Philippines Episode 4: Hanging By A Thread

The tribe is down to to three...but this isn't day 39, right before tribal council...this is day nine. What happened? And as they sit around in the rain and try to get their fire going again, Malcolm and Denise are both well aware that things couldn't be going much worse. Russell is optimistic though, he wants the three of them to stage the greatest comeback ever.

Like Russell Hantz, without the charisma

Tandang are also feeling the rain and need Artis to restart their fire. Pete wants to start a little drama and does so by putting the idol clue under RC's bag, which causes Abi to flip out and accuse her of lying. "I don't want people to play their game, I want them to play my game" says Pete. Wise words.

Carter catches a clam whilst the boys are out fishing. The three of them are now in alliance, Carter and Jeff Kent having done a complete 180 on their original stance and now wanting to work with Jonathan because he has the idol. Meanwhile, the girls know they're being discussed right now and are on the outs. Dana is all for a girl alliance, and trying to pick up some more girls after the merge.

Dawson, Dana and Katie show there's no such thing as
the weaker sex

Malcolm talks about how Russell has lived up to his low expectations and that he lacks self-awareness. Right now he seems to lack any kind of awareness, given that his search for the idol is proving ineffective and that he can't shake the feeling he's been past it a thousand times - which he has. Denise catches Russell looking and tells Malcolm she thinks he has it. They go through his stuff when he's out of the shelter but find nothing.

Lisa wants to play peacemaker

Meanwhile, Abi refuses to even hear RC out about cluegate. It sucks for her, because she thought she was doing well, and now she knows she's on the chopping block. What a shock that the most forced alliance in Survivor history didn't even hold up for one vote. Lisa wants to diffuse the tension, but Abi is not an easy animal to tame.

Photo finish: time stands still as Kalabaw await their fate

The immunity challenge takes place in a muddy arena surrounded by rice fields, and involves carrying pots over an obstacle course using scales and then breaking them with a wrecking ball. To make the challenge three vs three, Tandang and Kalabaw bench all their women, which Russell is not happy about. Malcolm gets off to a quick start whilst Carter stumbles and breaks a pot. Matsing are still in the lead by the time it comes to Russell's turn, an unprecedented turn of events. Pete takes Tandang into the lead, but Matsing can still snatch a second place providing Malcolm can do a good job smashing pots. Artis does great with the wrecking ball and easily wins the challenge for Tandang. Malcolm and Jeff Kent are facing off in a real close one, but Kalabaw pull it out.

Once again, Russell does not hide his frustration cursing everything, even the sky. Probst tries to talk some sense into him, telling him he's "just a guy", not a superhero. But Russell says he expects excellence from himself. Regardless, Tandang bring home the steak and Kalabaw get a nice tarp. Matsing get nothing except a date with Probst for the fourth time in a row.

Out in the ocean, Malcolm tells Russell to vote Denise and "keep the two athletes" . He's not planning on turning on Denise, but the two of them need Russell to feel comfortable in case he has an idol. Russell opens up to Denise, telling her a story about turning the tables on a bully when he was a kid and how it taught him not to be afraid. Only on Survivor would you get sad piano music accompanying the sentence "Then I punched him in the face".

Denise is showered with praise

At tribal council, all three of them acknowledge that on a tribe this small, there's only really so many ways you can go (hint: two), so they're all telling eachother different things. Probst gives them all a chance to make case for themselves or against someone else. Russell plays the experience card. Malcolm is called out as a long-term physical threat, whereas Denise is called out as a social threat. Anyway, time to vote and find out who's lying to who. Could it be Russell's swan song?

The final vote: 1 vote Malcolm, 2 votes Russell. "Ugh" is Russell's reaction and he is sent packing. The poor guy seems to take it very hard, and says in his final words "Me and Survivor do not agree. I think I'm done with this". Malcolm and Denise's deadly duo are sent back to camp, ready to take whatever is thrown at them next.

STAR OF THE WEEK: ARTIS SILVESTER

He's had one confessional all season, but silent predator Artis is doing a great job on his tribe, what with starting the fire and smashing pots like nobody's business. Plus I really didn't want to give it to Pete.