Host Rich Eisen greets the competitors as they arrive in the forbidding land of the Louisiana bayou – home to alligators, cottonmouth snakes, leeches and mosquitoes. The first team to make it through the swamp will be $100,000 richer.

The three teams begin in the detainment zone, where they are chained and boarded up in a backwoods shack. When the shrimp boat horn sounds, the escape is on.

The Red Team, made up of Paul and Jenn, is the first to find the map and break out. Best friends Luke and Tim of the Green Team are close behind them, but the Blue Team, Davee and Beth, struggles to find the map after looking inside and outside of the shack.

As soon as the Green Team begins to get going, they are captured and must return to detainment. The Red Team is able to evade the guards’ rotations. After multiple searches, the Blue Team escapes detainment, immediately getting caught and returned to detainment. The Green and Blue Teams are then both able to escape detainment again.

Red Team approaches Stage 1, which is an abandoned cooking site. Teams encounter three oversized cauldrons and tools that will help them break free of the ball and chain they have been carrying around. The cauldrons are full of live crawfish. They must reach in and go through them to get a slingshot and the first part of the key. On the way to Stage 1, the Blue Team is captured again. The Green Team decides to grab the wrenches so that the other teams don’t have as many tools. Green Team completes Stage 1, with the Red Team not far behind them. At the same time, the Blue Team escapes detainment zone for the third time.

The Red Team gets lost on the way to Stage 2 and starts to panic. Meanwhile, the Green Team moves closer to Stage 2, at which point the Red Team decides to use the Green Team to scout out where the guards are. In Stage 2 teams reach a ceremonial cypress grove. While avoiding guards and bloodhounds, teams will have to knock down three voodoo dolls and rip them open to find a candle, paper and another part of the key.

The Blue Team arrives to Stage 1 and quickly sees there aren’t many tools left to help them break free of the shackles. The Red Team beats the Green Team and completes Stage 2 first. Green Team then completes Stage 2, and the Blue Team finally finds the necessary items to remove their ball and chains.

In Stage 3 teams find themselves in an old, country cemetery. Using the candle and paper from Stage 2, teams must rub the headstones to find a year that will indicate which grave to dig up. Here they find a tackle box and hook, as well as the third piece of the key. Green Team picks a gravestone right in the line of sight of a guard and are quickly sent back to detainment zone. Blue Team finally completes Stage 1 as the Green Team escapes the detainment zone.

Blue Team makes it through Stage 2, but the Red Team has already completed Stage 3, followed quickly by the Green Team. Red Team embarks on what looks to be an open field, but the terrain makes it a difficult journey. A guard rushes by on a boat, but the Red Team is able to avoid being caught.

Red Team makes it to Stage 4 with the Green Team right on their tail. The Blue Team just arrives to Stage 3, but must wait on a patrolling guard to pass by before starting the challenge.

In Stage 4 teams must cross a makeshift bridge, which will take them to an alligator-infested waterway for a fishing expedition. Using their fishing pole, line and hooks, they must pull the correct buoy out of the water and bring it to shore. Attached to the buoy is an alligator skull and the final piece of The Great Escape key. After struggling, the Red Team think they have the skull and final piece of the key, but it ends up being a bag of rocks attached to their buoy. They continue searching for the correct one, giving the Green Team valuable time. The Blue Team completes Stage 3 just as the Red Team completes Stage 4 and begins to make their way to the transport zone with the properly assembled key. The canoes are waiting in the transport zone. Teams will need use the alligator skull teeth to cut the rope for the boat.

The Red Team paddles by the Green Team fishing. Green Team then completes Stage 4 and are quickly on their way. Blue Team throws the line in the water and completes the stage in record time. The Red Team sees Rich and paddles faster; they are so close to the money. Paul tries to get out of the boat too soon and loses his balance, causing him to fall into the water. He manages to hold on to the bag. The key fits, and Jennifer and Paul are declared winners of The Great Escape and $100,000.

Competitors

Best Friends – GREEN TEAM

Luke, 40. Firefighter/Medic, Chicago, Ill.

Tim, 38, Firefighter/Medic, Chicago, Ill.

Married – RED TEAM

Paul, 31, Software Developer, Los Angeles, Calif.

Jenn, 28, Music Producer, El Segundo, Calif.

In a Relationship – BLUE TEAM

Davee, 43, Trainer, Orlando, Fla.

Beth, 38, Personal Assistant, Corona, Calif.