Gigi reflects that she has only beaten Savannah three times in her life and resolves that the Grandest Game will be the fourth. She imagines using the prize money for her “reverse-heisting” plans, hoping a win might finally feel like enough.

On the dock at Hawthorne Island, Xander Hawthorne dramatically tells the players that the game starts both tonight and immediately. Savannah sprints away at once, Brady Daniels slips off quietly, and Gigi pauses to study the island: a rocky beach, steep cliffs, and a glass-walled, triangular mansion built into the cliffside.

The sight of the house makes the competition feel real to Gigi. Xander encourages her, promising that he will compose Viking-style epics in her honor if she succeeds. Because Gigi knows Xander as inventive, chaotic, generous, and fond of hidden snacks, his presence gives her an idea.

Interpreting the instruction to search the island broadly, Gigi argues that the dock and boat count as searchable territory. Though Xander insists there is nothing on the boat, Gigi climbs aboard, picks a locked compartment, and finds a stash of scones, Twinkies, an energy drink, a puzzle cube, leopard-print duct tape, and a permanent marker.

Since players were not allowed to bring supplies, Gigi takes the energy drink, duct tape, and marker as possible advantages. After drinking the caffeine despite Xander’s warning, she begins drawing a map on the back of her hand, marking the dock, house, and cliffs. With a plan to explore, map, and search for clues and usable Objects, Gigi leaves Xander and reminds him that she expects the promised epics.