Trial by Tri-Armed Triathlon

'''The six remaining campers are split into three teams of two and must compete in various challenges using teamwork. Some groups had trouble working together, while another becomes friends with each other. Once the triathlon is finished and none of the teams win...nobody is safe. However, it ended up being one of the nicest campers that is voted off the island.'''

Recap
The episode begins with a sleeping Owen, who is having a dream about a world of floating cheese and doughnut copters and he is strangely naked in the dream. Owen is awoken by Leshawna screaming at a passing helicopter to keep it down. Owen then thinks he hears the doughnut copter from his dream, much to the confusion of his fellow campers. High in the sky, Chris announces the start of another day at Total Drama Island, and names off all the campers who had been voted off to that point: Ezekiel, Eva, Noah, Justin, Katie, Tyler, Izzy, Cody, Beth, Sadie, Courtney, Harold, Eva again, Trent, Bridgette, Lindsay, DJ, and Izzy again.

When he lands, Chris announces the next challenge will be the Tri-Armed Triathlon; a series of three challenges that will be performed by the campers in pairs, handcuffed together, similar to a three-legged race. The winning pair gets invincibility; there is also a wimp key that can open the handcuffs, offered at several points during the challenges. Any team using the key, is eliminated from the contest and cannot win invincibility. In the confessionals, we find that Gwen is really irritated about the whole show, but mostly by Geoff's cheery attitude. Geoff is bummed out because most of the other campers are becoming so serious with the end coming up; and Duncan says that Leshawna has been warming up to him. Apparently Courtney told her something.

In the main lodge for the first challenge, Leshawna and Duncan are chained together, followed by Owen and Heather, and finally Geoff and Gwen. The first challenge is an eat-off, with one team member feeding the other, and the eater must keep both arms behind their backs, which leaves the feeder with only one arm. Leshawna and Duncan immediately start fighting over who feeds who, Geoff's easy going attitude continues to annoy Gwen, and Heather realizes that her arms are almost too short to reach the table when Owen puts his arms behind his back. The food is brought out, and while it looks normal at first glance, Heather notes that the chicken is green. In order to win the challenge, Leshawna stuffs Duncan's face, who in between gulps asks that she slow down. Gwen tries to get Geoff in a rhythm to speed up his eating, but he keeps stopping to comment on how good the food is. Owen's mouth is wide open, and Heather keeps dumping spoonfuls of food in, but he tells her to go faster. Eventually Heather ditches the spoon and decides to play the game to Owen's strengths; she picks up the whole tray, and slams it into his face. Heather and Owen win the first challenge, and Heather commends Owen on great teamwork, until he reveals he needs to go to the bathroom, and is seen racing towards the washroom, farting up a storm, with Heather in tow. Before starting the next stage, the campers are given the option of using the wimp key; Duncan and Leshawna dare each other to take it, and Owen suggests that he and Heather use it since they don't really like each other, but Heather shoots that down.

The next challenge is to go to the beach, take a canoe and paddle back to Boney Island, where they will find a package waiting for them. Duncan and Leshawna are still fighting, Heather keeps cheering on Owen as he pushes the boat into the water, and Geoff further irritates Gwen by telling her a story about how he and his buddy Jay dug up their friend's lawn and planted it in their school's foyer. While on the water, Leshawna keeps pressing Duncan about him being a softy underneath, mentioning Courtney told her about DJ and Bunny; Duncan confesses his good deed and reveals that his dog, Peety, ran away when he was a kid, and he didn't want DJ to feel the same way. Owen is talking about how no one listens to him, and Heather interrupts to say she doesn't care; she then sees the shoreline and the package.

Getting on shore first, Heather and Owen find a backpack and open it, to find the pieces of the tiki idol that Beth took from Boney Island in Up the Creek. Chris reveals that Beth never returned the doll, and instead broke it into pieces and flushed it down the septic tank. The next challenge is to take one of the pieces and return it to the Cave of Treacherous Terror, and they'll want to do it fast, as the longer you hold onto the doll, the more you get cursed. As a final twist, the campers have to go piggyback.

Owen and Geoff pick up Heather and Gwen respectively, while Duncan and Leshawna get into a fight over Leshawna's weight. After a while, Geoff and Gwen stop when she thinks they're lost; while Gwen tries to gain her bearings, Geoff starts taking pictures of the surrounding woods. This pushes Gwen over the edge, and she grabs the camera and throws it into a nearby pond, then starts demanding Geoff take things more seriously, and to stop pretending to be her friend. Geoff counters saying that he wasn't pretending, and that he genuinely wanted to be her friend and that if they went to the same school, he'd certainly invite her to his parties, except that he thought she'd never want to go. Gwen reveals that there were times she wishes she was a bubbly popular girl that went to parties, but in the end, just doesn't think she has partying in her DNA. Geoff tells her that there's no party DNA, and invites her to a party when they both leave the island.

At the cave, Owen and Heather are the first to arrive, but there is a large spider in the entrance, and when it lands on Owen's face, he panics and runs away. Leshawna, carrying Duncan, arrives to see Owen and Heather hightailing it out of there. When they get to the cave, they have their own encounter with the carnivorous beavers and also run. Geoff and Gwen arrive last, and Gwen thinks they've already lost; but Geoff thinks they're still in it and throws the tiki piece into the cave, winning the challenge. In the thrill of victory, Gwen gets her party on.

The campers regroup around three picnic tables, and Chris updates the score, one point for Heather and Owen, one point of Geoff and Gwen, and nothing for Duncan and Leshawna. Chris then goes to one of the tables and lifts off the cover, revealing wooden heads of the losers, freaking Owen out. The last challenge is to build a totem pole out of the heads in the order that the campers were voted off, which Chris listed at the beginning of the episode, with Ezekiel on bottom, and Izzy on top. Since Eva and Izzy were voted off twice, there are two Eva and Izzy heads.

Heather spends her time badmouthing the losers as she picks up their heads, starting with Lindsay and Beth by calling them traitors, while Owen makes more statements about how hot Justin looks. Geoff and Gwen are trying to put the totem together, but can't tell the difference between Katie and Sadie. Chris checks in on Duncan and Leshawna and sees that Duncan has carved "D+C" in a big heart on the back of the Courtney head; Chris pokes fun at Duncan until Leshawna nails him with a Sadie head in Duncan's defense. Heather continues to disparage the losers and picks up one of the Izzy heads; her taunting clearly drives Owen crazy, as he still has a huge crush on the girl, and eventually drives him over the edge. Dragging Heather along, Owen calls for the wimp key, but it doesn't matter, Duncan and Leshawna have completed their totem pole and ended the challenge. With all three teams winning a point, none of the campers gets invincibility.

At the campfire ceremony, Chris hands out marshmallows to Leshawna, Duncan, Heather and Owen. With Geoff and Gwen left, Gwen believes her time is up and concedes defeat, but Chris tells her to sit down, and then gives her the last marshmallow. Gwen is shocked that party boy Geoff was voted off, as he was the nicest guy there; but Duncan, Owen and Heather reveal that's exactly why he had to go, being popular with the others, if Geoff made it to the final they would help Geoff win, so he had to go. Geoff accepts his fate, and heads for the Dock of Shame.

On the way, Gwen stops him and give him back his camera, which she fished out of the pond on Boney Island, though it probably has some Wawanakwa water in it. Gwen is about to say goodbye when Geoff grabs her and takes a picture of them, complete with a small fish in the image.

Cast

 * Chef Hatchet appears, but has no lines.

Quotes

 * Chris: We strove to come up with the best way to help the campers de-stress, then decided it would be way more fun to hand cuff them together and see if we couldn't push them over the edge. Heather: Did Duncan's parole officer send a care package?


 * Gwen: (in confessional) The person who's creasing me the most? Geoff. The guy is in a permanently good mood. No one is always in a good mood. And if he says "dude" or "cool" or eats with his mouth open one more time, I think I'm going to seriously damage him.


 * Duncan: (in confessional) This place sucks. At least in Juvie, we had a half-hour of television a day and they kept the lunatics locked up separately. I mean, this outhouse, this is the only place I can go for peace and quiet. Oh, and you do not want to come in here after Owen. (sniffs and gets grossed out) Oh, man. And I don't know what Courtney said to Leshawna but all of a sudden, she thinks I'm a nice guy or something and she wants to be my friend. I don't have friends. Got that?!


 * Chris: Sucks to be you... (flashbacks) Ezekiel, Eva, Noah, Justin, Katie, Tyler, Izzy, Cody, Beth, Sadie, Courtney, Harold, Eva again, Trent, Bridgette, Lindsay, DJ, and Izzy again!


 * Owen: This is like a dream I had once. Heather: The doughnut copter dream? Owen: You've had it too?


 * Geoff: We don't need to fight or anything, eh? We're a team, babe! Gwen: Fine, you be the eater then. Geoff: Cool. Gwen: No... wait, I'll be the eater. Geoff: Cool. Gwen: Wait... Leshawna: No way! I don't think so, skinny boy! Duncan: Arm wrestle you for it, then.


 * Heather: I don't think chicken is green in nature. Owen: Maybe it's lemon-lime chicken!


 * (after seeing the food) Gwen: (to Geoff) You can be the eater. Geoff: Cool.


 * (in the food competition) Owen: Go faster! Heather: They won't count if we drop it!


 * Heather: What a team! (Owen's stomach growls) Owen: Speaking of teamwork, how are you with toilet paper?


 * Heather: (in confession cam; breathing into a paper bag) Owen is revolting. If I make it out of this garbage heap alive, I'll issue a restraining order on his oversized butt. (to Owen) Uh, no offense. (Zooms out revealing Owen in the background) Owen: None taken.


 * Owen: Look, since you and I aren't really seeing eye to eye on this challenge, maybe we should... Heather: Shut up, Owen. You're not getting out that easy. Owen: (in the confessional) It was worth a try. Heather scares me.


 * Leshawna: Why don't you just let little Leshawna sit in the front so I can steer? Duncan: Little? Are you kidding me? You're... Leshawna: Oh no, no, no, no, no. You do not want to finish that sentence.


 * Geoff: This one time, we had this massive pool party and my buddy Jay and I decided to take my buddy's lawn and replant it in the school foyer. Gwen: I don't care. Geoff: No, no, but it was like so awesome. We put a cup and flag on it and actually putted a few rounds before getting caught. The principal gave us the longest detention in school history! Gwen: Will you please shut up?! Geoff: Whoa, harshness. Gwen: Oh, I know. I'm the harsh weird scary goth girl who's being all mean and snappish as usual! Geoff: Chill; I didn't say that.


 * Duncan: C'mon, paddle. I'm doing all the work here and I know my half of the canoe isn't the heavier half. Leshawna: Oh! You're about to get my paddle up somewhere you don't want it to be! Duncan: Well, I'm about to get up in your face and if I do, you are not gonna like it!


 * Duncan: (referring to the fact that either he or Leshawna has to carry one another) Well, a guy's got his limits and mine's about three hundred-(Leshawna pushes him to ground)


 * Gwen:WHOOOOO-HOOOOO!!!


 * (in the Confessional) Gwen: Okay, don't think I'm some mindless party animal just because I let loose with Geoff. That guy just brings out the party in people.


 * (starting the third challenge) Chris: And that's a point for the Gwen and Geoff Dream Team! Gwen: (referring to Geoff) Yes! That's my partner! High five!


 * (Chris lifts the covers revealing wooden heads of the other campers, and Owen screams) Heather: Relax, it's just Eva. Ew, two Evas; that is upsetting.


 * Chris: (referring to Duncan carving his and Courtney's initials) Most guys kiss girls they like; dude carves her head. Mr. Tough ain't so tough! (Leshawna throws wooden Sadie head at Chris and knocks him over) Leshawna: Who said we gotta be tough all the time, huh?


 * Owen: Okay, THAT'S IT!! Where's the wimp key?!


 * Chris: (dizzy) (voice is high and shaky) We haaaave a WIENER!! LeDonca....and Shewanenan.....TAKE IT! That means aaaaanybody can get voted off ta-niiiight! (faints)


 * Owen: Mom always said "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"... in which case, Heather would say nothing, ever! She is the meanest, the nastiest, the (beep) (beep) in all of Kalamazoo! (to Heather) Uh, no offense. Heather: Wow, none taken. I sorta respect you for it... (angrily) never do it again!


 * (in the confessional) Leshawna: (referring to who's about to get voted out) I ain't gonna front. I knew if it came down to a popularity contest, I was gonna lose big time.  I had to vote off Heather. Duncan: (Referring to Geoff not voting for Bridgette a few weeks back) You made a big mistake a few weeks ago, and I have a long memory. Heather: I'd have to be an idiot to vote anyone else off at this point.  No hard feelings, it's just strategy.

Trivia

 * Running gag: Heather and Owen in the confessional stalls together and bad mouthing each other.
 * This is the second time during the recap that Chris doesn't actually say who was kicked off in the last episode (though he does show Izzy vanishing in a puff of smoke). The other episode was Basic Straining where Chris completely neglects to mention Sadie's elimination.
 * The final marshmallow went to Gwen for a second time in a row.
 * Duncan admits that he found a replacement bunny for DJ because he had a dog, Petey, who ran away when he was six years old and he didn't want DJ to feel bad like he did.
 * This is the third time Chris has mentioned an actual episode's title during an episode. The first time was in Phobia Factor, and the second was when he mentioned No Pain, No Game during the recap in Search and Do Not Destroy.
 * In this episode, it is revealed that Gwen sometimes wishes that she was one of the "vapid giggly popular girls" and that she was never invited to a party once.
 * At the beginning of this episode, Chris mentions the names of all the campers who have been voted off so far and they make brief appearances in flashbacks.
 * It is revealed that Beth lied about bringing back the idol she took from Boney Island (though Chris may have had something to do with this since he knew about it).
 * No one won invincibility in this episode as each team won a round in the competition.
 * It is revealed that Courtney told Leshawna about DJ's bunny. This means that, at some point in time, they spent some time talking and were apparently good friends. It is unknown, however, when Courtney ever had the chance to talk to LeShawna, as they were on opposite teams, and Courtney was eliminated before the merge.
 * In this episode Duncan states that he can lift up to about three hundred pounds, and although it's possible that he was simply being sarcastic for a joke at the expense of Leshawna, it is probably true however, as in Hide and Be Sneaky he is able to lift a two hundred and ninety-six pound Owen.
 * This is the second time someone swears at Heather, the first time was with Lindsay in That's Off the Chain!.
 * Coincidentally, when Chris makes fun of Duncan in this episode for loving Courtney, Leshawna throws a Sadie head at Chris while he held the Courtney head. This may possibly be a reference to the episode Who Can You Trust? from when Sadie threw many crab apples at Courtney.
 * It is unknown how the campers were able to make it high enough to reach the top of the totem pole, as seen in a zoomed out shot, Duncan and Leshawna's totem pole was nearly four times their height.
 * This episode was written by Shelley Scarrow.

Goofs

 * There are several goofs that show some campers heads twice, such as when Geoff and Gwen are trying to remember whether Katie or Sadie was voted off fifth, there are two Sadie and DJ heads on their table. Also, when Chris is taunting Duncan during the Totem Pole challenge, there are two Lindsay heads on Geoff and Gwen's table, the possible explanation for this might be that Chris switched the heads they had to confuse them.
 * Owen is supposed to be handcuffed to Heather by his right arm to her left arm; but while pushing the canoe, he's chained by his left arm, though Heather is still chained on the left arm.
 * The two are also shown to be unattached when Heather blows into an airbag in her confessional.
 * At the beginning of the episode, when Chris wakes up all the campers, they are all in their sleep outfits. However, after Chris lists the eliminated campers, they are all in their regular outfits.
 * There is a scene where Geoff and Gwen are arguing after Gwen admits she's never been to a party, when Geoff puts his hand behind his back, the cuff link is missing, but Gwen's hand is sticking out anyway. A split second later, it returns.
 * When Owen says, "Place at the table", the closed captioning says that he said, "Play some victory ball".
 * When Chef is passing out the food for the first challenge, it is seen that Duncan and Leshawna's cake is tan, while the others are red.
 * Chris says that after the show they will go into the confessional but when the campers went in they were still handcuffed to their partners.
 * When Chris announces the winner, on Geoff and Gwen's table, DJ is neither on the totem pole nor on the table. However in the next shot, it is to the right of the totem pole.
 * When Heather is breathing into the bag in the confessional, Owen is not seen behind her, yet when the camera zooms out, he shows up where he wasn't before.