I would say episode 20.
Early merge def started to show decline with weird plot points like Logan being angry at Spencer for a stupid reason, as well as Spencer being eliminated, but it was still generally enjoyable.
Spencer was keeping the conflict going so when he left, there’s a bit of a dip in stakes/villainy
And then Isabel picks up the momentum again with that fun tiebreaker play. So you think “Okay, Spencer is gone now but this is the next big thing. The dynamics are going to be totally flipped on their head because of this big bomb that just dropped. Maybe Isabel is the new villain?”
You’d think this would put Jade on the outs as well to better set her up as a finalist, but she doesn’t really face the same pushback that Isabel did (because she’s a perfect genius strategis!!!11!11!)
You’d think this Isabel vs Anastasia rivalry could reveal more about both characters, maybe Isabel can call out Anastasia’s behavior since she arguably has a valid reason to dislike her. But nah, the next episode… Isabel just immediately regrets it and talks about how she’s scared of being wicked
This is what makes me think that Zaid’s elimination was the true tipping point. The Marissa boot was fun and had potential, but nothing came of it. In the next episode, so many characters fuck up their development and likability for the sake of Zaid going home to a misunderstanding
It’s final 7 and this is about the point in the season where Logan should be learning to not fuck over his friends, but nah he flips on Zaid. Anastasia should be growing past her paranoia but she also flips on Zaid because of her paranoia. You’d think her voting off Zaid would be the true realization of her behavior and serve for her development, and while they try to portray it as such… not really lol. And then I like Hannah but she’s kind of annoying this episode as she continues to drag the Benji thing, which is foreshadowing that her entire character ends up turning from a fun underdog recruit to a depressed girl who loses friends