Worlds Apart Episode 14: Blue Is The Warmest Color

Probst gives us a recap of the final five and their journey so far. Sierra was a free agent (apparently? she voted with the same group every week), Mike went from top dog to underdog (and gets a slo-mo shot of him putting in a toothpick like Clint Eastwood). Carolyn was a challenge beast, Rodney put together a good alliance and Will...well, he doesn't even try to make a case for Will.

As Carolyn goes back to her group who are complaining she didn't tell them about her idol (when they just tried to get her out), Mike bitches about "Stockholm Syndrome". Taking him out is still the smart move right now, but Carolyn is illuminated when she hears Mike was the only one who didn't vote for her.

He's got the Will

The next challenge is to carry a bunch of tiles over an obstacle course without dropping them, and then pairing them up and using the leftovers to get a lock combination. The prize in an advantage for the next immunity challenge...as well as time with a loved one. The loved ones come out one by one, and everybody is impressed by the stache on Carolyn's husband Joel. Rodney and his dad have a heartwarming moment where he says being out here has made him at peace with his sister's death. Will is completely revitalized when he sees his wife Monifa.

Getting into the challenge, Will was not kidding...he's the first out of the net crawl and leading the way into the tile section. Will falls several times trying to get his tiles across the course, allowing Mike to get there first. Mike has finished pairing up but it takes him a while to get his numbers in the right order. Sierra threatens to get it, but Mike wins the challenge. And now he gets to take his mom back to camp.

Mike's real alliance

Mike's mom Deborah is treated like a Queen when she gets back to camp. But after the niceties, Mike goes off alone with his mom and tells her that he's completely on his own in the game and has been made out to be the villain. Mike and Deborah get to check out the challenge in advance, which is a blindfold maze, and even get to test it out. Deborah does a bad job directing him though and doesn't feel good about her son's chances.

Now it's showtime for real, and Mike gets off to the best start, finding his first two medallions quickest. Rodney finds Mike and is able to get one from there, and then helps Sierra and Will get the same one. It is everyone against Mike, as usual. However, Mike is able to find the necklace first and win. I'm getting tired of writing that.

Having previously been the outsider, an immune Mike now finds himself the swing vote. Sierra and Carolyn want to vote out Rodney for not doing enough work around camp...really? That's a consideration on day 37? Mike goes to Rodney and Will, who are targeting Sierra. And Mike is tempted, because Sierra is the only one who has come close to beating him on the last few challenges.

Sierra gets shanked

At tribal council, Mike smiles at Dan on the jury, who is still pissed. Probst gives Sierra a chance to make the case for Rodney to be voted out, and she says he doesn't deserve to be here. Odd approach, as noticed by Probst as well, saying it sounds more like a reason to vote her out. Rodney makes his appeal by promising his word is good. We get to the vote, and Sierra ends up on the receiving end. The narrative of her being a threat sure came out of nowhere.

The next immunity challenge involves a tall tower, a waterslide and a climbing frame. Mike goes into the lead as usual. Rodney is the last to untie his bags but makes up time sprinting to the top. The exhausting course means the challenge is slowed down to a crawl by the time they're getting their third bag. Rodney is now on Mike's tail going into the puzzle. Mike builds his lighthouse first and wins immunity. The whole cast share a kumbaya since that was such a physical task and they all have respect for Mike. Will even asks if he can give him the necklace himself.

Joining the list of legends

Rodney and Will are both voting for Mama C, and it looks like a boys only final 3. But Mike is willing to give Carolyn a chance, telling her to practice her firemaking skills. This is a surprise, but it seems like Mike's motive is revenge...Rodney turned on him, he wants him out. Carolyn tries to make fire but it doesn't go well, and now she's not sure if she can do it.

At tribal council, Dan is once again made miserable by Mike's success. Rodney accuses Carolyn of targeting him and she doesn't deny it, saying there's only two people she can vote for. Mike gives a monologue about the pros and cons of voting either way.The votes come back a tie, sending Rodney and Carolyn to the tiebreaker.

Hot Rod turns up the heat

We see two different approaches in the race to make fire - Rodney scraping his flint, Carolyn trying to spark something. Carolyn breaks her flint and needs a replacement, and then so does Rodney. Rodney is the first to get a flame but then it goes out. Dan meanwhile is getting very excited about the match, yelling for them to "get the wood". Both get a fire burning and it's a close race to get it to the top. Carolyn's teepee proves successful and she wins her spot in the final 3. Rodney laments using all his coconut husk and insults Mike on the way out. Saltiest exit yet.

Carolyn gets food for thought

Mike and Will watch a whale dive through the ocean on their last morning. So the final three is a White Collar, a Blue Collar and a No Collar...bet Jeff loved that. Will says he played the only game he could play, given he didn't have much knowledge of the game. Carolyn is nervous that people might not recognize how much she did. Mike is also worried, knowing a large portion of the jury dislikes him, but is just amazed to have made it this far.

Final tribal council, for the first time I can remember, does not start with opening statements and instead starts with Joe, who says they're all gonna have to work hard to earn the votes. Hali's question is to Carolyn and is about how being the mother role hurt her in the game, which is something that has been very evident in the past. Will explains to Rodney how he did all he could do and built relationships with everyone except Shirin. Carolyn is asked to explain her best moves, and points out she was a big part in Tyler and Dan going home. On that note, Tyler tells Carolyn he's gutted that she backstabbed him and she says she had to do it. Mike is asked about his poor social game...and he has no solid justification for it.

Blue Collar heart-to-heart

Jenn doesn't talk to the finalists, but instead openly calls the jury bitter and accuses them of being unfair to Mike. Dan pretty much proves her right when he gets up and tells Mike that despite his challenge wins, his poor jury management might cost him the game. Mike takes the time to apologize for going back on his word at the auction and losing Dan's trust, which Dan says is the first sincere moment he's had since that day.

And now we have Shirin closing it up...better be good, we've had two good closers already. First of all, she thanks Will for allowing her the opportunity to stand for herself. Then she gets tearful and calls Mike her protector but says that doesn't guarantee her vote as it's based on gameplay. She gives an animal comparison for each finalist - Mike is a howler monkey because he's loud and brash, Carolyn is a stringray because she's a stealthy killer, and Will is...a dead fish, who gets drags along and leaves a bad taste. Ouch. She then finishes by quoting Sue Hawk - did you expect anything less?

The jury all make their votes. Jenn's is for Mike, Rodney's is for his boy Will. Yikes at Will getting a vote. At least Mama C gets some love though, from Sierra who thinks she played the best game. Dan bangs his head on the table as he decides who to vote for. Back in the studio, the votes are read, and Mike takes the remainder of the votes to get the Blue Collar victory Lindsey predicted. Time to do the happy dance!

STAR OF THE WEEK: MIKE HOLLOWAY

Mike made an awful lot of mistakes in the game, but he showed good leadership when he was in control and a lot of hustle when he wasn't. And five immunity wins is an accomplishment only matched by the likes of Terry, Colby and Ozzy.

Reunion show highlights:

• Wow, where to start? First there was Dan getting his ass handed to him by Probst, who refutes his claims that some of his offensive remarks were taken out of context with raw footage. He handled it well considering, but lesson learned: throw the show under the bus, they'll throw you under the bus 10 times harder.
• Shirin not accepting Will's apology at all, and almost getting into a fight with Monifa over it. Yikes!
• Rodney got off pretty lightly, being made to look like a loveable clown instead of a misogynist...and even getting a cake as reward?
• The second chance vote had a couple of huge blindsides. Surprised to see T-Bird miss out and mindblown to see Shane not make it. I like Woo, but I'd trade him for Shane in a second. How did Kimmi get on? It was sad to see people get their hearts broken live, but enough of the stars made the cut that I'm still thinking Survivor: Cambodia has the makings of a legendary season!