Kick in the Balls

**Kick in the Balls** is the eighth episode of *The Challenge: The Duel*.

## Story

 Following the eliminations, the final eighteen competitors returned back to the mansion, now in teams. Zack stormed off wanting space from Kit. Owen was also angry so he followed Zack to go vent together. Kit laughed as she sat down in the kitchen. Shona rolled her eyes and told Kit that what she did wasn’t funny. Kit smirked and said she’s right, it was hilarious. Shona scowled and said that she hopes stabbing Lukas in the back was worth it for a petty jab at her and Zack. She huffs and heads off to see Zack and Owen. In the pool area, Owen and Zack both vented their emotions. Owen was livid that Gloria went out that way and insisted that things would’ve gone differently had Melvin and Kit not messed around with the team drafts. Zack said he did not want to play with Kit and that she essentially just cost both of them a million dollars.

 Nori pulled Troy into her room and sat down. She said that now that they were teammates, they needed to sit down and get to know each other better. They decided to tell each other what their first impressions of one another were. Troy said at first he thought Nori might be this meek and quiet girl but that he quickly was proven wrong once he saw how she moved in the house. Troy said he always felt she was a lot more capable than she’d been given credit for. Nori laughs and said her first impression of Troy was that he was a dick. She said that she wasn’t crazy for the way Zack and his possy acted around the house at the start, but that as she got to know Troy, she saw there was more to him. Troy smirked and said that it’s only half true and he’s just kind of an asshole sometimes. Nori looked at him and said now that they’re a team, he needs to tone it down and reign himself in.

 Cameron and Ezra sat in the dining room as Boherty and Jake cleaned up after supper. Cameron said he was actually happy with his partner since Kaliegh is pretty well on the same page as him in the game. Boherty sighed and said she was frustrated that Kit didn’t pick Lukas because not only is Lukas out but now they can’t even rely on her to stick with them. Jake looked at the other three and said it was imperative that their four teams backed each other up from now on. He said that Kit and Melvin would only be able to have so much sway and that they could really only depend on one another now. Frasier and Lenny played chess while Melvin and Neisha sat around with them. Melvin noted that Ezra and Maria hadn’t talked to him since he picked Lenny and he felt like they were upset with him. Lenny shrugged and said that it was their loss because his voice matters just as much as hers within their team. Neisha rolled her eyes and started talking about how petty that side of the house is and starts talking smack about Kaliegh in particular. Just then, Kaliegh and Maria emerge from the door behind the chess game. Kaliegh chuckles and notes that “isn’t it a little late for the shit-talking”. Neisha rolled her eyes. Maria and Kaliegh headed out to the living room.

 Tye was sitting on the couch when Maria and Kaliegh rushed over and sat down. Kaliegh explained everything they overheard from Melvin talking crap, to Neisha bringing up Kaliegh again. Tye rolled his eyes and said he was disappointed that Neisha and Melvin were so deep into the other side. Maria defended Melvin and said she felt he was still with them, just was feeling slighted. She said she and Ezra would work on fixing things with him. Tye told them that he really wanted their teams, as well as Cleo and Jake to work together down the line. Maria jumped out of her seat from excitement. She said that was exactly what she was thinking. The three shook on it. Cleo was sitting outside, watching the stars. She had a hot chocolate in her hands and took a breath. Cleo had felt really lonely since Grace and Katie left and was finding the game harder to keep up with. Jake knocked on the patio door and asked if he could join her. The two sat and watched the stars together. He smiled and said she made his day when she drafted him, as he’d fully expected to be one of the last four. Cleo smiled and said she couldn’t do him dirty after all the cooking he’s done. She playfully laughs and says she just needs him to step up his game this round. Jake promises he’ll do so. He asks her how she’s been holding up without Grace and Katie. This hits her and she starts crying. She says that she feels so alone and isolated. Cleo explains that she likes everyone but it’s just hard to find time to fit in or socialize because all game, she spent it building bonds with Grace and Katie. With them gone, she feels there isn’t anywhere else she fits in. Jake rubs her back and promises she always has a friend in him. The two hug it out and head to bed for the night.

 The next day, the competitors head outside and are met by TJ. He congratulates them on reaching the team stage of the game and explains how the daily challenge will work. It’s entitled Spin Class and both members of each team will be set on opposite sides of a wheel. Whoever the wheel lands on each round much answer a trivia question. If incorrect, their team is eliminated. The last team left spinning wins the daily challenge and the ability to lead the safety chain. After the first round, it lands on Boherty, Cameron, Jake, Ezra, Neisha, Kit, Lenny, Troy, and Shona. Boherty, Cameron, Neisha, and Troy all answer incorrectly and get eliminated. Leaving only five teams remaining. In the second round, the wheel spins even longer and this time lands on Cleo, Maria, Kit, Lenny, and Owen. Owen answers incorrectly and gets eliminated. In the third round, it lands on Cleo, Ezra, Kit, and Melvin. Everyone answers correctly. In the fourth round, the dizziness really starts to set in. The wheel lands on Jake, Maria, Kit, and Lenny. Lenny and Maria both get the answer wrong and are eliminated. In the fifth round, it was down to Cleo & Jake and Kit & Zack. The wheel lands on Cleo and Kit. Both women answer correctly and advance. The next round, the wheel landed on Cleo and finally, Zack. Cleo answered correctly while Zack failed to do so. As a result, Cleo and Jake were declared the winners of the first team daily challenge. TJ then sent everyone off to prepare for the night’s safety chain.

 Cleo and Jake celebrated in the pantry. They jumped up and down and danced. They then got to business and discussed how to handle the power. Jake filled Cleo in about the deal between the four outsider teams to work together. Cleo was completely on board with it and felt it made sense. Jake said he’d talk to Boherty, Ezra, and Cameron. He asked Cleo if she could fill in Maria, Tye, and Kaliegh. Cleo said she absolutely could and the two got to work. Lenny, Shona, Troy, Frasier and Zack sat by the bonfire and tried to figure out what to do. Lenny said she actually felt that Melvin might do what she wanted if it was reasonable enough. Zack said he couldn’t relate when it came to Kit and that she’d challenge anything he wanted to do. He explained that he read the rulebooks and that if they didn’t agree, it’d go to a coin toss for who got to make the decision between the two of them. Troy sighed and said that sucked. Shona said that since one of them is likely going into the elimination, they needed to figure out who to drag with them. The group agreed Ezra and Maria were a really big threat and just a bit risky to challenge. This left Boherty and Tye, and Cameron and Kaliegh. On one hand, Boherty and Tye seemed less capable in challenges. On the other hand, Cameron and Kaliegh were more integrated in the other side of the house.

 Lenny pulls Melvin aside and gives him the run down about her side’s plans. She encourages him to make amends with Ezra and Maria. If they can make sure they’re the first team saved by the other side, they would be completely safe for the round. Melvin liked the logic and said if it worked, they could probably coast to the finale using this strategy. Lenny smirked and said that’s the idea. Cleo talked to Tye one-on-one and let him know that she’s on board to keep their four teams aligned with one another. She says that they can’t really predict how the end of the safety chain goes but that ideally, they’d like to see Owen and Shona up for elimination since they’d be easiest to beat. Tye says he feels great about this plan and thanks Cleo for filling him in. Jake, Cameron, and Ezra sat by the living room and Jake informed them of the plan. He explained that Cleo was down for the cause and everything should be smooth sailing. Melvin joins the guys and sits down. He lets them know about the other side’s plans and exposes his conversation with Neisha, Frasier, and Lenny, playing it off like he was just pretending to have an issue with Maria and Ezra. This pitch goes over well and the guys said they were relieved to hear from him. Ezra said he kind of felt like Melvin had flipped. Melvin shook his head and insisted he was all for their group.

 Boherty and Kit did each others hair for the Safety Chain. Kit asked Boherty if she’d heard anything but Boherty played dumb, which wasn’t hard. Kit said she planned on forcing Zack’s hand and going to a coin flip if necessary. She smirked and said she couldn’t wait to get her revenge for Ava. Boherty pouted and said she missed Ava. Just then, everyone was called outside for the Safety Chain.

 TJ greeted everyone and asked Cleo and Jake to stand at the front. He gave them permission to begin and reveal who they’d be saving first. With their first pick, Cleo and Jake double checked with one another about what they wanted before turning and giving their first safety to Boherty and Tye. Boherty squirmed as her and Tye moved to the front. She whispered to him that she kind of wanted to save Kit now. He stayed firm and told her it was too late and that it’d ruin everything. The two went back and forth before TJ said he needed a decision. Boherty looked down and sighed. Tye then revealed they’d be saving Ezra and Maria. Kit sighed but she understood. Still, she was annoyed. Ezra and Maria headed up front and revealed they’d be saving Cameron and Kaliegh next. Cameron and Kaliegh headed up front to consult one another about who to pick. Eventually they reached a decision and chose to save Lenny and Melvin. Lenny and Melvin headed to the front and without much thought, agreed to save Frasier and Neisha next. Frasier and Neisha thanked them before heading to the front. They looked at the last three teams before landing on saving Nori and Troy. TJ reminded Nori and Troy that whichever team they didn’t pick would be automatically sent into the first team elimination of the season and get to drag another team with them. They sighed and merely basing it off of the fact that one team had two allies and the other had one, they chose to save Owen and Shona. Kit and Zack stepped to the front and discussed who to pick. Zack offered to compromise and battle Lenny and Melvin as they were the other half and half team. Kit shook her head and refused saying she wanted to challenge Owen and Shona, and that she wouldn’t budge. Zack pleaded with her and even said that if she didn’t budge, he’d vote for Boherty and Tye in the coin toss. Kit shrugged and said she didn’t care. Zack freaked out and got on his knees begging her. Kit didn’t budge. TJ asked if they’d reached a decision. Clearly they hadn’t. Per the rules, TJ flipped a coin to determine who would make the decision. Heads being Kit, tails being Zack. The coin landed on heads. TJ then told Kit that she got to choose who they dragged with them. With a big smile on her face, she picked Owen and Shona. Zack shook his head in rage. Shona started tearing up, Owen rubbed her back. The two made their way to the front. TJ wished the teams luck before excusing them for the elimination. Shona told Kit she was a sick and twisted person. Kit thanked her. Owen opened his mouth to say something but TJ cut him off and insisted the group go get ready.

 The players head to the bleachers for the elimination, still shook by Kit’s big move. Smoke rises from the arena as the two opposing teams enter from the sides. TJ explains the rules of the elimination. It’s entitled “Knot So Fast” and the teams have twenty minutes to create as many knots as they can within a cubic structure. After the time is up, the teams will switch sides and the first team to untie all of the knots wins the duel. TJ blows his horn to begin. Shona and Owen rush to create as many knots as they can, working on opposite ends of the cube. Kit also gets to work, making lots of tight knots and swinging her rope around. She then notices Zack merely standing on the side doing nothing. She asks what the hell he’s doing Zack then takes a seat and says she’s on her own. Fueled by anger, Kit starts working even faster and harder. Owen and Shona continue communicating well with one another and make steady progress. Towards the end of the twenty minutes, Zack gets up and starts loosening some of Kit’s knots. She yells at him and calls him a pussy, a bitch, a loser, and many other words as she aggressively makes knots. TJ blows his horn and instructs the teams to switch sides. The next part begins and the teams start unwinding the knots. Owen and Shona decide that since Owen has slimmer fingers, he should take the tight knots while Shona works on throwing the larger nots through the cube. Zack continues to sit on the sidelines as Kit works on untying them on her own. She has small hands so she’s able to get through the small knots with ease and has to then get through the larger knots that are weaved inside the cube. This proves to be more challenging. Shona and Owen continue to make strong progres through good communication and eventually, it’s clear that they have it in the bag as Kit cannot keep up on her own. Shona unweaves the last knot and TJ blows his horn, declaring Owen and Shona as the winners of the elimination. Kit kicked the cube out of annoyance. TJ congratulated Owen and Shona on the win and invited them to go back to the bleachers. Before leaving, Shona ran over to Zack and made out with him. He hugged her tight and told her to bring the win back home. Kit gagged. TJ then thanked Kit and Zack for their efforts but told them they were now officially eliminated. No longer in the game, Kit slapped Zack across the face and kneed him in the balls. He groaned. She told him to suck a dick and never talk to her ever again after that. She stormed off and he stammered behind her.

## Safety Chain

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## Trivia

* This episode featured the first ever team elimination.