Philippines Episode 10: Weathering The Storm

Well, so much for Pete being the mastermind. Abi is confused and racking her brain trying to think up a new plan, whilst fallen top dog Pete admits they got complacent. Mike tells Denise and Penner he wants the five who voted for Artis plus Lisa to go to the final 6 together and say "game on". Skupin calls it his biggest move of the game so far and talks about how he wants to gain something in the game he's never really had before now: control.

Make up and move on? I'll drink to that!

"I've never been good at breakups" admits Lisa, who has not severed her ties to Abi and Pete completely. Abi tries to persuade her to swing back, saying she'll be stronger with them but Lisa says she's more comfortable with people who don't yell at her at tribal council. "Fair enough" says Abi, and she knows when to quit.

Carter confuses a manicure with a pedicure

The reward challenge looks a fun one...although why are they still using Tandang and Kalabaw logos? The goal is to have all of your drums flipped over at the same time. The two teams are Carter, Malcolm, Abi and Pete (Red) vs Jonathan, Mike, Lisa and Denise (Yellow). Carter takes on Penner and wins. Skupin pulls a point back after Malcolm screws up. Abi has no clue what she is doing and ends up flipping over one of Lisa's drums to help her win. Pete ties it up against Denise. Final round - it's Malcolm and Skupin again. Malcolm darts back between the first two and luckily for him, Skupin screws up and flips the wrong drum. Red team win! Abi dances in celebration despite doing nothing to earn it.

Cinderella enjoys the high life

The reward winners are treated to a nice spa day. Malcolm just wants to hang out, no strategy talk...all the young people are here and it's time to have fun. But really, it's just because he has no interest in aligning with any of these people, as he tells us in his towel-headed confessional, post-massage. The four of them are all enjoying the day, Carter is feeding Malcolm grapes, Abi feels like a princess and Pete is getting re-fueled in order to take on the next must-win challenge.

Princess Abi starts sharing her experience with the rest of the group after she goes back to camp, and Mike doesn't like how she's bragging about how full she is. She even interrupts Carter when he tries to add his thoughts. Later on, she then claims she's done cooking because she's "going soon anyway". Denise is fed up with her, but knows that her time will soon come.

Malcolm moves to secure a final 4 deal with Mike, Denise and Lisa. They all shake hands and Malcolm seems really committed to it. Lisa would rather go to the final 3 with Penner, but he tells her he doesn't want to promise anything yet because it's too soon. What the Hell? Who turns down alliances on Survivor?

Time for the immunity challenge. Pete gets an out-of-place confessional about how he needs to win, so he probably will. The task is to manoeuvre a buoy along a rope and get it out of the tangled mess first. Penner and Malcolm are the first to secure their spots in the second round. Then Denise, Carter and Skupin. Pete misses out, and the tension is sucked out of the challenge immediately. The next round is a balance beam. Carter crawls on his belly. Penner is struggling. Skupin gets it first, and is joined in the final (water) round by Carter and Denise. Travelling over water, the lead changes several times, but in the end, Carter just about pips Skupin to win immunity.

The new Fabio secures his spot for next week

Carter talks about how fun the challenge was, but Pete is looking pissed. His move is to take down the person that he believes is the biggest threat in the game: Malcolm. He surmises correctly the other six are splitting the vote 3-3 to circumvent Abi's idol, so he wants to blindside Malcolm and take both idols out of the game. It's a solid plan, but Lisa has to decline as she feels like she's already given her word to the others. "But you started the game with us" pouts Abi. Skupin seems to be at least considering it, but as someone who's already done their fair share of flip-flopping, this might be one flop too many. Malcolm is well aware his name is out there and says he plans to feel everybody out at tribal council before deciding whether or not to play his idol.

Even the therapist gives up on Abi

At tribal council, Abi says hi to Artis on the jury, as it's nice to see one of her few friends. She admits to her regret at how she handled the last tribal. Lisa says she forgives her, but needs to play with people who are going to trust her. Denise blasts Abi and calls her unlikeable, leaving her having to hold back tears. After trying to explain to Abi why people don't like her, Abi accuses Denise of trying to manipulate everyone against her. It's actually a shame to see her so down and out, even if she kinda deserves it.

The vote falls 3-3-2, and after Abi plays her idol, the three votes for Pete send him home. He's had a couple of close scrapes but now his time is up. So now Abi is truly alone, but Probst gives her some hope that she can pull it back. Abi walks out of tribal almost forgetting her torch. Well hey, at least she still has it.

STAR OF THE WEEK: ABI-MARIA GOMES

I've always appreciated what Abi brings to the game, even if I wouldn't want to encounter her myself. We saw a much softer side to Abi this week and I hope she takes all the criticism she got on board. Her interactions with Lisa have already improved tenfold.