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"Can I just sit down right now?"
Bjorn Leum

Squaring Off
Season 3, Episode 7
Squaring off
Aired November 6, 2004
Mission Squaring Off
Winner Orange Team
Eliminated Green Team
Episode Guide
Previous Bagging on You
Next Out on a Limb
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Squaring Off is the seventh episode of Endurance 3: Hawaii.

Overview[]

One team fights for survival after a shocking twist sends them into a tailspin. If they can't outwit the other teams in a surprise Temple Mission, their fate may be sealed at the next elimination.

Summary[]

The Blue Team was the first team to be eliminated in Endurance: Hawaii, but their presence is still felt the following morning as the remaining teams nervously gather with JD to find out which team Blue left their Commitment piece to. In their departing letter, read to the group by Nicole . Blue forgives the Yellow Team for sending them to Temple and leaves their piece to the team that beat them: Orange.

With that drama behind them, everyone relaxes a bit. All the contestants know the drill: The day after an elimination game, the teams have to play an Endurance mission to decide who gets the Samadhi. But at least they're guaranteed another day in the jungle, or are they? JD reveals yet another twist, and this one is HUGE! Today is another Temple Mission, and by the end of the day another team will be headed home!

JD's revelation sends the teams' alliance-scheming into hyper-drive! Nicole hasn't forgotten her promise to go after Yellow if she returned from the Temple, and she vows to target them in today's elimination game. This leaves Monroe fearing that Yellow and their best friends on the Green Team will be headed to Temple tonight.

Later on, all the contestants convene with JD to play this week's Temple mission, "Squaring Off." In this game, each of the team's colors is displayed in a line using several squares on a giant game board. The teams will take turns trying to cover up each other's team colors using two triangle pieces given to them by JD. Once a team's color is completely obscured by triangle pieces, that team is eliminated from the game. The last team to have an uncovered square displaying their color wins. And one other thing: The team that places the triangle pieces gets to choose the next team to go; the only rule is that the team they choose can't have gone right before them. This is the ultimate game of trust (and test of alliances) for the contestants.

It appears to be Orange's lucky day, as they are randomly chosen to go first. If all goes according to plan and their alliances hold up, Orange is almost guaranteed not to be among the first teams eliminated from the game. Right away Orange goes after Yellow and Green, placing a triangle on each of their squares. They choose the Gray team to go next. The Gray team targets Yellow and Brown. Gray then chooses Red (Rachel and Kareem) to go next, and once again Yellow and Green are the targets. Keeping with their alliances, Red chooses the Purple team (Sarah and Reece) to go next, and Purple places their triangles on Yellow and Brown. To no one's surprise, Purple chooses Orange to go next, which makes it appear almost certain that Yellow, Green and Brown will be out of the game before even getting a chance to play. The Orange-Gray-Red-Purple alliance holds up for several turns, but then Reece, in a moment of compassion, chooses the Yellow team to take a turn!

Now the Yellow-Green-Brown alliance has its chance to put pieces on the other team's squares, which they do in spades until in a moment of weakness at Nicole's urging, Vanetta (Brown) chooses friendship over alliance and picks Orange to take the next turn!

With the Orange-Gray-Purple-Red alliance back in control, the Yellow, Brown and Green teams are quickly eliminated. When it comes to picking off teams within the alliance, the remaining teams fill out each other's color line evenly. The Purple and Red teams are eliminated simultaneously, leaving the final two teams: Gray and Orange. Gray is left with the option to either eliminate the Orange team or eliminate themselves and let Orange win. Shockingly, Gray decides to eliminate themselves from the game, leaving Orange to do the alliance's "dirty work" of choosing which two teams will be heading to Temple that evening.

Later, up on the island, Orange reveals they are sending the Green and Yellow teams to the Temple of Fate, which is of no surprise to anyone. Nicole swore revenge and now she is making sure that best friends Yellow and Green will be permanently separated — only one team can win at Temple later that night. It is an emotional time for Monroe, Bryanah, Bjorn and Alex, who know that if they are to survive Temple, it will mean having to eliminate their best friends. In Monroe's own words, "It will be just as hard to come back as it will be to leave."

When Green and Yellow finally reach Temple to meet JD, they are in tears. The game begins, and Yellow is fortunate enough to win two contests of Fire-Water-Wood in a row by choosing wood over water, then water over fire, thus eliminating the Green team from the game. Although it is a bittersweet victory, Yellow is back in the game and they head back to the huts.

Game Play[]

Standings[]

Pyramid Pieces
Teams Pieces
Tom & Vanetta Perserverance
Perseverance
Monroe & Bryanah Teamwork
Teamwork
Kareem & Rachel Trust
Trust
Chris & Lindi Knowledge
Knowledge
Demian & Nicole LeadershipCommitment
Leadership & Commitment
Reece & Sarah DisciplineStrength
Discipline & Strength
To be given away by the eliminated team: Heart

Mission[]

In Squaring Off, it's a game of trust between friends and alliances. Each of the team's colors is displayed in a line using several squares on a giant game board. The teams will take turns trying to cover up each other's team colors using two triangle pieces given to them by JD. Once a team's color is completely obscured by triangle pieces, that team is eliminated from the game. The last team to have an uncovered square displaying their color wins. And one other thing: The team that places the triangle pieces gets to choose the next team to go; the only rule is that the team they choose can't have gone right before them.

Finishes[]

  1. Orange
  2. Gray
  3. Red
  4. Purple
  5. Brown
  6. Green
  7. Yellow

Team Averages[]

  1. Purple— 3.33 (1/5/4)
  2. Blue— 3.50 (3/4)
  3. Red— 3.67 (5/3/3)
  4. Gray— 4.33 (4/7/2)
  5. Green— 4.67 (2/6/6)
  6. Orange— 5.00 (6/8/1)
  7. Yellow— 5.00 (7/1/7)
  8. Brown— 5.00 (8/2/5)

Production Notes[]

Quotes[]

  • J.D: "Today, we are going to be playing another Temple Mission."
  • Nicole: "It feels great to have the Commitment piece; we have to stayed committed to what our goals are, and I think that fits us very well."
  • Nicole: "When [J.D] said [there was another Temple Mission], [Monroe] started to cry, and I said, 'Don't cry yet; you don't know what's happening.'"
  • Demian: "Whoever leaves is going to be sad."
  • Nicole: "I definitely think Yellow could be a target today— they sent Blue and Orange to the Temple, and they chose based on personal reasons, and it was wrong."
  • Bjorn: "Can I just sit down right now?"
  • Alex: "Once they sent it over to Yellow, we had that game sealed; we had it won right there."
  • Nicole: (whispering to Vanetta) "I'm out of place seeing this, and I can't go back to Temple..."
  • Tom: "You've got to pick Yellow, or we'll lose if we don't."
  • Kareem: "Do whatever you want; it doesn't matter at all from here on in."
  • Lindi (confessional): "So it came down to Gray and Orange, which was what we wanted, because we couldn't send Yellow, as they saved our backs just yesterday— and now Orange can send whoever they want."
  • Nicole: "The Gray team was kind of letting us do their dirty work— they did it because they have alliances with certain people; they also wanted Green and Yellow to go home, but they weren't gonna break any friendships."
  • J.D. "Orange Team, congratulations. You guys have gone in one day from up at the Temple, facing elimination, to complete control of this game."
  • Monroe: "I don't know what Vanetta was thinking— if she didn't wanna make an enemy, she should've just let us win; and if we could've kept it between Yellow, Green and Brown, we wouldn't be going tonight!"
  • Tom (confessional): "I am really mad; I shouldn't have trusted her; I shouldn't have said Orange—I should've said Yellow! I mean...we had that in the bag; now Green and Yellow are going and that's our only allies... this is just wonderful!"
  • Nicole: "We both decided to pick our own team; I ended up picking the Green team..."
    • Demian: "...and I ended up picking the Yellow team."
  • Monroe: "I know I need to come back, but not having Green here is just as bad as leaving, not having Green."
  • Nicole (confessional): "I thought I'd be freaking out right now, because when I got sent up I was crying, and the people who sent me up were crying— I'm not crying right now; I just sent two teams to the Temple; and I know they are best friends and I'm getting ready to split them up."
  • Nicole: "I do feel sorry for Monroe and Bjorn; but I don't feel sorry for Bryanah and Alex— they were mean, shallow, manipulative and they lie, and I don't miss that."
  • Bryanah: "The only thing that I'm mad about is that they'd send me and Alex, knowing how close we are— I think that's the cruelest thing you can do to anyone: try and put two loyal friends to go against each other, knowing one of them's not coming back; and both of us will be miserable no matter what."
  • Bryanah: "Girls are catty, they're gossipy, they like to gang up on you; as long as I am true to myself, I'm true to everyone else, and that's all I can give to anyone."
  • Bjorn: "At first, I was expecting a beach and just a lot of competition; I was really here to compete in the beginning, but now I'd just rather prefer to be friends with everyone."
  • Alex: "This place is a miracle—I love the rain, and it rains like every second! I'll just miss waking up to see it all."
  • Monroe: "There's only one guy that I've bonded with the most— ironically, I'm going to Temple with him; Bjorn was my best friend here, and I'm only saying that because I know I'm not gonna see him again, regardless of what happens tonight— and it'll just be as hard to come back as it will be to leave."
  • Alex: (as Green and Yellow exit the bamboo forest leading to Temple) "This is so mean!"
  • Bjorn: "I think Yellow would choose fire, just because Monroe would be like, 'I want to see fire!'"
  • Bjorn: "Whatever happens, it's okay."
  • JD: (immediately after Green evaporates behind the flaming kettle) "Yellow team, congratulations; I know you're sad to see your friends go, but you're heading back into that jungle, to show the others that you're not a weak team— no matter what they do, you still keep on going."

Trivia[]

  • Only time on Endurance where Green is eliminated before the final four.
  • First time Yellow was sent to Temple before the final five.
  • If Gray hadn't voluntarily eliminate themselves, this would have been the first time a Gray team won a mission.

Episode Links[]

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