The merge has proved difficult for Courtenay Louise who isn't sure who she can trust. Photo / TVNZ
REVIEW:
It's cliffhanger time!
I know I said I wanted the cliffhanger but honestly, it's been 24 hours and I feel like a kid who was offered a Christmas present early on Christmas Eve and made the mistake of saying "no, it's okay! I'll wait."
We pick up where we left off with Mangō 's captain Courtenay Louise making crying look really good as she decides whether to save Melodie Robinson from her pending elimination.
Robinson gives a half-hearted speech about going home while she patiently waits for Louise to save her and when Louise doesn't, she tells the confession cam, "I'm really disappointed."
As for Louise though, her thinking is, "I'm not about to save her and make a decision that I might regret later in the game." Watch out, cutthroat Courtenay has entered Treasure Island.
The decision seems very black and white, but Mangō's Karen O'Leary is left in the grey area, "What on earth just happened? I don't understand it, and I'm kind of mad," she tells the confession cam.
The following day at camp, O'Leary tries to talk to Louise and it does not go down well. She's met with a cold shoulder that rivals your pals after a bottomless brunch goes sideways.
It seems O'Leary upset Louise after saying the all-female finale has gone down the gurgler and now Louise isn't talking to the comedian.
It's actually a lot more serious than we think, and the Shortland Street actress needs a moment to compose herself. She sneaks away for yet another pretty cry and tells the confession cam, "I feel like I have no control, and I want to do really well in this game."
The producers must realise she's crying real tears and not fake tears like the ones that scared Ron Cribb yesterday, so they decide to make her feel better by giving her the clue Robinson left behind.
The good intentions were there, but it causes the waterworks to start all over again, "I just feel like I really want to do this for her now." If Louise isn't careful, Kris Jenner will employ her to teach Kim how to pretty cry.
Once she pulls it together, the teams head off to the team challenge but there is a twist. Host Matt Chisholm tells the teams the challenge is called "Shall I stay or shall I go alone" meaning it's officially time for the merge.
They have the choice to tackle obstacles by themselves or as a team, and while it all starts off chummy, it quickly turns into a game of all for one.
Louise takes out the win and not only gets to decide who is going up for elimination but also who gets to join her for a winner's lunch of pasta and wine. Al dente.
She chooses Jesse Tuke and Cam Mansel resulting in Cribb - and me - giving her a stern side-eye. Isn't the former All Black her Island bestie? What has happened here? Did he upset her after Bottomless Brunch as well?
While Louise takes her pals out for lunch, the rest of the celebs move into their new living quarters, and one person is pretty happy about it.
Elvis Lopeti quickly runs into Dame Susan Devoy's arms, "Oh my goodness it's like coming home to nana's house because Dame Susan, she's my nana," He excitedly tells the confession cam.
As for Cribb? He missed out on a carb-filled lunch, and now he feels like he's a "guest in someone else's home." It's all very awkward, much like meeting your boyfriend's family for the first time.
At the Italian lunch, Louise is telling Tuke and Mansel she is in their alliance, but I've checked out, I just can't get over the fact she didn't pick Cribb. Did this gentle giant not deserve pasta? Clearly, Louise also realises her mistake because she is secretly hesitant about her alliance with Tuke and Mansel.
Especially now she knows Tuke has aligned with the "Funkilicious Four", which includes Mansel, Devoy and Siobhan Marshall.
Post-food baby, Louise has to make a decision about the elimination battle, and she is having a bit of a low-key "mental breakdown" on the hill about it. "Right now, I'm trying to save my own back with this powerful alliance looking down on me," she tells the confession cam.
Tuke joins her on the hill knowing he's put her in a bit of an awkward position, and tells her the Funkicilous Four will have her back, "it's all good, don't worry," he says.
Louise tells the confession cam, "my gut is telling me to worry," and it's not just because she ate a whole plate of pasta on an empty stomach.
The celebs make the trek to the elimination arena and Louise decides to put up Elvis Lopeti who is competing for Sisters United Trust against Perlina Lau who is competing for Duffy Books in Homes.
It's a move that gives away one huge alliance, "Now I see the alliance is Jesse, Courtenay Cam and I'm like yup, I see how it is," Lopeti tells the confession cam.
It gives him enough anger to win the challenge and Louise is about to have a big fat cry, "I put Perlina in thinking she would take out Elvis. That really backfired," she tells the confession cam.
But it seems Lopeti is the least of her worries, enter O'Leary who is seeking revenge after not one but two of her friends goes home.
"It's a bit of a punch in the guts," She tells the confession cam. One thing is for sure, Louise has a lot to answer for tomorrow.
Celebrity Treasure Island airs weekly, Mon-Wed, 7.30pm on TVNZ2 and TVNZ +.
'Sometimes you can't plan unpredictability and fun, it has to just happen.'