There’s no time wasted this morning in the High Sierras, as the episode opens with the final four remaining teams arriving at the forest clearing to compete in the day’s Temple mission! With so few teams left, winning the mission has never been so important to everyone’s main goal of becoming the next Endurance champion! Cameron and Aeriel of Red have already dubiously earned an automatic bid to Temple, unless they win today’s mission outright. The pair came in last place in the previous day’s Endurance mission. Dakota and Kelsey of Purple are playing at a disadvantage as well; they have been handicapped with the Samadhi, courtesy of the Blue team.

JD explains the rules of the game, “Fill ’er Up.” Each team will have to fill a clear tube with water, which they must gather from containers across the clearing. Each clear tube has a team’s color floatation device inside. The first team to force the floating device to fall out of the tube, due to the tube’s full capacity, wins. But there is a catch: the only tool the teams have to transport the water is another tube-ish pipe that is completely opened on each end! By being in possession of the Samadhi, the Purple team will be forced to travel an extra 5 feet to get to and from their tube.

On JD’s mark, the teams are off. Purple takes an early lead, while Green, Blue and Red have no luck bringing back any water. All the teams experiment with different ways to carry water in their pipes, but Dakota seemingly masters an effective technique early on and practically plays the mission by himself! Dakota’s large hands are able to cover the entire hole on one end of his pipe, so without much competition from the other teams, and despite the Samadhi, the Purple team is easily the first one to make their float rise out of the tube and fall onto the ground. They win by a landslide!

With Dakota and Kelsey winning, there is seemingly no question in Taylor’s and Connor’s minds that Blue will be sent to Temple for the third consecutive time to vie against the Red team. Connor and Taylor are already prepared mentally to return to Temple — however, the Blue team is nervous, because they know that no team has ever gone to the Temple of Fate three times and has successfully come back three times.

Later on, at the Temple, the rookie Red team and the battle-testing Blue team meet up with JD. Getting off to a quick start, Red wins the first round by picking wood over Blue’s water. But in the second round, Blue ties up the game when they pick water again, putting out Red’s fire. And in the third and final round, Blue picks fire while Red picks wood. The Blue team wins … and Connor and Taylor make Endurance history! They are the first team to survive Temple three times! Not only have they achieved an Endurance first, they still have the lead in the game with six pieces!

Once Blue returns to the camp, Purple and Green are in complete shock; they both expected Red to return. The welcome isn’t as friendly as it had been in the past, but nonetheless, Blue is back! But will the “never-say-die” Blue team make it to the Endurance finals? Or will the Purple-Green alliance, one that was forged at the start of the game and has lasted throughout the contest, finally prove to be too great and send Blue packing? 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