I can now die a happy man because last night I got to watch Blair Warner wrestling in the mud! When I was a young boy lusting over Lisa Welchel on The Facts Of Life I never imagined I would get the chance to see her in this position but that's exactly what happened on last nights episode of Survivor during a grueling reward challenge. It's moments like these that makes Survivor the greatest show on television. Before that we see a desperate Katie trying to recruit Denise in a plot to oust Jonathon, and we see Denise playing along. Then over at Tandang we see the tribe bickering over weather or not to make breakfast. It seems they are extremely low on rice because Skupin has been chowing down on it dry because he believes that the human body can double as a pressure cooker since it's temperature is close to 100 degrees. What a great idea for a new fast food change. Just throw raw food down people's throats and tell them it will cook inside their bodies. That sure would cut down on operating costs. I can't believe no one has thought of this before. Maybe because it's completely insane, but that's Skupin for you. Gotta love him, unless you're Pete and Artis who are dying to vote him out.
Flash forward to the reward challenge and Lisa Welchel mud wrestling. It consists of both tribes trying to maneuver a huge ball in a field of mud into their goal. Pretty much anything goes in preventing the other side from scoring which Skupin will later find out. The winning tribe gets a feast of subways, sodas and brownies at a dry hut.
The challenge goes to three points with different groups of three playing in each round. Probst finally makes the bigger tribe sit out a man (I don't know why Matsing never got this courtesy). RC and Artis sit out for Tandang.
The first groups are Lisa, Pete, and Skupin against Jonathon, Carter, and Denise. The groups are so evenly matched the ball never comes close to either goal. Lisa wrestles with Denise. Pete takes Carter and even with Jonathon thrusting his arm under Skupin's crotch neither side can get an advantage. Good ole Probst chimes in with a great observation "It's a very intimate way to play but fully legal". It's sound bites like these that is why I say Jeff Probst is the Shakespear (or Edward Devere) of reality shows.
After an hour of being stuck in the mud Jonathon proposes they make a deal. Skupin says they'll give them the victory if they can have all of their rice. In one of the riskiest moves since Ozzy volunteered to go to redemption island, Jonathon is ready to jump at the deal because he's sure he can catch fish. Why he hasn't been doing that for the last two weeks is a mystery though. A lot of players on both sides are nervous about the deal. Artis in particular doesn't like it, especially after Jeff Kent calls him "birthday boy", but eventually everyone agrees. So for the first time in Survivor history and reward gets obtained without winning the challenge.
I don't know if I would of agreed to this but overall I think this wasn't a bad move by Penner. By doing this he provides the tribe with a feast and he makes himself more valuable as their main source of food now. Even if he can't catch any fish he probably knows that a merge is right around the corner so I'm sure he's hoping he'll have access to that rice he gave up before too long. There's no telling who would have won this challenge. Even with Jeff Kent waiting in the wings for the next round of play, Tandang has Malcolm also waiting. With Jeff's bad knee the advantage would have probably gone to Tandang, even with Abi going against Katie. Both of those girls are pretty weak but I think Abi might be a little stronger then Katie. After all she's had a lot more rest then everyone else.
Despite Artis' and Abi's whining back at camp I don't think it was a bad decision by Skupin either. They needed rice badly. Not to mention, they went to that challenge on a empty stomach because they were so low on rice. That would of made it very difficult for THEM to win.
Kalabaw on the other hand are thrilled with the decision while they're chowing down on the sandwiches, especially when they realize there's a bonus to the reward when Jonathon discovers letters from home for everyone. However, when Jonathon has a hard time catching fish that excitement quickly subsides. Before the immunity challenge he only manages to catch two guppies that probably would have been better used for bait. Even when there's a stingray inches from the shore he comes up empty. This is surprising since Jonathon caught a boatload of fish in cook islands. Obviously fishing conditions are much more optimal in that part of the world. I'll bet he's really missing Ozzy at this point.
At the immunity challenge Tandang is once again forced to sit out a man. If I were Malcolm I would probably be bitching up a storm about this, but instead he plays rock paper scissors with Mike to see who gets to participates. Malcolm wins with scissors. Maybe it's a good thing since Skupin has managed to go an entire episode without seriously injure himself and there's no point in tempting fate. Abi also sits out which incites Probst to once again badger her for her lack of participation.
The challenge is a Survivor classic with tribe members trying to catch a ball with a net that is slingshot by two opposing members. Well it would appear Kalabaw is certain to win this one with former MVP Jeff Kent on their side. Right? Well he does score 3 points and puts them one point away from winning with a 2 point lead but then Skupin advises Lisa to aim her ball for Malcolm. With dimwitted half starved Carter guarding Malcolm he easily ties it up. Jeff replaces Carter to guard Malcolm but just like the reward challenge from last week Malcolm prevails over the former professional baseball player. This shocks me. You have a MVP baseball player in a challenge where the object is to catch balls and Kalabaw still can't win! I suspect this challenge may have actually been designed by the producers to try to finally get Tandang to tribal council, but no such luck. Blair Warner's team remains undefeated and Denise is on pace to set a record for most tribal councils in a single season.
At Kalabaw the scrambling begins. Oddly enough Denise is safe as a kitten once again, as no one wants to vote her out. Jeff and Carter consider turning on Jonathon, which is good news for Katie. The plan is nearly exposed by Carter who ask Jonathon if he wants to vote out "Katie or Penner". Hey Carter, "life is like a box of chocolates!" How Jeff managed not to smack his forehead at this moment is beyond me. It must of taken a mountain of self control on his part. Incredibly this doesn't appear to throw up any red flags to Jonathon who is completely oblivious to a possible blind side. I guess that's why they call it a blind side. When we see them discussing Jonathon's departure we also learn that the camp is suddenly booming with coconuts as we watch Jonathon chowing down on one. So I guess they're not completely derived of food as most of the episode suggests.
I initially loved the way Jeff was playing the game but now I'm starting to have my doubts. He hurt the tribe last week by going after Dawson because he was afraid of being exposed by her. This week he's still committed to keeping Denise around. It might have made some sense last week but at this point even if she is able to pull Malcolm over to their side they're still outnumbered 6 to 5. Of course there are plenty of splinters at Tandang but he has no way of knowing that. It would make more sense for Denise to jump over to Tandang with Malcolm and pick off Jonathon's alliance of three.
Well Jonathon looks to be in big trouble which should be a clear sign that he's safe. Still I have my doubts and wonder if he'll play the idol, especially after Carter's slip of the tongue. He doesn't play the idol and Katie is voted out. Another hottie bites the dust so now were down to one young hottie and a sexy cougar.
NEXT WEEK ON SURVIVOR!
It looks like a Merge! Who will side with who? Who will win the first individual immunity? With three idols still in play it should prove for a very interesting tribal council! I think a great twist would be to bring back redemption island but I doubt that will happen.
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