Gwen, Scott, Zoey, Mike, and Mal find themselves in a tight struggle for power, with the villain’s hold tightening not only on Mike but on the million-dollar prize itself. With the finale looming, the island becomes a stage for a high-stakes clash where every decision could lock in a massive payoff or push someone out of the running for good. Source: Total Drama Island recap.
THE CHALLENGE
Growing tired of the rough life at the Spa Hotel, host Chris McLean devises a fresh distraction. The four remaining contestants must locate and return pirate treasure hidden around the island. The treasure is drawn from four chests, and Zoey steps up first since she won the last challenge. After navigating traps and booby-trapped boxes, they learn the stakes and the rules.
- Zoey’s target is Sasquatchanakwa, better known as the Yeti.
- Gwen must recover a pristine portrait of Chris from the crumbling, life‑threatening wreck of his former cottage, the Mansion.
- Scott is sent to claim the McLean Diamond, hidden on or near the abandoned pirate ship set and guarded by Fang.
- Mike, also called Mal, must locate the long-lost original Golden Chris Statuette.
While Zoey closes in on the Yeti and Scott heads toward the ship, Mike, also known as Mal, admits the treasure may be out of reach and decides to play dirty to win. He shadows Gwen to the ruined cottage and aims to knock her out, but ends up burying her beneath rubble when she notices him. Then he targets Scott, offering to help with Fang, the creature who has the diamond stuck between its teeth. Despite their shaky alliance, Mike betrays him and leaves Scott to fend for himself against the mutated shark.
All the while Zoey has been forcing the Yeti to chase her by stealing its eggs, and somehow manages to get it onto a log that slides back toward Chris. Mike and Mal arrive empty-handed, while Gwen returns with an intact portrait that she’s touched up with berries, mud, and one other substance. Zoey wins. Again. Again.
THE ELIMINATION CHALLENGE
Zoey’s victory automatically catapults her to the final round, where she’ll be facing off against exactly one other opponent. The first person to be eliminated is the one who shows up last or with nothing, which puts both Mike and Scott at risk of going home. Mike, aka Mal, claims that Scott is his treasure, calling him an injured competitor, Chris’s favorite. Gwen’s third paint ingredient proves to be bear poop, and this causes Chris to projectile vomit twice. He opts to flush her for arriving last and defacing his portrait. It falls to Zoey, as the winner, to decide who stays and who goes, and she chooses to bring Mike to the finale with her. Gwen and Scott are eliminated.
THE DRAMA
Relief and tension mingle as Zoey finally finds the DVD Alejandro hid behind a Chris McLean painting. Watching it confirms Mal’s long‑standing control, and he reinforces his hold by reminding her about the jewellery he gave her — Mike gave me a necklace, Mal! Not a bracelet, you weasel! — a reminder that weighs on her choice. The moment comes when Zoey must decide whether to keep Mal around; it isn’t just an old promise, it’s a chance to move toward getting Mike back.
Gwen tries to be friendly with Scott, but Mal reminds him that Gwen bears some responsibility for Courtney’s departure, and the attempt falls flat. Right before her elimination, Gwen tells Chris that she will never return to the island again. In his head, Mike and his three alter-egos encounter Manitoba Smith, the final personality. Manitoba has been driving Mike’s dreams because Mal directed him to. After a heated exchange about who the original is and whether that even matters, they realize the entire world they inhabit is the villain’s creation. Mike frees Manitoba, and the five of them set off toward the tower, the only way in or out of this mental prison.