Survivor 14.11 "They'll be lucky if they get fed!"

Mookie and Alex know they're doomed, and they know Dreamz sold them out. Dreamz, being Dreamz, has the audacity to whine to the camera about how his alliance didn't tell him the plan, "I'm not a liar," he says with a straight face to Stacy. She spins well, and Dreamz buys it when she tells him they were all afraid that the other Horsemen were giving him, "like, misinformation," and then Dreamz is happy again, and back onboard with the alliance...except, he still wants to be in an alliance with Alex...Oy! Earl is reasonably confident that he's safe for a bit, with an alliance of 6 and "two on death row." Stacy sneers, "They're outnumbered and they KNOW it and we don't have to stress. They'll be lucky if they get FED." Stacy's on pretty shaky ground herself, I don't know why she's so cocky. The camera fades to the credits on her green, night-visioned and evil face...

DREAMZ A LITTLE DREAMZ

The next day, Alex and Mookie are riled up about Dreamz, and how he hasn't even had the decency to come up to them and own up to having played them. Then, when he DOES come up to them, it's to ask in his little boy voice "How come you guys don't want to play with me no more?" Alex and Mookie are all, "Uh, DUH!" and then Dreamz claims that he was just as surprised as they were about what happened, "We all got outwitted last night," he says earnestly...or deceptivly, I actually have no idea. Alex and Mookie spell out the math for Dreamz: he didn't vote for Cassandra, he voted for Ed---or Mookie, so he's no longer one of the Horsemen. Because he tried to vote out a Horseman. Dreamz owns up to voting against Mookie, but still claims he's on their side. Later, he tells us that he's just "Telling a story" so they'll still give him the million dollars, which is stupid because in Survivor, people--especially men, would rather you own up to betraying them ("outplaying") then continue to lie to them about how much integrity you have. Alex and Mookie seem calm about Dreamz hanging out with them, maybe because they think he's not responsible for his actions.

REWARD CHALLENGE

The tribes are divided into two teams, where one person on each shoots balls out into a muddy field and everyone else tries to catch them (and you score a point even if you catch the other team's ball). This is another "Survivor:Thailand" special, and you wonder if the production staff was sitting around one day and said to themselves, "Hey, the contestants sucked in Thailand, but those challenges were awesome, dang it!" The winners get to take part in a commercial for Olay body products as they go to a spa and rhapsodize about how great it is not to stink. Yau, Boo, Cass and Mookie against Stacy, Dreamz, Earl and Alex. At one point, Cassandra tries to strangle Earl and when Earl complains, Jeff yawns like a bad parent, "It's up to YOU guys how physical it gets." Hokay. I seem to recall Dumbb Robb being DQ's for trying to strangle Clay (who I would have loved to see killed on national TV, actually) in a different Thailand Challenge. I mean, is Jeff serious? Someone could just gouge someone's eye or kick them in the privates and it'd be okay? fortunately, no one dies to do Jeff's indifference, though Boo feels his knee pop and is momentarily rolling around the mud in agony...and then it goes away. I don't know what that was about. Jeff seems particularly annoyed by the whole thing, "Boo, the whole "danger-prone Boo" arc was over once you guys merged and we didn't have to stretch to make the rich, pampered tribe look interesting, so either suck it up, or let's call the Med Evac in here and get you out of the game, those are your choices!" Boo goes back to playing the game. Type-A Mookie keeps yelling at Yau for not getting the ball to him and the other team's all-star Dreamz pretty much wins the game single-handedly for his group. They send Boo, who's been living the good life since he got out here, to Exile, where he reads the first clue about the re-hidden Idol and doesn't do anything interesting.

FROM THE FOUR HORSEMEN TO THE MY LITTLE PONIES

Alex, Earl, Stacy and Dreamz take a seaplane to the spa, where they get to revel in taking a shower with those fine, wonderful Olay products. "Being clean is preferable to being dirty! Food is awesome! Rewards are cool!" At dinner, Alex tries to worm his way in by boasting about what a good competitor he is, "I always congratulate others and I minimize showboating," he insists, while Stacy shakes her head as if to say, "Dude, it is soooo not happening!" Then Alex pompously describes himself as "...a wounded lion, backed up against the wall, who's now super-dangerous. Rahhhhh!" Earl refuses to tell him whether the plan is to vote out him or Mookie first, so Alex lies and says, "I think Mookie is ready to go." Punk.

The next day, they return to camp smelling of strawberries and everyone's thrilled just to stand next to them, even the bitter ball of rage, Mookie. He then chats up Dreamz, the human sieve, who's more than happy to prattle on about how he thinks Yau has the other Idol because he's always in camp. So, when Yau is off fishing and everyone else is doing whatever you do when you don't have TV's and Ipods, Alex and Mookie search Yau's bag and FIND his Idol! But they don't steal it...which I truly don't understand, I mean, if you're gonna be as sleazy as to rifle through someone's belongings, at least get Immunity out of it. I mean, there's not a rule saying you can't steal it, is there?? Anyway, they instead go off to cook up a ridiculous scheme to "divide" the alliance of six by sowing seeds of discord by revealing that Yau has been hiding the fact that he has the Immunity Idol even though any reasonable person WOULD keep their ownership of the Idol a secret from most people. ANd where do they hatch this plan? Right next to a thicket where Stacy and Cassandra had been eating pineapple and trying to figure out if an All-Girl Alliance is relevant when there's only two girls left on a tribe of eight people. So ALex and Mookie go on and on, giggling about how brilliant and cool they are, and spinning scenarios where Yau is gonna deny he has the Idol, and then they'll reveal it and everyone will then be on their side and start hating and not trusting each other, while Cass and Stacy try to listen in. Then, Mookie and Alex insist that at the very least, they'll be going out "Scarface-style," which to certain men is like, the epitome of manliness, I suppose. The funniest part, to me, was the fact that ALex and Mookie keep talking like divididng this tribe is such a feat to be accomplished, when really, all six people on would freely admit that it's just a loose affiliation of competitors that would all benefit from three strong athletic guys like Ed, Alex and Mookie being gone. Then Stacy steps on a twig, right out of a bad movie, and the boys realize--or assume, as it turns out, that they've been overheard, so they RACE to confront Yau before the girls can reveal their BRILLIANT plan to the others! It's all very comical, since Stacy and Cass weren't close enough to hear as much as the boys think they did. So, they find Yau-man and tell him the jig is up, "Do you want to tell everyone you have the Idol, or do WE!" Alex sneers. Yau absorbs the shock quickly, and is probably thrilled and relieved that the brain trust didn't actually take the Idol when they had the chance, so he shrugs and tells them to do whatever they have to do. Alex pouts, "Fine, then we WILL!" Yau's lack of fear or denial has taken the winds out of their spiteful sails.

Yau goes back to camp and tells everyone that he did indeed find the Idol and that Alex and Mookie searched his bag and are now trying to blackmail him with the information, and no one seems to even care about the fact that Yau has Immunity, "They went through your THINGS!?" everyone says, aghast at the sneakiness and the attempt at bullying Yau. Elsewhere, Alex and Mookie continue to cluelessly giggle about what they still reckon to be awesome gameplay on their parts. Oy!

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE

Boo returns from Exile and Jeff reveals a giant game of Battleship, though they don't call it that because today was sponsored by Olay Awesomest Bodywash in the History of Time, not Battleship. Everyone picks their co-ordinates secretly, and then calls in strikes to try and hit the others. Fun! Not so fun for Dreamz and Cassandra, who keep hitting their own ships instead of the others. Eventually, Stacy winds up the winner, which is fine with her alliance, who now must decide who to get rid of, Mookie or Alex. Alex and Mookie both pat themselves on the back for how brutally honest they're gonna be at Tribal Council, and Alex intones, "If I'm goin' down, I'm bringing hell with me." Whatever, dude. The others are at odds with who should go. Earl thinks Mookie has checked out of the game and is less of a threat than Alex, but Dreamz thinks Alex is better around camp, and plus, Dreamz is confident in his ability to beat Alex at anything physical. Earl points out that since freaking Stacy won Immunity today, they need to consider that luck will play a part in future challenges, not just muscle. Boo tells the Loose Affiliation about what the clue said about the new Idol, and since it said it was somewhere on THEIR Island, he thinks they need to consider that Alex or Mookie could have it. Since they don't have a clue (literally and figurativly), Earl thinks that's impossible. Still, the others are swayed, and like Boo's (pretty clever) plan to split their votes evenly between Alex and Mookie, so that even if one of them plays the Idol, it'll still mean the second-place finisher will be the other. Earl is nervous it'll backfire...

TRIBAL COUNCIL

Alex starts out by proclaiming that the "rats and snakes" came out at the last Tribal Council, which is such a bunch of crybaby bullcrap. He and his group tried a big plan, and so did the other group, and Alex's group lost. The only betrayal that happened was Dreamz, the others just played the game better. Then he clams that the Reward Challenge revealed "How people play games," ooooh, but Mookie was jerk during that game, and did anyone really cheat? No. What's he raving about? You can see why he's a lawyer though, because he looooves hearing himself talk. Mookie's attempt at going "Scarface" is to whine about being an outsider now, boo-hoo, after being "tricked" by the other side. Is he serious? They tried to trick the other side too, this is SURVIVOR!! Then, Mookie drops the bombshell about how he and Alex "found" The Immunity Idol in Yau's bag and just like the others back at camp, Jeff skips right past the fact that Yau has the Idol and laughs, "You guys are calling people rats and snakes and you're going through people's personal things? That's about as ratty and snakey as it gets--that's something Jerri would do!" earl smiles as the jury glowers at Alex and Mookie. Yau shrugs off the significance of his having the Idol, saying it won't matter the next two votes, because the Loose Affiliation is agreed on getting rid of Mookie and Alex, who sit their meekly, guns a-holstered as the tide turns fully against them. THen Dreamz, predictably, talks to much about how crazy it will be when those two are gone and he has to figure out again where he stands. Alex makes one last pompous promise, about how the remaining six will have to deal with the Karmic fall-out for their actions, how they will be held "accountable" for what they've done to get to the Final three or two or whatever. Yeah, no Duh. You still have to vote for someone, Alex. You still have to give SOMEONE the million dollars. Stacy exchanges well-deserved eye-rolls with Cassandra and Boo and it's on to the vote. The Loose Affilliation sticks to it's plan and gives Alex and Mookie three votes each, while mookie votes against Boo. Alex, however, ensures his continued place in the game by casting his vote for Mookie, which irritates Earl. In his exit, Mookie wishes he was still in the game so he could continue to make everyone miserable. What an unpleasant person you are, Mookie, bye!

Mookie is eliminated in 8th place, where weepy Jenna left us in season One. In the Outback, America rejoiced when Evil Jerri was backstabbed by Colby, Keith and eventual winner, Tina. In Africa, the snotty Brandon went home and in the Marquesas, we were glad to be rid of the creepy yet uninteresting Zoe. In Thailand, Ken the boring NYC cop was eliminated and in the Amazon, bossy Deena sealed her own fate when she tried to betray Alex instead of sticking to her alliance's game plan. In the Pearl Islands, our beloved Rupert was taken from us by jerks like Lil and Johnny Fairplay, ugh! In Vanuatu, Chad the guy with one leg was voted out by the women's regime while in Palau, Jeff held Tribal Council hostage until he talked Janu into quitting so he could keep plucky Steph around another week. In Guatemala, crazy Jamie plotted himself out of the game and in Exile Island, sweet Sally was a victim of the numbers game. Last season, conniving Candice was sent packing at this point.

EVICTED SURVIVOR FUN FACT

I didn't find much of interest on Mookie's bio, though I was a little shocked to find out he's a professing Christian--find some joy, Mookie, finds some joy. He's of course a former frat boy, and I was impressed that he listened three favorite books, since most people this season don't list any.

FINALE PREDICTIONS

I didn't make it, but my other reviews will follow. I always say that, hopefully it'll be true this time :D I hope they don't do it like they did last year where the vote can be split three ways though that's probably. I feel like if Earl and Yau go head to hear, Yau wins, and Earl or Yau against anyone else wins to. Cassandra doesn't stand a chance. I'm curious about Boo--the others don't seem to care for him, but I imagine if he made it to the Finals, he could beat say Casandra and Dreamz? maybe? Dreamz can make a case for playing a brilliant game, and if he cops to his lies instead of claiming to have played with integrity, he's got a shot. Hopefully, Earl or Yau comes out on top.

Peace Out! :D
Christine

Survivor 14.10 "I'll lick your feet, man!"

Hokay, I'm not gonna make it, we know this, but maybe, just maybe, I can catch up before the finale on Sunday--that's right, SUNDAY!

REALITY ROUNDUP

I was so happy that Charla and Mirna lost The Amazing Race that it almost made up for whatstherefaces winning, the couple. I was hoping the beauty queens would win. But I've got this nagging feeling that we haven't seen the last of Charla and Mirna. I'll bet CBS finds away to foist them on us somehow. As for American Idol, I'm thrilled with the Final Four, still rooting hard for Melinda. But enough about that, onto SURVIVOR

CH-CH-CHANGES

I hate when I reuse a chapter heading, and I know I've used that before but, I'm in a hurry here. Everyone's reeling from Michelle's ouster. Earl is sorry to lose his loyal friend, while Mookie is furious at Dreamz for keeping Stacy, who he fears will be a more attractive Finalist than either Mookie or Dreamz. Also, Mookie has to pretend that he misunderstood what Alex wanted him to do, since he went against Alex to cast a vote for Stacy. Alex is also angry that Mookie doesn't want to pass the Idol from Horseman to Horseman. He suspects, rightly, that Mookie is playing his own game (but why shouldn't he?). Boo approaches Earl about replacing Michelle against Ed, Alex and Mookie. Both sides think that Dreamz is loyal to them, probably because I think Dreamz IS loyal to both sides at the same time, because that's possible in DREAMZLAND. Earl isn't thrilled with having Boo onboard but he likens the game at this point to a chess match where, "...you've lost good pieces."

THE VERY REVEALING REWARD CHALLENGE (AKA EVERYBODY HATES STACY)

For the Reward Challenge, Bula Bula takes part in a SURVIVOR favorite: the very revealing quiz. This is the game where everyone privately answers a series of questions, and then publicly they have to guess what answer was given by the majority of the group. You may remember in Exile Island. Shane throwing a hissy over being dubbed "The person who wrongly believes they're controlling the game," and Courtney having a meltdown for being called...well, everything else that was bad. THis time around, the designated punching bag is Mean Stacy, who handles it all with a bemused smile. Probably because truly doesn't care what this bunch of "losers" thinks about her or anything else. When you get a question right, you get to smash somebody's something, and they only have three somethings--you all know the drill. I won't get into who knocks who out because there aren't any surprises. The winner gets an overnight stay at a spa. Earl is voted the person who most would trust with their life, while Boo gets called the least likely to be invited to a family dinner, which seems to hurt the big guy, awww. Alex is singled out for his "sense of entitlement," while Yau-man is the majority's "stranded on (another?) desert island companion. Stacy is voted as the person no one wants to see after the game, and she gives everyone a "I don't' want to see you all, either," shrug and smile. Dreamz is voted smelliest while Alex gets the dreaded "Who mistakenly believes they're controlling this game" tag, but he laughs it off because he's sure he's not mistaken. Stacy is called out for "Wasting This Great Opportunity," and Yau is dubbed "Something I Can't Read Because I Have Really Bad Handwriting." I'm sure it was a good thing, everyone likes Yau. Cassandra winds up winning the reward. She sends Mookie to Exile and decides to wait until they get back to camp to pick three people to go with her. Edgardo does nothing for his case by sputtering, "I'll lick your feet, man!"

BACK AND FORTH

Mookie is so bent about being Exiled, he decides to make getting rid of Cassandra his number one priority, even though he could certainly beat her in 9 out of 10 Individual Immunity Challenges, probably. He's taking it waaaaay to seriously, ranting about how Cass "doesn't know who she's dealing with," blah blah blah. Dude, suck it UP, Earl has been in Exile like 18 times, he never threw a fit. Mookie decides that Earl had to have found the other Idol...but damn that Cassandra! Gah! She must pay! Mookie's not very good at this game, if he cant' try and focus on knocking out Earl and Yau. Back at camp, Cassandra decided to reward Yau for all his hard work, and then she takes Boo and Dreamz for strategic purposes, which is smart. Boo could use some reassurance, and Dreamz needs to be seduced over to their side--I was happy to see that Cass knows how wishy washy Dreamz is. She likes him--but she doesn't trust him, which is wise. Then we have the usual,"Food Rules!" stuff before Yau goes about trying to, as he so colorfully puts it, "brainwash" Dreamz. They tell him they want Alex out of the game, and Dreamz tells us that his heart is telling him to dump the Horsemen and go with this group...which lasts a few hours. Once he returns to camp, he's quick to seek out Alex and tell him that the other alliance is gunning for him. When Alex brings up his concerns about Mookie's priorities, Dreamz makes a very humorous analogy, likening Mookie's relationship to the Immunity Idol to Gollum's devotion to his "precious" ring. THEN, when Earl tells Dreamz he doesn't trust him, Dreamz reveals that Alex, Mookie and Ed are in joint custody of the Immunity Idol (Dreamz doesn't know about Yau's). It's really fun trying to figure out what the hell Dreamz is thinking...like I said before, I think he's sincere in the moment of telling people he's on their side, but he's really only on his side. He doesn't seem to fear a consequence from playing both sides, and indeed, so far he's benefited...

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE

Jeff retires the team Immunity Idol and reveals the HUGE Immunity Necklace. The challenge is one of strength, will and perhaps security--everyone stands in a little stall with their feet resting on small pegs on either side. You can't use your hips, back or butt to brace yourself, just your hands and arms. It's brutal, but even the first person out, Cassandra, lasts a decent 22 minutes. Then Edgardo's out at 30, Earl's out, Mookie's out at 40. The foothold is made smaller at one hour in, and Alex and Dreamz soon exit, followed by a surprisingly tough Stacy. Finally, at like, an hour and a half, Boo falls and Yau wins Immunity and chirps, "I could stay another hour," which would be pretty braggy coming from anyone else, but not so much Yau, he's just THAT lovable.

THE FOUR HORSEMEN'S APOCALYPSE

Well now, it's scramble for power. THe Horsemen settle on Cassandra, and not just because of Mookie's petty grudge but because she's tight with Earl and Yau but is almost certainly not going to be in possession of the Immunity Idol they assume Earl of possibly Yau has. Dreamz is wary of Stacy and, ironically, warns Alex and Mookie not to trust her, even though he's the one that's gonna spell their doom. He is right about Stacy though, who seems to have a soft spot for Yau. When he tells her to vote against Alex instead of Earl, she listens. When Alex comes to her to make sure she's on board with HIS plan, she starts babbling about being distracted and having a headache. Alex wonders what that could mean and Ed correctly decodes, "That means she's not with us, dude!" But the Horsemen THINK they know exactly who's gonna be targeted, because Dreamz told them it was definatley ALex. So Ed and Alex lobby mookie to pass the Idol to Alex so they can use it at Tribal Council and blindside their enemies. It's actually an awesome idea, except...it depends on slippery Dreamz, who quickly runs to Earl and company and tells them that ALex is now in possession of the Idol! The Six decide to vote out Mookie, but after Dreamz leaves, Stacy comes up with an anti-Dreamz insurance plan and suggests they all vote out Edgardo without telling Dreamz, in case Dreamz has an outbreak of complete honesty and warns Mookie to get the Idol back. I hate to say this, but, kudos Stacy. Alex can't help but boast that his use of the Immunity Idol will go down in Survivor History as one of the game's greatest Survivor moves of ALL TIME. Well, it IS memorable, I'll give him that! :D

TRIBAL COUNCIL

THe jury is brought in, and Michelle and Earl exchange warm smiles. The questions with Jeff are actually pretty boring because everyone is so intent on keeping their plans a secret, no one really says to much--except Dreamz, who of course rambles on about swing voters and changing alliances and how CRAZY this vote is gonna be...in a way that probably makes everyone worry a little about what the heck he's done or is about to do. The votes are cast and ALex asks if anyone wants to play an Idol and Alex struts up to Jeff, very pleased with himself, and Earl can't hold in his great big gotcha smile, though ALex, Ed and Mookie are too pleased with their own awesomeness to notice that no one seems all that stunned or upset by the move. Jeff reads Dreamz' vote for Mookie and then the three votes for Cassandra, the three votes that the Three Horsemen think is gonna be enough because the next 6 votes are all gonna be voided votes for Alex...right? I will now use emoticons to show how quickly Alex and Ed's expressions changed when Edgardo's name game up :D to :/ in like, half a second! It was sooo sweet! It registers swiftly: they have been outwitted and outplayed. Ed is voted out and Mookie and ALex have no Idol and Dreamz sold them out. Jeff informs the gang that the Idol Alex misplayed will be rehidden and new clues will be offered at Exile Island.

Alex leaves the game in 9th place, which used to be the first juror spot. In Season One, witty Greg, inventor of the coconut phone finished here, while in the Outback, tough chick Alicia's finger-waving days were cut short. In Africa, snarky Kelly was the victim of a paranoid Lex, who mistakenly blamed her for casting a meaningless vote against him (T-Bird did it). In the Marquesas, arrogant Johnny Pots and Pans cried his way into obscurity when the underdogs outwitted the Smugglies in a truly awesome power play, whereas buxom Erin was yet another forgettable also-ran from Survivor's worst season, Thailand. In the Amazon, we lost Dave the clueless rocket scientist and in the Pearl Islands we saw the last of Ryan-O, aka Rhino, aka Friend to Pelicans. In Vanuatu, a bitter Sarge was betrayed by runner-up Twila and in Palau, Coby pretty much sabotaged himself by becoming a petulant motormouth, cutting ahead of Steph in the ouster line. In Guatemala, sweet Bobby Jon was ALSO the victim of the Immunity Idol--Gary the allegedly famous football player found the Idol, played it BEFORE the votes were cast, as used to be the protocol, and Bobby Jon was next to go. In Exile, Austin the writer who was a nice enough guy when he wasn't comparing himself to Jesus went home and last season, the entertaining, though hard to understand Nathan was betrayed by shifty Jonathan, after stupidly saving his butt a few times.

EVICTED SURVIVOR FUN FACT

Edgardo played on his native Puerto Rico's David Cup tennis team--pretty impressive.

Next up...It's a race against time...for ME! :D Peace Out!

Christine

Survivor 14.9 "She's got to GO!"

Okay, so I'm...four weeks behind? Yikes, best to make this as brief as possible, while still not missing the crucial twists and turns in what is (finally) becoming a pretty good season. Now that they've gone and started, you know, playing SURVIVOR...

HONEYMOON'S OVER...

The episode starts in the last hours of the pre-merge game at the New Zoo Ravu. Mookie is telling Edgardo and Alex that they share ownership of the Idol, but he's telling us that's not really how he feels--he thinks the Idol belongs to him. Alex maintains that he and the others are protecting Dreamz from himself by not telling him about the Idol. Back at Moto, the "plinka plinka "this is the good life" music cuts out suddenly as tree mail orders everyone to go to Exile with nothing except their flint and their personal items--no rewards. Michelle and Earl share a private laugh over a quaking with fear Cassandra, Boo and Stacy, who, as Michelle puts it, have been living on "Honeymoon Fiji" for too long. Back at Ravu, Alex gathers the "Four Horsemen," so he can give one of his pompous speeches about loyalty and honor before they plot about who they can bring over to their side. Alex almost sounds like he means it when he says, "Mookie and Dreamz, you guys gave up Rocky and me and Ed gave up Lisi--not because they're the two most obnoxious people to ever breathe air on this planet, but NO, TOTALLY to prove our loyalty to one another!" ALex really thinks of himself as deep, but please...naming your alliance? Soooo "Big Brother."

Once on Exile, everyone pretends to be happy and unaligned, but Shii-Ann's ouster in Thailand's infamous non-Merge Merge looms large, so everyone's playing it safe. Eventually, they find new purple buffs and news that they will be living at "Old Moto" like they did in the very beginning. Mookie starts fantasizing about finally living in luxury, Boo, Stacy and Cass sigh with relief that they will never actually have to play Survivor, and Alex--you know, the "Count of Monte Christo" quoting guy, who likens himself to a guy who was hung from chains in a dungeon for years--starts rhapsodizing about that big, comfy, non-Survivor bed and how great it will be to brush his perfect, white, teeth. Hee Hee Hee...experienced Survivor viewers, who have seen one tribe simply sent to the other tribe with the note and the buffs, were wondering..."But, why send them all out to Exile, and then tell them to Merge at Moto?" Bwah ha ha ha! Because Moto has been gutted of it's finery by the industrious CBS Production Staff! Much wailing goes on about how that Mean Ol' Mark Burnett is gonna make them play Survivor!

BULA BULA

The new tribe names itself "Bula Bula," which is Fijian for "Hello." It is TRULY refreshing for a team to give itself a native name, rather than do the lazy "one have of your name, one half of mine" thing they've been doing since, like, forever. Stacy and Michelle chat and play dumb about one another's alliances whilst painting a TRULY kick-ass flag. Stacy predicts that the guys will gun for each other, allowing them to skate thru pretty far. Elsewhere, Boo is uncomfortable with the Merge, and fears he needs to keep his head down and play "the little helper." Then he adds, "Then, when it's time, I'll resume the leadership role again." America frowns in confused unison, "Huh?" Then Mookie sidles up to Cass and Yau-man, who rather stupidly give him all sorts of information. Everyone is eager to get Boo, coincidently (?) the only white person left in the game, out. Mookie, Yau and Cass all agree that Stacy should be next and then Alex. Mookie pretends to agree about the Alex part, while meanwhile, Stacy rejoins with Alex and they too plot to oust Big Boo first. A disgusting shot of ants carrying a dead spider carcass is shown to symbolize Boo's eminent demise, I guess. Alex boasts that the Four Horsemen are controlling the game but just then, mookie decides to tell Dreamz that they are in joint possession of the Immunity Idol which prompts a furious Alex to snap, "DOn't tell Cassandra!" Dreamz says he won't, but then tells us that his loyalty is wavering, now that he knows how little Alex trusts him (it's all very "which came first, the chicken or the egg", and the answer probably depends on how much you like the capricious Dreamz). Later, ed chews out Mookie for telling Dreamz, and vows to kill Mookie if Dreamz talks. ALex is confident that once Boo is gone, Stacy will be loyal to the Horsemen and they'll have a 5-4 majority rule over the game at that point. But Mookie isn't thrilled with Stacy's addition to the picture, realizing that she's loyal to ALEX, and ALex may very well take her the Final Three rather than he or Dreamz. Why? Because, in a game where Immunity Challenges often come down to physical prowess, it's hella stupid to be in an alliance with a bunch of really athletic dudes. He and Dreamz appear to be on the same page about wanting Stacy out. Dreamz has not forgotten how badly Stacy treated him and Cassandra when they were on the outs at Moto and he's not buying her new "nice" act, "She's got to GO!" he insists. Meanwhile, Earl talks strategy to the inscrutable Cassandra, who just seems to "mmmm-hhmmmmm" a lot. Seriously, what's her deal?

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE

Well, never count your chickens before they get eaten by a Hila Monster. When the 10 players arrive at the challenge, Jeff makes them draw stones which separate them into two teams. Five players will have Immunity, five players won't. The teams breakdown like this: Edgardo, Cassandra, Boo, Yau and Earl versus Stacy, Mookie, Dreamz, Alex and Mookie. The challenge itself has the teams in boats, paddling out to buoys and using a pole to get a bag of...sigh...puzzle pieces... off of it. Then they have to put the puzzle together. Pretty sure it was the very first Immunity challenge in Thailand. It's pretty close (Boo is surprisingly helpful to his team) and eventually, the losers turn out to be Alex's group. Then they have to read a little scroll that reveals another twist: The winning five will go back to camp while the losers, with no opportunity to stratagize, will have to vote someone out. Can I just say that I've been calling for the "no chance for discussion" immediate vote for like, years?

Back at camp, Boo cooks up the steak and veggies they won and is thankful to be still in the game--he knows his goose was what was on the menu to be cooked. Ed worries for Alex while Earl frets about Michelle, but everyone plays dumb about what they think is gonna happen...

TRIBAL COUNCIL

Stacy smiles as Rocky and Lisi strut in, "They're so blue collar!" Everyone's pretty cagey about their alliances as Jeff tries to pry out something interesting from the group and indeed, Alex looks pretty pissed when Dreamz starts carping about Stacy. Then, Michelle rather innocently states that she hasn't really talked to Dreamz and doesn't know him well, which spooks Dreamz into wanting her gone instead of Stacy. When Michelle adds that she thinks Alex is a huge threat in the game, Alex makes his intentions clear by answering Jeff's question about who he's gonna vote for, "I don't have any reason to vote for Stacy," etc., and making it clear that Michelle is the only person he DOES have a reason to vote for. Dreamz abandons Mookie's play for Stacy, and Michelle is voted out 3-2. Once again, an Asian girl gets screwed by the not-quite-a-Merge. Coincidence? Probably. Personally, I was bummed. We lost the girl that made fire with her glasses, and kept Mean Stacy.

Michelle finishes in 10th Place, where we lost the very likable and capable Gretchen in Season One when Richard and company hatched their first power play. In the Outback, smug Jeff went bye-bye after tying with Colby--back in the days when "previous votes" cast against you were tie-breakers. In Africa, Clarence Black of Beancangate fame was booted by his alliance when he outlived his value and in the Marquesas, Boston Rob aka Chachi wore out his welcome like, what, five years ago, and we're still not rid of the guy! In Thailand, Shii Ann turned on her creepy tribe to quickly, learning too late that the Merge had not occurred. Things get tricky with the Pearl Islands because they voted out wimpy Osten and mean Shawn the same week they brought back whiny Lil and arrogant Burton, so there was no net loss--they the next week we lost Coach Andrew, who was enamored with that 120% no one was able to give. For statistical purposes, let's call Osten, Shawn and Andrew joint 10th place finishers. In Vanuatu, Crazy Rory was eliminated before he could set fire to the ladies camp, as he'd vowed and in Palau, we had to say a sad farewell to sweet Bobby Jon when Steph beat him at a fire building contest. In Guatemala, it was also a shame to bid adieu to Farmer Brandon and in Exile Island, Cute Nick left our TV screens. Last season, Jenny was the second victim of a double elimination and the first 10th place finisher to serve on a Jury.

EVICTED SURVIVOR FUN FACT

Michelle is an avid rock climber and 80's music devotee, but I loved this quote from her bio: she's "not a big fan of cardio workouts, but does it anyway because she believes it builds character and prevents heart disease." Good for you, Michelle!

One down, three to go before Thursday. Probably not gonna happen, but we'll see!

Peace Out! :D

Christine