Basic Straining

'''Someone forces the teams to go through several difficult obstacles designed to push the campers to their limits. One camper goes too far and ends up being sent to the boathouse by starting a conflict with the "Master Chief". There, he hooks up with another camper, who is not quite his opposite as previously thought. That camper is then voted off the island under mysterious circumstances.'''

Plot
The episode opens to an enraged Harold emerging from the guys' cabin and demanding to know who made s'mores out of his underwear. Duncan and Geoff laugh at the question and Courtney recoils in disgust when Harold throws the underwear on the ground near her, believing the underwear to be soiled. Moments later, Chef announces over the PA speakers that he wants all campers at the Dock of Shame at nine promptly.

At the dock, Chef, acting as a tough talking General, tells the teams that their challenge will be difficult and the campers will be slowly eliminated until only one camper remains standing. This camper will win immunity for his or her team. Insisting that the contestants address him as "Master Chief", Chef tells them when someone wants to quit, they will go to the end of the Dock of Shame and ring a bell. Chef goes on to say that the first day will not end until at least one person quits and with that, he orders everybody down to the beach for the first challenge.

On the beach, Chef orders the two teams to hold a canoe over their heads for as long as they can stand to, and if he catches anyone removing their hands from the canoe, they will be eliminated. After noting that lunch will not be served until someone drops out, Chef orders the challenge to begin. With Chef and Chris perched atop each team's canoe, Chef goads the teams at the three hour point. At one point, Geoff uses a fishing line to rip away Harold's underwear, to Harold's consternation. The challenge goes into the night with Chef telling a story about his time in the army and Lindsay declares she cannot hold it up any longer. Owen tries to stop her, but Lindsay informs him that she can no longer feel her arms. Lindsay heads to the end of the dock and rings the bell with her head due to exhaustion to eliminate herself. With that, everyone drops their canoes, the first part of the challenge is ended, and Chef tells the teams to head to the main lodge for food.

At the mess hall, Chef tells the teams that they have ten minutes to eat before night training begins. He tells them the food is the leftover garbage from the morning breakfast and whatever else is in there. Courtney and Heather, for different reasons, balk at eating garbage and Geoff and Duncan give Harold a glass of apple juice, which Harold discovers is actually kitchen grease. Courtney chides them for what they did and hints that she thought Duncan was nice, but Duncan flatly denies that is possible, after Courtney leaves telling Geoff that's what Duncan wants him to believe. Duncan gives Geoff a sheepish grin.

Later, with music blaring, Chef leads the campers in a series of dance moves that go on for some time until Duncan unexpectedly turns off the music, and Chef orders him to do twenty push-ups. Gwen requests to use the bathroom and moments later, she is in the bathroom with a mop and a bucket, explaining that this wasn't what she had in mind.

Back at the mess hall, Chef tells the teams that their next challenge will be writing a three hundred word essay about how much they love him and anyone who falls asleep or fails to finish the essay will be eliminated. Two hours later, Chef gathers up the finished essays and sees that Duncan's essay has the word "very" repeating for five pages. Chef is initially upset, but Duncan points out that his essay contains three hundred words exactly. Chef notes Trent and DJ have fallen asleep and he declares them eliminated. Just after Chef tells the campers to go to bed and be ready for a 5 A.M. start, Duncan tries to verbally mock Chef once again and Courtney pulls him aside just as Chef threatens him with fifty laps around the camp.

At 5 A.M., Chef tells the campers that they will run an obstacle course repeatedly until everyone can complete it in less than one minute. The contestants set out and Harold is forced to drop out and is sent to the infirmary by Chef after swallowing too much mud. The campers continue running the course with Leshawna being forced to drop out after getting stuck in the mud. Moments later, Chef gives Duncan twenty more push-ups for his insolence and a muddy Duncan reacts by thanking Chef and kissing him on the nose. A moment or so later, it becomes apparent that Duncan has pushed Chef too far and he orders Duncan to spend the night by himself in the dreaded boathouse. Others gasp in fear, but Duncan says the punishment is not that big a deal, but regrets his words when he is sitting in the boathouse and observes the sharp objects and teeth all around him.

At the mess hall, Courtney decides she is going to check on Duncan, though she denies that she likes him when asked by Geoff. At the boathouse, Courtney and Duncan talk for a bit before Duncan convinces Courtney to break rules and raid Chef's food supply. The two load up on food with Courtney leaving a large bass in the middle of the remaining desserts.

Later, the campers hungrily eat the stolen food and Harold discovers that someone smeared peanut butter on his bed in the shape of a smiley-face. Soon after, it is apparent that Courtney is experiencing an energy rush, as Courtney overeats to the point where she get so filled up, she runs outside to puke. Gwen and Leshawna laugh while she runs. Duncan joins her moments later and Courtney admits that she enjoyed being bad for a change and that it was so much fun she couldn't stop. Duncan told her that kissing him might be bad. She says he isn't her type, and after they both wish themselves good luck with their contrasting lifestyles, Courtney steals a kiss. Geoff congratulates Duncan. Afterward, while Harold, watching from a nearby window, glowers. Seconds later, Chef announces over the speakers that the remaining campers will do their next challenge at seven o'clock the following morning.

The next morning, the six remaining contestants hang upside down from a tree branch and Chef tells them about the various things they will experience as time passes for them. Duncan is the first to drop out and Heather, citing Owen's farting, willingly drops out, but Owen falls on her moments later when he falls off. Laughing uncontrollably, Courtney drops out and tells Chef to take a chill pill, to Gwen's, Owen's, and Geoff's surprise. Geoff and Gwen are the last two and with Geoff dropping out, Gwen wins the challenge for the Gophers, who run off in celebration while carrying Gwen.

At the Campfire Ceremony, Duncan, DJ, Bridgette, and Geoff receive marshmallows. The final marshmallow, with Harold and a smug looking Courtney waiting, goes to Harold. This shocks Courtney, Duncan, DJ, and Geoff. Soon after, Courtney, screaming that she does not concede and threatening to sue, is dragged to the dock and tossed on the Boat of Losers. Duncan argues with Chris, claiming that there were at least three of them who didn't vote her off, while Geoff and DJ nod in agreement, but Chris doesn't change his mind. Before Courtney leaves the island, Duncan runs down the dock of shame and tosses her a small wooden skull he carved for her and though she thinks it is a little weird and creepy, Courtney says she loves it and will never forget him. Back at the bonfire, Harold recalls how he, with memories of the various torments he had endured from Duncan, had secretly replaced the votes in the confessional so that Courtney would have the most votes and be voted off as a way of revenge for Duncan's actions against him. The episode concludes with Harold smiling deviously at the camera.

Cast

 * Trent appeared, but he had no lines. However, he sighed when Lindsay gave up and cheered when Gwen won.

General

 * When Chris does this episode's recap, he oddly never mentions that Sadie was voted off.
 * When Courtney and Duncan are stealing food from the fridge, Ezekiel's picture is seen on a milk carton.
 * Strangely, Chef wouldn't let Duncan quit when he wanted to, even though the rule was anyone can drop out when they want (though he may have not allowed it because he knew Duncan was just being lazy).
 * The final three of Total Drama Island were all dancing to the song on the left side.
 * They are also the last three Screaming Gophers in the challenge.
 * Oddly enough, they are also in the order in which they placed in the competition according to Owen's ending. Heather came in third place and is in the back, Gwen came in second and is in the middle, and Owen came in first and is in the front.
 * Chef Hatchet is revealed to have an anchor tattoo on his left arm.
 * It is hinted that Harold would've been voted off if he hadn't switched the votes, as Duncan, Geoff, and DJ claimed that they didn't vote Courtney off (and probably hinting the fact they voted off Harold) and Courtney's look when it came down to the bottom two hinted that she voted for him, too.
 * With Courtney's elimination, Bridgette is the last remaining female Killer Bass on the team, until Eva's return in No Pain, No Game.
 * When the Gophers celebrate their victory and run off holding Gwen, Lindsay is wearing the outfit that she wore in Up the Creek, rather than her usual outfit.
 * This is the only Total Drama Island episode that has the same name as the related game on Total Drama Island: Totally Interactive!.

Continuity

 * This marks the sixth loss for the Killer Bass team overall and their third instance of a second consecutive loss (they also lost in the previous episode, Who Can You Trust?). Their first string of consecutive losses occurred in Not So Happy Campers - Part 2 and The Big Sleep. Their second string of consecutive losses occurred in The Sucky Outdoors and Phobia Factor.
 * This is the second episode Gwen is the last person standing on her team and is be able to outlast the last Killer Bass member still standing. The first is The Big Sleep.
 * The final marshmallow is received by Harold for the second consecutive time, and the third time overall.
 * This episode marks the first time where someone was cheated out from the show.
 * This is so far the only instance where Courtney is eliminated before the merge and the only instance where she doesn't make it to the final seven.

Goofs

 * In the recap, Chris said that there were only three challenges in the last episode. There were actually five.
 * However, he could've counted the Blind William Tell, Blind trapeze, and Blind Tobaggon challenges all as mini-challenges in one challenge.
 * When Duncan smiles at Geoff after making Harold's underpants into s'mores, his nose piercing is on the wrong side of his face.
 * At first, when the teams are holding up the canoes, and Chef starts to talk, Chris and Chef are not seen on the canoes. However, when Chris talks, they are.
 * After Chef slips on Owen's drool, everyone's eyes do not have rings under them.
 * In this episode, Duncan gives Harold grease and says it's apple juice, and Harold unknowingly accepts the drink. However, in Who Can You Trust?, Harold claims that he is allergic to apples (though this may have been a excuse so he could get out of the challenge).
 * Bridgette is not seen with the other campers during the obstacle course challenge. However, she was not officially eliminated in any of the preceding challenges on-screen.
 * Lindsay is seen dancing on the beach with the other campers during the second part of the challenge. However, she was eliminated in the first challenge.
 * Heather and Owen are seen becoming stuck during the obstacle course challenge. However, they are still seen competing in the final challenge.
 * On the third challenge Leshawna is seen passing the axes with Geoff, but when Duncan passes she is seen with him.
 * When Owen opens his mouth for the garbage he has to eat, his tongue is red, as opposed to pink.
 * When Courtney said she thought that Duncan was nice, Geoff was eating a slice of bread, but when it took a full shot of them together the bread was gone.
 * Heather's belt changed to green like the color of her shorts after Owen fell on her, but changed back to its usual black color as she started walking.
 * While trying to steal food from Chef, Duncan's nose piercing is on the wrong side of his face when he popped out of the bush.