Power Couple SA Recap: Inevitability Trumps Opportunity
Last night’s episode of Power Couple SA was capped off with a pretty predictable and inevitable elimination, but hopefully the elimination will mark the end of predictability and the start of some real, tough decisions.
Mo and Phindi found themselves at the bottom of the leader board after last week’s individual challenges, and they knew they had to win the couples challenge to stay in the competition. If they were up for elimination, they were goners. It was simple. They didn’t win the challenge, and that was it.
But, it didn’t have to be that inevitable, especially when the couple who lost the couples challenge was up for elimination for the second time – now the most for any couple thus far. Emile and Razia are sitting pretty high up on the leader board, sitting pretty in third place. They’re ahead of the couple currently closest to them, Ivan and Roshila, by quite a margin. This was an opportunity for them, as well as Dean and Crystal, to make a move and in doing so giving them a better shot at going further.
Mo and Phindi may not have been their biggest friends, but they also weren’t their biggest threat. Really, the couples had more than enough reason to vote against Emile and Razia seeing that both couples have found themselves in a tricky spot twice now. It was a real opportunity.
Okay, the couples challenge. The theme for this week’s challenge was each other’s worst character traits. There were 15 boxes that represented 15 negative character traits, from which each person had to choose 5 that described them the most. The challenge entailed identifying which 5 negative character traits their partners chose to describe themselves with. Once each person thought that they’d identified the correct negative trait for their partner, they had to reach inside a box to take to take out a power cable. If it was the correct trait, they could then enter the cable into a power circuit board. 5 correct power cables connected the entire circuit and a Power Couple sign would light up. The couple to complete the challenge in the quickest time would win, and the couple with the slowest time would found themselves up for elimination.
The twist: all sorts of nasty creepy crawlies and other scary creatures were lurking inside each of the various boxes – snakes, cockroaches, rats, and some cute baby crocodiles. So all in all, it wasn’t as tough as the challenge where the girls had to eat nasty shit. I mean, even Roshila killed this challenge.
Dyllan and Viki won their second consecutive couples challenge in a time of 5 minutes and 23 seconds. They’re really starting to gain a lot of momentum. Currently 2nd on the leader board, they have everything to play for. I won’t be surprised if it goes their way, they have the story for it too.
Emile and Razia had the longest time – 11 minutes and 28 seconds – and were automatically up for elimination against Mo and Phindi. It was a delight watching Razia, though, especially when she reached into the box filled with some real gooey worms. That was fun.
Dyllan and Viki may have won the challenge, but all was certainly not well. Viki seemed very disappointed that Dyllan chose “jealous” as a character trait of hers. Given his recent infidelity, any women would probably be a little pissed by that. She confronted Dyllan before bed, stating that she would never be jealous of the other woman that he had an affair with. He apologized and acknowledged his mistake, saying “hurt” would probably have been a better word. Hmm, “jealous” and “hurt” are complete different things. Winning this show would probably be a great thing for their relationship, and it’s hard not to label them a power couple after all they’ve been through. Coupled with their current momentum, it’s hard to bet against them. If they play it well – along with their best friends in the house PJ and Marzanne – they could make it all the way to the end.
There was even some strategy being thrown around. It was a terrible strategy that would have over complicated things for no apparent reason, but at least a strategy nonetheless. Baby steps. Dyllan proposed some couples vote for Emile and Razia to stay, and the rest for Mo and Phindi. In a tie, Emile and Razia would stay because they have more money in their electronic wallet. Some people felt bad for Mo and Phindi and were on board to award them what is actually a sympathy vote. Thankfully, Marzanne hated the idea, and when the elimination ceremony arrived, none of that happened – no strategy or sympathy votes.
The couples voted, and Emile and Razia won the vote unanimously, meaning that Mo and Phindi were eliminated from the competition.
I reckon shit will start getting real now, with five couples who are all on very good terms, things will need to happen. Something’s got to give. Cracks will appear. Yet, I don’t think anything big enough will happen that would shake up who the Top 2 or Top 3 couples will be.
Let’s see.
