For the first time this season an episode of The Challenge was not centered around C.T. He played almost no role in this episode, instead Marlon and Knight were two of the bigger players in the show.
It was evident from the beginning that the episode would feature Marlon when they focused on his sexuality from the get-go. First they showed Marlon and Derek's somewhat secretive hook-up, and then showed the clip of Marlon telling his Real World Portland cast that he was bisexual. When the members of the house found out Marlon was bisexual many were surprised, including Knight.
Things got out of hand during an innocent game of charades, when Knight volunteered to act out Marlon, and made an obscene gesture aimed at Marlon's sexuality, one which Marlon didn't like very much. The reaction from the rest of the house was split, with some laughing, but most saying it was out of line. Knight and Marlon faced off but nothing came from it as there were just words exchanged.
Not long after that as Aneesa was explaining her coming out story, Trishelle chimed in with a sarcastic comment. Aneesa attempted to confront her, but not much was accomplished as Trishelle had no reason as to why she even opened her mouth. All in all Trishelle ended up looking silly in the whole encounter.
The next morning Trishelle made the decision that she didn't want to be there anymore so she decided to leave. Because she left, that meant Sarah was partnerless and she had to be sent home as well. This was different from the Cooke and Naomi situation because Naomi left to attend to a family matter, while Trishelle didn't have a legitimate excuse to leave. This is the second time Sarah has had to leave a challenge because her partner either got kicked off, or just left.
After Sarah was sent home it was time for another challenge. The challenge was called mind over splatter. The challenge had each time climb up a rope ladder, and then slide down two shaky ropes to a platform where they would have to ring a bell. The challenge was held above the water, and if any member fell in the water they had to start all over again, fastest time wins the challenge.
After T.J. described what the challenge would entail, he gave Wes' and Preston's teams their penalty for not participating in last weeks challenge, which was a 30 second addition to their times, and they had to go first. This penalty alone essentially eliminated each of these two teams from contention, and being that it was a guys day that could loom large. Knight and Preston were the only team to not complete the course within ten minutes and that meant they were headed to the jungle.
The winners on the girls side were Emily and Paula, again, for the third straight time. The guys side finally saw a new team winning, as Johnny and Frank beat out Jordan and Marlon, and Zach and Trey by a slim margin. This meant Johnny and Frank were safe from elimination, and the girls would have to vote for which guy pair would face off against Knight and Preston. While it would have been very interesting to see Marlon and Jordan go up against Knight and Preston, the girls voted in Robb and Derek, again, by a three to two vote over Jordan and Marlon.
The jungle was called slappers, and it had one member from each team in a circle while blindfolded. The object was to break a stick over your opponent, and the first team to do so twice would win the jungle. The blindfolded players also were wearing bells on their shoes, and were spun around about ten times before being able to go.
The first heat pitted Robb against Preston. Robb was able to take this one as he broke his stick over Preston's back. From then on out Preston and Knight's communication was superb, and that was a key factor for the rest of the jungle. Knight went up against Derek, and used a sound strategy of getting low, and was able to break his stick on Derek's legs. The final heat had Knight going up against Robb in a win or go home battle. Knight again was able to stay low, and Robb couldn't adjust. With Preston using code words, Knight knew exactly when to strike, and once again broke his stick over his opponents leg, this time though it was Robb.
This marked the end of the road for Robb and Derek, as Knight and Preston pulled a minor upset in the jungle. The upset was minor because neither team is very strong, and neither figures to be a factor in the end.
With Knight coming back to the house Marlon was prepared to have more battles with him. But Knight surprised everyone when he went over and apologized to Marlon, admitting that what he did was wrong, something that Knight rarely ever does. That problem seemed to be smoothed over by the end of the episode, and then the show was able to focus on Marlon's love life again. Marlon was seen "vibing" with Nany, and then they went to hooking-up.
It is rare that a rookie gets a lot of attention on an episode of the challenge. Usually the veterans take all the story-lines, as the rookies wait it out and try to keep a low profile. But Marlon is a different guy, and this episode focused on him a lot, and did so successfully. Marlon has a story different from everyone else in the house, and he is not afraid to stand up for himself, making his every move must see tv.
It was nice to get a break from the usual C.T. bullying everyone around, and see a rookie stand his ground. Marlon definitely made it clear that this seasons rookies will definitely not be pushovers.