Joe explains to a shocked Tai that the group felt very strongly about sending Jason home, as Michele rehashes the arguments she had with him at tribal. Tai thinks Aubry pulled a fast one on him, and tries to understand what happened. He seems slightly offended at the characterization of him being bossy - now he's rethinking his allegiances and is unsure of where to go now.
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| The waiting game |
The reward challenge is to race into the jungle to get sandbags, then throw them into holes. They all head out, with Cydney making it back first. Cydney and Aubry both score one as the first barrage of shots rain down. Joe is the last to get back and doesn't land any. With the next lot, Cydney gets 2, and Aubry gets three. Aubry is able to get up to four before running out of bags. Joe gets 3, but everybody else is out of bags and has to wait for him to go back and get his last one. With his last two shots, Joe hits the two hardest targets, marking an amazing win. He gets to choose two people and his first one is Aubry. Aubry then picks the next one for him: Cydney.
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| Where's the beef? |
At the reward, Joe gets refueled by filling himself up with steak. He tells the girls he wants this to be the final three, selling it to Aubry by saying him and Cydney are no threat. But Aubry has a different idea of who the threats are, and thinks she needs to get out Cydney and go with Tai instead.
Tai and Michele are back at camp, which has the potential to be very awkward. But the two of them decide to talk it out since they both feel they're in a bad position. Tai offers Michele some spa treatment of her own, and gives her a great Tai massage (pun intended). The discussion of working together also comes up, since it's not something people would expect.
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| Screw them, we'll have our own reward |
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| Cyd plays both sides |
Aubry gets back to camp and realizes she needs to smooth things over with Tai since if he's playing emotionally, he could blow up her game. She gives him a strong reassurance that he's in her final three, and he ends up breaking down in tears because of the stress of the game. Cydney however watches Tai and Aubry walk back and is now a little suspicious. She decides to talk with Michele and make sure they're still on the same page. Huh, maybe Michele isn't quite as dead as she thought.
Joe is having bladder problems, stemming from eating too much meat on the reward. He gets a visit from the medic who gives him some medicine, but it doesn't have much effect and his pain is getting worse. Later that night the medic comes back and decides
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| Joe's body breaking down |
to take Joe from the game rather than risk him having kidney problems. Joe isn't shocked at all, and tells Jeff about how it's time for him to go and he's now eager for his next adventure. It can't have been easy for Joe to keep up with the kids...crazy how the one time he wins a challenge, it costs him.
Well, that's medevac number 3 - a new record. Joe's departure changes the game a lot since there was no sign of him being voted out at all. Michele looks to be the biggest beneficiary, but it'll mean nothing if she doesn't close the deal. Aubry was probably hit the hardest, but still has the opportunity to recover.
STAR OF THE WEEK: TAI TRANG
Whilst this was an emotional send-off episode for Joe, I also liked that we saw the re-emergence of gamer Tai. It's been a compelling emotional journey for the gardener and now he's got to stay strong to be able to close it out.
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