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Fear Factor Episode 316
Original airdate: February 10, 2003

This was a special "couples" episode.

In this special couples episode (just in time for Valentine's Day!), teamwork was key. Four couples would be competing for the grand prize and would compete as teams in each stunt. Their first stunt involved a watery contraption that looked like something out of David Blaine's act. One team member would be locked in the upright, Plexiglas box and submerged underwater. His or her partner would have to dive in, unlock the locks and free them. Whichever three teams were able to resurface and snag the Fear Factor flag fastest would advance. The husband and wife team of Ed and Denise were up first. After a good luck kiss, Denise got into the box and was lowered into the water. Once she was fully submerged, Ed dove in and tried to work the locks. While Denise held her breath, Ed unlocked the locks, but hit a glitch when he tried to open the door. He had forgotten to unlatch the latches! Finally, he gave Denise a giant push towards the surface and followed her up. After a brief fumble getting the flag, their final time was 35 seconds. Kyle and Losmir were confident they could cut that time in half! Kyle said he was "super focused," and Losmir hoped he was right as she slowly descended into the chilly water. Kyle fumbled with the bottom lock and then abandoned Losmir as he swam up for air! She frantically gave the signal to quit and rescue divers rushed in to her rescue. Kyle's excuse was that he just started freaking out. Losmir joked that they were breaking up tomorrow. Now, all the remaining couples had to do was complete the stunt to advance. Justin and Vena were next. Once Vena was submerged, Justin dove in. He was quick with the first two locks, but could Vena's lung capacity hold out? Finally, she was free, but the latches were stuck! After seconds of trying to push out - she gave the signal to quit. She emerged with a bloody finger and an annoyed boyfriend. And then there were twoôHopefully, newlyweds (and former lifeguards) Jason and Misty could complete the stunt! Misty took a deep breath just before Jason dove in. He got the first lock and latch quickly, but Misty looked desperate for air. The next two locks went fast and Misty had the flag in hand in thirty seconds! Both married couples advanced to day two!

A very creepy deserted office building greeted the couples on day two. Joe was waiting before a large, red heart-shaped box and a large empty container. Before revealing the stunt, Joe explained that since only two couples remained, today's stunt would be worth $25,000 to the winning couple. The winner of the final stunt would claim the other $25,000 and be deemed Fear Factor champs. But what was in the box? It was filled with hundreds of live, Madagascar hissing roaches. Using only their mouths, players would transfer the live roaches from the heart-shaped box to the other container. Like an old-school party game, the first team member would transfer the roach to their partner mouth-to-mouth. Their partner would then transfer the roach to the other container. Whichever couple transferred the most roaches in three minutes would win the $25,000. After losing the coin toss, Jason and Misty had to go first. Jason took his position near the roaches, while Misty awaited the first pass. The mouth-to-mouth technique was working good - with more than one roach at a time getting passed over to the other container. A couple of times, Misty had to shake her face to get the crawling, biting roaches to let go of her! Their final count was an unbelievable 204 roaches. Ed and Denise seemed up for the challenge. They employed the same system as Jason and Misty and hoped they could beat their high score. Denise looked a little queasy and Ed had gagging issues - but they persevered! Mouthful after mouthful they chucked until time ran out. Their final roach count was only 189. Jason and Misty claimed the first $25,000. Then Joe offered Ed and Denise a consolation prize. If they each ate one of the roaches, Fear Factor would award them $1,000. They agreed and each grabbed a big fat roach to eat. With matching grimaces they chewed up the roaches and earned the extra cash!

The final stunt was precariously high and semi-acrobatic. One team member would hang by their ankles from a crane, then grab hold of their partner's hands like a trapezist. The crane would lift them away from a rooftop suspending them high above the ground. Whoever could hold onto their partner the longest would win the cash and the bragging rights. Once again, Jason and Misty lost the coin toss and had to go first. Jason got strapped in and Misty grabbed on to him. Slowly the crane lifted both of them above ground and swung them aside. Now all they had to do was hang on. Jason seemed strong and relaxed. Misty closed her eyes and went into a Zen state. These two were determined! One minute passedôand still they hung on. After a minute and a half, Misty started to slip. At one minute and forty-eight seconds she slipped from Jason's grip and plummeted towards the ground. Could Ed and Denise get a better grip? Ed didn't look as muscular as Jason, but that doesn't always have anything to do with strength. After a lingering "good luck" hug, Ed got vertical and grabbed onto Denise. Jason and Misty tried to psych them out with taunts of "she's slipping," but Ed and Denise remained focused. Ed's hands started getting numb, but they only had 18 seconds to go. Even after they passed Jason and Misty's time, they held on until the two-minute mark! Ed and Denise were the new super-couple champs.