Sometimes, space is ideal for a pair of exes looking to move beyond their sordid past. Other times, it can lead to disaster.
Off/on couple Cara Maria and Abram found their footing toward the start of Episode 5, yet Camila went Chiquita Ba-llistic when she caught wind that Johnny was annoyed by her neediness. The young Brazilian tore the house apart (and her shirt down) with a tirade that caused more damage than certain natural disasters (when's the last time you heard a monsoon shout "YOU'RE GONNA DIE"?). Paula and Diem struggled to talk her down, but Emily sat back and relished the idea that the most powerful couple in the house was suddenly coming apart at the seams. Camila admitted the morning after her meltdown that a case of jealousy sent her over the edge, and Johnny was worried she'd done irreparable damage to their standing in the game.
Johnny's worries intensified when rivals Rachel and Aneesa, whom he and Camila nominated to navigate "Don't Rock the Boat" first, performed flawlessly. The two girls hopped from elevated mast to elevated mast with ease and beat out opponents Cara Maria and Abram by leaps and bounds. The "Real World: Key West" alum could soon breathe easy, though, as Ty and Emily and Mark and Robin blew the girls out of the water and cut Team Pink's chances of being named the next Power Couple.
Diem's fear of heights nearly earned her and CT an immediate trip to The Dome, but CM and Abram ultimately performed the challenge three seconds slower, and were guaranteed a spot in their first elimination round as the last-place finishers. Cara Maria lamented the fact that she'd been holding Abram back and hadn't performed as well as she had in past Challenges. Conversely, Robin performed better than anyone expected she could, and she and Mark edged out consummate front-runners Johnny and Camila to earn their first Power Couple standing.
While Mark had a tough time rationalizing sending a friend into elimination, Robin sympathized with relative rookies Ty and Emily, who hadn't wronged her before and had already faced a Dome. She felt like Mark was masterminding the operation, and was pissed that he was speaking for her. Similarly, Emily was pissed Ty conceded to Mark and said he was ready to re-enter The Dome if that's how the cards fell. Still, neither team faced the mess in which Cara Maria and Abram were suddenly entangled, as CM retracted her word that she was ready to move in with Abram. Suddenly, her wide-eyed ex was hung out to dry.
Camila and Johnny struggled to resolve their differences as nominations approached, but they were still sure an alliance with Mark and Robin would keep them safe. Ultimately, the game's lone 40-year-old and its young mother selected Ty and Emily to enter their second elimination round. Paula was worried that Ty, her favorite flirting buddy, might have finally met his match in Abram.
At "X-Battle," which sent Wes and Mandi home weeks earlier, powerhouse Emily predictably came out swinging and tossed Cara Maria like a rag doll, earning a victory on the women's side. Ty faced more of a struggle with lose cannon Abram, who earned the first point on the men's side of the battle. In the end, though, Ty rallied and won the final two points, securing his and Emily's spot in the game. His performance ensured Cara Maria and Abram's elimination and the notion that he wasn't the same guy who notoriously gave up on "Cutthroat."
Abram walked out of The Dome bruised, battered and depressed about Cara Maria's flakiness, but Ty and Emily, who entered the game as mortal enemies, suddenly saw a friendship they'd left somewhere just south of the Mason-Dixon slowly repair itself.
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