In this episode of Survivor… As soon as the Brawns are back to camp, Scot pulls out a damage control card and plays it on Alecia – He knew they had three votes for Jenny and he promised Jenny he wouldn’t write her name down and that’s why he voted for Alecia. Alecia doesn’t understand and thinks it’s the stupidest thing she’s ever heard. No way is she going to trust Scot now. Not wanting to discuss it with Scot anymore, Alecia walks off with Cyd to get water and upon arriving, voices that she thinks the two of them should target Scot since he’s a retired NBA playing living off his millions. Cyd nods all non-chalant and lets Alecia think the two girls are together, but this is not the case since Cyd is pretty close and loyal to the guys. Later, Scot tells Cyd that they may have made a mistake at Tribal – how are the gonna win challenges? Jason is in on this convo as well and Cyd lets the boys know that they will probably be okay since Alecia trusts her now, and yes, Scot, she definitely wants you outta the game.
The next morning, at the Beauty camp, Tai has decided that despite the fact that everyone is watching everyone like a hawk – he’s going to get his idol and he’s going to do it now. He’s pretty sure he’s in good with everyone on his tribe, but having that idol means having some personal security and since he knows exactly where it is, he’s determined to retrieve the key. He starts off by tying some bamboo sticks together then realizes he’s lost the tool that will help him push the key out of the canister in the tree, but no big deal really. Tai has dealt with a lot of rough times in his life and he knows he can improvise – he’s not giving up so easily. After finding some sticks that will fit through the slot in the canister, Tai successfully retrieves the key, proving that he will be VERY useful to whatever tribe he is on when they have a pole-building challenge in which a key must be retrieved. After kissing the key and kissing and thanking the trees, Tai has the idol in his hands along with the rules of playing it and learns that if he can find another idol, he can create a SUPER IDOL that can be played AFTER the votes are read at Tribal Council. Hmmm… The year that CBS is featuring Super Girl… Survivor has a… SUPER Idol… Hmmm…
At the Brains camp, Peter and Liz have proclaimed themselves the “swing votes” since there are three voting block on their tribe. It’s Aubry and Neal, Joe and Debbie, and the two of them and they think it would be silly to get rid of Grandma and Grandpa Goat. Neal is their main target. They want loyal people with them come swap and merge time and they believe Neal is most likely to flip a vote against one of them. Their plan, if they go to Tribal, is to tell Deb and Joe to vote for Neal while they vote for Aubry without telling Debbie and Joe the plan. Meanwhile, Debbie has her eye on the pair as they plot and scheme with each other in the ocean and she’s not about to yet the Young Bloods get the best of her. She sees very clearly that Peter feels very confident and superior, but he’s an asset at challenges so Liz has got to go! Debbie consults with Joe about pulling Aubry and Neal over to their corner to make a Liz blindside happen. Joe seems to be on board, Debbie talks to Aubry and Neal, but doesn’t say anything outright about forming an alliance or who the vote would be against it’s just – the four of them are just all good with each other, like, they are all cool and good as a foursome. Debbie loves that no one pays much attention to her, that’s what she wanted. She wanted to fly under the radar and that’s exactly what she’s doing and clearly, “Grandma” is no goat.
Back with the Beauties, it’s lunch time and chicken is on the menu, which Tai is wrestling with because he knows the tribe needs to eat, but he loves all the animals… While Caleb kills the chicken Tai holds it down and the tears start flowing. Everyone on the tribe is sympathetic and even Tai knows he needs to stay in a Survivor frame of mind. It’s the circle of life. Tai’s down mood still puts a damper on the rest of the tribe. Nick thinks there are too many emotions, you can play this game emotionally. This kicks into Anna talking about how she doesn’t trust Nick, but she’s tight with the girls and she trusts Caleb and Tai so she gets to work on Caleb to pull him to her side definitely. Caleb doesn’t see this as a bad thing at all – if they lose, he won’t be going home. And I just can’t get over just how well-suited Caleb is for Survivor and I don’t understand why he wasn’t cast for this in the first place. Beast Mode Cowboy doesn’t belong in a Big Brother Box! Beast Mode Cowboy needs space to run, and jump, and play. But seriously, bro, what’s up with the wearing of the jeans during challenges, especially water challenges? Ladies…
The air at Brawny Beach is growing thick with thoughts of the hidden idol. Scot is looking for it because the last person he wants finding that idol is Alecia, who just happens to find a clue for the idol while she’s out with Cyd. They locate the spot where the box is buried and start digging just as Jason strolls into their current neck of the jungle. He immediately knows what the girls are doing and all he can do is smirk at this turn of events. Alecia sees Jason when she glances up from the ground and Jason walks away wearing the same smirky grin; Alecia decides to go back to camp to find a hoe, Cyd tells her to act normal then… Cyd says she found the idol and she continues digging, she finds the tool, realizes the idol is in a locked box, and Alecia returns to the scene. Cyd quickly reburies the box. Alecia can’t find the hoe and thinks they need it so they decide to go back to camp together, but not before Cyd shuffles a few more leaves and debris on top of the idol box and tool. Back at camp, Alecia announces she’s going to rinse out her hair and as soon as she’s out of ear shot, Cyd tells the boys about the idol. Because she knows she has to because Jason saw them trying to dig up the box and she doesn’t want the boys to think she’s actually aligned with Alecia. And Idol Madness descends upon Jason and Scot as they make haste through the jungle on their way to the idol box tree. Alecia calmly exits the water and follows them with Cyd on her heels and they find the boys just as Jason finds the clue with the map to the key canister tree. And in a whirlwind of Idol Madness, Scot and Jason retrieve the key and the idol as Alecia watches her chance of rising to the top fall quickly through the cracks.
Come on in, guys! It’s time for Immunity and Reward. Up for grabs are two groups of items again and this week, whichever tribe comes in first can choose which of the rewards they want to keep. First item up for bid in this “comfort” themed reward challenge are pillows, blankets, tarps, etc. – you know the traditional “make life better at camp” Survivor pack. The second groups of items are their “emotional” items – luxury items are what they used to be called – things the players brought from home to keep their spirits lifted. To win these rewards, and to dodge a date with Jeff at Tribal, they will jump off a platform out in the ocean and swim to a boat where one person will unload three large bags of rice, which must then be taken to bamboo wall and worked through a small hole in the middle. The bags must then be carried over a balance beam then taken to a table on the beach where they will tear open the bags to retrieve – there is a lot of retrieving being done on this week’s episode of Survivor – three balls. THEN the balls must be maneuvered over a maze of holes by one tribe member as they balance on another series of beams. First two tribes to successfully maneuver three balls into place on their maze boards wins Immunity and Reward.
Survivors, ready? GO! This is a very close race between all three tribes all of whom are working very quickly and very well together despite the heavy bags of rice they are heaving through the water. The Beauties, though, jump to a slight lead when they are the first team to start tearing open rice bags. The Brawns are hot on their trail followed by the Brains. Julia is on maze duty for the Beauties and she gently pushes their lead ahead even more as Cydney drops ball after ball for the Brawns. Tai lands a second ball for the Beauties, Aubry scores for the Brains then Caleb lands ball number three for the Beauties granting them safety for yet another week. The battle is on for second place and Jason has finally scored a point for the Brawns as Peter is half way up the wall to score a second ball for the Brains. Scot is maneuvering the maze for the Brawns now and when he’s about halfway up the wall, Peter slips the Brains’ second ball into a slot and Debbie runs up to work on the third and final ball. After Scot lands the second ball for the Brawns, Cyd takes the reigns again and this is a CRAZY close race to the finish, like, you can hear the excitement in Jeff’s voice as he’s shouting “it’s not in yet”… Aaaaaaaaand, despite a very valiant effort by Debbie, Cyd sinks her ball first and the Brawns have finally won an immunity challenge forcing the Brains to form a lobotomy on their tribe that night.
Sooo… Peter and Liz are confident in the plan they devised to side with Debbie and Joe to split the votes against Neal. Liz has a chat with Debbie by the well and solidifies this plan with Debbie, or so she thinks. Debbie has absolutely no intention of being the good little soldier that Liz wants her to be and lets Neal in on the plan to remove him from the game. He’s not happy and thinks it’s time to punish Peter and Liz. Meanwhile, Peter is just sooo impressed with himself and how he’s playing the game – he’s the Big Daddy on the tribe and he’s got all of his little ducks in a row doing exactly what he wants them to do… Later, Neal is with Aubry and Peter playing right into Peter’s hands about the plan to “get rid of Joe” because “it must be done” and blah blah blah. This conversation prompts Aubry to talk to Debbie about voting out Peter instead because he’s so arrogant and controlling; he has no emotional intelligence and Aubry doesn’t think it’s smart to move forward with a player like Peter. Debbie thinks Peter is a good target, and wonders if maybe they shouldn’t vote him out instead and as always, everything is all up in the air as the tribe begins the silent walk to their date with Jeff. No matter what, though, as Debbie says, it’s going to be a total blindside with a very fun evening back at camp tonight!
To Tribal! Okay. I’m not going to rant about my rules of Survivor this week, but Peter and Liz broke the first two all night long during this Tribal Council, especially Peter. He sat there all night grinning, smiling, and talking as if he were on the Reunion Show about to hear Jeff read the final vote in his favor of winning the game. At one point, Liz remarks that if you aren’t a little paranoid in this game, you aren’t thinking enough, which prompts me to question whether or not Liz is thinking at all because as we all know, Debbie is the one pulling the strings this week and if she didn’t have Aubry and Neal on her side before, Peter certainly did her a huge favor by bringing his over-inflated ego to Tribal Council with him. When we get to the votes, it’s a three way tie between Aubry, Peter, and Liz, which puts an end to Peter’s confident smiling real quick and a new grin appears on Neal. We all know the rules in this situation so let’s get to the final vote read: Liz, Liz and that’s two and that’s enough. Next time on Survivor… The island heat finally takes a very serious medical toll on someone or someones…
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