Dial M for Merger

'''The teams are dissolved as the cast faces off in a spy challenge filled with lasers, explosives, bombs, and bad accents! As one cast mate trusts their brain throughout the challenges, another, who still seems to be shunned, successfully makes an alliance with two others. After the blackmail plot of a schemer gets foiled, two winners are declared and this earns them a trip that was not worth the effort.'''

Plot
The episode opens up with Leshawna complaining about the show's disgusting food. She then notices the other six remaining contestants glaring at her. They are once again angry about Leshawna insulting all of them during her spa trip. Leshawna asks for her own team to support her, resulting in Harold sarcastically cheering her on by saying her name, with very little emotion. Leshawna sarcastically tells Harold not to strain himself. Duncan admits that he doesn't trust anybody anyway. Lindsay attempts to get into the girls' trailer, but when she touches the door handle, a camera appears out of nowhere. It scans her face and then says "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" The stairs give way and Lindsay falls to the ground, and into a trapdoor. Duncan runs over to her, only to be shot in the neck with a tranquilizer dart, and falls in the pit himself. Courtney runs to Duncan's aid (calling him "Dunky" as she does so), and is knocked into the pit by a flying bowler hat. Leshawna, Justin, and Beth run into the boys' trailer for safety (locking Harold out). In the confessional, Harold talks about being worried that the producers are actually trying to kill the contestants and to emphasise that fact, an intern knocks him out with a nightstick. Justin worries what happened to Harold. Beth becomes worried, but Justin tries to help her by telling her to focus on his beauty. She begins crying, making Justin think he's hideous. A gas bomb is thrown through a window, releasing gas that knocks out Beth, Justin, and Leshawna.

Everyone wakes up in a cave. Beth accidentally elbows Justin in the eye, while getting up, giving him a black eye. After noticing this, Justin runs off to find ice for it. Justin sees his reflection in a mirror and once again thinks he's a hideous freak and that his modeling career is over. Courtney loses her personal digital assistant, but Beth finds it and gives to Courtney. Courtney accuses Beth of stealing it again. Chris appears on a projection and (in a bad Jamaican accent) tells the cast mates that the challenge is based on the spy movie genre. Chris says that the cast mates will need to defuse a bomb, and jump from an exploding building. Courtney asks if anybody has experience with bombs, and Lindsay claims to, saying that she was in a musical in which the director said it "bombed."

Chris then announces that as of now the teams are merged and it's every cast mate for themselves.They then manage to find a way out of the cave. Then a 6teen theme song parody comes on after Leshawna says they all have been through a lot together. The cast mates try to find an exit and Justin finds one by accident. It leads to an elevator that leads to a fancy water tower. Chris then appears on a hologram screen and tells them they must get the bag in the glass at the center of the room. While they think it's easy it then shows that they also have to avoid the laser beams, which can slice them in half if they aren't careful. Leshawna, Harold, and Duncan finally decide to form an alliance during the challenge. Beth and Lindsay fight about how they got stuck between laser beams and Justin has some issues thinking only about himself. Courtney shows her flexibility by jumping around and sneaking under the lasers, something which earns her an admiring howl from Duncan (who stares at her butt while she slides below the lasers) and gets the bag. Once she gets the bag, she finds out that there are just wire cutters and a grappling hook in it. Leshawna then remembers that Chris mentioned jumping off of an exploding building and Chris begins the ten second countdown. Everyone begins to panic and hug each other, Courtney hugs Duncan, Beth hugs Lindsay, Leshawna hugs Justin, and Harold is in fetal position, alone, while the others say that they'll miss each others' smiles. Chris then begins to laugh hysterically telling them it was just a joke. Unfortunately, he then begins the real countdown.

Courtney, being the only one with a grappling hook, offers the other players a quick escape, in exchange for half the prize money from whoever won the show. Although hesitant, the other cast mates agree and Courtney gets them all out. The next challenge is disarming a bomb (which are explosive timers tied to trash cans). Should anyone fail to deactivate their bomb, it will explode and cover them in smelly garbage. Courtney tries to contact her lawyers to get her the best disarming experts, but is unable to reach them. Lindsay decides to cut the blue wire (as it's the most fashionable one). Courtney is hesitant to trust her, but tosses her the cutters. Lindsay cuts the wire and successfully deactivates her bomb, the other cast mates (in various ways) cut their blue wires. Lindsay's bomb is then deactivated after she cuts the wire. The cast mates relax, until they realize they can still hear the ticking. The other bombs explode and Chris (from a safe distance) explains that the producers aren't gonna program all the bombs the same way, it would be too easy for the interns. The cast mates then bathe in a tomato juice pool to get the smell out (even though Lindsay defused her bomb, she was still hit by the other active ones). The campers refuse to let Courtney join unless she calls off their obligation to split the prize money. Courtney weighs the options, and reluctantly agrees. Chris then tells Lindsay and Courtney that they've won a tour of a cheese factory. Courtney is unhappy, stating that she's lactose intolerant. Still unable to reach her lawyers, she sighs and then dunks her PDA as well as herself in the pool of tomato juice.

Quotes
Courtney: (in confessional) And that's the only million Leshawna will ever see. (chuckles a bit) My lawyers are working on it right now. Harold: (unenthusiastically) Go Leshawna. Go Leshawna. Leshawna: (sarcastically) Careful. You get windburn from moving so fast. Courtney: Door, meet door knob. Lindsay: Oh, yeah! Courtney: (gasps) Dunky! (rushes over to Duncan's aid) Harold: (to Leshawna) "Dunky?" Justin: Beth, it's gonna be alright. Just focus on my calming beauty, and my soothing complexion. Beth: (cries) Justin: Ah! I'm hideous! Beth: I'm so sorry! Are you okay? (Beth touches his elbow) Justin: Ah! I bruise easier than a clingstone peach. Must prevent swelling... I need ice! Ice! (Justin runs away, then looks at himself in a mirror) I... am... a hideous beast! No one will ever hire me again! My modeling career is over! I'll have to go work in the circus as one of those... circus freaks. Beth: No, I was just trying to give it back! Swearsies. Duncan: Dude, what's with the bad Jamaican accent? Leshawna: Jamaican? More like Japanese. Courtney: No, Swedish! Beth: French! Harold: Kinda sounds Italian to me... Chris: Um... hello? It's Russian. And I should know. Because I am an ac-tor! Lindsay: Oh, I do! I do! Lindsay: (in confessional) I was once in a musical about the environment called "The Three Rs." I was recycle and my best friend Marci played reduce. She paints her nails grapefruit, just like me! Anyway, only three people showed up and the director said it bombed so, yeah. I know a thing or two about bombs. Duncan: I don't normally trust technology, but in this case I'll make an exception. (He follows Courtney) Leshawna: Honey, that direction only leads to a broken heart and tears on your pillow. Duncan: You really are such a dork. Leshawna: You've got to be kiddin'. You're willing to bargain... with our lives? Courtney: Uh, duh. And the offers better be good. I already have a PDA. Lindsay: Well, how about a bottle of my face brightener? Papaya's really good at perking up an ashy complexion. Harold: My prized action-figure Transistor man, still in the box? Beth: My French maid's outfit? (everyone looks at her) What? I played a French maid in the school play. Courtney: Sorry, none of these pathetic offers interest me. Harold: What do you want, woman? Time's running out, can't you see? Courtney: I share the prize money with you 50-50 if you win... Lindsay: Oooh, look at all those different colored wires! Ooh, that one matches my toenails. And that one matches my eyes, and... oh! That one matches my hair! Duncan: Shouldn't an uber-geek like you know which wire to cut? Harold: Shouldn't an uber-delinquent like you know how to defuse a stink-bomb? Leshawna: Oh yeah, this alliance is working gangbusters. Courtney: I'll e-mail this pic to my lawyers. Those sharks will have a bomb expert back to me in seconds! (her PDA beeps) Out-of-office reply? Nobody sends Courtney an out-of-office reply! Especially not when I'm paying them 20% of my settlement! Justin: OK, brain, now's the time to bring it... eeny, meeny, miney, moe... Oooh! Or is it eeny, miney, meeny, moe... brain, don't be messin' with me now! Harold: (lifting up his pants, showing a yellow spot on his underwear) right... nearly... Courtney: Nooooo! (the stink bombs explode. Chris is out of the range drinking tea) Chris: What? Obviously, we're not going to wire all the bombs the same way, that'd be too easy for our production crew... and less fun for me. (sips tea)
 * Leshawna: (walks in carrying a sandwich) I keep eating like this, and my booty's gonna get bitty! You see now that's not kosher. I've said I'm sorry for the teensy spa lie a million times!
 * Leshawna: Even my own team mates? Teamies?
 * Lindsay: (to door) Door? It's me Lindsay, from this morning! You remember!
 * Duncan: (runs over to the pit Lindsay fell in) What the?! (is hit in the neck with a tranquilizer dart, groans, and collapses into the pit)
 * Harold: (in confessional) I used to think the producers were mean. But now I think they're actually trying to kill us! If you ask me, it's a conspiracy to- (An intern knocks him out by hitting him in the back of the head with a stick)
 * Justin: Hey, where's Harold?
 * Beth: We're all gonna die!
 * Leshawna: Oh no! This is not happening to me. (a gas bomb is thrown inside, and Justin, Beth, Leshawna get knocked out)
 * Justin: (After Beth elbows him in the eye) My eye! My beautiful, un-insured eye!
 * Courtney: Hey! Where is my PDA?
 * Courtney: Trying to steal it again, I see.
 * Chris: Velcome to the Cloak and Dagger. Home of Spy movies, mon and womon.
 * Courtney: Does anyone know anything about bombs?
 * Courtney: The GPS indicates that there is an exit somewhere over there.
 * Harold: There aren't enough rare tresskilling yellow 1855's in the world to ever make me work with him.
 * Justin: Now that I'm a hideously deformed circus freak, I have to rely on my brains to win this thing. You hear me brain? Yeah, I'm speaking to you!
 * Leshawna: Fitting under there is not gonna be easy for this bountiful booty.
 * Justin: (in response to the challenge) Brain, got any ideas?
 * Beth: What kind of BFF are you anyway?!
 * Justin: Okay, brain, it's all up to you. I know you haven't had a lot of exercise in the past um... sixteen years, give or take, but you can do this.
 * Duncan: (in the confessional) Nothing grips my wheel more than a chick with a furious spin-heel-flying jump kick. After that mixed martial arts display, Courtney shot way up on my "you're all right" meter.
 * Duncan: (after seeing Courtney flip through the lasers) If I were a wolf I'd howl... oh what the heck (Howls).
 * Courtney: (in confessional) For the record, what I gave Duncan would properly be classified as a "Pity Hug." He was clearly scared out of his mind. Probably would have died of fright if I hadn't wrapped my arms around him. (daydreaming) His little heart was beating so fast. So... no! Pity Hug! Pity Hug. Plain and simple.
 * Justin: Okay, pros and cons of being a circus freak; pros: travel, cons: the bearded chick.
 * Courtney: Uh, not so fast. What do I hear for a ride to freedom?
 * Chris: (while scene is paused) I knew there was a reason we picked Courtney. She's nasty. I love nasty.
 * (the cast runs to the bombs)
 * Harold: Get ready for the fireworks!
 * Harold: Aw, man! Another false alarm?!
 * Beth: I nearly peed my pants!
 * Justin: Brain, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
 * Lindsay: (to Courtney) We get to cut the cheese together!
 * Justin: Brain, we are so over!

Trivia

 * Title Reference: This episode's title is a reference to the 1954 film, Dial M for Murder. This is the first episode where the title and the challenge are drawn from different movie genres- murder mysteries and spy movies, respectively.
 * Running Gag: Justin talking to his brain and Chris getting attacked by his cat.
 * The Killer Grips and Screaming Gaffers are merged in this episode.
 * This episode features the first of two references to another series created by the creators of Total Drama Action; 6teen. The other reference is in The Aftermath: IV.
 * The 6teen parody is an abbreviated version of that show's opening credits, with the seven remaining contestants standing in for the main 6teen cast.
 * Due to there being seven people as opposed to the original six, the 6teen parody features an extra square in the beginning and end.
 * The 6teen parody is only a few parts from the real 6teen song. The start, in which the character's shadows appear one at the time in each square, only plays once, instead of twice. Then after "That's when we bend all the rules" it just to "In a place where we belong!". Then after "Got a new job, gonna start at the mall today" the last few tones of the 6teen theme song play and the parody is over.
 * If one looks closely during the 6teen musical reference, at one point, Courtney's hands are around Justin's waist.
 * Justin, in the 6teen shadow effect, is the odd one out, having a green background, unlike every one else, who has a close match with theirs.
 * In the scene where the contestants are shown in split-screens, Beth is the odd one out (instead of Justin) her voice actor, Sarah Gadon did not portray any character in 6teen.
 * Lindsay, Duncan, and Leshawna are the only contestants to make it past the merge in both Total Drama Island and Total Drama Action without returning to the game after being eliminated.
 * In this episode, Courtney cornered all of the other contestants into splitting the prize money with her, 50-50, if they win, but was later convinced into calling off the deal.
 * This is the sixteenth episode of the show and the teams merge, whereas in the previous season, they merged in the fifteenth episode after a one-off "halftime show" rejiggering of the teams in the fourteenth episode. The teams merged later in season two, because Izzy and Courtney returned before the merge, whereas Eva and Izzy returned after the merge in Total Drama Island.
 * This episode reveals that Courtney is lactose intolerant, making her the second known cast mate to be so. The first was Leshawna.
 * The scene of Courtney going through the lasers is a reference to the film Entrapment.
 * This episode features many references/parodies of the James Bond/007 franchise:
 * In the beginning of the episode, when Chris, wearing a tuxedo, appears in front of the camera (which is apparently looking at him through the barrel of a rifle), he throws a tomato at it and makes its view turn red like blood, which is just like the iconic opening of every Bond film to date.
 * The way Chris has a white cat on his lap and is petting it casually is a reference to Bond's often unseen archrival Ernest Stavro Blofeld, whose trademark feature was the white cat (due to his face never being seen). However, Chris's eyepatch was closer to that of Largo from Thunderball.
 * The booby-trap that captures Lindsay - a set of stairs turning into a slide and dropping her through a trapdoor - is a reference to a similar booby-trap seen on Max Zorin's airship in A View to a Kill.
 * The bowler hat that knocks out Courtney is a reference to Oddjob, the bowler-tossing henchman from Goldfinger.
 * Interestingly, the actor who portrayed Oddjob in the aforementioned film had the first name Harold, with the full name Harold Sakata.
 * The base appearing as if inside a mountain is a reference to Blofeld's base inside a hollowed-out volcano in You Only Live Twice.
 * The "accents" that Chris is accused of all have been referenced as the accents or nationalities connected to various Bond villains, actors portraying the villains, or nations where Bond films took place, including Jamaican (Dr. No), Japanese (You Only Live Twice), Swedish (Never Say Never Again), French (Moonraker), Italian (Thunderball), and, ultimately, the correct answer of Russian (From Russia With Love).
 * Coincidentally, four of these locations were featured in the following season, Total Drama World Tour: Jamaica, Japan, Sweden, and France.
 * Likewise, both Italy and Russia were either mentioned or had someone from the cast visit on their own.
 * Leshawna, Harold, and Duncan form an alliance in this episode. Notably, Leshawna had once tried to form an alliance with the other in One Flu Over the Cuckoos, eight episodes ago.
 * The music that played when Courtney was sliding under the lasers is the same music as when Cody arrived on the island in Not So Happy Campers - Part 1.
 * Justin says he hasn't used his brain much his whole life, but in Monster Cash he claims to be a master strategist.
 * The way Justin knocked on his head and talked to his brain in the confessional stall was very similar to the way Izzy knocked on her skull talking to her imaginary friend, Phil.
 * In this episode, Harold is knocked out while in the confession stall, yet earlier episodes suggest that confessions are made after the challenges. This suggests that cast mates can make their confessions anytime as long as they have access to the confessional.
 * Chris seems to favor Courtney in this episode despite showing disdain for her in Ocean's Eight - Or Nine and One Million Bucks, B.C..
 * Chris's mention of them "picking Courtney" due to her being nasty brings up the possibility that they (Chris and the producers) brought her back to the show, and not Courtney's lawyers suing the show over and over again.
 * However, there have also been several incidences which reinforces the fact that Courtney had to sue to return too, making it unknown if she really did have to sue the show to return.
 * The bombs in this episode look similar to the one Cody had to defuse in Phobia Factor.
 * This episode foreshadowed Courtney and Justin's interactions in The Princess Pride.
 * In the 6teen parody, Courtney had her hands around Justin's waist.
 * Justin jumps into Courtney's arm when the cast realizes there's a bomb.
 * Courtney was hoping the reward for the challenge was winning a trip to New York, Paris, or London. Coincidentally, Total Drama World Tour ends up going to all three of those locations.
 * This is the first episode in the entire series in which Heather is neither present nor mentioned.

Goofs

 * The time on the bomb's countdown appears to be shorter than three minutes, though this is a common goof in cartoons.
 * The countdown in the building is also much longer than thirty seconds, although this is common in cartoons as well.
 * Even though the teams had dissolved, when Courtney and Justin are in the confessional, the Killer Grips' symbol is shown.
 * This is also the same with Duncan's confessional, when they show the Screaming Gaffers' symbol.
 * Assuming that the bomb-defusing challenge takes place on top of the same building that Courtney harpooned to:
 * The bombs are not seen when Courtney aims.
 * The harpoon is not seen during the challenge.
 * Courtney states that she is lactose intolerant, but in One Million Bucks, B.C., she is eating a lobster with Belgian chocolate, which contains milk.
 * When Justin comforts Beth, his necklace disappears.
 * When the contestants walk into the building, Justin's bruise from his eye disappears and is not seen for the rest of the episode.