contestants all look up at the challenge towering over them, and a loud blast of the megaphone prompts the contestants to begin climbing. A montage shows Alma lose her grip and nearly fall, Kacvinsky sweating, Lizzie trying to support Nathan and Trevor pulling ahead of the pack.

Andy, wanting to ensure his team is off to an early lead, successfully jostles Cohen off the cliff, who falls into Katie knocking her off too. Cohen's and Katie's heads bobble to the surface, both cursing out Andy, and when he turns to taunt them he loses his grip and falls in as well.

Another montage shows Ellie's arms shaking, John and Collin side-by-side, Ruchi helping Ilan over the top and Kacvinsky, Channing, Nathan and Matt leaning over and cheering on Eugenia and Sydney who are close.

Only two stand at the bottom: Myra and Cooper.

 Myra (CONF):  There is no way I'm doing this

 Cooper (CONF):  This challenge is stupid

Ashton and Liz, who are still hanging onto the cliff like koalas, turn and encourage her to do it but she refuses, walking over and ringing the bell. Ian and Sam try to do the same for Cooper, but to no avail. Once Marisa makes it over the top, a horn is heard and everyone else moves onto part three.

The scene flashes to the remaining contestants split into their three teams, each team with a heavy canoe hoisted above their heads. Chef tells them any time that someone removes their hands from their canoe, they're eliminated from the challenge. They'll keep going until at least one person from two of the teams have dropped.

A full four hours passes, the sun beginning to set, and not a single person has given up. JP, hoping Chef won't notice, takes his hands off to pants Joseph. Joseph turns around in an angry huff, drawing Chef's attention who promptly eliminates them both.

Another hour passes and no one else has dropped. A montage of arms shaking ends with one pair falling to someone's side. It follows the figure neck-down over to the bell, then pans up to reveal it was Ellie, who had rung the bell with her head as she could no longer feel her arms. As Chef is about to announce this part is over, Serena collapses, eliminating her from the challenge as well.

 Kalee (CONF):  Ok Serena you couldn't have lasted ten seconds

Team Victory tosses aside their canoe with ease, some adrenaline pumping having "won" that part of the challenge.

The scene flashes to the remaining contestants sitting in the messhall, watching Chef distributes pencils and paper. He is explaining that the next part of the challenge is to write a 500-word essay about how about the best and most interesting subject he knows - himself. Anyone who falls asleep or doesn't complete the challenge within an hour window is eliminated from bootcamp.

A montage shows Kalee sweat as she scribbles away, Samantha write something then immediately roll her eyes, Connor dozing in and out and Caroline dropping a heavy rock next to Channing's head when she almost falls asleep.

 Ian (CONF):  This is making me not want to join the army

Once the hour is up, six contestants: Nathan, Lizzie, Ilan, Connor, Nathanael and Catherine, are sound asleep. Chef berates them for being unable to complete the "easiest challenge of their damn lives", and tells the remaining competitors that they all progress to the next phase. First however, is dinner. Chef drags out trashcans filled to the brink with leftovers and well...trash. When Lizzie asks if he's serious, he says "dig in" as he's walking toward the door. Right before he exits, without even turning around he tells them that those still in the game must report to the woods at 5:00am sharp.

The contestants look at the trash and nearly vomit. Eugenia drops her plate in protest, as does Samantha but Matt insists they eat to have energy for the challenge the next morning.

 Catherine (CONF):  Ok eating literal garbage is where I draw the line...

Despite the foul stench and disgusting appearance, the experience does bring the contestants a little closer together, with a montage showing Cohen toss a dirty banana peel at Evan, Marisa host a "trash eating contest" with Kacvinsky, Nathan, Ashton, Lizzie, Ellie, Ilan, Collin and Cohen as contestants, Emily, Channing and Caroline laugh and try to make a meal out of the gross items, Liz humorously complaining with Cooper and Katie and Aaron nearly puke after eating a rotten apple core, prompting Clayton and Brandon to roll on the ground laughing.

 Brandon (CONF):  If anything good is coming out of this, it's that going through this shitty experience is almost bringing us closer

The next morning, the remaining thirty-one competitors who haven't been eliminated from the challenge awake at 4:30am and groggily trudge down a path into the woods. When they arrive at Chef, they see a massive obstacle course lined with lit torches a few feet out from each side behind him. The obstacle course starts out with a climbing wall they have to jump over, followed by tires they have to dive through. Next is army crawling under barbed wire and swinging over a pit of deep mud. Finally the course ends with them having to climb a rope net and propel themselves down the other side with a rope.

Chef says that they will run the course until everyone can complete it in under two minutes. As Emily says "two minutes?!" in disbelief, Chef yells "Go!" and the contestants soon find out that the floor is a deep layer of mud up to their calves. Despite this, everyone trudges through.

 Collin (CONF):  We have to lock in this victory

A montage shows Ashton, Liz and Kalee climbing the wall, with Channing falling off the other side and Justin and John diving through the tires. It then shows Brandon, Sydney, Alex and Rachel army crawling under the barbed wire and Kacvinsky and Aaron swinging over the mud pit. Then it shows Catherine, Alli, Eugenia and Becca climbing up the rope net, and Ian, Evan and Matt propelling themselves down the other side. Finally it shows Ruchi, Evan and Alma throwing up, Sam starting to sink in the mud while army crawling, and John stuck in one of the tires.

Justin complains about the mud to chef, who angrily tells him that he doesn't care if Justin gets a little dirty.

 Justin (CONF):  I feel like we're being treated like absolute animals

Another montage shows Sydney and Alli collapsing on the ground next to each other, Collin tangled up in the rope net, Ashton hanging upside-down with the rope tied around her ankle and Caroline tripping over a tire.

Justin stops to egg Chef on, with the background showing a muddy Samantha and Trevor run by, and Clayton shouts from the top of the climbing wall to just leave it. Finally Chef loses it, and straight eliminates Justin from the challenge.

 Becca (CONF):  Come on man

Contestants begin to give up, as a shot of the bell shows Marisa crawling over, Alma puking next to it, Collin and Trevor helping one another to it and Channing ringing it then immediately passing out.

Chef also begins to eliminate people he deems aren't performing well enough: he is shown shouting at Rachel when she falls off the rock wall, Kalee as she trips on a tire, Evan as he tumbles backward down the rope net, Eugenia as she gets nearly fully submerged in the mud pit and Caelan who looks like he's all but given up.

Tragedy strikes, when Ashton, the last remaining member for Team Firecrotch, stops beside the wall to puke prompting Chef to eliminate her. Brandon, Ruchi, Aaron and Becca, who had all been recently eliminated and are drenched in mud, curse and kick at the ground. Chef tells them that they should feel proud, as they broke Team Victory's losing streak and will now be sending someone home at elimination that night.

When Ian crosses the finish line, it marks the remaining six having all completed it in under two minutes: Kacvinsky, Samantha, John, Ian, Alli and Sydney, progressing them to the final phase of bootcamp. By this point, all of the other contestants have woken up and have groggily arisen to cheer on their fellow competitors. Ilan, Katie and Connor among others are pissed to learn they'll be attending the campfire ceremony.

The final part of the challenge is to hang upside down in the tree until only one remains. Kacvinsky quickly gets light headed and falls, almost immediately followed by John farting and giggling him and Samantha off the tree. Ian sneezes, causing him to swing a full rotation around the branch and plummet down to the ground.

 JP (CONF):  I don't think that's quite how physics works?

This leaves Sydney for Team Victory and Alli for Team Boss. Both girls look like they could stay up there forever, but almost out of nowhere Sydney gets extremely light-headed and is crashes to the ground on top of Kacvinsky, John, Ian and Samantha who hadn't moved from their dogpile. That means that Alli wins the challenge for Team Boss, and she cheers when she drops to the ground and hits a whip.

 Alli (CONF):  I'm not saying I'm the best but...that is the second challenge I've won for my team *brushes shoulder*

At dinner that night in the messhall, Team Boss and Team Victory sit together outside, greedily eating Chef's normally disgusting slop but recognizing that it is technically better than the actual garbage they were eating the night before.

Team Firecrotch sits together at a big table, reminiscent of their loss after the dodgeball challenge, with Ashton saying they should decide as a group who goes home. Names are thrown out left and right, such as Katie for being the first out of the challenge, Ellie for giving up in the canoe, Justin for egging Chef on at the obstacle course and Ashton for not holding out.

Once the conversation is in full swing, Ashton pulls aside Justin and Liz and asks them what they think they should do moving forward. Liz says she thinks that Katie is their best bet, to which Justin agrees. However, when Justin walks away, Ashton says she isn't sure she trusts Justin. Liz asks why, and Ashton whispers as the scene pans back to the table.

 Liz (CONF):  Ashton what...

Becca decides to bluntly ask who is annoyed with Ashton being domineering over the team. Almost immediately Evan, Alma and Ilan shoot up their hands, but the normally quiet Aaron counters that despite the fact it's annoying, they did start doing a lot better.

 Aaron (CONF):  Y'all we can't be acting off emotion here

Chris's voice suddenly comes over the speaker system, summoning Team Firecrotch. Even on the walk to the campfire grounds, it seems unclear where the votes are headed.

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At the campfire ceremony, Chris arrives with a plate filled with fourteen marshmallows. Everyone looks nervous, as almost everyone's name was dragged out into the open at least once. Chris asks if they missed him today, to which no one responds. He sarcastically thanks them, before handing the first marshmallow to...

Liz.

Liz sighs with relief, but can't stop staring at Ashton.

Evan. Alma. Becca. Connor. Ellie. Brandon.

One by one, the contestants grab their marshmallow and walk up from their stump to surround the campfire.

Aaron. Clayton. Ilan. Ruchi. Myra.

The crowd around the fire gets bigger, as Myra and Ruchi share a hug and Ilan excitedly toasts his marshmallow with Ellie and Becca.

Katie.

Katie sighs loudly with relief, and both Justin and Ashton look equally shocked. Both are leaning heavily toward Chris, as he draws out his signature long pause before handing the last marshmallow to...

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Ashton.

Justin looks completely in shock. Clayton and Aaron do as well, but Ashton just smirks at Liz. Justin, without saying a word to anyone, angrily storms down the Dock of Shame and boards the Boat of Losers.

 Justin (CONF):  This is fucking bullshit...how was my name even brought up? Sure I annoyed Chef but it's not like I cost the team the win...what the hell

Liz sees Ashton talking to Evan and assume's she's roping him into the alliance. She nods her head, annoyed at Ashton's decision to turn on Justin so early. Chris tells them that even he didn't see that one coming.

[PARTY]