The Daily Bongo

Endurance: Fiji



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Blue

Ben
Jordyn
Winners
Green

Will
Leslie
Eliminated in the Finale
Orange

Caleb
Lauren
Eliminated in 8th episode
Purple

Connor
Jackie
Eliminated in 7th episode
Red

Jonathan
Hannah
Eliminated in 10th episode
Yellow

Kyle
Briana
Eliminated in 5th episode


Winners: Ben and Jordyn of the Blue team

Sunday, October 14, 2007 -- Late Afternoon
The new season of Endurance started yesterday with the episode titled End of the Rope. This season is Endurance: Fiji. It's rather interesting that the producers took the kids so far afield. Fiji is a beautiful Pacific paradise, 7000 miles from the US. The kids were taken to the island where they will be staying by sailboat. The show started with an introduction of the kids. There was Briana, Connor, Caleb, Jordyn, Will (who said that he wanted to be friends with everyone), Hannah, Kyle, Jackie (who wants to show that she isn't a nerdy Asian girl), Rebecca, Ben, Cinnamon (who thinks she can get along with everyone, but says if people can't get along with her that's their problem), Andres, Jonathan, Lauren (who wants to hang out with the guys more and might start catty problems with the girls), Matthew, and Leslie (who says her brother says she will crush the competition). Here are their bios.

The kids land on the beach and met JD Roth. JD Roth lets them know that there are 14 pieces this year--one more than in the past. There are Courage, Trust, Commitment, Discipline, Luck, Strength, Perservence, Heart, Knowledge, Leadership, Ingenuity, Teamwork, Friendship, and Karma (the new piece). The kids are living in two huts right on the beach--going into the water. Since there are only 12 beds, four of the 16 kids will be going home on the first day. The Temple of Fate is at the top of the Island.

The Right to Stay challenge will be coming up after the kids are sent to the huts to bond. Caleb said that everyone was excited to be there. The huts were neat grass huts with wooden bunks. Jackie said it was so beautiful and natural, and she loved the woven huts. Connor said that colors were so vivid, and it was surreal. He said that he would be crushed to go home. The guys were talking about being ready for the challenge. Meanwhile the girls were already talking about who they wanted as partners. Cinnamon is more into making friends than alliances. Jackie said that Cinnamon was different than the rest because she was younger and had other interests. Some of the girls realized that it was stupid to make alliances because you didn't know who would be there the next day. Jordyn said that she was nervous because she didn't want to come all that way to just go home. The kids cmae out to the beach for the Right to Stay challenge. JD said that it isn't strength, it is mind over matter as Rebecca gets teary eyed thinking that she will be going home. The competition--in the water are eight hanging ropes with a knot on the bottom. The goal: grab on and hang on for as long as you can. The first two guys who fall in the water are going home immediately, then the girls will be up. JD says that it is obvious from Rebecca's emotion that everyone wants to stay. JD then teaches the kids a Fijian word that they will all say when they stay. That is vinaka which is Fijian for thank you.

The guys had to grab onto the rope, slide down, find the knot, and then hang on. Caleb took a huge stretch. They were hanging on for five minutes, and they were all talking about their arms hurting. We could see feet shaking, and then Andres started to slip, and finally fell into the water. Only seven were left, and 15 minutes had passed. The clouds started to come out and the waves started to pick up. After 20 minutes, it looked like a storm.

Someone said something about throwing up and then Matthew (MJ) fell into the water. The others let out screams and felt that they had achieved a victory. Andres said that he couldn't hold on, and his whole body was shaking. He just couldn't believe that he was the first to leave. Matthew said that he didn't understand why he couldn't hold on for two more seconds. However, he said his experience woiuld really make him a better person. The girls had it worse because the weather was worsening and becoming windier. The guys were yelling out to Becca to hold on. The guys started yelling out to various girls. Cinnamon was muttering that she wouldn't go home. Cinnamon lost her feet on the knot, but managed to pull herself back up. Ten minutes have passed. Becca slipped, and tried to pull herself up. She wasn't able to hold on, and fell into the water. The girls started to say that they would make it until the morning. No one wanted ot let go. At 19 minutes, Cinnamon let go and feel off. Cinnamon started to cry because she was trying to comfort the others, and slipped in the process. Cinnamon seemed crushed. Rebecca was resigned to the fact that she couldn't pull herself up. She said it was the most beautiful place she has been in her life, and that she was happy to be there. Jordyn was excited that she made it. Kyle said that it was an amazing place. Next week is the partners and team color competition. Briana seems to cause alot of trama next week and says she refuses to partner with Kyle. This could be an interesting season!

Sunday, October 21, 2007 -- Late Afternoon
The second episode of Endurance: Fiji, titled Memory Race was on last night. It is time for team selection. JD Roth comes to the beach to talk to the kids and tell them that it time for the game. JD reminds them of the importance of picking the right partner. As he reminds them, they need to remember how to work together even if they don't get the partner they want. He says that they should talk and think of who will help them the most as a partner. Connor said that they should all talk about who wanted to be with whom. Briana and Kyle were the only two without partners. Briana didn't seem to want to be a partner with Kyle. She kept on saying that she wanted a partner that she knew could be friends with. As Briana said, she had nothing against Kyle, she just preferred others. "Wait until the game," she said. Since they didn't know how the game would be, that seemed the wisest choice. Briana and Kyle didn't really talk, and she said that would pick the person she wanted. Kyle agreed that they didn't seem to be a good match, and he didn't want to pair with her. Caleb said that it seemed to be everyone against Briana because she was talking about taking other people's partners. Connor told Briana that she should be talking to Kyle instead of talking about taking someone else's partner. He thought that her actions were inconsiderate and shallow. Connor tells Briana to talk to him before she judges him. Briana is one of those pretty girls who feels that she deserves to have the hunkest guy--and she was getting the geeky one in Kyle.

It's now time for the partner challenge. The person who wins get to pick their partner and color. Then they get to pick the next team. That team then picks a color and gets to pick the next team, and so on. The challenge is about memorization and speed. Down at the other end of the beach is a rack. There are a bunch of coconuts inside of it. They have to memorize the order and color of the coconuts. They then have to race through the field to the other end, and try to make the exact order appear in the racks at the other end. Problem there are six racks and twelve people. That means that the last six people are eliminated from the game. The only other way to be eliminated is to get the coconuts in the wrong order. They continue until only one person is standing who will be the winner. JD shows them the coconuts. The order is: red, blue, yellow, green. They race off to grab coconuts. Will, Jonathan, Leslie, Kyle, Caleb, and Connor are the six to win. That part of the competition was the speed part. Now they have to do the memorization part. Caleb did not get the color right. Connor did get it right. Leslie didn't get it. Will didn't get it either. Jonathan didn't get it. It is now down to Kyle, and he has it right. It is now down to Connor and Kyle. There are six coconuts with one rack. The order is blue, red, yellow, green, yellow, orange. The two race off to grab coconuts. Connor dropped a coconut. Connor got it right, and got to pick his teammate. Connor picked Jackie as his teammate. He chose purple. Connor and Jackie talked about strategy. Jonathan and Caleb were worried about people not doing what they said they would do. As Caleb said, if people don't do what they said they would, it could screw up the whole game.

Connor and Jackie had different ideas on who to pick. They picked Will and Leslie. Leslie said that she did want Will. They chose green, and picked Caleb and Lauren as the next team. Caleb and Lauren pick orange. Lauren has Caleb pick the team, and he puts together Hannah and Jonathan. Briana was looking pissed. Hannah and Jonathan picked red. Now they get to put two teams together by putting one team together because the left overs will be with each other. Jonathan put together Jordyn and Ben. They picked blue. That left yellow for Briana and Kyle. JD mentioned that Briana looked confused. She told JD that she was okay because she knew that everyone else had paired up and Kyle was the only one left. We now have the six teams of Endurance: Fiji. Later at the camp, Briana was unhappy with Hannah. Briana blamed Hannah for winding up with Kyle. Hannah wanted to know why Briana was mad at her. Briana claimed she wasn't mad, but Hannah said that she knew it was a lie because everyone else had told her about Briana's comments. Hannah didn't want to spend her time on the island mad at anyone, so that put Briana on the chopping block. Briana said that she didn't trust anyone. Briana cried as she said that she had no one to talk to, and that her mom wasnt' there for her talk to.

As the teams were together, JD commented again that Briana didn't seem fine. Briana lied and said that everything was fine and that she was basically feeling alittle homesick. JD then asks Hannah if she buys it, and Hannah shakes her head. Briana said that maybe it is homesickness and that Hannah doesn't know. JD then comments that Briana looks like she is getting mad at Hannah. Briana admits that she is because Briana thought of Hannah and Lauren as her best friends. Lauren says that Briana did not get the partner that she wanted. JD said perhaps that was making Briana more homesick because she didn't have the partner she wanted. Lauren agrees that is probably right. Briana agreed that was probably the partner, but that she would do okay with Kyle. The prize for this season is a trip to Australia, Brisbane and Queensland. It sounds like a fun week. Now it is time to hand out the pieces to the teams. Red team get the first piece, Heart, Blue gets Strength, Yellow gets Perserverance, Purple gets Leadership. Orange gets Courage, and Green gets Friendship. The real game will start tomorrow. Will said that they only have thirteen more to go. Jordyn said that she and Ben are mentally strong and will be good partners. Kyle said that drama will get in the way of playing the game, and it has to stop.

Sunday, October 28, 2007 -- Late Afternoon
The third episode of Endurance: Fiji, titled Mana Kisi was on last night. The show started with the green and orange team meeting in secret. As Leslie said, it is a alliance. The four of them plotted on who would get the Samadhi, and they decided it might be yellow. While they were talking, Connor sneaked up on them. The foursome had to pretend that they were doing something else for Connor's sake. As Leslie said later, Connor thinks he is in the alliance, but that's not really the case. Leslie said that she isn't there to lie to people and said that if she were in an alliance she would admit it. As they asked Connor who he would give the Samadhi to, he admitted that it would be to yellow. Now cut to the Yellow team as they talk strategy. Kyle talks to Briana and says that everyone can't continue to remain mad at them because that will target yellow. Kyle says that they have to get on the good side of people. Briana said that she admitted that didn't like hearing everyone saying they would give the Samadhi to Yellow. Kyle tells Briana to make friends with people, and to do whatever needs to happen as fast as possible. It is now time for a challenge. JD Roth talks to the group about how important it is to like one's partners. Briana now says that things are settled with Hannah. Briana said there were a whole slew of emotions swirling around her the previous day. Now, she thinks that she and Kyle will do great. Kyle said that he thought everything looked good too. JD said that every year the word alliance comes up earlier and earlier. JD asked Leslie if there was an alliance yet. Leslie denied it, and JD asked if she really wanted him to buy that. Later, Leslie admitted that she was thrown off by JD's question. She said there was no way she was going to tell. Leslie knows that having an alliance would target them. The challenge was not a Temple or Endurance mission. JD holds out a small chest and says that instead they will be playing for Mana Melavo, Fijian for Magic Box. JD says that he can't tell them what is in it, but the person who wins it will be very happy. Jonathan said that he has to get the box to find out what is in it. The challenge is an endurance mission. They have to go from water's edge to water's edge. (They are on a small penisula. Colored boards are in the middle on a raised section with water on each side.) All teams will stand on their team colored piece of wood. Then one person runs to the other side of the beach to grab a piece of wood. They have to put the piece of wood on a peg board, high five their partner who then runs down to get another piece. They have to make 60 trips until one team all 60 pegs on their board. Briana admitted that the first team challenge would show who was the toughest team and wold give them an advantage. The race starts.

Green got their peg in the wrong side, and Red team took the leader. They were increasing their lead. Jordyn couldn't run, and she was just walking after 10 minutes. New rule, when they get to 20 pegs, they can take two at a time. Green and Red are almost at the 20 peg mark. Green gets to 20 first, followed by Red. Everyone seems to be trying out. JD encourages Briana to not give up because you can never tell who will fall out. 20 minutes have passed. Green got to 31 first (half way). Leslie drapped one, and had to pick it up. It really seems to be coming down to Red and Green. It has been 30 minutes.

There is only a two peg difference between Red and Green. Jonathan is yelling at Hannah to go and Red is falling behind. It is Leslie's last trip. Hannah is barely able to go. Will is encouraging Leslie. Leslie gets to Will, and he is running. He is going against Hannah, and she is tired. Will puts in the final two pegs and then runs up to hug Leslie. Everyone is so tired. It seems that the other teams were just watching the competition between Red and Green. Leslie was so happy that she won. Leslie said that they make great partners because neither she or Will is going to stop. JD congratulates the Green team. JD tells the Green team that when they look in the box, they can tell everyone else what it is in, or not tell, or make something up. It's up to them what they want to do with the information. They open the box and they have a scroll that has water, fire, and wood on it and a symbol of the Temple of Fate. JD tells them that the scroll gives them one free round at the Temple of Fate. So Green only has to win one round instead of two to come back. That is a huge advantage!

Back at the huts. The girls were saying that Jonathan was being too hard on Hannah. Hannah thinks that if Jon were more encouraging, they would have won the challenge because they were so close. We then see Jon yelling at Hannah to go fast. Briana tells Jon that he should take it easy on Hannah. Connor comes over to ask everyone if they know what was in the box. The others are trying to figure out what is in the box, and they think it is something that is either a prize or an advantage to them. Cut to Leslie and Will in the confessional box. Will says they came up with a genius idea. They will tell everyone that the prize is immunity from going to the first Temple, which it is not. Leslie said that since they can tell anyone what they want. Will says that they will lie even to their alliance of Orange because they want to keep it secret. The Green team explains that the prize is immunity from going to Temple in the first round. They say that the decision they had to make was whether to tell people that was the prize. Connor thinks that it is a shame that the strongest team has the prize. Connor said that he wished he tried harder so he could have the advantage. Everyone says that at least Green is safe for the first round, and Leslie says that everyone is totally buying it, and that Green shouldn't go to Temple on the first round. JD joins the group, and says that they have done strange things in the past, and that he decided that it was time to shake things up. Leslie and Will were nervous because they thought it would shake things up. From the preview of the next episode, it looks like one team will be given a free ride. Now we have to wait until next week to see who gets the advantage.

Sunday, November 4, 2007 -- Late Afternoon
The fourth episode of Endurance: Fiji, titled Blind Faith was on last night. The show starts with the last week's ending. JD Roth was telling everyone that things would be shaken up. JD tells them to all to think of one team that deserves an advantage. That one team will be given an advantage in the next competition. Jordyn couldn't believe what he said. Everyone was giving their own team as the one that deserved the advantage. The next morning, JD comes to the beach houses to find out who will get the advantage. Will said that he thought of the the Blue team because they struggled in the last challenge. Everyone else agreed to give the Blue team the advantage. The advantage was hidden under a coconut. Ben and Jordyn had to dig under the coconut to find out what the advantage was. It was the Luck piece. So now the Blue team has the lead since they have two pieces. In today's competition, the Samadhi will be given out. Jordyn was grateful for the advantage, but disappointed in herself because the others didn't see Blue as a strong team. Everyone was talking about how Blue was at a disadvantage by having two pieces. Lauren thinks that now the Blue team will be sent to the Temple so someone can get their pieces. That just goes to show how fickle people are.

Back at the beach houses. Everyone is talking about having to give away the Samadhi to everyone. It seems that most people think that whoever has the Samadhi won't win. Jackie says that whoever gives away the Samadhi will have enemies. Orange and Green are talking about who to give the Samadhi to. Leslie wants Lauren and Caleb to win, and give the Samadhi to Red so Red can't send Orange to Temple. However, Leslie wants Yellow and Blue to go to the Temple--Yellow because everyone hates them, and Blue because they want their pieces. Caleb says that they are just going right behind Will and Leslie, and that Orange and Green want to rule the beach. It's now time for the first Endurance mission. Up for grabs is the Trust piece and the Samadhi (which looks like a coconut.) The challenge is: one partner is at one end of the beach on a sled. The other partner will be blindfolded. The job for the partner on the sled is to direct the blindfolded partner to pick up three pieces to a puzzle. Finish the puzzle, and the teammate can take the blindfold off. The former blindfolded person then jumps on the sled, and the other person drags them across the beach to the team color on the other side--where the bindfolded person started. The girls seemed to be the yellers while the boys were blindfolded. Caleb got the first piece. Will followed him next. There was alot of screaming. Connor explains a scheme for yelling to Jackie, but she doesn't get it. Caleb got his second piece. Jonathan and Will got their second pieces. It looks like Caleb got the first piece and dragged Lauren across the orange starting triangle still blindfolded. Caleb must have forgotten that he could take the blindfold off.

Caleb thought it was cool to win. Lauren explains to Green that they should get Red on their side, and give the Samadhi to Yellow. Lauren said that they realized that they needed to get Red on their side because they are a strong team, and that they all need to get on good terms. Caleb said that he does want to get red out. Lauren approaches Hannah about the plan and an unofficial alliance. Lauren wants to go against Briana and tells Hannah that. Lauren refers to the Red team as the third wheel. Hannah realizes that she has to strategize and go with the strongest team. Meanwhile, Kyle talks to Caleb and Leslie to ask who will get the Samadhi. Caleb claims he doesn't know who to give the Samadhi to. Kyle said that he isn't worried about Yellow getting the Samadhi because Caleb mentioned giving it to Red since they are a strong team, and because Briana is good friends with Lauren. Kyle is blind. Caleb tells Kyle that he doesn't want anyone to take it personal if they get the Samadhi. It's now time for the teams to meet with JD on the beach on the other side of the island. JD tells Orange that they have to make a decision about giving out the Samadhi, but he is going to give them a chance to get out of it. Instead of giving out the Samadhi, JD will take it back, if Orange picks one team right now that will go to Temple tomorrow. Everyone gasps!

Caleb and Lauren get the chance to go off and talk about it. The others are talking about volunteering for the Samadhi because at least it is better than knowing you are going to Temple for sure. Lauren tells JD that they are sending someone to Temple. JD takes the Samadhi back. Lauren admits that they were going to give the Samadhi to cripple a team so that team couldn't send Orange to Temple. Lauren said this will lock it down because the team they will send to the Temple is a threat. JD asks who is going to Temple, and Caleb slowly says that they are going to send the Yellow team. Briana and Kyle look shocked. Briana said that she thought that she was tight with Lauren. Kyle said that the others won't let go of the drama of the selection process. Yellow can win the competition, and pick the other team who goes to Temple against them, and it could be Orange. Briana wants to win so they can send Orange to Temple.

Sunday, November 11, 2007 -- Early Evening
The fifth episode of Endurance: Fiji, titled Box Launch was on last night. The show started with Briana asking the Orange team why they just didn't give Yellow the chance to compete. Lauren claims that Briana said that she would send Lauren to Temple. Briana clarified the statement by saying that said that she wouldn't send Lauren to Temple unless she had to (meaning at the end of the game). Lauren tells Briana that Yellow is a strong team. Briana asked how about Blue with the pieces and Green. Briana said that she doesn't want to go home early, and Lauren agrees. Briana said "then you should have give me the Samadhi!" Caleb claims that he feels guilty for sending Yellow to Temple. Caleb claims to not like taking away opportunity from people. Kyle and Caleb have a bonding experience where Caleb says that he feels really bad and that they will be friends outside of the game. The next morning, and the teams are greeted on the beach by JD Roth. JD asks Caleb how he felt about sending Yellow to Temple after having to go back to the huts and seeing how the team reacts. Caleb said that it's paradise in Fiji, and you don't just want to send someone away. Caleb said that it is a great opportunity to be there. JD reminds Yellow that they could win the competition, and that he thinks that he knows who they will pick. Briana said that JD would be wrong. Hm! Time for the Temple mission. As a team, they launch coconuts into any of the other teams' bins. If a teams bin collects four coconuts, of any color, that team is out of the game. The team who wins will nominate the other team that goes to Temple.

The teams start flinging coconuts from their colored triangles using a 2 person slingshot type contraption. One of the teams winds up cracking the lense for one of the cameras. Yellow got one into Green's bin. Purple and Green put two in Yellow. Purple eliminates Yellow by putting three of the four into Yellow's bin. Purple seems to have a good system down. Purple is now targeting Orange, and get them out. Now Purple is going after Green. Purple gets eliminated shortly after that. It is now down to Red and Blue. Blue has three coconuts while Red has one. Red succeeds in eliminating Blue and wins the Temple challenge. Jonathan tells Hannah that Purple is really a threat. Hannah said that she can't send Purple--she would rather send Blue. Hannah says that it is hard to figure out who to send because she has made some amazing friends that can't be replaced.

Back at the huts, it is time for Red to say who they are going to send to Temple. Jonathan says that he and Hannah did not want to pick the team they did, but they are sending Purple. Jackie starts crying and said that she thought that she was really good friends with Hannah. Hannah starts crying too, and said that they thought Purple was really strong, so that's why they were sending Purple. Meanwhile Green team looks smug because of their lie about the prize in the box. Jackie really starts to cry and gets a hug from Briana. Jackie said that she felt very betrayed by Red. Even Connor was crying, saying that he didn't understand why they were being sent, and that he is really hurt. Briana said that she was really hurt by seeing Jackie cries, and realizes that Yellow team may have to leave--one of the teams will have to leave. Kyle says that it is so beautiful that no one would want to leave. Connor keeps on crying and saying that it is hard, but he has a 50-50 chance of coming back, and that he is going to come back.

It is now time for the Temple of Fate competition. It is still a fire, water, and wood selection. Wood floats on water, fire burns wood, and water puts out the fire. The team who picks the dominate element twice wins. The other team is sent home immediately. Purple picks water, and Yellow picks fire. Purple wins one. In the second round, Purple picks fire, and Yellow picks wood. Purple wins, and they will be heading back. Briana starts crying, and she and Kyle are sent home. Purple heads back to the huts where everyone else is waiting.

Sunday, November 18, 2007 -- Early Evening
The sixth episode of Endurance: Fiji, titled Alliances Uncovered was on last night. The show started the next morning with the kids coming out of the huts to greet JD Roth. JD said that it was one of the most emotional Temple competitions that he has seen. Caleb said that he was upset about sending them. As Caleb said, he was good friends with Kyle, and Briana was the first person that he met. JD gave Caleb the letter to read. Caleb reads the letter. Yellow says that they are sad to go, but that they don't blame Orange for sending them, and tells Caleb to stop crying. Yellow tells everyone that Green is the beast--meaning the most powerful. Then Yellow goes on to say how they will miss everyone and the nights on the beach (something we don't see on the show). Yellow tell Red that they are the strongest team, but to be careful because any of the others may turn against them, and Yellow says that Red is their best friend. They leave their piece to the Red team. Red is now tied for first place. JD asks who would like to send another team home tonight, and no one wants to do it. JD says that's good because it will be an Endurance mission now. Jonathan said that he thought for sure that Orange would get the piece. Hannah tells everyone that she thought it would go to Orange, and everyone agrees. Everyone says that they think the reason Yellow did give the piece to Red was because Briana liked Jonathan. Lauren didn't care if she didn't get the piece because she wanted to earn her piece. Hannah thinks that today's challenge is important because others might give Red the Samadhi. Green team talks about giving the Samadhi to Purple or Red. Orange joins Green and they talk about handicapping Purple. Caleb said that they should send Red because they have to get Red out quickly because they could be a huge threat in the next Temple mission.

It's time for the Endurance mission. Jonathan said that it is important for Red to win, and Jackie from Purple said that she wants to win and have the power to give out the Samadhi. The piece up for grabs is the Teamwork piece and of course, the Samadhi will go to the winner. The challenge, each team has its own set of platforms in the water. The platform furthest away is where one member of each team member will stand. There are six fish in each one of the baskets. The other partner is on the platform in front of the other, and has to toss the fish to the first partner. Once they have all the fish, the partner on the farthest platform has to leapfrog his partner and do the whole thing again. Once all six fish and teammates are on the platform closest to the beach, they can unhook it and paddle to the beach. The first team to get back to the beach with the fish wins. Caleb felt confident about the challenge because he could swim. Caleb is the first in the water, and Orange has the lead. Blue and Green are right with Orange. Will of the Green team dropped two of the fish, which isn't good. Orange is on the last platform, and it is a race between Orange and Green. Green unhooked and started to paddle first. Caleb fell into the water which gave green the lead. Green got to the shore first with their six fish. Orange had the lead most of the way, except when Caleb fell into the water. Green now has the Samadhi to give away. Will said that he felt really excited because he and Leslie work together really well. Leslie said that everyone now has tow pieces except for Purple. Caleb admits privately that he wanted to win, super bad. Lauren said that is didn't matter that they lost because others lost too. Caleb said that he wanted his dad to be proud, but now Caleb feels that he is a failure because he caused his team to lose. Lauren explains that he should be just as happy for his alliance to win, and Green did win. Purple said that it sucks when you are in an alliance and have to break it. Blue says that you shouldn't have to break an alliance until the end. Jordyn and Ben said that they need to form an alliance because friendships are getting strong. Jordyn said that she would never give Purple the Samadhi. Lauren said that she wants to keep her alliance secret because then she would be sent to the Temple with Green. Meanwhile Lauren is grinning and smirking like the Cheshire Cat as Blue and Purple teams talk about how there aren't any alliances yet.

The teams are headed to the beach to discuss the Samadhi with JD Roth. Jackie said that she doesn't know what JD has in store for them all. She says she doesn't know what to expect this time. JD asks them all to do a test. JD tells them all to close their eyes, and raise their hand if they believe there are alliances in the game. Green, Orange, and Red raised their hands. JD tells them to open their eyes and says that he thought it was surprising that only Blue and Purple thought there weren't alliances. JD says that he's no genius, but wonders if Green, Orange, and Red are in an alliance that Purple and Blue don't know about. Jackie says that there might be an alliance since Purple was sent to the Temple yesterday. Jackie is afraid that her team will get the Samadhi. As Jackie says, they should get rid of the stronger teams so there will be more pieces to give back. Lauren claims that she raised her hand not because she was in an alliance, but because Purple and Blue might be in one. Lauren said that she doesn't know. JD asks Lauren if she can look the others in the eye and say she doesn't have an alliance. Lauren says that whatever goes on outside of the game is Orange's business and nobody else's. JD lets Lauren off the hook at that one. JD asks Green which team gets the Samadhi. Will says that he is really sorry, but Purple is going to get the Samadhi. Connor said that he thought Purple and Green were friends, but he was obviously wrong. Will claims that they picked on Purple because they are strong team that works well together. Purple gets to open the Samadhi, and their handicap is "extra weight." They will have more weight than anyone else tomorrow. JD encourages Purple to eat more cereal in the morning. In her confessional, Jackie says that she hates everyone. She says that if she wins, they will send Green and Orange to Temple.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007 -- Evening
The seventh episode of Endurance: Fiji, titled Weight an Hour was on this past weekend. I've been catching up on my homework, and didn't have a chance to post the recap of the show until now. Connor and Jackie are talking about how stupid it is to get the Purple team the Samadhi. Connor said that the Blue team has to win or otherwise Purple and Blue will probably go to Temple. Connor doesn't think it is a good idea to stir up trouble, but Jackie is really upset and awants to cause trouble. Back at the huts, Hannah asks if Purple wants to talk about the Samadhi, and Jackie starts saying that she doesn't want to talk about the Samadhi, and that she wishes everyone would stop asking her about it because she is tired of talking about the Samadhi. Jackie calls Hannah rude for talking about the Samadhi, and Hannah says that Jackie is the one who is being rude. Jackie gets upset about this because as she said Hannah never had the Samadhi and never had to go to Temple. Jackie said that the others are just reminding her of the Samadhi all the time. Jackie thinks that Karma will come back to bite Hannah in the butt. Jackie tells Connor to yell at Hannah. All the others are there listening to Jackie talk against Hannah and want to do awful things to Hannah. Hannah over hears it, and said that she thought that she was close to Jackie, but realizes that she didn't even know Jackie.

The kids are back on the beach for the next Temple mission. The challenge: each team has its own counter balance on the beach with two bins. One is on the sand, and that is the one with all the weight in it. Their job is to raise the weighted bin as high as they can so a team color flag is raised. On the beach are several items spread all over. The team, one at a time, gets the change to run around the beach to collect the items to weight down the other bin so the heavier bin at the start is raised. The first team to raise the heavy bin wins the challenge. The Purple team has an extra 20 coconuts in their bin so they will have to get extra weight. The teams get on their team colored triangles. they all race off to collect items to put in their bins. Everyone's bin is still in the sand. Orange team is really running around and gathering things. Orange seems to be leading with Green in second place. Both teams leading as usual. Jackie decides that Purple should help the Blue team. As JD says, there must be something going on. Orange team is the first team to raise their bin. Orange now gets to pick two of the other teams who will go to Temple.

Ben asks Jackie why they didn't put stuff in Blue's bin from the start. Jackie said that she tried to do that, but that Connor wasn't going along with the plan. Jackie realizes that she is going to go to Temple and that Blue will go too. Ben realizes that they are probably both going to go. Jackie said that she doesn't want to go to Temple again. Jackie doesn't think that it is smart to send the weakest teams to Temple first, but that's usually what happens. Caleb and Lauren are talking about who to send to Temple, and they both think that it should be Blue and Purple. As Lauren says, Jackie was going crazy today, so that's why she thinks that Jackie should go to Temple again. We see Jackie yelling at Connor to throw things to Blue. Lauren thinks that the Blue team is nice, but shouldn't make it the final three. Lauren said that they wanted Yellow to go home before, and now it should be Blue and Purple. Caleb said that Red team will have to wait for later. As Caleb said, tomorrow, they drop the alliance with Red and go after them. JD comes over to the huts and calls the kids out. JD says that Orange team already sent one team home, and now has to send another. Lauren says that she doesn't feel good about it, but someone has to go home, and that's just how it is. Lauren says sorry again before saying that they are sending Purple and Blue. Jackie said it was no surprise, but she wants to win so that Purple can show them. Caleb and Lauren give their apologies to Purple and Blue, and Lauren whispers to Jordyn that she wishes Blue comes back. Ben said that all the friends that you make there is what makes the experience. He says that knowing one of the teams won't come back is sad. Jordyn says that going to Temple with a team that you are friends with makes it worse. Connor is teary eyed as he says that he doesn't want to leave and will do whatever it takes. JD welcomes the two teams to the Temple. This is Purple's second trip, and he welcomes them back. It's time for the challenge.

It is time to pick. Connor asks Jackie if she is sure about her choice, and she says yes. Blue picks water, and Purple picks fire. Blue gets the first win. Purple now has to win the second round. Blue picks water, and Purple picks fire. Blue wins, and Purple is going home. Connor and Jackie cry and hug the Blue team. Purple leaves right after a huge group hug. Everyone greets Blue with screams when they arrive back at the camp. Next week's episode is a recap episode.

Sunday, February 17, 2008 -- Late Afternoon
Finally! New episodes of Endurance: Fiji started last weekend. I missed the show, but managed to record it. The eighth episode was titled Island Hopping. The episode starts with JD Roth and the kids on the beach. We are now down to the final four. Each team has two pieces so far. JD tells the kids that things are going to be shaken up. JD has the note from Purple team and gives the letter to Jordyn of the Blue Team. Purple says that they are sad to leave. Purple has kind words for all the teams. The Purple team made a joke by saying they gave their piece to Orange, but they gave it to Blue. Today's challenge is for two pieces and the Samadhi. Ben of Blue says that they got all the pieces from others, so today they want to win some pieces and say they actually won something. Leslie is talking of giving the Samadhi to Blue and getting rid of Red or Blue. Lauren doesn't want to give the Samadhi to Ref because Red would send Orange to the Temple. Leslie insists that Red is the strong team and should have the disadvantage. Leslie and the guys talk Lauren into it. Will admits that Orange and Green want to be the final two, and that they want to send Red and Blue to Temple.

It's now time for the competition. Discipline and Commitment are the pieces up for grabs today. The challenge: four huge slingshots are setup for each team. Behind the slingshots are a series of three large balls, two medium, and one small. One person has to slingshot the balls to the other person on the team. The team to catch all six balls first wins. Blue team caught the first one, and then got the second one. Green then got one, but Blue got three for three. Jordyn moved to the next station and the medium balls. Green caught two balls, and then Orange and Red started to move. Red was the next one to move to the next station. Finally Green and Orange moved to the middle level. Then Green and Blue both got a ball. Then Red caught a ball, and Orange tied things up. Red caught the second ball, and moved to the final station, and Blue caught their second to move to the last station. Then Green joined them. It was a real race. Who would catch the last ball?

Green was close, but Leslie was over the line. Jordyn came close to catching the ball, but dropped it. And then she did it a second time. It was a close battle between the three teams and Orange really seemed to be out of it. Green caught the final ball, and won the pieces and the Samadhi. Leslie and Will hung their pieces, and Leslie was really happy and said that the pair has really good teamwork and never yell at each other. Will said that they are really excited about getting the two pieces. Hannah admits to Ben that Jon is always yelling at her. Hannah feels that if Jon didn't yell at her so much, she would do better in the challenges. Jon talks to Hannah, and asks what he could say and how he could say it to make Hannah do what he says. Hannah tells Jon to chill out, and that he needs to be nicer to her. Jon asked why she didn't catch the balls, and Hannah tried to tell him that she tried to catch the balls, but she couldn't catch them. She said that she backed up when he asked. She just didn't realize that he wanted her to back up to other side of the island.

It is now time for Green to hand out the Samadhi. JD wants to talk abotu the Red team. JD said that he heard Jonathan telling Hannah to back up. JD said that Jon was more than a little frustrated during the game. JD comments on how the two aren't looking at each other, and asks if an apology is in order. Hannah said that if Jon wants to apologize, he can, but that she doesn't think she has anything to apologize for. Jon said that he was just talking and Hannah got mad. Caleb said that sometimes you have to suck up your pride and make amends. The others say that Jon should apologize for yelling at Hannah after the game. Hannah admits that she and Jon really need to overcome this problem. Leslie said that alliances and friendships are important, but that she wouldn't break her word with the alliance. Leslie admits that she and Jordyn of Blue are good friends, but that Leslie made a promise to someone else to stay in the game. Will says that the team getting the Samadhi is awesome, but Red team gets the Samadhi. Inside the Samadhi is a person. That means that only one person can play for the team. JD makes Jonathan and Hannah hug it out, and JD said that if Jonathan wants to show how good they are, he should play it out. Meanwhile Hannah said that she thought that she was in an aliance with the others, but then found out that they weren't with the Samadhi. Hannah is very disappointed.

Sunday, February 17, 2008 -- Late Afternoon
There was another episode of Endurance: Fiji on last night. The ninth episode was titled Shark Bait. The show starts with Ben and Hannah talking. Hannah admits that she thought she was tight with Green. Ben said that Green and Orange must have an aliance. Ben said that he thought it was obvious. Hannah said that she didn't know, and she thought that the three teams would go together. Hannah thought that she was friends with Lauren. Hannah said that if Red wins, they are sending Orange and Green. It is now time for the challenge, but it is actually challenges. There are going to be two challenges. One is strength based and the other is brain game. Jonathan says that he is going to do the strength game. The brain game is first. The challenge is this: each has a grid of 20 pieces on each one of the grids. They are the pyramid pieces. The person has to find the matching pieces. The first one to clear the board wins and gets to send on team to the Temple. The players have to put the pieces back and Ben has a match, and so does Orange. Lauren gets another match, and Leslie gets one too. Green has the lead with two matches. Ben has a match of hearts. It's funny because it is Ben against the girls of the team. Everyone has a match and Orange and Blue take the lead. Orange was one piece away from winning the challenge. Ben has two trusts...and the third piece is...

trust! Ben wins the first challenge. They can send one team to the Temple that night. It is now on to the second challenge. There are four rings in the water. The person in the ring has feet on one end and hands on the other. The person left holding on at the end is the winner and will send the second team to the Temple. Jordyn is the only girl, and she struggles a little bit. Jordyn is the first one in the water after five minutes. Fifteen minutes pass, and the guys are still there. Caleb was mocking Jonathan who wiggles a finger at him. Caleb almost fell after 25 minutes. Caleb was shaking, and then he falls into the water. The tide is coming in, and the waves are getting higher. JD asks if Jonathan is going to prove what he said he was going to prove.

Thirty minutes have passed, and everyone is talking about Erika from season four. Will and Jonathan are now going to have to choose one hand and not switch hands. Will has his left hand and Jon has his right hand. Will falls in, and Jonathan wins. Hannah rushes out to give him a hug. Red and Blue now get to send one team each to the Temple of Fate. We aren't shown what happened during the competition and the time that Blue and Red get to choose. We next see the teams collected to make the decision. JD has the teams at the base of the trail that leads to the Temple. JD congratulates Jonanthan for showing his stuff and hanging out there over the water for 33 minutes. Even though a team won, they don't have immunity. Blue team says that they are going to send Orange team. Jonathan said that they are going to send the Green team. As JD says, the two strongest team are going to Temple. Will said that it is a humbling experience for the Green team. Lauren hugs Hannah and said that she will take some amazing memories with her if she leaves. Will said that he feels confident and lucky to be going with Leslie. Lauren hopes it goes in Orange's favor, but that she is okay with losing to Green. They have now reached the Temple. JD greets both teams, and asks if they are ready for the night's Temple.

JD goes over the rules. Green team is reminded of the Magic Box. They will be using what is in it. The Green team gets one win, and they break the news to the Orange team. JD said that Green has already won the first round. JD tells the Orange team that they have to win this round to stay in the competition. Green picked water, and Orange picked fire. Green has won and is going back into the game. JD tells Caleb that it is hard to accept, but no one will forget the Orange team. Caleb tells JD he wants to be as rich as JD one of these days. All four of them cry and hug. Orange is gone, and Green is sent back to the others. Green is welcomed back to the group. There are only three more episodes left. Green team is exposed by the Orange team's final letter. The finale will be split into two episodes.

Sunday, February 24, 2008 -- Evening
There was an episode of Endurance: Fiji on last night. The tenth episode was titled Stand Bags. We are down to three teams, Green, Red, and Blue. The show started with JD Roth talking to the kids. It seems that the weather was bad overnight. JD has Orange's pieces and notes. JD gives the note to Hannah to read. The Orange team tells everyone that they had an alliance with the Green team, and that the Green team had lied to them all about the magic box. The Orange team gave the Trust piece to the Red team and Courage to the Green team. JD says that the final three teams should be happy to get so far. They are going to have the Temple mission tonight. Leslie thinks it is funny that Orange gave a piece to Red, but admitted that Green could not get the Trust piece because they lied. Red and Blue corner Green about their lies and alliance. Hannah said that she thought she was in an alliance. Hannah said that she feels mad and wants to win the Temple mission so she stays and Green leaves.

It is now time for the Temple mission, and it is raining. The competition: the teams will have to make sand bags out of pieces of burlap. They will then use the sand bags to reach up to grab their team colored flag that is attached to a pole, no jumping is allowed. The first team to grab their flag wins the challenge, but that doesn't mean they won't go to Temple. As JD says, they see alot of nuts, called TV nuts. The team that comes in last will get 10 TV nuts in their team color, the team that came in second will get five, and the winning team gets only one. They get mixed into a basket, and the first two colors picked out of the basket will go to Temple. Jonathan is carrying to bags at a time. Red team is flying to get the what they can--and Jonathan can almost reach it, then Green tried and they could almost reach it too. Jonathan is the first to grab his flag. Who comes in second? Both Green and Blue are close, and Green is less than an inch away, but the wind keeps on blowing the flags. Both teams are really, really close. Will just managed to grab the tip of the green flag and pull it down. So Blue gets ten nuts, Green gets five, and Red gets one. The selection will be made later at the huts.

JD and the kids finally met up. JD has the basket with him with the nuts. The first nut to come out is definitely going to Temple. Hannah reaches in first and pulls out one. The nut is blue. Blue will definitely be going to the Temple. Hannah is too scared to do it again, so Jonathan now gets to pick a nut. JD commented that Jonathan's hand was shaking. They looked at it, and it was the red nut. JD said that as a shock. So Red and Blue team are going to the Temple. JD comments that Green team is very, very lucky. Jonathan is upset that he picked the nut. We see the kids packing their clothes and Hannah is crying. Jordyn said that she will be taking everything from this wonderful experience with her. Hannah said that she wants to come back so bad, and she really wants to win. She learned so much about herself from the competitions that have been thrown at her. Ben said he is not ready to go home after coming so far, and getting so close. The teams have finally reached the Temple and are greeted by JD Roth.

It is time for the first game. Blue chose water, and Red chose wood. Red wins the first game. Blue chose water, and Red chose fire. I don't know why Red chose fire because Hannah was telling Jonathan she thought Blue would choose water again. It is now down to the final piece of bamboo. Jonathan thinks Blue will pick water, and Ben thinks Red will pick wood. Blue chose fire and Red chose wood. Blue team wins and is in the final two. Hannah crys as she and Jonathan leave. It really sucks because Red won the competition, and wound up leaving the game. That just doesn't seem fair or right, but what can you do. The team that finished last in the competition between the three makes up the final two. The final episode is broken into two episodes.

Saturday, March 8, 2008 -- Evening
Tonight is the final episode of Endurance: Fiji. I cought up on the eleventh episode from last week which was the first part of the Finale before watching the second part. It is down to Blue and Green. As JD Roth commented at the beginning of the show, the Green team played a competitive game, and won their pieces while the Blue team played a social game, and were given all their pieces by departing teams. JD joins the final two teams in front of the huts. JD says that this season, they also did a vote of the losing teams to fins out who should get the Karma piece. The Blue team won with five votes, more than anyone else. Everyone said that the Blue team should win and that they were the ones who played the cleanest game, and didn't lie. There is going to be a competition to get the remaining five piece. JD tells the final two team to get a chance to enjoy the island for the final time because they will be leaving tonight. Jordyn said that the Karma piece really helped them, but they needed the other five pieces to help them win in the end.

The Green and Blue teams went out on the dock and found paint for them, so they painted the dock that they sat on every night. they remembered all the fun times that they had, and painted the dock in the colors of the teams in the order in which they left. The Blue team's best friends were the Purple team, and the Green team's best friends were, of course, the Orange team. Leslie and Will were very happy to be teamed together. Jordyn and Ben also thought they were the best partners. Jordyn said that she didn't come all this way to lose in the end. Leslie agrees that the final challenge is important, and both Will and Leslie feel really confident going up against the Blue team. Obviously, they don't think much of Blue team's abilities.

The teams meet on the beach for the final challenge. JD has two maps with six spots with either clues or pieces. One of the spots has two pieces. They will have one hour to gather the pieces before they have to come back with what they have. They have to look at the map and decide where to go. Will said that they should go for the spot closest. Green team's map blows away, and almost hit the ocean. Blue went through the forest while Green went in the opposite direction to collect the closest piece. Green team got the Knowledge piece, and then went back to the beach to get their basket and start looking for the other pieces. Leslie thought they did well looking at the map. Jordyn and Ben seems to have problems finding any of the spots. They found a clue, but were still confused. The Green team found a clue, and then found the Heart piece. Will then recovered the missing Heart piece. Jordyn and Ben just abandoned the clue. When Blue found the stump, they found another clue. This time it was to find the two, go to the best view. The Blue team realized that this meant the Temple,and they started in that direction. As they went that way, they saw Green in the same location that they had just vacated. Blue knew that the Green was looking for the clue that they had. But Blue had taken the clue. Meanwhile, the piece was sitting right in plain view of both teams.

Ben was worried that Green was finding all the pieces. Ben encouraged Jordyn to run so they would get some pieces before the Green team found everything. Leslie says that they should go for the cave first. Jordyn and Ben started arguing alot because Jordyn wasn't running. Ben said that it didn't seem that Jordyn wanted to go to the Temple, and Jordyn said that she felt that Green already had it. Ben kept on trying to encourage Jordyn to run, and finally got her to move because they saw the Green team running at them. Meanwhile as Jordyn walked the entire way, the Green team were sprinting up the hill. Ben kept on trying to explain to Jordyn that the Green team was running, but Jordyn was just hopeless. We won't find out until part two who gets the two pieces at the Temple.

Part two of Endurance: Fiji started with only abit over twelve minutes left in the competition. Leslie and Will were chasing after Ben and Jordyn. Jordyn thought her extremely slow walking was "hustling." All you could hear was Ben constantly telling Jordyn to hustle. Will and Leslie just got to the top of the Temple mountain as Ben and Jordyn got the two pyramid pieces. Of the five, Green got three and Blue got two. Green has eight pieces while Blue has six. Will says that he feels that Green deserves it more than Blue because they were given all but two of their pieces.

JD gives the teams shell necklaces. It seems that the kids weren't allowed to take shells from the beach, but JD got official blessing to make the shell necklaces for the kids. JD gives them the metal replicas of their pieces, and tells them to spend the rest of the day looking around. Jordyn said that she is going to miss Fiji because she doubts she will ever go there again. Will agrees that everyone has been awesome, and that he has made some good friends. Leslie feels that she proved herself, and that to win the whole thing would be golden. Jordyn didn't think she would make it past the right to stay challenge, and she feels so different from the person who first came to Fiji. Ben also said his confidence grew after the right to stay challenge. Leslie again says that she and Will feel confident because they are going against the Blue team. It makes me want the Blue team to win just to knock Will and Leslie's arrogance down a peg. Blue and Green head to the final challenge in the middle of the forest. JD Roth welcomes them, and explains the challenge. Blue goes first since they have the fewest pieces. The game will start with three silver pyramids. There is a gold pyramid under one of them. The object is for the team that goes first to put down as many of their own pyramid pieces as they want as long as they leave at least one for the other team. Blue puts down two pieces and Green has to put down one.

The pyramids flip, and Blue gets Green's piece. There is a tie, so Blue goes again with four silver pyramids. Again, Blue puts down two on the middle two pyramids. Green wins and now has nine pieces to Blue's five. Now there are five silver pyramids. Blue put down three in the center. Green covers the ends. Blue gets the gold pyramid. The teams are tied. There are now six silver pyramids. Blue again puts down three. Blue covers one end so Green has to cover the other end. Blue wins! They now have ten pieces and Green has four. There are now seven silver pyramids. Green puts down two pieces, and Blue has to cover the rest. The pyramids flip and ...

Blue wins! Blue now has twelve pieces. Green has two. There are now eight silver pyramids. Green puts down both pieces. Blue has to cover six pyramids. If Blue wins, they will be Endurance champs. The pyramids flip. It is down wo the final two pyramids. Blue team wins! Green looks really disappointed. I think that it is karma because they thought so littel of Blue and thought they had things locked up. Blue team will be traveling with their families to Australia. Ben said that it is overwhelming to say they were the weakest team, but they won in the end. Ben said that he and Jordyn were awesome partners, and they encouraged each other the entire time.