Another week of Survivor Shenanigans . . .
We start this week at Zhan Hu, where James is up early and working around camp?! We hear Peih-Gee talk a bit about their brilliant plan, and then James babbles some nonsense about how his best bet is to "keep them rested so in competition there’s no excuse of anybody being tired. It makes me look good in the long run . . . " Dude. Stop. Their plan is to lose the Immunity Challenge and vote you out. Nothing you can do is going to make you look good, and if their plan works, there ain’t no long run.
Anyway.
Over at Fei Long, Todd is in full Schemer mode, as he reveals to Amanda the fact there’s a Hidden Immunity Idol and the mechanism for getting the clues. Of course, they plan to kidnap either Aaron or James if they win the Reward Challenge, as they know one of them will give up the clue.
The Reward Challenge entails tribe members running through an abandoned village, locating and retrieving planks that are pieces of a larger puzzle board. Once all the planks are collected, they must be fit into a puzzle board so that they spell out a Confucian saying. (“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”) The best thing about this challenge is it means members of the opposing tribes find themselves in close proximity while getting the planks. On one such occasion, Peih-Gee tries to tell Sherea that Zhan Hu is still looking out for her and Frosti, but Sherea seems to ignore her completely. (The irony! It burns!!) Fei Long wins and of course kidnaps James.
The reward is a trip to a tea house, with snacks of fruit and pastries, and baths and showers, and of course, tea. Fei Long has a good time reuniting with James, Jean-Robert has a good time leering at Amanda and Courtney in their bath, and James showers naked in front of the tribe, to much acclaim of his butt. Later, Todd approaches James to explain what it is he has in that tube Jeff gave him, and set up a deal whereby James gives Todd the clue and Todd helps James with the Hidden Immunity Idol.
In the middle of the Fei Long revelry, we cut back to Zhan Hu, where our three conspirators are commiserating about losing and “freakin’ out” about how Frosti won’t make eye contact and were all, like, Sherea, like, wouldn’t, like, you know - you know? (Right about here is where I had to pause the recording to wait for the gales of laughter to subside.) Ahem. Anyway. Oh, and then they decide they have to win immunity. (Sparking some seriously loud guffawing - not because they think they can win, mind, but because they all of a sudden realize they want to.)
OK. Back at Fei Long, James does indeed give Todd the next clue, and Todd finally figures out what they all mean. When they get back to camp, Todd and Amanda are clumsily trying to knock the square piece off the gate when Frosti comes over and climbs up onto it, trying to help them do . . . whatever it is they’re supposed to be trying to do. Todd panics, reaches up and rips off the square plaque, which does indeed turn out to be the coveted Hidden Immunity Idol. Since Frosti was there and saw it happen, Todd and Amanda let him in on the secret.
And now Schemer Todd has a plan. He gives the Hidden Immunity Idol to James, so that when Zhan Hu loses the Immunity Challenge and votes for James, James’ vote will send one of them home (they decide on Jaime, to sever the Jaime/Erik tie). Todd also advises James to check the Zhan Hu camp for the same Hidden Idol. Further, he lets Denise and Courtney in on the plan, telling them about the Hidden Immunity Idol, his giving it to James, and stressing they now must win immunity at the challenge for his plan to work.
The Immunity Challenge is the traditional disgusting food challenge, featuring chicken hearts, eels, baby turtles, balut, and thousand-year-old eggs. In the first round, Frosti makes quick work of the chicken hearts, easily besting Peih-Gee. Jaime then finishes her eels before Courtney, and Erik chokes down his baby turtles before Amanda. At this point, Zhan Hu is up 2-1, and the key matchup is James vs. Denise in balut (chicken fetus) - both of these two are in on the Fei Long plan, but there is a problem. Denise simply cannot choke down the balut, and James, though trying his best to make it look like he’s not up to it either, finally finishes it up, apparently out of sympathy for the suffering Denise. In the last match-up, Erik just barely beats Frosti in the thousand-year-old egg competition, and Zhan Hu wins immunity.
Back at camp, Denise is distraught at her failure, and Todd mourns the demise of his “perfect plan.” Todd, Amanda, and Denise decide to go with their numbers and vote off Sherea, counting on James’ continuing friendship and betting on Frosti’s newfound status as co-conspirator. But Courtney lobbies hard for Jean-Robert instead, and manages to make Todd doubt his plan.
At Tribal Council, Jeff zeroes in on Courtney’s feelings as an outsider to the clique, as Todd protests that he does feel close to her. Sherea and Courtney are vocal about their dislike for Jean-Robert, but in the end, they are the only two to vote for him. All the others vote for Sherea, and she and her overbearing attitude are gone.
On to the completely superfluous and ever-more increasingly arbitrary rankings:
Hostage - No ransom forthcoming: Not the kidnap victim, but another tribe member switching teams gets the boot. Sherea goes home as Fei Long sticks with original tribe members.
Face/Off - Intra-tribal dynamics:
Fei Long has a core clique of Todd, Amanda, and, apparently Frosti (Zhan Who?), who gladly threw in his lot with them when the Hidden Immunity Idol was found. Denise also seems likely to go along, while Courtney and Jean-Robert are outsiders.
Zhan Hu retains the Tremulous Trio of Peih-Gee, Jamie, and Erik, but now James has an ace in the hole, in possession of a Hidden Immunity Idol and the wherewithal to obtain the second.
Hard-Boiled - Poised to do damage: Todd still has his alliance, and even though his plan this week fell through, he’s earned the trust of James. James, meanwhile, shares the rank simply by virtue of his Hidden Immunity Idol capabilities.
If the merge happens next week, I can see a final four of Todd, James, Amanda, and Frosti, or possibly Erik if he wins a couple of individual Immunity Challenges.
Coming attractions: Next week - Jeff utters the (in)famous phrase, “Drop your buffs.”