Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Sexes 2, Episode 9: Swing For It

Previously on Battle of the Sexes 2: Katie joined up with the newbies to target the veterans' alliance. The guys won Fill 'Er Up, upping their record to 6-1. Mike was finally let go by the guys, while the rookies on the girls' team picked off Rachel. Veronica vowed vengeance on those who took Rachel out. Three weeks ago, I put Angela, Rachel and Veronica on top of my "Needs to Go" list. Will I be lucky tonight?

Night. The guys are celebrating. Are they going into a rousing chorus of "Ding Dong, The Miz Is Gone"? No, it's all for Chris, who is getting married in two days. Turns out the guys are throwing a bachelor party, complete with a stripper. Not the best idea for a guy who turned his life over to a higher power years ago. He laughs, looking somewhat embarrassed. Can you imagine Matt in the same situation? The poor boy would turn white. Well, whiter. Theo: "I think Chris might be thinking that this bachelor party may end up keeping him as a bachelor for the rest of his life!" Whatever. Chris interviews that he did not sign up for this. Also, he's sitting in front of a blue screen with a giant cross. Did I mention he's religious? Because the editors don't think you got that.

Over at the Girls' Lodge, Katie and Arissa chat about the game. Arissa makes with the recreational profanity, saying she wasn't prepared for the game. She also confesses to being afraid of heights and bugs. Well, she got one fear out of the way last week. "I don't really see myself stepping down from anything," she interviews. "That's what makes a good competitor. You go out and you do what's presented in front of you." My foreshadowing sense is tingling. Katie admits to sucking in missions, but she does them. She interviews that she can win the money at the end. More tingling!

Now let's take a look at Chris's itinerary: drive five hours to Amarillo, Texas. Catch a plane and fly to San Antonio, arriving at 9:09. Make the 9:30 wedding rehearsal. Take a nap. Get married at 7. Have a honeymoon night. Fly back to Santa Fe, all in 36 hours. You know, if he moved the wedding to Santa Fe, he could save himself some trouble. Oh, wait ... he's not Puck. And for that, I am truly thankful.

Clue time! Arissa reads off the sponsor phone: get ready to go at 8 a.m., and wear a bathing suit.

Daytime. Veronica: "I feel like we killed ourselves when we sent Rachel home. We don't have our strength anymore, and I know it's gonna bite us in the ass." First of all, your team went 1-6 with Rachel. I'm pretty sure you could have gone 1-6 without her. Secondly: you've been on three Challenges with Rachel. When has she ever stepped up big? Seriously, I know you two are friends (and perhaps more, if the rumors are true), but let's be realistic here. Anyway, Veronica bitches about the vote to the other girls, not understanding how one person can slide by when she hasn't performed as well. Tina fills in the blanks for us, saying that she didn't vote for Tonya because Tonya had redeemed herself. Coral thinks that they can't vote based on one disqualification. She interviews that Tonya has two infractions to Rachel's one, and Rachel's DQ didn't make a difference. Coral then calls out Ibis and her friends, saying, "You don't act like you're so above people not voting for people." Ibis's general reaction: "Whuh?" Katie interviews that some people play the game dirty, and she broke the Coral-Rachel-Veronica alliance to give the rookies (naming Robin, Ibis, and Sophia) a chance to make it to the end. Tina thinks that leaders are supposed to step up. She interviews that she doesn't like how the meeting is going and that the girls are voting on emotion and not on the game.

On the bus, the players relax. Chris reads on the bus as we get a few fleeting glimpses of the wedding. He's had one honeymoon night, but he's back in the game. "People think I'm crazy because I'm doing the Challenge and I'm getting married," he interviews. "But this would be an awesome way to start off a family, with a nice lump sum of $60,000 in my pocket."

The kids arrive to find yet another metal contraption hanging over water. I've lost count... how many times have we seen this on a Challenge? This one has ropes dangling from it. Jonny welcomes everybody to today's mission: Sa-Wing! Yes, it has an exclamation point at the end. I have issues with that. In this mission, the players will use the ropes to swing from one side to the other. Arissa interviews that she's petrified of heights. "It was a fear that I thought I had conquered when I was in Australia," she interviews, "which is a crock of [bleep]." She hopes that she won't have to put herself out there. Jonny adds that the object is to get as many people across as possible. The players will climb down a ladder and go on a rope, sitting or standing on a pipe at the rope's bottom. They would start swinging from there. If both teams get the same number of people across, the faster team wins. Today's prize: guitars, valued at $600 apiece. Jonny gives both sides the usual 30 minutes to pick leaders.

Theo and Brad step up to lead. Mark asks who else wants to go. Steven: "Who wants to be guaranteed not to go home?" It's just foreshadowing of next week's episode, so I'll just say, "Shut up, Steven," and move on. Shane steps up to lead. On the other side, Katie finally volunteers to lead and interviews that it's time to prove herself. Ibis and Ruthie follow her.

Jonny reveals the team leaders. The players get loaded into the contraption. Jonny blows his air horn. Ruthie and Eric are the first to climb down. Eric interviews that he's doing well. "Whenever my team is looking for a fall guy," he continues, "they know that they can count on me." But he struggles, hanging upside down on the pipe. He interviews that his upper body is "almost at complete and total failure." Steven interviews that Eric having trouble scares the whole team. Background music: "Let it go, let it go." Finally, Eric splashes down. I'd make a snide comment, but I'll leave it to Tina. "Eric Nies the jump rope king can't even hold his own body weight. How's your jump rope helping you now, huh?" Thanks, Tina!