Ghost Island Episode 6: Gut Feeling

The swap is happening, whether you like it or not

Jeff brings the tribes together for another swap, which Michael seems happy about.
Naviti is now Domenick, Donathan, Bradley, Libby and Chelsea. Malolo is now James, Angela, Kellyn, Desiree and Michael. The new green tribe (Yanuya) is Chris, Sebastian, Wendell, Laurel and Jenna. So Michael is still on the bottom, but Domenick and Chris get a break from eachother at last.

Yanuya like their odds of not having to go to tribal, and Wendell presents Sebastian with a shell that he saved for him. Chris is happy to make up with Wendell now that he's away from Domenick, and goes into detail about how hard it is to be really really good-looking.

The tug-of-war continues

On Malolo, James and Angela are spilling the beans on what happened on their old tribe...which makes Kellyn a little nervous, since maybe Angela doesn't want to stick with old Naviti anymore. James and Michael reconnect and pledge to work together to keep Angela on their side.

"Tastes like home"

Bradley is happy to be back at Naviti (of course he is) and Chelsea literally cries over the coffee. Domenick is happy to have options, but is most wary of Libby, who he calls "the Devil in an angel's body". Bradley takes this new info on board, and is fine with following Domenick's lead on this one.


The immunity challenge sees 4 blindfolded players directed by a caller to 3 stations: one on a pole that has to be untied, one in the sawdust and one in the dirt. Then they go to a puzzle table to solve a puzzle, still blindfolded. Domenick, Desiree and Wendell are the callers. Kellyn drops a bag on Angela's head as Desiree loses her voice. Donathan and Chelsea untie the wrong bag, but Malolo are happy for the help. Chris and Sebastian get lost on the course. Michael trips at one point and Libby takes a hard knock getting out of the sawdust pit. Desiree takes her tribe over to the puzzle table way ahead of the other

School of hard knocks

two. Donathan spins Chelsea around for the last bag as Yanuya get their last one back. Naviti get back too, though Chelsea hits her face. Two tribes heading for it, Yanuya are first, but Wendell has to go back for the bag. Malolo have made little progress, allowing for Yanuya to claim a stunning comeback win. Naviti get second place.

Felling like a failure

Desiree is crying after the loss, realizing she was a big part of it. Kellyn settles on James as the target, whereas James makes a play for Angela to vote with him. Kellyn is working on Angela too, promising her that the other Navitis will and have stayed loyal. She senses Angela wavering though, and isn't sure what's gonna happen.

Doomsday music greets tonight's tribal, where Desiree opens up by taking responsibility. But Jeff makes the point that James also blew a challenge and got a second chance. Desiree says strength isn't something you want to go up against after the merge, but James and Michael are saying get to the merge first. Kellyn is pledging for Naviti to stay strong, whereas James says reach across the aisle. Probst asks if they go with their head or their heart. James, Angela and Desiree all say head, Michael says heart, but Kellyn says listening to your gut is the perfect combination of both.

The votes come out, and James is surprised that it ends up being him. Even Michael voted him out. I feel like it was the wrong move for Angela, but now I'm not sure how hard Michael was fighting for him either. At any rate, that's another Malolo gone now. Hard to see that trend not continuing in the next few weeks.

STAR OF THE WEEK: KELLYN BECHTOLD

Credit to her, she held her tribe together even if it might not have been what I wanted to see. Angela had every reason to flip, but Kellyn kept her in line and seems to be playing a smart and logical game.

Ghost Island Episode 5: Dream Crusher

After that crazy tribal, Bradley is a bit shocked to still be there and thinks Michael has outed himself as a major player. But despite the plaudits for his slick moves, he's gonna need some more to get out of this hole.

A strong motivator

The reward challenge is to navigate obstacles, find a lever in sandbags and then throw sandbags at targets to release flags. Both tribes are happy to see food up for grabs. The first section isn't really difficult and it comes down to the throwing - and that's where the difference is made, as Chris absolutely demolishes Sebastian. When it comes to exile somebody, they agree to rocks straight away...and this time, Stephanie's up. As the tribes walk away, Chris drops some bars. Kendrick Lamar who?

Stephanie is hoping for something good at Ghost Island, but gets a "no game for you" note. Surprised by that after Kellyn missed it last week. You'd think they'd be more flexible about their big twist of the season.

Good Lord, this looks like a shampoo commercial

As Naviti eat their reward food, Donathan is reminded of home. He opens up to Laurel about how he takes of his grandma. But Chris has a story to share too, as his mom is in a home, and this really brings him and Donathan together. Now the Kentuckian is not sure which way to go, since he'd already agreed with Laurel to side with the others.

Floaters, better grab a lifevest

The immunity challenge is to run out into the water, grab a bag, and then get pulled back on a surfboard, reeled in by the rest of the tribe. Once they have all the bags, they must unlock their puzzle and solve it. Wendell beats Chelsea, but Libby loses a lot of time against Desiree. Desiree doesn't grab the board right and ends up being pulled back underwater. Chelsea and Wendell then go back out again, a choice that hurts Chelsea much more than it hurts Wendell as she falls off and lets go of the board at one point. Finding the combination slows down James and Domenick, who now have to take on puzzle Gods Bradley and Kellyn. Naviti all work together and are able to get the win, which leaves Kellyn crying. Hey. it's not you that's gonna pay the price.

An inspiring tale of overcoming RBF

Chelsea's preferred boot would be Jenna, since she's the weakest. Jenna tries to save herself by flirting with Sebastian. Michael, who seems to be Bradley's choice, makes a pitch that he can help them win challenges. The winds change yet again when Desiree pushes for Stephanie to leave, though the possibility she got something from Ghost Island does raise some concerns, and results in Desiree having to go through Stephanie's bag. It's no secret that an old Malolo is going, but it seems this tribe aren't all on the same page.

At tribal council, Kellyn explains that plans changed several times over the afternoon. Stephanie's trip to Ghost Island is brought up, with her admitting it's a double-edged sword. Michael pitches how the loyalty he showed to his old alliance makes him a good person to stay in the game. All three people on the block open up about what the experience means to them, meaning this vote is gonna be a hard one. Gah, why'd they have to make all three of them so likeable?

It's a heartbreaker

We get a lot of tears as Stephanie leaves, even among the other alliance. I'm bummed too, she was definitely a player with a lot of potential. But that's what happens when you have an early tribe swap, you lose more good players early. And with this many fans on the show, there's gonna be dreams crushed almost every week.

STAR OF THE WEEK: CHRIS NOBLE 

I can't ever remember someone rapping in a confessional before! Chris might not be the smartest or humblest guy, but he's a challenge beast and does have some semblance of strategy, as evidenced by his Donathan talk.

Ghost Island Episode 4: Keep Hope Alive

Sometimes it's either laugh or cry

Domenick and Wendell walk back into an absolute disaster situation, having backstabbed Angela and failed to get the Malolos on their side. Their only move now is just hope to pull some people over. The next day, Domenick looks into his bag and is happy to see the legacy advantage, wanting any possible edge he can get at this point.

Cute girls play hard too

The reward challenge is water basketball, aka the Michaela challenge. Chris wins the first point very easily just on the basis of speed. Angela and Laurel then dominate Jenna and Kellyn to score a second point. Malolo get their first point when Sebastian passes it to Brendan. Laurel then beasts it again, and leaves her teammate Libby inches away until she's finally able to get it. Naviti win the food, and have to send someone to Ghost Island. They can't agree, so draw rocks, which Kellyn says is her worst fear. And when she ends up getting the odd rock, she thinks it's fate.

At Ghost Island, Kellyn breaks an urn and has a chance to play the game. Well, they weren't gonna give three duds in a row. The choice is the same as Jacob's: 50/50 odds to either gain an advantage or lose her vote. She decides not to risk it. Right move, in my opinion. Imagine having to go back to your alliance and telling them they now have to draw rocks because you lost your vote.

Chris tries to figure out what happened with the vote, and when Angela tells him she picked up votes, he interprets that as a shot at him. Chris goes to the old Malolos and tells them they can split 3-3 on Domenick and Wendell. Laurel talks to Donathan though and they both agree they like Wendell better than Chris, who they're not comfortable just blindly taking orders from. Domenick talks to Laurel and admits to having the idol, but the confession is worth it if it puts him back on the side with the numbers.

Ok ladies, now let's get in formation

The immunity challenge is to swim out and pull a chest out of the water, push it along a track and then toss balls onto a balance beam. Another challenge Michaela excelled at! Naviti have a hard time of it, taking a while to get their chest, then not putting on the tracks properly. Sebastian hooks his track first time, whereas Naviti don't even have everyone pulling at first. Onto the balance beam part Sebastian and Brendan are doing OK at first, but then start missing shots and knocking others off. Chris and Wendell do a pretty good job at it, and manage to make it competitive. Implausibly, Naviti wins, showing once again you're never out of it.

Oh hey, I'm relevant!

After the loss, Bradley is being cocky and just trying to stonewall the minority. Stephanie cries at thinking her game might be over, and writes "hope" in the sand. The majority debate who to target, with Chelsea saying that knocking out a guy might be unexpected and avoid an idol. Meanwhile, Michael reveals his idol to the rest of the group and says he's gonna make a move with it...maybe even pulling it out at tribal.

Stephanie's prayers are answered

At tribal council, Desiree says it's awkward at camp since they all know where they stand and nobody's budging. Stephanie throws shade at Bradley, who they think is running the show. Michael tells Chelsea and Sebastian they're on the bottom and encourages them to flip and vote the ringleader out. He also reveals the idol and claims he can use it to save TWO people. Dang, pretty believable threat too. But is it enough?

After the vote, Michael says he's playing it on "me and Brendan", before changing to Stephanie. The end result is Brendan going home, making Bradley breathe a huge sigh of relief. The leader encourages his allies to keep pressing as he departs. Valiant effort by Michael, but he made the Malcolm mistake - don't tell people who you're voting for or the others will have no reason to flip. At least it made Bradley squirm though, and I can't wait to see him knocked off his throne.

STAR OF THE WEEK: LAUREL JOHNSON

Laurel has come out of the shadows and announced herself as a player at last. She's building some new bonds and also dominated the reward challenge.

Ghost Island Episode 3: Blonde Blindspot

Malolo after tribal decide that it's time to win. We then jump to Jeff meeting the tribes on the beach. Yep, he's making them swap already before we've even really got to know them. Angela is emotional as she doesn't want to leave her Naviti family. Drawing purple are Domenick, Chris, Angela, Wendell, Morgan, Donathan, James, Laurel and Libby. Drawing orange are Brendan, Stephanie, Michael, Jenna, Bradley, Kellyn, Sebastian, Chelsea and Desiree. Malolo are even more screwed now, with a minority on each tribe.

/

What, were you expecting a five-star hotel?

Kellyn thinks it would be "epic" for Naviti to just knock out all the Malolos. That would be the opposite of epic. Bradley's first reaction to his new camp is to complain that it sucks, which really annoys Brendan, as he's the one that should be complaining right now.

The Navitis on the other tribe are not so comfortable though, with the Chris/Domenick tension still bubbling. Chris tells Angela about Domenick's idol and says they have to flip on him, but Angela is more reluctant. Chris makes his approach anyway, and the old Malolos are pretty stoked that they might actually have a decent position now.

Chris brings them in

Now you have something to smirk about

Stephanie and Kellyn watch a sunrise, as Bradley comes in to play buzzkill again. Kellyn tells Stephanie pretty bluntly that nobody on their side is flipping. Yeesh, this new majority is annoyingly comfortable right now. Stephanie and Jenna decide their only move left is to look for an idol, and the boys think so too. Michael finds it (in a massive package, I must say) and it is James' idol from China. From 2007, before Michael was born!

Domenick and Morgan are worried that Chris is coming after them, so decide they need to go with the old Malolos too. Morgan makes a quick connection with Libby since they're both Catholic, and now she has some options.

Feels like a drill excersize

The immunity challenge is to jump from board to board, dig up a ladder, untie bags, hook a rope and climb the tower to get to a puzzle. Some find the boards easier than others with James and a lot of the girls having to do it twice. Malolo lose their slight lead when Chelsea struggles on the unwrapping. Chris hooks his rope, just ahead of Sebastian. But on the puzzle, Wendell and Laurel let it slip away as Kellyn and Bradley beast it once again. Malolo win immunity, and have to send somebody to Ghost Island, but they can't agree so it goes to a rock draw instead. Chris picks the white rock and is exiled...just his luck, as Domenick was gonna target him tonight. Ironically maybe they would've been better off consenting - now things are more up in the air.

So Chris is off alone, and has a bit of a breakdown where he talks about his mom. Angela plans to ignore everything Chris said and stay loyal to her tribe, but her tribe isn't so loyal to her as they see her as Chris' right-hand man. Domenick shows Laurel, Libby and James the fake idol in the hopes they'll trust him more. It hasn't worked in James' case, who feels like he might still actually have the real one. James suggests they seize the power themselves and vote for Morgan, but Libby is reluctant to cut her new friend.

Wolf in sheep's clothing

At tribal council, Morgan says both sides are sticking to tribal lines. Domenick says he's reached across the aisle, and gets into an argument with Angela when he doesn't like her answer to the same question. This surprises James, who says maybe they're not so tight after all. Libby talks about how everyone just assumes she's too nice to lie, whilst Morgan gushes over how loveable she is. Falling right into the trap?

The votes are read, and what should've been a unanimous vote for Angela turns into a Morgan blindside when the old Malolos go rogue. I suppose it was the safest move if they didn't trust Domenick, but I also think it would've been good to pick up new allies and take out the person not interested in working with them. Morgan's pretty pissed, and hands off the legacy advantage to the person who stayed true to her: Domenick. Although she does worry it might be cursed, now that the last two people who had it are voted out.

Malolo catch a break but they've left their tribe divided. It'll be interesting to see who sides with who now, with Ghost Island potentially making or breaking the vote. When a player like Domenick is on the bottom, it's sure to be must-watch TV.

STAR OF THE WEEK: JAMES LIM

James had an amazing read on Domenick this week and concocted the plan to give his old tribe the power. These were the strategic chops we expected from the high IQ Harvard boy.