San Juan Del Sur Episode 10: Stick To The Plan

Even though he was out of the loop, Keith congratulates everyone on getting rid of Jeremy, which was a good move for him. He gives Reed props in particular. Now Reed is trying to keep his old group together, even though they voted for him. Somehow he's gone from dead man walking to swing vote in a matter of hours.

Jon meanwhile works to try and bring a scorned Natalie back into the fold. One of the methods he uses to get her trust back is to tell her about his idol. However, Natalie wants an idol of her own and is already digging.

Natalie's revenge, coming...eventually

The reward challenge is to dive into the water, snag a key, unlock puzzle pieces and bring them back. If they win, they will be taking baseball supplies to needy children, and also eating "baseball food" (is that a thing?). Split into two teams, Keith ends up sitting out. Wes is the first to unlock a stack for the blue team, beating Jon. From that point on, castaways are allowed to hook their teammates back with a buoy on a string, which is weird. The last two to go are Natalie and Alec, and Alec pushes yellow into the lead. Jon does the puzzle solving for his team, whilst blue struggle to even get it unlocked. Yellow team win reward, disappointing Baylor because her mom hasn't been on a reward yet. But Reed is willing to step up to the plate and let her take his spot. And yet earlier he was giving Natalie shit for doing the same.

Missy being mom again

The reward winners are mobbed by kids on the baseball field, and Missy really enjoys playing with them. Kids are kind of a sore spot for Jon and Jaclyn though, because they can't have any. What could've been a blatant sob story is actually a sweet scene where Jon proclaims his love for his girlfriend, regardless of her child-bearing abilities.

Girls who run the game

Reed lets Keith know his plan is to organize a split vote between him and Wes, convince the majority that he'll go along with it, whilst secretly blindsiding Jon. Keith nods along to this unconvincingly. Natalie tells Baylor they need to look for the idol, using the clue they got from Exile. She finds it under a big log, and then talks about her endgame strategy with Baylor. Take out Reed first, and then turn on Jon to form a girl's alliance.

Reed decides it's time to split

The immunity challenge sees contestants hanging on a cross in a very Christ-like pose. Probst starts taunting them with food temptations, and Jon is the first to bite. He lets out a loud scream as he helps himself to a sugar rush and Keith starts ragging on his weak resolve. Missy is out next and ends up irritating her daughter by talking too much. Baylor and Jaclyn take cookies, and Wes (who has just got off Exile) takes chicken. As the battle rages on between Alec, Natalie and Reed, Wes shoots the shit with Probst on the sidelines, bragging about his chicken-eating prowess and bringing up his Two And A Half Men cameo. The final showdown is Reed and Natalie. Reed is looking steady, whereas Natalie is spitting all over herself. She gives in for food after 3 hours, giving Reed immunity, but neither of them can walk far enough to claim their prize.

Reed and Alec reaffirm to Missy that they're down to flush Wes and Keith's idol. Jon has reservations about whether Reed really will vote with him, but Missy guarantees it. He's feeling a bit better after a talk with Alec, but still knows that this is the first time he's been vulnerable for a while.

Former foes become bench buddies

At tribal council, Probst brings up how no idols have been played, and Keith says Jon must feel comfortable to have stepped down so early. Reed throws shade on Keith to keep up the facade of them being against eachother, but then when offered a response, Keith looks at him and tells him "stick to the plan", confusing everyone else. Natalie and Jaclyn get chatting about whether they really trust the guys or not, as Reed tries to calm everyone down. As Probst goes to tally the votes, Natalie urges Jon to play his idol. He does just that, forcing Keith to spring into action and play his. 4 votes on Jon are negated, letting him know who he can't trust. And with Keith's votes canceled too, it's Wes that takes the bullet. His dad did offer him the idol, but he turned it down. Such a gentleman.

Welp, a blindside foiled in spectacular fashion but still a pretty great episode. It's a long way back for Reed now, who has just lost every bit of trust he'd built up. Dammit Keith, you dun goofed.

STAR OF THE WEEK: NATALIE ANDERSON

Natalie recovered well from her blindside and is smart to bide her time. Now we finally have her path to the end and it looks like a smart one. Owning the only idol left in the game is sure to make that run even smoother.