Road Trip: Central Africa

Road Trip: Central Africa is the fifth season of the travel reality competition show devised by SJ productions. The show follows a group of individuals travelling around in a select number of recreational vehicles (RVs) from a starting point to a finishing point across a predetermined route. At each city/town pit-stop, the group compete in either an individual or team-based immunity challenge to win the role of 'tour leader'. The worst performing individual in each challenge is put up for 'repatriation', along with another individual of the tour leader's choosing. Everyone other than the three stated cast a vote in the deliberation for who they wish to repatriate, with the individual receiving the most votes kicked-off the road trip. When only two road trippers remain, a jury consisting of the last seven eliminated players vote for who they wish to win the £50,000 prize. The series is hosted by Big Brother UK alumni Lincoln Mackenzie (Season 1 & All-Stars) and Sinead McGrath (Season 2 & All-Stars).

This season began at Mount Cameroon, Cameroon and ended in São Tomé and Príncipe. The tour consisted of countries within 'Central Africa', visiting five of these countries in total. The winner of the season was Etienne Coulibaly, defeating Sajid Ghorbani in a 5-2 vote to become Champion of the Road Trip.

Voting History
Key
 * This person won the challenge and became the tour leader.
 * This person was safe during the episode and cast a vote for who to eliminate.
 * This person was safe during the episode but did not cast a vote for who to eliminate.
 * This person finished last in the challenge and was therefore automatically nominated for repatriation and remained on the road trip.
 * This person was nominated by the tour leader for repatriation and remained on the road trip.
 * This person finished last in the daily challenge and ultimately eliminated in the repatriation vote.
 * This person was nominated by the tour leader and ultimately eliminated in the repatriation vote.

Game Summary
^¹ Group 1 was picked by team captain Sajid. He selected Luke, Etienne and Kwame.

^² Group 2 was picked by team captain Tamela. She selected Patrice, Rain and Bettina.

Episode #1 - Cameroonian Runs
Thirteen brand new road trippers arrive in the Central African country of Cameroon. Standing at the base of Mount Cameroon, an active volcano and the highest point in Central Africa. As the group wait, they hear the sound of beeping horns getting closer and closer, with Lincoln and Sinead driving both RVs before the road trippers. The contestants notice that the RVs have been given a makeover this season, featuring larger wheels and a more robust exterior to make them suitable for the African terrain. Lincoln and Sinead both welcome the contestants to Road Trip, hoping that this season will be both the toughest and most adventurous yet. Each contestant is given a chance to introduce themselves to everyone, knowing that first impressions are always key in the game. After their introductions, Lincoln tells the participants that they’ll immediately be getting to their first daily challenge, which will be a “throwback” to ‘’Chilean Adventure’’. In a race up the mountain, the group will face puzzle stations along the way, which they must complete before being able to move on. The first individual to the end of the course (which would roughly be a three-hour trek without puzzles) will be awarded the first daily win, earning themselves a luxury all-expenses paid holiday to The Palace of the Lost City resort in South Africa. As usual, the individual who finishes in last-place will automatically be nominated for the first repatriation. All thirteen players are given an hour to prepare for the race, being supplied with a rucksack of water bottles and high-sugar snacks to aid them in the challenge. Sinead reminds everybody that whilst it is a race, that all of them must be aware of the signs of dehydration and exhaustion, taking breaks whenever necessary. Luke offers everybody on the tour a sachet of electrolyte powder from his personal bag, having brought it with him knowing that it would come in useful throughout Africa. Everybody on the tour accepts this offer, feeling grateful to Luke for his generosity in this moment.

Everybody lines up to begin their race, having been made aware of the marked path they are to follow in trekking up the mountain. Straight away, oldest female Mary and slightly-heavier Bettina both fall behind, finding both the heat and the incline are making the activity difficult. However, the three puzzles stationed equally along the course prove to be the great equaliser, knocking more athletic players further behind in the race. After passing the first two puzzles, Etienne, Luke, Patrice, Rain, Sajid and Tamela find themselves out in front, with Johanna, Kwame and Mary bringing up the rear. Johanna and Kwame both begin panicking on the second puzzle, aware that their physical capabilities are not what will fail them this time, becoming more concerned after Mary is able to pass them. Pleased with her mid-tier position, self-described “out of shape” Bettina pauses to take a quick rest beside some bushes, seeing nobody directly ahead or behind her. The exhausted twenty-four year old quickly rushes into a nearby bush, making strained grunts and moans for several minutes before re-emerging. A hysterical Bettina confesses to the camera that she just had “a loose passing”, apologising to the audience at home as she awkwardly keeps running with ‘travellers stomach issues’. After three-hours and forty-two minutes, Luke and Patrice appear as the top two in the challenge, gently jogging to the finish line together. An exhausted Patrice appears disappointed, knowing that athletic-male Luke will likely be able to outrun her in this final portion. However, Luke decides to chivalrously allow Patrice to run ahead of him, giving her the first daily win. Patrice tearfully hugs Luke after they both finish, thanking him and promising to pay him back in any way she can. Sajid, Etienne, Rain and a caught-up Frankie take 3rd-6th place respectively, all pleased to remain safe thus far. The safe individuals are soon joined by Jay, Tamela and Bettina, with the latter rushing to a nearby bathroom to ‘relieve herself’. The group are shocked to note Spencer and expected last placer Mary claiming ninth and tenth place, leaving athletic Johanna and Kwame still out on the course. Despite finally finishing her slide-puzzle ahead of Kwame, Johanna is unable to outrun him during the final portion of the challenge, narrowly leaving her in last-place and guaranteed to face the first repatriation.

After the challenge, the thirteen road trippers board their RVs and drive to a local jungle lodge where they’ll remain overnight. Upon arrival, the group split off and begin unpacking their belongings in their rooms, taking turns to use the single-sex bathrooms and communal showers. Having suffered with her stomach, Bettina takes double the time of everybody else in the toilet, frustrating Frankie who also needs to use it. Inquiring as to how much longer she’ll take, Frankie is shouted at through the door by Bettina, demanding that she give her privacy or “use the boy’s toilet” instead. The girls continue arguing through the toilet door for several minutes, only ending after Frankie is assured by the boys that using their toilet is fine. Viewing the fight, daily winner Patrice talks with Etienne and Rain, who have been bonding whilst discussing the challenge. The trio note Frankie’s attitude to Bettina, all agreeing that it seems ‘out of order’ that she’d not give Bettina privacy when they are all aware of her stomach issues. Patrice goes on to tell Etienne and Rain that she’s grateful she doesn’t have to nominate anybody after this first win, otherwise she’d be grasping at straws to find reasons to put somebody up (insinuating that Frankie is the only person to give her a reason thus far). Showering at the same time in their bathing suits, Tamela cannot help but admire athletic Luke’s body, admitting in a confessional that she already has a slight crush ever since she “heard (his) Irish accent”. Tamela spends time talking to Luke in the shower, noting that he is more than happy to flirt back, complimenting her on her strength in the challenge. The pair take their conversation to the bedroom, where Tamela happily gives Luke a calf massage after he momentarily complains of post-run cramp.

Lincoln and Sinead call the group to the lodge courtyard, where they’ve had prepared a Cameroonian meal of goat brochettes (kebabs) and corn fufu (resembling a corn dumpling), with local vegetables on the side. Over dinner, Spencer entertains the entire group with his impressions of famous characters, pleasantly surprising everyone who had written him off as a ‘quiet nerd’. This tactic earns Spencer favour with the group, enabling others to be more willing to engage in conversation with him. Further into the meal, Etienne, Sajid and Frankie sit together and talk about their reasons for signing up for Road Trip. Sajid tells the pair that in his youth he was unable to travel, growing up “poor and isolated” in Iran. However, thanks to his IT skills he was able to move around Europe to his now home in London. Sajid explains that the trip gives him the chance to make up for lost time in travelling, whilst branching out from his traditionally introverted lifestyle. Etienne and Frankie both laugh as they admit their reasons aren’t nearly as impressive, having wanted to simply travel and that they were both largely unfamiliar with the show prior to applying. The three note that being the only people from their respective countries on this season (France, Iran and Australia), that they all could find it harder fitting in than those from the USA. Despite the meal having a positive vibe, Tamela decides to jokingly remark on the amount Bettina is eating, telling her to “relax” and “think of the communal toilet” before “shovelling more food into (her) mouth”. This comment understandably upsets and embarrasses Bettina, who tells Tamela that if she’s hungry that she’ll eat, going on to critique Tamela by stating “not all of us are here to look good for the boys, some of us have a man back home”. Bettina then purposely overly licks and sucks the kebab juice off her fingers, loudly declaring “delicious” as Tamela rolls her eyes, with clear tension currently between the pair. In a confessional, Tamela claims to have hoped that “someone like Bettina would have a better sense of humour”, having assumed that “chunky people were more jolly”. Breaking the awkwardness, Sinead tells the group that they should consider getting some sleep early, as tomorrow they’ll be moving on to their next location, that for somebody will already be the end of their time on Road Trip.

Episode #2 - Leaving With Regrets
In the early hours of the morning, the group pack their things from their jungle lodge and place them aboard the two RVs stationed outside. Top two daily performers Luke and Patrice and last-place finisher Johanna are the first to board the bus. Whilst given some privacy, the trio talk through a plan to save Johanna from elimination, having bonded over the belief that the three of them could be a power group to control the game through challenge wins. Johanna admits to being nervous, having expected much more from herself than to already be in this position. As others begin entering the bus, the conversation turns to Luke's injured calf, that he complains is still acting up after straining it during the first challenge. With everyone aboard, the RVs drive a long eight-hour journey east to Cameroon's capital city Yaoundé. In the second RV rides Etienne, Jay, Mary, Rain, Spencer and Tamela. Throughout the journey, Spencer decides to continue his game of playing social-joker, making Rain laugh during their conversation. Rain seems impressed by Spencer, feeling as though he could doesn't appear to be the easy target that she had initially thought him to be.

After some time driving, Jay joins Rain at the back to the RV to talk through their mutual adoration for the gym and working out. Jay confesses that in the past he’s taken part in light-bodybuilding competitions, something which Rain has considered getting into herself. Jay then asks Rain how she feels about Johanna’s nomination, to which Rain admits that whilst it is nerve wracking seeing another athletic female lose so early on, that she is ultimately glad to have her biggest competition at risk. The pair agree that regardless of who Johanna is nominated against, that they would be foolish to not consider taking this opportunity to weed out a major threat. Finishing his nap, Spencer awakens to join the pair in conversation, spending more of his time bonding with Jay, who he initially worried was the ‘polar opposite’ of him. Jay jokes around with Spencer, feeling as though they have a “brotherly bond”, and in his confessional claims to believe that he, Rain and Spencer could be potential allies moving forward, as they’d be “a good combination of brawn and brains”. In the second RV rides Bettina, Frankie, Johanna, Kwame, Luke, Patrice and Sajid. Frankie and Sajid talk up front, eager to get a good view of the Central African landscape that they’re travelling through. Throughout the conversation, the pair continue to get along well after bonding the night before, leading to the two of them having a private conversation during a brief lunch-stop. Sajid assures Frankie that he’ll look out for her in the game, to which she promises in return that she’ll look for others to join an alliance for themselves.

Arriving in Yaoundé, the group immediately head to Yaoundé Lake, a small lake situated besides the city. Lincoln and Sinead wait for the group, welcoming them to their second daily challenge. With just a few hours until sundown, the group are quickly given an explanation as to how the challenge will work. One at a time, each contestant will read a local Cameroonian riddle, informing them which three items (out of a supplied group of ten) are needed to be transported to the other side of the lake. Lincoln explains that the catch is that the contestants will need to transport their items across in a small local rowing boat, that is only big enough for themselves to stand in along with their items. If a contestant falls from their boat, they must return to shore and continue again. If a contestant reaches the other side and their items are wrong, they must return and replace the item/s they believe to be wrong. The individual with the fastest time will be declared the winner, whilst the slowest time will automatically face Johanna in the first repatriation. The eleven eligible players each take their turn in the challenge, finding that solving the riddle will be key to preventing losing time. Despite Bettina and Luke getting the riddle right on their first turn, both immensely struggle in getting their boat to the other side, often falling off due to uneven weight and Luke’s sore leg making standing difficult. Additionally, Etienne also struggles after getting the riddle wrong on two occasions, trying to make up time by rowing fast after he only falls in on one occasion. Finding more success, Sajid’s ability to work out the riddle in the fastest time give him a good head start, keeping his chances high despite him falling in the water on two occasions. Rain and Tamela also feel confident after their performances, having kept their balance throughout the task and both getting the items right on their first turn. The group are gathered just as the sun sets over Yaoundé, waiting for Lincoln and Sinead to supply the results. Sinead announces that Tamela finished in third, with Sajid coming second, leaving Rain to take the win in the second daily challenge. With more sombre news, Lincoln names Bettina, Etienne and Luke as the bottom three, with Luke’s time being narrowly slower than Bettina’s, shockingly placing him up for repatriation against Johanna.

All the road trippers are brought into the nightlife of Yaoundé, sitting down together for the chance to grab food and drinks as they determine who between Johanna and Luke will be the first ousted from the road trip. Luke remains in shock after his loss, sombrely declaring in his confessional that giving Patrice the win over himself in the first challenge may have been too arrogant in hindsight. He laments at facing-off against Johanna in the vote, having wanted to work alongside her moving forward; now knowing that he has no choice but to campaign against her or be the first to leave himself. Mary finds Luke taking a moment by himself outside the restaurant, comforting him as she realises his disappointment in himself. Luke explains to Mary that he thinks pride has been his biggest issue so far, knowing that if he’s able to survive this he needs to look out for himself before others. Mary assures Luke that she believes he will be safe, declaring that his kindness and generosity so far has already won her over, promising to vote Johanna at the vote. Elsewhere, Johanna tries her best to make deals with individuals to save herself, unsure how best to campaign against well-liked Luke. As the evening draws to a close, Lincoln and Sinead gather the group out to a private piece of grass, telling them that those eligible must now place a key-fob into the holder that reads the name of the individual they’d like to leave the tour. In the end, Luke’s much stronger social game and established bonds are enough to save him over Johanna in a 7-2 vote, with only Etienne and Spencer voting against Luke. Johanna begins crying as she is announced to be the first casualty of the tour, having expected to make it much further. She wishes the entire group well, telling them not to waste the opportunity like she feels she has, privately confessing that she ‘regrets not campaigning harder and more ruthlessly against Luke’. After Johanna departs from the area, the final eleven head back to their accommodation to get some rest, all feeling weary now seeing how quickly the game can come to an end for somebody pitted to have gone much further.

Episode #3 - Monkey See, Monkey Do
Following an emotional exit from Johanna, all twelve remaining road trippers return to their lodgings, accepting the reality that anyone can leave the game at any moment regardless of physical ability. In a confessional, Spencer talks about being one of the two votes to keep Johanna, terrified to realise that somebody’s chances of survival dramatically change depending on who they face off against via challenge loss or nomination. Spencer appears emotional around the others, tearing up as he talks about a perceived “unfairness”, claiming that it ‘should’ve been someone like him’. The entire group appear to roll their eyes at Spencer’s behaviour, finding it self-victimising as well as making somebody else’s elimination about himself. Despite having ‘aligned’ with Spencer, Rain admits that she “can’t stay too close to someone who wants to behave like a pussy”. She goes on to mock Spencer in her confessional, laughing as she declares she may have to secure allies elsewhere if his behaviour continues. The next morning, the group travel two-hours to the nearby town of Mfou, somewhat saddened to be back in more basic surroundings after spending the previous day in Yaoundé.

On arrival, the girls and boys separate into same-sex rooms, with Patrice and Tamela opting to shack-up together. The two girls sit and discuss alliances in the game, causing Patrice to confess to Tamela that she had considered working closely with Luke and Johanna, although this plan is “no longer viable” given Johanna has been eliminated. Patrice discusses that their alliance had been based on keeping the strong together, going on to note Tamela’s strong showing in the second challenge. This leads the girls to swear loyalty, feeling as two strong women they would be better off working as one. Tamela agrees with Patrice that Luke would be a useful ally, both laughing when acknowledging they both have crushes on him. Before the girls can continue talking, Jay enters their room, complaining to the pair that the muscles in his back are sore, requesting that Tamela give him a massage. Tamela passes on the offer, telling Jay to ‘ask whoever he’s sharing with’. Jay decides to poke fun at Tamela, claiming he thought she was “easy” given her known flirtatious behaviour with Luke on the first night. This jibe causes Tamela to quickly swear at Jay, telling him to leave their room before she “decks him”. Jay laughs as he exits, not seeming to care that he’s both angered and upset Tamela, instead trying to hide his damaged ego. Patrice comforts Tamela after this, annoyed to see “misogyny is alive and well” on the road trip.

Having put their belongings away, the group drive a short-distance to Mefou National Park, a primate sanctuary that houses chimpanzees, gorillas and several species of monkey. Lincoln and Sinead await to give the group their tour, showing off the conservation charity’s hard work over the last few decades. During the tour, Rain tells the guide that she in fact does “a really good impression of a gorilla”. Rain proceeds to begin ‘oo-ing’ and ‘ah-ing’ as she arches her back, beating her chest and moving around the ground like a gorilla. Everybody stands silently confused as Rain does this, watching as she begins whimpering to the guide to give her a banana. This behaviour naturally annoys the entire group, who all feel as though Rain embarrassed them and herself by doing this. In his confessional, Sajid claims that by the time the show goes out to air he wouldn’t be surprised if the Mefou National Park has closed itself to foreign visitors. After the tour, Lincoln and Sinead tell the group that they’ll be emulating the primates that they’ve seen in the daily challenge; facing a sixteen metre length course, competitors must swing from eight dangling ropes situated two metres apart. Each competitor will have ten minutes to complete the course, and may not touch the ground at all for their swings to be a success. The individual with the fastest time will be declared the winner, whilst the slowest time (or the person whose personal best was the least far if they exceed the ten minutes) will automatically face repatriation. Predictably, ‘less-athletic’ players Bettina and Mary both struggle in the challenge, unable to complete the course in the ten minutes. Jay also struggles due to his sore back, but seems confident that he got further than at least one of the women. Both women are given hope after watching Kwame compete, hearing an audible ‘pop’ as he attempts his second swing, causing him to fall in pain as he claims that his shoulder momentarily “came out of place”. Kwame willingly gives up some of his time to have medical quickly check him, assuring him that he’s okay to continue. However, Kwame’s pain level remains high, and he too is unable to finish the course or make much progress. Oppositely, athletic players Etienne, Patrice and Rain are all able to make it across the ropes on their first attempt, with both women hoping to have done well enough to secure a second daily win. Sajid also surprises the entire group by doing well, getting across in one go whilst mocking Rain’s gorilla noises made earlier. With everybody having competed, Lincoln names Sajid and Rain to have finished in fourth and third place respectively, admitting he is sad to see pretending to be a gorilla didn’t earn them extra points. Etienne is revealed to have finished in second, awarding Patrice her second daily win. Sinead then names that of the bottom four, that Jay, Bettina and Mary all got far enough to keep themselves safe, leaving ‘injured’ player Kwame as last-place and automatically facing repatriation. Patrice is then asked by the hosts to name her choice to face Kwame in the vote, leaving her stuck on who to select. In the end, Patrice selects somebody she previously saw cause conflict, naming Frankie as her nomination.

Nominees Frankie and Kwame are told that they have just over an hour to campaign to remain in the game, as the group will be voting at sundown for one of them to be the next to leave the road trip. Oldest female Mary spends time congratulating Patrice on her second daily win, knowing that being close to those who regularly win power will be beneficial for her game. Patrice thanks Mary for her kind words, giving her advice on how to keep from slipping to the bottom in upcoming challenges. Mary tells Patrice that she's aware there'll come a time where she's unable to avoid last-place, but for now hopes people see her as a non-threat. Elsewhere, Rain begins campaigning to get Frankie voted out of the game, having disliked her 'vibe' from early on. Rain pulls Bettina to one side, soon being joined by Tamela who has yet to talk to Bettina since their fight on the first night. During the conversation, both women are able to somewhat make peace and put their differences behind them. Despite Rain's intentions, Tamela is able to flip the conversation to instead be anti-Kwame, calling him "awkward to be around", and also not wanting to lose another female so early on. Bettina claims to be unsure, having had a negative run-in with Frankie herself, still feeling bitter about their bathroom argument. Both Frankie and Kwame have similar campaigns, somewhat realising that neither of them have particularly strong social bonds going into this vote. Etienne and Sajid promise Frankie to vote alongside her, sticking to their pact made on the first night of looking out for one another. In a confessional, Tamela voices her disappointment in Patrice, disheartened that she'd nominate a woman over Jay, nervous that the game could quickly turn to 'gender lines' as was the case in the last two seasons. At sundown, the group meet besides the gorilla enclosure to cast their key-fobs for either Frankie or Kwame to leave the game. Etienne, Tamela, Sajid and Tamela's crush Luke all cast their votes against Kwame, having failed to bond with him in these first few days. Rain and her 'allies' Spencer and Jay all vote against Frankie, being joined by Mary who did so in order to please daily winner Patrice. Bettina's vote ultimately goes against day one enemy Frankie, getting her revenge by eliminating her in a 5-4 vote. Frankie seems somewhat surprised by her elimination, having felt confident that she had enough support just minutes earlier. The final eleven head away from the National Park, leaving Frankie behind with the primates. On the drive back to their accommodation, Kwame (who nurses his shoulder in a makeshift sling) talks privately to the camera, noting this to be the wake-up call he needed to start ramping up his social game.

Episode #4 - Holywood Walk of Shame
On the next day of the road trip, the final eleven competitors pack their belongings and board the RV, having been instructed to get up early for a long day of travelling ahead. The group take a fifteen hour journey south into neighbouring Gabon, heading to its coastal capital Libreville. Throughout the journey, many of the contestants spend their time bonding and getting some rest, finding travelling in the African heat exhausting. Kwame causes a stir in the first RV, talking openly about growing up in Ghana to a well-off family, and tales of his education privately abroad in the UK. He begins by telling jokes of sexual escapades with ‘British girls’, suggesting that social-morality is different in Africa and Britain. Mary becomes irritated by his story, calmly calling him hypocritical for talking badly about British girls whilst also “gloating about sleeping with them”. Kwame tries to explain that to him it is a difference between “who is acceptable for a hook-up, and who makes a good wife”, leading to Mary to label him “childish and ignorant”, going further by claiming that “(his) nanny should’ve done a better job raising him”. Kwame laughs at being able to irritate Mary, calling it a cultural and generation gap between them. However, she goes on to point out that she’s only ten years older than him, and that at twenty-five he’s “hardly a child” himself. After a long and gruelling day of travel, the group arrive in Libreville, taking stay in a local hotel after opting to skip an evening meal due to their tiredness. Once again sharing a room, allies Tamela and Patrice talk about Patrice’s decision to nominate Frankie over Jay, which Tamela confesses did irritate her. Tamela talks about finding Kwame irritating, concerned that he would be the kind of man to only target women in the game. Patrice explains that Frankie wasn’t working with either of them, and that her elimination shouldn’t impact their positions. However, both women agree in future to make decisions that they’re both comfortable with, going further to make a final two pact and ensure they spend the next few days building their alliance.

The following morning, the group meet Lincoln and Sinead outside for a scheduled brief tour around Libreville, leading them to their next daily challenge. Rumour spreads around the group that during the previous night, Patrice and Luke met-up at the hotel bar and proceeded to share a drink before ‘kissing’. However, both deny the rumours, calling it childish to spread such false information. The pair are seen spending time together during the tour, seemingly too deep in conversation to take note of the Presidential Palace as the group take photos beside it. During their conversation, Patrice pitches to Luke that he continue to work with her and Tamela, bringing them into a secure alliance to which they can add others. In her confessional, Patrice once again denies that she kissed Luke, nervous that it is individuals purposely trying to put a rift between herself and Tamela, although she claims that neither of them would be immature enough to fight over a man. Prior to attending lunch, the group walk past a Roman Catholic chapel, causing some members of the tour to request a moment to enter. Practising Catholic Etienne is particularly moved entering the chapel, conversing in his native French to a local chaplain, before lighting a candle for a deceased family member. Whilst inside, other Catholic Jay begins talking to Sajid, who entered the chapel out of interest despite being from an Islamic family (now identifying as an Atheist). After leaving the chapel, Etienne appears visibly annoyed by Jay, who he openly calls rude for speaking ‘loudly’ in the chapel whilst others were trying to pray. Jay criticises Etienne for this, pointing out that he too was speaking (albeit to the chaplain), to which Etienne once again calls Jay disrespectful for his actions. Jay goes on to point out that his family are Catholic, and that his grandfather being Pakistani-Muslim led to him wanting to converse with Sajid in the chapel; although Etienne hardly finds this a reasonable excuse. In his confessional, Jay claims that he and Etienne haven’t bonded since the start, viewing this argument as being “Etienne trying to find any excuse to fight (him)”. Meanwhile, Etienne equally speaks about a lack of cohesion between the men in his confessional, viewing Jay as “ignorant” to others’ cultures and practices.

Following Chapelgate, the group find themselves at the Stade d’Angondje, a sports stadium located in a suburb of Libreville. Lincoln explains to the group that in honouring football (soccer) as the national sport of Gabon, the group will be playing a penalty shoot-out for their daily challenge. One at a time, each player will be given five penalties against a stationary dummy goalkeeper, with targets corresponding to a specific number of points situated around the goal. The individual with the most accumulated points will be declared the winner, whilst the lowest scorer will automatically face repatriation. Many of the girls complain during the challenge, finding the men have ‘an advantage’, although this is shut down by Sinead, who points out that females are more than capable of doing well in football despite to their argument. Contrary to Sinead’s words, all the men appear to do well during their penalty shoot-outs, with the exception of Spencer (which are done in private so as to not allow others to know scores). Whilst waiting for the girls to take their turns, Etienne, Kwame and Sajid confess to having played football growing up (both recreationally and for local clubs), with Luke and Jay noting that due to their builds they were shafted into playing rugby instead. For the women, both Rain and Mary do well enough to feel confident in their scores, with Mary joking that playing football in the garden with her sons has paid-off. After the challenge, regular high-placers Etienne and Sajid are once again disappointed to find out that they’ve just lost out on the win, placing second and third respectively. Sinead names Kwame as having gone from worst to first, beating Etienne by just two points to secure his first daily win. Lincoln names Bettina and Tamela as the joint-lowest scorers, leading to a tiebreaker between the two girls. Both women are given a chance at three more shots each (again without seeing the other perform), with Tamela ultimately able to beat Bettina comfortably in the tiebreaker, leaving the latter automatically nominated for repatriation. Bettina takes the loss in good spirits, claiming that with four out of four poor performances she was ‘simply buying herself time with each performance’. Kwame is asked by Sinead to name his nomination for repatriation, to which he quickly decides that he’ll be nominating Mary, who he claims he hasn’t bonded with and doubts they “have any future” after their argument the previous day.

Heading out towards a local restaurant, the group are supplied with a Gabonese buffet, enabling them time to socialise and talk-through who between Bettina and Mary they’d like to repatriate. Spencer spends time over dinner with Mary, comforting her after her nomination at Kwame’s hands. Spencer jokes to Mary that as the youngest member of the tour, he cannot afford to vote out his “tour mother”, a role Mary is more than happy to fill. Spencer tells Mary that he’ll approach others in order to campaign on her behalf, feeling as though they could claim that Bettina is less deserving to stay due to her poor performance in the last few challenges. After speaking again with Mary herself, Patrice approaches ally Tamela and Etienne, who the girls identified as a potential number for their cause, particularly after his irritation towards Jay became apparent earlier in the day. Patrice pitches to the pair that voting out Bettina could be best for them, believing that Mary is a potential ally for them moving forward. Despite both seeing truth in what Patrice says, Etienne claims that Mary is “harder to read” than Bettina, worried that Mary is floating and trying too hard to play the middle ground. The group observe Mary spending time with Spencer, who the three all feel some mistrust towards as a player, with Etienne concerned there may be an alliance between him and Jay, and that they too could be vying for Mary as a number. Bettina herself attempts campaigning, knowing that she cannot play up the ‘mum’ angle like Mary. Instead, Bettina points out her being an unlikely candidate to win challenges, spending time with Rain who she feels could be influential in getting her support. With the votes due, the group head over to a private room in their restaurant to begin casting their votes, where Mary finds support from Spencer, Patrice and Luke. However, Patrice’s allies Etienne and Tamela vote against Mary, being joined by Rain, Jay and Sajid to eliminate her in a 5-3 vote, with Bettina’s non-existent threat level and more vocal social game proving preferential to a ‘tour mother’. Mary tearfully says her goodbyes to select members of the group, particularly wishing those who voted to save her well. Prior to leaving, Mary openly declares regret over voting to keep Kwame in the game, having wished her vote was the one that sent him home, reminding the group to not let “ugly personalities” make it too far into the game. Kwame decides not to rise to Mary’s jibes, instead thanking the group for voting out his choice for nomination. The final ten are driven back to their hotel, where they’ll be staying for an extra two-nights. On the short drive back, Tamela begins to worry that with just four women left, the game may once again be headed to male-dominated gender lines.

Episode #5 - Poker Face
Still in Libreville, the final ten road trippers relax on Pointe-Denis beach, taking time to sunbathe, play ball games and swim in the ocean. On the beach, Jay tries to practice his hand stands, eventually stretching too far and ripping his bathing shorts. An embarrassed Jay runs into the water for cover, laughing along with the others as he hides his buttocks from their view. Jay tells the cameras that he’s glad that he at least has “a nice butt”, certain that somebody was able to enjoy the view. Nearby Tamela eventually gives Jay a towel, helping him cover up and walk over to the sun loungers. Jay thanks Tamela for her help, leading to the pair laughing and bonding over the incident. Jay goes on to apologise to Tamela for their fight the other day, admitting that he was trying to act ‘big and cocky’ to impress her. Tamela accepts his apology, telling Jay that when he’s not behaving like “an ass” that he “can actually be quite charming”. Elsewhere on the beach, Kwame spends time talking to Luke and Sajid, talking through his concerns that with three women out the game, the remaining four women could team up to form a counter-alliance to prevent any more of them leaving. Luke initially seems confused, claiming that to his knowledge there are “no solid alliances” trying to oust any women, to which Kwame reminds him that “perception is reality”, and that after last season they should be cautious of four women working together. Sajid appears less concerned by this possibility, feeling as though friendships and deals are not along gender lines, but agrees when Kwame claims that Tamela could be the most dangerous of the women socially and strategically. The three men talk through Tamela’s supposed earlier complaints that three women have left consecutively, confirming to them that she plans to oust a man next, hoping that none of them are on her radar. However, they agree that if possible they could prevent her from being able to win the next daily challenge. Although, Luke later claims in his confessional that he feels close to Tamela, and wouldn’t be worried with her or Patrice having control over nominations.

Lincoln and Sinead arrive to disrupt the beach relaxation, informing the group that they’ll now be taken to their next daily challenge, which will determine the final two nominees of the pre-jury phase of the game. The group are escorted a short distance to Casino Croisette, a casino located in the heart of Libreville. Upon entering, the group are all eager and excited to try out the slot machines and tabletop games within the casino. Lincoln explains to the group that for their daily challenge, each competitor will be given five chips (worth roughly £5 each). The competitors will then be given two hours to play either poker, blackjack or roulette, with the goal being to accumulate as many casino chips as possible in this time via successful bets. Sinead adds that the rules stipulate no competitor may buy more chips, nor can they pawn chips to other players, and instead only what they win (or hold onto) will count towards their total. Throughout the afternoon, the ten players individually strategize as to which games they’ll play, as well as what point they should stop betting so as to not fall into last place (or remain out in front). Many of the players choose to keep their chip tally as private as possible, knowing that others being aware of their amount would give them an advantage over themselves. However, some individuals privately tell others their amount, wanting to help their allies out and advise one another on how to play. Patrice confesses to Tamela that she’s gravely concerned, having lost three of her five chips instantly in three rounds of blackjack. Tamela advises her to stop playing, and at most only bet another chip so as to not lose all five. Alternatively, both Bettina and Spencer utilise mental strength throughout the course of the challenge, with Spencer talking about ‘card counting’ in his confessional, enabling both to win comfortably in several rounds of blackjack and poker, wanting to avoid the completely luck based roulette table. Jay amuses several individuals on the tour by abstaining from playing any games, with his strategy relying on the belief that “at least one individual will lose more than one chip to begin with, scaring them from playing anymore games”. Instead of gambling, Jay sits in the casino bar and enjoys a drink with Lincoln, who has chosen not to join Sinead on the slot machines. Like Patrice, Rain also has a shocking bout of bad luck, following Luke to the roulette table after seeing him win several chips. However, she is unable to fathom that betting on red or black would be the only smart strategy; instead she loses several chips on specific numbers hoping to ‘win big’. In a panic, Rain bets her final two chips in remaining games of blackjack, worried that if she doesn’t she’ll finish in last place and automatically face repatriation.

The final ten hand their chips in for tallying, sitting around the casino bar as they’re brought drinks and food courtesy of the group winnings (although Sinead claims 50% of this is thanks to her skilful slot-machine ability). Sinead announces that Jay’s strategy of completely abstention has paid off, as Patrice and Rain have finished as the bottom two of the day, whilst Bettina, Luke and Spencer were easily the highest three of the group. It is revealed that Rain lost her final two chips in blackjack, leaving her with a total of zero and leaving her nominated, whilst Bettina has narrowly beaten the two boys to give another worst-to-first performance, giving her the right to determine who will face-off against Rain in the vote. Bettina tries to theorise which individual she should nominate, determining that it should be one of the individuals who voted against her at the previous elimination. In the end, Bettina decides to nominate Spencer, feeling as though he is both untrustworthy and has no intention of working alongside her, also failing to admit that she also knows that putting him up against Rain would sever any potential alliance between the two. Spencer immediately takes offence to this, angrily begging Bettina to change her mind, finding it “unfair” that she would nominate somebody who almost won the daily over her. Bettina tells Spencer that she won’t change her mind, openly telling him that he’s her preference to leave as she views him as a threat, exposing that she believes he had attempted to make alliances with Mary at the last round and with Rain throughout the course of the game. Rain snaps at Bettina for throwing her name under the bus in this moment, telling her that she’s “talking bull” and has no idea about any alliances. Both Rain and Spencer tag-team Bettina in this moment, going back and forth in arguing with her and saying she’s making a “stupid decision” for her game, suggesting there are others who are much bigger threats than them. Although most of the group choose to let Bettina fight the pair on her own, Sajid ultimately speaks up, telling them that nominations are part of the game, finding it hypocritical that they’ve had little to no care for others until the nomination was on them. Spencer begins shouting in Sajid’s direction, telling him that he ‘openly showed how distraught he was at both Johanna and Mary’s eliminations’. However, Sajid uses this to shut Spencer down, claiming that in being sad Mary left and campaigning for her proved that he would rather Bettina left, noting that “she then made the right choice”. With the fight eventually fizzling out, Lincoln confirms that Rain and Spencer will face repatriation, and that the group have just a few hours to come to their decisions on which of the two they’d like to eliminate.

Spencer remains visibly upset following his nomination, taking time to tear up in front of others to garner sympathy. However, he is unaware that this attitude is what made others weary and irritated by him to begin with, not trusting his display of emotion as genuine. Jay comforts Spencer, disappointed to have two potential allies facing elimination together. He later tells Spencer that he’ll be voting for Rain, thinking that he could likely get some of the other men to do the same, due to the fears that the women may repeat an all-women’s alliance after the last season. Spencer agrees with this, claiming to have heard that Tamela and Patrice wanted ‘at least three men’ to leave next to give the girls the majority again. Both men agree that Kwame would be good to go to with this information, feeling as though he’s the most paranoid about the girls working together. However, Kwame is shown to be spending time talking with Rain, telling her that he respects her as a competitor more than Spencer, who he doesn’t appreciate due to his attempts at saving his nominee Mary at the last vote. At the vote, the group begin casting their key-fobs for who the wish to leave the process. Sinead wheels out a special slot-machine vote reveal, which will reveal the votes (as ‘Rain’ or ‘Spencer’ one-by-one), pulling the lever to see who’ll be departing from the road trip. In a 5-2 vote, Spencer becomes the first man to be repatriated from the season, having only gained sympathy and support off ally Jay and Luke, who claimed to be voting against Rain to prevent it being unanimous. Spencer admits to being heartbroken at leaving the game, once again calling out Bettina and telling the others to “stop carrying her dead weight around”, to which Bettina tells him she’s “won more challenges than (he) ever will”. The group leave Spencer inside the casino, heading back to the hotel to get an early night before another day of travel ahead. On the journey back, Luke hysterically laughs to himself, admitting in a confessional that he’s now voted in the minority at every single elimination, nervous that any of the three he’s voted against could seek revenge on him, similarly to Bettina’s successful revenge on Spencer.

Episode #6 - The Silhouette of an Alliance
In the early hours of the morning, the group check-out of their Libreville hotel and head into their RVs for a six-hour journey to Lopé National Park, a nature reserve located in central Gabon. Throughout the morning and whilst in the RVs, Bettina makes it her mission to apologise to the entire group for the fights that took place the previous day, insisting that in nominating Spencer she was doing what was best for her game, rather than “looking for drama”. Everybody (including Rain) seems grateful for Bettina’s apology, insisting that she needn’t apologise for doing what was required of her. In a confessional, Bettina claims to be concerned that she’s yet to form any solid alliances, and that if she were to be at risk again she could very easily be ousted from the tour, but hopes that her morning of damage control may have bought her some more time. Similarly, Etienne also uses his morning to try and strengthen relationships in the game, having worried that being quieter may have made him expendable to others on the tour. He notes that his game so far has been under the radar, but that he needs to improve his social game and start winning challenges if he's to stand any chance of making it through this second half of the game. Etienne is able to have good conversations with almost the entire group, leading to everyone feeling somewhat closer to him, appreciating that he’s coming more out of his shell. In his own analysis, Etienne privately admits that he sees the game once again heading down gendered lines, with some mixing between a few individuals to blur the lines of any alliances. However, he confesses to feeling closer to Patrice and Tamela than the men, insisting that he wouldn’t join a male alliance over working with the two of them.

Throughout the rest of the journey, Sajid decides it would be best to talk to Rain after the arguments the previous day, wanting to ensure that the air is cleared between them after he stood up for Bettina against herself and Spencer. Although the conversation initially goes well between the pair, Sajid feels slighted after Rain accuses him of ‘butting his nose into her business’, to which he responds by claiming that an open argument is everybody’s business. The conversation continues to go south as Sajid labels Rain rude to her face, claiming that others on the tour also feel that she has a poor attitude. In return, Rain calls Sajid condescending, asking him to move himself away from her if he has “no interest in saying sorry”, which he complies with by ignoring her for the remainder of the day. After six hours, the group arrive in Lopé National Park, excited to be given the chance to see an array of wildlife from elephants to leopards. The final nine are given a private safari around an area of the park, giving them the opportunity to take photos and enjoy their surroundings prior to starting their next daily challenge. When the safari comes to a close, Sinead informs the group that they’ll be immediately getting to their next daily challenge, which will entail travelling down a jungle path, taking a mental note of animal silhouettes hidden along the trail. At the end of the trail, the competitor must arrange a series of tiles corresponding to the silhouettes seen, with their time being taken once the order of the silhouettes is correct. If a competitor is wrong, they may guess again or may return to the start of the path to see the silhouettes in order again. The individual with the slowest time will automatically face repatriation, whilst the quickest competitor will earn the win and the right to nominate somebody else. With alliances in the game becoming more relevant and nobody quite sure who is working with who, all nine seem eager to win and take control for this first post-jury round of the game. Prior to starting the challenge, Luke, Sajid and Jay come together to make a pact, with Jay feeling as though with the tensions that it would be in their interest to work together, which Luke and Sajid agree to. As Jay heads off, Luke and Sajid continue talking, having already established trust between themselves. The two men discuss trusting one another the most in the game at this stage, believing that nobody is truly at risk of nominating them with the exception of Rain. Sajid seems confident that Rain won’t win a mental challenge, confirming to Luke that if they both make it past this round that their intentions of going to the final two together are more likely.

Three at a time, the competitors take on the jungle path, with some tactically running and others going slower, weighing up whether precision or speed will be key to winning the daily challenge. As usual, Etienne has a strong showing in the challenge, with his physical speed once again proving effective as he moves along determined to get his first daily win. Similarly, Tamela and Kwame also show strength, getting their tiles in the right order after just one go in quick-time, with Kwame hoping to redeem himself after doing so poorly in previous athletic events. Bettina once again finds herself struggling in an athletic challenge, falling over on the path and laughing, not realising that in doing so she missed a silhouette hidden in the bushes. Rain also appears to struggle, panicking to race through in good time, but failing to note every silhouette, resulting in her having to repeat the trail several times. Lincoln and Sinead gather the group with the results of the task, confirming that Etienne has got his wish by beating other high placers Kwame and Tamela in his first daily win. Bettina is announced to have once again fallen into last place, leaving her vulnerable in the vote. Etienne is asked by Lincoln to then name who he wishes to face-off against Bettina in the vote, wanting to select an individual who he sees as competition and unlikely to be an ally for himself moving forward. After taking a minute, Etienne apologises as he names Jay as his nominee, declaring his reasoning for being their “different views and personalities”, citing their argument at the chapel as the only good reason he could come up with out of everyone. Jay appears to have expected the result, knowing that he and Etienne hardly get along. However, he quietly remains confident, believing that he has enough votes on side to remain in the process.

Lincoln and Sinead bring the competitors over to an open clearing in the park, where a small enclosure has been set-up for the group to sleep under the stars in a camp-out. The group are informed that in an hour it’ll be sundown, at which point they’ll reconvene around the campfire and cast their votes to eliminate either Bettina or Jay from the road trip. Sajid and Patrice have a conversation whilst unpacking their belongings around the campsite, with Patrice discussing the need for the two of them to consider working together moving forward. Patrice proposes a four-way alliance between herself, Sajid, Luke and Tamela, with Etienne as a fifth vote (which she doesn’t tell Sajid is an insurance option should she want to eliminate himself or Luke prior to the endgame). Sajid agrees with this proposal, thinking it best based on the dynamics of those left in the game. However, Sajid approaches Tamela and Luke who are laying together in one of the camp-beds, letting them know of Patrice’s plan. Although both are happy to hear that alliances are coming into fruition, Sajid then tells the pair that they need to be careful with Patrice trying to ‘run the game’, as she may be more connected than them in making allies. Both Jay and Bettina spend the evening campaigning for votes, with Jay believing that he should have Kwame, Luke, Rain and Sajid on side, leaving Bettina pleading to girls Patrice and Tamela for support, also receiving some help from Etienne (despite him being ineligible to cast a vote). Despite her predicament, Bettina socially works hard to campaign to those she believes she needs to flip, once again relying on the perception of Jay being a bigger threat compared to her, and believing that she can provide a loyal vote further down the line. As the group meet around the campfire, Sinead and Lincoln take turns in drawing fobs to see who has been ousted from the game. As predicted, Tamela and Patrice both vote to repatriate Jay, having no interest in working with him moving forward, whilst Sajid votes to eliminate Bettina, having boned with Jay and believing him to be a more viable ally. In a shocking blindside, Luke, Kwame and Rain all join the vote to eliminate Jay in a 5-1 result, as all three would rather keep a player deemed less threatening and more willing to show her cards. Jay appears both shocked and confused by the result, trying to hide his hurt as he departs from the campsite as the first juror. Bettina tearfully thanks the group, relieved to have survived being nominated a second time. The final eight bed down for the night, hoping that with alliances becoming clearer that the game itself will now be more straight forward.

Episode #7 - Diamonds in the Dirt
In the early hours of the morning prior to the sun rising over Central Africa, the final eight competitors are woken and ordered to pack up into their RVs, each given two local drivers to transport them eleven hours across the border into the Republic of the Congo. In the first RV, Luke and Patrice rest up front, leaving Etienne and Tamela to lay together in a bed towards the back. During the journey, Etienne and Tamela quietly talk and get comfortable together, feeling comfort laying besides the other in the night. An hour after laying together, the pair are seen raising a blanket over their heads, hiding a first-kiss from public view. However, this kiss is noted by both Patrice and Luke, who choose not to address it due to their own tiredness. After a short bathroom and snack break, Etienne changes places with Sajid, joining the second RV with Kwame, Rain and a sleeping Bettina. In the latter third of the journey, Rain, Etienne and Kwame converse about their feelings for the second-half of the game, with Kwame telling the pair that he has no interest in voting either of them out in the coming rounds. Rain adheres to this belief, but admits that she isn’t sure the three of them will agree on who to target. Despite this, Etienne points out that they can have their own targets, but still make an agreement that their target should be outside of this trio. Both Rain and Kwame agree to this, with Rain calling it “the evolution of an alliance”, liking that it enables her safety whilst providing her with remnants of playing individually. In a confessional, Etienne talks about the game currently being broken up into small trios and duos, believing that by aligning with Rain and Kwame he is doing a good job at covering “all the bases”, as both currently seem outsiders along with Bettina.

As the afternoon arrives, both RVs pull up in Djambala, a small town in the Republic of the Congo. The group find Lincoln and Sinead waiting for them, finding this location to be the most basic they have visited yet. The group are informed that overnight the RVs will remain their accommodation, which will be the case for the next few days. Sinead then tells the group that she hopes they were able to rest on the long journey, as they’ll immediately prepare for their next daily challenge, which will be this season’s team challenge. Lincoln brings out four small cups of ‘Pili-Pili casava curry’, a spicy dish popular throughout this region of Africa, telling the group that on his go they must consume their entire cup, with the first two to show empty mouths being awarded the position of team captains for the challenge. Several members choose not to attempt eating the spicy dish, feeling they would be unable to do so or perhaps not desiring the position of captain. Sajid is first to finish his cup, joking that being Middle Eastern certainly benefitted him in tolerating spice. Tamela is next to finish, making the group laugh as she decides to help herself to Bettina’s untouched cup, noting that after her stomach issues she did wise to avoid the dish. For finishing first, Sajid is given the right to choose his first team member before Tamela. Sajid selects his secret final two and closest ally Luke, believing additionally his strength in challenges will benefit them as a team. Similarly, Tamela takes her closest ally Patrice, knowing that she is more than capable at winning challenges. Sajid then takes Etienne, upsetting Tamela who had also wanted to choose him, leaving her to select Rain, believing her to be the best athlete of the three players left. Sajid then decides to officially make the daily men versus women, taking Kwame over regularly poor performer Bettina, keeping his team (Team 1) as four men versus the four women of Tamela’s team (Team 2).

With the teams decided, Sinead tells the players that they must take turns approaching a fifteen-by-fifteen grid, where just ten of these grids hold a diamond below the dirt. Both teams will be supplied ten cryptic clues that can be utilised to decipher which numbered grids feature a diamond, with the first team to find five diamonds being declared the winner of the daily challenge, choosing who to eliminate out of the entire losing team. Both teams work as a unit in deciphering the clues, alternating in which team is able to search which grid first, with less and less to choose from as they work their way through the board. Luke takes leadership of the men, being the only member to correctly identify the location of two diamonds during the task. For the women, Bettina, Patrice and Rain all prove to be more than mentally capable, working together to each locate multiple diamonds. Despite Tamela becoming confused by the task and easily being the worst performer of the day, the other three women are able to carry her to an easy victory, finding their fifth diamond whilst the men remain on Luke’s two, bringing the two-hour challenge to an end. Tamela owns her terrible performance, joking that she isn’t certain she’ll be finding a career in diamond mining anytime soon. Her honest response to her performance and efforts to socialise after the challenge buy Tamela widespread favour, with everybody glad to see she isn’t taking the other women’s efforts for granted. Lincoln announces that as a result of the challenge, all four women have immunity from repatriation and will be the only voters for the day, determining who out of Etienne, Kwame, Luke and Sajid will be leaving the game in eighth place.

The eight competitors return to the RVs where they’re given a short amount of time to socialise prior to the vote, all aware that team challenges are a good moment in the game to bring about power shifts. Feeling at risk, Sajid steps aside with Tamela and ‘enemy’ Rain, who he has argued with several times over the past few days. Despite both Sajid and Rain making peace in the conversation, neither are convinced that the other remaining in the game is in their best interest. Despite this, Tamela openly asks both who they feel should leave the game. Sajid decides to throw Kwame under the bus, feeling as though he is the least connected of the four men, hoping that in doing so it will ensure both his and ally Luke’s survival. Tamela is happy to entertain this idea, stating that of the men Kwame is ‘the only one who never makes an effort with people’. However, Rain later pulls Tamela up on this when the four women convene to discuss the vote, hoping to instead push the vote onto Sajid, who she declares is a bigger threat than Kwame who “has no one”. Despite Rain’s argument, both Patrice and Tamela shut her down, instead wanting to protect the three men (Etienne, Luke and Sajid) who they feel they’ve got a chance at working with. Rain instead turns her attention to Bettina, hoping that as she too isn’t overly connected that she’d be willing to bring the vote to a tie, although Bettina knows that a tie would only risk her own position for the sake of somebody she doesn’t particularly care for. The final eight meet around the campfire besides the RVs, where Lincoln and Sinead prepare to start the repatriation vote. Before the vote begins, Rain decides to call the women out on “shunning” her opinion, ranting that winning means nothing when her one vote won’t count for anything. Rain’s over-the-top rant continues as she begins making wild accusations that the whole game “feels against (her)”, causing everybody to feel negatively towards what they perceive as an unstable player. The women cast their votes, coming to a near unanimous decision of repatriating the least connected Kwame in a 3-1 vote, with an angered Rain remaining solo in her vote against Sajid. Kwame privately warns the men to be weary of the women going ahead, claiming that the four of them could easily take over the game if they don’t start getting more of them out next. After saying his goodbyes, Kwame is led into the second RV and driven off inside, leaving the final seven with just the one RV for the remainder of the journey, with one less RV confirming that they are now entering the final few rounds of the game with everything still to play for.

Episode #8 - The Rain Before the Storm
The final seven remain in their single RV overnight, trying to sleep after Kwame’s elimination. However, Rain remains in an extremely bad mood following the vote, having felt ignored by the other three women. Rain continues ranting loudly that the women should have taken her opinion further into account, leading to Sajid to openly laugh, noting that Rain is clearly ‘upset he’s still in the game’. Rain tells Sajid to “shut up” and that it “isn’t about (him)”. The pair begin arguing, with Sajid once again irritated to see Rain’s complete lack of social awareness in how she speaks to others. Rain responds by calling Sajid “shifty”, claiming that she knows he has alliances with multiple people in the game, and that both he and Patrice are the two trying to do most of the controlling. Patrice intervenes in the argument after this, telling Rain to reign it in and not throw her under the bus because she ‘feels embarrassed that her move against Sajid failed’. Rain continues arguing with both Sajid and Patrice, going on to name Tamela, Etienne and Luke as being “followers” to the pair of them, suggesting that only she and Bettina are playing individual games at this stage. She begins to warn Tamela and Etienne that both of them need to turn on the others, otherwise they’ll be cut as soon as she and Bettina leave the game. Luke speaks up against this, calling Rain “unhinged” and naming her as the worst player in Road Trip history, certain that nobody will buy into her “desperate attempts to save (herself)”. Rain responds by calling Luke “a bitch”, laughing that he “tried to get with Patrice and Tamela” and ended up with neither. Luke brushes this off, once again calling Rain crazy and classless, telling her that nobody on the tour likes her and that she’d be better off sleeping outside in the dirt. The argument eventually ends with Rain moving her things outside, choosing to sleep under a mosquito net on a fold out chair rather than to stay inside with Luke, Patrice and Sajid, the three of whom she labels “freaks” as she leaves. Inside, the three try to make an open pact between the six to all nominate Rain if they win the challenge, ridding themselves of a “cancer” on the tour.

The next morning, the group have an awkward six hour journey south to the Republic of the Congo’s capital city; Brazzaville. On the journey, Rain chooses to sit alone and continue ignoring the group, seemingly only having any positivity towards Etienne and Tamela, as well as Bettina who she views as innocent of being ‘a snake’ like the others. Tamela tries to ‘make peace’ on the journey, openly asking Rain, Luke, Patrice and Sajid to have dialogue and forgive one another, claiming that it is making the tour unnecessarily uncomfortable for all seven of them. Despite her efforts, Tamela is ignored by the foursome, with everybody feeling irritated that this attempt at peace was ill-judged and instead made things more awkward, unsure if it was done to be genuine or make Tamela look good. Upon arrival in Brazzaville, the group are taken to a nearby restaurant where they’re given the freedom to select a quick meal for lunch, joined by Lincoln and Sinead who are keen to hear about the abundance of drama around Rain in the last twelve hours. After eating, some members of the tour decide to break off under the guise of a bathroom break, but are in fact trying to privately socialise prior to the next daily challenge. Best-friends Tamela and Patrice pull Etienne to one side, talking through their plan to reiterate an alliance between the three of them, believing it would be nice to have the three of them at the end of the game given that they are the remaining black individuals in the game. Etienne is more than happy to accept this offer, knowing that it would be momentous to have one of them be the show’s first black winner. However, the trio agree that such a feat won’t be possible unless they’re able to lure in a fourth member, which both women claim should be Luke due to their positive relationship with him. Etienne claims that in getting Bettina or Rain out next (which he believes would be the easiest moves), that they will have likely secured themselves a path to the final three. Patrice laughs, knowing that after Rain’s blow-up the previous night that her elimination is all but certain should anyone else win the daily challenge.

Regrouping in the centre of Brazzaville, Lincoln and Sinead begin to explain the rules of the next daily challenge. Each competitor will be given a set of four photos, each one depicting a  Congolese Sapeurs; a man who wears extravagantly bright clothing (typically suits) in a call-back to the vibrant clothing worn by dandies in the colonial periods. The group must race around Brazzaville, locating the four Sapeurs and obtaining a trinket off each one after handing them their photo. The first competitor to find all four and hand the trinkets to Lincoln and Sinead will be declared the winner, whilst the last individual to do so will automatically face repatriation. Sinead stipulates that competitors may not help one another directly, but that they can seek help off locals if they so wish. As the challenge begins, the group quickly realise that many decoy Sapeurs have been situated around the busy and wide market/shopping areas of the city, making the task of finding the specific individuals much more difficult. Etienne proves to have an advantage thanks to speaking the native French, utilising help off local women in finding his way around. Bettina also uses a small grasp of French to get around, thanking the Canadian education system as she runs around the market with a group of schoolchildren. Knowing that she is at risk, Rain also uses her determination to quickly locate two of the individuals, also finding locals who speak English more than happy to provide her with some help. Alternatively, Sajid’s shyness and Tamela’s lack of direction leave the two of them somewhat lost, as Tamela jokes that once again a challenge will be her undoing, this time “unable to rely on the other girlies” to get her safety. After almost two hours, Lincoln and Sinead are stunned to see public enemy number one Rain returning to the restaurant, providing them with the four trinkets and thus winning herself the daily challenge, foiling the obvious plan to oust her from the game. Etienne arrives just six minutes later, disappointed to have once again placed highly in a challenge without another victory. Bettina, Luke and Patrice arrive in third, fourth and fifth place respectively over the next thirty-minutes, shocked to see that last-place has come down to Sajid and Tamela, both of whom looked lost for most of the task. In the end, Tamela is able to return with her four trinkets, leaving Sajid to return having failed to complete the task and facing repatriation. Etienne and Patrice both seem to celebrate Tamela’s return, with Patrice in particular overly celebratory that her friend is safe. The group stand in horror as they wait to see Rain’s decision, all having been under the impression that she would be the easy nominee of the round, not the person making the decisions alone. Rain openly admits that she had intended to nominate Sajid, but is “glad to see he flopped” to make the decision a little more difficult, causing eyerolls from several others. She eventually decides to select Patrice as her nominee, citing their argument and Patrice being “overly-protected” by an abundance of allies, feeling as though putting her against Sajid will force everyone to “finally pick a side”. Patrice holds herself together as she’s comforted by Tamela, wishing Sajid luck as the pair of them know a difficult afternoon of campaigning awaits them both.

The group quickly break up around Brazzaville’s markets, knowing that this vote will likely be the most important thus far in the game, with two social individuals facing the chop without a clear easy option. Patrice is assured by allies Etienne and Tamela that they feel confident for the vote, as she only requires three votes to stay, with the two of them plus Luke being enough, and theorising that Bettina will likely make it unanimous rather than throwing Sajid a pity-vote. However, the trio remain unaware of Luke and Sajid’s final two deal, with the two men discussing the difficulties of saving him in this vote, as it would require Bettina to cause a tie and Rain to break the tie in his favour, something neither of them perceive to be likely given her hatred of him. Despite the pessimism, Sajid quickly approaches Bettina, who has otherwise been excluded by the final seven in alliance making. After pitching his case to her, Bettina spends time talking with Luke, claiming that the two of them could hold the entire decision in their hands. Luke confesses to Bettina that he’s unsure Sajid can be saved, also feeling guilt due to his friendship with Patrice. Both then spend time speaking with Rain, trying to determine where her vote will go in the case of a tie, seeing if she would be open to putting her hatred of Sajid to one side and instead focus on removing “greater threat” Patrice. In her confessional, Rain laughs at being the group target who now holds all the power, glad to know that Sajid or Patrice will be forced to face betrayal at the hands of their ‘allies’ tonight, and that it may come down to her making the entire decision herself. At sundown, the group stand in the middle of Brazzaville’s darkened market, with everybody eager to see how this key elimination will play-out. Etienne and Tamela are shown to cast their votes against Sajid, keeping their loyalty to final three member Patrice. However, they are stunned to see Bettina and their suspected fourth member Luke cast their votes against Patrice, bringing a 2-2 tie despite both lying to the pair that they were making a unanimous vote against Sajid. Lincoln announces that in the event of a tie, the individual daily winner (Rain) will make the deciding vote. Rain announces that whilst her heart is telling her to vote out Sajid, once again reiterating her disliking of him, that only “one side bothered to campaign” to her and highlight the need to remove a threat from the game, casting her vote to eliminate Patrice in a 3-2 result. A stunned Patrice clasps her hands over her mouth as she’s comforted by an equally shocked Tamela, also receiving a hug off Etienne who deduces that the three of them played their hand poorly in trusting Luke was with them. Patrice chooses to wish everybody other than Rain luck, but informs Luke that she is “hurt” by his betrayal, and that she’ll remember it should he make the final two. The final six return to their RV, with an argument quickly breaking out after issues of race are brought up in what the group now see as a “white versus black” player scenario.

Episode #9 - Bridge Over the Congo River
The final six awaken to a tense feeling around the RV following the blindside of Patrice, with Etienne and Tamela now feeling at the bottom of the game. The pair feel anger towards Luke, who had assured them that he would vote against Sajid. It comes to light that anger intensified overnight after Rain insinuated that Etienne, Patrice and Tamela were excluding others through race-based alliances, which Tamela denies, claiming that she had been one of the main campaigners against Kwame, proving that “just being black wasn’t enough to get (her) support”, further pointing out that she would have been more than happy to see Luke get to the end and win prior to his betrayal. Luke defends his move by asserting his belief that Patrice and Tamela were more loyal to Etienne than himself, and that his closeness to Sajid far outweighed his feelings to Patrice. The group then take a two-hour drive across the Congo River and border into the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. On the journey, Etienne and Tamela continue to isolate themselves, still feeling down about their predicament that they have somewhat caused for themselves. The pair agree that one of them will need to win the next daily challenge to ensure their survival, believing that all four of the others would nominate them now that they’ve established new groups. Tamela begins complaining about Bettina to Etienne, feeling as though she is “a coattail rider” and the “biggest follower”, with no shot to win at the end due to having no distinct game moves of her own. Etienne agrees with this assessment, hoping that maybe they can use it to convince Bettina that she would need to take a shot at either Sajid or Luke to gain jury support. Up front, Luke and Bettina sit together and discuss Luke’s desire to visit Canada, joking that he expects to stay with Bettina and he boyfriend throughout his time there. Bettina is more than happy to accept this offer, laughing as Luke appears to be almost flirty in his friendliness towards her, knowing that his charm once again will work. In his confessional, Luke mentions that he perceives Bettina to be the key player in these final few rounds of the game, believing that having her vote on side will strengthen himself and Sajid by preventing her being coerced into joining Etienne and Tamela, whilst also reducing the reliance on Rain, who he calls “unstable, irritating and unreliable”.

Driving into the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital Kinshasa; Lincoln and Sinead usher the group off the RV and begin giving them a small walking tour of the city with the aid of a local guide. The group are informed of the horrors that took place when the region was under colonial rule as the ‘Congo Free State’, widely regarded to have been home to some of the greatest atrocities of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. After an emotional crash course on history, the group head to a local restaurant to get lunch, knowing that in a matter of hours they’ll be taking on their next daily challenge. At lunch, Etienne and Tamela take time to talk once again, going for a walk together around Kinshasa as they talk through the likelihood that one of them will be leaving the game by nightfall. Both appear to have developed a crush on one another after sharing a kiss, with Tamela joking that jealousy may be what spurred Luke to turn on herself and Patrice. The pair make a promise to one another that whichever of them makes it further will fight to get to the end, trying to find a silver lining in that by doing so they’d have “at least two votes on the jury”. The two are spotted sharing a kiss once again, eventually returning to the other four who are seated for lunch. Rain begins to annoy the group once again as she complains about the food in the restaurant, joking that she’d like the group to spend their next meal in a McDonald’s or a KFC in order to have “something more edible”. Rain’s jokes about the local food continue to rub everyone the wrong way, finding her voice a chore to listen to after spending so many hours around her on the road trip. Luke eventually speaks up, asking Rain why she ‘seems to complain about everything’ and why she doesn’t quit if she’s not enjoying herself. Rain barks back at Luke, telling him to climb down from his “high horse”, eventually making fun of him for being “unable to hold onto anything in the game”, gesturing to Etienne and Tamela who are now visibly holding hands seated together. Luke and Rain continue to argue, with Luke once again reiterating that she is classless and idiotic, leading to the pair to declare hatred for one other. The other four remain quiet during the meal, trying to drown out the sound of Rain and Luke’s venom towards one another.

Finishing their food, the final six meet Lincoln and Sinead by the bank of the Congo River, where their next daily challenge awaits. Lincoln and Sinead explain the Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to the Wagenya people, who have developed a unique method of fishing from the river by utilising cone-shaped traps to anchor massive wooden tripod systems built atop the water. Despite Kinshasa not being home to the Wagenya, the group find that a representation of the system has been purpose built for the challenge, which each contestant will be attached to via a safety line so that if they fall they’ll dangle above the river (rather than injuring themselves falling in). One at a time, each contestant must balance and walk across the system, raising three of the traps along the way and removing flags attached to each. If an individual falls, they will automatically receive a score of zero. Only contestants who reach the end of the system with flags will have a score taken, with any tie in scores (number of flags) being broken by whoever completes the task in the quickest time. All six contestants appear eager to win, knowing that one wrong step in this challenge will cause them to fall and could very easily bring their time on Road Trip to an end. None of the contestants are allowed to see one another compete, taking away any disadvantage those have for going first. During the challenge, Rain is able to get across without falling, getting all three of her flags to ensure she gets the maximum number of points, despite it forcing her to spend longer on the course. Bettina is also able to get across the system without falling, taking an extremely long time and only managing to get two of the three flags. She declares her hopes that “at least one person will fall”, having not wanted to risk going for the third flag after she almost slipped towards the end. Bettina and Rain watch on concerned as both Sajid and Luke complete the course in visibly faster times, collecting all three flags and likely putting them ahead of the girls. The only fall of the day is supplied by Tamela, who loses her footing whilst trying to rush in retrieving the first flag, leaving her dangling above the river and in dead last with a score of zero, letting Bettina breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, Etienne is able to match the speed shown by the other two men, retrieving all three flags in quick succession. Lincoln and Sinead gather the six to read the results of the challenge, noting that they are already aware that Tamela has finished last and will automatically face repatriation, whilst Bettina finishes in a lucky fifth after she returned with less flags than the other four. Rain is announced to have received fourth place, with Sajid in a more distant third. Both Etienne and Luke appear tense, desperate to know which of them has snatched the win. In the end, Luke is able to secure his first daily win, leaving it solely up to him who will face former crush Tamela in the repatriation vote. Luke quickly ponders his decision, knowing that by nominating Etienne he would be removing a physical threat and somebody outside of the ‘new alliance’. However, Luke’s emotions and hatred of Rain prove too much, as he names her attitude and behaviour over the last two weeks as being a more justifiable reason than he could find for anyone else; selecting her to face Tamela in the vote.

Rain laughs as she’s named as the nominee, feeling it is a “stupid move from a stupid player”, calling out Etienne and Sajid for both being bigger threats than her, but noting that she would’ve “happily nominated Luke” herself if she won the daily. Sinead informs the group that they have a few hours until sundown, in which they’ll be able to determine who between Rain and Tamela should be the next to leave the road trip. Etienne immediately is known to be on Tamela’s side, with many perceiving their duo to be a threat moving forward, and thus making her a better choice to eliminate over Rain. However, Sajid and Luke’s hatred of Rain leads them both to consider ousting her immediately, knowing that she is capable of winning challenges and that she is likely to target the two of them for the remainder of her time in the game. Despite their fears, Bettina pleads to the two men that keeping Rain is better for them, fearing that Etienne and Tamela as two votes is more of a risk than Rain as a single player. Rain seems uncaring in campaigning to remain in the game, not realising that in spending time with Etienne and Tamela (talking to the pair about her desire to get Luke and Sajid out) that she is not seeking votes off those who truly can save her. Etienne and Tamela both individually speak with Bettina, Luke and Sajid, trying to further throw Rain under the bus due to the widespread feeling of annoyance towards her, also exposing that she is planning to “get Luke out the next time she wins”. At sundown, the anger towards Rain’s instability and general feeling of unpredictability around her are enough to unite Etienne, Sajid and a hesitant Bettina (who wanted to stick with the majority) against her in a unanimous 3-0 vote. Rain accepts her fate, having expected to leave as soon as she became the nominee. Rain hugs both Etienne and Tamela, ironically feeling closer to the two of them by the end of her stay, wishing them luck in beating ‘snakes’ Sajid and Luke, and confirming that either would have her vote if they can make it to the end. Rain departs via taxi, being escorted to reunite with the rest of the jury, leaving the final five stood around the RV, relieved to have the most antagonistic player out of their hair.

Episode #10 - Cannonball Run
The final five awaken early to catch connecting flights departing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, unsure as to where their next destination will be until boarding their final flight to São Tomé and Príncipe; an island nation off the coast of Central Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. During the fifteen hour journey, Tamela remains in high spirits, having expected to leave the game after she lost the last daily challenge. Whilst freshening up together in the ladies bathroom, Tamela approaches Bettina to discuss the two of them being the last remaining girls in the game, believing that they must work together or else they’ll certainly lose the game to either Etienne, Luke or Sajid. Bettina claims to agree, feeling as though the three men are all strong in challenges and that it would be likely for one of them to lose the next challenge. However, Bettina states that she believes both Sajid and Luke would nominate Etienne, to which Tamela agrees and claims Etienne would nominate Luke, guaranteeing that a man will face the vote this round. The girls make a pact to promise to campaign to oust the man that is nominated, both knowingly wanting Sajid out more than anyone. Both girls later claim in their confessionals to be unsure of the other woman, as Tamela is still closest to Etienne and Bettina to Luke, but feel as though this deal may save them should either face Sajid this round, the supposed ‘ideal situation’. Left alone in the bathroom, Tamela declares “that girl is lying. She’s so far up Luke’s ass that she’s practically his tapeworm”.

On the final portion of the journey to the island of Príncipe, Luke and Bettina continue to spend time bonding by sitting together and talking through an endgame plan. The two agree on a final two deal, agreeing that giving Sajid third place would be the easiest way to ensure this. Luke prods Bettina for information on any conversations she’s had with Tamela, but Bettina is unwilling to share, instead lying that they just talked about their exhaustion after two weeks on the road trip. The pair agree that Etienne would be the best individual to get out of the game next, feeling as though he is a greater threat than Tamela in challenges, and therefore could win too much power if he were to be allowed to remain at the final four. In his confessional, Luke claims to feel secure knowing that both Bettina and Sajid want to take him to the final two, admitting that he would preferably go with Bettina due to her having less support on the jury, but seems confident that he could win against either if given the chance. Arriving in Príncipe, the group are packed inside a small private mini-van, having said their goodbyes to RV-travel after leaving mainland Africa. Lincoln and Sinead join the group to escort them to a local beachside restaurant to sample São Tomése cuisine, with the Portuguese-colonial impact remaining prevalent in both the cooking and local music accompanying the meal. Noting a private opportunity to speak with Bettina as she takes a quick lone stroll down the beach, Etienne approaches her to ask her intentions if she were to win the next daily challenge. Bettina confesses that she would be torn on who to nominate, feeling most confident that Luke would be safe. Etienne tries to stir the conversation onto getting Sajid out, who he calls Bettina’s “biggest obstacle at getting Luke’s complete loyalty”. Although Bettina clearly agrees with this assessment, she declares in her confessional that going to the final four with two pairs would be foolish, instead seeing Sajid as a much needed third vote to finally eradicate Etienne and Tamela’s joint-influence.

All five road trippers finish their meal with Lincoln and Sinead, joining the hosts on a nearby beach to take part in their next daily challenge, having changed into their swimming costumes beforehand. Lincoln explains that in this challenge, each contestant has been given a colonial-style canon, specially built for the show. The competitors must swim out into the shallow water, finding an array of wooden cannonballs that have been placed on the seabed. Bringing back the cannonballs one at a time, the group must then fire them at three wooden targets, each being further back than the other. Once a competitor has successfully hit all three targets, their time will be taken, with the slowest time automatically facing repatriation, and the fastest time winning the daily challenge. Sinead points out that competitors may only retrieve and fire one cannonball at a time, thus making retrieving the balls more tiring and difficult. One by one, each player takes on the cannonball run, quickly becoming exhausted under the African sun; discovering that not even the Atlantic waters will cool them throughout this challenge. Despite his strength, Luke proves to be a terrible shot with the cannon, struggling to collide with all three targets for around twenty-minutes. Equally, Bettina’s tiredness gets the better of her, leading to her perception that she will find herself in last place; collapsing to the sand in exhaustion when she finally collides with her third target. Both Sajid and Tamela feel more confident on their performances, finding that accuracy in shooting and taking their time is paying off, leading to both having to spend less time retrieving balls from the water. Lincoln and Sinead return with the results after Etienne competes, announcing that he finished mid-tier in third place. Bettina is announced to have once again come last in a challenge, automatically leaving her to face repatriation, saving Luke and leaving it between Sajid and Tamela to take the win. Much to her disappointment, Tamela is revealed to have been over a minute slower than Sajid, giving the IT-whiz his first daily win of the season and the right to decide who will face Bettina in repatriation. In his confessional, Sajid admits that although he was expected to easily select Etienne due to his threat level, that his concerns surrounded keeping Tamela, as this would benefit Luke more than anybody else (as Luke had been close to her, and also has a bigger rival in Etienne). In order to establish this win as his own, Sajid shocks the entire group by nominating Tamela, something that not even closest-ally Luke could have seen coming. Sinead then tells the group that they’ll be given several hours to discuss the vote, eliminating either Bettina or Tamela by sundown.

Tamela and Bettina are comforted by Etienne and Luke respectively, all four seeming surprised by Sajid’s decisions to leave Etienne in the game. Despite fearing for his ally, Etienne privately thanks Sajid for not nominating him, agreeing that it makes him look like a free-thinking individual, rather than doing what Luke would want him to. Bettina and Luke continue to spend time alone together, with Bettina beginning to panic that Sajid is playing ‘shady’ with his decision to put Tamela up over Etienne. Luke shares in this irritation, but promises to reassure her once he has spoken with Sajid, knowing it will come down to a 1-1 tie after the vote, requiring Sajid to break the tie himself. Bettina thanks Luke for his support, reiterating her intentions of going to the end of the game with him, secretly hoping that bitter players will vote her to win over himself. Sajid is approached by Luke, who demands to know why he didn’t nominate Etienne. Sajid tells Luke that he had to make a decision that was best for him, not believing that keeping Etienne will derail their plans of going to the final two together. Rather than to continue voicing his anger, Luke concedes to Sajid, hoping that a nicer approach will ensure that he votes for Tamela in the tiebreaker. Not wanting to lay down and die, Tamela approaches Sajid, telling him that she fears he will finish in third place should he go to the end of the game with Bettina and Luke, outing the conversations had earlier with Bettina in the bathroom. Sajid seems receptive to this information, frankly telling Tamela that he likes her more than Bettina, but that he also regards her as the bigger threat, seeing her as being impossible to beat should she reach the final two (something Tamela tells him he will not reach should he not make a move against Bettina or Luke soon). At sundown, Bettina and Tamela hold hands as they wait to see the results of the vote, unsurprised to find a 1-1 tie as both their closest allies vote to keep them in the game. Lincoln tells Sajid that it is now his time to  break the tie, leading Sajid to make the strategic and more difficult decision of ousting Tamela from the game in a 2-1 vote, claiming that he feels she is too resilient to be left in the game. Tamela voices her sadness in the decision, not certain that it’ll get Sajid the win he desires, but chooses to remain unbitter by hugging the final four individually goodbye. Tamela takes a moment to hold onto Etienne and wish him luck as they say their goodbyes, sharing one final quick kiss before she is escorted away to the jury. A pumped up Etienne joins the other members of the final four as they head to their overnight hotel, quipping that the three of them “should’ve voted (him) out” and that he’ll give them the “fight of their lives” in the last few days of the road trip.

Episode #11 - All About Revenge
On the morning after Tamela’s repatriation, the final four have a quick breakfast in their hotel before catching a flight to their final destination; São Tomé, the larger of the two islands that make up the nation of São Tomé and Príncipe. Over breakfast, allies Bettina, Luke and Sajid sit together and reiterate their agreement to give Etienne fourth place, feeling as though him making it this far is too much of a risk in itself. However, Luke continues to privately worry that Bettina and Sajid’s lack of cohesion and trust could be their undoing. Elsewhere, Etienne packs his things and talks privately about his nerves, but promises not to show fear to the others, believing that by looking confident he can “spook them into failure” in the daily challenge. The final four catch a flight south to São Tomé, finding that upon finishing their transfer that the three who survive the day will spend the night sleeping under the stars on the beach. Each contestant changes into their bathing suits, listening to Lincoln and Sinead who proceed to explain the rules of their penultimate daily challenge. The final four must begin by digging up puzzle pieces hidden along marked areas of the beach, and must find three sets of pieces before they can move on. After this, contestants must run out onto the pier where they’ll leap out and grab a dangling puzzle piece off one side, being forced to swim back with said piece before running out and collecting the puzzle piece dangling off the opposite side. Once finished the exhausting task of collecting the final two sets of pieces, contestants must race down the beach with all their pieces, finding their empty puzzle tables where they can begin slotting in their pieces. The first individual to correctly finish their puzzle will be crowned the winner, deciding who to nominate against whoever is last to finish their puzzle.

As the challenge begins, Etienne and Luke’s aggressive athleticism enable them to take a lead in digging up their pieces, with Bettina also surprisingly doing well, leaving Sajid somewhat behind as the three race ahead to the pier. Etienne is able to pull ahead, as Luke remarkably misses his piece on his first jump off the pier, with Bettina also becoming exhausted as she swims back with her first of two pier-located pieces, giving Sajid the chance to catch-up. Etienne is first to reach the puzzle table, panting for breath as his determination continues to drive him ahead of his competitors, having a good head start by the time Luke shows up to begin solving his puzzle. Before Luke is able to correctly place his third piece, Etienne is found to finish and claim the daily win, bringing about the worst case scenario for the alliance of three; now leaving it down to them to fight it out for last place. Luke finishes his puzzle almost five minutes later, noting that “it wasn’t even close” as an exhausted Bettina and Sajid try to finish their puzzles to avoid being nominated. In the end, Sajid’s puzzle skills pay-off as he’s able to beat Bettina, leaving her in last position for the fourth time this season. The trio congratulate Etienne on his win, knowing that he is aware that his departure was almost guaranteed had he not won the challenge, causing them to once again consider his words that they should have ousted him over ally Tamela. Sinead asks Etienne who he’ll be choosing to face Bettina in elimination, which he quickly responds will be Luke, citing his reasons as their lack of friendship and regarding him as everyone’s biggest competition. Sajid breathes a sigh of relief, thanking Etienne for safety, which Etienne claims is repayment for giving him the same in the previous round. Lincoln explains that Sajid will have a short amount of time to come to a decision between repatriating Bettina or Luke, with his vote being the sole decider in who becomes the penultimate member of the jury. Bettina, Luke and challenge winner Etienne each take a moment to speak to Sajid, trying to sway his decision in who he’ll vote to eliminate. Luke pitches that the pair of them have had a final two for a majority of the game, and that together they have the best chance of beating Etienne in the final challenge, whereas Bettina would “likely lose again even if it were mental”. Both Bettina and Etienne try to convince Sajid to vote out Luke, having the same argument that Luke is the biggest threat going into the final two, believing that he would sweep a jury vote due to perceived control he’s had throughout the game. Sajid thinks through his decision, believing that loyalty to Luke would be important, theorising if he would be as big of a threat or if there are jurors feeling betrayed by him. Moreover, he believes that in taking Luke, he would “guarantee” himself a spot in the final two, as both Luke and Etienne are certain to eliminate the other if they win the final daily challenge, whereas with Bettina by his side he is less certain who she and Etienne would take. Going with this mentality, Sajid casts his sole vote to eliminate Bettina at nightfall, claiming it is best for his game and keeping his word to his main ally Luke. Bettina doesn’t appear surprised to leave the game, knowing that loyalty for Sajid would be the main factor in his decision. She wishes the three boys luck, proud of herself for being the last woman standing, but ultimately disappointed that she couldn’t become the second female to become Champion of the Road Trip. With Bettina now gone, the final three men are told to take rest beneath the stars, as in just twenty-four hours one of them will become £50,000 richer.

On the final day of the road trip, Etienne, Luke and Sajid wake up at the crack of dawn, receiving a breakfast delivery on the beach courtesy of Lincoln and Sinead. The final three receive a note informing them that they have ten hours of free time before their final daily challenge will take place, coinciding with sunset over the island. Throughout the day, each of the three men take their time to think through their plans for the evening should they get their desired outcome, and how they plan to convince the jury that they are the most deserving of the group to win this season of Road Trip. Luke and Sajid spend time together walking on the beach, quizzing one another in anticipation that the final daily challenge will be a trivia task based on the season as a whole. Luke exclaims that letting Etienne win this would be “disastrous”, unsure if either of them can beat him in the end due to the jury containing several of his friends. The final three reconvene at nightfall in the illuminated Our Lady of Grace Cathedral located in central São Tomé. As expected, the boys discover that their final daily challenge will entail answering questions about the road trip as a whole, locations, activities and other road trippers. The final three are to write their answers on boards secretly before revealing, with every correct answer earning one point. After ten questions, the individual with the most points will win a spot in the final two and determine who will be joining them. After ten questions, Luke is concerned as he scores just five out of ten, with ally Sajid and rival Etienne tying on seven correct answers each. Sinead asks the two men a tiebreaker question, with the closer correct answer being provided by Etienne, granting him the final daily win and the right to decide who between Luke and Sajid will be joining him in the final two. Etienne is ecstatic, feeling as though he has overcome the impossible by outlasting the alliance who so badly wanted to give him fourth place. Luke and Sajid are each given an opportunity to pitch to Etienne why they believe they should be taken to the final two. Luke goes down the route of claiming that several jurors were clearly angry at him, believing Etienne will almost certainly beat him if he grants him the right to go to the final two. Similarly, Sajid also believes he has several jurors feeling less than positive about him, but claims unlike Luke he has less “obvious supporters” on the jury. Etienne quickly comes to his decision, predictably choosing to eliminate rival Luke from the game and bring Sajid to the end, having established a closer friendship to Sajid over the last two-weeks on the road trip. An at peace Luke says his goodbyes, hugging both men and whispering words of encouragement to Sajid before departing the Cathedral.

Etienne and Sajid are given the opportunity to listen to a small local service inside the Cathedral, taking a moment to think through their approach to the jury and come to terms with their achievement of making it to the top two of the season. At the end of the service, Lincoln and Sinead bring the seven jurors into the Cathedral ready to decide their fate (Jay, Kwame, Patrice, Rain, Tamela, Bettina and Luke). The jury as a collective body is allowed to question or make statements to Etienne and Sajid whilst they pitch their case as to why they should be crowned winner of the road trip. Both men are praised for their different approaches to the game, with Etienne as the underdog who was able to win his way to the end, and Sajid’s theoretical social and strategic plays being seen what carried him forward after his allies fell. Patrice, Rain and Tamela are all extremely vocal in their support of Etienne, believing that his ability to reach the end after Patrice’s elimination has won him the title in their minds. However, Jay and Luke both vocally show support for Sajid, and are backed up by Kwame who agrees that Sajid and Luke’s alliance had the most control throughout the entire season, which in Luke’s mind “makes Sajid the best player of the two”. Criticism for Etienne mostly comes from Jay, who feels Etienne was “irrelevant” for a majority of the game, only trying at the end when he needed to win. However, Etienne rebukes this by noting that he won a challenge early on, which ultimately put Jay as the first to leave post-jury. Alternatively, criticism for Sajid is mostly vocalised by Rain, who feels he was a “lacklustre member of a big alliance” and has little individual moves that he can call his own. Sajid replies by talking about Tamela’s elimination being one of his key moves, as he truly believed she would be a greater threat to win than Etienne. However, Rain laughs in response to this, pointing at Bettina and Luke on the jury over Etienne, asking Sajid “how did that work out for you?”. Each juror is then instructed to place a key-fob with either ‘Etienne’ or 'Sajid' into the holder, corresponding to who they want to win the game. The vote is tied 2-2 after the first four are drawn, with Etienne gaining support off allies Patrice and Tamela, whilst Sajid receives votes off closest-ally Luke and anti-Etienne juror Jay. Rain’s vote naturally brings Etienne’s tally up to three, having declared her support and hatred for Sajid multiple times throughout the evening. Bettina and Kwame appear to be the most uncertain jurors, but in the end both join the majority in giving the win to Etienne in a 5-2 result, believing that Etienne’s story is more commendable, and Bettina in particular feeling somewhat cold to Sajid after he (in her mind) was responsible for the downfall of their final three. Etienne celebrates his win, glad to also be declared the first black winner of Road Trip in earning the £50,000 prize. He is sure to credit all the jurors for voting for him, in particular Tamela and Patrice who he calls “friends for life”, glad to have avenged them as promised. Sajid humbly congratulates Etienne, accepting that he underestimated one individuals ability to win so much, claiming that “the better player won”. The jury and final two mix in the Cathedral, leaving Lincoln and Sinead to head outside into the night. Sinead looks up at all the stars in the sky, nudging Lincoln and telling him that she has “a fun idea”.