Before the first challenge, the teams get a big surprise: MJ from the Real World Philadelphia is coming in to take teammate Tyrie's place who went home to be with his girlfriend while she undergoes heart surgery. Both teams are surprised by the news. The Rookies are happy to have another strong man on the team, but Vets aren't so pleased by MJ's huge frame.

Prior to the Challenge, Frank makes the rounds with the Veterans to get the point across that his jump off, Jillian, does not deserve to be put into the Gauntlet again. Vet Adam makes it clear that Jillian will always be a contender for the Gauntlet because she's a good competitor, and the Veterans will want her gone.

The teams compete in the "Push It" Challenge which consists of teammates building their own road on the beach using wooden boards that one teammate will have to drive through. The first team to cross the finish line will win. With less people, the Rookies have less people to move the boards and push the car and are at an obvious disadvantage. Jillian and Coral are chosen as the drivers for the Rookie and Veteran's teams, respectively. The Vets come up with a strategy before the start of the mission, that if they are about to lose, they will just yell "Sandtrap" and everyone drop the boards and use brute strength to push the car over the finish line.

This turns out to be the case. When the Rookies are just feet from the finish line, the entire Vets team forgets the boards and with the whole team pushing the car, easily pushes past the Rookies for a stolen, but legal, victory.

The Veterans decide to put Janelle, a middle of the road competitor into the Gauntlet. Tempers flair once it's the Rookies turn to decide who's going against Janelle. So far, the Rookies have been honoring the chosen's choice of who they want to compete against in the Gauntlet. With Janelle's choice being Jillian (Why does everyone keep picking Jillians when she keeps sending everyone home?), everyone on the Rookies team feels that they should go with Jillian on Janelle's behalf. Everyone that is, except Frank, who flies off the handle telling everyone how it's not fair that Jillian is the only girl there who's ever gone into the Gauntlet. He asks how they can even consider putting Jillian in again for the third time, when no one else has even gone once. The rest of team, led by Tori, argues the fact that if they have a set way of picking who goes into the Gauntlet, they can't change it now just because Jillian is who people choose to go against. Newcomer MJ admits he doesn't know the team's history but feels that if there's been a standing policy on how you pick people for the Gauntlet, you can't just change it in the middle of the game. Sorry Frank, it was really sweet of you to stand up for your girlfriend and all... Well, at least Jillian thinks it's sweet. She confesses that she's "never had anyone stand up for her like that." Chivalry or just plain annoying?

Meanwhile, Melinda is not a consideration for the Gauntlet due to her concussion. She was walloped upside the head with a wooden board during the challenge and was taken to the hospital. Doctors tell Melinda that she has a concussion and dehydration, but that she can still compete. Danny is glad that she's ok, but they both seem to understand that this will also keep Melinda safe from that night's Gauntlet. Is this, perhaps, a strategy?

Jillian and Janelle spin the Gauntlet wheel, and it lands on "Ball Brawl" a challenge in which Jillian has already been victorious. However, that was against Brooke, a nominee for the most un-athletic Challenge contender of all time. Janelle has a lot of weight on Jillian, and has proven herself to be a pretty decent competitor. After a close Gauntlet, Jillian remains undefeated (3-0) in the Gauntlet. As the rest of the Rookies say goodbye to Janelle, Jillian jumps into Frank's arms and two of them take off for some fun time together in the community shower as the entire male lineup from the Veterans team watches on!

The next challenge, Man Overboard, takes place over the water where a crain and pully system are hanging a balance beam for team members to sit on. Team members have to pull this balance beam back and forth across the water dropping one teammate at each end. Once all the teammates are in the water, the clock stops. The teams compete in heats and the team with the overall fastest time will win. With the Rookies having considerably less teammates, the rules are bent so that the Veteran's time in the last heat will stop with two teammates left.

The Vets are worried about little Casey, who lost a mission for partner Wes in the Dual because she wouldn't jump from the platform into water. ("No one in their right mind just says to themself one day, I think it would be a good idea to jump four stories...") In Casey's heat, she doesn't even participate in pulling the rope with her team, she just sits with her eyes closed until they tell her to drop. With much yelling from both teams, Casey does the jump with seemingly no trouble. Eric, who might've also proven to be an anchor for the Vets in this mission, also seemed to not hold back his team due to his size. He pulled his own weight eventhough Kenny and Coral had to help Eric to even fit into his life preserver.

The Rookies seemed to be ahead in this challenge, until CT and Adam's heat, whose time is half that of all the other heats. This time, put the Vets in front of the Rookies yet again. Though they are winners, Kenny can't help but observe that the the women performed uselessy for the most part on this challenge and that the men were doing all the work.

At deliberation, the Vets decide immediately that they want to save Ryan, the smallest member of the Rookie team, but they are undecided at first when deciding who to send in to the Gauntlet. MJ and Nehemiah's name are both brought up as contenders. MJ, because he is new to the challenge. (and wasn't that impressive in the challenge with his face like a tomato) and Nehemiah because he seems a worthy competitor who hasn't been called out in a few challenges. Evan mentions that MJ actually looks like Bobo the clown! Adam convinces the team that Frank is a good choice because he is again a middle of the road competitor and he will likely pick someone like Zach to compete against. Zach has so far flown under the radar, but the Vets believe him to be a dark horse. With this analysis, the Vets vote for Frank.

Frank doesn't seem to argue with the Rookies policy when it's his turn to choose who he competes against, and Frank does indeed choose Zach. The Gaunlet chose is "Sliders" which we've seen before is the large puzzle where you have to rearrange the slides to make the picture. Jillians knows that Frank will win because"[he] is so intelligent." I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

Frank wins again, and the Frank & Jillian flavor seem unstoppable in the Gauntlet.

Back at the house, the Veteran guys strategize. Evan and Kenny agree that they need to trim some excess fat from the Vets team in the form of 6 girls. Enough with the trim the fat reference already! Evan lists that in particularly Beth, Katie, and Robin need to go. The two agree that they need to throw the next girl's mission, no matter what it is. "Don't make it obvious," he says, but "we just have to lose."