So who knew Dave would get completely loopy once relieved of his “leadership” responsibilities? One of the best lines from this week had to be James’ exasperated response to an attempt by Dave to hug him: “Oh man, you be all right - I told you about the hugging.”
Recap (If you’re reading on the west coast or haven’t yet checked your recording, stop now!):
We open this week at Fei Long with an isolation on Jean-Robert crowing about his rope-a-dope strategy beginning to pay off, and yes, Aaron does notice Jean-Robert is up early and working around the camp. Then we get Courtney complaining about how much she doesn’t like Jean-Robert.
Over at Zhan Hu, the store of rice has become moldy, which of course sparks more controversy when Sherea and Dave clash over how to separate the good rice from the bad. This is followed by an even more senseless argument when Sherea tries to toss some shells away that Dave apparently wanted to save for his Mom. Looked to me like Sherea was spoiling for a fight, but whatever - the building incidents force the rest of the tribe to acknowledge, as Frosti put it to Dave directly, “If you’re going to be a leader, then you have to be able to work with everyone you’re leading.”
The Reward Challenge is an agility test whereby two tribe members must maneuver giant chopsticks to carry a lit fireball across some distance and drop it into a chute (where it then rolls down into a giant wok full of fireworks). There are three runs with progressively longer chopsticks. The two teams are mostly even through the first two runs, with Aaron and Amanda seeming to work the chopsticks best. The final run pits the brawny duo of James and Jean-Robert from Fei Long vs. Dave and Erik for Zhan Hu, and the brawny duo pulls it off, with Dave and Erik looking mostly ineffectual. Fei Long elects to kidnap Dave.
At Fei Long camp, Dave becomes Huggy McHuggerston, acting generally annoying and cloying. Dave gives the third Hidden Immunity Idol clue to Todd, after eliciting a positive response to the the question “Do you believe turnabout is fair play?” Todd gladly accepts the clue, and promises Dave if Zhan Hu were to kidnap him, he would give Dave the clue. The reward is a visit from a local fisherman and his family, with lessons on fishing. Jean-Robert reveals a surprising ability to communicate with the family in Mandarin, due to spending time in Taiwan in his youth. Oh, and Denise speaks! Or should I say “tawks”?
Meanwhile, back at Zhan Hu, the relative peace and quiet is broken only by the tribe members’ realization that, OMG, there’s work to be done! Everyone except Sherea works hard to replace all the little tasks Dave had done before. Sherea is of the opinion it’s more important to rest up for the Immunity Challenge, so loafs around while others run themselves ragged. This is of course noticed by the others.
The Immunity Challenge has pairs of tribe members squaring off against each other in Chinese armor, wielding meteor hammers attempting to break vases lined up on posts behind the opposing pair of tribe members. Fei Long once again wins, despite a strong showing from Jaime for Zhan Hu.
The tension around Zhan Hu camp is the split between voting off Dave for being a difficult ass or Sherea for being a loafing ass. At Tribal Council, the tribe members acknowledge that Dave helps out a lot at camp, but the question Jeff raises is whether work around camp is more important or if resting up for challenges should be paramount. In the end, the Hu-ers decide to unload Dave.
On to the completely arbitrary rankings:
Hostage - No ransom forthcoming: For the second week in a row, the kidnap victim gets the boot, as Dave (Fei Long) couldn’t convince anyone his usefulness exceeded his abrasiveness.
Hard Target - Difficult to pin down:
Courtney (Fei Long) survives this week with no serious physical challenge, while Denise (Fei Long) finally speaks. Erik (Zhan Hu) may become more important without Dave around, and we have a foreshadowing of a possible romance forthcoming.
Face/Off - Intra-tribal dynamics:
Fei Long’s factions remain the same - the threesome alliance of Todd, Amanda, and Aaron and the brawny duo of James and Jean-Robert. Denise and Courtney can still be wildcards.
Zhan Hu appears to be somewhat splintered. Annoying as he was, it appears Dave did a lot around camp. Will Peih-Gee attempt to step into the leadership role she originally wanted? Will Frosti and/or Erik step up around camp? Will Sherea do something before the rest of them resent her inactivity? Will Jaime ever try to figure out what her clues to the Hidden Immunity Idol mean?
New category this week:
Hard-Boiled - Poised to do damage: Todd may not look imposing, but he seems to have an uncanny ability to win the trust of strangers. And he now has three clues to the Hidden Immunity Idol, with one of the only other two holding clues out of the game (Leslie). And I know it could just be editing, but there was one shot at camp that seemed to show Todd staring straight at that doo-dad on the gate the camera keeps focusing on when the Hidden Immunity Idol is mentioned.
Coming attractions: Next week, Will Erik and Jaime make a love connection? And yet another Twist That Turns The Game On Its Head!
