Carrying Dead Weight

Carrying Dead Weight is the second episode of The Challenge: Beach House.
==Story==
	After the team selection process, the challengers all returned to the beach house to get further acquainted with their new home. Moses is exploring the new house and taking it all in. He finds Samira by chance in the lounge room. He smirks and said he was excited to play with her all season. She thanked him for choosing her so early with so many other options. He said that he thought they’d work well together. Frasier, Tye, and Zion all met up by the bonfire to sit down before the sunset. Zion turned to the guys and said that despite all of the US vs Internationals drama from last season, the veterans really had to look out for one another this time around. Tye agreed and said that the players who made it deep into last season needed to back one another. Frasier said he was worried about him and Lenny being easy targets so he appreciated this. Ava and Tessa moved into their room and once alone, hugged each other and jumped. Tessa said she was so excited to play with Ava again after so long. Ava said she was ready to take out Lenny and said she’d been training to prepare. Tessa urged Ava that it might be in their best interest to keep the players they know close for now. Tessa asked Ava if Lukas and Kit were still on bad terms. Ava sighed and nodded, saying she felt she was going to be in a weird spot all season because of it. August huddled together with Amandine and Shareeta. He told them that regardless of anything that happened before, the three of them had to stick together. Shareeta agreed and said she was thrilled to be with Nick because it gave her an in with some of the players from last season. Amandine rolled her eyes and said she was annoyed that her and August got stuck with Kit and Lukas since they were troublemakers that would inevitably put targets on their back. August told them that if they had to throw some of the newbie pairs under the bus to get ahead… that they would just have to do it. Amandine said that Monica was weird and had been odd the entire time. Shareeta laughed and said the Canadian flag was a lot. August shrugged, smirked, and said that if Mason had to go for them to move forward, meh. Aura, Cleo, Kaliegh and Maria sat together on the balcony and immediately started talking strategy, as it was a given that they’d be working together. Aura said it would be in their best interest to temporarily make amends with the likes of Ava’s allies and Frasier’s allies. Kaliegh sighed and said she didn’t think she could trust Neisha again this season. Maria laughed and commented on how Kaliegh had thrown a drink on her at the reunion. Kaliegh smirked and said she deserved it. Maria asked Cleo why she picked Brent of all people, and Cleo said it was just because it was him or Lukas and she didn’t want Lukas to sabotage her. Aura tried to stay positive and said maybe Brent had improved, but Kaliegh and Maria visibly looked less hopeful.
	Neisha and Lenny got to know Alec and Femi while playing non-alcoholic beer pong together. Femi expressed she was a bit surprised to get the call since he’d been an early boot but it made sense since she was so fabulous. Alec chuckled and said it was actually weird being in the presence of people he thought so highly of, and awkwardly told Lenny he was a big fan. She laughed and said she loved his season too. Neisha started talking strategy and said that they all needed to be wary of Aura and Kaliegh. She told Alec and Femi that they were very schemey the prior season and not to be trusted. The next day, the players were all brought outside for their first Daily Challenge as teams. For the challenge, they’d have to stand on a small raft with their teammate and the last team left standing without falling, sitting or getting off wins. As the challenge begins, everyone feels a bit awkward. Ava and Boston decided to stay in a hugging position so they can keep each other on the raft. Nick saw this and scoffed and asked Shareeta to hug him to which she followed with. Cameron hugs Katie and noticeably keeps talking. He says it is so romantic and that they’ve got this in the bag. He then starts telling her stories. Eventually, Monica snaps at him and asks if he can shut the fuck up because he’s distracting everyone. Cameron scoffed and said she was just trying to blame the fact that she’s struggling on him. Monica yelled that the only thing struggling was his impotent ass in his relationship. Cameron’s jaw dropped, he didn’t know how to reply. Brent told Cleo his legs were cramping. Cleo told him it was okay and he was going to make it through. Brent said he needed to protect his legs if he wanted to pursue a wrestling career. Cleo pleaded with him to stay up but he fell. TJ declared Cleo and Brent as the first to drop and said they would be one of the three teams at risk of elimination.
	August and Kit used the opportunity to get to know each other. August talked about his owner and told her some funny stories of people who’d stopped by. Kit told him what it was like on Survivor and how they went days without eating. The two laughed and laughed. Noah told Paloma that Monica kept giving him the stink eye. Paloma shrugged and said to ignore it. Noah said it was just really intimidating. Paloma rolled her eyes. Monica then made a sudden movement and Noah jumped so much he fell off. Paloma rolled her eyes. Once the game reaches the two hour mark, several teams start falling and dropping. At the two hour mark, the only teams still standing are Amandine & Lukas, August & Kit, Aura & Tye, Bruce & Tessa, and Neisha & Zion. Lukas told Amandine that he was proud of her for staying so long since she was at a disadvantage. Amandine cocked her eyebrow and asked what he meant. Lukas then replied and said that she had “less square footage” left to work with. Amandine scoffed and told him to never say that to her ever again. She said the only disadvantage she’d had was being a foot away from someone who smells terrible and has the most annoying voice she’d heard in her life. Bruce sighed and asked Tessa if now was an appropriate time to address the BB18 finale since they were stuck on this raft together. Tessa laughs and apologizes for what happened, she acknowledges she’d had too much to drink and was just super happy to be at the finale. Bruce asks if she regrets it. Tessa shrugged and said she doesn’t really know. Bruce laughed and said he had fun with her that night, and it doesn’t have to have been a bad thing. Lukas turned to Amandine and said they just needed to outlast August and Kit. Amandine defended August and said they could work with him. Lukas clarified Kit is the issue, and August is guilty by association. Amandine thought about it and opted to get off as she didn’t want to risk Lukas targeting August. Neisha asked Zion if they should wait for Aura and Tye. Zion told her that she genuinely thinks they could try and work with the likes of Aura and Tye this season. Neisha sighs and said Kaliegh is the main issue. Zion tells her he understands, and he opens up about how hard its been since being embarrassed by Cameron and Katie last season. He says that for their games, they need to align with the veterans but that in the end, they’ll be the ones laughing and they’ll get their revenge. Neisha sighs and looks over to Aura and Tye. She asks them if they’ll throw her and Zion in if they win. Aura swears they won’t. Neisha looks back to Zion, he nods, and they both drop. Bruce & Tessa drop at the five hour mark, leaving only two pairs left standing. Kit yells to Aura and Tye that they won’t pick them if they let them win. Tye asks if they will protect all of the Season 1 vets. Kit immediately says she will, and swears. Aura and Tye think it over. Aura admits that she doesn’t think she can last much longer. They agree to the plan and drop. TJ blows his horn and declares August and Kit as the winners of the first daily.
	Following the Daily Challenge, everyone immediately started strategizing about who should get voted in, as well as who the winners would choose. August and Kit discuss their decision and August asks Kit if she’s stuck on staying true to the promise she made. Kit laughed out loud and said not at all. August asked Kit if there was anybody who she felt threatened by. Kit said she would love to see Frasier and Lenny leave first but the issue was that very few people would be capable of beating them. August suggested they send Maria in so if the vote lands on Frasier and Lenny, they can count on Maria to beat them. Kit thought about it and didn’t hate the idea. Boston, Ava, Cleo, Bruce and Tessa discuss the vote. Ava says that as far as she knows, Frasier and Lenny are the easy votes since they’re big threats. Cleo sighs and said she really doesn’t like that idea because if her and Brent get picked to go against them, they’re essentially toast. Bruce suggested they just vote Alec & Femi as it doesn’t cause waves and could keep Frasier and Lenny around as shields, and easy targets for later.
	The players all wake up to Maria and Tai’s faces on the screen, declaring that the winners had selected them to go in. Tai was really surprised. He talked with Kaliegh and asked if she’d had any idea. Kaliegh denied it and said Kit had claimed it was going to be a team of all rookies. Maria was fuming. Maria marches to find Kit and yells at her to come out and face her. Kit tells her that she had to do this to ensure Frasier and Lenny go. Maria yells that she betrayed her and Lukas was right all along. Maria said that she better hope she goes home because if she stays, it’s her that she’s coming after. Zion meets with Cleo and Maria and says blankly that right now the veterans need to stick together. Clearly Kit isn’t with them and that the smartest thing they can do is vote in some rookies that they could stand a chance against in the elimination. Cleo mentioned that Bruce had said Alec & Femi’s name. The three agree it’s smarter to do them than Frasier & Lenny and immediately get to work. Mason & Monica sat with Alec & Femi. They agreed they were both lucky to not have been picked August & Kit given the deal that had been made. Mason said he felt Frasier & Lenny was the way to vote but Alec pushed back on it, citing his good interaction with Lenny. Instead, he suggested doing Aura and Tye since they’d done so well in the daily. The four agreed on it.
	Tye, Moses, Samira, Kaliegh, and Tai all compare notes and agree the safest bet to guarantee Cleo and Maria both survive is to send in Alec & Femi. They feel they also have Ava and Lukas’ side doing the same and can maybe get Frasier, Lenny, and Neisha. August and Kit discuss what they expect to happen. Kit says she expects it to be almost unanimous for Frasier and Lenny. Right before the vote, Ava, Lenny, Kaliegh, Aura, and Neisha all get together. They agree that the five of them need to back each other as they’re all big threats and the constant fighting will do them no good. Tessa joins the conversation and the six all agree on voting for Alec and Femi. Lenny hugs Kaliegh and thanks everyone for backing her. The teams all meet TJ outside for the elimination. He prepares to reveal the voting results… He reveals that only two teams received votes… Aura & Tye, and Alec & Femi. He asks them to step forward. TJ reveals that by a vote of 13-2, Alec & Femi have been voted in and will be at risk of elimination. They’re shocked, Mason and Monica are shocked, August and Kit are shocked. Alec turned around and commented that there were a lot of liars in the house. He death stared Lenny in particular. TJ then asked the three risked teams to one-by-one draw a card. One would read safe, while the others would have skulls. On TJ’s cue, the three teams all reveal their cards… and Brent & Cleo are the ones with the safe card. TJ declares that the first elimination of the season will be a showdown between Alec & Femi, and Maria & Tai. He sends them off to prepare for the elimination.
	The players head to the beach for the elimination and from the sides emerge Maria & Tai and Alec & Femi. TJ explains the elimination. It was called “Scavenger Hunt”. They’d have to dig in the sand to find three bags with puzzle pieces in them and then solve it. The team to finish in the fastest time would win and live to see another day. On the sound of TJ’s horn, the teams rush to begin. Alec and Femi split up and dig like crazy. Maria digs frantically and finds a bag immediately. Tai on the other hand struggles to dig too deep into the ground and keeps moving places after only digging briefly. Alec and Femi each find one and Maria finds a second, leaving the teams tied up. Maria struggles to find a third bag as most of the sand has already been dug into so she assumed Tai had looked there. Femi finds a third bag and they start working on the puzzle. Alec and Femi make steady work on the puzzle as the others keep looking. Maria notices what Tai’s been doing and tells him he needs to dig further into the ground. He insists he has been. She rolls her eyes and starts digging into his holes and eventually finds their final bag. They rush to the puzzle and try to catch up. Maria does her best to catch up but she looks over and Femi slams in the final piece. Alec yells for TJ to check it. TJ blows the horn and declares Alec and Femi as the winners of the first elimination. TJ congratulates Alec and Femi on their effort and excuses them to the bleachers. He then thanked Maria and Tai for competing but unfortunately told them they’d been eliminated. Maria walked off, very angry and bitter. Tai waved to everyone as he left.
==Elimination==
Scavenger Hunt 	Scavenger Hunt
Participant 	Result
Alec & Femi 	WON
Maria & Tai 	LOSS
ELIMINATED:Maria Aponte & Tai Habachi	ELIMINATED:Maria Aponte & Tai Habachi
==Trivia==
Category:Beach House Episodes