Colin: Welcome to a brand new season of... the adventure show where families face nature's most extreme challenges together, using the healing power of the outdoors to strengthen bonds and mend family wounds.

I'm your host, Colin O'Brady.

This season, we're venturing south to the pristine peninsula of Baja, Mexico.

People across the country have submitted why they think Survivalists can provide the breakthrough their family needs.

Competing this week is the Muse family from Greensboro, North Carolina.

Girl: My name is Kylie, I'm sixteen years old.

I used to have a great relationship with my mom, but the older I get, the harder it is for us to talk to one another.

When we disagree, we argue.

She gets mad and I get emotional.

At this point, we can't communicate and it's hurting our relationship.

I need us to go on Survivalists so we can put everything aside and focus on rebuilding what we once had.

Colin: And the Newbolds from South Jordan, Utah.

Woman: My name is Heather.

Right now, I am parenting two teenagers and it is really difficult.

My daughter struggles with her self worth.

I want to support her, but I don't always agree with her choices.

And my stepson keeps me at a distance.

I'm hoping that Survivalists can bring us closer together as a family and help us build trust.

♪♪ Colin: We'll be asking them to dig deeper physically.

- [groans] - Why are we going backwards?

Woman: I'm bleeding.

Colin: Mentally... Heather: Should we think of a strategy?

Boy 1: Just wing it.

Kylie: He is not listening.

Colin: And most importantly, emotionally.

Girl 2: I'm ready to go home.

Boy 1: You've already made it this far.

Colin: As they compete for a $10,000 prize.

This is Survivalists!

♪♪ Newbold, Muse family, welcome to Survivalists!

All: [cheering] Colin: So awesome to have you guys here.

Look at this beautiful place we are.

♪♪ You guys are gonna get up close and personal with this rugged Baja wilderness.

- Aw, man, I'm ready.

Boy 2: I've never really, like, been out in the wild.

I'm not excited for the sun.

- I'm excited for the adventure.

Colin: That's what I like to hear.

Kiley, for you, tell me the fatherly perspective on being out here.

- Yeah, I'm excited and I'm nervous too.

I hope that all of us can dig deep and see what they're made of.

Colin: Heather, for you, any nerves coming out here with your kids?

Heather: Yeah, a little bit mama bear.

I wanna protect my babies, make sure that they're okay.

Colin: And for you, Sydney, what's that dynamic like?

Sydney: I definitely wanna be my own person and not, like, have to make the decisions that I know my mom wants me to.

So, it's kind of difficult.

I'm not at a super easy time in my life, 'cause, like, being a teenager is hard, I guess.

I don't know if I'm fully, like, comfortable with going on the trip.

I think that this will be really, like, draining emotionally and physically.

But, I'm like a people pleaser and so that's why I did this in the first place, 'cause I knew that it would make my mom and stepdad happy.

There's, like, a lot of pressure riding on me to make sure that I make the decision that is in my best interest and that will also, like, be able to benefit others.

- You know, she's getting to an age where she doesn't need me as much, and that's hard as a mom to just let go and let her be on her own and make her own choices and decisions in life.

- I'd love to hear from you, Heather, what an actual win looks like for you and your family out here this week?

- Oh, I think growing closer as a family.

Maybe me letting go a little bit and letting my kids flex their independence.

- How about for you, Parker?

I saw you nod your head when she said that.

Parker: Yeah.

- Do you feel the same?

- I think it would be good for us to bond more.

- I love that you have that clear intention.

Got to know a little bit about them over there and I'm excited to hear about the Muse family!

I wanna hear about your guys' family dynamic.

- You know, I think we have an awesome family, I think we have an awesome foundation.

- We have a pretty fun and loving home.

My husband and I, we're trying to model for them how to communicate well and how to work through struggles, that that's a part of life.

- You guys kind of called out in your plea that there's a little bit of teenaged daughter, mother angst a little bit, this phase.

I wanna, I wanna hear from Kylie first on this.

- I just think that the biggest thing is, like, as I've gotten older, I've been able to form my own opinions and my own view on things, and obviously they're not always going to be the same as my mom's, so that maybe caused us to butt heads a little bit.

I have an emotional side to me that comes out quite frequently.

In her head, emotional responses are not the correct response, so a lot of times if we start to butt heads and I get emotional, she shuts out whatever I have to say.

- Kylie and I go at conflict a little differently, and so we're still trying to be able to hear each other and come to some kind of understanding.

- By the end of the week I just want us to have, like, a better understanding for how we come across things.

- It's clear to me that both families have a purpose larger than just winning this game being out here.

That's really what this experience is all about.

So, now we've got to know each other a little bit, it's time to get into the challenge itself.

It's season three, we're goin' bigger and badder than ever before!

- Oh, boy.

Colin: This season we've come all the way to Baja, Mexico.

Right now, we're in the La Paz region on the eastern side of the peninsula.

Over the next four days, you're each going to be traveling unique routes over twenty miles over some of the most inhospitable terrain there is, making your way to the remote Isla Espiritu off the coast with only a map and compass to guide your way.

Here's your first map.

Orange family, here you go.

Blue.

Okay, I'm counting you down.

On the count of three, off you go!

Three, two, one, go!

All: [indistinct grunts] Sydney: Mom, I'm fighting with you to get to it!

Kylie: Come on!

TJ: Let's go.

Colin: Good luck, you guys!

TJ: Ready, stay together.

Colin: This is Day One.

Families will slog six miles through the shifting sands and the elevation along the coast, navigating dangerous hills covered with razor-sharp rocks.

And then, into the scalding hot inland region, where they'll have to fight through dense brush and thorns before they reach their camp for the night.

[waves crashing] TJ: Actually, north is this way, right, and if you orient the map, it means we're-- Kylie: East.

TJ: Headed that way, east, okay.

And I think we, we should just stay along the coast.

Laura: Okay.

TJ: Just be careful.

Cohen: Walking on the sand is not gonna be nice.

Laura: Nope.

- When we looked at the map initially, it looked like the best path was to stay right along the beach, but from my background and my military experience, I know that certain terrains can slow you down, one being sand.

Kylie: Ugh, the sand is so annoying.

TJ: I could tell everyone was getting a little bit fatigued.

Kylie: Wait, Dad, you're walking really fast.

TJ: Oh, sorry.

Kylie: Slow down, take it down a gear.

Just chill.

- So I was like, well, we're gonna head the path up to harder terrain.

We should go up this right here, you see what I'm sayin'?

Go up there and stay along the edge.

All: [grunting] TJ: There we go.

Less work on our legs.

Cohen: Oh, this is better.

Kylie: We're doing a good job, you guys.

Cohen: Of course we are, we're the Muse crew!

Colin: With the Muses moving swiftly from the start, the Newbolds find themselves trailing by two minutes early in the race.

Kiley: Can we go up here?

Or you wanna keep going?

Heather: I think we just keep following the shoreline.

It's definitely harder right here.

You wanna look at the map?

I mean, we're just goin', we're just goin' right along the shoreline, so... Kiley: Yeah, I know, I'm just-- Heather: I think we're pretty good.

Parker: We do have to take a cut-in.

Kiley: So we gotta go up at some point.

Heather: Okay.

Sydney: We're all just like, we should do this.

And then we're like, okay.

Heather: Family vote, quick.

Who wants to go up top, who wants to go low?

- Up top!

Heather: Up top, Syd?

Sydney: When I'm under a lot of pressure, I tend to have more anxiety than I normally do.

Kiley: What I was hoping to do is just walk along the top here.

Heather: You wanna go up right there?

It's not gonna be easy.

[birds squawk] It is really hard for Sydney.

I think she's not in a great place mentally.

I think she has a lot of self-doubt.

[rocks crunching] Sydney: Whoa.

Heather: You all right, Syd?

Sydney: Yeah!

[sighs] ♪♪ Kylie: Should we check the map at all?

All: [disagreeing] Kylie: Okay.

Laura: We know the central point, yeah.

TJ: We don't need to.

Kylie: Wait, okay, wait.

We're gonna have to go around this way.

Cohen: We're gonna look.

TJ: Yeah, so we're gonna-- Laura: We don't wanna go low, we don't wanna go that low.

Kylie: No, I'm not saying we need to go low, I'm just saying we can't get too far right.

Cohen: Right there, right there, there's a path down.

- Where are y'all going?

TJ: That looks, that looks fine.

Kylie: I want us to like, complete things as a family.

Right now it's the boys are very much controlling what we're doing which is a little bit frustrating.

Can we just pause up here and just look real quick?

Laura: Relax, Kylie.

Cohen: Why do we need to pause?

Kylie: Because I'm just, I'm just, we're just walking.

Cohen: No, no, no, we're supposed-- Kylie: We don't have to go the same way, we just have to go.

We don't have to go-- Laura: Relax, relax, relax Kylie.

When she's angry, that's a little bit of a trigger for me, I just get agitated with it.

Kylie: No, we're not going down that.

Laura: Oh, my GOSH.

And that's not healthy.

You wanna go straight up?

Cohen: Yes.

Laura: Straight ahead?

TJ: Yes, I agree with Cohen.

Kylie: I'm gonna get upset.

Laura: I think Kylie needs to learn how to control her emotions.

Cohen: I'm about to crawl.

Laura: We'll figure it out.

Colin: Despite Kylie's emotional conflict with her family, the Muse's risky strategy to take the cliff route has paid off, and they've increased their lead to almost a quarter of a mile over the Newbolds.

♪♪ Sydney: Look at this!

Hello?

Kiley: Signal to the animal life.

Sydney: My anxiety isn't super great but I'm putting on a happy face for the others because then they don't have to deal with, like, my moping, I guess.

This better not be-- [gasps] Heather: You good?

Sydney: Yeah.

But, I mean, it's not really beneficial for me.

Pretending, it's kind of just getting more and more exhausting because I can't, like, be myself.

Heather: Are you still there, Syd?

Sydney: I'm already, like, so emotionally drained.

♪♪ Heather: Are you doing okay?

Sydney: Hold up.

Kiley: Are we moving too fast?

Sydney: I'm feeling ready to go home.

[dramatic music] Sydney: Yeah.

Heather: Why?

Sydney: 'Cause.

I know my mom wants me to do, like, what's best for me, but I know there's like a part of her that really wants me to keep going.

Heather: I know you can do really hard things.

Push past the mental barriers.

Let's reassess when we get to camp, Syd, and see how you're feeling, okay?

Sydney: 'Kay.

- All right, let's do it.

♪♪ Colin: While Sydney struggles with her anxiety, the Muses are continuing to make swift progress and have increased their lead to a half a mile.

♪♪ Kylie: Wait, Cohen, just wait for a second for them.

Cohen!

Cohen: What?

Kylie: Wait a second.

Laura: Kylie, it's okay, honey.

TJ: It's fine, he can go ahead, y'all can go ahead.

Kylie: No, I just asked him to wait and he's not listening.

Cohen: We're gonna have to go down.

Kylie: Wait, no, don't just go.

TJ: Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.

Don't go down.

Kylie: Cohen, Cohen, can you just pause for just a second?

Hahaha!

That's exactly why you need to pause.

Cohen: I slipped!

Kylie: He is not listening.

Cohen not listening is frustrating, he's like fifty feet ahead of me.

Cohen: It's looks like it's getting a little bit smoother up ahead.

Kylie: You're still going fast.

Cohen, wait!

TJ: It made me realize that we have things to work on with our communication.

Kylie: I'm so sick and tired.

♪♪ Colin: The breeze from the ocean does little to abate the stifling heat of the day, and as the Newbolds move further inland, the sweltering sun and dangerous vegetation makes every step more difficult.

[eerie music] Heather: How's it goin', Syd?

Sydney: Hard.

Heather: Yeah, it's hard.

It is really hard for Sydney.

I think she's not in a great place mentally.

Ultimately it's Sydney's decision to make if she wants to continue on with us, but it doesn't, it doesn't come without some heartache.

Sydney: OW!

Parker: What?

Sydney: I just got cut, we're fine.

My mom wants me to make the decision, but I can tell that no matter what decision I make there will still be a part of her that's like, disappointed, I guess.

I'm, like, such, like, a people pleaser that it's really hard to make the decision for me and figure out what I want to do.

Colin: While Sydney struggles with her decision, the Newbolds have slipped further behind and are now trailing by nearly eighteen minutes.

[birds chirping] The Muse family have made it to the most harrowing section of Day One.

Kylie: This is the last part before we get to camp.

Laura: We're on the home stretch.

Colin: They'll have to scale a steep hillside covered in huge, razor-sharp rocks just above crashing surf.

One wrong step could spell the end of the family's journey.

[waves crashing] Kylie: Wait, hold on, wait, I'm just gonna... TJ: Be careful, just take your time.

Laura: Careful, careful.

Cohen: Some of these rocks move.

TJ: They will take skin off in a heartbeat.

Cohen: We're gonna have to go over this one.

TJ: Boy, that is steep as Hades.

Laura: What are we doin' right now?

TJ: Yep, that flat one, watch out Kylie.

Laura: Ow, oh, man!

TJ: You good?

Laura: I'm bleeding.

TJ: Whoa... Kylie: You okay?

Laura: It's not great.

Cohen: What are you grabbin'?

Laura: Uh, some toilet paper because I don't want it to get on my sneakers.

I was moving quickly and so I stepped down too fast and I caught a rock perfectly on my outer leg and just started gushing blood because it was just a perfect rip of skin.

TJ: I didn't realize how significant the slip was until I saw blood running down her leg.

My first thought is, like, how bad is the injury, are we gonna have to tap out?

- I'm fine, it's just, it's just bleeding.

Kylie: Yeah, yeah.

Laura: So it makes it look worse.

TJ: You just hit a rock?

Laura: Yeah, I hit a rock.

TJ: Okay.

- Thank you, babe.

TJ: All these things were actually pretty scary.

You know, we're here to compete, and I wanna finish the race.

Laura: I cannot wait to see that camp.

TJ: I can't wait to see the camp, either.

Laura: [laughs] TJ: Next stop.

Cohen: Oh, I see!

I see where camp is!

Laura: Yay!

TJ: Where?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah!

Laura: All right, y'all!

TJ: Awesome!

Laura: Woo!

Cohen: "Congratulations, Muse family, you made it through a tough Day One."

Kylie: Let's go, Musey!

- Let's do it, let's do it.

♪♪ Kiley: Oh, man, feels good to see the water!

♪♪ [waves roaring] It feels really good to have made it through that day.

Parker: That was super tiring.

I could have just laid down on the rocks.

- "Congratulations, Newbold family.

You made it through a tough Day One."

All: [cheering] ♪♪ Colin: The Newbolds finish their first day thirteen minutes behind the Muses.

Emotions ran high for both families today, and tonight is an opportunity to work through those feelings and perhaps make difficult decisions.

TJ: What do you all think about today?

How do you think it went?

- I'm tired.

TJ: Okay.

Laura: Thought the last leg was difficult.

Kylie: Yeah, that was scary.

TJ: It was a little difficult for all of us, but Kylie was a little bit frustrated with just the difficulty level?

Kylie: No, I think the most frustrating part was when we're making decisions.

Like, I know we want to be fast, but-- - Take time.

Kylie: It's-- - Take our time.

- No, not take our time, but take time to actually discuss.

It just was, like... Cohen: Hard.

- Yeah, it was hard.

♪♪ Kiley: We made it to camp!

Let's eat some food.

Can we eat some food now?

Sydney: I'm not hungry.

Currently, I'm, like, processing if I'll, like, continue to go on this trip or not.

I wanted to prove to my parents that I could make decisions that would be beneficial for me, but if I were to leave, like, right now, it would cause, like, some stress on, like, my parents and stuff.

Yeah, I'm just not really sure what to do.

Parker: I'll eat the cheese lasagna, I guess.

Sydney: Hey, guys.

Parker: Hey.

Heather: Hey, Syd.

Sydney: Um, I think I'm ready to tap out and to leave.

- You don't think you can do it anymore?

Sydney: No.

My mental health just isn't, like, where it should be right now.

Kiley: I'm sorry, honey.

Heather: Yeah, I'm sorry that you're struggling.

It's really hard as a parent to watch your child struggle.

Realizing that this is Sydney's life, these are her choices.

I guess in a way, this is the first challenge for me, is to let go and let her make that decision entirely on her own.

I know it's been hard.

It's been a challenge, it's been a struggle for you.

I thought she was in a place where she, she could do something like this, but, um, I think I was wrong.

Kiley: There are decisions where there's not an easy answer, and they're really hard.

Sydney: [sniffs] Kiley: And our love for you is 100% not conditional on any of that.

Sydney: I don't know if I'm happy about my decision or not, but I made it, so... There's no turning back now, I guess.

I'll be leaving tomorrow morning.

Heather: I love you.

Sydney: I love you, too.

[owls hooting] [coyote howls] ♪♪ Colin: After a rough first day, the Muse family is looking for a way to improve on their performance, both in terms of the race and their family communication.

- So what's our strategy for today?

Kylie: I think it's really important that we listen to each other.

I feel like a lot of times we speak to one another, things are said, but I don't think that we're actually understanding what one another is saying.

We're just kind of in one ear and out the other.

Laura: Let's not forget why we came here.

TJ: The goals.

Laura: And what we want to get accomplished.

♪♪ ♪♪ [tappity-tap] Colin: At the Newbold camp, one family member has already reached their breaking point.

Morning, Sydney.

Sydney: Hi.

Colin: Sounds like a bit of a tough day yesterday.

Sydney: Yeah.

I decided to not keep going on.

Colin: It's not easy sometimes to make these tough decisions, but sounds like, uh, you're encouraging your family to continue?

- I don't wanna be the reason that they decide to stop, 'cause I know they're, like, so excited for this.

- Before they take off, you wanna go wish them well?

- Yep.

- All right, let's go.

Sydney: Thank you.

Colin: Packin' up!

All: Yeah.

Sydney: Bye.

Kiley: Love you.

Sydney: Love you, too.

Heather: I am gonna miss Sydney terribly.

Sydney: Good luck!

Heather: She's a really big part of our family.

♪♪ Laura: Day Two!

TJ: You got it, let's do it!

Team Muse!

Laura: Read that clue.

Colin: Today is Day Two, and the families will have to trek a grueling six miles in the scorching heat through a morass of deep sand, treacherous rocks, and steep hills, fighting through painfully sharp vegetation the whole way to camp.

♪♪ TJ: So Cohen-- Cohen: Huh?

TJ: before you start truckin', boy, strategy-wise, we're gonna stay as close as possible, right?

Laura: I think honestly it's that peak.

Cohen: There's no peak.

Laura: Yeah, this is the path.

Stay on the path, babe.

Kylie: Wait, Mom, maybe you want to go this way?

It's a little more clear.

Laura: I feel better about this.

Kylie: Mom, we can't go down there.

[frustrated growl] Laura: We started in a good place, but then got agitated quickly.

Kylie: Are we going the right way?

Laura: It's not far away from the coast.

Kylie: Oh, yeah, yeah.

Laura: The map and our experience with the map has been that-- Kylie: I feel like we're going the wrong way.

Laura: We're just strong personalities.

Kylie: I do not like this.

Laura: We're taking the path.

Kylie: Okay, well I don't want that.

Laura: I know, but I'm saying-- Come on.

Guys, just come up here, please.

Kylie: Whatever, man, I just wanna be done.

Laura: Kylie, relax a little bit, okay?

I don't know, the vibe was a little off.

Kylie: This is so stupid.

I hate this.

♪♪ Kiley: We wanna find a pace that we can just try to keep, you know?

Now that Sydney is gone, we are trying to just focus on what we do have, which is the three of us.

Parker: I think it's cool how at the beginning, the shore was all sand, but now it's, like, rocky, like huge boulders.

Heather: I've never seen anything like it.

Kiley: Oh, shoot.

Heather: What?

Kiley: This is like a rock face here.

Colin: The Newbolds have encountered a massive and imposing pile of boulders.

Over 200 feet in height at nearly 40 degree slope, the hill is covered in precariously-balanced rocks, thorny bushes, and loose sand.

[rocks skidding] Parker: Oh, Heather, are you okay?

Heather: Yeah.

[sighs] Kiley: It's dangerous.

Heather: Yeah.

Kiley: Yeah, maybe we do wanna go around these rocks here, I don't know.

Parker: Push!

Colin: The Newbolds continue to carefully ascend, knowing that one wrong step could send them tumbling to the bottom.

Parker: Whoa!

Kiley: That one moves.

That little guy moves there.

Parker: Yep.

Kiley: The challenge of the up and down and across the boulders, it's difficult to move over that type of terrain.

Parker: Woo, woo!

Don't fall into the cactus, that would not be good!

Woo!

Heather: Because I have a really heavy pack on my back, it's a lot more tricky, and I'm feeling more apprehensive.

[quietly] Okay, here we go.

[normally] This is amazing.

Parker: It's crazy how you can't see anything.

It's just, like, a straight line of water.

Kiley: It's amazing.

Heather: Yeah, that is awesome.

Kiley: You guys good to keep moving?

Heather: Yeah.

Kiley: Okay.

Heather: Let's get off this.

Not gonna lie, that was a little hairy.

Colin: Taking the direct route over the rocks has allowed the Newbolds to gain time, while three quarters of a mile ahead, the Muses are still struggling to make their communication work.

♪♪ TJ: Really hope we're going the right way.

I really feel like we are.

Kylie: I just feel like this is wrong.

TJ: I'll take suggestions, I just-- Cohen: Yeah, this way.

Kylie: No.

Cohen's saying we have to turn right, and this is right.

Cohen: I don't-- I mean, I don't know.

I'm not saying anything.

- We already had a little bit of breakdown this morning.

Hopefully we keep it together and focus on our communication.

Kylie: I think that you guys are trying to pick things that are, like, paths.

We may just have to go through.

TJ: Maybe up the hill?

I just don't, can't see anything.

Laura: I think we were just, like, starting to overthink things.

TJ: I mean, so we can't-- Kylie: It never says we're supposed to go up over something, does it?

TJ: Yes.

Cohen: Where else are we supposed to go?

There's a mountain right in front of us, so we have to just keep going that way.

TJ: All right.

Cohen: Feelin' it.

- Four people can't lead at the same time, right?

Somebody has to give and take.

This way.

Cohen: No, I, I think this way.

[sighs] Kylie: I'm so sick and tired.

Colin: With the Muses at an impasse, the Newbolds, who are only trailing by half a mile now, have an opportunity to pick up more time.

[waves crashing] Heather: If we can get down to the beach here-- Kiley: You wanna do that?

Heather: --then it's just a straight shot.

Kiley: All right, lead the way.

Parker: So what's the plan, do we follow the trail or cut?

Kiley: Nope.

Heather: Follow this trail, it'll come back.

With Sydney gone, I feel a big responsibility to really work on that relationship that I have with Parker.

We can go a little faster over this part, guys.

Parker: Uh, I'm good with the pace that we're going.

Heather: Okay.

You're doing awesome, buddy.

You're keepin' up with our long legs.

Parker: Heather, I have a bigger pace than you.

Heather: It's true.

You match Dad's strides.

Being his stepmom is a little bit tricky, because sometimes he doesn't like my parenting style.

Parker: I'm already out of water.

Heather: Okay, you gotta slow down a little bit, buddy.

Kiley: Doing great, buddy.

Parker: I don't feel great.

Heather: Parker, you good?

Parker: [whines] Heather: I recognize that sometimes I have to pull back a little bit and then let Kiley take over.

Kiley: You got it, man.

Parker: I can't climb uphill.

Kiley: Yeah, you can, dude.

Try this instead.

Say, it's hard climbing up this hill.

- I'm hoping through this journey that Parker and I can break down some barriers that we've had to our relationship and grow closer through this experience.

Colin: As Heather strives to connect with Parker, the Muses have found their way back to the trail.

TJ: And what about your communication between, like, you and Kylie?

Do you think that's improved?

Do you think, like, you formed some strategies?

Laura: Today we started off a little agitated.

TJ: Yeah.

Laura: So I kind of had to work through a little bit.

♪♪ Kylie: I should talk to Mom, you know?

Cohen: Yeah.

Kylie: Just about, like, how we argue and stuff.

I just don't really know how to go about it.

Cohen: Yeah, but I think Mom will, like, especially listen now, 'cause that's the whole point.

Kylie: Yeah, yeah.

Laura: We're all-- TJ: A work in progress.

Laura: --evolving.

[laughs] TJ: That is for sure.

Laura: That orange flag.

TJ: There it is!

All right, here we go.

♪♪ Watch the rocks.

Kylie: "Congratulations, Muse family.

"If you are reading this, you survived Day Two.

"Tonight, I hope you use the time "to reflect on this experience and to remember what really brought you out here."

TJ: Good job, y'all.

Good job.

[smacking] Kiley: Man, I like this walking next to the ocean.

Heather: Yeah, it's pretty great.

Kiley: That's nice.

Heather: There's the flag.

Oh, yeah, camp!

Oh, the flag, the flag!

Woo!

Parker: "Congrats, Newbold family.

If you are reading this, you have survived Day Two."

Heather: We did it, buddy.

Another day!

Woo!

Kiley: All right, let's go set up camp.

Parker: Yeah.

Tired!

Colin: The Newbolds have arrived at camp five minutes behind.

It was an emotional day for both families, with the Newbolds having to adjust to Sydney's absence, and the Muses finding themselves hindered by their inability to communicate.

But, tonight is an opportunity to finally face those problems head-on.

Kylie: I just was gonna ask your perspective where we are communication-wise.

- You know, we have differences in communication style, and we're just trying to sort that out.

I think that's normal.

Kylie: I think I'm overly emotional.

It's hard to control.

Like, people are like, oh, well just take a deep breath.

But it's like, it's overwhelming, you know?

I want you to know that I am trying, and I feel like I have done better, but I'm having a hard time.

Laura: That's just part of us working through who we are and how we want to work through conflict.

From my side, I get agitated and too abrasive and stuff, which doesn't help, and then I compound on to your emotions, which doesn't help.

You know, I was raised where emotions were a weakness.

- Yeah.

- So I've had to relearn a little bit how to show emotion.

- Yeah.

- What you don't wanna do is become emotionless.

Just take it step by step.

You know I love you.

- Yes.

I love you.

♪♪ Parker: I'm gonna set up over here.

Heather: Okay.

You doin' okay, buddy?

Parker: Yeah.

Heather: Okay.

This is an amazing place to camp.

Kiley: Yeah, right?

Heather: Do you want some help?

Parker: Nah.

Heather: Okay.

Oh, buddy, just let me help you!

Parker: No!

Heather: [laughs] Parker: Sometimes I feel like Heather treats me like I'm younger than I am.

Heather: We'll let you figure it out, dude.

Sometimes I like things done my way, and I have to remember that this is his life.

Parker: I'm not sleeping in a tent if it was made by somebody else other than me.

I'm trying to prove by building this tent that I can do things independently.

Heather: He's doin' it.

Kiley: Nice.

Heather: I think he is really proud of himself for setting up his very own tent that he's gonna sleep in tonight.

How's it feel to get your shoes off?

Kiley: Nature's ice bath.

Heather: Parky, how do your feet feel?

I want Parker to know that I love him as if he is my own biological child.

How do you think the day's been with Sydney gone today?

Parker: Uh, I think it would have been a lot more fun and maybe even easier with her here.

- You think it would have been easier?

- Yeah.

- How do you think our relationship is out here?

- I think it might actually be the same.

Sometimes I feel like you're overprotec-- or, like, too strict on rules, I guess.

- Give me an example.

- Grades.

- You don't think you should be held accountable for your grades?

- Not how, as strict as you guys do.

- I'm sorry, dude.

- That's okay.

I know you're just being a parent.

My mom does it, too.

- I love you.

- I love you, too.

- Lots.

- I love you, too.

- Like you're, like you're my own little dude, you know?

It was good to spend that time one-on-one with him and to see he is thinking about the relationship that he has with me, and he wants to better that relationship and grow closer together.

Are you hungry?

- Yeah, I'm hungry.

- All right, let's go see if Dad's got dinner done.

[waves breaking] [crickets chirping] [coyote howling] [wind rushing] [flap, flap] Laura: Muses, y'all ready?

Cohen: Yeah.

TJ: How'd y'all sleep last night?

Laura: I slept better last night than I did the first night.

TJ: Yeah, you were knocked out.

Laura: I know I was.

Kylie: Well, Cohen hugged me twice while he was sleeping, so... Laura: Oh, that's sweet, Cohen.

Kylie: No, it's not, because it's hot.

Cohen: [gasps] A scorpion!

All: [yelling] TJ: Wow!

Laura: You slept right on the scorpion.

TJ: That's pretty scary.

I was sleeping on top of that.

What if I had got stung?

What if I was allergic?

Those are the dangers that are out here, and I took that for granted a little bit.

Laura: Feel like it's hotter today this morning than it has been.

TJ: Let's talk about the most important thing.

What's our strategy?

Laura: Stay in the lead.

TJ: Keep movin'.

Laura: I agree.

TJ: Communication's gonna be key there.

Laura: I think so, too.

♪♪ Heather: You got that side okay, buddy?

Kiley: There we go.

Park, how you feelin' today?

Heather: Tired?

Kiley: Yeah.

Heather: Parker is exhausted.

He's just walking over to us and then just hanging on us, you know, hoping that he'll gain strength from us, but it's really draining on Kiley and I. Kiley: It's okay to be tired, but look.

Can you look at me?

We need you to dig inside and find power.

'Cause we can't keep trying to pull it out of you all the time.

Heather: Pretend this is the start of a football game.

Parker: Huh, huh, huh!

Kiley: Alley-oop!

♪♪ All right.

Heather: 'Kay, let's go.

♪♪ Laura: All right.

TJ: "A true Survivalist "must be able to navigate challenges "on land and sea.

Head down to the beach and find your next activity."

Laura: Water it is.

I'm excited!

Colin: The Sea of Cortez is teeming with life, from sea turtles to whale sharks and pods of dolphins, to massive schools of fish, and even the occasional venomous snake.

And that's exactly where our families' next challenge awaits.

TJ: Oh, man, this is awesome.

Laura: Don't even know what we're supposed to be doing with these kayaks.

Colin: This is Day Three, and the families are faced with an all-new task.

They'll be leaving land and have to navigate six miles of strong winds and choppy waters across the channel on the Sea of Cortez to the remote Isla Espiritu, where they'll be making camp for the night.

♪♪ TJ: All right, let's go.

Yeah, let's push.

Cohen: It's less about how fast and more about-- TJ: Technique.

I'm rowin' with you.

Sometimes I may have to make small strokes just to get us corrected.

Keep rowing.

TJ: I know, but it's hard for me to keep doin' it every time.

Colin: To be successful in this challenge, families will have to work together and communicate to overcome the waves, winds, and ocean currents threatening to sweep them into the rocks or out to sea.

[waves roaring] Heather: Let's crush this thing.

Kiley: "Head down to the beach and find your next activity."

Heather: Oh my gosh!

Kiley: All right.

Here we go!

Heather: There's only two kayaks.

Parker piped right up and just said, I want to go with Heather.

Most of the time when we're pairing off into things, he always wants to go with his dad, so that was a really nice compliment to me.

There we go.

Do it together.

Yeah, there we go!

Keep goin', keep goin'.

Colin: While Heather and Parker have a chance to bond on the water, a half mile ahead, the Muses are working on getting their sea legs.

TJ: That's a big stingray, yo.

Kylie: 'Kay, let's go on right a few times.

Right, left.

TJ: Right, right a little bit.

Cohen: Right like this one?

TJ: Yeah, right.

Yeah, right, right.

Yeah, there we go.

Kylie: I do not like this.

Five minutes into kayaking, and I hate all of life.

I'm thinking, I don't want to be here, I don't want to do this anymore.

Laura: Kylie was irritated right away, and so I knew I needed to just dig deep and be supportive.

Kylie: I just wanna still win.

You know, I was trying to keep myself positive.

It's hard, though.

Kylie: Okay.

Colin: As Kylie struggles with both the kayak and her emotions, the Newbolds, who are still trailing by five minutes, have a chance to make up valuable time.

Parker: Why is this so tiring already?

Heather: It's definitely a workout, right?

We've got some time to make up.

Think we can make it up here.

Woo!

You're doing great, Parker.

Let's do it together.

There we go, do it together.

Yeah, there we go.

Now we're propelling.

I'll just follow your move, okay?

I'll steer; you just be the muscle.

In life, when we come together as a family, we are stronger together than we are as individuals, and we can accomplish so much.

Keep goin', buddy.

Come on, we'll work better together than alone.

Parker: Her saying stronger together means a lot to me, because that means to me that she's treating me like I'm her son, and we're bonding more.

To me, that means a lot.

It's nice to catch these waves.

Heather: Yeah.

They just wanna carry us over to the shore.

Colin: With Heather and Parker working together, the Newbolds are moving quickly, with the Muses now less than three minutes ahead.

Kylie: It's just really frustrating, 'cause I feel like I'm doing a ton of work and we're not going anywhere.

Cohen: We're almost there.

It's just so deceiving how actually far that is.

You're like, oh my gosh, I'm almost there.

And then you spend the next 30 minutes rowing, and you've made no progress.

Like, you look back, and you're like, I was just over there!

TJ: There's the beach.

Kylie: I just wanna be done, really.

TJ: Yeah, you need to focus.

Maybe you just need to chill for a second and, and internalize and realize what we're out here for.

'Cause anything you're saying is not adding any positivity.

Remember, we said stay positive.

Kylie: Well, nothing about this is positive for me.

TJ: Yeah it is, if you do it.

You gotta, you have to learn to take the positive aspect.

Look how far we've come.

Kylie: Whatever, man, I'm just trying to be done.

TJ: Take that Grinch face off, girl.

Kylie: That doesn't work for me.

I just want to be done.

Kiley: ♪ Row, row, row my boat ♪ ♪ Through the Sea of Cortez ♪ ♪ Chasin' Parker and Heather down ♪ ♪ On Survivalists ♪ It's harder to stay together when we're out here on the water.

Heather: Oh, no, Dad's way back there.

Baby!

You okay?

Kiley: I think the kayak challenge is where we're feeling the loss of Sydney the most from just a physical togetherness perspective.

Burning a few calories here.

Having Sydney in that boat with me would make a big difference.

I'm better at hiking than kayaking.

Heather: Dad getting closer?

Colin: With Kiley lagging behind his family, the Newbolds are slipping further behind the Muses, who, a quarter mile ahead, are finally approaching their landing spot.

♪♪ TJ: Right around there should be camp.

Laura: [cheers] TJ: Here we go.

Kylie: We're kind of on the home stretch, so I'm just thinking we just gotta keep pushing for the last mile, really.

TJ: Let's finish it off, be done.

Kylie: I'm ready to be finished, and I wanna know that I at least pulled my weight a little bit.

TJ: Let's do it, let's do it.

All: [cheering] Kylie: I'm so excited to be on the beach.

TJ: All right, let's see what we got.

"Congratulations on making it to your third and final camp.

"Please be intentional with your time tonight "and take the time to have important conversations.

I'll see you at the finish line."

Good job, all right, let's go!

Let's go!

[gulls calling] Kiley: Ah, we're so close!

Parker: We're so far!

Heather: Parker, positive attitudes, buddy, positive attitudes.

We're almost there.

The water is getting lighter, which means it's getting more shallow, which means we're getting closer to shore.

Parker: Sometimes I think it's childish to need help, but after this adventure I realized that you need help sometimes, and that's okay.

Heather: There's the blue flag!

Parker, do you see the flag?

- No.

Heather: Let's go, buddy, let's go!

Oh!

Land ho!

All right, buddy, here we go!

Parker: Come on, Dad!

Come on!

All: Woo!

Kiley: Let's go!

Woo!

Parker: "Your journey is nearly complete.

"Take the time to have important conversations.

I'll see you at the finish line."

Woo!

Kiley: Let's go.

♪♪ Colin: After a punishing day on the sea, both families are approaching their physical and mental limits.

The Muse family now holds a seven-minute lead over the Newbolds as they all settle in for their final night.

Laura: Kylie, do you wanna just chitchat a little bit more?

Kylie: Sure!

Laura: I, I don't wanna change you on who you are as a person.

I hope that you just continue to self-reflect and develop as a person.

But I do want you to know, too, sometimes as your mom, it's in a weird space for me, 'cause I'm trying to help you develop skills.

And a lot of it's just skills that I didn't get when I was young.

Kylie: The way that my mom was raised does definitely affect the way we communicate.

When she was growing up, being upset and being emotional was a sign of weakness, and it was frowned upon.

It's hard to, like, differentiate the line between what's okay and what's not, because, like, to me, it just feels like you can't be upset at all.

My generation growing up is encouraged, and people want you to tell how you're feeling.

That's a difference that she's getting used to and I'm getting used to.

I think it would help if, like, even if we were just having conversations, I appreciate you letting me know, like, if you think it's dramatic.

Sometimes, like, just talking about it helps me not be upset.

- Mm-hmm.

That's usually what works for us anyways.

- Yeah.

- Allowing you space to feel your feelings, and then coming back and talking about it when we're at a, both at a place where we're not, like, emotionally charged or whatever.

- Yeah.

- You with sadness and me with frustration or anger.

Then it opens up a conversation and, like, okay, well, what are we gonna do about that, or problem solving or not, just processing.

- Right, right.

- I think that has worked for us, and I, I think we're starting to do a better job of that.

[waves lapping] I think we've come a long way [indistinct], and we'll just continue to have these conversations.

- Yeah.

- So that we can make sure our relationship is as positive as it can be.

- Yeah.

- 'Cause you know that's what I want.

- Right, yeah, me too.

♪♪ Heather: How 'bout shells?

Can you skip shells?

Are they pretty easy?

- Um, don't skip 'em like that.

You wanna skip 'em with this part.

Kiley: Family is so important.

Life is easier when you have people doing it with you.

They may not be able to carry the burden for us, but they can be there with us.

That's the power of family.

Heather: Okay, here we go.

Kiley: This one looks like a tooth.

[splash] Heather: I skipped a rock!

I'm a master now.

♪♪ Ah, the last sunset we'll see on this adventure, you guys.

- I came out here to bond with Sydney, but she's not here, so instead of that, I switched my focus to getting a better relationship with Heather.

Kiley: That's awesome.

Parker: And I feel like that has worked out pretty well.

- Yeah?

- That's good.

You know, I sometimes feel like you will hold me at arm's length, you know, and won't let me get close to you, but... I feel like we've gotten closer.

- I do, too.

- I love you, buddy.

Parker: I love you, too.

♪♪ Kiley: Can I come in?

All: [laughing] Kiley: So happy to see it.

Heather: Let's go home and, and take these memories with us.

♪♪ ♪♪ TJ: All right, Team Muse.

Laura: You guys ready for today?

TJ: Strong?

Kylie: I'm wondering, like, what we're gonna have to do to finish.

TJ: Last day.

- I just don't even have any assumptions at this point, 'cause I feel like my assumptions are never right.

- At least this isn't the kayak day.

Right?

Kylie: I'm for sure glad that my mom and I have had these conversations.

It just feels good to, like, just kind of have my mom understand where I'm coming from.

- We're winning as a family by this time together, by pushing through these challenges together.

These memories, every night when we chitchat together.

Those are the family wins, for sure.

- Although it may be a little bit hard, it feels good to get out.

I think that today, like, it's most important for us to not become, like, hostile.

We just have to try and keep, like, as much positivity as we can.

TJ: High fives?

[smacking] Man, gotta wake you up.

[intense music] Heather: I'm exhausted.

I don't-- I know I can do more, but it's gonna be hard.

Morning of Day Four, I am ready to go home.

I am ready to see Sydney, I'm ready to see Colin at the finish line.

I, I'm ready.

Kiley: I think two out of three of us are sunburned.

- I think I can handle sunburns better than you guys.

- [laughs] Are you saying you're stronger than us?

- [laughs] Kiley: I feel good.

Day Four.

I'm excited to take it home.

Parker: Excited to see a good meal.

Kiley: Belly full of oatmeal?

Parker: Here's my exciting level.

Sydney, good meal.

Kiley: Always the jokester.

This is a pretty great place to eat breakfast.

♪♪ I think as the days go on, we are learning how to manage together as a family, and we're relying on each other and leaning on each other, and we're getting stronger.

And, uh, I feel confident about how well we're gonna be able to finish out the journey.

Laura: There it is.

TJ: All right, what do we have?

Kylie: "Today is a race to the finish.

"Only one can win the prize.

"But remember, "there is more at stake in this race than a prize."

Laura: All right, last haul.

TJ: Let's get it, let's go.

Colin: This is Day Four, and it's going to be a race to the finish.

Families will have to make their way three miles across the narrow island, navigating through a maze of cacti and dry, thorny plants, and then down the beach, where the first team to raise their flag at the finish will be the winner.

TJ: ♪ I don't know what I've been told ♪ All: ♪ I don't know what I've been told ♪ TJ: ♪ But this is getting a little old ♪ Kylie: So right now, we are trying to move at a swift pace.

All: ♪ We gotta finish strong and we gotta finish right ♪ TJ: ♪ So we can have a good meal ♪ ♪ at the end of the night ♪ Kylie: We can exert our last little bit of energy to finish strong and give it our all.

TJ: ♪ One, two ♪ All: Three, four!

♪♪ Kiley: My pack feels lighter today.

I think we've been eatin' food!

Parker: Mine feels heavier.

Heather: Oh, maybe he put all of his stuff in yours.

Kiley: Look at this cluster of cactus right here.

Heather: Oh, wow.

Parker: Oh, no, I didn't see that.

That's huge.

Kiley: That's incredible!

I'm trying to focus on being in the moment and enjoying my last day on the adventure versus just wanting to get it over with, because it is a really awesome experience.

Parker: I'm so exhausted.

Heather: You are doing awesome, Parker.

Parker: My glasses won't stay up on my nose.

Kiley: 'Cause of sweat?

Parker: Yeah.

When we get there, I'm gonna give Sydney a big, sweaty hug.

Heather: She'll love it.

Colin: In the desert, even relatively short hikes can be brutal.

Cohen: Hot!

TJ: Yeah, it got hot quick.

Colin: Temperatures are already topping 95 degrees as the Muses enter a maze of dry plants and cacti tall enough to block sight lines and make finding their way through extraordinarily difficult.

TJ: How you feeling, Cohen?

Pretty good?

Cohen: Yeah.

TJ: Or really good?

Cohen: Very good.

TJ: Oh, that's it, that's it.

How you feeling, Kylie?

Kylie: Hot.

TJ: Hot.

Kylie: Are we going the right way?

Laura: Yes, babe, there's only one way.

TJ: Yep.

Yeah, through the bed.

Colin: As the Muses struggle to path find through the labyrinth of unrelenting thorny vegetation, half a mile behind them, the Newbolds are entering the same treacherous area.

Heather: Can you guys hear the ocean yet?

Parker: No, do you?

Heather: No, not yet.

Kiley: There might be a trail over here.

TJ: Can we make it through there?

I don't think so.

Laura: And then we take a left, and cut over.

So we don't touch-- yeah.

TJ: It all looks like brush, honestly, so.

Colin: With both families meandering through, it's difficult to tell how much progress is being made, or who is even in the lead.

Kiley: We gotta navigate our way through this stuff.

I don't know where to go here.

Not there TJ: We can, it's-- There's a little spot, looks like, right here.

And then we can head that way.

Kylie: 'Kay.

TJ: Right here.

Kylie: Don't leave me!

Kiley: This is where it gets real.

This is where you find out what you're made of, man.

Parker: I feel like I've accomplished seeing inside of myself, you know?

Kind of seeing, like, I can do more than what I think I can.

Like, when I think I'm done, I know that I can push on for a lot longer.

Kiley: You're good.

This is a great pace, baby.

I love you, buddy.

I'm proud of you.

Parker: Love you, too.

Kiley: I know this is hard.

Parker: Is that a flag?

Heather: Woo!

Parker: Nope, that's a cactus.

False alarm!

Kylie: Watch daggers.

We are so close.

TJ: The breeze is kickin' up, too.

Aw.

Kylie: [cheers] Laura: We turn that little last corner on the sand.

We're all exhausted.

Colin: With the Newbolds only minutes behind, the Muses have reached the opposite end of the island, and now, it's a half-mile sprint across the beach to the finish.

Heather: It's like a dune.

We've gotta go up and over.

♪♪ Oh my goodness.

Wow!

Parker: Yeah.

Is that the orange team?

Come on!

Kylie: I'm exhausted.

You know, I'm trying to catch my breath.

We just had to literally give the last of what we had.

- Here we go to the finish line.

Woo woo!

We realized we had to walk all the way down to the end of the beach before could reach the finish line.

This sand is really hard to walk in.

♪♪ Colin: Looks like the first team's gonna be the Muse family!

Laura: We see flagpoles first, and then we kind of see Colin in the middle, and so that's like an instant excitement.

Kylie: Our legs are burning, but I know that it's the end, and so I'm just giving a little bit more so that we can just finish as a family.

Colin: Muse family!

All: [cheering] TJ: Oh, my gosh.

Colin: Muse family, welcome to the finish line.

All: [cheering] - If you wanna claim victory of Survivalists, you gotta raise your family flag up.

Parker: Come on, you got this!

Kylie: That one on the top.

- You know, we're just excited.

I think thankful to have done it together, thankful to be there first.

Parker: Let's go!

Laura: Just so many emotions kind of all at once.

What a, what a sense of accomplishment.

Colin: Muse family, you're the winner!

All: [excited chatter] Colin: Wow!

Muse family, congratulations.

You did it!

How you feelin'?

- It feels so good to be at the finish line.

- It's fantastic.

Getting it done, and making sure we finish as a team.

Kylie: Yeah.

Colin: Kylie, I know you came out here looking forward to opening up a dialogue, bonding with your mother.

How's that been?

- It's been really great.

I definitely think we had some really good breakthroughs just kind of understanding that we have different ways of dealing with conflict.

So I think knowing that about each other will be helpful for sure.

Laura: Yeah, it's been really nice to spend this intentional time together.

- Our communication is a big part of our relationship.

We've come out of this journey with lots of new ways to talk to one another, a new bond, so I'm feeling super proud of us all, and, and I'm excited to take home what we've done.

- If we stay on this path and continue to grow as people and in our relationship, and I'm super proud of you.

I love you.

- Love you.

Colin: Beautiful, beautiful.

Wow.

Congratulations.

You won Survivalists!

All: [cheering] [laughing] ♪♪ Colin: Newbold family is comin' in!

Hey, guys, you're almost there!

Heather: In my mind, I had always played out what it would be like to win.

I had never played out what it was gonna feel like to lose.

[chuckles] I feel a little bit of sadness and disappointment, but I also realize that it wasn't about the competition, but it was about those lessons that we had learned along the way.

- I got one last task for you, which is to raise up your family flag.

But hey, brought somebody special to help you guys at the finish line.

Newbolds: [cheering] [excited chatter] Parker: I'm so sweaty!

[overlapping chatter] Heather: I missed you.

Sydney: I missed you, too.

- I think our family will always carry with them what we accomplished over this week together.

We went down a different path than we thought we would with the twists and turns that happened, but everything that happened this week will and can be for our growth and our benefit, and I'm really proud of how we did.

Colin: Newbolds all back together.

Congratulations, you did it.

You made it to the finish line.

Heather, how you feeling?

- So exhausted.

I have nothing left in me.

I am spent.

Colin: Parker, I saw you, uh, I saw you out there pushing hard, man.

I'm impressed.

How's it feel to be at the finish line?

- It feels really good.

Colin: And Kiley, for you, how do you measure this whole experience?

Kiley: Uh, this is once in a lifetime.

This is amazing.

Ups, downs, everything in between, and memories that'll last forever.

I'm really glad we came out here and did this.

Colin: Well, I gotta say, uh, it warms my heart to see Sydney and Heather, you guys holding hands.

What does it mean to see your daughter here at the finish line?

Heather: Oh, it means everything.

I've missed her so much for the last couple of days.

[kisses] - You're gonna make me cry.

Heather: I've cried a lot of tears, Syd.

A lot of tears along the way, but I'm glad to have you here.

There were so many different twists and turns, and I think that's a lot like our life, actually.

Together we've had a lot of twists and turns.

All of those hard things that we go through in life actually make life a lot sweeter, and it's very rewarding to have all of those, and to share those moments with your family is, is awesome, because family is everything.

Colin: Sydney, how's it feel to be reunited with your whole family here?

- It feels really good.

I've missed them a lot.

It was super important for me to join my family at the finish line, 'cause I could tell that me being there with them was important for my mom.

Even though I didn't do the majority of the race with them, I'm still, like, a part of the family.

- Heather, I know it was tough to not have Sydney out here.

- Yeah.

Colin: But it did give you an opportunity to bond with Parker, maybe in a way you haven't before.

Heather: Yeah, it really did.

I think Parker and I are closer through these last couple of days, so, it's been fun, right?

Parker: Yeah.

- Yeah.

I've gotten less eye rolls from him over the last four days.

All: [laughing] Heather: It was good to spend that time one-on-one with Parker and to see his independence grow.

Hopefully he feels like he can trust me more, um, than he has in the past, and come to me when he has issues or problems.

I think every single family should go through an experience like this.

Colin: Congratulations, and good job, good job.

[distant chatter] ♪♪