Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Sexes 2, Episode 12: Parannoyed

Previously on Battle of the Sexes 2: The women's team won Pop Culture Bike Jump, improving their record to 2-8. Hey, it's not how a team does in the first 15 missions, but how well they do in the finale. Coral interviewed that the win gave the team hope. The men ejected Frank, while the Women's Inner Circle made a list, checked it twice, and kicked Veronica out over Tonya. Later on, Tonya challenged the team over voting methods, only to get stalemated. "They better just wait," she interviewed, "because this gives me more drive to cream them tomorrow and not give a flying [bleep] if they go home." Way to show team spirit.

It's daytime in the Women's Lounge. Tonya talks to Ibis about how her opinion was attacked. Tonya interviews that four girls didn't back her up (Sophia, Ruthie, Ibis, Tina), and they made her livid. Ibis tells her the people were pissed off at her. Tonya feels nobody would let her complete her sentences. Ibis interviews that Tonya is flipping out. She tells Tonya she's being paranoid. "The moment there's a weakness in you," she adds, "they will [bleeping] drill that [bleep]." Tonya interviews that she is worried about her position. "Bring on the next mission," she continues, "so I can vote off one of these [a-holes.]."

Any drama going down at the Men's Lounge? Nope, unless you count Theo taking a nap on a couch, and the guys covering him with whatever they can find. "We're just having fun," Randy interviews. "Our strategy is just to have a good time with this." Theo wakes up, a little cranky about the stuff he's buried under.

It's clue time! Steven announces that they got a message from Jonny. Shane: "What does that [bleeper] say?" The message: get ready to get dirty. Flip to Tina as she reads: "What goes up must come down." Also, wear team colors and tennis shoes. Ruthie figures they'll be bungee-jumping into a "big bucket of dirt." Given the previous missions, that's not quite farfetched.

Today's mission site has what appears to be two large wood chippers. In other news, Eric has his jump rope around his neck, and Theo and Tonya hold hands as they walk. Randy interviews that he has no clue what they'll be doing.

Jonny welcomes the kids to the next mission: The Shredder. The objective: catch food coming out of the shredders. By the way, the shredders are capable of ripping up small trees, and that's why drinking the night before a mission is a bad idea. Okay, I made up that last bit. Mark interviews that they have to launch a total of 6,000 pounds of material through the shredder, which the teams must catch with buckets mounted on helmets. Jonny adds that two people per team are responsible for loading the food into the shredder. Once all the food is gone, the mission is over. The team with the most food caught wins.

Today's prize is a twofer: a trip for two to the Bahamas, and shoes with computer chips embedded in them. This is supposed to help with support, but I think it has more to do with the producers wanting to track the players down. Jonny gives both sides the usual thirty minutes to pick leaders.

Immediately, Mark volunteers himself and Shane, since neither player has stepped up in a while. Eric goes forward to complete the list. Mark interviews that if the team wins, the leaders are safe. Brad figures if they put twice as much food into the shredder as the women, they will win.

Speaking of the women, Robin steps up to lead, but nobody else seems to be as eager. Coral interviews about the difficulty of being enthusiastic over the possibility of going home. She tells the team she's led three times. Ibis finally steps up. She interviews about Tonya following her, since Tonya has not led three times. But Tonya just sits there like a lump. "It sucks that people are that paranoid," Ibis interviews. "If you're that insecure, there's something wrong."

After commercials, Tonya explains to us that she's not stepping up because she doesn't trust her teammates and she's looking out for herself. I can understand the rationale, but that philosophy is going to get her whacked soon. Finally, Ruthie offers herself to lead. Coral asks if she and Tina can load the shredder.

After Jonny calls the leaders to reveal themselves, he orders them to get the meat from the truck. If you're thinking this is edible stuff, think again. Remember, this is reality television. The players get a big whiff of the spoiled meat and assorted vegetables, and they recoil from the stench. Tina interviews about the blocks of meat, and I'm certain the world "block" should never be associated with meat. The food is gathered in a square. Ibis: "There's no words to describe anything or compare anything to it. It's just gross."