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COUPLES FEAR FACTOR (4) (1/24/04)

by Fearless Frankie

Week four of Couples Fear Factor had the remaining five couples facing spiders and snakes head on! Joe revealed two big clear boxes set on the ground, one filled with snakes the other filled with over 200 tarantulas. The men would each have their heads in the snake box, while their mates would be stuck in the spider box. Couples would be lying on their backs, face up, heads in the box. On "go", the pairs would have to push themselves backwards across the slippery, wet concrete to reach the tools to free themselves. The only upside was that it was not an elimination stunt. The fastest couple would receive two new Jeep Wranglers! Craig & Maria were "lucky couple number one."

Before they even started, Craig warned Maria not to freak out and she said, "But it's not an elimination." That was not a good sign. Joe came over to talk some sense into her. Craig reminded her how much she bagged on (original Couples FF contestant) Meg when Meg bailed on the spider stunt during the first Couples Fear Factor competition. Maria finally agreed to give a try, but was shaking as she stuck her head in the box. She definitely did NOT want to be there…and there weren't even any spiders on her head yet! Once Joe said, "Bring in the spiders," she started shaking her head and said, "I'm chickening out." Maria quit! Craig was disappointed and angry, while the other couples felt confident that Craig & Maria were no longer a threat.

Andre & Amirah were up next and the fact that Maria quit didn't reassure Amirah at all. Amirah did some deep breathing as they dumped the spiders on her head. Immediately, the little critters were scampering all over her face! On the "Go" signal, Amirah failed to get any traction on the muddy, wet floor. Andre quickly zipped over to the tools section and once he was free, he could go back and free Amirah. He got free, ran back and pushed Amirah towards the tools. Together they scrambled to free her while she started to freak out. Her legs were flailing and she was whimpering as Andre undid the final screws. She leapt out of the box and Andre clung to her as she sobbed with relief. Their final time was 5:10. Tina & Randy (well, mainly Randy) were confident they could cut that time in half.

Tina was fairly calm with spiders on her face. Both she and Randy were able to get the boxes moving. They reached the tools and tried a number of keys before freeing themselves. Randy had a snake around his neck the entire time, while Tina had tarantulas on her mouth and eyes. Their final time: 3:58. Could Roberto & Leah snatch those Jeeps out from under Randy & Tina? They certainly thought so. Roberto reached the tools first and used Tina's technique of hooking all the keys at once, to try them all. Leah had trouble getting the keys off their hooks, but Roberto told her to just try her best. Once Roberto was free they worked as a team to free Leah. Final time: 3:13!

Dean & Ashley started by saying they would do it for their kids, which brought much mocking from Roberto. The blonde marrieds gave it their all, but Ashley kept grabbing Dean's hook and keys, which delayed her considerably. Meanwhile, Dean struggled to free himself as the 2-minute mark rapidly approached. Once Dean was free, he dashed over to help Ashley who (if you ask me) gave up trying once Dean was there to help her. Soon they were both free with a final time of 2:45. The Jeeps were theirs!

The next day, the five couples thought for sure they faced elimination. Four of the five (you can guess which four) were pissed at losing the first stunt and determined to knock Dean & Ashley out of competition. However, they were surprised to learn that the day's winning couple would get to steal a prize from another couple! Those Jeeps were up for grabs! The stunt would begin with one couple standing on a platform suspended above a water tank. One team member would be wearing 40 pounds of weights and chains; the other, would have the key to free his or her partner. Soon, the platform would drop out from beneath them, sending them both into the chilly water below. Once the weighted partner was free, both team members would have to resurface and swim to a buoy at the other end of the tank to stop the clock. Since Dean & Ashley had been victorious the previous day, they had the honor of choosing who would go first. They chose their top rivals, Roberto & Leah.

Leah donned the weights, while Roberto was on key duty. When the platform snapped, the couple quickly plunged into the water. Roberto came up for air TWICE while Leah was stuck at the bottom of the tank waiting to be freed! They swam to the buoy and stopped the clock at one minute even. Later, Roberto said he only learned how to swim out of fear - and consequently was not the best in water. Randy & Tina were chosen to go next. Once again, the female wore the weights. Maybe women are just calmer under pressure? Randy quickly had Tina free, because he did not come up for air. They timed out at 34.8 seconds! Craig & Maria took the plunge next. Craig fumbled a little with the locks, but eventually had Maria free. They reached the buoy for a final time of 43 seconds. Once again, Craig & Maria would NOT win a prize!

Dean & Ashley chose to go next, saving Andre & Amirah for last. Dean, who was pissed when Randy smugly dedicated his time to Dean & Ashley's daughter, started a shouting match from the platform. Focus, Dean, focus! Dean zipped through the locks and the blondes swam like dolphins for that buoy! Final time, an amazing 32.4 seconds! Take that, Randy big mouth! The real question was: Could Andre & Amirah beat that time? Meanwhile, Tina was getting increasingly annoyed with Randy. She felt she had won their prize, not Randy, and it was his big mouth that might cause them to lose it. Let's just say, words were bleeped.

Back on the platform, Andre wore the weights and Amirah had the key. Finally, a different strategy! Amirah had no trouble freeing her mate. They swam quickly and looked like their time would be close to Dean & Ashley's. However, their final time 38.4 seconds was not enough to beat the blondes! Now, whose prize would Dean & Ashley steal? Not surprisingly, they chose to ignore Robert & Leah's bigger cash prize in order to steal from Randy & Tina instead. Now, in addition to the Jeeps, Dean & Ashley had $10,000 and a trip to Jamaica. It was a rough few days of competition for everyone - but no one had been eliminated!