Cagayan Episode 8: Opportunity Knocks

A bromance about to be broken

Picking up votes at the last tribal council puts Tony into scramble mode almost immediately, as he wonders why they're always targeting him. Trying to get the target onto someone else, Tony baits LJ into saying he wants Woo out by repeatedly stating his fear that Woo has found the idol. He's gonna "lead the horse to water, and also make him drink". Very fitting analogy.

The castaways learn they can win a spa day if they win the next challenge, which is hooking down sandbags to throw through a net, which then need to be bounced into the appropriate holes. The three teams are LJ/Jefra/Trish, Tasha/Kass/Woo and Spencer/Tony/Jeremiah. Jeremiah gives his team an early lead by getting their sandbags early, and LJ is not far behind them. Woo is left bringing up the rear. Eventually it's a throwing contest between Tony and LJ, and Tony wins the challenge to get the boys a reward.

LJ's staying the course

Back at camp, LJ and Trish talk about Tony's paranoia and both agree they need to calm him down - because the last thing they want is Tasha, Spencer or Jeremiah slipping through the cracks. But Tony is using the spa day as a chance to make a move. Telling Jeremiah and Spencer he wants to work something out with them somewhere down the road, it doesn't quite have the effect he wants as both treat him with a healthy skepticism.

Tasha is trying to make some moves of her own, and approaches LJ about blindsiding Tony. But LJ trusts Tony and doesn't want to go along with her plan, deciding to leave her hanging as she goes off to meet him at another part of the beach.

Once again, Tasha is denied a side conversation

Misty, water-colored memories

The immunity challenge is a simple test of memory - well, simple for people who haven't been roughing it for 25 days. Trish and Woo both screw up early. We're soon left with a final 3 of Tony, Tasha and LJ, who all pick different colors. Tony knows he's blown it before Jeff even reveals the answer and thinks LJ has won. He's right on the first part but wrong on the second...Tasha wins immunity!

So now LJ want to split the vote between Jeremiah and Spencer, thinking nobody is gonna flip. Even chaos Kass thinks it's too soon! But chaos cop starts turning Woo against LJ, by spinning things so that he was the one after Woo. He then tells Spencer that the hit on LJ is a-go, and he fills in the rest of his allies. Tony is still stirring shit up when he talks to Trish, but she's already been told by LJ that Tony was actually the one trying to break up the six, so doesn't really believe him. Alienating Trish might be the dealbreaker that causes Tony not to go through with his plan.

Spencer hopes luck is on his side

At tribal council, Jeff probes to see if any of the majority are thinking about flipping, and Tony says he's pulling out his bag of tricks. That's not really enough to tip off LJ, who still thinks everyone is going to stay loyal tonight. If anyone is still going to tribal council feeling safe at this stage, they haven't been paying attention.

After the votes are read, LJ gets a horrible wake-up call and is voted out. And thus ends the pseudo-feud between LJ and Tasha that didn't even exist before tonight. He can't even muster up any enthusiasm after getting blindsided, droning on in his final words about how he waited too long to make a move or something. Can't say I'll miss LJ with so many more interesting players left, and it's good to see they haven't lost their knack for big moves.

STAR OF THE WEEK: TONY VLACHOS

Tony never lets the game stay dull for long so of course he was the first one of the Solana alliance to make a move. Was it a good move? Probably not, but at least he brought the season back to life. Using reward challenges for their strategic value is a lost art.

Cagayan Episode 7: Give Us A Clue

After getting back from the best tribal council ever, Spencer is mad that they flushed two idols for nothing and accuses Kass of playing like an idiot. Kass however is happy that she got her target out and is hoping the people she betrayed "get over it" soon. Not likely.

Jealousy gets you nowhere

Kass passive-aggressively tells Morgan to get water, but she doesn't go since she asked rudely. Kass claims Morgan started the rudeness, but Morgan clarifies that she wasn't being rude to Kass, she was just ignoring her. Okay then. The best part of the scene however is seeing LJ cheering in the background.

More challenges should use see saws

The reward challenge involves going over a see saw, climbing a rope, pulling a chest up and doing a puzzle. Beauty tribe plus Spencer make up the orange team, the others are on purple. Woo slows his team down over the water section, but makes it up by flying up the rope the quickest. Purple team get their players up to the top first but the LJ and Spencer combination on the puzzle (mostly LJ) proves too good for Kass and Woo meaning orange team win. They go off to enjoy an Outback steakhouse, and the other team go back to camp.

Back at camp, Tony worries if Kass is truly with him or not. After outright declaring herself a free agent, it's clear the answer is she's with no-one. Clearly she's modelling her game after Sandra. Speaking of which, we all know Sandra would've loved the steakhouse. The reward winners have a great meal, Morgan in particular enjoying the bacon. Spencer saves his napkin until the end of the meal and finds it has a clue inside - table manners pay off, kids!

Kass with her weapon of choice

Arriving back at camp in the rain, Spencer decides to go and hunt for the idol right away, since the steaks have never been higher (sorry). Woo suspects that's what he's doing and decides to follow him. Ninja stealth mode is activated! Spencer walks off and leaves his pants on the riverbed when he crosses paths with Woo. When trying to give Spencer his pants back, Woo finds the clue and takes it for himself. Spencer realizes what has happened far too late and now all Hell is about to break loose.

The stress gets to Spencer as he digs deep

Woo takes the clue back to camp to show his allies, and now the search is on! Everybody is scrambling, running around to look for it - even Morgan, much to Tony's surprise. Spencer starts to get real frustrated and now he's being watched by Kass, who is rubbing it in by saying that Woo stealing his clue was "karma". Kass doesn't prove a very effective watchdog though and Spencer manages to subtly claim the idol right under her nose when she turns away. Opening up the instructions, it appears to be a normal idol...meaning the superidol is still out there!

Good job we went to charm school

The immunity challenge is to balance a block of wood onto a ceiling above them using their head. Kass is first out, with Jeremiah and Trish not far behind. Having to stand on tiptoes is making this challenge very painful. LJ, Spencer and Trish are the last three left, with the latter two going over 90 minutes. Spencer beats Tasha to win immunity and fights off the pain to walk over and collect his necklace.

Even though Tasha is the biggest threat, Tony thinks Morgan might be a better vote just in case someone on Aparri has an idol. Tony also thinks she doesn't deserve to be there because she's lazy. The other group decide who they're voting for and Spencer vetoes Morgan's suggestion of Kass as she's the only one that would consider flipping back. He wants to vote for Tony and hope that he says something really stupid at tribal council (definitely a possibility).

Probst points out that the power has shifted a lot since the last tribal council and Kass takes ownership as the one who facilitated it. Morgan, trying not to get voted out, lists all the reasons she sucks...and Trish chimes in and adds some more. When Probst tries to get to the bottom of her laziness, Morgan admits she's used to getting what she wants in life because of her looks. Jefra denies that anyone is on the bottom of the alliance, which Spencer claims is ridiculous.

It's time to vote. Solana do a good job of hiding who they voted for and it pays off as "Queen Morgan" is sent out successfully and with little fuss. I guess every episode can't be amazing...but I'm hoping for some big moves again next week.

STAR OF THE WEEK: WOO HWANG

You're probably thinking "why not Spencer?" - but Woo using his ninja skills was the funniest part of the episode for me. The martial arts master is an adorable under-the-radar character, and the Sonic reference sealed it. Woo could be very tough to beat in a final 2...he's likeable, kicking ass in challenges and hasn't stepped on any toes.

Cagayan Episode 6: Chaos Theory

See the fire in her eyes

Aparri are back from tribal council and already planning for who to pick off if they merge. They reaffirm the plan to go to the top six but Kass remains skeptical. Typically honest, she even tells Sarah to her face she has concerns about her, leaving Sarah offended. Kass does have a point, though...she hasn't proved her loyalty yet, she's just done what anyone would do in her position.

Tony gets treemail informing them of a merge, and he's excited to finally get the game going again. LJ and Tony both dig up their idols and make their way to the other camp by boat. When Aparri find out they're about to have company, Spencer really hammers it in to his troops that they have the numbers and have to stick together.

Solarrion's Christmas feast

Seeing Alexis gone is definitely a setback for Jefra, as she was hoping she'd be the easiest to flip. Tony still holds out hope he can get Sarah to come back with him, though. The merge note hints at a new idol entering the game with a different power. Great, this'll be the Yul superidol that could ruin the game, then.

Tony goes to Sarah to try and get her to break the Brains up, but he totally bungles the conversation and tries to rush her into swearing on her badge. Sarah goes back to Aparri to discuss the boot target with them, and likes the idea of knocking out LJ. However, Jeremiah and Kass both think LJ has the idol so decide to target Trish instead. But Sarah doesn't think Trish is a threat and refuses to go along with it. Safe to say Kass is pretty irritated by Sarah refusing to even entertain the notion and trying to force her will on the group.

Whilst LJ is out trying to catch starfish, Kass and Sarah start the day by taking shots at eachother once again. Trish notices the fight and watches with interest, as any crack in their alliance is good news for her. Tasha pulls the two girls aside and tries to repair the relationship - but Kass is disappointed to see Tasha take Sarah's side.

Tasha tries to mediate

The immunity challenge is to stand on a doghouse in the water like Andrea did in Caramoan. LJ struggles the most early on, but we don't see any real action until they get up to the final foothold. The transition proves too difficult for most of the players, and Spencer, Kass, LJ, Sarah and Jefra all fall off. A badly-timed gust of wind knocks even more players off and soon we are down to just Morgan, Tony and Woo. Woo beats Tony to win the first immunity. The ninja warrior was obviously a big favorite for this, but mad respect to Tony for hanging in there as long as he did.

Spencer and Tasha think voting for Jefra is the safest target, but Sarah wants a bigger threat out of the game. She guarantees everyone that Tony does not have an idol, and that they should vote for him. Man, Sarah's instincts have been terrible in this game, copdar notwithstanding. She throws her weight around, saying she's the swing vote and the one deciding who goes home. She even calls herself the President. Keep bragging, Sarah...you'll be hoisted by your own petard in no time.

How do we get out of this hole?

Solana are starting to sense they don't have Sarah, but Trish thinks there's potential to exploit the Sarah/Kass rift. Tony makes one last attempt to convince Sarah her chances are better with them, but doesn't get the feeling it's going to happen. After Kass tells Trish she feels she's being replaced, Trish offers her a deal to vote out Sarah...and now the rest of the group is ready to go along with Trish's plan B. Going off to tribal, Kass notes the irony that she has now replaced Sarah as the swing vote.

LJ opens up tribal council by sounding completely defeated. The Aparri members don't try to reassure him. Probst asks about idols, and LJ plays it coy. Tony declares matter-of-factly there are idols...because he has one. Spencer challenges him to show it, and he actually does. All of a sudden, Aparri scramble to flip the vote to "the other one". Jeff lets them get to the vote right then and there!

And the blindsides just keep coming

Everyone looks at Tony when Jeff asks for idols to see what he's gonna do. He plays the idol on LJ, thinking he's the one who needs it. LJ then interrupts Jeff as he reads the vote to give Tony his idol. Crazy! When the votes come up for Jefra, Solana figure they're screwed and Jefra is almost crying. But there's still time for another twist when Jeff flips the last vote and it's for Sarah, which is greeted with thunderous applause.

Aparri know pretty much instantly it was Kass that betrayed them and Spencer utters in frustration that Kass has "zero chance to win the game". I'm not even mad at her - that was, without hyperbole, the best tribal council of all time. Can this season get any better?

STAR OF THE WEEK: KASSANDRA MCQUILLEN

Chaos Kass is trolling her way through the game with zero fucks given, and has added a lot of drama to a potentially easy vote. Petty personal nonsense aside, a lot of her criticisms of Sarah were spot-on. People are just gonna keep taking Kass for granted until they see their name being read by Jeff.

Cagayan Episode 5: Bully For You

Coming back from a bomb-dropping tribal council, Trish tries to explain herself to Lindsey, but she's having none of it. The two women bicker for a while, before Lindsey actually goes to get away from her horse-mouthed nemesis. After a while, the tribe worry about whether Lindsey is even coming back.

We see Lindsey alone, and Jeff walks up to ask what's going on. Lindsey calls Trish a bully and says she will "flip out on her" if she stays. So then Jeff goes into the Solana camp to tell them that Lindsey has decided to quit the game. Tony is happy with this revelation, seeing it as "two for the price of one". Woo also maintains an awfully optimistic outlook for someone who just lost his entire alliance. However, he is fully aware that he's probably in trouble if they have to go to tribal again.

Sarah gets a shock

At the challenge, Aparri's reaction to seeing two members gone is priceless - and Trish's fistpump is pretty funny too. Alexis talks about how glad she is her Beauty allies are safe, which might not have been the smartest move. Anyway, this challenge is the one from Philippines where you have to knock down your opponents idol. Spencer steals Skupin's kamikaze trick to beat Woo. Tasha tries the same against Trish, but fails. Jefra and Jeremiah both lose their match-ups by dropping their statues accidentally.

Tony goes up against Morgan in the most one-sided match-up of the round. They both crash into eachother and Tony predictably wins. Woo then wins the final point by beating Spencer in his rematch. Solana get to send two people to raid Aparri's camp and choose the two matchwinners Tony and Woo.

Raiders of the lost tribe

Woo and Tony are over in the enemy camp preparing to raid, and Tasha senses it's going to be tough to part with some of their comfort. In their instructions, they find a clue to the idol and Tony senses a great opportunity to put a target on somebody's back. He tells the group that the idol clue is for one of them and singles out Jeremiah to give it to. Jeremiah instantly realizes that it's the same clue he got on Solana, but everyone else's minds are racing.

Trish says it with sand

So the raiders bring their spoils back to their home camp, and Tony tells the rest of the tribe about his idol clue stunt. There's also a shot of a message Trish has written to Lindsey in the sand. Feeling a lot more comfortable with his new tribe than his old one, Tony decides to open up and admit to being a cop. He might regret this though, as LJ and Jefra are both wary about how hard Tony seems to be playing the game.

Alexis goes to Spencer and tells him she doesn't trust Jeremiah. Unfortunately Spencer doesn't trust Alexis, thinking she's kinda phony and smarter than she lets on. Jeremiah tries to clear up the confusion over the clue, even pointing out correctly "we lost - why would we get a clue?", but it seems nobody believes him either.

LJ gets stuck in the mud

The immunity challenge sees the contestants have to take on a staircase, two obstacle courses, and a puzzle. Aparri are first to do their staircase after Solana are all over the place with their poles. Tony and Jeremiah take on the second obstacle course to retrieve the key, and Jeremiah maintains the lead. The puzzle comes down to Sarah and Spencer against LJ and Woo. Even though Solana have some pieces upside down, they manage to pull into the lead, aided by Tony's cheating. Solana win immunity when they complete their puzzle, get their code and unlock their flag. Tony jumps up and down in the celebrations, shouting "top five!" - which Sarah seems to take notice of.

Back at camp, Jeremiah points out how dumb Tony was for being so cocky when they still have the numbers. Alexis starts to wonder if this confidence is because they think Jeremiah is with them, and lets the others know. The three Brains decide on who they want to vote out, Kass fully enjoying the amount of power they have.

At tribal council, Probst comments on old tribe lines. Morgan shatters the perception that the old Beauty tribe are tight and relishes putting some more heat on Jeremiah. Kass says the Brains are more solid and the fractures are a good thing for them. Spencer has a different idea - he wants to heal the fractures and make the most cohesive tribe he can. Question is, who is the more likely flipper - Jeremiah or Alexis? Probst asks Sarah to weigh in, and she's just happy the heat is off her.

Heartbreak for the twerking girl

Alexis and Jeremiah both vote for eachother, each saying the other one is gonna flip. The rest of the tribe votes out Alexis, which she does not see coming. Alexis struggles to hold back tears as she walks off, whilst Morgan gives a smile. Well, next episode should see the tribes merge into one...then we'll see who can be trusted.

STAR OF THE WEEK: TONY VLACHOS

Tony is far from the most subtle player in the game, but he's definitely playing Survivor on a higher level than most of his competition. His scorched Earth policy is yielding some mixed results, but it's undeniable he's a fun player and one to watch.

Cagayan Episode 4: On The Flip Side

Spencer is in need of a hug after surviving such a close call at tribal. They're hopeful they can start a comeback, although Kass correctly points out "how my team has played this game is ridiculous".

Free at last!

Brains head to the challenge, as Tasha talks about how her decision to keep Spencer will be put to the test today. At the challenge, Probst tells them to drop their buffs - it's a swap! The Brains all end up together (what are the odds?) along with Morgan, Jeremiah, Alexis and Sarah to form the new Aparri tribe. The other Brawns are swapped to Solana with Jefra and LJ.

The new tribes immediately get into a reward challenge for snacks, and it's one that involves pulling people off poles. Morgan and Sarah try to pull off Lindsey, whereas Trish and Jefra are going after Tasha. Morgan uses her boobs to try and get Lindsey off, but Lindsey fires back with her feet. Tasha refuses to budge to win the first point.

Girl-on-girl action

The next matchup sees Spencer and Jeremiah taking on Cliff, whilst LJ and Trish take on Alexis. Cliff the giant barely moves whilst Alexis is dominated and quickly dragged over the line to make it 1-1. Cliff goes again for the final round, and Spencer and Jeremiah do a little better this time. Whilst Sarah doesn't make it easy for Solana, eventually Tony drags his fellow cop to the line to win his tribe reward.

Boston Strong

Back at camp, Jefra and LJ get to know their new tribemates...and LJ and Trish quickly realize they're both from Boston. LJ works that connection to try to charm Trish to his side, and it appears to be working. Lindsey talks about how embarrassing it is to see Trish flirting with someone much younger than her. Cliff is comfortable with how the swap turned out, although he does have concerns about Trish.

Triumphant Tasha celebrates the swap

Going back to camp, Sarah doesn't really seem happy being the lone Brawn. That might be the best position for her though, as Beauty's cracks become apparent very quickly. When asked about their extra rice, she manages to out Morgan on having an idol clue when she reveals Trish had told them what the choice was. Alexis immediately jumps ship and tells the three Brains she wants to work with them. Jeremiah is also looking for new allies as he feels Morgan will probably backstab him. Tasha can't believe her luck. Could it be the Brains are actually in a power position?

Jefra and Trish talk by the well and Jefra is pleased to learn that Trish isn't exactly happy with her old tribe either. Maybe she's found the crack she needs. Jefra says she thinks Cliff is "shady" but their conversation is cut short when the big guy walks up on them.

At the immunity challenge, Jeff takes back the idols and retires the cute little one for good. This challenge involves smashing down gates with a battering ram, and then moving the ram through a table maze. Both tribes have to sit someone out, and Solana pick Trish. Alexis beats Morgan at rock/paper/scissors to get to play.

"How did that happen?"

Solana smash down their first gate well in advance, but Aparri manages to catch up by the second. They go into the maze pretty much neck-and-neck, where both tribes make the same mistake. It's Aparri however who get their log out first and ring the gong to win immunity. What an upset!


Solana realize they should have won, and Cliff wants to break up Boston by taking out LJ. But Trish offers LJ some hope when she tells him that she wants Cliff out. Lindsey is worried that Trish is going to flip, but Woo assures her they'll be fine. When Trish tells Tony her plan, he seems pretty apprehensive and thinks it's too early to make a move. LJ talks to Jefra, feeling very alone, where he admits he's not sure what Tony is going to do.

At tribal council, LJ talks about how awkward it is having someone else move into their home. Cliff takes a thinly-veiled shot at Trish, and makes a basketball analogy. Lindsey and Woo both plead for their tribe to stay strong. but Jefra is hopeful for a move.

Jeff brings back the votes and LJ decides to roll the dice and hold onto his idol. That must have taken balls. It was the correct move however, as Cliff ends up blindsided. Lindsey and Woo are left with shocked expressions and one ally down. This game just changed again!

STAR OF THE WEEK: TRISH HEGARTY

There's something about her intense tone and evil cackle that's endearing to me. Whatever the reason, personal or strategic, Trish got her way tonight and has scored first in her epic feud with Lindsey. The heart wants what it wants.

Cagayan Episode 3: Throwdown Showdown

Morgan is mad she didn't get her way at tribal council, and decides to call out Jeremiah in front of the group for wanting Alexis out. Alexis doesn't totally believe her, but is definitely more wary of Jeremiah than she was before.

Brains get the treemail and it indicates a blindfold challenge is coming up. They decide to practice again, and J'Tia in particular is hungry for a win as she knows it's her fault they have no rice. Jeff explains the challenge: one caller will direct a blindfolded pair out to collect items, and then three of them will hoist the item up to the caller on a pulley. Tasha takes the caller role for Brains, Cliff for Brawn and Alexis for Beauty.

Alexis flies the flag

Cliff decides to start from the back and have his team do the hardest items first. LJ takes multiple crotch shots to the point where I'll be surprised if he can still have kids now. Beauty are the first to complete the challenge and get their flag up to Alexis. Brains get their flag back faster than Brawn, but J'Tia has trouble with the pulley. Tony and Lindsey get their flag back, with Lindsey having an entertaining wipeout, and manage to get it up to Cliff really fast. Spencer throws his buff on the floor in a huff. Beauty tribe win chickens, whereas the Brains are last again.

The Beauty tribe take their chickens back to camp. Jeremiah finds the idol clue and reads it aloud in front of everyone. Somehow we get into a bizarre chicken/egg argument that doesn't look very flattering for Alexis or Jefra. It's no mystery why they're not on the Brains tribe. Jeremiah rips the head off the chicken, startling the girls again.

That's not the only thing Woo wants to pound

Lindsey and Cliff continue to bond, which concerns Sarah. Sarah goes to Woo and asks if he'd be down with voting out Cliff. Does she really think he's going to turn on his buddy? Well actually he is, I suspect mainly because he's just a go-with-the-flow kinda dude. She then goes and tells Tony that he's in, and Tony is happy that his lie has worked and turned the game around.

Can't lose this one

Treemail indicates a basketball challenge, so Cliff is expecting everyone to look to him to win it. But Sarah doesn't even want to win and tells Trish and Woo that they should throw it. It's not something she feels fully comfortable with, but she doesn't want to risk someone she thinks is coming after her making the swap.

The immunity challenge is to swim down and untie buoys, which they will then throw into a basket. J'Tia couldn't get a buoy on her go so backstrokes back to the platform to let Tasha go. Sarah is slow as well, putting her plan into action. Kass and Tasha both come back without buoys, leaving Spencer to do all the work. Beauty get their 5 buoys first and Jeremiah wins the challenge.

Spencer fearlessly takes on the pro

The race for second place is an extremely tight contest between Cliff and Spencer. It goes back and forth, with Spencer getting frustrated that J'Tia isn't retrieving his loose throws fast enough. Cliff wins the challenge for Brawn and Sarah laments about how they tried so hard to throw it and were unable to. Brains really just sucked that much.

Still got some of those nine lives?

Back at camp, Spencer feels he doesn't deserve to be going to tribal council and makes the case to the girls that he's a challenge asset. Kass agrees but wants J'Tia to feel safe to avoid a repeat of the rice incident. After talking with J'Tia, the girls admit they trust her a lot more than Spencer...which is actually making Tasha second-guess her decision now, as she knows J'Tia will be loyal.

At tribal council, Jeff's extended silence says it all. J'Tia's poor performance in challenges is brought up and Tasha outright admits that it's often a case of finding the role for her where she can do the least damage. Tasha and Kass whisper back and forth during tribal council, making it clear their minds are not yet made up! Spencer says he would be devastated to go out this early and brings up the rice incident again.

Spencer nervously awaits his fate as Jeff brings the votes back, and gets a huge relief when it turns out to be J'Tia going home. I feel J'Tia may have got a bad rap over the rice-throwing incident...it's clear that was more of a heat-of-the-moment thing rather than an indicator of her real character. Spencer promises Tasha that he'll prove to her she made the right choice...but time will tell if he's really just waiting for a place to stick that knife.

STAR OF THE WEEK: SPENCER BLEDSOE

Getting humbled by the Garrett blindside certainly made this guy a lot more likeable. Spencer was a challenge star this week (or at least compared to the rest of his tribe). I really felt bad for him being in the spot that he is, and I'm glad he survived because I think he's got a lot of game left in him.

Cagayan Episode 2: When It Rains, It Pours

The Brains get back from that crazy tribal council, and it appears to have been a last-minute decision on both Kass and Tasha's parts. Although Tasha is still mad about J'Tia's rice antics, her plan is to do the girl power thing and see that Spencer goes next.

Over in the Brawn camp, Tony admits to Sarah that he's a cop and the two form an alliance. He feeds Sarah a lie about Lindsey and Cliff turning on her and she appears to buy it. She's putting an awful lot of faith in the "blue blood" thing, and that might end up being her downfall.

Welcome to Hell

Rain starts coming down hard all through the night, and it hasn't eased up at all the next day. The wind is really wrecking havoc on the Brawn beach, but Woo remains in good spirits regardless. Jefra finds it a bit more of a struggle. After repairing his tribe's shelter, LJ decides to brave the storm to go out looking for the idol. He doesn't have a clue but he figures that the reef he saw Morgan come from on day 1 might be a good start. He manages to find it, and is keeping it to himself.

Brains read the treemail for the challenge, which indicates a tarp is at stake. Tasha wants to practice, although the rest of her tribe don't seem to be as enthusiastic. They have a little splash around in the end, which seems to go well.

Right in the face!

Being able to do it when it counts is another matter however, and the three tribes arrive to find they will be transferring water via buckets to release a ball for their vertical maze. Brains are really poor at it, particularly J'Tia (again). The Beauty tribe start pulling away and Morgan releases the ball first. Brawn are next and Brains end up having to come

It all ends in J'Tears

from behind again. Woo and Cliff work the maze for Brawn, and gradually manage to get the hang of it to win the challenge. Spencer uses a lot of hard yanks to start a comeback for the Brains however, and the four of them react ecstatically when they get their ball out and realize they'll be avoiding tribal council.

Strategy is haard

The Brawn tribe put their reward to good use, as Sarah ends up breaking the hammock. Meanwhile, Beauty are now stressing about who to vote out. LJ is more worried by Brice than Morgan, so decides to make him his target. Brice and Morgan's plan is to get Jeremiah and Jefra to vote out Alexis. But after the two talk privately, it becomes apparent Jefra doesn't want to vote out Alexis, which kinda ties Jeremiah's hands.

So now Alexis wants to split the vote, with the boys voting for Morgan and the girls voting for Brice. Jefra reacts to this plan as if she's never seen an episode of Survivor before. With the numbers so tight, Jeremiah is now the swing vote and able to decide for himself who goes home. But he knows it also means someone is inevitably going to be disappointed by whatever decision he makes, and as a simple country boy, he hates hurting people's feelings.

Butterfly Brice brings the sass

At tribal council, Brice throws everything out in the open and names the alliance of four that's against him. Alexis looks terrified when Brice names her in particular as someone he thinks is gunning for him. Jeremiah tells Jeff he's confident he knows what is going to happen, but he might be the only one. Time to vote.

When the votes are revealed, it looks like Brice's faith in Jeremiah turns out to be misplaced, as it ties between Alexis, Brice and Morgan. The three people revoting all send Brice out, earning them an eyeroll. I actually enjoyed Brice's short stay on the show more than I thought I would. His final words are just as hilariously catty as you'd expect. "I hope Morgan does really well. And to the rest of the people, I don't even remember their names."

STAR OF THE WEEK: LJ MCKANAS

LJ is a little too arrogant for my taste, but I can't deny his game has been pretty good so far. Finding the idol just based on educated guessing was pretty impressive, and he's also got out his biggest threat. I'm still not convinced he's winner material though, just because he seems too obvious right now.