TDNKCI: Episode 19: "Our Own Trash Palace"
The Jury's Recap
"Last time, on Total Drama Nui Kaua: The Cursed Island…" Kyle introduced before the jury all turned their heads toward Jaime.
"Because it was the Final Five in a Nui Kaua season" She began to explain. "Five contestants with beef against the rest of us were brought back for the expressed purpose of making our challenge way more difficult than it needed to be. Barnard got to bicker with Helen just like old times, Lucien got to deal with fallout from his sole vote sending Samuel to the jury, Daniel was put through a pain gauntlet by Lena, Freya had to deal with Nick trying to seduce her and then offering to be a side piece, and I personally had to put up with the biggest man-baby of all time because he was fucking jealous that I was chosen over him. While Freya ultimately was able to win the immunity by being the one to grab the Golden Tiki, which Chris oh so cleverly" Jaime rolled her eyes as she spoke "hid under the dock that he'd made us all start our hunt on, we weren't done there, because the saboteurs were able to take away our ability to vote, leaving only Barnard and Freya able to actually play that part of the game. At the ceremony, despite very clearly being told the right course of action to take to keep my respect, Barnard opted to vote for me instead of take his chances with going to rocks. I see his logic, but he just doomed his chances of winning the money if he makes it to the final vote. Now only four players are left, we have one challenge before the finale, and no one has any tiki to hide behind. Whose game is about to go up in smoke? Find out right here…"
She waited for the rest of the jury to join in as they all looked at the camera.
"On Total Drama Nui Kaua!...The Cursed!...Island!"
*Total Drama Theme Song Plays*
Location: Weliweli Island
Contestant(s): Freya
The wind and rain blew and fell softly as Freya floated on her back in the water near the shore of Weliweli, giving no reaction to the drops of water from the sky as they landed upon her skin.
She kept her breath steady, her eyes closed, and her face relaxed as an audio clip from her recent confessional began to play out.
Confessional: Freya
"Here I am at the Final 4, and I got this far not by playing the villain game I had planned to play going into it, but by actively attempting to better myself. Sure, the road hasn't been easy, or even fun if I'm being honest, but I'll just let the rain and the waters of Weliweli wash away those negative thoughts so I can focus on the positives. One more challenge until the finale. All I need to do is win one more challenge, that's it. I don't need to rely on tricks or traps, I just need to go in calm. Go in determined. I'm here at the end. I've fought my way here through a steady stream of adversity, and I won't stop fighting, even if or after the island gods pass their final judgement on me."
End Confessional
As the waves slowly rocked Freya in the water, she could hear the sound of a boat approaching.
"There ya' are!" Chef barked. "Get out of that water and get in the boat, we're takin' you to Kahakai!"
"Already?" Freya asked as she did as she was told, swimming over to the ferry and reaching a hand out for Chef to pull her up into the water vehicle.
"Already." Chef nodded.
He handed Freya her standard clothes which he'd picked up from the Weliweli camp.
"So the challenge is meant to last the whole day?" She asked as she but them back on over her swimsuit.
"Nah." Chef shook his head. "The challenge won't last the day at all, but that's because the finale's gonna take place tonight. Dunno the reason but it had somethin' to do with a weather report."
"Weather report huh?" Freya looked up at the sky. "I mean, it's been consistently cloudy for most of the season, but I guess this is the calmest rain I've seen since we started. Is it supposed to clear up tonight?"
"I said I don't know!" Chef snapped.
Location: Kahakai Beach
Contestant(s): All Remaining
"I get that Chris told us to gather here for the challenge," Barnard began as he, Daniel, and Lucien all stood on the beach near the coal bed, looking out to see the ferry bringing Freya over from Weliweli slowly make its way towards them. "But it feels way too early."
Confessional: Barnard
"I'm in the Final 4. I can understand people being mad for the decision I made last week, but if I didn't do that, either Jaime or Daniel would have won this game. I don't think any of us are willing to risk Freya getting to the Final 3, even with her threat to campaign for Daniel if he makes it to that last jury vote. Jaime was too liked among the jury in that scenario, and would easily be able to claim credit for the same moves I made since the merge began. I know it was a risk to my popularity among my peers, but I'm going to trust that they'll understand it and reward me anyways. Of course, for that to happen, I do need to get to that final jury vote, that's why it's important I win this challenge and question everything I find suspicious."
End Confessional
"Early or not…" Daniel yawned as he scratched his bare feet. "A challenge is a challenge, and if you would rather not participate in it, that's perfectly fine by me."
Confessional: Daniel
"I might be getting ahead of myself, but I do think I can win in the end right now. All I need to do is make sure that Freya goes home. Barnard is going to get dragged through almost as much mud as I will by that jury, and Lucien hasn't actually done anything aside from the Samuel vote. He just acts like he has. This is the Final 4. I'm not about to lose when I'm so close, so close to finally, finally having the money I need to get away from my awful life at home. I'd sooner subject myself to this same torment all over again than go back there."
End Confessional
"Well, no sense in getting so tense about it." Lucien shrugged. "I'm just gonna go with the flow Chris is setting for us."
Confessional: Lucien
"Final 4 bros! Feels like a dream to be honest. These other three are all pretty uhh, super serious about this. Meanwhile I'm just here like, yeah I want to win too but you won't see me acting like the world is going to crumble if I don't. None of the four of us were millionaires before this show, and three of the four of us still won't be after everything ends either, and it's not like none of us could get by before. Right now though, to be honest, I don't know if I like my position. I want Freya on that jury so she can vote for me, but I also don't want to let her campaign for Daniel to win. She's really good at being persuasive, she even got me to break character a few times when I was still trying to get further by pretending to be an idiot. At the same time though, I think the jury we've got will be hard pressed to choose either Daniel or Barnard over me. Freya though, that's a story that will look too good to the jury, so one way another, I need to get her out without making it seem like I'm bringing Daniel to the finale with me."
End Confessional
"Welcome Final 4!" Chris announced as Chef and Freya regrouped with the three boys on the beach and the host rode up on an ATV. "To your penultimate challenge! Each of the four of you is going to build...a castle! You'll head out into the waters of Lake Nui Kaua, find a piece corresponding to your assigned color! The catch is that they're all locked in cages, and the only way to open them is to give the correct answer to the questions we've had our interns painstakingly carve onto the anchors keeping the cages and pieces from floating away! You can either work on the castle as you go, or you can wait until you have all your pieces out of the lake, but you can only retrieve one piece from the lake at a time. Now...are you ready for this week's curse?"
"Hardly!" Barnard raised his hand. "You said the pieces were locked in cages, so are the answers all numerical values or what?"
"Ohhh, well, yes all the locks require a three digit number to open, but that doesn't mean all the answers to the questions are numbers themselves. But it wouldn't be much of a challenge if I helped out much more than that, now would it?"
Barnard clicked his tongue and Chris turned towards the other contestants.
"As I was saying...it's time for this week's Curse! The Victory Curse!"
"Sounds like this is a sudden death thing then?" Freya crossed her arms in contemplation.
"Close but not quite, Freya." Chris smiled. "While your elimination ceremony this week might be sudden death thanks to the curse, the challenge is still very much a first to finish will win immunity type deal. But to make things more interesting...we asked the Jury to give us a sample pre-vote based on the four of you left, and depending on how well you did, you'll receive either a bigger advantage, or a disadvantage, in this challenge, and hey, you're going to need those advantages if you do get them because once everyone knows where they place right now, I don't think the top placers will be very popular with the bottom placers, a-hah-huhh!"
Confessional: Barnard
"Interesting...A pre-finale jury vote among the four of us."
End Confessional
Confessional: Daniel
"Well, thanks for making this challenge harder for me Chris."
End Confessional
Confessional: Freya
"Chris! Why?! Either I'm not going to do well despite all my effort and I'll feel like shit or I'll do really well and have an even bigger target painted on my back than there already is! We already want to win immunity, you don't need to keep psyching us out like this!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Lucien
"A preliminary Jury vote huh? I guess that helps me figure out exactly where I am, because I sure as heck have no clue. Not that I'm too too worried. I think I'll do well at the very least in front of the Jury no matter who is up there with me."
End Confessional
"The Jury's current favor to win...with 5 votes…" Chris grinned at the Final 4. "Is Freya."
Freya staggered backwards as she felt the eyes on her.
"R-really?" She asked in a mixed tone of nervous and excited.
"Because of these 5 votes…" Chris continued as an intern drove a large truck along the beach and dumped out five large piles of what looked like ocean debris that had simply been spray painted red. "She starts with 5 pieces already on the shore!"
Confessional: Daniel
"Those are not the pieces to a castle, those are the pieces of trash. We're each building our own Trash Palace."
End Confessional
"In second place…" Chris continued as he looked at the other three contestants. "With 4 votes…"
"Wow, that's a close race." Barnard noted.
"Lucien!" Chris smiled as four pieces of debris that had been spray painted yellow were dumped near him. "Thanks to those votes, you start with 4 pieces already on shore!"
"And in third place…" Chris turned to Barnard and Daniel. "The two of you actually tie with a single vote each!"
Confessional: Barnard
"I only have a single vote?!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Daniel
"I actually already have a vote?!"
End Confessional
"As such…" Chris continued as a single piece of debris, spray painted black, was dumped near Barnard, while a separate piece, spray-painted white, was dumped near Daniel. "You each will be given only a single piece to start with!"
"It's the penultimate challenge and I'm at a disadvantage against the two people I want to see gone the most." Daniel sighed. "Figures."
"And with all that out of the way…" Chris smiled. "Your challenge of creating your trash pa-, I mean castles, begins...now!" He blew an airhorn and each contestant stripped down into their bathing suits and entered the water.
Penultimate Challenge:
Rules: Contestants must retrieve puzzle pieces to build small 'castles' on the beach from the lakebed of Nui Kaua. The pieces are locked in cages that only open when a contestant can correctly answer the question posted on each cage's anchor and convert that answer into a three digit number. Thanks to the Victory Curse, Freya starts with 5 pieces of 25 already fished out, Lucien starts with 4, while Barnard and Daniel only start with 1 each.
Barnard is tasked with building: The Dreadful Donjon
Daniel is tasked with building: The Macabre Mansion
Freya is tasked with building: The Bloody Bastion
Lucien is tasked with building: The Visceral Villa (we know he's not a Visceral Vampire, we just wanted to reference each team)
Location: Kahakai Beach and Lake Nui Kaua
Contestant(s): All Remaining
Daniel was the first to find one of his own pieces.
He looked over the anchor keeping the cage in place.
This player has a crush on Azami.
Confessional: Daniel
"Ah, I see. They aren't so much questions as they are facts about the other players. And if there are 25 pieces...then there are facts about all of us. In any case, the answer is quite clearly "Kaden" but how am I supposed to convert that into three digits?"
End Confessional
Daniel began to fiddle with the lock on the cage door, when he noticed something.
Confessional: Daniel
"The lock...it didn't have any 1s or 0s. Only 2-9. So I tried something out."
End Confessional
Daniel thought to himself, before moving the lock's dials to show the combination: 5-2-3
Confessional: Daniel
"5-2-3...on a phone dial, that can correspond to K-A-D, the first three letters of Kaden's name. And wouldn't you know it? It worked. Finally something goes my way for once."
End Confessional
The cage door opened and the trash piece floated out. Daniel quickly grabbed it and surfaced before beginning to swim back.
Barnard was the next one to find one of their own castle pieces.
He looked at his anchor.
This player absolutely hates Daniel.
Confessional: Barnard
"That...that doesn't really narrow it down all that much."
End Confessional
Barnard took a look at the lock on the cage door, and noticed the same features that Daniel took note of.
He thought to himself for a moment before entering in the combination: 5-3-6
He smirked as the door opened up and the piece floated towards him.
Confessional: Barnard
"5-3-6, or L-E-N, for Lena. Perhaps the most violently opposed to Daniel of any of us."
End Confessional
Lucien reached his first of many cages and looked over his anchor as well.
This player accidentally voted herself off.
Confessional: Lucien
"Hm...assuming they mean this season, then I can only think of one time that might happen."
End Confessional
Lucien immediately entered in the code 6-6-5 without even taking a moment to stop and investigate the locks. The door opened up and his piece came through.
Confessional: Lucien
"Yeah, I had a feeling M-O-L would do it." He snickers into the camera. "Oh this challenge is perfect for me, after all, the only I've really been able to do all season is watch everyone else."
End Confessional
Freya had swam out further into the lake, to look for the further pieces first.
She reached a cage containing a piece of her color and went down to inspect its anchor.
This player has a fetish for pectoral muscles.
Her eyes widened in excitement as she hurriedly swam to the lock and turned the dials to the combination: 3-7-3, before the cage opened and gave her access to the castle piece.
Confessional: Freya
"Ha! The very first piece of trivia it's my own fact! Hopefully the valkyrie can extend her lead! Though I am a bit worried about the 'sudden death' Chris mentioned would be taking place for elimination."
End Confessional
As all the contestants made their way back to shore, Freya stayed behind to work on the six pieces she already had and see where to fit them in to complete her trash palace.
"And while Barnard, Daniel, and Lucien continue to grab a piece at a time, Freya is starting to look at the structure of The Bloody Bastion!" Chris announced.
Confessional: Freya
"I have the lead and the pieces. If I start now, I should be able to actively look for pieces I need to continue building this hideous atrocity."
End Confessional
Meanwhile, Lucien had already managed to find another one of his own cages.
This player finished in 9th place.
Lucien surfaced as he began to count on his fingers.
"That's...not him, not her, oh!"
He went back down and put in the combination: 2-5-3.
The cage unlocked and Lucien began to swim back with his piece.
Barnard was having trouble at his own cage however.
"Killer Wave return…" He muttered under his breath. "Which one of them was the Killer Wave return?"
Confessional: Barnard
"I haven't had the time to watch the more recent season, so I'm not entirely sure which one the Killer Waves are even from! I know it's not Twilight, Aleister, Helen, or Kalef, but that still leaves Freya, Sherwood, and Isaac to consider."
End Confessional
Barnard went for broke and put in the code: 3-7-3.
Nothing.
He surfaced for breath and put in the code: 7-4-3.
Nothing.
"Gahh!" He groaned out as he submerged one more time and put in the code: 4-7-2.
Finally, the door opened, but he'd already spent long enough on the one piece. Daniel had pulled ahead of him with two more of his own pieces and now he was heading back for yet another to extend the lead.
Daniel looked over the next anchor he came across.
This player had a habit of shouting their last name.
Daniel rolled his eyes as he put in the combination of: 6-4-2.
Confessional: Daniel
"Not a very hard question when he was just here the other week shouting his last name at us."
End Confessional
"And Freya finally goes back into the water!" Chris announced as Freya rushed back into the lake. "And her castle is coming along nicely! Meanwhile...Lucien has returned with another new piece of his own and it looks like he's about to follow her lead and start on his own castle! Daniel might not be working on his castle yet, but he's collecting pieces and is still very much in this fight, while Barnard seems to be struggling to stay in the race!"
Barnard came up from the water as if on cue with a piece of his castle and swam back to the shore.
"I'm struggling, but I'm not out of it!" He called.
He quickly put his piece with the others and went back into the water, searching for a while before managing to find an anchor.
This player is the returning contestant from The Raging Flames.
Confessional: Barnard
"Oh, okay, this one is very clearly Helen. I've got this one."
End Confessional
Barnard entered the code: 4-3-5 and grabbed the piece that floated out of the unlocked door.
"And Barnard is starting to speed along in terms of getting his pieces!" Chris announced. "But Lucien and Freya are still neck and neck!"
Freya surfaced from the water with a piece of her own as Lucien finished placing all his on-shore pieces in their correct spots for his castle before rushing back into the water.
Confessional: Freya
"Darn it, he's catching up!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Lucien
"Just a little more and I'll be able to overtake her!"
End Confessional
The challenge continued in this fashion for a while.
Which player is a younger twin sister?
Freya put in a 2-8-2 for Aubrey.
Which player was voted off in a 2-1-1-1-1 vote?
Lucien put in a 5-2-6 for Jamal.
Which player is a country singer?
Daniel put in a 5-9-5 for Kyle.
Which player likes giving pet names to everyone?
Barnard put in an 8-9-4 for Twilight.
Confessional: Barnard
"Honestly the toughest part of the challenge was how tired I got swimming back and forth from out in the lake to the shore of Kahakai beach. I'd thought it would mostly be a test of the brain because the trash palaces...sorry, the castles, are basically puzzles, but no. It's mostly a test of endurance."
End Confessional
Later In The Same Location
Progress Report:
Barnard: 22/25 pieces, Dreadful Donjon Castle at 0% completion
Daniel: 24/25 pieces, Macabre Mansion Castle at 0% completion
Freya: 20/25 pieces, Bloody Bastion Castle at 80% completion
Lucien: 20/25 pieces, Visceral Villa Castle at 76% completion
"We are now roughly one hour in," Chris announced, "and Daniel and Barnard are both just about done collecting their puzzle pieces, while Freya and Lucien still have some ways to go, but both of those latter players have been making extreme progress on their castles! It truly is anyone's game!"
"Hah!" Lucien laughed as he got his most recent piece to fit in his villa. "I'm catching up to you Freya!" He called out to Freya who was quickly swimming to her next anchor.
This player is afraid of beetles.
Freya put in Tori's code: 8-6-7, and grabbed the piece as it was released.
"You'll have to try harder to reach me though!" She shouted back to Lucien as she passed him on the way back to shore.
Lucien dove down towards one of his own anchors.
This player is an amazing gymnast.
Lucien smiled as he entered in 2-9-2 for Azami as an answer. Surely enough, the door opened and gave Lucien his next piece.
Barnard meanwhile was at one of his own anchors.
This player pretended to be seduced.
Barnard scratched his head.
He had no idea.
He decided he'd just go in order of the eliminated contestants.
Daniel meanwhile looked at his very last anchor.
This player had an alliance named after them.
Confessional: Daniel
"Even as far into the game as the final four he's still taunting me with that confident smile of his. Ugh it's so sickening how privileged a life he probably leads. That's probably why he's always able to spout such nonsense about justice."
End Confessional
Daniel slowly entered the combination of 4-7-2 for Isaac, and his final puzzle piece was unlocked.
Barnard had already managed to bring his earlier piece back and had found a new anchor.
Confessional: Barnard
"So that last one was Aleister apparently. Huh, who knew. In any case though, I went to the anchor right, and all of a sudden I'm hit with this doozy."
Postpone Confessional
This player was eliminated by Barnard.
Resume Confessional
"I mean, sure I guess one could argue that I eliminated Jaime, which was the answer by the way. 5-2-4 and all that, but I was in a no-win situation there! No matter what happened I would have been the reason she went home. If anything I'd say you can blame it on Freya forcing Daniel to play the curse tiki, or even Daniel for playing it instead of saving it for now, when it would be the most effective."
End Confessional
"And Daniel is coming back with his final piece!" Chris announced. "Which means he's about to get started on his castle, leaving Barnard in an nigh decisive last place!"
"Not helping Chris!" Barnard called as he dropped off his puzzle piece before going back to get his final one.
This player willingly gave up his shoes.
Barnard went down to enter the combination: 3-2-6.
Daniel.
The lock opened up and his final piece flew out.
"And Barnard has his final piece!" Chris announced as Barnard began to swim back. "But can he solve his castle puzzle fast enough to overtake Daniel, Lucien, and Freya?"
Lucien and Freya each reached a nearby anchor at the same time.
This player was eliminated due to the Lifeline curse.
This player has never had a single vote cast against them.
They both swam to their respective locks and each entered in the combination: 2-6-8. Antonio's number.
Both doors opened and they retrieved both their pieces.
As they put them in the places of their castles, they noticed the remarkable progress both Daniel and Barnard were already making on their own.
"Daniel and Barnard are both shining with being able to put the puzzle together without having to swim to get pieces!" Chris announced. "Lucien and Freya better pick up the pace if they want to stay in this game and avoid our special elimination ceremony courtesy of the Victory Curse!"
Confessional: Freya
"No, I refuse to have made it this far only to lose immunity to any of those boys! I'm winning this!"
End Confessional
Freya found another of her anchors.
This player was often crazy-prepared with gadgets and tools.
7-2-6, Samuel.
Confessional: Lucien
"No, I can't risk both Daniel and Barnard forcing me out if Freya wins immunity! I need this!"
End Confessional
Lucien found another of his anchors.
This player is asexual.
7-4-3, Sherwood.
Confessional: Barnard
"I'd be such a popular vote off in terms of how well the jury would take it! I can't slow down, I need the immunity!"
End Confessional
Freya found another of her anchors.
This player regrouped the remaining Demons into an alliance.
2-2-7, Barnard.
Confessional: Daniel
"This is it. I'm so close to finally leaving that old life behind! I'm not about to let any of those other three tear it away from me! Immunity is mine!"
End Confessional
Lucien found another of his anchors.
This player is a gambling addict.
8-6-7, Tori.
"Both Freya and Lucien are down to their final pieces to grab!" Chris announced. "But both Barnard and Daniel have been making tremendous headway on their castles! It is truly anyone's challenge now!"
Both Daniel and Barnard began to pick up the pace as Freya and Lucien both sprinted down the beach and sped through the water towards their final pieces.
Daniel was reaching the end of his castle.
Freya found her last anchor.
This player pretended to be an idiot.
She smiled. Lucien, easy answer.
Lucien found his own last anchor.
This player was blindsided by Tori.
He smiled. Lena, easy answer.
They both entered 5-8-2 and 5-3-6 as their combinations respectively, and both their doors opened.
"And Freya and Lucien both have their last pieces!" Chris announced. "But Daniel and Barnard are both on their last legs of their own castles!"
The contestants raced even faster.
Piece by piece went into both the Dreadful Donjon and the Macabre Mansion.
Freya and Lucien managed to reach the shore with their pieces in a dead heat as they rushed to complete the Bloody Bastion and Visceral Villa.
Both Daniel and Barnard reached their last piece as Freya and Lucien finally reached their buildings.
It was now a race to see who could place their final piece first.
"Chris!" All four voices called out.
"We have a winner!" Chris announced as he looked at the frame by frame footage that a nearby intern showed him.
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"... … … LUCIEN!" Chris shouted. "WINS IMMUNITY! AND EARNS HIMSELF A SPOT IN THE FINAL 3!"
Lucien put a hand to his heart as he fell to the sand in relief, while all the other contestants cursed their rotten luck.
Confessional: Lucien
"Hooooooo boy that was stressful." Lucien grins into the camera. "But man I sure did pick the perfect time to win myself an immunity. Your boy is in the finale guys! Now the question becomes how to get rid of Freya without making it seem like I'm taking Daniel to the finale."
End Confessiona
"Lucien!" Chris smiled at Lucien. "Congratulations on making it into the final 3, but like I said earlier, because of the Victory Curse, you have a choice to make."
"Oh?" Lucien smiled back. "Like what?"
"Well…" Chris motioned to Barnard, Daniel, and Freya. "Lucien, you may choose one player to bring to the finale with you. The other two will be squaring off in a sudden death challenge."
Lucien's eyes sparkled. "Ooooh!" He smiled, though it quickly faded when he realized his options.
Confessional: Lucien
"Okay...my first instinct is to send Daniel and Freya to the tiebreaker, but I don't know how well it would go with the jury if I just let Barnard into the finale like that. At the same time though, I know from the Jury vote that Freya needs to go if I have any hope of winning."
End Confessional
"Lucien." Freya stared at him, unblinking. "Let me participate in the sudden death."
Lucien's eyes widened with shock. "You...are volunteering?"
Freya nodded.
"And if it's not asking too much of you, let me fight Daniel."
"We're really still doing this, huh?" Daniel sighed. "Alright. Fine. I'll volunteer too. It isn't the first time I've been put in sudden death after all. Besides, someone needs to vanquish the valkyrie over here. It might as well be me."
Confessional: Lucien
"Well. That...worked out."
End Confessional
"Alright then." Lucien nodded. "Chris, I'll bring Barnard along, and I'll let those two finally go toe to toe." He pointed at Daniel and Freya.
"Alright then!" Chris smiled. "Daniel, Freya...the two of you are up for elimination. Your challenge will be...tearing down your opponent's castle!"
"You mean...we spent all that time exhausting ourselves building up those trash palaces, only to tear them back down again?" Daniel rolled his eyes. "Figures."
"But that's definitely for the best." Freya looked over each structure. "I wouldn't want to be caught dead in any of those garbage heaps."
"The rules are simple!" Chris continued to explain the sudden death challenge. "Using only the side of your body, ram into your opponents castle until it crumbles. If both castles crumble on the same round, whichever one crumbled more will indicate the loser. And when I say crumble, I mean crumble. A single piece out of place doesn't count as long as the roof of the building is still being held aloft. You'll be ramming at the same time each round by the way. Understood?"
Neither Daniel nor Freya had any questions.
They stared down each other in the eyes silently as they took their places.
Neither one said anything to their opponent.
They didn't even nod at each other.
"And….charge 1...go!" Chris announced.
Both players rushed into each other's castles.
Daniel took out a few of Freya's pieces.
Freya did the same with Daniel's.
Chris held his hand up as the two walked back to their positions while he waited to make sure no house would crumble just yet.
"Go!" He announced again.
Both Freya and Daniel charged again, not knocking out any pieces of either castle, but both shifting a couple.
"Go!" Chris announced again.
Daniel tripped and could barely knock any pieces.
Freya meanwhile was starting to get weaker with her charges and she too barely shifted any of Daniel's.
The two moved back to their starting positions.
"Daniel, you good?" Chris asked.
Daniel nodded. "Just a trip. Won't happen again."
"In that case...Go!"
It did not happen again, Daniel knocked a fair amount of Freya's pieces out, her Bloody Bastion now struggling to keep its roof overhead.
Freya meanwhile had made some good progress on Daniel's Macabre Mansion as well.
Chris held his hand up as both players walked back, both their castles wobbling.
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The Macabre Mansion stabilized.
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The Bloody Bastion also stabilized.
"Go!" Chris announced.
Both Freya and Daniel rushed into each others' trash palaces, bringing both roofs down on top of them with the impact.
"We have a same-round crumbling!" Chris announced. "Our interns will count the pieces still left in their proper places to determine the winner!"
Daniel and Freya met back up where Lucien and Barnard were standing.
Confessional: Freya
"This is it…"
End Confessional
Confessional: Daniel
"The moment of truth…"
End Confessional
"Daniel...Freya…" Chris returned to the same area. "We've tallied the pieces and there was a winner and loser. By a single piece too."
Daniel and Freya both nodded at the host.
"First thing's first…" Chris took out a bag of three crystal balls and tossed the first two to Lucien and Barnard while Chef backed up along the beach in the Horror Hearse.
"Lucien, Barnard, the two of you are safe. Meanwhile, Daniel, Freya...the two of you are not. If you do not receive this last crystal ball, you will be asked to immediately get into the Coffin of Shame, and ride the Horror Hearse off of the island where you will become the next" He looked into the camera as he lowered his voice into a whisper. "And possibly final" He spoke softly before turning back to the players. "Member of our Jury." He finished.
Freya and Daniel both nodded.
"Alright then." Chris smiled. "Then it's time to share the results of your tiebreaker challenge. Daniel, when your Macabre Mansion crumbled, it still had a grand total of:
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… 9 pieces still intact in their correct places."
Daniel nodded.
Chris turned to Freya.
"Meanwhile, Freya, your Bloody Bastion, when it crumbled, still had a grand total of…
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… 8 pieces still in their correct place. Meaning the final crystal ball of the night goes to-"
Chris tossed the crystal ball. "Daniel."
Freya silently stared up at the sky for a little while, feeling the rain on her face one last time.
She sighed.
She turned to face the now Final 3.
And after taking a breath to both calm and collect herself, she spoke.
"Well done." She smiled at them.
She turned and steadily walked towards the Coffin of Shame before getting in and closing the lid.
Chef then carted the final returning player off of the island.
"Guess that just leaves us now huh…" Lucien looked over at Barnard and Daniel.
"Guess so." Barnard nodded.
Daniel nodded in silence, before he finally made a realization aloud.
"That sudden death elimination that just happened...The jury wasn't present to see it. Just like the Lifeline curse."
"Oh don't worry about that, the Jury's been reviewing live footage!" Chris grinned at the Final 3.
"But we're about to cut that footage riiiiight...now!"
He pointed to an intern who nodded and whispered into an earpiece.
"Welcome, Final 3!" Chris smiled at Barnard, Daniel, and Lucien. "We're going to ferry all three of you to Weliweli Island for an end-of-game feast and interview session so we can set up for the finale, but before we do that...it's time for…"
He turned into the camera. "THE FINAL CURSE!"
"The Final Curse! Woo!" Lucien cheered. "I want it, I want it!"
"Easy there Lucien." Chris smiled. "The Final Curse is a very, very simple question."
"And it's asked to all of us?" Barnard's brow rose.
"Correct, Barnard!" Chris nodded. "The question is simply this: Do you want to head into the final jury vote with this final 3? Or do you want one final challenge?"
"So it's like a voting ceremony?" Daniel shrugged.
"Nope!" Chris grinned. "Because if even a single one of you says you want a final 3 going up against the jury, that's what will happen."
"So we all have to want to do that last challenge for it to happen." Barnard noted.
"Correctamundo." Chris responded with finger guns. "So...why don't you all go ahead and just close your eyes…"
Chris waited until the boys did as they were told.
"Now...who here wants to go straight to the jury vote tonight? No challenge, just three finalists. I only need a single hand to go up."
"Oh wow." An intern mumbled at the responses.
"Shush!" Chris hushed them. "You're paid to work, not talk!"
He cleared his throat as he turned back to the Final 3. "Gotta say I did not expect that. But congratulations. All three of you will be grilled by the jury later tonight!"
Chris then turned into the camera.
"And with that, we have our Jury complete, starting with Kyle, and ending with Freya! Barnard, Daniel, and Lucien have survived many grueling weeks stranded here in Lake Nui Kaua! And soon one of them is about to win it all! Can Barnard explain his actions in front of the Jury? Can Daniel earn votes despite his poor social game? Will Lucien's supporters remain loyal to him? Find out each of these, as well as the ultimate winner of the season...NEXT TIME! ON OUR GRAND FINALE OF…
TOTAL DRAMA NUI KAUA!
THE CURSED!
ISLAND!"
Lighting strikes down behind Mt. Immolate as the rain picks up and the camera cuts out.
*Freya's Final Confessional:
Freya thinks in silence for a long time, before sighing. "You know...I feel like I have a lot to be proud of, at least when I think about the way I played since Kyle got eliminated. I'm not even that upset that I lost so close to the end really. I volunteered for a sudden death match, and I lost. And yeah, losing does suck, especially this close to the end, but I sure am glad that's how it happened. I went down fighting. I went down giving it my all against someone who I knew was also giving it their all. But I don't know, I keep getting this feeling in my stomach like there's still something I need to do. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out what it is on the jury before the show closes. I guess I'll end this off with a thank you to everyone watching this show! Thanks so much for sticking with all of us through this journey!"
End Confessional*
The Final Curse Votes for those who are curious
Barnard voted for…A final 3 finale
Daniel voted for…A final 3 finale
Lucien voted for… A final 3 finale
AN:
And so, we finally reach Freya.
Freya was the only Zero Sum player I knew I wanted in Cursed Island from the get-go. She was originally going to be that season's main antagonist, so it made sense to submit her in my mind. After all, most of the Nui Kaua submissions I got were for more heroic/neutral types so I figured CI would follow the same pattern.
Yeah.
Oops.
Lots of more villainous or morally grey characters, and pretty much everyone else was neutral with only an odd hero to even things out here and there.
Freya was the OC that I was fairly sure would make it very far in the game and possibly even to the finale, but this growth story of hers was not at all what I was expecting when I first sat down to write the season. But once Kyle was forced out of the game, I found that Freya was in a unique position and decided to run with it, which is what has led her along this journey of growth.
Having studied her actions throughout the season, Freya receives the status of: Uhm. Hrm. I'mma be honest guys. I can actively see good, solid arguments for all three statuses of Hero, Neutral, and Villain. She very clearly played the villain in the early game, no doubt about it, but she also by the end of it all shows genuine regret for playing that way and actively attempts to better herself as a person while still opposing the main villain to the point that she was perfectly willing to risk her own safety in the game for the chance to take out that very same villain, which is all very heroic, the most heroic thing someone like Freya could really do too, even just last episode she was there to suggest going to rocks to help Jaime have a fighting chance. And then, when we put both those extremes together, I can see her being neutral overall pretty easily. And even THEN there's also the fact that, like Azami, Freya's story has finished entirely yet. I think, ultimately, I'd be lenient and give her a Hero status, because unlike the other heroes, Freya was actively attempting despite herself, to be a good person and player for the majority of her time on the show, and ultimately was willing to prove that she had changed in The Final 5, and just now lost in a deathmatch she volunteered for in the hopes of getting rid of the main villain of the season, but I can just as easily see, understand, and accept her being either of the other two labels as well(I'm just the kind of guy that never ever decides to kill Paarthunax when they play Skyrim so, y'know, second chances and all that).
Freya's best moment is...also really really hard. She had a lot of great moments, which are all especially different depending on how you ultimately view her. I'd say, personally, and only for me, that her best moment was her attempt at saving Kaden, a boy who she didn't like, and who had until that point hated her completely, simply because he asked her to. She went around getting people to vote for her so she could play her Banshee Tiki, effectively wasting it since Kaden would have gone home anyways if she'd done nothing at all, all to help someone she didn't agree with stay in the game. Ultimately the plan didn't work, but the intention behind it was clear. I'd argue it's her first outwardly heroic moment and serves as proof that, yes, she is growing, and she is going to try and be a better person from now on.
But that's all just my opinion.
What do you guys think?
Any predictions for how the Final 3's Jury grilling is going to play out?
And as always, thanks for watching!
AN2: Discord link is on my profile for anyone interested in joining! We have lots of TD-related fun, and also meme around and play games.