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Fear Factor Episode 305
Original airdate: October 14, 2002


On a warm, dusty day Joe let six new players in on their first daring stunt. In a throwback to the wild, wild West, each player would be dragged behind a covered wagon, but that was only the beginning. While being pelted with dust and rocks, each player has to climb up a cargo net and into the back of the speeding wagon. It was all or nothing - so every player had the chance to advance to day two. Hyden was up first. As the wagon sped along the dirt path, Hyden used all of his strength to pull himself up the swaying cargo net. Darin was next and, like Hyden, seemed to have no trouble hoisting himself into the wagon. The others were hoping Darin's advanced age (an ancient 34) would hinder him. Last for the guys was Jason, whose height seemed to give him an advantage. Three big pulls and he was in.

Leslie was up first for the women, and struggled at first. However, her persistence paid off and she made it. Petite Nancy was next. It took her a bit longer than the others, but she ultimately completed the stunt! If Joanna finished the stunt, all players would advance to day two. She not only did it, but she did it faster than the other two women too! What would day two hold?

There were rats. There were spiders. There was creepy red lighting. The players arrived at some typically frightening location labeled "Fish Co." Uh-oh. Joe revealed a lovely display of: cod sperm, cod egg sack, cod liver and of course, the combo plate. Next to the display was a massive container filled with, you guessed it, dead fish. Each player would pull out one of the 15-pound fishes and retrieve a chip from deep inside it. The number on the chip coincides with a plate. The two men and two women who finished their plates fastest advanced. Darin, Jason and Hyden each drew their numbers from the massive fishes. Darin drew #2 - cod sperm. Jason, #1 - cod liver. Hyden, #3 - egg sack. Let the fish face off begin! As the clock began ticking, Darin started gagging. Hyden remained calm as he chewed on the large egg sack. Jason seemed sufficiently grossed out by the cod liver, but packed it into a meatball shape and kept chewing. Hyden finished up first, while Jason switched his strategy. Jason spent his time trying to make Darin throw up rather than finishing his own fish treat. But Darin held it together and held it down, which meant Jason was going home.

Leslie plunged her hand into the fish guts first and drew #4, the combo plate. Nancy was next and pulled #3 from the bloody fish cavity. The egg sack would be her yummy snack. While Joanna pulled #2 (cod sperm), Nancy seemed to be having a crisis. "My hand's on fire," she told Joe. Turns out Nancy is totally allergic to fish! On the paramedic's advice, Nancy decided to drop out. So basically all Leslie and Joanna had to do was each finish their plates in fifteen minutes. But (and there's always a "but"), Fear Factor decided to make it more interesting. Joe informed the girls that whomever finished fastest would win a thousand dollars. Joanna and Leslie seemed to take their time and neither had any gagging troubles, much to the boys' surprise. As their plates got cleaner, the girls sped things up in the hopes of winning some cold, hard cash. Joanna sucked her seafood down first and claimed the cash. Both girls advanced to day three.

Day three started out bright and sunny and full of hope. Oh how quickly it turned. Several 40-foot long drainage pipes were suspended high above the desert terrain. Each player would have to walk across the pipes while the pipes jiggled and swayed over 100 feet in the air. The person with the fastest time would be the new Fear Factor champ. And just to make it interesting, bring on the fake rain! Lumberjack Joanna was up first. Would climbing trees give her an advantage? Joanna's balance seemed good, but crossing from one section of pipe to the next proved a challenge. She took a hard landing, but slowly recovered. As she started across the second, rain-soaked section, slick pipe slipped her up and sent her home. Leslie stepped up next. She almost fell on the first jump, but seemed to recover. Then a few hard falls later sent Leslie over the edge, literally. Only the guys remained. Hyden was confident that he could at least complete the stunt. With wind and rain now factors, Hyden concentrated which slowed him down. The jump to the final section of pipe seemed painful, but Hyden stuck the landing. He quickly finished the final section and completed the stunt in two minutes and 53 seconds. All Darin had to do was beat that time. Darin utilized a sideways, surfer stance to make it across the first section. He continued to "ride" the second, slippery section - but ultimately fell. An ecstatic Hyden had claimed the fifty grand!