Two nerds enter and one nerd leaves as the fifth episode of the third season of King of the Nerds sees the nerds investigate when Pom Pom Kitty vanishes. Also: A master strategist’s loyalty is tested.

The entire episode Colby has a target on him, as pretty much everyone but Kaitlin is gunning to get rid of him. The nerds that are left though, still try to make him feel welcome, which is all a bit weird. Their gunning for him really comes off as dickish. He’s the strongest competitor, but that’s not the reason cited. It’s always for “revenge” because Colby beating other folks.

The main contest is pretty fun having each team work to solve the murder and have to go through a bunch of forensic clues to solve who was responsible for Pom Pom Kitty. It’s different, and actually kind of fun.

With the losing team set, the jockeying of who’s going to the Nerd Off is really interesting. Jonathan decides to step up and say he’ll go against Colby, which makes no sense at all for someone who wants to win the game. Why would you purposely send yourself in!? The person who Colby goes up against is interesting and how it plays out is fascinating. The final contest is really fun too.

Overall, this is the strongest episode so far. And with another person out…. the teams are shuffled!

Overall rating: 8.25