Kaoh Rong Episode 7: A Trip To The Doctors

Getting back from tribal, it seems Scot is the one who is most pissed, and vows to take out Joe and Aubry for being so indecisive. The Brains are well aware of their dire situation, with Joe watching Tai play with the chicken, and lament how the chicken is doing better than him.

Neal packing heat

Cydney notices a bulge in Neal's pocket that she thinks looks an awful lot like an idol. But when Michele notices a boat heading to camp, that plan is going to have to wait, since it's clear the merge is happening. Debbie is optimistic that she'll be able to pull in the people she needs to to maintain power.

Scot carrying his bride over the threshold

Scot and Aubry are really happy to see the boat pull up and be reunited with their former tribemates. Nick observes the merge dynamics and concludes that the chances of Brains and Brawn teaming up are low. He talks to Neal and tells him he can pull in Michele, but also talks to Jason and Scot and gets good info from them, such as the knowledge that both Neal and Tai have idols.

Debbie on the attack

Debbie goes up to Tai and tells him she wants him to be an alliance with them. Tai doesn't say no, but Debbie's handling of it is less than subtle. Aubry notices that Debbie is sinking their chances of getting numbers, and makes her own approach on Nick. But she's also on Jason's radar, who is being cocky himself, for being their best chance of dodging an idol. Neal tells Aubry he has the idol, and they hope they can get a tip-off on where the vote is going so they can use it.

Before the immunity challenge, Jeff asks to check out the various cuts and scrapes everyone has picked up. Tai has two nasty gashes on his thighs, Neal has a volcano on his leg, and Aubry and Scot both have bumps too. The challenge is to balance a ball on a disk, whilst also standing on a wobbly platform. Joe out first, then Debbie and Jason. When round 2 starts, Michele, Neal and Scot are all out quick. Only Nick, Julia and Tai make it to three balls, with Julia dropping out to leave a showdown between Tai and Nick. Nick wins immunity - damn, he still hasn't been vulnerable yet.

Guess that Beauty has the most balls

Nick is relishing the swing vote position, and is leaning towards siding with Brawn, since he thinks they're dumbasses. Michele wants to go that way too, since she doesn't think anyone will vote for Jason or Scot at the end. Neal still has a plan, though - to reach into his crotch and pull out...the idol, you pervs.

Neal puts up a fight

Jeff comes into camp with a Doctor to give everyone a check-up, as a sense of dread builds. He checks Tai first, and...he's fine, the scabs are healing well. Scot's not so good, but is allowed to stay in the game, and Aubry is given some antibiotics. Neal's volcano has burst, and he has a nastier-looking one on his back too. As much as Neal tries to play it down, the Doctor gives him a more thorough examination and determines he will have to leave the game. As a big Survivor fan, Neal cries that his dream is ending this way but Jeff reassures him that at least he'll be on the jury.

Neal tells everyone he has to leave, and Aubry is hoping that he'll give her the idol. But he doesn't, and as Neal departs on the boat, so do the Brains' chances of getting a majority. But Aubry lives to fight another day, and that's what matters.

STAR OF THE WEEK: AUBRY BRACCO

With her epic final monologue to close the show, Aubry is this week's star. She's fighting hard to recover from a tough spot, and still has a chance to pull it off.

Kaoh Rong Episode 6: New Kid On The Blocks

Tai feels bad for voting Anna out but thanks the tribe for keeping him. Peter tells Tai he has no allegiance to the Brains and wants to get Joe out, since he knows he's bottom there. Oh boy, this plan is sure to work.

Debbie is slobbering over Nick over on Chan Loh, and Nick is happy to exploit that. We also hear about another of Debbie's jobs, modelling, which shows up under her name right on cue. The tribe are not enthused when treemail indicates a basketball challenge is up next since they're facing an NBA player, but Nick vows to give it his best shot.

Pollard under pressure

At the reward challenge, Julia gets to join her new tribe and Michele sees her closest ally is gone. The challenge is to dive down and release a bunch of buoys, then take them to shore and shoot them into a tube. Michele and Aubry dive for their tribes, and Aubry gets it much quicker. Scot starts the shooting, but Nick is able to catch him and even take the lead. As Scot starts to get nervous, he eventually pulls it back. Cydney tries to distract him by asking him what he's doing and he simply replies "winning" as the last ball drops. BOOM, now that was badass! But if Scot had lost that, he'd never be able to show his face on a basketball court again.

Bringing food back to camp is the perfect introduction for Julia to her new tribe, and Peter is already sizing her up as someone he can work with. Aubry and Joe see this conversation going on and are not impressed.

Scheming in the water, again

Michele accepts responsibility for the loss and walks into the water to the point where Debbie thinks she's trying to drown herself. Michele and Debbie have a talk where Debbie says she wants Jason out and that she wants a female winner. Michele recounts this to Nick, but he shoots her down and says Debbie is not trustworthy. Michele doesn't take kindly to him being condescending, but isn't gonna tell him that to his face right now.

Putting his detective skills to good use

So now Joe catches Peter talking to Scot about getting the Brains out, and has finally had enough. He tells Aubry he's going to confront him directly and that if he lies, he's done. Joe pulls Peter aside to interrogate him, but Peter waffling on and refusing to answer a simple question tells him all he needs to know.

Nick needs some of that Greek God strength

The immunity challenge is to get over an obstacle course that includes a barrel and a climbing frame, then to push blocks off a net which they will then stack on top of eachother. Chan Loh are first to get everyone over the barrel and make it to the climbing part. Nick goes up first for Chan Loh, whilst Gondol keep their tallest member on the ground to help up others. Scot and Peter then knock their blocks out first, allowing them to take a lead in the building. Peter's strategy is to lift up their tower to put their last few in, but it fails, and Joe takes a blow to the head. Debbie stands on Nick's shoulders whilst Scot boosts up Tai. Gondol come up one block short, and Chan Loh win immunity.

Though she's mad at him for losing them the challenge among other things, Aubry thinks it doesn't make sense to take Peter out right now and convinces Joe to go for Julia. Joe and Peter even talk it out and declare a truce. Peter tells Scot he's not flipping after all, so now the three non-Brains are trying to work to flip Aubry on Peter, by revealing what he's been saying to them. Whilst Joe is now committed to staying solid, Aubry is undecided...and we go into tribal council with things still up in the air.

Stick to the (original) plan

At tribal council, new girl Julia hints at splits within the group. which Aubry doesn't deny. Peter owns up to his part in the challenge loss, since it was his block-stacking idea that didn't work. Julia then outs Peter for plotting with her, which he is more hesitant to own up to. Scot and Tai debate whether to vote Peter or Julia, whilst Aubry appears to be asking Joe the same. But whilst Joe is staying solid, Scot shouts "original plan" to Julia. I love a little chaos right before the vote!

Aubry takes a minute to consider her vote, but we eventually see her write down Julia. But just when it looks like it's going to a tie, Jeff flips the last vote to reveal she crossed out Julia and put Peter down after all. I guess she didn't have much a choice once it was clear the other three were voting together, but it'll be interesting to see what repurcussions this has. Has the nerdy girl taken out a bad apple or just kickstarted the downfall of the Brains?

STAR OF THE WEEK: MICHELE FITZGERALD

Michele's finally getting some solid content, giving us a clear explanation of how she plans to move forward now that her original plans are down the drain, and it's exactly what I needed to get back on her bandwagon. Her babysitter Nick could learn a thing or two from her about how to handle people.

Kaoh Rong Episode 5: Gambler's Dilemma

Now we're in business

We can now add Joe to the list of injured people, as Peter proves his worth as a Doctor by inspecting his cut finger. Peter is hoping this improves his stock, but Neal is still calling him "cancer" and goes looking for the idol to keep it out of his hands. Neal finds the box, gets the key and unlocks the idol all without being detected. How did he have enough time to do that?

The tribes arrive at the mat, and Neal says "bye bye blondie" in response to Alecia's absence...guess it's catching on. Jeff tells them to drop their buffs, and Cydney is ecstatic to comply. However, he warns them that there's only enough room for six people on each of the new tribes...and one person will be drawing a red buff that sends them to Brawn camp alone. They'll be safe from the vote, but also out of the loop. Nick, Jason, Michele, Neal, Debbie and Cydney draw blue. Scot, Peter, Anna, Tai, Aubry and Joe draw yellow. Julia ends up with the short straw, and Michele laments how their powerful girls trio are all off in different directions.

Peter is happy with how the swap played out, but is already getting super cocky. Aubry still has him on her radar and is considering saying screw tribal lines and voting him out anyway. But right now, the logical move seems to be the three Brains and Scot targeting the two Beauties, since whoever leaves will get replaced with another, so that's what they agree to do.

Debbie wants people to swing with her

Debbie welcomes the new members to the Chan Loh beach, then flocks to team up with Cydney. She does a great job of buttering Cydney up, and might be the only person to recognize how smart the body builder really is. It's now looking like the two Brawns and the two Brains will team up...leaving Beauty fucked on both tribes.

Scot helps Tai get up a tree so he can start pulling down coconuts and the little guy is making quite an impression on the big guy. But for Anna, desperate times call for desperate measures, and she shows no hesitation throwing Tai under the bus by telling everyone she can that Tai was caught looking for the idol.

That's, uh...quite a seductive pose

Back on Chan Loh, it's now Nick's turn to try and see if he can sway Jason, and the bounty hunter says he's down. Has he left it too late though and got beaten to the punch by Debbie? Jason and Cydney talk about how they're sitting pretty with the freedom to choose their side. We briefly check in with Julia next, who is having a really rough time, huddled under a blanket alone. Poor girl.

Catch of the day

At the challenge, Michele accidentally stands on the yellow mat before being told to move over to blue - old habits, I guess. The challenge is for two members to race out and grab fish from a net in the ocean, whilst two more put them on hooks, and the last two use them to complete a puzzle. Scot is first to the net, but Aubry slows him down, allowing Nick and Jason to start grabbing first. They hand over to Joe and Tai, whilst Michele and Cydney start hooking for Gondol. On the puzzle, Debbie and Neal take on Anna and Peter...two people that have had a lot of success in that area. But two Brains prove better than one, as Chan Loh win immunity...and Jeff flubs his line.

Anna gets an ace in the hole

Following the loss, Peter lets it be known he would rather Anna go than Tai..and he has no problem letting the two of them know he's targeting a Beauty. Even Tai is done with Peter now and wants him out, so he reveals the idol to Scot and Anna to try and make it happen. But when Scot learns the rest of them are voting for Anna, he decides it might be smarter to just let her go, since then he can be the only person to know where two idols are. It's gonna take a lot to convince Tai not to play it though, as he's very nervous.

At tribal council, Aubry admits they want to stick with the numbers. As such, Anna and Tai both believe it's them and make their cases. When asked about idols, Joe says he thinks there aren't any, which Tai is happy to back up. Peter openly brags about being in a power position...don't you remember what happened last time you did that?

After the vote, Anna is confused when Tai doesn't play his idol as planned. She soon sees why, and the poker player busts out (hehe, that woks on two levels). The Brains might have the biggest numbers right now, but the new Scot/Tai alliance is gonna have a huge say in the rest of the game, I can feel it!

STAR OF THE WEEK: TAI TRANG

The world's most huggable human, Tai made the right call this week by breaking up a tight trio, holding onto his idol and forging a connection with Scot. Don't be fooled by the sweetness, he's proved himself perfectly competent so far.

Kaoh Rong Episode 4: Feeling The Heat

Peter doesn't feel like talking after his tribal council shocker. Debbie tries to reassure him that they kept him around for a reason, but he's still hoping to flip on them and take them out if he makes the merge.

You're gonna have to literally dig deep

The reward challenge is to run an obstacle course, tunnel under a log, and then dig in the sand for bags of balls which will then be used in a skee-ball game. The tribes are off, and it's Joe that struggles the most getting over the posts. Cydney is able to squeeze under the log first. When it comes to the digging, Scot finds two bags and Tai finds one for Beauty. The challenge slows down to a crawl as the hot sun starts beating everyone down and leaving them exhausted. Brains, despite being slowest off the mark, are the first to get them all. Aubry, Debbie and Peter all get to rolling and manage to win whilst the others are still digging. Alecia kicks the sand, and Scot snaps at her for being unhelpful.

Debbie starts to get weak and Joe asks to call in a medic. The medic pours water over a collapsed Debbie as Jeff watches whilst the challenge is still going on behind him. Beauty have managed to get 5 balls in the holes by now, but the last one is proving tricky. Jason finally gets a bag and gives Brawn a chance to catch up. He rolls multiple balls at a time but only gets one. Scot then gives it a go and gets two. It doesn't matter though, as Caleb finally secures Beauty second place.

Still think Survivor isn't real?

Seconds after the challenge, two more players go down. Cydney is unable to move, and Caleb collapses from exhaustion. Julia hands Caleb water as Jason helps Cydney. The medics work on Caleb as Nick holds his legs, and he ends up needing oxygen. Despite being given shade, ice cubes and an IV, it's not enough and Jeff has to call in the chopper to take Caleb out of the game. Caleb shakes his head as he doesn't want to leave, but there's no choice. The rest of the Beauties are crying even before Jeff tells them he's out, and they all give him a final goodbye as he is stretchered off.

Michele grieving for their fallen soldier

Jeff briefly checks in with the remainder of the group and the Beauty tribe are understandably emotional about having lost a member. "I'm gonna miss him so much" sobs Tai. Jason also talks about how Cydney is his family now, and that he'll stay with her til the bitter end. They all march back to camp, where the two winning tribes will find their rewards...hope it was worth almost dying for. Tai remarks about how the girls are now 3 vs 2 over the guys now. Must be hard to go back into game mode after a crazy day like that.

More Brawn bickering

Debbie says how she didn't want medical treatment at first so that she wouldn't look weak, but that in the end, she's glad she did. Alecia is mad at Scot for snapping at her and not being a good teammate. Scot tries to spin calling her a "cheerleader" into a positive. They pretty much tell her to her face again that she's going next, again giving her no incentive to stick with them. Jason tries to explain that he's hard on her because he wants to give her "tough love", like how he raises his daughters.

I'm shocked to see another challenge in this episode after that medevac, but it's happening. This one requires two tribe members to run into the jungle and retrieve rope, whilst two others swim out and get them from underwater. Then they have to use them to form a snake puzzle. Cydney/Alecia, Anna/Julia and Peter/Debbie are the first pairs, and Brains hit an early setback when Peter loses one. Nick and Michele overtake Jason and Scot coming out of the water, whereas Neal and Aubry do their best to close a large gap. Brains excel at the puzzle though, which Peter makes quick work of to give them first place. Beauty bring in Nick, as the Brawn guys just watch Cydney and Alecia flounder. Beauty get second place as Brawn lose again.

A fighter til the end

Alecia's reacts to loss with a cry of "I tried", which leads to Jason accusing her of being self-centered. Come again? Scot claims there's zero chance of Alecia surviving the vote, so Jeff offers them to just do tribal right there. Alecia refuses, not wanting to be seen as a quitter. We cut right to tribal, where the other three confirm nothing has changed. Jeff talks about how clear cut the vote is, but says Alecia has earned her place on Brawn by not taking anybody's shit. Alecia goes home, which was never in doubt, but did we need any more excitement after tonight's events?

It sucks to lose Alecia like this, since I thought her destiny would be to get revenge after the swap. I'm sure karma will catch up to the bullies sooner or later though, and I can't wait to see it.

STAR OF THE WEEK: CYDNEY GILLON

I wasn't really sure who to give it to this week. Jason earned and lost my respect over the course of the night, so I'm passing it to his teammate instead. Cydney survived a brief medical scare and was the only person not awful to Alecia. I think her subtle style of play could suit her well for a deep run.

Kaoh Rong Episode 3: It Takes Two

Scot offers Alecia an explanation on why he voted for her, but Alecia still wants to take him out, and tells Cydney as much. But what Alecia doesn't realize is that Cydney is actually closer to the boys than to her.

Add your own innuendos

Meanwhile, Tai has finally found the tool he needs to get the key to the idol: a big-ass stick. With his extended reach, he is now able to poke it out the container. He takes the key to the box and claims his prize, which could be a lifesaver. Reading the note, he also learns the new idol twist for the season: two idols combined form a superidol, that can be played after the votes are read. They just won't let this twist die, huh?

These pretty people are about to be outfoxed by a crazy cat lady

Liz and Peter discuss how they're in control of the game, and that they want to team up with Debbie and Joe, who they see as inferior players. Peter's even talking about facing them in the final challenge - whoa, that's getting waaay ahead of ourselves. And Debbie is proving herself much more strategic than anyone thought, as she tells Joe they need to get together with Neal and Aubry and take a strike at that duo. Putting her plan into action, Debbie makes her move to shore up her new alliance of 4.

Beauty decide to kill their tribe's chicken, which upsets Tai deeply. (Honestly, why did he have to be the one to hold it?) Nick is proud that he has no emotions, but that's making him hard to read for the rest of his tribe. Anna talks to Caleb about teaming up with the girls and possibly taking Nick out next, and he's fine with that.

Let the hunt begin

Alecia and Cydney find a clue to the idol, despite Scot's assertion they wouldn't. Cydney is able to find the box, but when Jason spots them, they aren't able to search for long. Cydney lets the boys know about the clue, and Jason finds it for himself and runs off. With Scot's help, he's able to retrieve the key and open the box, but the girls see the whole thing. Alecia is bummed to have missed out, but learns an important lesson - she can't trust Cydney anymore.

The immunity challenge sees them back in the water again, as they have to transport bags through a gate and over a balance beam, then dig inside them for balls to send though a rope-based hole maze. Caleb, Neal and Cydney all climb over the gate to help out on the other side, as Peter and Jason start punching the bags through. When it comes to the maze, Julia is the first to take the reigns and does an impressive job. Tai gets them a 2nd, as Liz gets the first for Brains. Caleb wins the challenge for Beauty, as Jason finally gets Brawn on the board. Peter and Scot then each get a ball, leaving it a battle between Debbie and Cydney. It's a very close one, which Cydney just about wins. Brawn are safe for once! Beauty get to choose between comfort or luxury items, and decide to take the comfort. Brawn get their luxury items as a consolation, including Jason's cute teddy bear. Brains walk away empty-handed.

A rare win for the muscleheads

The plan for Peter and Liz is to get Neal out, who they think has an idol. Liz explains the split vote with a hint of condescension. Debbie goes along with it, but later tells Neal he's in their crosshairs. Peter is pretending to Aubry that he's targeting Joe and also bitches her out a little bit for not following orders. Because of this, Aubry would rather Peter go...despite the fact he's their strongest player.

At tribal council, Peter breaks down the three major pairs in the tribe. Debbie backs up Probst's assumptions that their tribe is the analytical one, as Aubry talks about the need to pick up on subtleties. Peter is less than subtle when he basically throws out his entire plan to get rid of the snake Neal. His arrogance is on full display, as Aubry can only say "wow".

Peter, you have been impeached

The vote is a tie between Aubry, Liz and Peter, resulting in a revote where they send out Liz. Peter apologizes to Liz, taking responsibility for ruining her game, but she says it's OK. Well, another winner pick of mine goes early. Honestly, I don't get why they didn't just go for the jugular and take out Peter....I'm sure Liz would've been far easier to bring back into the fold than him. We'll see what his response is now that he's been knocked down a peg.

STAR OF THE WEEK: DEBBIE WANNER

What kind of bizarro world is this where Debbie is actually playing Survivor well? She rallied the troops this week and got out her target...being seen as the court jester is definitely working to her advantage.

Kaoh Rong Episode 2: Game Suicide

Alecia promises her tribe an improved effort as Scot asks "now do you trust us?" Well, the answer is not really, and nor should it be otherwise, given that they were talking shit about her pretty excessively all through tribal council. Jenny and Alecia try to start a fire, but are only able to produce an "embryo"...another classic Alecia-ism.

So close yet so far

The Beauty tribe go fishing and leave Tai behind at camp. Tai goes back into idol-hunting mode, and thinks he finds it at the base of a tree. After reading the note, it turns out he needs a key to open a box...and it's at the top of a really tall tree. Tai gives it a good go, and even cuts open his feet, but he can't quite reach it and has to retreat. Bummer.

Pyromaniac Neal starts a fire with the matches they won, and Liz is eager to get some water boiled. Debbie considers herself the water expert as that was one of her many jobs, and starts bragging about her immune system. Peter talks about how someone as annoying as Debbie is someone you want to keep around as long as possible, whilst she continues to make a spectacle of herself by waving palm fronds.

Tai is trying a new strategy following his unsuccessful idol mission: using his charm to stick around. He begins by flirting with Caleb. And despite them disagreeing on many things, like whether or not to kill a bee, Caleb is enjoying the company of such a unique individual. They even almost share a kiss.

Joe accidentally spills the Brains tribe's kerosene, making starting a fire impossible. Liz is upset about this, but Joe is pretty pissed at Liz for being a know-it-all, and rants about the useless contraptions she's invented. Liz takes a moment to herself where she cries, as she badly needs water.

Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink

Blondie beats the cavemen at their own game

Brawn can't get fire either, even with flint. Alecia decides to keep at it, and despite the men scoffing at her, she finally gets a spark after 5 hours whilst they're lying on their asses. Jason helps stop it go out just in time to grab partial credit. Now they can cook a chicken and are up and running.

Basically Jesus

The immunity challenge is to carry a log down river and through an obstacle course, then to use a slingshot to fire a ball into two targets. Caleb leads the way and is first to reach the log, as Jason gets there for Brawn also. Debbie is cheerleading again, this time from the sidelines. It looks like they need it as Brains fall pretty far behind carrying the log and look lethargic when they arrive the obstacle course. Beauty have the lead going into the slingshot, and Caleb hits a target first. Peter and then Scot tie it up, leaving this as anyone's game. Caleb nets Beauty a win, with Peter edging out Scot to second. Brawn are going back to tribal council.

Even though Alecia had nothing to do with the challenge loss, Jason and Scot are still talking about her as their cut-and-dry easy boot, with Jason even comparing the girl to an ostrich. Jenny starts to get annoyed with Jason's constant shit-talking, and considers changing up the plan. Offering Alecia a lifeline, Jenny tells her the girls need to get out some of the muscle while they can. But just when things look set for girl power to take over, Jenny backtracks on the move when she decides she doesn't want to alienate Scot, and Cydney seems turned off by her indecision.

Oh captain, my captain

At tribal council, Alecia says she thinks she's proved herself now, which Jason is still snickering at. Jenny talks about how plans were up in the air after the challenge, which gets a concerned reaction from Scot. As Jenny tries to explain herself, she ends up arguing with Alecia over who started the girls alliance. Jason finds it strange that anyone would admit to almost going back on their alliance, as Jenny tearfully pleads for their original 4 to stick together...even standing up on her seat.

After the votes are read, Jenny is somehow sent home, as Alecia grins at having miraculously dodged a bullet. Wow, what a crazy turn of events. I'm pretty sure Jenny walked into tribal council completely safe and talked herself into getting the boot. Just goes to show how fragile your position in the game can be sometimes.

STAR OF THE WEEK: ALECIA HOLDEN

It's easy to mock the mental giant, but she achieved an impressive redemption this episode that she didn't get enough credit for. I doubt anyone expected her to be the one to start fire, and she also proved she had game when she got in on Jenny's plan and then cut her when she saw which way the wind was blowing. Can she keep it up? Based on what I just watched, anything's possible!

Kaoh Rong Episode 1: The Bloodbath Begins

We start with the contestants on a boat (where Nick is practically hanging off the edge), as Jeff promises us the toughest 39 days in the show's history. They're already sitting in their tribes, so they all know exactly what to do when Jeff rings the bell and tells them to start grabbing stuff. A mad scramble ensues, where Caleb takes a heroic dive into the water to grab a chicken Nick lost. Tai is doing his part to save the birds too, as an animal lover.  As they row away on their rafts, Debbie is already bossing people around.

The Presidential entourage

The Brawn tribe arrive on their beach, and Alecia is already sticking out as the weakest link. Her resume isn't exactly as impressive as the bodybuilder or the basketball player. Debbie makes herself a target on Brains (is anybody shocked?) by rattling off her long list of jobs/skills, but then not being able to produce fire when it counts.

We check in with the Beauty tribe now, and the girls are already getting along swimmingly. The guys...not so much. Caleb isn't really sure why Tai is on the Beauty tribe, though his inner beauty is certainly shining through. He's a such a gentle soul, he even feels bad for the tree Caleb is chopping up.

Shit happens: When you gotta go, you gotta go

Brawn are hauling rocks as Jason feels a sunburn. He's also not impressed with the lack of effort "blondie" is putting in. Damn, he hasn't even learned her name. Alecia is slated as the first target as Scot tells him he wants to work with him and Jenny. But truthfully, Jason just wants alliances with everyone, shaking hands with Cydney as well. Cydney makes some more deals of her own, as her and Darnell decide to align.

The cowboy's cover is blown

The Beauty tribe's chickens have escaped and Nick has to recapture them. Tai comes up with a system to tie them together, in order to prevent them from fleeing. Anna talks to Julia about how much she likes Tai and that he could potentially be their 4th vote. That would quite a twist, if the girls ended up taking over the game. Caleb's past has also come out as Julia has rumbled him for being on Big Brother. It probably won't have much of an impact on his game though, as anyone who watched him knows that he's a loyal player.

Neal and Liz are becoming annoyed by Debbie, and form an alliance with Peter and Aubry that excludes the tribe elders. On Beauty, Tai is also making himself stand out, by blatantly searching for the idol and ripping out trees. Huh, I guess his love of foliage only extends so far. When he is caught by Nick and Anna, he decides not to even bother denying what he was doing. Now he's gone from potentially in the in-crowd to potential first target.

Caught green-handed

Aubry is getting beaten down by the heat and ends up having a bit of a mental breakdown. Debbie consoles her as she cries, and she seems particularly worried about having given off a bad impression. Justifiably so it seems, as Liz claims to be a lot more wary of her than she was before.

Sorry to bug you

At night, Jenny gets a bug in her ear that is causing her immense pain and discomfort. It continues into the next day, and her tribe are worried she might not even be able to play in the challenge. Scot gets a good look at it and is able to pull it out, as Cydney stands by yelling "ewwww" - I'm sure that was a great help. Jenny feels herself again now, and is ready to kick ass for her tribe.

Battle of the boats

For the immunity challenge, the tribes have to pull up paddles and use them to take their boat to shore. Once there, they have to put wheels on the boat and drag it. Then they must choose between a puzzle and a balance contest. Aubry steps up and takes the diver role - really? When she's just had a meltdown? The challenge begins and Michele's diving gives Beauty a lead, whereas Darnell loses his tribe's goggles almost immediately. Jenny is forced to take over, but it's tough without the mask. Aubry and Tai both do a solid job and Beauty have an early lead with Brains in second. Jason finally gets the last paddle after being left in the dust, but they're able to catch up when the other two tribes struggle with the boat. All three tribes opt for the puzzle: Liz and Aubry for Brains, Jenny and Alecia for Brawn, Julia and Anna for Beauty. Scot switches out for Alecia when she struggles. Brains win the challenge and the race for second place comes down to one last piece...Beauty narrowly edge it out. Brawn are going to the first tribal.

Post-challenge, Darnell and Alecia both apologize for their mistakes. Scot sees Darnell's blunder as the biggest and wants him out but Alecia is doing everything she can to make him reconsider...talking too much, getting paranoid and even implying she has the idol when he asks about it. Cydney would still rather Darnell stay, and is gonna do everything she can at tribal council to push for Alecia to get the boot.

Scot might be doing this a lot

Jason pulls no punches at tribal, saying he's generally happy with the tribe he got but openly names the two weakest links. Darnell makes no excuses but says that at least he tried, although Scot is pissed at him for taking the role over someone who would've done it correctly. Alecia makes her case that's she a mental giant, to which Cydney reacts with bemusement. Probst asks Darnell about his struggles back home, and the postal worker turns on the tears. This gets through to his tribe, particularly Jenny, who are now considering switching the vote.

We get to the vote, and Alecia even proves herself incompetent at that, failing to take the cap off the pen before writing. It ends up being a 3-3 tie, just to make them suffer a bit more. On the revote, the pendulum swings towards Darnell, and he ends up getting snuffed. Damn, I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone attract as much disdain as Alecia this early and survive ...though I'm kinda rooting for her now, since the rest of the tribe are being such assholes to her. How long she can hang on is up for debate, however.

STAR OF THE WEEK: AUBRY BRACCO

Aubry made an awesome turnaround from her day 2 breakdown to go out and take a commanding role in the challenge and pull out a win. This is a season where everybody is gonna have to show strength, and Aubry has done that.