Weekly Recap
Episode Fourteen: Slingshot Alley

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After so many weeks, it’s come down to the final four players in the High Sierras! Kelsey and Dakota, of the Purple team, and Alex and Cealey, of the Green team, are greeted by JD in front of the treehouses bright and early on this, the final morning of Endurance Season 5. JD tells the contestants that they’ll be competing in their final mission today, and the stakes have never been higher. They’ll be playing for the seven pieces left behind by the Blue team’s Connor and Taylor, in addition to the final piece of the game — the Courage piece. With eight pieces up for grabs in the day’s mission, either team could take a commanding lead into the final showdown at this evening’s Temple! But before JD leaves the final four to ready themselves for the afternoon competition, he gives them an opportunity to memorialize their time in the treehouses: Equipping them with paint, feathers and markers, he asks the players to decorate the walls of their unusual residences with images of their time on the show.

As the kids paint and reminisce, they are flooded with memories from their Endurance experience. They comment on each of the teams and how much they are missed. Everyone has fun remembering all of the good times they’ve had while in the High Sierras, but in the back of all their minds is the upcoming mission. With eight pieces up for grabs, it is still anyone’s game.

The time for the competition comes sooner rather than later. JD meets with the kids to explain their final mission, “Slingshot Alley”. In the game, one player from each team will be standing on a raft in the middle of the water, using a catapult to launch rubber balls to their partners on shore. Meanwhile, using metal catchers, the players on shore wait to catch the launched balls and place them in wooden boxes that have the game pieces in front of them. There are eight boxes on shore for the eight pieces up for grabs.

During the game, both teams start off slowly as they get the hang of the game. But eventually, the Green team picks up momentum, while Purple continues to struggle. In the end, Green emerges the clear victor of this contest, winning five pieces, while Purple only gains three. The final count heading into the showdown at the Temple of Fate stands at seven pieces for the Green team and six pieces for Purple!

Back at the treehouses after the mission, Purple is sour about Green’s slight lead. Dakota and Kelsey discuss how upset they would be if Green won the whole game, after having carried and protected them throughout the entire contest. Meanwhile, Cealey and Alex are ecstatic about having the edge over their competitors. In their minds, their win has proven that they didn’t need to be carried by the Purple team. The momentum in the game has changed, and Purple realizes for the first time that another team could actually beat them! But with only a one-piece deficit heading into the final Temple, Dakota realizes that there’s still a 50-50 chance that Purple will walk away the victors. But is he right? After dominating most of the game in the High Sierras, will Purple be crowned champions? Or will the Green team, with only one mission victory in the entire game before today, snatch the championship away from the front-runners? The only way to find out is by watching next time, on the finale of 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