“The Challenge: All Stars” players are all gathered together for the next daily challenge. TJ Lavin rolls up in a truck with a big structure in the back with what looks like a puzzle. “Today’s challenge is called, ‘Unbraided: Reloaded,'” he tells the group.
Four teams of five are going to be tied to a rope and they have to untangle themselves and then move the peg from one end of the maze to the other. It’s a timed elimination so the fastest team to finish the puzzle wins.
The Red Team, which consists of Jasmine Reynaud, Jay Mitchell, Brandon Nelson, Tina Barta, and Averey Tressler, and The Orange Team, which has Veronica Portillo, Brad Fiorenza, Cara Maria Sorbello, Ace Young, and Flora Alekseyeun go first.
The Red Team untangles themselves first and starts the puzzle. The Orange Team is still all over the place with people’s butts and other unmentionables in each other’s faces. The Red Team beats Orange.
Next up is the Pink Team with Kam Williams, Lauren Stucky, Ryan Kehoe, Derek Chavez, and Steve Meinke. They’re going against Adam Larson, Rachel Robinson, Leroy Garrett, Kefla Hare, and Nicole Zanatta on the Green Team.
The Green Team is not communicating well but the Pink Team is untangling their ropes with a quickness. Kam and Laurel take the lead, which is not surprising because they’re the bossiest.
The challenge is over. TJ tells everyone that the Pink Team is the winner. “I finally feel like I’m stepping back into the Laurel that knows how to win,” Laurel tells the cameras.
The Red Team comes in second place and Tina is happy because she’s not in the bottom for once. It’s a girls’ elimination so they have to nominate two from the bottom group to go in.
Exes Nicole Zanatta and Lauren Stucky’s ices start to thaw
At the house, Laurel and Nicole start casually talking, despite giving each other the cold shoulder since the start of the season. “I said I would never talk to you and look at where we’re at,” Nicole tells Laurel.
“We have a lot to talk about but what can you do?” Laurel asks. “We’re attracted to each other. It’s scary,” Nicole responds.
“I feel like the reason why there’s a lot to talk about is because of the abruptness of the breakup and the way you treated me after we stopped talking and I don’t know what happened to you after that,” Laurel says. “You were afraid to say some things.”
“I felt like I was at a really good place walking into the airport until I passed you,” Nicole laughs.
The politicking starts
It’s fun party time at the bar, except this is the time smart people make big moves. Jasmine tells Tina that she wants to throw in Rachel and Veronica. “What would they do for me? They will never save me. They will always say my name.”
Tina, who is friends with Rachel and Veronica, tries to convince Jasmine she’s being manipulated. “By who?” Jasmine asks, which is a fair question because she came up with the idea on her own.
Even Veronica doesn’t have faith in Tina’s gameplay. “Tina sucks at politicking. Every time she tries, she digs a hole for herself and anyone that is aligned to her,” she tells the cameras.
The next day, Kam is trying to convince Jasmine, Averey, and Laurel that Rachel and Cara Maria should go into elimination because they’re the two strongest players.
Cara Maria didn’t have Kam’s back in voting Ayanna Mackins in the last elimination so she has it out for her. Killa Kam has her target on Cara Maria.
“Even if Laurel and I are not to go down, are you all trying to send home a strong person or not? That’s what it comes down to,” Kam says. Jasmine and Averey are convinced and they try to convince Brandon and Jay to vote that way as well.
Brandon is willing to throw Cara Maria under the bus, despite them being friends. He doesn’t want to see her in the final because he knows she’ll kick his ass. It’s a fair but scared move. At least he admits to it, though.
Sadly, Cara Maria doesn’t think Brandon, Jasmine, and Jay will say her name but as everyone knows, “The Challenge” is full of betrayals. Lo and behold, Cara Maria and Rachel get voted in. Cara Maria finds out that Brandon voted for her and walks away.
Rachel Robinson vs. Cara Maria Sorbello
In the arena, TJ tells Rachel and Cara Maria, “Tonight you are playing Star Slice.” The object of the game is to aim throwing stars at their opponent’s pictures on a board without hitting their own pictures. Whoever gets three wins. There are obstacles on the board that could impede their win, such as if they hit “Stand on one foot” or “Lose a turn.”
They each go one at a time, with Rachel not getting anything on her first turn. Cara Maria completely misses the board altogether.
The two keep missing and Cara Maria hits “Stand on one foot.” Kefla tells the cameras, “It looks like Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles are competing against each other right now.”
Cara Maria hits her own picture so Rachel gets a point. Then, she gets Rachel’s square on one foot. The score is even.
Rachel gets another point but in the next try, Cara Maria can go five feet closer, but she misses. Jasmine is praying she loses. Cara Maria eventually gets another point so it’s even at this point and the next person who scores wins.
Cara Maria really concentrates and she hits Rachel’s square, coming out as the winner. Now that Cara Maria has two stars, TJ tells her that she has to give one away to a woman. “The power is mine,” she says gleefully.
At first, Cara Maria considers giving a star to her friend Laurel but she anticipates people throwing them into elimination against each other. “But you know who I could give it to? I could give it to Jasmine ’cause whoever has a star is a target. We’re all going to have to fight for these stars over and over again, right?”
“So I’m like, I either give it to all the strong b*tches and we end up in another Rachel-Cara situation … or starget.”
“You think I’m afraid of a target?” Jasmine asks. Cara Maria hands her the star and she either guaranteed her into the final or made her the next target.
