Okay, so that’s definitely over stating it. And I’m certainly not talking about my own. But our favorite foursome, led by the Always Amazing Yul, did stick more closely to plan last night. Thank goodness.

So, Survivor highlights…

The Reward Challenge involving coating yourself in mud. I loved Jeff’s line about it looking like some weird kind of performance art. And I loved how, when it was all over, they looked at each other and went from fierce competitor mode, to cracking up laughing at how ridiculous they all looked. Ozzy the Challenge Monster won (and there was no swimming or balancing or clinging to poles involved!) and not by a small margin, but over doubling the weight of his closest competitor. The remaining five were all within two pounds of each other - very close! But, in the end, Parvati and Yul (by a scant half pound, shew!) made it in to go along on the spa reward trip.

Adam is sent to Exile, and Becky and Sundra get their mud caked bodies sent back to camp. I was okay with this entire arrangement as I felt that Yul being on reward would keep Parvati in line. Adam being gone all together kept them from doing any joint scheming. And leaving the other two women together could only strengthen the Aitu 4 committment. All of which proved true. And yet we still had to sit through Parvati and her lame attempts at constant flirting as a way to get ahead in the game. She is pretty consistantly good competitor in the challenges, always near the top and always in it (unlike Adam who got that one, but has otherwise been a no show in these contests) so it’s a shame she thinks the obvious flirting crap will get her ahead where her actual real skills will not. But, whatever. The guys let her, with Ozzy enjoying it, and Yul simply enduring it. The hot tub scene? Yeah. I’d trade places with her, but otherwise? Ew.

I did think it was pretty hilarious that they didn’t let them rinse the caked mud off before putting them on the little chartered plane to the reward spa location, and they had to show up looking like creatures of the Black Lagoon. The big storm was pretty wild, with the power going out, but it made the performance by the locals all the more interesting I thought.

Back on Aitutonga Island…Sundra was disappointed to not go and I get that, but you just went on one, Sundra, buck up. I felt worse for Becky, who was a lot more stoic about it than Sundra. And Adam…yeah, I did feel for him this trip. He knew it was strategic, and everyone felt bad he had to go again, especially in that huge storm, but he also knew Oz wasn’t going to send one of his own team. I was glad he was apart in terms of scheming, but it did suck in every other way.

Once reunited with the Spa-sters, Becky gets Yul aside and shares her concerns that Ozzy is so incredibly dominant in challenges that maybe they need to rethink the order of elimination. Like, the second he doesn’t get immunity, they need to vote him out. It’s considered. And even Ozzy interviews that he realizes he has set himself up as a target once Aitu gets down to the final four, so, while he won’t flip on his team as Adam and Parvati want him to, he also knows he has to keep winning if he wants to stay in the game. Very astute play on both his and Becky’s part, with it all being game play and not, to my mind, about betraying. They are aware that at some point, they will have to pick off each other. I was impressed with how they kept it to being about winning the game - unlike Raro, who makes it all about schoolyard bullying.

Immunity Challenge time - it’s about balance beam walking up three levels of beam height while carrying a hefty, awkward load of puzzle board pieces. Four times this needs to get done, then the puzzle/game board assembled and balls going through a maze to drop in holes. I knew Ozzy would smoke the balance beam part, which he did, but I didn’t think the rest of the crew would be that awful at it. Yul was the only one even seriously competing. Parvati and Becky somewhere way behind them, and poor Adam and Sundra couldn’t make it up the balance beam structure one time, the entire race.

In the end, Ozzy’s lead gave him enough time to get his game board together right (whereas Yul could not) and he once again secured immunity.

Immediately back at camp, Adam and Parvati go to Yul and try and save their hides at tribal council that night. Hey, at least they tried and didn’t just sit in the tent the whole time and accept their fate. Yul promises Adam he’ll save him - having seen far more challenge diligence from Parvati than Adam, this is not a bad strategic idea here, I’m thinking. You’d think Adam would be the threat, but? Not so much really. That, of course, could change, but after the flirt session with Ozzy at reward challenge, and her continued high level of challenge play, I’d be switching to thinking about her, too.

We also see Yul explain to Parvati why she is considered a threat now, but also says he thinks Adam is still the bigger threat. This is edited to look like it’s discussed after his session with Adam, but you never know. Plus, whereas he was straight with Adam about his chances, he is only marginally straight with Parvati, but probably that is to minimize her spending her remaining time trying to flip Oz.

Most hilarious post-Immunity Challenge moment is when Yul spies Adam and Parvati in the tent, cornering Oz and he goes after Adam and gives him a hard time for trying to flip Oz after already telling him he’d keep him safe. Adam, rightly, says he has to try and protect himself any way he can, and Yul, also rightly, was all, “Don’t come asking for me to protect you then try and flip my own teammate right in front of me.” Which, Adam did at least get and actually apologize for.

Also hilarious, Adam interviewing that Yul was acting all like he had the power…and uh, Adam? He does. It’s why you went to him and not, say, Sundra. And the same reason Parvati went to him. What, do you expect him to act like he doesn’t have that power when everyone knows that, with the idol, by default, he kinda does? Made me laugh.

So, off we go to Tribal Council and I’m pretty sure I know how it’s going to go, and I’m satisfied with that. First, Yul decides to bring Jonathan’s hat to him, as he’d asked during his departure at the last Tribal Council. He told the group he was bringing it back, and worried that Jeff might yell at him for interacting with the jury, but decided to do it anyway while they could. Sort of granting the dying man his wish kind of thing.

Now, I didn’t get anything other than a sincere wish on Yul’s part to simply grant Jonathan’s request. Which theory is bolstered by the fact that, once at tribal council, he went over and put J’s hat on the jury bench (without asking permission - ha!) then rejoined the others before the jury came out. Now, if Jeff had just kept his giant, Jonathan-hating trap shut, J would never even have known who brought his hat back, and it would have remained a kind, but anonymous, gesture on the part of Aitu.

But no. Jeff doesn’t like Jonathan, probably because J doesn’t show him the respect he thinks he deserves as host, and has very obviously had it in for the man for some time. Well, Jeff? Jonathan is on the jury now, you can stop picking on the guy. But no. Apparently fueled by the fact that Yul didn’t ask if it was okay to put the hat over there, Jeff claims jury tampering on Yul’s part, and that it was some kind of obvious attempt to make amends with a guy he voted off last week.

Uh, Jeff? If you hadn’t told him it was Yul, he’d have never known. So how could that be a devious move on Yul’s part? Because, the guy is a great player and strategist, but he’s also the most straightforward, decent guy in the group. But no, Jeff goes on, and on, and ON about the damn hat, until finally Yul puts an end to it by saying that yes, he just brought it back to be nice, but that he also understands that it might smooth J’s ruffled feathers a bit and, if it does, he’s not going to pretend that wouldn’t be a good thing for him. But that wasn’t why he brought it. Everyone knew this, even though they tried to stir it up a little.

I still have no idea what the jury is thinking as a whole, watching the soap opera every tribal council, so that remains to be seen. In the meantime, everyone votes off Parvati, as expected, and we’re down to the final showdown on Sunday.

As they leave, Jeff announces that there are five left, with three tribal councils, and one winner, all to be determined in the next three days. I wonder if they’ll do the math and figure out that this means there will be a final three, not a final two, going before the jury, and act accordingly. Or if they think there are three tribal councils…and then the final jury council. That remains to be seen.

They didn’t really show a whole lot of what happens next…so we have to wait until Sunday to see where it all leads.

As for the SHaQ Attack part - there are a handful of Blog Babes already in the running for this week’s free book as a number of you did vote for Parvati leaving tonight. But it was a pretty scattered vote, so the rest of you still have a second chance with a guess of who wins it all. (And you Parvati voters can get a second entry by guessing that one right! So you can vote, too, if you haven’t already.) You have until 8pm, EST, on Sunday, to get your vote in. Winning blog babe announced on Monday!

And did anyone watch Men in Trees? I loved the Heat Wave episode. How hot were Jack and Marin? Whew!! Pass the ice cream and a fan. Another repeat next week, dangit, then I hope it’s back to Elmo business.

In the meantime, have a great weekend everyone! See you Monday.

Tags: Writing //