They get tree mail and head off to their next challenge. So early in the episode? Could it be? That we're FINALLY going to get an episode with two challenges? The answer is an ecstatic YES! But before we get to the challenge we have some business to tend to. Probst announces that Matsing has been knocked around enough by the other tribes and will be absorbed by the two intact tribes.
I for one, was really hoping they would do like Palau and keep it going until Matsing was down to one member. Never before on survivor have we seen three teams of two competing against each other pre merge. They could of at least done like they did in All Stars by completing the challenge first and then have the losing tribe absorbed by the two winning tribes. If Matsing had somehow managed to not come in last place that would of been very interesting. They would of gained three tribe members but would still be outnumbered by four people. I'm sure whoever would of got stuck on Matising would of thrown a shit fit. Imagine going from being even with one tribe and outnumbering one tribe 3 to 1 to being on a tribe that's down by three players. Of course if Matsing were smart they probably would of lost on purpose in that scenario.
As it turns out Denise and Malcolm are split up. Unlike the returnees their tribal placement is left to fate as they are told to draw covered buffs. Malcolm ends up joining Tandang and Denise joins Kalabaw. Now on to the REWARD challenge! Tribe members are given a handled flat surface to hold an mini idol on. The first person to have their idol touch the ground (not necessarily knocked off) loses. The winning tribe gets a huge tray of pastries and coffee. It starts off with Malcolm and Jeff. I'm a little worried for Jeff who seems to be in some pain because of his knee but he manages to prevail over Malcolm this round to give Kalabaw an early lead. It goes back and forth as most of the winners use Jeff Kent's strategy, of throwing your idol in the air then quickly push your opponents idol downward before yours hits the ground. Kalabaw also has a great height advantage with the extra testosterone on their tribe. Because of this difference in sexes Dana has to face off against Artis, even though she's supposedly used to that back in podunk county it's not even close. Well so much for underestimating women.
For many of the women this is their first challenge in quite some time. In Abi's case it's her first since episode one. She ends up facing off against Dawson who gets confused and thinks you're supposed to go after the other person's hair instead of their idol. So when Abi gets too close Dawson yanks on Abi's hair, but Abi wins by remembering you're supposed to knock the other person's idol down, not yank their hair. Abi complains quite a bit about Dawson's tactics but something tells me this isn't the first time she's had her hair pulled.
When it's time for a rematch between Malcolm and Jeff, Tandang is one point away from victory. Malcolm uses Jeff's own strategy against him by throwing his idol in the air and knocking Jeff's idol to the ground. Not only does he finally get a taste of victory on Survivor he is also the tribe's hero. Malcolm suddenly goes from zero to hero just like that. He's on a winning tribe and has an idol which now puts him in a very powerful position. It's twists like these that make Survivor such a great show.
Despite Malcolm's heroics one might think he still has some tap dancing to do but back at camp everyone is trying to get him on their side. Pete even lets him know he and Abi have the idol, although Malcolm wisely doesn't reciprocate the gesture. RC on the other hand is using her, ahem, assets to sway Malcolm to her side. I think the editor's must be in artsy mood this week because for no particular reason we're treated to many scenes of RC throwing herself against crashing waves as she explains her dire predicament.
At Kalabaw the men seem to be in trouble, as they are now outnumbered by the women with the addition of Denise. It looks like if they lose, Jonathon is going to have to play his idol, but there's still the unanswered question of who will be pulled from the game. This becomes immediately obvious the moment Dana starts complaining about her immune system. Her condition quickly worsens and she become incapacitated. Penner is surprisingly comforting to Dana showing much concern. Of course as Probst will later point out, Jonathon has been through what she's experiencing which might explain his uncharacteristic sympathy.
When Probst arrives he has Dana examined by medical. They determine that her condition is not life threatening and gives her another 12 hours to see if her condition stabilizes. However Dana is in so much pain she elects to leave the game. This would probably be my biggest fear if I were to ever play Survivor. I know I can deal with the isolation and not eating but I tend to catch colds pretty easily. Often it is a horrible ordeal that lasts for at least two weeks. I'd like to think I'd be able to tough out. I don't think I would ever quit, no matter how much pain I was in, but I can imagine my condition escalating to the point where I'm not allowed to stay in the game. So Dana leaves which is bad news for Kalabaw but good news for the guys who are once again even with the woman and still have the advantage of the immunity idol.
We head to the immunity challenge which is once again part physical and part puzzle. Also once again, Abi sits out, which really annoys Probst. The testosterone enriched Tandang jumps out to an early lead. There's one phase where they have to chop some wood with an axe to release some puzzle pieces. Malcolm flies through this for Tandang but shockingly Jeff has trouble and must be relieved by Penner. It's another nail biter but Tandang continues to dominate in challenges. Could Lisa Whelchel be part of the first tribe to never lose immunity since Palau's Koror? Of course unlike Koror they haven't always come in first.
So Kalabaw quickly goes from being undefeated to being down two members. The question now is, who will be the second to go? Although the tribe was once united in ousting Penner he appears to be completely safe and one of the remaining three women seem destined to go. Will it be new tribe member Denise or will it be the weaker Katie or Dawson? This is another great aspect of Survivor that I love. Denise will be stronger in challenges but with the merger right around the corner do they want to keep someone who has an ally on the other tribe? It seems to be a damned if you do damned if you don't. However, it doesn't seem to be much of an issue for the men as Jeff quickly offers Denise a deal. I would of thought long and hard about this but ultimately I think it was probably the correct move. Yes, there's a strong possibility that Malcolm could get Denise to flop after the merge, but the possibility is just as strong that Denise could get Malcolm to flop, which may be Kalabaw's only hope.
Now it's between Katie and the clueless Dawson. Boy did I really blow it when I picked her to win it all in my first recap. I did warn you that I don't have a good track record of picking winners. At least Dawson still has her card of Jeff's secret identity. Unfortunately the way she goes about using it is entirely wrong. This is what she should of done. When Penner ordered her to get wood she should of strongly suggested Jeff help her. If he would of hesitated at all she should of said something like "you know Jeff it just occurred to me that I never told you my LAST NAME." I'm sure Jeff would of gotten the hint and then when she got him alone she should of told him that if she gets voted off she's spilling the beans about who he is. Instead she just dances around it by saying things like how she would like to date an athlete and how football is bigger then baseball. Not smart. This makes Jeff's nervous but that only encourages him to want to vote her out more.
At tribal council Dawson is completely blindsided. Even Katie votes for her. She's even more shocked then Kat was as she gets up to have her torch snuffed. Once this happens a borderline crazy look appears on her face and I'm anxiously waiting for her to drop the dime on Jeff. Instead she slowly approaches the other Jeff, kisses him on the cheek and tenderly hugs him goodbye. During this we are treated to a variation of the original Survivor theme music and it turns out to be a very sweet and emotional moment. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure the Survivor's theme song return at the elimination scene is only temporary. They used to play this music at the end of every show as well as the end of each challenge. A few years ago they replaced it with more dramatic musical scores and I have always been a strong opponent of this move. The Survivor theme is such a great piece of music and I miss hearing it more throughout the show. If I were a rock star I would have them play the Survivor theme song at the beginning of every concert. I remember during the very first finale they actually played it DURING the final immunity challenge. That was the highest rated episode of Survivor of all time. So please guys bring back the old theme song and I guarantee you ratings will go up. Anyway, Dawson leaves, and at her confessional she lists all the things she wants Jeff Kent to buy her. She makes me feel even stupider for picking her to win by including a pink gun. Goodbye Dawson, it's been a pleasure.
NEXT WEEK ON SURVIVOR!
One of my biggest dreams in life will become complete when we get to see Blair Warner wrestling in the mud! The women are in big trouble and Artis seems to want to take Barry Bonds place as Jeff Kent's good buddy!
UPDATE:
Upon listening to post game interviews with Dawson after last weeks episode it has come to my attention that she did in fact play her card against Jeff Kent. Apparently she told him very early that she knew his secret and attempted several times to form an alliance with him, but he had no interest in working with her for some reason. This surprises me but I still feel she did not use the information properly. She should have been more threatening and told him if she got voted out she was spilling the beans about him.
There was a scene where Jeff speculates on weather Dawson knows his secret when he says "if Dawson knows my history of being a professional athlete it might be best to vote her out". However, Jeff isn't actually on camera when this is said so I believe this was probably accomplished with creative editing of Jeff's speech. Obviously Dawson was toying with Jeff even harder then it appeared when they were in the shelter and she was talking about sports. At this time Jeff knows that Dawson knows her secret and she's trying to give him a subtle warning, which again, was not the way to go in my opinion.
Watch the full episode here.
http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/video/fvTQD5MkjZWUPmI0iMQnMJfnaVJPUmHX/survivor-philippines-got-my-swag-back
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