Without the plane, the final three are left to their own devices to get to Hawaii. Alejandro and Heather compete every step of the way, while Cody enlists the help of the recently eliminated Sierra. Heather wins the race, securing a position in the final two, but Alejandro and Cody tie for second. Who will Heather face in the finale?
Tropes:
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Since Alejandro let him out of the box he was locked in, Ezekiel defers to his commands (at least as best as a feral guy can, at any rate).
- Big "WHAT?!": Heather, Cody, and Alejandro's shared reaction to Chris announcing there's no time to declare who Heather will be facing and that they'll all have to wait until the next episode to find out the answer.
- Broken Pedestal: After blowing up his plane by accident, Chris not only eliminates Sierra in spite of her having immunity, but also abandons her at Drumheller. Sierra loses all interest in Chris and tells her mother to do the same.
- Cliffhanger: Will Heather face Cody or Alejandro in the finale?
- Coming in Hot: Sierra and Cody make a crash landing when they arrive at Tijuana Beach, Mexico.
- Continuity Nod:
- Many of the animals that we have seen throughout the season come back as they are transported in a truck from the crash site. This includes the Sasquatchanakwa, baby seal, Bear and Baby Panda.
- The hat that Heather gives Sierra to help with her baldness is the same hat Sierra has back in "Rapa Phooey".
- Death Glare: Various members of the peanut gallery sport these looks when Heather, of all people, is the first to arrive and thus clinch a spot in the final two.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Heather helps Sierra cover her now bald head, having had her hair burned off in the explosion, stating in the confessional she’s been where she has and no girl should be bald on national television.
- Everyone Has Standards: Cody just can't leave a wheelchair-bound girl to fend for herself.
- Everything Makes a Mushroom: The sea mines the Final Three have to travel past go up in mushrooms.
- Evil Laugh: Chris and Chef over not warning Cody and Sierra about the extreme weather warning.
- Foreign Cuss Word: After Cody stole first place in the race, the scene cuts to Alejandro cursing in the Confession Cam.Alejandro: Mala suerte, mierda!Translation
- Hostile Weather: A hail storm comes down onto the contestants as the attempt to get to Tijuana Beach.
- Hypocrite: During the song, Heather points that, for all of Alejandro's anger about her trying to vote him off, he would've done the same to her if given the opportunity.
- Hypocritical Humor: Whether Heather and Alejandro ask about the status of the game, Chris derides them for always thinking of themselves.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: She's just trying to stay alive, but Heather attempts to remind Ezekiel of when he was still "semi-human".
- Improbable Weapon User: Heather uses food on the train in order to keep Ezekiel at bay. Cody and Sierra also throw a fish at Alejandro when racing him to the finish line in Hawaii.
- Interspecies Romance: Sasquatchanakwa tries to make out with Alejandro while he's in the truck.
- It's All About Me: All Chris can think about when the plane blew up was all of the stuff that he lost from his private quarters. He's also very negative about Cody taking Sierra with him.
- Lampshade Hanging: It's unclear whether Cody or Alejandro placed second. Chris declares there's no time left in the episode to check the slow motion replay, all while talking very slowly and clearly checking his watch all so he can drag out this drama into the next episode.
- Loophole Abuse: When Chris questions Sierra going along with him, Cody says the rule was that they could use anything they found in the wreckage.
- The Masochism Tango: Alejandro and Heather literally tango, on top of a train, while singing about how much they hate each other.You are the worst, why must you torment me?/ It's all a game to you, but not to me...
- No One Gets Left Behind: Cody plans to leave Drumheller with a cobbled-together hot air balloon. The last part for him to scavenge is something to sit in, so Sierra insists he takes her wheelchair. She bids him farewell, but Cody refuses to leave her behind. Sierra counters that she'll just slow him down, which Cody counters by pointing out he only got this far because of her. Touched, Sierra happily accepts the ride.
- Pet the Dog: Heather is extremely sympathetic to Sierra's plight, giving her a wheelchair and a hat to help the situation.
- Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The title is a play on the film Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
- Ramming Always Works: The Final Three make their way from Tijuana Beach to Hawaii by speedboat. For the early part of the race, Heather and Alejandro try to intimidate and sabotage their way to victory by ramming the competition aside.
- Revenge Before Reason: Alejandro really wants to get back at Heather after she betrayed him in the previous episode.
- Riding into the Sunset: In the exclusive clip, Ezekiel arrives at Tijuana Beach, Mexico at sundown. He picks up the fresh scent of the contestants and as he gazes at the ocean's horizon the setting sun takes the appearance of a bag of money. Now more determined than ever, he rises back on two legs and calmly walks into the water to make his way to Hawaii.
- Right-Hand Attack Dog: Ezekiel becomes this for Alejandro, who he uses to get back at Heather while they're on the train.
- Rousing Speech: Once Cody's and Sierra's makeshift hot air balloon crashes, Cody is ready to stop fighting for a spot in the finale. Sierra arranges a new means of transport and when that's not enough to get Cody back in the game, she angrily but supportively tells him he owes it to his fans to keep going. Her belief in him brings Cody back to his senses.
- Run for the Border: Or rather race to the beach (Tijuana Beach, Mexico).
- Sea Mine: For he last part of the race, the final three have to get from Tijuana to Hawai with boats. Among the obstacles en route are sea mined. Heather and Cody evade them, while Alejandro drives over one and goes flying, only to land back down to tie with Cody for second place.
- Ship Tease: Ever so blatantly with Heather and Alejandro, who continuously reiterate throughout the episode that they hate each other. The most obvious example is when Heather lands suggestively on top of Alejandro, with him stating that he "hates" her and Heather passionately responding that she "feels exactly the same."
- Shout-Out:
- "I'm Gonna Make it" is based on "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane.
- Heather climbing underneath the train mirrors Indiana Jones climbing under a truck in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- Slap Yourself Awake: During a rant about his adversary Heather, Alejandro slips into talking about all the things about her that attract him. Realizing his error, he slaps himself twice to get his focus back on the game.
- Something That Begins with "Boring": Cody and Sierra in the hot air balloon.
- Suddenly Shouting: Chris during the recap:Chris: [referring to Alejandro] Dude so would have been a goner. Except Sierra demolished my plane! Did I mention we've got no ride now? Hmm?! BECAUSE SIERRA BLEW IT UP?!?!
- Swordfish Sabre: Alejandro and Cody duel each other with swordfishes.
- Symbolic Serene Submersion: In the exclusive clip, Ezekiel arrives at Tijuana Beach, Mexico at sundown. He picks up the fresh scent of the contestants and as he gazes at the ocean's horizon the setting sun takes the appearance of a bag of money. Now more determined than ever, he rises back on two legs and calmly walks into the water to make his way to Hawaii.
- Tar and Feathers: On the train, Heather tries to defend herself from Ezekiel by throwing whatever she can grab at him. Most of it is food, but when she readies herself to throw a bowl of porridge, the train hits a bump and she herself becomes covered. Her next move is to grab a pillow to protect herself from Ezekiel's attack now that he has an opening. The pillow is ripped open and the feathers stick to the layer of porridge on Heather.
- Traintop Battle: Heather and Alejandro have one while racing each other.
- Traveling at the Speed of Plot: The distance between the three countries the characters travel in this episode is 5,000 kilometers. In real life, traveling this distance would take at least several days, and that's being generous. But, despite this, the journey seems to only take a few hours and the contestants stay neck-and-neck throughout the whole thing. Perhaps the most egregious case is when the contestants travel in boats from Tijuana beach to Hawaii in a minute (not a minute edited down for the audience, a minute in universe), when that distance is a twenty hour plane ride in real life.
- Two-Faced Aside: Sierra becomes injured and loses all of her hair during the explosion of the Total Drama Jumbo Jet. Heather helps her out by giving her a wheelchair and a Rapa Nui headdress. A hesitant Sierra asks if it looks okay and Heather, who stands behind her, quickly affirms that she looks gorgeous. She then signals to Cody, who stands in front of Sierra, that the new look is pukeworthy but that this is for the best right now.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Heather and Alejandro are fighting on top of a running train, and Cody and Sierra are floating right above them, all while it's raining in what seems to be the start of a thunder storm. Chris, of course, takes this inopportune time to order a musical number, inciting this reaction from everyone there barring Chef.
- "You!" Squared: When Heather and Alejandro discover they've boarded the same train to make it to Hawaii, all they can initially say is "You!"
