Suvechha Sarkar
Season 1 of NBC’s ‘Destination X‘ continues to unfold with thrilling unpredictability. Episode 3, appropriately titled, ‘Catching Feelings Changes Everything,’ leans right into the chaos with a romantic twist. The journey is far from over, as the remaining eight contestants are once again en route to their next mysterious location. The charismatic host, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, reveals that they are still oblivious to the fact that they are headed to a place filled with passion and centuries-old tales of love. As the sun rises and the contestants begin another day of their voyage, connections have begun to brew between some.
Romantic Sparks and Shifting Alliances Set the Tone of the Episode
While the other players greet each other in the morning, Shayne and Ally are lost in their own worlds with their intertwined fingers. In his confession, the former admits that he is out of his player phase and is ready to settle down. Similarly, Ally is a romantic and flirty person who expresses her wish to cuddle and meet a guy she likes. Watching them kissing and holding hands, Biggy quickly notes that although he had not always been best with women, he supports Shayne because he is his “boy.” Rachel apologizes to Rick for speaking meanly to him the previous day and reveals in her confession that she is switching up her gameplay. She adds that she is going to be friends with everyone because connection is everything here.
As everyone contemplates what awaits them for the day, Kim discloses in her confessional that she is ready to do anything for the day. After her children’s father passed away early, she had to put her life on hold, and now she is ready to live it fully. Finally, the most-awaited instruction for the contestants to put the goggles on appears on the screen. When their vision is eventually turned on, they find themselves amidst a maze. Jeffrey announces that he has divided the players into four pairs, and their challenge is to wind their way through the 16,000 years of hedges until they find the center. Along the way, they must discover three checkpoints to receive clues to the destination. However, only the first ones to arrive there are going to receive the real clue, while the others will receive the wrong one.
While Tai and Shayne are a pair, Biggy and Ally are the second ones. The other two pairs are Rick and Mack and Rachel and Kim. Once the game begins, everyone jumps right into action. Tai reveals that their strategy is to let Shyane sprint ahead to find the correct way. The latter discloses that he is confident because he is pretty athletic, having competed in junior nationals and being in the Top 10. In the meantime, Kim divulges how she was a former track star and is quite fast. With speed being of the essence, Shayne and Tai reach the first checkpoint to find a woman gesturing to them about movies. On the side is a windmill picture pointing towards France. Mack and Rick arrive there shortly after, only to get the wrong clue about a picture with a dragon and three eggs in it, indicating Croatia, besides the movie’s gesture.
Contestants Race Through Checkpoints in Hopes of Finding the Right Clues
When Biggy and Ally reach third at Checkpoint #1, they find a picture of a pirate ship, wrongly indicating Spain. Meanwhile, Shayne and Tai have succeeded in reaching Checkpoint #2 first, where a woman dancing in a particular way presents them with a headset playing a tune, both of which are specifically indicative of France. Rachel and Kim reach last at the first checkpoint to find a picture of Venice roads and a love bug car in the middle of it, leaving Rachel confused about whether the vehicle is pointing towards Germany or the surroundings towards Italy. However, the wrong clue is indeed Italy. In the meantime, Biggy and Ally reach the second checkpoint, where they find the woman doing a flamingo dance. Moreover, they are given a headset playing a Spanish tune. Although it is the wrong clue, Biggy guesses it is Spanish.
Meanwhile, Tai and Shayne reach checkpoint #3 to find a man holding red, white, and blue flowers. However, the order in which the flowers are held confuses both of them, with the latter suggesting that it should be either the Netherlands or France. They reach the center of the maze first, prompting Jeffrey to announce them as the winners. Tai notices a letter at the location, which reads that they can now get a huge power each, but for that, they have to choose either a rose or a mobile kept in either hand of the statue. Each of these two items has its own consequence. While Tai chooses the mobile, Shayne selects the rose. They are dropped at separate locations: one meets a mysterious woman, the other a man—each gives them a note.
While Tai now has the power to save someone from going into the map room, Shayne can choose one to send them there. With the two unexpected visitors gone, the contestants now return to the bus. Besides revealing the power card before the others, they also disclose that their clues are decent. When Mack states that they got a dragon as a clue, Ally quickly notes it indicates Croatia. However, Kim explains that if it were the case, they should’ve been warmer. Tai is reluctant to disclose to anyone that she has met Jana, who gave her the card. However, she and Shayne share the rest of the clues about France with Ally and Biggy. Ally quickly remarks in her confessional that working together is good since everyone can bring something to the table.
Tensions Begin to Simmer as the Contestants Face a High-Stakes Game
As Ally and Shayne spend time together, this does not sit right with Tai, Rachel, and Mack, who are discussing the same. In her confessional, Tai reveals that she is quite adaptable but doesn’t like how the duo is always flirty. She has now begun relying on Rachel to be safe. Similarly, the latter also feels that Tai and Ally are growing apart, and it is her opportunity to spend more time with the former. She opens up about how she needs the $250,000 because she is struggling with infertility and is ready to have a baby. With that being said, the contestants once again get the instruction to put their goggles on. When they finally take it off, they are awestruck by the majestic mansion before them. The host greets them at the table laid out with food. Rachel promptly infers that they are in France from the architecture and the food items before her.
Simultaneously, Rick recognizes the call of an Eurasian Collared Dove found near major metropolitan areas in Europe. However, he is quick to decide to be tight-lipped about the information. As everyone gets seated at the table, Jeffrey reveals that one of the plates has an X under it. When Tai discovers it under hers, he further announces that she can choose someone to go head-to-head in the next challenge. However, he cautions her that no one knows what the challenge is, and the person who loses will go to the map room. She chooses Rachel, stating that the latter is competitive and a fair player. However, Tai’s opponent finds her to be sneaky smart and remarks that she has made the choice for an ulterior motive. Mack challenges Kim, believing she has the best chance to win against her.
Shayne decides to go against Rick, with the latter noting that even if he wins, his opponent can send him to the map room. With Ally and Biggy left in the end, they are going up against one another. Right after, Jeffrey announces that their challenge is a game of croquet. It was an official Olympic sport over 100 years ago, and the game was held at their next destination. As they prepare for the game, Rachel notes Jeffrey’s Louis Vuitton shoes, prompting her to think their destination may be Paris. With Tai and Rachel playing first, Tai remarks that she has to win for her strategy, and to her delight, she gets her desired outcome. When it’s Mack and Kim’s turn, the latter discloses a secret: she has been playing the game since childhood. To no one’s surprise, she ends up winning.
Strategic Moves and Shattered Trust Lead to a Heartbreaking Exit
Rick can feel the pressure building as his turn comes, but thankfully, he wins the round against Shayne. Biggy is afraid that he is going to get into trouble, and his fears come true when Ally bags the victory. Hence, Rachel, Mack, Shayne, and Biggy are the ones who are going to the map room. As the contestants are almost at their next Destination X, Mack is deliberating that although she is sure of France as the country, she is not sure about the city. Although she notes that the architecture looked like the Palace of Versailles, which is 20 minutes outside of France, she is not sure. Although Tai hasn’t decided to give more clues to anyone, Tai tells Rachel about the dance she saw. She tells her about the dance that she saw in the Maze Challenge and asks her not to tell it to anyone.
As the contestants arrive at the destination, Jeffrey finally boards the bus as it is time for Tai and Shayne to use their Advantage cards. The former explains how her decision came down to her integrity and moral compass, and hence, she is going to save Shayne. However, his ulterior motive is not to anger Ally when it comes to him because he has to stay a little longer. Her choice raises questions in Rachel’s mind, who hopes Tai is not leading her astray because both want the same person to be gone. Shayne decides to send Rick to the map room because he doesn’t know much about Kim’s gameplay, but he feels he knows Rick. He further adds how there have been accusations about the latter being a “snake.” When asked, Rick expresses disappointment because he is alone in the game.
Rick, Biggy, Mack, and Rachel now enter the map room to put their X on the map within 2 minutes. In the meantime, the players outside are discussing that Rick does not have much of an idea about the location and is quite off-base. As the time comes to an end, Jeffrey announces that the person leaving the bus is Rachel. While bidding goodbye, she expresses her sadness that she cannot trust anyone but acknowledges that she respects the game. She becomes tearful in her exit interview because she desperately wanted the prize money for her IVF treatment. Meanwhile, Tai expresses how she feels partially responsible for Rachel’s departure because her guess of the city was wrong. Rachel is genuinely shocked to find that they are in Paris. Jefferey consoles her by saying that on the bright side, she can now see her husband.
As Two Unexpected Arrivals Shake Up the Game, Suspicions Begin to Rise
While the remaining players discuss how they are now down to only seven, they are unaware of the surprise that awaits them. Jeffrey once again boards the bus, informing them that, since he is feeling a little generous, he reveals that they are in Paris. While Biggy becomes emotional since he has never been out of his country, Rick reminisces about his Parisian honeymoon days. However, they face the biggest twist when he announces the arrival of two new players, none other than Peter Weber from ‘The Bachelor’ and Jana, who is known from ‘Love Island USA.’ Rick quickly notes that Peter is experienced in lying and backstabbing. Similarly, Jana’s arrival stirs fear in Tai since she does not want anyone to know that she has met her after the first challenge.
Hence, when Jana greets Tai, she pretends to be surprised like everyone else. While Peter notes that being a pilot is advantageous for his gameplay, Jana also opens up about how he is a military “brat” who has been to different parts of the world. Meanwhile, Biggy remarks that Peter is going to gain the trust of the girls with his charm. Jana had taken note that Tai had pretended not to know her. So, when Peter and Shayne disclosed that they had met before, and Tai denied seeing Jana, it changed the course of events. Jana quickly decides that she is not trusting Tai because she is lying. The latter becomes quite cautious because she has spent a lot of time building trust with the other players. However, the sudden twist makes her feel that things are turning quite “messy.”
Read More: Destination X Episode 2 Recap: Take It Up A Notch
