NBC's ‘Destination X' Season 1, Episode 2 Recap: ‘Remember the Game You're Playing'

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3 days ago

Alliances were tested, enemies were made and one player learned that there's no playing nice on the quest to win that $250,000 cash prize.
On the second episode of Destination X, the contestants were already beginning to get comfortable with their new life on the bus – and some got even cozier than others as they headed to their next location.
'It's just like a massive, 24/7 sleepover,' Ally Bross said in a confessional. 'I'm really starting to like everyone. I flirt with Shayne [Cureton] all the time and I think he's gorgeous.'
Meanwhile, Shayne was more focused on fellow competitor Biggy Bailey as they discussed the possibility of forming an alliance.
'Bro, this is a game where I need to trust in you to do what we gotta do to save each other,' he explained.
In a confessional, the model said his strategy was 'all social' because he didn't know a lot about European culture. Noting that he thought Biggy seemed like a 'trustworthy dude,' Shayne admitted that if he didn't make him an ally, he could 'end up being one of the biggest threats in the game.'
And speaking of threats, Rick Szabo felt the sting after former player Josh Martinez threw his name under the bus on his way home. Fans remember that Rick told the Big Brother alum he thought they were in Milan, Italy, in the last episode, causing him to be sent home after choosing their location incorrectly in the map room.
'I wasn't trying to mislead anybody,' Rick said. 'I wanna share secrets, I wanna share clues, because right now, info is power.'
It's safe to say no one was eager to team up with the professional bird watcher just yet.
On their first stop of the day, the contestants found themselves on a snow-covered mountain. Before they had the chance to truly take in their surroundings, host Jeffrey Dean Morgan issued their first challenge.
"Players, you are stranded at 10,000 feet on top of a mountain somewhere in Europe. So, your challenge today is to light a fire to signal my rescue helicopter,' he said. 'The good news is everything you need to build that fire is right there on the mountainside. The bad news is … I buried it.'
The three teams were tasked with finding clues that pointed to specific countries, but were warned that some of the hints were red herrings that would lead them to uncovering poor fire-building tools. Mack and her team initially went for the clues leading them to France, while Tai suspected they were in Germany. In the end, Rick, Ally and Rachel's team came out triumphant and earned their first clue … and it was a big one!
The winning players earned a helicopter ride above the mountain, giving them a fuller scope of where in the world they were. During their trip, they circled the Sphinx Observatory, an international research station located in Jungfraujoch, but since they didn't immediately recognize it, their biggest clue came when they saw the flag of Switzerland.
Rachel suggested that they tell the others everything they saw 'that's true' – except for the flag.
Despite her teammate's advice, Ally later decided to pull Tai into the fold by telling her everything that they saw. In an attempt to fix his bad reputation, Rick also secretly told Biggy and Shayne that they were in Switzerland … but Shayne wasn't falling for his show of good faith.
'To me, Rick is a lost puppy,' the model said. 'He's loyal to everybody which means he's loyal to no one.'
Their next challenge led the players to a town nestled among sprawling green hills. They sat at a large table filled with food in front of a small home.
'Dear players, it's time to play a little game to decide who is going to the map room later,' a letter found on the table read. 'And it's not up to me. It's up to you.'
Shayne offered to be the first to go into the house to face his challenge and was met with a wide array of random objects scattered throughout the abode, including a pocket knife, a sports jersey, pictures of Jennifer Aniston and Eva Longoria and the gamemaster himself!
Jeffrey told Shayne that as a reward for his brave decision to go first, he could choose five of his fellow players to put into the map room.
He picked Rachel, Mack, Jonah, Biggy and Ally.
Tai and Ally went next for their challenge and found Jeffrey sitting behind a set of 10 bells.
'I'm going to ring these bells in a sequence. Your job is to remember the sequence,' he told them. 'If you remember five, you can swap one player [from the map room]. If you remember all ten then you can swap two.'
Tai and Ally were successful and choose to put both Rick and Kimberly in the map room. Next, Biggy, Rachel and Mack also got all 10 bells correct. They decide to save Biggy and Rachel, and put Tai and Ally into the map room. Jonah was less successful on his own and only swapped one name – but he struggled with the idea of potentially sending another player home.
'My name's up there and if I move it, it means I'm putting someone else in there and I really don't wanna do that.'
He finally decided to swap his name for Mack.
Last, Kim and Rick took their turn. They also got all of the bells correct and chose to put Rachel and Jonah in the map room.
That left Mack, Jonah, Tai, Rachel and Ally in the map room.
On their last leg of their journey for the day on the Destination X bus, Jonah still wasn't certain where they were and sought out friendship from Shayne and Ally. Shayne told him that they were in Switzerland, but Ally purposely misled him into thinking that they were in Bern rather than Geneva.
'It's hard because he's had a really tough time, but I gotta try to win this,' Ally explained in a confessional. 'I need to do well in the map room.'
In the end, Jonah trusted Ally and was eliminated.
As they exited the Destination X bus, Jeffrey said it was "strangely fitting" that Jonah, the "most peaceful person" on the bus was leaving the show in Switzerland," a land known for its "peace and neutrality."
Before he left, he did let Jonah know that Ally placed her X in Geneva — not Bern, revealing her betrayal.
Watch Destination X on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC or catch it streaming the next day on Peacock.