Caramoan Episode 3: The No Talking List

Shamar in a rage at having picked up votes

The Fans return to camp, and Matt feels bad because he was the swing vote. Reynold is pissed at him and declares it game on. Which Shamar takes as Reynold just being a crybaby and starts yelling at him, Eddie, Matt....pretty much everyone. The camp is in total chaos, as Laura quite rightly points out. Sherri tries to calm down Shamar, telling him the guys are going to try and wind him up because he's an easy target, but the Marine is now questioning if he even has the will to continue.

Malcolm scores again

Over to Bikal now, and Phillip is bragging about being in great shape for his age. Corinne outlines the main pairs in the tribe...Andrea/Phillip, Cochran/Dawn...which leaves Corinne and Malcolm as a pair kind of by default. The two go off to look for the immunity idol, and after dipping his hand into a watery hole, Malcolm finds it.

Phillip is still clowning around by wearing a basket lid on his head. Cochran talks about how playing Survivor is just like watching Survivor. Andrea starts getting paranoid about Corinne and Malcolm being close. She debates with Cochran the possibility or replacing Corinne in their alliance with Brandon. That's one of the best things about returning player seasons, the gameplay is never static for long. She proposes the idea with Brandon of voting Corinne and he seems OK with it, but secretly, he's skeptical. He's been lied to before, and says if they tell him he's next to go, he'll burn the shelter down. More threats he won't follow through on, I see.

Andrea 2.0 is always plotting something

Shamar is considering quitting, which shocks his tribe. He's not happy and he doesn't want to be "the angry black man on Survivor". Sherri convinces him to stay, because she doesn't want to risk going down by two if they lose the next challenge. Since Sherri has been loyal to him, Shamar decides to repay that loyalty and stay on. Which disappoints Reynold, because he wanted Shamar to quit, and doesn't buy how he tried to make himself the hero for not quitting, when there's thousands of fans who would give anything to be where he is.

Another down-to-the-wire challenge

And now to the challenge...it requires getting everyone in the water to bring back a chest from inside a wooden cage. The chest is then to be pushed along a ramp, which requires the use of a grappling hook to retrieve missing sections. Laura sucks hard at the swimming portion and has to have Reynold come back and help her. Once in the cage, Shamar complains about not having the goggles. Both tribes retrieve their chests and are neck and neck by the time they both reach the track. Malcolm has the first go on the grappling hook, but misses. Reynold puts the Fans into the lead. Phillip brings the Favorites back into it. Malcolm and Shamar both manage to secure a hook. Eventually it comes down to a showdown between Brandon and Eddie, with Brandon winning it for the Favorites.

The Fans are considering splitting the vote between Eddie and Hope in case Reynold uses his idol. Sherri fills Shamar in on the plan, hoping he'll keep his mouth shut. Fat chance of that! Not long after, Shamar is in the water hinting to Hope that she could vote for Eddie to save herself, because he likes her better than the other two guys.

What does Hope do with this information? Gives it to Julia. This gets back to the rest of Julia's alliance and they suddenly have lost a lot of trust in Shamar...understandably. Laura is especially nervous because of her poor performance, thinking that she might be a target if something goes wrong. Laura goes to Reynold and tells him she's willing to vote out Shamar with him, and Reynold's eyes light up at the prospect.

A hero on the inside

At tribal council, Shamar denies helping Hope and claims he's misunderstood. but whilst the rest of the tribe recount the various Shamar horror stories, Sherri says that she "gets" Shamar. Hope and Eddie talk about the targets on their back, and Eddie mentions that Shamar has put him on the no talking list as well as Reynold. The tribe go off to vote, and it ends up a three-way tie between Shamar, Eddie and Hope. After the revote, Hope is sent home.

Man, Reynold and Eddie just can't catch a break. Can they turn it around? As much as I'm glad it was Hope from an entertainment perspective, keeping the loudmouth is bringing a lot of negative energy to the tribe and I don't see the Fans getting it together any time soon.

STAR OF THE WEEK: SHERRI BIETHMAN

I love her unlikely friendship with Shamar, and this fast food mama is doing a great job of keeping her goat under control. Not only is she strategic, but she has the people skills to do very well in this game.