PHIL KEOGHAN: Previously onTough As Nails,
12 hardworking Americans, tough from their everyday lives,
began a head-to-head battle at real jobsites.
CELI: I'm representing everybody working
on a COVID-19 unit.
TARA: We're plumbers, we're trained
as firefighters.
Merchant mariners do it all.
-This is Tough As Nails. -[applause, cheering]
KEOGHAN: First up, their grit and determination
-was measured... -MIKEY: Let's make some concrete!
Get it!
KEOGHAN: Bricklayer Mikey
and cement mason Knuckles poured it on...
-[shouts] -KEOGHAN: Mikey "Eyebrows"
-gets the win! -Yeah!
KEOGHAN: Finishing first, they earned
the power to pick teams.
-Congratulations to you... -Thank you, Phil.
-...and also Liz. -[cheering, applause]
I'm happy to be repping for Dirty Hands.
KEOGHAN: As a new legacy began
for Dirty Hands and Savage Crew,
they were put to the test in their first team challenge.
Looks like we building today.
KEOGHAN: Dirty Hands picked waterproof contractor Angel
to be crew boss...
-Measure yours out! -It's two-two!
KEOGHAN: ...but failed to measure up to the life skills
of construction superintendent Scott...
-We're fine. -...who helped Savage Crew nail their first victory.
-Done, thumbs up for me! -[cheering]
Tonight, with the team competition score
-at 1-0... -TARA: Just keep on baiting. You're doing good.
...does Dirty Hands have what it takes to tie it up?
TARA: Drop them on the dock and go!
Or will they struggle to stay afloat?
Yo-- No!
Man overboard!
KEOGHAN: In the individual competition,
12 workers punch in
for the chance of a lifetime.
-Careful. -KEOGHAN: Who will be the first
to punch out, and lose their shot
-at the $200,000 prize? -[groans]
-KEOGHAN: Whoa! Oh! -[shouts]
Oh, oh.
This is Tough As Nails.
♪
♪ I'm tough as nails.♪
CELI: Well, I'll tell you who's tough.
-SCOTT: Us? -Savage Crew!
-Yeah! -Yep.
Hey, we can't take our foot off the gas pedal.
-No. -You know what I'm saying?
We're coming in very confident.
We're up 1-0.
-Scotty, you're like one of 100? -[laughs]
Right around there.
I have seven sisters and three brothers.
MERRYL: Sarah, you got any siblings?
SARAH: Yeah, I'm the fourth of six.
SCOTT: Okay.
-Oh, my God. -SARAH: And it's funny,
'cause I was thinking this morning, you guys represent
one of my siblings, each of y'all.
-ALL: Aw... -Yeah.
Like, so this is basically what my mom
had to put up with every day.
-[laughter] -Oh, my God.
God bless your mother.
PATRICK: Anybody have any observations
on what we need to change?
One thing I know: I'm-I'm definitely gonna be involved
this time, get my hands dirty.
I felt really bad
about the last challenge that we had,
'cause they chose me as the lead,
and we lost, but, I'm-a do everything I can possible
to win this challenge.
I want to set an example for my son.
That's why I work hard. He motivates me to do good.
[clears throat]
Dirty Hands, Savage Crew, let's go!
-We got work to do! -[whooping]
Aw, that's my baby right there.
[laughter, oohing]
SCOTT: Ugh. Tara's baiting...
I've, uh, lived and worked up in Alaska on tugboats
for the last, uh, seven years.
The maritime industry is definitely male, uh, dominated.
It can be intimidating as a woman.
I'm not personally intimidated,
I love having different challenges.
But it is very hard, and it is challenging,
when people won't give you that opportunity
just 'cause you're a woman.
KEOGHAN: Just make yourself comfortable on the boat here.
You are about to go to work.
Say good morning to Captain Mark.
-Hey, Captain Mark. -Hi, Captain Mark.
Does anybody know what this is?
[all gasping, oohing]
-Lobster! -Wow.
SCOTT: That's dinner!
-It's dinner! -ALL: Oh! -Damn.
This is a California spiny lobster.
And pound for pound, they're worth more money
than the lobsters you find off the coast of Maine.
-MERRYL: Whoa. -MIKEY: Geez.
CELI [whispers]: That looks yummy.
Lobster fishing, it's worth over $500 million
in the United States.
And they catch the California spiny lobsters
off here on the coast.
That's why you're loading traps today.
As you can see, there are two identical boats here.
These boats need to be loaded before heading out to sea,
and that is your job today.
I've randomly drawn the boats.
Savage Crew, you're standing on yours.
Dirty Hands, you'll be working on Captain Mark's boat.
When the work whistle blows, run to the end of the dock,
put bait in each of the traps.
And then you've got to stack 100 lobster traps
on each boat.
There's honor at stake here.
If you win today, you get today's Badge of Honor.
And remember, the team with the most number of wins
at the end of the season gets a $60,000 cash bonus prize.
[cheering, applause]
And today? $12,000
up for grabs for the winning team.
So the question is:
who is going to lead their team into victory?
We're gonna go with-with our-our crew member Tara.
IRAIDA: We need to win this really bad
because $2,000 per person is a lot of money. [laughs]
As a track repairer,
I would have to work two whole weeks
and some overtime to collect $2,000.
And what about Savage Crew?
-We pick Merryl. -Don't underestimate me. I got some sea legs.
-Everybody ready to get to work? -[cheering, applause]
All right, let's line up and do it.
SARAH: As a pipe welder, $2,000 is a lot of money.
I do have hospital bills and stuff that, you know,
I'm slowly paying off.
At 26 years old I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
A lot of people think of type 1 as a handicap, when it's not.
I'm doing this to prove that anybody can do anything
if they put their mind to it.
KEOGHAN: When you hear the work whistle blow,
grab your traps, put a fish head in it,
stack it, rack it, tie it down
and then these fishermen can go to sea.
-[work whistle blows] -Go!
TARA: All right, guys, everybody start baiting.
We've got to get 100 pots,
bait them with the fish heads, and then bring them down
to the boat, stack them on the boat, lash them down.
You know, working out on the sea, you want to stay chill,
you want to get the job done the most efficient way you can
with a calm demeanor.
-SWIFTY: What you got? What are we doing? -Down to the end,
start down there, work our way back.
SCOTT: You've got a dolly, bring three down.
MERRYL: Swifty, dolly.
Sarah is dolly. Mikey, dolly.
You're at the boat playing Tetris.
SCOTT: Hand me one right now.
MERRYL: So the strategy is
to have one person in the boat,
then we would have runners.
Celi would put fish heads in.
It's all about getting a process in place
and, uh, executing it.
TARA: N-No, go straight across.
Those go straight across.
I want the girls up top
getting lobster pots, uh, baited
and ready to go, and the guys running.
And then I'm gonna go down to the boat and stack those pots.
KEOGHAN: And here comes Scott with the first trap back to his boat.
Okay, can you guys keep on doing this?
Let's keep on doing this.
PATRICK: Doing my job as a package handler,
I know what weight I can put on the handcart
and how I can stack stuff on the handcart
to make it more efficient, to have less trips.
I've been a package delivery driver for 21 years.
I'm here for my daughters, I'm here for my wife.
I've been married to my beautiful wife Christy
for 26 years.
She's my rock, she's the one that keeps me going every day.
And my kids are my world.
All right, we're gonna need someone
on the boat soon to start stacking.
KEOGHAN: Tara has her whole team baiting traps.
Scott is waiting around, looking for his teammates.
-What's the plan? -I'm stacking this bad boy.
-Oh, you're stacking? -I'm stacking.
SCOTT: I throw the first cage in, and then I'm waiting.
I'm actually kind of lost as to
what everyone else is doing up top.
I don't know what other roles were given out.
The superintendent in me is wanting to kind of run this.
I'm thinking, "What are we doing?
We can't just be standing around doing nothing."
KEOGHAN: Here comes the delivery man,
Freight Train, with four traps at one time on his handcart.
Look at him muscle those things.
This man is not scared of hard work.
Go ahead.
No, we, I think we're working backwards, bro.
I think we need to fill them up coming down, instead of...
That's all right. Let's just take them to her.
Okay.
MIKEY: Come on, start throwing these heads in here, man.
SWIFTY: Right here, right here.
KEOGHAN: Angel moving his handcart
backwards with three.
Tara's coming back to the boat.
TARA: Drop it here and go.
I didn't want too many pots to get lined up on that float,
or we weren't gonna have access, and the other team--
it-it was gonna become a traffic zone.
Take the hand truck!
Drop it on the dock and go!
KEOGHAN: Dirty Hands getting out to an impressive lead!
Savage Crew finally rolling in some traps
for Scott to start stacking.
Should I get these on, Tara?
Just drop it on the dock and go!
Move to the side!
Yo-- No!
TARA: Man overboard!
TARA: Drop it on the dock and go!
KEOGHAN: Dirty Hands getting out to an impressive lead.
Move to the side!
Yo-- No!
TARA: Man overboard!
All right, man overboard! Safety officers!
Give me your hand.
-That's ridiculous, guys. -All right, guys.
-Respect the line. -Come on!
Got to do whatever you got to do to win?
Is that what it is?
Nah, you in the way, bro, you got to move.
Freight Train, stay with me and help.
PATRICK: I went in the water and I took a swim,
but delivery guys are tough, you know, we just keep going.
I saved the cart from going in the water.
I saved my packages.
MIKEY: Honestly, I didn't see him.
I had no passageway to go through.
I gave it a push, I guess I pushed it a little too hard
and... [exhales sharply]
he went, uh, deep-sea diving.
Help me figure out how we can pack them.
TARA: Being a merchant mariner,
I know that exhaustion, right?
When you go in the water-- Freight Train,
I know he was gonna wear himself out going back and forth
with that extra water weight.
I decided I wanted him to be on the back deck
with me stacking, 'cause that's another skill he has.
CELI: Okay, everybody should just be...
SCOTT: Celi, let's go!
SARAH: Cages weren't ready,
so we were wasting too much time
trying to pull more cages out.
Meanwhile, I notice Angel coming back and forth a lot.
ANGEL: Yep, I've got it.
SARAH: I didn't really see anybody
on the other team except Angel.
SWIFTY: We-we way behind.
How are we behind? So we can fall-- align.
We had no freaking strategy.
It was chaos.
-Swifty, not... -Bring me another one.
-Get me another one. -Here you go!
-Stay where you at. -KEOGHAN: Scott, swapping duties with Mikey
and running back to help his teammates.
MERRYL: Scott's coming back.
SCOTT: These are all ready?
MERRYL: Yep. Five.
Throw it!
With Celi and I, it was just
taking just a little more time
than I anticipated. We got to step on it.
-CELI: Merryl, we've got to load. -I got you!
Dirty Hands, stacking from the front,
but look, they're putting all their traps on the dock
and then loading, as opposed to Savage Crew,
who are unloading everything onto the boat,
not leaving anything on the dock.
Dirty Hands in the lead with 27 traps loaded.
Savage Crew have 21.
-Here comes Swifty! -[yells]
SWIFTY: After so long running,
every step I take is painful.
Got a very bad foot injury I'm nursing every day.
It happened, you know, like, right before I came in.
It's called pitted keratolysis.
I believe that's the name of it.
It's a bad infection where you basically
develop a hole in your foot.
It's pretty nasty, it's pretty painful.
I haven't told anybody about that. I'm dealing with that.
I got to push through this. I can't stop.
KEOGHAN: Angel with another load.
MIKEY: I look over at Phil, just shouting
Angel's name. "There goes Angel!"
KEOGHAN: Angel has not stopped running all day.
He's moving at double speed.
MIKEY: That didn't bother me
because I'm totally confident in my strength and my endurance,
and I'm doing well.
This is hard work, huh? Ain't like laying bricks.
SCOTT: We're all tired.
I might run out of steam a little quicker
than some of these smaller competitors.
[laughs]: Oh, to be in my 20s again.
LIZ: Yeah, Angel, you're... you're a beast.
ANGEL: I have experience in boxing, so I know what it's like
to push yourself till you have no more.
I'm here for myself, but I also want to see my team succeed.
That's extra money that they can put in their pockets
so they can change their lives for the better.
KEOGHAN: Dirty Hands with 44 traps loaded on their boat.
Savage Crew have 40.
TARA: We got five high back there?
PATRICK: Tara and I are stacking and making--
it's basically a big jigsaw puzzle.
On my job, I started at loading trucks.
So, in loading trucks, you got to build a perfect wall.
So, we had to build a perfect wall,
'cause if we didn't,
the pots were gonna fall over.
KEOGHAN: Dirty Hands still in the lead
with 60 traps on board.
Savage Crew have 52.
MIKEY: The clock's ticking down.
KEOGHAN: You got some catching up to do, guys.
MIKEY: I'm just trying to stay focused on
what my job is to do to help my team win.
[grunts]
Who's tired down there? Is Mikey all right?
We're good. Sarah, are you good?
SARAH: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
MERRYL: At some point, our team starts working together.
Now we're catching up.
We won the first one,
we're looking to take home the second one,
so bring it.
Let's go!
-Ready? -One, two, three, go.
[panting]
KEOGHAN: Double time from Tara and Freight Train
on the boat.
Savage Crew has accelerated their work rate
and are closing the gap!
Both teams with just a few more traps to bring down to the boat.
TARA: This guy's heavy. Put it on the deck.
KEOGHAN: Dirty Hands is coming in
full force with their last two traps!
Savage Crew coming back with their last three traps.
This is it! It all comes down to
-who can stack and tie down their traps first. -[contestants shouting]
Both teams now securing their traps.
Don't want to lose a trap in the water now.
♪
Throw it over!
-[indistinct shouting] -Tie it down, boys, tie it down!
KEOGHAN: Dirty Hands with the tie-down.
Just a clean knot, put it around and tie it down!
[Swifty yells]
-Come on, one to go! -Go!
Tie it in, tie it in!
Done!
Dirty Hands get the win!
[Dirty Hands cheering]
-[whooping] -Hell yeah!
Dirty Hands! Dirty Hands!
We had somebody fall in the water!
-PATRICK: And we still did it. -And we still won!
That's a merchant mariner!
There was so much heart,
so much drive. I mean,
I think Savage Crew thought they were gonna
sweep it, honestly, and this is just like,
"Hey, no, we're here, it's a competition."
Guys, I mean, it was really neck and neck.
I'm sorry, guys, I let you guys down.
-It's a hundred percent... -No, it's not!
-Hey, as the leader... -No, it's not.
As the crew boss right now, I should've planned better,
and I should've known that. That's on me. That's on me.
In my mind, if we had just stopped
for a second and just planned, maybe...
a couple of minutes longer,
I think that would've made all the difference.
Proper prior planning prevents piss-poor performance.
KEOGHAN: These guys were in their element today, right?
I mean, they had, they had Tara.
You got to give credit to them.
-Absolutely. -Yeah, absolutely.
MIKEY: Good job, guys. Good job, Tara.
Hey, but I think the MVP of that crew was Angel.
-Angel! -That's right.
My man didn't stop.
The reason why I kept pushing is
because I thought I let them down
the last challenge and I told them:
"You're gonna see my blood, sweat and tears
in this, and we're gonna win this."
$12,000 have gone to Savage Crew,
and today, $12,000 is going to Dirty Hands.
-[whooping, cheering] -Show me the money!
And, today's Badge of Honor,
going to the crew boss.
Here's your Badge of Honor.
-Great. -And there's the $12,000.
-Whoo-hoo! You guys, this is ours! -$2,000 each.
All of you guys.
Well, remember this:
today, it's all about team.
Tomorrow, we start the individual competition.
12 of you will punch in,
and by the end of the individual competition,
11 of you will punch out.
There will be only one Tough As Nailschampion.
So get some rest.
Thank you very much, guys.
-Thank you. -Thank you. -[whooping]
-Thank you, Phil. -Hey, good job, guys.
Good job.
♪
ZEUS: I'm rooting for all of us.
I think we can all separate, you know,
the personal from the team for that...
that $200,000 and the truck.
Just-just having a truck,
in general, would change my life.
I can put so much equipment into that truck.
If a hurricane comes, you know, I can definitely
clear stuff off; anybody needs to move, you know,
I can, I can do, like, a small little moving business.
There's so much you can do with a truck.
-New day today. New day today. -MIKEY: New day.
Individuals.
Going into our first individual challenge today
where there's $200,000 and a truck on the line,
you just have to set the team competition aside. You have to.
I'm taking home a paycheck for my family.
I'm here straight up for my wife and kids.
I've been through two divorces.
Wow.
And, you know, when you get that dark,
-and you feel that down about yourself and... -MIKEY: Yeah.
I was gonna peace out.
Didn't want to be around, didn't want to see anybody.
When you go through a divorce,
you're going through something really hard.
And who you thought you were,
or who you were to be happy is--
it's kind of gone, it's taken from you.
I went through some really dark times
of trying to figure out who I was,
and if I was worth...
anything, really.
And then, you know, I meet Holly, my wife,
and she just changed my life.
Made me feel good about myself again.
-Same here, my... -SWIFTY: Blessings, yeah.
Yep, my girlfriend Robyn did that to me. Yep.
-KEOGHAN: Good morning, everyone! -[clapping]
CONTESTANTS: Morning!
Today is your first individual competition.
12 of you will punch in,
and by the end of the season,
11 of you will have punched out.
Because in the end, only one of you will be crowned
Tough As Nailschampion and you know
what's up for grabs: $200,000.
-[cheering] -And an all-new Ford F-150 truck.
-Oh, yeah. -Yes!
You do not want to touch this time card again after today,
'cause if you do, that means you will be out of the competition.
So let's punch in.
MERRYL: WinningTough As Nails, for me,
would just further solidify and show to other women,
other girls of color,
that you could start somewhere and go as far as you can go.
I'm doing this for my family,
my husband, my son, my foster daughter,
and I'm doing this for people
who have these cards that they're dealt
that are not the best.
ZEUS: I'm here for my two kids and my wife.
Becoming a father, I see myself as a provider now,
and every penny is for my family.
And having the opportunity to be here
and representing power line technicians across the nation,
essentially, a win for me would be a win for them
as well.
SCOTT: It's Vanna White up here.
[scoffs]
KEOGHAN: Okay.
Got something in here for you.
Oh, boy.
-It's in water. -I know, what is it?
Crabs.
[whispers]: Or fish.
[contestants groaning]
ANGEL: I can't do it.
Oh, my God. I can't do it.
Got something in here for you.
Oh, boy.
-It's in water. -I know, what is it?
[contestants groaning]
-I can't do it. I can't do it. -KEOGHAN: This is a slime eel.
-ANGEL: Oh, no! -MERRYL: We've entered
disgusting territory. It... [laughs]
-Those things actually live in the ocean? -Yeah.
-"Slime eel"? -KEOGHAN: And they're
gonna be transported to Asia tonight.
Ay, Dios mío.
-Oh, no, bro. -[laughter]
KEOGHAN: These slime eels are also known as "hagfish,"
they are incredible.
They can produce four cups of slime every second.
-Gross. -Think about that.
I have a phobia with worms. That's a big worm, man.
-[laughter] -That's a big, big worm, bro.
KEOGHAN: It's gonna be a challenge.
So, when the work whistle blows,
you're gonna run around the corner
to a boat that's moored on the dock on the other side.
On the deck, you'll see 12 tanks with your names on them,
filled with 250 pounds of slime eels.
You're then gonna use a mesh bag
like this to transport them,
and then run them back here and put them in these live tanks.
Every last slime eel needs to be transported
from the tank on your boat to the live tank here on the dock.
It's gonna take a lot of trips.
-Holy... -They happen to be
a prized delicacy all over the world.
-People love these. -Oh, God.
ANGEL: It's a rare delicacy in some places,
so, I-I automatically switched it to "It's a fish,"
it's not a big, giant worm.
And I reminded myself why I was here
and nothing was gonna be easy.
The last two of you to finish today
will be going into overtime, a head-to-head battle
that will end with the winner staying in contention
for the Tough As Nailstitle, and the loser punching out.
Nobody wants to punch out.
MERRYL: This is about to get real.
At the end of the competition, we'll go back
to loving each other, but right now,
all these people are now my opponents.
Bring it.
Everybody ready to get the job done?
CONTESTANTS: Yeah.
[work whistle blows]
[indistinct shouting]
KEOGHAN: Oh, Merryl goes down.
But Sarah and Iraida are right there,
getting her back on her feet.
MIKEY: What's up, little guys?
Let's go. Oh, no.
Uh-oh.
ANGEL: As soon as I bent over to try to, you know,
put them in the bag and...
[sighs] Oh, my God.
These creatures are slippery
and it's a struggle to catch them.
It's like touching a wet bar of soap.
-IRAIDA: Oh, my God. -ZEUS: Oh, my God.
[Zeus retching]
MIKEY: These things felt like a mix
between jelly and boogers.
Come on, man! Stay in there.
CELI: Being a nurse, I've seen some nasty stuff.
So just touching it, I'm over it.
Now I know what I got to do.
I'm just gonna handle it like any other day on the job.
That's a big one, oh, my God.
I'm scared of that one...
[shrieks, mutters]
Some of them were looking at me and opening their mouths
and I was trying to just not look at them back.
And I didn't know if they were gonna bite me
even though they have no teeth.
[exclaims, sighs]
KEOGHAN: Scott's got massive hands,
just throwing those slime eels in there.
He's on his way already.
It's gonna get slippery and slimy.
The first one to arrive.
Will he finish first today?
[whoops] Slippery little things.
KEOGHAN: Zeus, Swifty and Mikey
close behind with their first loads.
I got the slime all on my face, my eyes.
[groans]
Look how hard these eels are to get out
-of the bag. -Oh, my God.
KEOGHAN: And here comes Celi, Merryl, Angel and Knuckles.
Angel, getting over his fear of worms
as he works with these slime eels.
Iraida and Sarah are right behind.
In my bag, the slime is just...
doubling within itself or something.
It's like the endless bowl of pasta at the Olive Garden.
Like, it won't stop.
KEOGHAN: At the back of the pack, we have Tara
and the delivery man himself, Freight Train.
This is for all my customers, I'm bringing your packages.
Hey, guy, where you going? Ah.
TARA: When you put the eels in the bag,
and they start producing their snot,
it sticks on the bag, and they're able to travel up
that slime of their own out of the bag.
I got it, okay.
Stay in, stay in. No, you don't.
Oh, shoot!
MERRYL: It's over here.
Hurry, hurry, hurry.
MERRYL: In my shirt.
Ah, what are you doing?
Two eels coming out of Merryl's shirt.
That's a first.
ZEUS: Easy does it, boys.
Swift, it helps if you talk to them, I noticed.
-It helps? -It helps, bro.
What you telling them? Tell me what to say.
I just tell them to go inside and they listen.
-SWIFTY: Hop in. -IRAIDA: I'm back.
We're just going to a new home. No, no, no.
Just like I talk to myself,
I can talk to them, they understand.
They understand what I'm saying.
Come on. You're okay.
Come on.
CELI: Come on, baby, come on.
Being a nurse, I've always learned
body mechanics is very important.
So I notice that I was reaching over
and my back was starting to hurt.
So I said let me jump in this thing and take a squat,
you know, just a squat down.
I was like, "Out of sight, out of mind."
And I was grabbing them things. [laughs]
Whoa, a massive load coming from Celi. Look at that.
Celi, that's the biggest bag we've seen arrive here.
You-you could absolutely work in this industry
if you ever want to get out of nursing.
No. I can't do that.
KEOGHAN: Good job, everybody. You're one hour in.
Let's remember
that the last two of you will be going
into overtime,
where you'll have a chance to stay
in the individual competition.
But someone is gonna punch out today. Who's it gonna be?
MIKEY: Call me Mikey Slime-Brow.
When I get in competitive mode,
I go to a place in my mind
and dig deep.
-Nothing is gonna stop me. -Mikey Eyebrows,
you ready for overtime?
-Not yet. -That's a big bag.
-That's a... Whoa! Oh, oh! -[shouts]
Oh, oh.
Aah! [groaning]
Oh, no.
MIKEY: [groans] Oh, no.
Mikey Eyebrows, onto his back.
Up you go.
There you go. You all right?
-Yeah. -Take a moment, take a breath.
I took a big spill and I hurt myself.
-KEOGHAN: Eyebrows, you all right? -Yeah.
KEOGHAN: Hang in there.
I know there's no quit in you.
-MIKEY: Ooh, that hurt. -LIZ: Aw, are you okay?
-Did you wipe out? -Fell on my back.
It was an emotional time out there.
My girlfriend Robyn was just telling me,
"Michael, just... Babe, just get up."
[sniffles]
"Just get up and do it."
As I was looking down to the floor,
I just seen her face,
and I got a big bolt of energy.
[shouts]
And I turned around like I was a maniac. I was like,
"Aah! Let's go!"
And I ran back to that freakin' thing,
and I just started stacking them up again
and just kept going.
[grunts] Let's go.
[panting]
KEOGHAN: This is when you got to dig deep, everybody.
[groaning]
SWIFTY: My foot was saturated,
and running back and forth,
it was hurting pretty bad.
I got sons, man, that I push all the time.
I don't let them guys quit.
If they have, you know, some type of pain
or-or they want to give up on something,
I don't let up on them. So I can't let them
see me quit, you know? So I had to keep going.
We are getting towards the end of the job.
Too close to pick a winner between Knuckles
and Scott. Knuckles, you want this win?
LIZ: Oh, yeah. No more second places!
[Scott grunts]
SCOTT: Knuckles scares me.
She doesn't care who you are, what...
How big you are, how tough you are.
-She's just as tough. -KEOGHAN: Scott and Knuckles
both determined to get this win.
Their tanks on the boat are empty.
This is their last load of eels.
That's it, that's it!
-Let's go! -And the win
-goes to Scott. -Yes!
I'm a force,
and I'm not gonna stop.
KEOGHAN: Liz, another second place finish
-on Tough As Nails. -[whoops]
SCOTT: Whoo-hoo!
It's always the bridesmaid, never the bride,
but it still feels good to be second place.
-Bring it in, big guy. -There we go.
KEOGHAN: Countless trips with these slime eels.
Merryl's got it done! Third place finish.
-And Zeus finishes! -Zeus!
KEOGHAN: Iraida finishing in the top five.
-Mikey Eyebrows, with all his eels in the bin. -Yeah!
-KEOGHAN: And Sarah gets the job done! -[cheering]
Celi and Angel get the job done!
We are down now to three.
It's Swifty, Freight Train
and Tara. There's only one safe spot left.
Who will be going into overtime?
PATRICK: I was trying to pace myself the entire time.
Towards the end, I was able to start sprinting
a little more.
My sprint,
not like everybody else's sprint.
Keep the same pace.
You got this.
[grunts]
-[groans] -I have an old injury
on my thumb. I had surgery on it.
And, so, it's-it's flaring up right now.
I didn't have the dexterity in my hands
to grip the bag, so I was using my fingernails.
And my fingernails were
popping off, peeling off.
And it-it hurt, but I'm not gonna be last.
KEOGHAN: The deliveryman heading this way.
Oh, Freight Train!
Coming back with his last load, and he drops
slime eels all over the stairs.
He's trying to put them in the bag.
-[groaning] -Oh, my God!
KEOGHAN: Last chance for Swifty and Tara to catch up.
-Yep, yep, Freight Train! -[cheering]
I thought this one might slip away from you, but no.
Yeah, Freight Train!
Thank you, Jesus!
The way you're gonna last longer in this game
-is if you can rest. -Good job, bud. Good job, bud.
-Good job. Proud of you, man. -PATRICK: That's my main goal,
stay out of OT to give my body more time to rest.
KEOGHAN: Tara, Swifty, come on back.
SWIFTY: It's a bad spot to be in.
But I'm in it to win it. If I lose,
then, you know, somebody gonna have
to beat me. I'm not giving it to them.
Swifty, Tara,
unfortunately, since you are the last two to finish,
it does mean that you will be going into overtime,
and by the end of the day, one of you
will be punching out.
-Swifty, what happened? -Hmm.
Most of you guys wouldn't know
I came in with an injury.
Symptom called pitted keratolysis.
I don't know if you know what that is.
It got to a point I couldn't run anymore.
It's hard to stand, but I'm here.
I'm-I'm ready. Let's go.
KEOGHAN: Tara, no quit in you.
How are you feeling?
Not really good. Wanted to do better,
but, uh, had an old injury come up on my thumb.
I've had, uh, surgery on it, and it's...
-it's not moving. -KEOGHAN: There's a lot on the line,
so give it absolutely everything
you can in overtime, and may the best person win.
-Yeah. For sure. You got it. -[cheers, applause]
[seagulls squawking]
[boat horn blows]
TARA: Right now, my biggest concern is, my hand is injured.
At the same time,
there's $200,000 on the line, that's on my mind.
And so I'm just gonna go wherever
I have to and just push past the pain.
SWIFTY: I'm doing this for my family.
You know, I want
to be the type of man that my forefathers were.
Even in bad situations, they never gave up,
they did what they had to do.
I-I want that to be my legacy with my boys.
KEOGHAN: Tara and Swifty,
you are standing on a 247-ton,
4,400-horsepower tug tractor.
They actually operate here in the Port of Los Angeles,
moving these big container boats around.
A very powerful boat for a very powerful challenge.
Now, if you know anything about going to sea,
and Tara, I know you do,
the rope is a very important crew member.
You want to have good rope on board.
-A line, yeah. -Yes, a line.
-I apologize. -SWIFTY: Oh, she right at home, huh?
-KEOGHAN: Well, she might... -Yeah.
...tie you up in this competition.
-We'll see. -SWIFTY: I knew that I was
in Tara's wheelhouse, I knew that
this is, you know, her day-to-day,
every day, her livelihood.
I have no experience on a boat. None.
As you can see, in front of you,
you've got some tangled-up line.
It's 300 feet.
When that work whistle blows, you've got to untangle
this line, taking off these buoys as you go.
You then have to stack the buoys on this pole.
The first of you to stack your buoys
and then coil your rope in the line locker and shut the lid
will stay in contention for the Tough As Nailstitle.
You finish last, you will be punching out.
-Everybody ready to go? -I'm ready.
-Yep. Yep. -KEOGHAN: Let's get to work.
One hand on the rope.
On the work whistle.
[work whistle blows]
-Let's go! Let's go! Let's go! -Go! Yeah, Tara! Yeah, Tara!
-Right now, get 'em out! -You got this.
Both of you work so hard on the jobsite,
you know what hard work is all about.
You're gonna show America right now.
[grunting]
-[grunting] -PATRICK: Come on, Tara. You got it.
-LIZ: This is what you do, Tara. -PATRICK: There you go.
-There you go. -Wow. The speed.
Swifty, I know this is your first time, but you can do this.
Look at the knots! Look at the knots!
SWIFTY: I'm tired, but the biggest thing I bring
to any challenge is mental toughness.
Me being able to work in extreme temperatures and stay focused,
and, uh, I know my biggest strength is I won't quit.
Got to get those knots undone,
and then start stacking your buoys.
Come on, Swifty! Let's go, bud!
-Come on, Tara! -I know the hand is hurting.
You can see that. But she's not gonna quit.
-Nope. -As I'm pulling
the line, I feel my thumb lock and pop.
And it's pretty painful.
It sent kind of like a shiver down the other fingers.
I'm just trying to focus at this point
on getting the line through. Taking a lot of energy.
KEOGHAN: She's pulling it through! Everything with her good hand,
holding on with her bad hand.
Stacking it up.
-You got this! -Tara takes the lead.
-First buoy goes on. -Yes!
-[cheering] -KEOGHAN: Got four of these to do. Stack it up!
-There you go, Swifty. -Go, go, go!
[indistinct shouting]
Get it out! Get it out! Come on!
Yes! Good job!
Let's go! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!
-KEOGHAN: Swifty with a catch-up. -Come on! Go, go, go!
-Come on, Tara! -Tara!
-[overlapping shouting] -Let's go!
-LIZ: Yeah, Tara! -Nice work! [whoops]
[overlapping shouting]
Tara and Swifty with three buoys on the rack.
There's one more to go!
SWIFTY: I'm lost. I'm lost.
This is your chance to get ahead, Swifty. Come on!
-Come on, Swifty. -[grunting]
-There you go. -[grunts]
Tara down to one hand, it's hurting.
PATRICK: Stay calm, Tara. Stay calm. You got this.
Let's go, Swifty!
[whooping, overlapping shouting]
KEOGHAN: Keep at it, Swifty. You're on your last knot.
Tara's not far behind.
Do not stop, Swifty!
-You've got one knot, now. -CELI: Yes!
-Yes! -[overlapping shouting]
KEOGHAN: Swifty now has all his knots untied!
SCOTT: Let's go! Keep pulling. Come on, there you go.
There you go! There you go!
-[cheering] -[grunting]
KEOGHAN: Swifty with his fourth buoy on!
Tara's not giving up. She's close to getting hers.
-[groaning] -[overlapping shouting]
CELI: Swifty got his fourth buoy on, and all he has to do
is bring the rope inside the box.
He starts cramping up.
-KEOGHAN: Swifty cramping up real bad right now. -Come on, Swifty!
-KEOGHAN: He's in a lot of pain. -Oh!
[Swifty groans, yells]
It's been a long day, but it ain't over.
-[groans, yells] -Swifty cramping up real bad.
He's in a lot of pain, and he's so close towards the end.
SWIFTY: It just went from bad to worse,
'cause I got one cramp, then another cramp,
my foot hurting, my back hurts.
-[groaning] -[indistinct shouting]
All I could feel was pain.
That's all I could hear, was pain.
It was just everything, man. Everything was hurting.
Can Tara catch up before Swifty
gets all his line in his box and closes the lid?
We believe in you, Tara!
ANGEL: All right, you got this. Let's go.
TARA: My thumb is really bothering me,
my hands are hurting.
Being the first to punch out
of this competition is running through my head.
I know it's running through Swifty's head, too,
and that's something we both don't want.
Come on, Swifty. Come on, you got that.
-Come on, you got it, Swifty! -[grunting]
-Come on. -Come on, man. Come on.
Use your arms.
-Come on, Swift! -Use your arms!
MERRYL: Stop looking at how much rope is left.
-Use your arms. -Tara, what are you doing? Tara?
-Come on, Tara. -Tara, what are you doing?
Tara, come on, let's go. Come on, Tara.
Keep going, Tara.
-[overlapping chatter] -Come on.
Hey, I'm stopping if you stop. Let's take five together.
-Tara! Tara! [groaning] -[overlapping shouting]
-I can't move my hand! -SWIFTY: Tara,
I'll wait... I'll wait as long as it take.
-I'll wait as long as it take. -TARA: No, I'm done.
TARA: Right now, I'm thinking about how hard
I've worked to only end up on the back deck of a tug and fail?
I needed space, and I wanted
to be away.
-Tara, Tara, for real. -Your team's got your back!
ANGEL: Tara, I need you, man.
You were the one that was gonna read the plans!
Tara, I needed you in the first challenge, man!
-LIZ: Tara... -You guys, I got to think
-about my... -I know. I know.
You don't have to do nothing. You don't have to do nothing.
You're walking away from money right now that you don't have!
Tara, okay, you're out of the competition, fine,
but I don't know about her living situations,
but $2,000 every team challenge
is a lot to me, man.
Like, I don't... I don't get that, you know?
Bro, you'll never get this chance again!
You don't have to use your hands.
I'll give you my heart, I'll give you...
I'll win this next challenge for you.
I need her. I need her in my team. I need her in my team.
She's in so much pain. This is real. This is about her life.
-[winces] -Oh. Sorry. Be careful.
Man, I don't want to... I love Tara, man.
-I don't want her to go out like that. -MIKEY: Swifty!
Swifty, pull it in the box! Come on!
I know this is not how you wanted to end it today.
But Tara's getting medical attention.
Finish the job, Swifty.
-Come on! -CELI: You got to finish
or you're both out of the competition.
You more than anyone knows
what people would do to be in your spot, man.
-Absolutely. I know that. -You know that.
-Let's do it then. Let's do it! -I know that.
SWIFTY: We all got to make the best choice
for our own situation-- for our families and our career.
So, all I can do is, you know,
pray God's grace on it, you know?
-[applause and cheering] -Yeah! Yeah!
-Yeah! -KEOGHAN: Get it all done.
MERRYL: Swifty worked through that pain.
He did not quit, he did not give up. That's a strong man.
Lots of... lots of props go out to him.
You are now still in contention
for the individual Tough As Nailstitle.
-Congratulations. -MIKEY: You deserve that, Swift.
SWIFTY: This is kind of a bitter taste.
You know what I mean? With the way everything went down.
But, uh, feels good.
I never quit. I-I've never been afforded that luxury.
[applause]
That's our girl!
MIKEY: Hold your head high, Tara.
Let's go now.
LIZ: All right, Tara.
Tara ends up coming back.
You can tell she's emotional.
[applause, whooping]
MIKEY: Hold your head high, Tara.
You are strong!
ANGEL: You did a great job, Tara.
TARA: I feel like I let myself down
on a number of levels.
And, uh, I really don't want to punch out
at this point, but I didn't get the job done.
Good job, Tara.
This is ours! All of you guys.
I'm a part of a team.
Hey, way to go, team!
And I'd like to stay to see
my team succeed. I don't want to leave them a man down.
-[whooping] -But I got to take care of myself.
I got... I got to look out for my hand,
'cause that's what you do in these trades.
You work with your hands.
Everybody's doing good.
-Dirty, dirty. -ALL: Hands!
Everybody, listen. What makes Tough As Nails
different is that nobody goes home, even if you punch out
of the individual competition.
Tara's old injury has flared up,
and so it's up to her whether she comes back.
And, of course, she'll need to be cleared by medical.
It's gonna get tougher, I'm gonna tell you that.
It's... This is Tough As Nails. Guys, get some rest.
I know it's been a really tough day.
Tomorrow, we're gonna do some heavy lifting.
-Good night, everybody. -CONTESTANTS: Good night.
KEOGHAN: End of a big, emotional day.
ANGEL: If she leaves,
it's gonna be a loss for us,
but it doesn't mean we're not gonna win.
We're just gonna have to work harder, that's all.
Captioning sponsored by CBS
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org
KEOGHAN: Next time onTough As Nails,
we're rolling out heavy equipment.
-We have a problem. -Hey, the dump's not going down.
-Damn. -KEOGHAN: Knuckles has not gone anywhere.
-Okay, just forward. -I mean, there were definitely
moments when it was like, "Oh, sorry."
KEOGHAN: Swifty and Freight Train!
It's a neck-and-neck race! Oh, whoa, whoa!