Philippines Episode 5: Dana's Choice

Yay for small victories!

It's a cold night over on Matsing, and the last two left speculate on what is coming next. Knowing they might be absorbed, Malcolm and Denise decide to have one last look for the idol. After combing over the rice barrel again, it looks like they're gonna miss it - but Malcolm grabs it and takes it for himself. Some leverage at last!

The 14 players left arrive at the challenge (a reward challenge, for once!), and Jeff tells Malcolm and Denise to drop their buffs. Yep, Matsing is no more at last, and Malcolm doesn't seem sorry to see them go...he spits on his buff after taking it off. The two draw for new tribes: Malcolm picks yellow, Denise picks red. Tandang react the happier tribe, not surprising given their physical advantage.

Artis is king of the ring

Anyway, the challenge is simple enough - two people in a ring, trying to knock over eachother's statue. Jeff beats Malcolm to take the first point. Artis takes on Dana in the biggest mismatch of the round and obviously wins. Katie beats Lisa, and Skupin manages to pull off a slick move to beat Penner, which is to toss his statue in the air and go all-out. Which is exactly what Denise does to win the next point against RC. Pete beats Carter, and Abi beats Dawson, despite Dawson grabbing her hair. "Don't play like a bitch" she says. It comes down to Malcolm and Jeff, and Malcolm copies Mike's trick to take home the snacks for his new tribe.

Malcolm is making a big impression already, starting fire, bonding with his teammates. Pete in particular seems very taken with his new bro-dude. RC is disappointed, because she knows she would've had a better chance at digging herself out of her hole had it been Denise. Pete is very forthcoming with the info to Malcolm, even telling him that him and Abi have an immunity idol. He wants to get rid of Skupin who has been annoying him, and with an extra guy, he's now expendable.

Can't believe I went a whole week
without a gratuitous RC shot

It looks like neither of the former Matsing are gonna be in trouble. Over on Kalabaw, Katie is thinking of trying to get Denise on her side and do a girl power thing. Shortly after saying this though, it becomes clear that Dana's condition is rapidly deteriorating and she may have to leave the game. Jonathan tells Dana to get naked - Sorry Penner, she doesn't swing that way!

Dana hits a low point

So Jeff Probst visits camp, causing Dawson to have a fangirl orgasm, and tells Dana that the medic is leaving the final decision with her, as her condition is not life-threatening, but she's clearly in a lot of pain. Dana decides she's had enough, and says goodbye to the whole tribe. She's in tears, and so are all the girls. Penner gets flashbacks to Micronesia. So as Dana leaves by boat, Katie reflects on how it affects her game - negatively, of course.

So now we proceed to the immunity challenge, which seems a little absurd to me, as I didn't think their schedule allowed for two boots in an episode. There was a little scene right before Probst's explanation where a massive fly flew right into RC's and Pete's faces, which was hilarious and I can't believe they kept it in. The challenge is a proper Army-style assault course, and everyone is taking part except perpetual sit-out Abi. Carter leaps over the ditch and makes great time, but is held back by the rest of his tribe, particularly Katie, who is already being hounded by Probst for doing terrible. When it comes to the drawbridge, Carter and Denise are able to pull it back for Kalabaw against RC and Artis. Malcolm manages to do the chopping section faster than Jeff Kent, who tires out and has to have Penner finish it off. On the puzzle, Dawson and Penner look to be working against eachother rather than with eachother...and as a result, Tandang win immunity by seconds!

The blame has to fall on the two girls who screwed up the challenge - Dawson and Katie. Dawson reassures Katie but provides no comfort on her challenge performance, telling her outright she sucked. After Jeff Kent helps swing Denise over to be the guys' 4th, it becomes apparent it'll be one of them, but who? Jeff Kent has picked up on Dawson talking about baseball a lot to make him squirm and may use that as a reason to get rid of her.

At tribal council, they talk about the impact that Dana's medevac left on the game. Dawson calls her the heart of the tribe and Penner says he doubts they would even be here if they'd had a fully-fit Dana competing. So the question of Katie's performance comes up again, and she owns up to her suckitude but hopes she's done enough elsewhere to be safe. We'll find out soon if she is.

Dawson gives Probst the look of love

The votes come back and poor Dawson gets blindsided...seems she thought they were voting out Denise. After a very sad torch snuff, Dawson lingers for a while. Will she rat out Jeff Kent? No, it seems she was just after a hug from Jeff Probst. Her little crush on him was adorable and one of the best subplots of the episode.

I'm gonna miss Dawson, she seemed like she had the potential to be really fun. In her final words, she vows to make Jeff Kent buy her a motorcycle if he wins. So, down to twelve now, and that episode really threw a wrench in Kalabaw. Can they pull it back? Will Malcolm and Denise be able to integrate themselves in their new tribes? And when does the jury start?

STAR OF THE WEEK: MALCOLM FREBERG

Look at him, decked out in his new colors! Everyone on Tandang wants Malcolm to be their best friend right now, and he has options out the wazoo. Can't wait until he re-teams with Denise at the merge and they compare notes.