'This is like a nightmare to me.' Bombshell new twist changes the game in Sault Ste. Marie

Welcome to Sault Ste. Marie! The treachery and gameplay continue as all three teams are changed in an explosive twist.

What went down on Episode 5 of Canada's Ultimate Challenge, Season 3

Fresh off an elimination round, the remaining three teams showed up for battle in The Soo — and stepped into another solo challenge. But this one had a few new twists. Teams had to select a player without knowing what the challenge was AND these players wouldn't be competing for points for the team, instead, they were playing for power. "I love me a little power, what is the power?" asked Gracia. They wouldn't find out until the challenge was over. 

Teams deliberated on who their most well-rounded and trustworthy player was, with Ene, Steve and Aaron stepping up for the Ultimate Standoff. "I don't want Aaron to have this power. My time with Aaron on Team Blue was absolutely a disaster. He would say lies and stir drama, so this power with Aaron is like my worst nightmare," said Mariam from the ground. No surprises there. 

All three would balance on top of a precarious 20-foot-tall post alone. As the challenge progressed, each one had to remove rings from the platform under their feet, making it smaller. The last one standing won.

And for this, all three teams picked their largest dudes (with presumably the biggest feet). This should be interesting. 

Mariam need not have worried, because Aaron was the first to topple when he failed to loosen the second ring, leaving Ene and Mark behind. 

It was an intense standoff between former allies, Team Yellow (Ene) and Team Red (Mark), as both looked to gain an advantage. After over 90 foot-numbing minutes, Ene looked calm and steady with his impressive-looking pistol squat.

Most caption-worthy photo

But he dropped off, giving the W — and the mysterious power that it would confer — to Mark.

Moment that changed the game

So what was this special power? Host Brandon revealed that Mark was in charge of creating a brand-new Wildcard Team. He would need to select one member from each team, including his own, and he had the night to make his decision. 

Players lobbied Mark that evening. In an interesting twist, Aaron asked to be on the new team, "Some people probably think I'm a bit of a snake because I've done my sneaky ways to get here. This is my last little sneaky chance to get to the end." Blue was not impressed with Aaron's defection. 

Team Yellow knew that a blow was coming in retaliation for putting Team Red into the elimination round. They were sure that Eddie and Ene would be split up.

The next morning, all was revealed. Aaron got his wish to be placed on the new team. Mark selected Ene, a powerhouse member from Yellow to join him. And he also added Mariam from his own team. Given her history with Aaron, this did not go down well.  "This is like a nightmare to me. Mark knows what he's doing. He's basically setting me up for failure. Me and Aaron cannot work together," she said.

With this decision, he weakened the competition and doomed the new Wildcard team to failure. This was truly the moment everything changed. 

All four teams headed off to the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site for the next challenge. First, they raced up the canal in canoes, then they needed to cross the canal on a slackline — for two hours. The team with the most crossings won. But there were two hitches: if one player falls the count starts over from zero, and there was a very brisk wind making the job so much harder.

Aaron could feel the tension: "This is incredibly awkward. I'm with two people, and they're like, 'Crap, we have to be with him.' But that's just giving me fire to prove to them that they are going to end this challenge being like, "Thank gosh Aaron was on this team." Nobody on Team Wildcard was happy, especially Mariam. 

Team Red was the first to hit the slacklines. "I do slacklining at home, but this is really hard. There's wind, the slacklines are going back and forth, and it's nuts. It's extremely hard in the middle," said Mark. 

The teams got down to it with Team Red in the lead. Keenan was the first to drop into the canal and then Aaron went down. The score was now zero for both teams, but it was still early and they had time to catch up.

Ninety minutes in, Team Red was back on top in a tight four-way race. Everyone was gassed, especially Steve and Eddie from Team Yellow, who were doing all the work. 

Best line of the episode

An important (and admirably restrained) call out: "The boys just want to do it themselves, but I am an elite athlete. They're not even thinking twice about that. It's very disappointing."

Kelly asked to be put back on the slackline, but despite being team captain, Steve refused. "If you don't mind just chilling here," he said, "[it's] pretty wobbly right now, girl." Yikes.

The other women were also sidelined. "I look around at the other teams, and the women are just benched," said Mariam, "it makes my heart sad, because women are constantly told they're not good enough, and they're not strong enough."

Shortly after, Steve tumbled into the canal, ending it for Team Yellow in this challenge. There was no way for them to catch up.

"You definitely dusted me, and it's not cool," added Kelly afterwards. 

Wait, it's 2025 and this is still happening?

MVP of Episode 5: Kelly 

Right after Steve tumbled into the canal and Team Yellow lost all chance of winning the challenge, Kelly got back on the slackline. "You just disrespected me. You are idiots. And I'm about to prove you wrong right now," she said.

And, of course, she slayed. In the first 90 minutes of the challenge, Team Yellow made 21 crossings. In the last 25 minutes, with Kelly contributing, they made 15. 

In the car ride back, Kelly let it out: "For me, it's just disappointing that you did not trust in me. You guys need to put your egos to your side. You just think, like, I'm just not as good as you guys, but I went across the rope even faster than you guys."

This was a pivotal defeat for Team Yellow. "I wasn't thinking at all, like, to be honest. That was more of, like, tunnel vision," admitted Eddie.

A competitive finish for Red and Blue

The final challenge was so close! Tulio and Mark continued to go head-to-head on the slackline. "Tulio is like an absolute spider monkey. I can feel my body wanting to shut down, but I know that as soon as Tulio goes, I have to go," said Mark. Team Red won, with 33 crossings, just one more than Team Blue.

See you next week, in Mount Tremblant!

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