Road Rules: South Pacific, Episode 16: Walking Through Fire To Trust

Previously, Dave and Marybeth were hooking up, then Tina came along. Tina admitted she was just messing with Dave to piss Marybeth off. Then the girls had separate dates with Octav, the restaurant owner.

Dave and Tina talk. Tina spouts some psychobabble about how she's self-conscious, but not like some people who try too hard, like Marybeth. Then she asks Dave to shower with her. Dave, who finally is catching on to this sad little inter-Winnie competition, says it would cause too many problems if he were to do so.

Marybeth interviews that Tina is childish and immature.

At a bar, Christena and Chris talk and she says that Marybeth and Tina will bond eventually if they just leave them alone. Under the tiki hut, Marybeth and Tina are talking, but there's no bonding going on. Tina wants to relive the whole Octav date situation, but Marybeth tells her she doesn't want to hear it again. Marybeth says Tina is criticizing her for doing the same thing she did and Tina should take a look at herself before she gets too critical.

Tina says if she met Marybeth in a club, she wouldn't spend two seconds on her.

The next day at the mission, Mayors Sabrina and Karl say the group will have to learn to trust each other to pass the mission. They are split into teams: Jeremy and Christena, Dave and Chris, and Marybeth and Tina. No one's happy that Marybeth and Tina have been paired up. Tina, of course, has to be all dramatic.

Between the three teams, one person must be the teacher and one must be the student. The teachers are Jeremy, Marybeth, and Dave, and the students are Chris, Christena, and Tina.

The teachers find out that the mission is to teach their "students" to walk through a bed of fire. To do it, they will spend the day learning ancient Tahitian secrets. Or it could just be a project to kill time and get them all to think about how they're getting along.

Somewhere, the members of the Road Rules: Islands cast are laughing thinking how they learned to walk through fire in about 10 minutes in a New York park. You break a board, you walk through fire. No big deal.

The ancient secrets involve the "Challenge of Steel" and the "Challenge of the Invisible Wall." For the Challenge Of Steel, two team members must rest a metal pole (the same kind used in heavy construction) on their throat and walk toward each other, expecting the pole to bend and not result in an instant tracheotomy. Everyone manages to bend the pole.

Meanwhile, the "students" are getting restless. Tina says they're getting the raw end of the deal and Chris says Tina and Marybeth shouldn't have been paired together. Tina says it takes a lot for her to trust people.

For the "Invisible Wall" mission, the teachers sit around and discuss the fatal flaws of their students. Dave said Chris really has no flaws except he could go slower and be more patient. Jeremy says Christena is overconfident. Marybeth says Tina is insecure but she has faith in her.

Back at camp, Christena says Tina should get to know Marybeth before she hates her. Tina tells them a shortened version of the Octav mess, then interviews it's easier to hate than to love.

The teachers show up and tell the students they have to walk through fire. Jeremy says the teachers are all inspired. They start the preliminary skills with the pole bending. Dave says the pole is a metaphor for doing whatever you want to do in life. They all manage to bend the steel.

Then it’s time to sit down and discuss their biggest fear. Christena says she gives off a facade and she's been living behind the facade. Chris says his fear is going back to his old lifestyle. Tina has a fear of rejection.

Now it's time for the firewalking. Christena says she's nervous for her feet. Marybeth tells Tina, "I promise you'll be OK," and I swear I can hear a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Tina and Marybeth go first and Tina manages to walk across the fire without exploding, much to everyone's disappointment. Tina says Marybeth is showing her she can trust her and that makes Tina rethink what she thinks about her.

Chris and Christena walk through the fire and everyone celebrates that the mission is done. Christena tells Tina she's not going home. Ha! But the instructors say the mission isn't complete until the teachers walk through fire. So the teachers take their turn in the coals.

Marybeth says she knows the group thinks it’s odd that she's managed to bond with Tina in just a few short hours. Tina says there's something about Marybeth she needs to get to know.

At the Winnie, Dave says the tattoo is winking that there's only one more piece to go.

On the beach, Tina tells Marybeth that she realized they weren't getting along because they're so much alike. She apologizes and Marybeth accepts. Marybeth says the mission ended up being more spiritual than they could have imagined.

Next week: It's the final mission and there are cars on the line, but getting the keys is looking impossible.

Jennifer Shrader traded in her boyfriend for a dog, who is always happy to see her, is properly housetrained, and doesn't drink all her liquor while she's taking a nap. She and her dog live in the Deep South, where she's a reporter for a community newspaper.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find out about some other popular shows at our Survivor: Pearl Islands page and our Temptation Island 3 page; and don't miss The Reality TV Hall of Shame. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about reality TV, be sure to check out SirLinksALot!