Everything Has Changed

**Everything Has Changed** is the eleventh episode of *The Challenge: The Duel*.

## Story

 Following Cameron and Kaliegh’s elimination, the house was yet again split in half. Three teams on one side, three teams on the other. Melvin talked to Lenny about how their picks made it clear his former allies no longer cared about him now that he was with her. He complained about how they put him at risk to be one of the last two picked. Lenny tells him to pay them no mind and focus on the fact that the final is two weeks away and as long as they continue keeping both sides happy, they’re locks for it. Ezra was moping in the gym after Cameron’s elimination. Cleo and Maria sat with him to given him some comfort. He expressed how he spent all of his time with Cameron and he was sad to not get to run the final alongside him. Maria pepped him up and said he needs to fuel this fire into the next challenge so that they do get to run the final period. Cleo told him that they still have a solid three and that all three of their teams have won challenges. Ezra agrees and says that he still has Cleo and Jake’s back no matter what. Maria reiterates the sentiment.

 Frasier and Troy heated up some leftovers together and discussed the current state of the house. They talked about how they each liked their partners but would’ve loved to get to work with Lenny and Crystal respectively. Frasier commends Troy for how well he’s done since Crystal left. Troy shrugged and said that if him and Crystal ever had kids, he wants his kids to have a father they can look up to on TV, not one they’d be embarrassed of. Frasier smiles and says that he’s still going back and forth about marriage with Lenny since it’s been so long since they started dating. Troy tells him not to compare himself to other couples and go at his own speed. Boherty, Jake, Nori, and Tye quizzed each other on challenges that they’ve competed in thus far in case a trivia portion pops up during the final. Boherty asks Nori if she has any intel from the other side of the house but Nori tries to downplay her association with them. After she leaves, Tye scoffs and says he thinks Nori’s still being secretive. Jake agrees and said that they might as well consider Melvin and Nori as members of the other side. Boherty did the math and noted that left the house 5v2. Jake and Tye cringed at the wrong answer but went along with it.

 The next day, the teams met TJ outside for the daily challenge but noticed something strange. Rather than six stations there were only two, neither of which were colors of any of their teams. TJ explained that for this round, things would work differently. The teams would form two larger teams of six, just for this round. The two teams would compete in the challenge where the winning team would have to choose amongst themselves which two of the other teams would go into the elimination, and which team would be spared. Everyone gasped and murmured. TJ quickly asked them to form their teams. The two sides of the houses gravitated towards one another and the teams were formed almost instantaneously. The green team was made up of Nori & Troy, Frasier & Neisha, Lenny & Melvin. The purple team was made up of Cleo & Jake, Boherty & Tye, Ezra & Maria.

 TJ explained the rules of “Resilient River Run”. Each team has to assemble a pyramid, transport it down a river and use it to transfer two relics (carrying one at a time). Whichever team finishes in the fastest time wins. Both teams get into position and when TJ blows his horn, the challenge begins. Both teams rush through and start forming their pyramids. Green finishes the construction first and start running down the river, with purple right behind them. Frasier, Lenny, and Troy do most of the heavy lifting for Green, while Ezra, Maria, and Tye do most of it for Purple. Green reaches the first relic and transport it across, with Purple right behind them. The two teams catch up to one another as they transport their last relic. Green manages to secure it first and TJ blows how horn declaring them as the winning team for the week.

 After the challenge, Jake and Tye sat down and vented about how frustrating the situation was. They agreed that Ezra and Maria were probably going in because the other side likely saw this as their easy chance to get them out without risking themselves going into elimination with them. With that, it meant one of their teams would be going in alongside them. They had practically identitcal track records so they weren’t sure how it would go down. Cleo and Ezra worked out in preparation for the duel. Cleo said she really didn’t want to have to go into a duel with him after they’d gotten closer from the season. Ezra said him and Maria were pretty sure they’d be going into the elimination, it was just a matter of who else. Boherty made a pitch to Neisha and Troy as to why she should be saved. She promised to bake them cookies and create a rainbow outside by turning the sprinkler on. They thanked her for their time and excused her. Lenny and Melvin joined them and the three discussed what the best plan would be. They all agreed the target should be Ezra and Maria. Between Cleo & Jake and Boherty & Tye, it was hard because they had different strengths. While Cleo and Jake were strong in mental challenges, Boherty and Tye were stronger in endurance based challenges. They couldn’t decide which would be better suited to take down Ezra and Maria.

 That night, the teams met TJ in the same spot where they usually hold the Safety Chain. He asked for the Green team to all move to the front and reveal which team they’d be saving from elimination. They all discussed it one last time before finally settling on a name. Frasier explained that there was one team that was a huge threat and everyone needed out if they wanted a shot at winning. So their logic was trying to find which team would be best suited to beat them. With that in mind, he revealed that they’d be saving Cleo & Jake, effectively sending Boherty & Tye and Ezra & Maria into the duel. Cleo and Jake breathed a sigh of relief and thanked them. Ezra and Maria were unphased as they’d expected to be going into the elimination. Boherty and Tye were disappointed. Boherty told Tye that they got this and they could do it but his face was riddled with worry. With that, TJ told the two teams to prepare for the duel and led everyone else to the bleachers to watch.

 The competitors head to the bleachers to watch the elimination. Jake offers Cleo a hug and reassuringly tells her they just have one more round left before the final. Smoke then emerged from the arena as the two teams walked in from opposite ends. TJ explained that they’d be competing in a challenge called “No Slack”. Teams will be tethered together in a box, separated by three walls each. Each player must smash through a plaster hole in each wall until both players are able to escape through the six walls. The first team to break through the six walls and escape the box wins. The challenge began and everyone started working on smashing their holes. Maria is the first to break through a wall and moves onto her second. Tye is the next to break a wall. Maria breaks through her second when Ezra and Boherty both get through their first. Boherty breaks a nail in the process and whimpers. Tye tells her to push through the pain. Maria smashes through her last wall and now just has to wait for Ezra. Tye smashes through his second, and so does Ezra, Boherty close behind. Tye finally finishes and now just needs to wait for Boherty. It all comes down between Ezra and Boherty. Both make progress. Ezra uses brute force while Boherty tries to shove her body through it. Ezra’s strategy works in the end as he forces his way out. Ezra and Maria are then able to escape and TJ blows his horn declaring Maria and Ezra as the winners of the elimination. Ezra and Maria don’t waste any time and both go over to hug Boherty and Tye. Maria tells Boherty that she killed it and to be proud, noting she almost beat Ezra. Ezra shook Tye’s hand and said he really gave him a run for his money. Tye held back tears and expressed he really wanted to represent Argentina in the final. Ezra gives him a smile and tells him he represented Argentina all season, and represented them well. TJ congratulated Ezra and Maria, and welcomed to return to the bleachers. He congratulated the Final 5 teams on reaching the semi-finals. TJ then thanked Boherty and Tye for their continuous effort but informed them that they had now officially been eliminated. Everyone clapped for them and they both walked out, holding hands and with their heads held high.