We enter the episode mid-game, with all 16 contestants clinging for dear life onto a bar suspended high above the water. Each is hoping to win the chance to select the first team of Endurance: High Sierras. From the start, we hear the cries of several contestants struggling to hang on, but Kesley stands out as she yells, “I’m gonna fall! I can’t hold on!” Despite her fellow competitors’ encouragement, she is the first to fall. Taylor quickly follows her. As they fall one after the other, the remaining kids are doing everything in their power to beat out Garret. No one wants him to win, because everyone thinks he’ll mess up the prearranged teams that almost everyone else had agreed to. Glances are exchanged as the remaining contestants hang on — they cannot let Garret win this challenge! Eventually, Garret falls. The last two remaining are Lilly and Dakota. Lilly eventually succumbs to the pain, leaving Dakota the winner of the Partner Selection challenge.

Most of the kids are relieved. Now that Garret has lost the challenge, they know that the partner list they created is safe and Dakota will stick to the plan they originally agreed upon. JD congratulates the kids on their efforts and reminds them about how the partner selection will work. The selection begins, and since he won the challenge, Dakota starts it off. Following the script, he chooses Cameron and Aeriel as the first team. Cameron returns the favor and chooses Dakota and Kelsey as the next team. They then choose Alex and Cealy, followed by Arik and Lilly and Max and Kristine. The kids remaining are Connor, Darci, Garret, Taylor, Anna and Ike. A look of panic spreads over Taylor’s face and she begins to cry. JD, concerned, asks her if she is OK. Taylor says she is upset at how this partner selection has turned out, and knows who her partner will be. JD urges her to recall other Partner Selection games from past seasons — you never know what will happen!

It is now time for Max and Kristine to choose the next team: Connor and Darci. With only four kids remaining — Taylor, Anna, Ike and Garret — Connor knows that he is essentially being forced to pick the last two teams. JD asks if Connor and Darci are prepared to make the choice. Knowing the severity of the situation, Connor asks for some time to think and discuss it over with his partner. The anticipation is agonizing as the kids silently wait for their decision. Finally, Connor reveals — to Taylor’s elation — that they’re choosing to pair Isaac and Taylor for the seventh team, leaving Garret paired with Anna.

The contestants are happy after partner selection is over, as almost everyone got their partner of choice. But the feeling of happiness doesn’t last long. JD reveals the latest bombshell of Endurance 5: The first team elimination game will be that day, and by nightfall, one of the newly formed teams will be leaving the High Sierras forever.

The eight teams head back to the tree houses to get to know their partners before one team has to go home. Alex and Cealey talk about how the communication between the two of them has to flow in order for them to be a strong team. Connor and Darci discuss who they think has their backs and that Arik and Lilly would be good allies to have because they’re so strong. Taylor is completely shocked that she ended up with Isaac instead of Garret, and she has come to terms with getting Isaac as a partner. In fact, everyone but Anna is content with their new teammate. Anna tries to get Garret to talk to her, but he has a hard time opening up. She begins to get nervous because she feels like they aren’t communicating very well and is scared that their team will end up being the first one to go home.

After having the chance to talk with their new teammates, everyone meets JD to play the day’s elimination game, “Unwind”. The contestants arrive to find ropes wound and tied through a wooden fence. The partners will be tied to each other by rope and the object of the game is to work through the logs and untangle enough rope to allow them to cross the finish line. After they cross it, they can unhook themselves from the rope and run to the available team color of their choice. In addition to receiving a color, JD tells everyone that each team will receive its first Endurance piece. However, the team that comes in last place will not receive a team color and, worse, will be sent home immediately.

The game begins and everyone is fired up and determined not to come in last place. Anna and Garret are the first team to check if they have enough rope to make it to the finish line, but they fall short. After a few moments, Alex and Cealey are the first to accomplish the task and they run to green. Dakota and Kelsey are right behind them and they pick purple. Cameron and Aeriel choose red, Isaac and Taylor take blue, Max and Kristine pick orange, and Arik and Lilly choose yellow. The only color left is gray and it comes down to Connor and Darci and Garret and Anna. At the last second, Connor and Darci make an attempt to see if they have enough rope to cross the finish line. Garret and Anna aren’t too far behind, but they fall just short of making it. Connor and Darci beat them by the slightest of margins and become the gray team.

Anna and Garret are disappointed to be leaving Endurance so early on, but JD awards them with the “Friendship” piece, which this year on Endurance represents the Triangle of Immunity. Having this piece is essentially a “get out of Temple free” card that a team can use for itself or give to another team. Anna and Garret still have the power to influence the game one last time before they leave, by leaving the Triangle of Immunity to one of the remaining teams. With that in mind, everyone bids a tearful goodbye to Anna and Garret as they leave the game for good.

The remaining seven teams meet JD at the Pillars of Endurance, where JD reveals that the grand prize of Endurance: High Sierras is a trip to Hawaii. The kids are ecstatic when they hear the news and are all pumped to win. The game is officially on, but to whom did Anna and Garret leave the all-important Triangle of Immunity? Find out next time on Endurance: High Sierras

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6,
Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15