Redemption Island Episode 7: Strength vs Loyalty

Steve tries to calm down the simmering tensions at Zapatera. David once again makes it known he doesn't trust Sarita. Sarita declares that David has "gone over to the dark side" by voting with Stephanie. I have no idea why David is putting such a target on his back. An emotional player is a bad player.

Stephanie is talking about food. This annoys Matt, who just wants to beat her to shut her the hell up. Rob goes to the duel with Phillip. The Federal Agent doesn't trust Rob anymore, and talks about how Rob's weakness is wanting to be in control. He even manages to namecheck Japanese Samurai Miyamoto Musashi. Rob calls Phillip "the most unaware person I've ever met". And he's been on a tribe with Coach.

Stephanie is losing her miiind

The duel is a memory game. Matt and Stephanie both get their first points completely blind. Matt picks up two more points, including another blind one. Stephanie manages to pull one back, but it's not enough, and Matt wins the duel. Stephanie has something to say though, and it's about Sarita. She encourages Ralph to keep David for his puzzle skills and ditch the weak link.

Overall, a disappointing challenge, given that it came down mostly to luck. Am I the only one who thinks these challenges are too easy? They should have to earn Redemption, and stacking dominoes and tying sticks together isn't that tough. It was enough to impress Phillip anyway, who calls Matt a warrior.

Rob spots a chance to turn the group against Phillip when Phillip suggests holding back info from the rest of the group. When did Rob become the narrator of this show? Anyway, it's clear that Rob wants Phillip out next, predicting he will make a move against him.

The other snake in the grass is David. Ralph in particular seems adamant that David will flip. He doesn't trust Lawyers in general. The rest of the group all express similar concerns about not trusting him, and it looks like he's a dead man walking.

Sarita finding another opportunity to trash David

Rob's fan club refuse Phillip's request for some crispy rice because Rob likes the crispy rice. God, it's starting to piss me off that this is the Boston Rob show now. Phillip isn't happy either. "Am I feeling like part of this tribe? HELL NO. Do I give 110% for this tribe? HELL YEAH." This is the first of Phillip's rants that I actually agree with.

Zapatera break through - can they end the losing streak?

The immunity challenge is a 6-on-6 obstacle course. Ometepe get a good lead when Boston Rob undoes the first bag faster than Sarita. Zapatera gain it back when David gets the second bag. Rob and Phillip start to look spent. Zapatera crash through the walls first and make it through the ropes. This is a really fun challenge. The last part involves throwing balls into a net. Oh, come on. Like the team with the NFL footballer (Grant) and the basketball player (Ashley) were ever going to lose this one. Everyone gives their ball to Grant and he earns his tribe a narrow victory.

Grant and the big burning death hole

Ometepe's reward is a picnic on top of a volcano. Natalie isn't old enough to drink so can't have any of the alcohol, haha. Once again, Boston Rob is the only one to look for the clue, and once again he gets it without anyone noticing. He doesn't need it, though. Into the volcano it goes!



The consensus among the group appears to be David. Sarita and Ralph have their minds made up. The Sarita/David rivalry has got so personal that Sarita is hoping Matt beats him on Redemption Island. Mike and Steve however are leaning towards voting out Sarita. Ralph makes a fool of himself at tribal council when he admits he doesn't know what cohesive means. Jeff rephrases his question into a "which would you prefer?" and Ralph says "I disagree". Kids, this is why school is important.

Sarita tries to save face

"I hope you enjoy Redemption Island as much as I enjoyed writing your name down" says David, as he casts another vote for Sarita. The votes come in. Two votes for David. Looks conclusive...oh, but wait...all the rest are for Sarita. "Oh my God, I wish I'd brought my stuff" said a shocked Sarita. I'm sorry, but anyone who displays that kind of arrogance deserves to get blindsided. David gets one last snark in telling her not to get too confident, and doesn't even wave her goodbye.

So, David is kept in order to have a stronger team for challenges. Too bad that was the last team challenge and they are soon to be merged, with the winner of the Sarita/Matt duel joining them. Until next week!

STAR OF THE WEEK: DAVID MURPHY

Made an emotional decision last week, but bounced back and kept his cool when he was under the kosh. He outperformed Sarita in the challenge and made his case that he can be trusted because he gave his word to Steph. Victory for Mr Murphy! I kind of admire him for standing up for what he believes in.

Redemption Island Episode 6: Uptown Girl

Krista has acquired a new friend on Redemption Island. Stephanie is looking very much alone back in Zapatera camp. Steve seemed kinda offended that the girls voted for him. "They're basically just tightening the rope around their neck" he seethes. Ashley and Natalie are having a spa day on Ometepe. Phillip complains, as expected.

Krista gives a good account of herself during the battle
of the blondes

Krista and Matt bond over the bible. They agree that whoever wins the duel, it's the will of God. The first part of the duel involves using a grappling hook to retrieve bags. With three precise tosses, Krista was able to get her bags faster than Matt. Could we be in for a shock here? Once again, Matt doesn't panic, and manages to catch up. He overtakes Krista on the ball maze and secures the win. I thought it was a little classless of Julie to celebrate Krista's elimination like that.  As she walks out, she leaves her bible with Matt. A sweet gesture, and I think Andrea was slightly jealous of Krista's bond with Matt.

Sarita has a really bad toothache. Apparently it's from cleaning her teeth with a twig too much. Julie has had enough of her. David wants to unseat Sarita in the alliance and bring in Stephanie, so talks to her and convinces her to start making inroads into the group. I bet it has more to do with his petty grudge against Sarita than keeping the team strong, but whatever.

Ashley, after Phillip orders her to go to her room

Phillip is upset with Ashley and Natalie's lack of effort around camp, so talks to them. It's a pretty lengthy argument, reminiscent of a domestic dispute, and Ashley walks away from it like a rebellious teenage daughter. Rob intervenes to try and bring team unity. He actually likes the fact that the two bimbos are useless...it means people won't vote for them at the end.

Stephanie apologizes to Steve for voting for him. He doesn't entirely buy it, but it helps her position a little. She recognizes what she needs now is to prove herself in challenges and for Sarita to fail.

Steph sucks it up and says sorry

Phillip and Steve have a little flare-up before the challenge starts. Did Steve just threaten to forearm Phillip? Anyway, Sarita sits out. Stephanie gets the starring role as the launcher that she needs. Natalie is Ometepe's launcher. Aim of the game: shoot the ball for the players to catch in the nets. Grant scores the first three points to give Ometepe a healthy lead. Mike rips off Grant's shirt in an attempt to stop him. Rob steals a point from Steve and this could be a battering. Ometepe win the challenge when Grant - who else? - catches the 5th ball.

Nothing gets past Agent Phillip!

Rob's tribe get a meal as reward. Rob notices the clue but can't get it. Grant gets it, but when he tries to read it in the corner, Phillip busts them. He feels a little slighted by their attempts to hide it from him and spouts off some vaguely threatening crap about tigers and gorillas again. Phillip has called his alliance Stealth...the Coach comparisons are piling up now.

David's one goal is winning - like Charlie Sheen!

The tribe are still unsure on whether Sarita or Steph should go. Stephanie talks to Julie, and may have half-convinced her. I liked Julie's quote about her being "a strong woman in a little package". David pushes hard for Stephanie. Julie weighs up trust vs strength. Steve doesn't exactly think much of either of them. "I'd give them both a 1/10" he says. C'mon Steve, Stephanie is a 10/10 in every aspect.

At tribal council, Ralph says he wanted to do the shooting. Stephanie trashes Sarita. David pitches in too, accusing Sarita of sitting out so she wouldn't take the blame. After taking a verbal beating, Sarita's defence is that she is the most loyal person to the tribe. Everybody gets up to vote and the concern is that Stephanie may have talked herself out of it. Stephanie promises to kick Sarita's ass at Redemption Island, and it turns out she's gonna have to...David failed to sway the others and she is voted out 5-2.

As entertaining as Stephanie was, they made the right strategic decision. Voting out Sarita would have basically ensured that none of them would win the game. Of course, they'll still be in trouble if the slide continues. A win next week is crucial, and could determine which tribe goes on to dominate.

STAR OF THE WEEK: GRANT MATTOS

Grant is proving to be a challenge dominator in this game, and he secured victory almost single-handedly this week. I can definitely foresee a potential immunity run. Is there anything he can't do? Well, other than think for himself.

Redemption Island Episode 5: The Old Switcheroo

It's a rainy night in Nicaragua, so everyone at the Ometepe camp takes off their wet clothes. A good idea when it's Natalie. Bad idea when it's Phillip. Rob wants to keep Phillip, as that keeps the target off his back. I don't fancy his chances of getting Phillip through another tribal council without a revolt.

Steve wants to bring Krista and Stephanie into the family at Zapatera. They choose the next duel observers by a random selection between the four who haven't gone yet, and it picks...Krista and Stephanie! Stephanie sees this as a good opportunity to tell the other side there are two girls ready to flip.

Let it go, girl

Matt's next challenge is to take on Kristina in building a puzzle cube. Kristina puts all her energy into it, and the duel becomes very competitive. Rob is watching, so Matt asks him why he voted him out for no reason. Rob deflects the question. Matt wins, and a heartbroken Kristina has to part with her buff and walk away. Stephanie tells Rob and Grant without any subtlety she wants to join their tribe. Rob says it's good news, if true.

Rob's Angels, looking mighty fine

Phillip compares Natalie and Ashley to crabs - he is unable to make any social connection with them. Andrea is frustrated with the other girls too, as they only want to talk about girlie stuff. Phillip and Andrea get a conversation going and Phillip finally makes some progress. He proposes that if Matt comes back, the three of them could have a good alliance. Phillip is trying to de-throne the dictator, Rob. Now we're talking!

The Russellettes want a mutiny

Stephanie and Krista plan on just continuing the winning streak, and then flipping at the merge. Wanting to win challenges is really the only time that all eight of them are on the same page. Krista starts getting serious. "When I put my headband on, it's game time". Julie senses overconfidence, and is worried that throwing the challenge could still come back to haunt them.

Bossy Steph in action!

It's a blindfolded maze challenge, where the teams retrieve puzzle bags. Sarita picks Stephanie as the caller for Zapatera. Which is great, because she is a loudmouth, but the caller is also puzzle solver...so David is pissed he wasn't picked. Stephanie yells at her tribe, which is what she's been doing the last few days anyway, and Ralph struggles with her instructions. Rob gets a decent lead to start his puzzle. It's no surprise - all he had to do was make sure his team followed his every word. They've been doing that anyway. On another note, isn't this the third puzzle in five challenges? Do I sense a bias towards Boston Rob here? Anyway, Stephanie actually overtakes Rob, who has a brief scare with a missing tile, but the veteran takes it in the end. Ometepe's first real win!

Phillip enjoys the reward most of all. It's cakes and coffee! Phillip starts dancing as he is hyper from all the sugar. It was hilarious. He even asked for a massage in exchange for his donuts. Ashley wasn't exactly eager to take him up on that. Grant takes the clue out of the coffee and gives it to Rob. Rob manages to switch the second, more descriptive clue, with the useless first clue. Grant, you just got totally hoodwinked, son.

Phillip hopped up on sugar is truly a sight to behold

David is pissed about the challenge and the arrogance he showed in his pre-show interviews is finally starting to seep out. He yells at Sarita about how calm he is under pressure (way to prove her point, son) and claims he is the one and only almighty puzzle God.

Julie thinks Krista is a lost cause, whereas Stephanie still might be salvageable. Krista claims that nobody on Zapatera is playing the game. Sarita and Mike defend that claim, and Mike gets a little douchey about it. He calls Krista out and rightfully so - was I the only one disappointed at the lack of scrambling from the girls? They seemed to know who was on the outs - David and Julie - but it's no use talking about hypothetical alliances of four after the moment has passed. At least Stephanie seemed to be making some more subtle efforts to save herself, pointing out she was better at challenges and had better relations with Julie. Krista and Stephanie waste their vote on Steve and sit back holding hands, anticipating which one will get the axe. It turns out to be Krista. She's slightly scared to be going to Redemption Island, but intends to hang on in there.

STAR OF THE WEEK: PHILLIP SHEPPARD

Which is funny, because this wasn't even his best episode. But he's been a solid source of entertainment and I didn't want to give Rob two in a row, so why not? I guess I could say I chose him because this was the first time we saw any strategy talk from him or any clue that he understands the game..but really, it's mainly because of the sugar dance.

Redemption Island Episode 4: Tears Of A Troll

Matt, Servant of God, judges the Devil from above

The battle of good vs evil on Redemption Island is set to be one of the greatest showdowns so far! But first, back to Ometepe, where Phillip is annoying everyone yet again, giving Natalie a real headache. On Zapatera, Ralph decides to show the rest of his alliance the hidden immunity idol. Sarita is ecstatic. The tribes get to choose who goes to the duel this time, and Ralph and Sarita (what a cute couple) will observe along with Kristina and Phillip, whose Secret Agent senses perked up at the prospect of getting some intel.

Somebody call a waambulance!

The duel in question is dominoes. Sounds lame, but was actually pretty tense. Both of them had failed attempts before Matt took it, much to the delight of Sarita and Ralph. Russell bursts into tears and had to be comforted by Matt. Russell's fall from grace has been remarkable. In Samoa and Heroes Vs Villains, it seemed like he couldn't put a foot wrong. Russell isn't used to failure. He is passionate about this game.

But in true Russell Hantz style, he's not going to go out quietly. He mouths off again about the stupidity of his old tribe, and their short-sightedness in throwing challenges. Ralph rises to the bait, and Russell tricks him into revealing his immunity idol to everyone, despite Sarita pleading him not to. Wow, Ralph. That was a dumb move. Now *everybody* is going to know about it. Ralph's ego is gonna be a problem for him. He's not as good at the game as he thinks he is. This makes you wonder why he even went along with the split vote last week. At any rate, his confrontation with Phillip was hilarious, where the secret agent masterfully deduces Ralph was not lying - "You have an idol. And you'll have an opportunity to use it if I have anything to do with it". With that, Russell outs the Zapatera alliances, tells Phillip to carry on his spirit (You're not backing the best horse there, Russ), and strolls out of the game for the last time.

It makes me wonder why the producers bothered bringing Russell back when they knew there was a good chance it could backfire and be a huge waste of time. But maybe it was called Redemption Island for a reason. They wanted Russell to play differently, and be redeemed. He didn't, and thus failed at Redemption.

"We have a winner!"

With Kristina out of camp, Boston Rob plans a beach day. In reality, it is a clever diversion to look for the idol before Kristina gets it. And boy, his search is frantic! He's looking everywhere for it, and finally on his way back, he spots it. Great, now Rob has even more power.

It seemed to me Rob didn't care that Russell was gone. God, this "Rob vs Russell" concept turned out to be a huge failure. Zapatera, meanwhile, are really happy that Russell is out. Stephanie is still making snide comments about it, such as "people do dumb things, like throw challenges". Girl, just move on. You're digging your hole deeper. Phillip is hoping to use the information Russell revealed as leverage to keep Kristina around. "Well, you're the expert in these covert matters, Phil" mocks Kristina. Haha. I don't really know why Phillip is lobbying for Kristina. The only other person who might go before her is him.

The next immunity challenge involves using the tools from their toolkits they got on day 1. It involves crowbarring a box, digging with a shovel, sawing down a wall and smashing tiles with a hammer. Ralph does 80% of the challenge and completely dominates it. Zapatera win immunity again. Not really surprising, the challenge seemed perfectly in tune with Ralph's skill set. What's the next challenge going to be? A plough-off?

Rooster crows again!

Ashley can't stand Phillip. She can't even look at him. But Rob thinks Kristina is far more of a threat, especially after mentioning her suspicions that someone has the idol clue. Grant tries to steer Rob towards getting rid of the nuisance rather than the threat, but Rob is having none of it. Rob realizes tonight's vote will determine whether he's really running the camp or not.

Kristina's no slouch, according to Rob

At tribal council, Rob senses the conversation is about how awesome Kristina is, so tries to steer it the opposite way by reminding them how she alienated herself early in the game. Phillip and Kristina are trying to make their cases to stay, with Phillip doing so by providing a brief history of his life. For the first time in the season, we get a predictable boot, as Kristina is finally cast aside. Looks like Rob really is sitting pretty right now - in stark contrast to his now-departed rival.

STAR OF THE WEEK: ROB MARIANO

The Robfather is in complete control of his tribe, and further cemented his dominance with the boot of his only challenger, Kristina. On top of that, he now has an immunity idol. His experience has really shown.

Redemption Island Episode 3: The Day Hope Died

Matt is as confused as Francesca as to why he's on Redemption Island. The poor guy was so blindsided he has none of his stuff with him. They may not have been alliance partners, and they're now set to compete against eachother, but they can agree on one thing - that Rob is a "scoundrel".

And watching that duel will be two randomly selected players from either tribe. The draw for Zapatera picks Steve and David. David is happy that it wasn't Russell or the girls. Seems clear where he stands, then. Observing the duel for Ometepe will be Ashley and Andrea. Good news, Matt! You've got your number one cheerleader on the sidelines.

Close, but no cigar! Sorry, Francesca

The challenge is to construct a pole that can reach through a gate and unhook three keys. Francesca gets her stick together first and unhooks two keys before Matt even has one. Matt's stick is poor, and this challenge is looking to be a blowout. But Wait! Francesca's stick breaks as she goes for her third key. That's given Matt a way back in. It goes down to the wire, with several failed hook attempts from Francesca, but Matt takes it. Francesca goes home for good, wishing Matt luck. Her buff is thrown into the fire ceremoniously. Hey, like Randy did in Heroes Vs Villains!

Steve wants to lie to Russell about who won. Seems a bit of a pointless lie to tell really, but he obviously hates the guy that much. When Andrea gives Boston Rob the recap, she makes sure to stress how mad he was and how much he's out for revenge. The look on Grant's face at this point is awesome. It's clear Andrea is mad about what happened to Matt - she was at the point of tears during her confessional. Rob does some serious damage control and tries to reassure her that she's still in the alliance. Andrea doesn't believe him, so she's gonna sit tight, wait for Matt to come back, and take his ass out.

The Anti-Russell Alliance

Russell cannot find the idol. Stephanie suggests making a fake one. So that's exactly what she does, and it manages to dupe Steve. Steve, Ralph and Mike want to get rid of Russell so bad they even consider throwing the challenge to get rid of him. Julie is unsure about it, she worries that Ometepe may gain momentum and go on a winning streak. She's right...it's way too early to start intentionally losing. Numbers are everything, and there's still time for Rob to turn it around. They say they'll decide when they get there.

"I'm dealing with a bunch of bitches!"

The challenge is going round on a water wheel and spitting water in a bucket. This looks like a really unpleasant challenge. Sarita gives "the signal", and they decide to throw it. Zapatera are playing a dangerous game right now. So, Ralph and Sarita sit out, and Krista and Stephanie are on the wheel with Julie. The two young girls don't realize that they're going through all this strife for nothing. Julie misses the bucket. Steve "tires out", and David fails at the puzzle, allowing Rob to win immunity for Ometepe. Russell is frustrated, he knows they lost on purpose.

Rob looks like a camper lost in the woods

Ometepe's reward is some deck chairs. Rob, previously not a fan of idols, has now changed his tune and decides to go looking for the clue. He finds Phillip is literally sitting on it, and manages to get it from him, without anyone knowing. However, the idol hunt does not produce any success. "The clue might as well have said: the immunity idol is somewhere" he says.

Stephanie thinks it is going to be a 3-3-3 split, so if they can convince one person to vote with them, they can pull off "the biggest....blindside....EVER!" Russell suggests their person might be "the old lady". Haha, he hasn't even learned her name. So Stephanie talks to Julie and asks her whether she is comfortable in the alliance she is in, and states being the 4th person is better than being 6th. She appears receptive. Russell talks with her too, and tells her to vote Ralph.

Russell Hantz will return

At tribal council, Ralph addresses the 6-3 division immediately. Russell accuses his team of throwing the challenge, and they deny it. Stephanie gets particularly feisty in her defence of Russell when the others accuse him of doing nothing around camp. Sarita takes exception the most, and calls her misguided and rude. When the votes are revealed, Russell is shocked when he sees that Julie didn't flip! Russell is voted out, and goes to Redemption Island, promising to be back. Stephanie looks at Julie and says "Storm's comin'"

"It's the first time I've ever been voted out, and I don't like it" says Russell. Time will tell if Julie made the right move, if Zapatera will be able to keep their numbers, or whether Russell really is gone for good.

STAR OF THE WEEK: STEPHANIE VALENCIA

Despite being on the losing side tonight, Stephanie came so close to performing a miracle that I gave her this award anyway. Her fake idol bluff was genius, and she talked a good game to Julie. I love how she isn't afraid to speak her mind and can scrap with the best of them.

Redemption Island Episode 2: Bye Bye Blondie

Now beginning her solitary stay on Redemption Island, Francesca puts a positive spin on her elimination. She's still on good terms with everyone and now hasn't had to step on any toes. Plus, being on your lonesome is still better than spending time with Phillip.

Phillip, crab warrior

Back at camp, Phillip is now Rob's bitch. And after killing a crab with a stone, gives an emotional and unintentionally hilarious speech about being a patriot and how Francesca besmirched his good name. The rest of the tribe all think he is crazy and/or a joke. Matt gave a hilarious commentary on the crab-catching escapade with the rest of the tribe laughing along.

At Zapatera, it becomes apparent that Russell is not impressed by Ralph. He also seems to have found another person to bring into his alliance - Krista. In classic Russell fashion, he begins searching for the idol again under the watchful eye of Steve and Mike. However, in a great ironic twist, Ralph manages to find an idol by ACCIDENT when picking up rocks.

Bible buddies: Andrea and Matt talk faith

Andrea and Matt are close. Rob notices it, and is concerned...and so he should be. He knows better than anyone how powerful a tight couple can be. He did exactly the same thing with Amber back in season 8. Rob's alliance partner is looking to be Natalie at this point.

The tribes arrive at their second challenge, with Stephanie wearing a cute white bikini. They see Francesca gone and comment on what a dumb move it was, as she was strong. Zapatera prove again just how easy it is to wind Phillip up, as he responds to Ralph's confidence at regaining immunity by loudly declaring "I will outlast any man!" Insecure, much?

Sarita swimming, if you can call it that

It's the classic tile smashing challenge from Micronesia! I love this one. Grant proves himself to be a challenge beast when he dives almost the whole length of the pool to give Ometepe an early lead. Sarita performs poorly for Zapatera, but things start to look up for Russell's team when Stephanie unlocks her crate faster than Natalie, allowing Ralph to blow Phillip out of the water at the ball-throwing part. Victory for Zapatera again! Matt shakes hands with the opposing team, which Rob did not like one bit. "Disgusting", he calls it. Slight overreaction, I think.

Russell made sure to take the reward basket, knowing there would be a clue inside. He finds it in the flipper, and stuffs it into his pocket. However, Ralph spots it and tells the rest of the tribe. He has no real reason to be angry about it, as he has the idol anyway, but I guess he just wanted to take Russell down a peg. And if this wasn't sufficiently established last week, it is once again made clear Mike is not a Russell fan.

Three is the magic number

Russell and his girls slam Sarita at the watering hole, where they read the clue together. It seems Russell is happy with the three that he's got, pointing out he's never needed no stinkin' numbers before. Er, yeah...better re-think that strategy when you have no idols to fall back on. Mike and Ralph approach Russell and ask him if he has the clue. He coyly denies it, and gets defensive and confrontational about it (busting out Boston Rob's "with me or against me" quote again for good measure). Russell continues to underestimate Ralph, scoffing at the idea of Ralph knowing how to play the game. "You just did that to me? To Russell Hantz? And you know how to play this game?". Here we go, Russell referred to himself in third person again...who had episode 2 in the pool?

I guess you could say he wasn't expecting it

Phillip delivers another speech after the immunity loss where he seems to take his failure very badly, and almost resigns himself to being voted out. Kristina is wearing her idol around her neck, and is planning on playing it. Little do both of them know, Rob's target is Matt. He tells Matt and Andrea they are splitting between Kristina and Phillip, but in actuality the other four are voting for Matt. The only thing that could go wrong would be to involve Phillip. Although he knows what a loose cannon he is, Rob wants to see if he can earn Phillip's trust, so tells him he is not going home and to vote for whoever he taps on the shoulder.

Rob's kiddie gloves handling of Phillip works, and he instructs him to vote for Kristina, who wastes her idol, and Matt is blindsided. So did Rob make a smart move, or has he just destroyed his tribe? Can he risk alienating Andrea this early in the game? I guess we'll see.

STAR OF THE WEEK: RALPH KISER

I'm impressed. Ralph has exceeded my expectations in every aspect, proving himself a worthy challenge competitor, a likeable player and surprisingly smart. Unless Russell manages to stage another power shift, Ralph is arguably in the best position in the game right now.

Redemption Island Episode 1: Foot In Dry Mouth

When Boston Rob and Russell arrived via helicopter to greet the rest of the contestants before they'd barely even had a chance to settle down, Jeff was quick to play up the positives to having them around, despite some being less than thrilled to see them (especially Russell, who was greeted with an "oh no!" from Mike). Francesca was the first one to point out the threat factor...although there were definitely people thinking it.

Not as welcoming as they look

When the two drew for tribes, Stephanie was the only one happy to end up with Russell. "I'm gonna stare him down" she says. That's not the approach you take to Russell, darling. He doesn't like to be challenged.

Russell was unusually reserved when he got back to camp. Even the concept of Redemption Island, which blew the mind of Matt and and rained on Francesca's parade, didn't phase the Texan. "Bring it on" he says. That's our guy! His first announcement to camp was to play leader, and tell them he isn't here to sabotage them. The group were still noticeably intimidated by him.

Construction of the shelter begun, and two Zapateras showed a different side to themselves. The tribe workhorse Ralph may not be as dumb as he seems. Ralph's assertion in his opening confessional that "there's never been a dumbass win this game" was unknowingly to him proved wrong last season (sorry, Fabio!). The second surprise for me was Mike...he came off more more of a goofball than I originally pegged him for. He gives Ralph the superhero nickname of Steel Wolf.  "If we stay away from the immunity challenges I think we can do damn well" says Captain America. If only!

The Ometepes are constructing their camp, and most of them are happy to see Rob there. The person they're not happy to see is Phillip, who comes off as a bossy jerk. He reveals to everyone he is a federal Agent and an expert in reading people. Why would you tell people that? To intimidate them? My money is on that he's just dumb. But I'll tell you who isn't - Kristina, who checks the toolkit for an immunity idol clue. Rob, of course, notices instantly this is what she was doing. Rob puts a quiet word in Phillip's ear that they should watch out for the girls because they outnumber them. His response is that he's going to stick with the girls. What? Yeah, definitely dumb.

Prom daate: Stephanie makes a deal with the Devil

Russell starts grooming Stephanie to be his next Natalie, and she is happy to accept that role. Sarita and Mike notice what he's doing and let out another "oh no!". They talk to David about it, and the plot to oust Russell first begins gathering steam. Like that was unexpected.

Rob does Danny Zuko

Over on the other tribe, Kristina is the one setting her sights on taking down the other big walking target, Rob. He seems to be getting on really well with the younger members of the tribe. Kristina goes searching for an idol and manages to actually find one! A little trick she picked up from Russell, no doubt. God, they really suck at hiding these things. Kristina gets Phillip and Francesca on board, but Phillip is really pushy about how she is able to gather the numbers.

The first immunity challenge was interesting. Zapatera raced into the lead and I'm not even sure why. Like Stephanie said earlier, Ometepe looked the stronger tribe. They assembled their staircase faster, and were on to their puzzle before Ometepe had even finished the first part. David took the puzzle master role, and though Zapatera started to wobble towards the end, not even puzzle legend Boston Rob could make up for Ometepe's huge deficit, and Zapatera won the first immunity.

Ralph chops rope like a motherfucker

Kristina has a plan. She wants to make a big move and take down Rob with the idol. Francesca tries to tell her that it leaves them in a bad position as the rest of the group will get mad. Kristina is adamant, though. She would "love it, love it" if she could blindside Rob tonight. Rob, however, is smarter than she thinks, and having seen her looking for the clue, decides to split his vote - because that worked so well the last time! Francesca is his other target, who rubbed Rob up the wrong way with her comments when the tribes first met the pair. Kristina gives Phillip the reassurance of knowing about the idol, even though she doesn't really like him.

Francesca can't believe Phillip's stupidity

Tribal council is eventful. A seemingly innocuous comment Francesca makes about Rob not going home, sets off Phillip to blab the whole plan. Um, that was called a lie, Phillip. If you're an expert at reading human behaviour, you should be able to spot them. Kristina and Francesca are forced to vehemently deny everything and do some major damage control. Rob smirks and can't believe his luck. He asks to see Kristina's idol and tells her if she gives it up she'll be safe. She declines.

So with Phillip changing his vote to "Francesqua", an alliance shot down in flames, Kristina smartly holds on to her idol, and Phillip becomes the swing vote of the 3-3 split. Francesca is voted out, reminding everyone "don't trust Phillip". If all tribal councils are this eventful, we're in for a great season.

STAR OF THE WEEK: KRISTINA KELL

It's not even close, either. Clearly, she came to play and play hard. This might be her downfall in the end, but the idol-finding, pot-stirring cougar is certainly going to go down fighting. Good luck, girl!