Time for the second episode of the final, and we’re jumping right into the action. At the end of the last episode, we left Da’Vonne and Shane with 13 stars, Adam and Steve with 10, Mel and Nicole with 9, and Frank and Sam with 7.
The first checkpoint of the episode is an eating challenge. Similar to the milkshake challenge, it’s trivia as well. If you miss a trivia question, you have to add more to the pho you have to finish. If you get it right, you get to add to another team instead. Everyone comes out of trivia fairly even, and then they have to drink the pho with a straw. With that, comes the customary vomit montage. Adam and Steve blast through the pho, and Frank and Sam finish right afterward. Shane and Davonne get third, and Mel and Nicole in last again. After this, Davonne and Shane have 15, Adam and Steve 14, and the other 2 teams have 10.
After this it’s time to sleep, and it’s a surprisingly boring night, no special challenges. This does lead to the reveal that Adam is dating Avery after All Stars 4.
The next checkpoint is a boating race. Everyone has to run down a dune to a boat, paddle through a mile long course, and then run to a finish line. These are 2 circular boats tied together for each team, which create an awkward boat to paddle in. Frank and Sam have a lot of upper body strength and pull this one out. Then comes Adam and Steve, Mel and Nicole, and Da’Vonne and Shane, which leaves with Adam and Steve at 17, Da’Vonne and Shane at 16, Frank and Sam 14, and Mel and Nicole 12, leaving Adam and Steve with their first lead of the final.
After this, there’s a checkpoint of carrying water. Each team gets a a stick with bowls hanging from it. They have to carry water in those bowls and pour the water into a vial. You finish by filling the vial. Shane figures out they can use the other bowl to help catch any water they drop. Sam is starting to really lose steam here, and her knee is starting to give out. Da’Vonne and Shane win by seconds, with Adam and Steve coming in a close second. Both teams are tied at 20. Neither of the other teams finish, so Frank and Sam are still at 14, and Mel and Nicole at 12. Frank loses it on Sam afterwards. Both of the teams at the bottom are really starting to struggle mentally and physically. Frank and Sam do have a nice moment coming together after everyone literally and figuratively cools off, he apoligizes and offers to help in any way he can.
After this, we come to the final check point. With a tie at the top, it all comes down to this. The final challenge is a teeter totter balancing challenge. Each team has a group of sand bags they have to put on a teeter totter, and then get on themselves. You win by balancing perfectly in the middle. As seems to be customary for this final, the 2 top teams finish at almost exactly the same time, and they don’t announce a winner right away. Frank and Sam finish in third, to secure third place overall. Mel and Nicole do finish as well to pick up another star, which ultimately doesn’t matter.
TJ comes out afterwards to announce the results overall. Mel and Nicole are in fourth, Frank and Sam in third. After another commercial break, he announces the winners are Adam and Steve. They were by far the best team left, so I’m glad they ended up winning. This means Da’Vonne and Shane get second.
But it wouldn’t be the challenge if there weren’t a twist. After the winners are announced, Adam and Steve have to play the prisoners dilemma. They each have to pick whether they think their partner will split or steal the money. If their answers didn’t match, they would have an elimination challenge to determine who gets the money. However, they both pick split, so they’ll be splitting $250,000. None of the other teams get the decision, which means we don’t get to see what Da’Vonne and Shane would do.
And that’s a wrap on All Stars 5! Season 41 of Challenge proper just started filming, so there should be a nice long break before the next season, unless we get a surprise Challenge USA season or somemthing.