Caramoan Episode 7: Immovable Object

The last vote has left Michael on his own. Corinne is willing to fight for Michael though, because she loves him and would rather work with him than Phillip. Phillip is on to her though, and tells Cochran he doesn't want her to make the merge, even though Cochran thinks its too soon to make a move.

Eye of the tiger

The tree mail for the challenge tells them that the "Strong carry the weak". Cochran points out they have lots of the latter and none of the former. Phillip begs to differ however, and claims to be the strongest guy out here. He arm-wrestles Cochran to prove his point. But does it, really? It's Cochran.


The challenge is to run around a ring carrying heavy weights until one tribe catches the other. Phillip takes the lead role,

Cheerleader Brenda was the best part of the challenge

and you just know he's setting himself up for failure. Gota go quite well and don't seem to be feeling the strain. Whenever Michael and Corinne suggest to pick up the pace and run, Phillip doesn't want to, claiming the girls will tire. With Gota gradually gaining on them, Phillip eventually admits that he is the one that's tired. Dawn drops out and Corinne takes her load. Gota make their move and start running, with Brenda encouraging them from the sidelines. Phillip falls down, falls behind and Erik catches him, winning the challenge for Gota.

The Gota tribe are taken to a Caramoan coffee bar, and it's a real love fest. Andrea wants the fans to have a good time before she votes them out - still a gamebot, I see. Malcolm goes around kissing everyone. But he is also aware it's a game, and says that he doesn't think anyone wants to take him to the end.

Gota's spring break

Corinne blames Phillip for the loss, which is understandable  "He's the worst" she claims. But Corinne now has an unlikely rival in the mean confessionals department in the form of Cochran, who says Julia is even more boring than Vanilla. Ouch, no wonder she's getting no screentime. Phillip and Julia are close now though, for some reason. Phillip wants Julia to be his double agent once they merge.

Leader of the bro-lliance

Malcolm's plan is to bring together the other alpha males that have the same problem as him - Reynold, Eddie and Erik. Reynold is down for it, and thinks Eddie will be too. He's so confident he can trust Malcolm he even spills that he has the idol. Which even Malcolm thinks was a stupid idea.

Dawn has a conversation with Julia to see what she's thinking, and she reveals Phillip has offered to work with her. Dawn tells her she won't repeat that to anyone, but she tells it to Phillip straight away. Phillip's pissed because he now sees he can't trust her, and is now willing to cut her loose for her "foo pas", as he puts it.

Now for the immunity challenge (does it even qualify as a challenge at this point?). Three people swim out on a boat to grab a statue...for Gota, it's Brenda, Erik and Eddie. For Bikal, it's Dawn, Michael and Corinne. Gota finish first obviously, after Bikal almost tip over their boat several times. Then there's a grappling hook section which Reynold fumbles a little, allowing Phillip to make a comeback. It's not enough though, and after Andrea unlocks the locks, Gota are able to hoist their statue to victory.

Cochran - bullshit detector

Phillip confesses to Cochran afterwards that he threw the challenge to get rid of Julia. Cochran thinks it's a pretty ridiculous claim, but that Phillip is so delusional he almost believes it himself. Bikal want to split the votes just to be safe, but Corinne doesn't want to alienate Michael. Phillip wants to vote out Michael because it's what Boston Rob would do...he knows Corinne and Michael are close, and they even get into a bit of a fight over it.

At tribal council, Probst tries to make Phillip admit he lost the challenge but he doesn't bite. Michael says he's ready to find out what's gonna happen. What happens is a 3-3 tie between Michael and Julia. On the revote, it's Julia that goes home.

So Julia bows out quite literally, and now we have 8 Favorites to 4 Fans. Haha, that's pathetic. Will the Fans continue to get slaughtered after the merge, or will the Favorites fracture?

STAR OF THE WEEK: JOHN COCHRAN

It was between Cochran and Malcolm this week, but Cochran made me laugh more so he gets it. We haven't got as much insight into his strategy as I would've liked, but he's a great narrator.

Caramoan Episode 6: Clean Slate

Purple power

The episode starts with them coming back from the challenge (unusual in itself), and Phillip and Corinne aren't happy with Brandon calling them out and giving the Fans hope. But Phillip maintains that they're the better tribe and one of them will win this game. Cochran gives a great confessional about the Bikal tribe being the "cuckoo's nest". So true!

Arriving at the next challenge, Matt talks about how he feels bad for Phillip. Then Jeff announces a switch! They all break eggs, and Matt now gets to be on a tribe with Phillip. As well as Dawn, Cochran, Corinne and his fellow fans Michael and Julia, who are now Bikal. That makes the new Gota Eddie, Reynold, Sherri, Malcolm, Andrea, Erik and Brenda. Brenda seems to think they have the edge and it looks to be correct.

The future is orange

Reynold and Eddie are really happy that the swap is granting them new life. Predictably, they offer to roll over on Sherri straight away. This actually makes Erik skeptical of them. It's funny how nobody is buying Reynold's shit. This game must've been a very humbling experience for him. Over in the water, Sherri is basically doing the same thing to Andrea and Brenda.

Which one are you again?

The New Bikal tribe arrive at home, and Corinne is really happy to be with Michael, because she loves gays. Oh, she's one of those women. Phillip and Julia talk whilst starting the fire, as Phillip thinks it might be easier to gain her trust than the two guys.

Andrea and Malcolm love the fact that the Gota tribe are so divided. Andrea mentions that she had a dream Malcolm had an idol. Malcolm denies it, but he thinks it's funny that it turned out to be right.

Phillip tells Corinne about his conversation with Julia. She doesn't approve of it as she's not interested in working with anyone so willing to flip. She calls Phillip the worst Federal Agent ever and tells Dawn that he needs to shut up.

Crate expectations: Phillip's not a challenge star any more

The challenge involves moving blocks to make a staircase. The strength deficit is demonstrated almost immediately as Eddie and Erik dominate Phillip and Julia. Dawn and Michael also struggle, and Phillip begins to wear out after making a third trip. Malcolm gets to work on organizing the puzzle for Gota. Phillip, Corinne and Julia deliberate for ages and get one box up by the time Gota have five. And then Cochran notices their top box is what should've been their bottom one anyway. How did they allow that to happen? So it's a blowout victory for Gota, which anyone could've seen coming, and it leaves a very pissed Phillip Sheppard going to tribal council tonight.

Phillip tells Matt and Michael he wants to vote out "the girl" (Julia, I guess) and tells them they need to do exactly what he says. I think this was the control freak nature that made Brandon blow up on him in the first place. Matt's fine with it though, he wants to make the merge and he'll do whatever it takes...even if it means screwing over one of his old allies.

But although the vote seems simple according to Phillip, there are other factors Cochran is considering. One, there might be a hidden immunity idol on the tribe. They know Matt doesn't have it because he "reeks of desperation". Another strike against him is that he's made no secret he's close with Michael, and that's a pair that might need to be broken up. Corinne however hates Julia, and slams her in a confessional on the way to tribal.

Doing what I have to do to survive

At tribal council, Matt says it's kind of surreal to be on a tribe with people he was a fan of before the show. Corinne talks about how she's made awesome friends and wishes she'd been in an alliance with some of them from the start. Michael thinks a fan is going for sure. Certainly looks that way, as Matt nervously casts his vote for Julia.

When two Julia votes come up, Julia thinks she's done. But then Matt's name comes up and it's his turn to be blindsided. Matt is out, which really sucks for Michael, and although Julia has earned a stay of execution it's not too great for her either.

STAR OF THE WEEK: CORINNE KAPLAN

Corinne was back to her bitchy best this episode, delivering some killer one-liners. Her impending showdown with Phillip has been a long time coming and could be coming to the boil next week.

Caramoan Episode 5: The Meltdown

The Fans are optimistic that they can turn things around, even though Sherri still admits she didn't want to vote out Laura. Michael is glad Reynold wasted his idol, because he didn't want him to have it.

Brandon talks about his family back home and how he feels selfish for leaving them. He then volunteers to be voted out at the next tribal council. He also apologises for his plans of sabotage, as the rest of the tribe nervously play down the fact they dodged a bullet. Corinne wants him out. The next day however, Brandon's feeling differently and takes back his quit, claiming we're going to see an "intense" Brandon. Exciting.

Michael tries to hold on

The challenge is to toss coconuts into the other tribe's net, and the last net holder standing wins reward for their tribe. Phillip and Brandon hold the nets for Bikal, Michael and Matt are holding for Gota. Phillip's tactics of yelling every time someone throws a coconut to put them off and make them miss seem to be working. Brandon is the first one to drop out of the challenge. Matt follows afterwards. It's between Phillip and Michael, and Michael drops out giving the Favorites the win.

Reynold scores a second!

Back at camp, Sherri is mad that the fans are still losing and that nothing has changed despite everyone claiming it would. They all go out on an idol hunt, but the man who finds it is the one no-one wanted...Reynold again. This time, he doesn't want it to get outed, although he does tell Eddie about it.


So as the Favorites sit down to eat a meal prepared by Brandon, he starts to get a little irked by Phillip bragging that he was the one who won the challenge. They then get into an argument over the tiniest thing, like what to do with the shelter. Brandon has always hated Phillip, and doesn't think he can hold back anymore, because Phillip's controlling nature when explaining himself is just pissing him off even more.

Urge to kill...rising

The Fans are feeling pretty low. Matt's feet are so waterlogged they look like "a dead person's feet". Michael is depressed that they're failing on all levels of Survivor. The other tribe are kicking their ass, and now so are the elements.

Brandon getting stir crazy

The Favorites aren't happy either, though. Phillip wants to throw the next immunity challenge because Brandon is going nutso and he's not comfortable around him. Brandon finds out about it from Andrea, and confronts Phillip, who nervously tries to explain to him that he can't trust him anymore. Brandon snaps and pours the rice out to the rest of the tribe's horror, yelling that he's finally given them a reason to vote him out. The Favorites don't think they can play with Brandon anymore, but Dawn knows you should never give immunity away.

The two tribes turn up to the challenge. Reynold talks about how he thinks the Favorites must be having a good old time at their camp due to the winning streak. Erik sadly shakes his head, as this couldn't be further from the truth. Brandon steps off his mat and talks about how he's giving the Fans a chance to get back into the game. They act confused, and then when Corinne announces the Favorites are forfeiting the challenge, the confusion turns to shock.

It starts getting really heated when Brandon goes off on Phillip, throwing all sorts of insults at him, so Probst has to separate him from the rest of them. Jeff tries to get him to explain himself, and Brandon says he swore when he came out here to play again he'd never let himself get walked over like he did on South Pacific. Phillip gets a chance to respond and he says he has no idea where this is coming from. Andrea is crying because she doesn't like the meanness. Phillip and Brandon exchange more words, and

He sure knows how to make an exit

Probst has to massage Brandon to calm him down. Dawn is really stressed out and doesn't want to be here because of how awkward it is. Probst brings up the Russell connection, and Brandon talks about how he's proud that Hantzes speak their minds. Phillip starts to lose his cool and really enrages Brandon when he brings up Brandon's kids.


So, Erik hands over the idol to Julia and the Fans are officially safe. Reynold wants a victory salute. Jeff decides to hold tribal council right there. Brandon verbally and loudly votes for Phillip. Everybody else on the tribe votes for Brandon. Brandon is out of the game and walks off behind the challenge structure, but not before giving Phillip one last shot, calling him a bitch. The Favorites breathe a huge sigh of relief and depart the challenge arena to go back to camp, as do the Fans.

And thus closes one of the most extraordinary chapters in Survivor history. I've never seen anything so enthralling and uncomfortable in equal measure. Brandon is definitely better off out of the game, his tribe are definitely better off without him, and the Fans are just happy none of them are going home. So at the end of the day, everyone got what they wanted.

STAR OF THE WEEK: BRANDON HANTZ

This whole episode was about Brandon. His hot-headedness and rice-throwing exploits may not have made him a "star" in the traditional way, but if his goal was to make a scene for the cameras and go out on his own terms, then he definitely succeeded.

Caramoan Episode 4: Dishonorable Discharge

Eddie asks the rest of the tribe where they go from here and calls out Laura for being the weakest. Why didn't you vote for her, then? "Just because we didn't go with your plan..." starts Laura, before Reynold interrupts "It was your plan!" Ok, he does have a point there.

Not such an exclusive club now

Phillip decides to induct Brandon into Stealth R Us and names him The Conqueror, because of his performances in challenges. Brandon makes it clear in confessional he still doesn't like Phillip, though. Erik now has the name of The Quiet One. Andrea doesn't seem to like it, and is getting name jealousy or something. "So what, are we gonna give Brenda a name?" she says. Just as she says that, Brenda does get a name - Serenity.

The reward challenge is to ferry your teammates across the water using a platform. The Fans choose Julia. The Favorites choose Brenda. When they get to the second platform, Laura joins in the fun, very shakily. The Faves are transporting Andrea and move into the lead. Now the task is to get everyone above the top of the platform. Shamar asks people to step on him. Both tribes are close, and are waiting on Corinne and Matt. The Favorites get there first and win the challenge, although amusingly Shamar initially thought he had won.

So the Favorites get a native in camp named Tata to teach them a few tricks, like how to cook rice and improve their shelter. Malcolm finds the little guy pretty amusing. Cochran is jealous that he's dancing and flirting with the women. Tata is everything he's not.

Tata is a hit with the ladies

Michael is pissed that the Favorites have won every reward. Shamar is still being lazy and is now demanding rice. Not even Sherri is impressed with this latest stunt, saying she doesn't even wait on her husband. Then Shamar complains about having something in his eye, and Reynold assumes he's once again being a drama queen.

Man down!

The night is rough for the Fans, who not only have to deal with a storm, but are visited by rats. That's not the only trouble for one of them, though. Shamar's eye situation has got so bad that Probst and a medic have to come in to camp. With Shamar's vision threatened, the medic pulls Shamar from the game. The guy cries, because he doesn't want to let his team down, but he doesn't want to lose his eye. So, Shamar gets the hero's exit he wanted.

Malcolm makes a smash

And now the Fans have to take on the next immunity challenge without Shamar. It's the tile-smashing challenge, with an added throwing section. Erik takes the lead for his tribe after Sherri fails to smash in one go. Brandon smashes next for the Favorites and by the time Matt is done, Brenda is also back with the third key. Eddie makes up a lot of time for the Fans, but then Laura struggles with the locks and the comeback is halted. Reynold does really well on knocking down the blocks, but Phillip's headstart is good enough to win immunity once again for the Favorites.

Survival of the strongest

Back at camp, the majority alliance is in a tough spot. Matt knows the only reason they were even close to winning was because of Reynold and Eddie. He proposes to Michael that they should get rid of the obvious weak link Laura. When Matt comes to Reynold to tell him this, Reynold is skeptical because Matt has lied to him so many times before. Sherri is also unreceptive. It's going to be a tough choice.

At tribal council, Matt says he misses Shamar's strength in challenges. Reynold points out how he wanted Shamar out from the start and how that would've given them a chance to bond. Eddie calls Laura out as the weakest player, but Laura hopes that her alliance will save her because when you hit a swap, numbers are important.

Reynold plays his idol and cancels Laura's vote. Everyone else votes for Laura and her time is up. That's a shame, I was really enjoying Laura. So will keeping the less loyal powerhouses come back to bite Matt, or turn the tribe around? Only time will tell.

STAR OF THE WEEK: PHILLIP SHEPPARD

Since when has Phillip been a challenge star? I don't know, but I'm enjoying it. It's also nice to know he can take on the leadership role and do it well. I'm really digging all the new nicknames, too.

Caramoan Episode 3: The No Talking List

Shamar in a rage at having picked up votes

The Fans return to camp, and Matt feels bad because he was the swing vote. Reynold is pissed at him and declares it game on. Which Shamar takes as Reynold just being a crybaby and starts yelling at him, Eddie, Matt....pretty much everyone. The camp is in total chaos, as Laura quite rightly points out. Sherri tries to calm down Shamar, telling him the guys are going to try and wind him up because he's an easy target, but the Marine is now questioning if he even has the will to continue.

Malcolm scores again

Over to Bikal now, and Phillip is bragging about being in great shape for his age. Corinne outlines the main pairs in the tribe...Andrea/Phillip, Cochran/Dawn...which leaves Corinne and Malcolm as a pair kind of by default. The two go off to look for the immunity idol, and after dipping his hand into a watery hole, Malcolm finds it.

Phillip is still clowning around by wearing a basket lid on his head. Cochran talks about how playing Survivor is just like watching Survivor. Andrea starts getting paranoid about Corinne and Malcolm being close. She debates with Cochran the possibility or replacing Corinne in their alliance with Brandon. That's one of the best things about returning player seasons, the gameplay is never static for long. She proposes the idea with Brandon of voting Corinne and he seems OK with it, but secretly, he's skeptical. He's been lied to before, and says if they tell him he's next to go, he'll burn the shelter down. More threats he won't follow through on, I see.

Andrea 2.0 is always plotting something

Shamar is considering quitting, which shocks his tribe. He's not happy and he doesn't want to be "the angry black man on Survivor". Sherri convinces him to stay, because she doesn't want to risk going down by two if they lose the next challenge. Since Sherri has been loyal to him, Shamar decides to repay that loyalty and stay on. Which disappoints Reynold, because he wanted Shamar to quit, and doesn't buy how he tried to make himself the hero for not quitting, when there's thousands of fans who would give anything to be where he is.

Another down-to-the-wire challenge

And now to the challenge...it requires getting everyone in the water to bring back a chest from inside a wooden cage. The chest is then to be pushed along a ramp, which requires the use of a grappling hook to retrieve missing sections. Laura sucks hard at the swimming portion and has to have Reynold come back and help her. Once in the cage, Shamar complains about not having the goggles. Both tribes retrieve their chests and are neck and neck by the time they both reach the track. Malcolm has the first go on the grappling hook, but misses. Reynold puts the Fans into the lead. Phillip brings the Favorites back into it. Malcolm and Shamar both manage to secure a hook. Eventually it comes down to a showdown between Brandon and Eddie, with Brandon winning it for the Favorites.

The Fans are considering splitting the vote between Eddie and Hope in case Reynold uses his idol. Sherri fills Shamar in on the plan, hoping he'll keep his mouth shut. Fat chance of that! Not long after, Shamar is in the water hinting to Hope that she could vote for Eddie to save herself, because he likes her better than the other two guys.

What does Hope do with this information? Gives it to Julia. This gets back to the rest of Julia's alliance and they suddenly have lost a lot of trust in Shamar...understandably. Laura is especially nervous because of her poor performance, thinking that she might be a target if something goes wrong. Laura goes to Reynold and tells him she's willing to vote out Shamar with him, and Reynold's eyes light up at the prospect.

A hero on the inside

At tribal council, Shamar denies helping Hope and claims he's misunderstood. but whilst the rest of the tribe recount the various Shamar horror stories, Sherri says that she "gets" Shamar. Hope and Eddie talk about the targets on their back, and Eddie mentions that Shamar has put him on the no talking list as well as Reynold. The tribe go off to vote, and it ends up a three-way tie between Shamar, Eddie and Hope. After the revote, Hope is sent home.

Man, Reynold and Eddie just can't catch a break. Can they turn it around? As much as I'm glad it was Hope from an entertainment perspective, keeping the loudmouth is bringing a lot of negative energy to the tribe and I don't see the Fans getting it together any time soon.

STAR OF THE WEEK: SHERRI BIETHMAN

I love her unlikely friendship with Shamar, and this fast food mama is doing a great job of keeping her goat under control. Not only is she strategic, but she has the people skills to do very well in this game.

Caramoan Episode 2: Revenge Of The Nerds

This is not a sane man

Dawn tries to reassure Brandon about being out of the loop, but he's really not happy as he really liked Francesca and thought voting her out first again was extremely harsh. The two get into it a bit and Dawn is left crying. Brandon tells Erik he's thinking of going out Russell Hantz style...."With a bang!"


Shamar is laying in the shelter to conserve his energy. Which is a diplomatic way of saying lazy. Allie wants him gone first for sure. Sherri has other ideas though and is pulling him into the counteralliance of six, which he appears to be up for. Sherri's keeping Shamar close and intends to drag him through the game because he's her Phillip.

Brandon confesses to Cochran that he was thinking of sabotaging the camp last night, but decided against it. The mood swings and unpredictability to Brandon unnerves Cochran. Then the real Phillip approaches and Brandon asks him if he can be trusted enough to be let in on the vote from now on. Phillip refuses his request and condescendingly refers to him as "mid-management". He then calls Brandon "crazy" in a confessional, knowing the irony full well. This has caused Brandon to talk with the other Favorites about getting rid of Phillip before he becomes too powerful. Phillip may think he's Boston Rob, but he's not. He can't even stop his tribe's banner from falling down.

It's time to get to the immunity challenge and the Fans, especially Michael, have a big reaction to seeing Francesca has gone first again. The challenge involves ferrying contestants across on a small raft, where they will dive down and remove poles from a cage to release rings.

Bikal sail into the lead

The Fans send Sherri, Julia and Hope out on their raft, whereas Andrea, Brenda and Erik do it for the Favorites. Sherri is left to pull out all the poles on her own, which does not prove as effective as the Favorites' rotation strategy. With the Favorites having a huge lead going into the ring toss, it comes down to Malcolm vs Reynold, once again. Michael takes over for the Fans, as does Phillip for the Favorites, who lands the winning ring.

The Favorites are very happy with their victory and Phillip in particular is in a jolly mood, introducing his new branch of Stealth R Us to the camera. Malcolm appears to be going along with it on the surface, but says it's going to get annoying if he has to deal with Phillip for the whole game.

The Specialist has found his loyal soldier

So the Fans are voting someone out tonight, and there's no doubt in Reynold's mind who that should be. As the group debrief about their lack of strategy in the challenge, Reynold decides to call out Shamar and confirm that he's voting for him tonight.

Matt can't stand Shamar and tells the cool kids he wants him out. Still holding a grudge from the shelter building incident, perhaps? He points out they can vote Shamar out to placate the rest of the group and still have the numbers advantage over them, but Sherri is very insistent they stick with him. Laura has picked her target...Allie. And she did so because she's apparently the biggest strategic threat.

Beginner's luck

Reynold goes looking off in the jungle for an idol and by chance, manages to find it pretty quickly. He's excited about it, but is trying to suppress his glee because he wants to keep it to himself. However, Laura thinks she sees a bulge in Reynold's pocket and guesses that he has an idol. I'm guessing it won't stay secret for long.

At tribal council, Jeff singles out the cool kids alliance and asks Matt if it concerns him, but he says he doesn't. Cool kids breathe a sigh of relief. Laura takes this opportunity to out Reynold as having the idol. She plays it sly at first, but Jeff gets it out of her. So Reynold shows it to the whole group. He claims he's playing it tonight, but find me even one person who believes that.

Weren't we supposed to be running the show?

The votes come in. Will it be unanimous for Shamar like Reynold wants? Nope, with six votes, Allie is voted out and the douchebag is spared. She's been a huge Survivor fan half her life so she's mortified to go out so early, but this is one season where people are playing hard right from the start. So now that the cool kids have been successfully neutralised, will the fans be able to get it together? With this amount of friction, don't count on it.

STAR OF THE WEEK: LAURA ALEXANDER

She sucks at challenges, but the strategic game is definitely Laura's forte. She masterminds the boot of a fellow blonde and her sharp eyes and sharp mind managed to uncover a tribemate's secret. Definitely emerging as one of the Fans to watch.

Caramoan Episode 1: Deja Vu

We arrive at the Tarsier-occupied Caramoan Islands just in time to see a boatload of Survivor fans (some bigger than others) burst onto the scene. Michael is already getting called out by Laura as being a potentially shady character and they haven't even got off the boat yet. Despite the general vibe of inexperience and naivete, Allie assures us she has what it takes to get to the end.

Approaching by helicopter is another tribe - the Favorites! You know these guys, they've all played before...and Jeff gives us a brief refresher course on each one of them. "The theme of the season is people who made big mistakes" says Andrea. Damn right, looking at some of these misfits. Between idol-giver Erik, nutcase Phillip and first boot Francesca, there's potential for a good redemption story here. Probst stands atop a massive rock and declares the game begun.

Beautiful Brenda gets a majestic entrance

The fans jump off the boat and approach their mat, eager to see who they're going to play against. The helicopter comes in and Cochran and Dawn come out first, and are the only ones to get a good reception. Brenda is immediately singled out by Julia as being "dangerous". Sherri is clearly loving every minute of it.

So the two tribes get into a challenge right away. They are to retrieve a ring from one side of the water and take it to the other side. The first matchup is Erik and Dawn vs Julia and Shamar. Erik is first to the ring but Julia steals and Dawn is unable to stop Shamar scoring the first point. Later, Brandon and Andrea even it up by overpowering Hope and Eddie. Phillip makes it 2-1 to the Favorites. Shamar is still hogging the limelight from the sidelines, yelling at Sherri to "break her wrist!".

New kid Malcolm earns his stripes already

The trash-talk between Laura and Cochran before their match-up is really cute, but it ends up inconsequential when Francesca takes the ring and scores to make it 3-1. Malcolm gets the better of Reynold in the next match-up and ends up winning it for the Favorites. Brandon tackles him in celebration.

Shamar critiques the shelter building technique

The Fans arrive at their camp having been schooled, and Shamar is let down that he was the only point scorer for his tribe. He then goes on to cause further friction when he complains the rest of the group are focusing too much on the shelter and not enough on the fire. Matt in particular objects to this.

Andrea, Francesca and Dawn form an alliance and want to bring in Cochran and Brandon as well. Francesca even tries to bury the hatchet with Phillip (although he responds with nothing but silence and privately reaffirms "she annoys me greatly"). She does not want to be the first one out again and says she will eat a rock if it happens.

Back at the fans tribe, Shamar manages to win some points by saving the day and starting the fire, proving he is an asset after all.

Phillip tells Corinne he wants an alliance with her, even giving her the nickname Dominatrix. He then adds Andrea and Malcolm, as well as suggesting Dawn. He's applying the "BR rules" that he learned from Boston Rob and attempting to run the show in secret. He has a conversation with Erik where he tries to recruit him and implies he already has the numbers anyway. Erik agrees, but is not impressed with Phillip as he saw it as a threat.

Star-crossed lovers

The pairings in the reward challenge provide an instant icebreaker for some of the Fans. Reynold decides to make Allie his number one ally, because it's his "not obvious choice". Eddie and Hope seem to be coupling up too, after Eddie declares them the two most attractive people in the game and calls her his Southern belle. At night, Laura notices that Allie and Reynold are getting a little bit closer than just cuddling, and decide the romantic pair need to be taken care of quickly.

On the Favorites, Cochran gets a really bad sunburn and ends up ridiculously swollen and red. They're not even trying to hide how goofy this tribe is.

Cochran feels the heat

Gota's two couples are teaming up over in the water, thinking they're running the show, not even realizing there are several people back at camp that have got their number. Laura wants to break up the couples alliance and is getting Sherri, Julia and Michael to help her do it. But although Michael says he's in, he really wants to set himself up in a position to play the swing vote and decide with Matt which way to go. Maybe Laura's early instincts about him being a snake were right.

The immunity challenge is to climb up a multi-level obstacle course and throw off the crates on each floor. Phillip and Cochran go first for the Favorites and take on Sherri and Laura for the Fans. Erik proves to be a challenge star again and flies up that ladder. It comes down to Brandon and Andrea vs Eddie and Allie and the Favorites get a lead going into the beanbag toss. Malcolm is the thrower for the Favorites and manages to score three before Reynold even starts. But Reynold pulls out an impressive comeback to win the first immunity challenge for the Fans.

It's after the challenge and Francesca wants to vote out either Phillip or Corinne. Andrea feels more loyalty to the less threatening Phillip however, and rats her out. This causes Phillip to compare voting Francesca out again to Machiavelli burning down villages, which is pretty heavy stuff for a television gameshow. Erik is down with a Phillip boot, but warns Brandon that Phillip hinted to him he has numbers, leaving Brandon and Francesca to try and figure out who they are.

Isn't genocide hilarious?

Francesca wants to split the votes as it's worrying to her that Phillip is so calm. Brandon doesn't trust Andrea at all (looks like he's found his new Mikayla) and wants to vote for her for "playing all sides". It seems that Dawn and Cochran will be the ones who decide who leaves, having reconnected and found themselves in the swing vote position. Cochran is hesitant to vote out Francesca because he likes her and thinks it would be a pretty cruel move.

Francesca prays that history doesn't repeat itself

At tribal council, Probst brings up the rivalry between Francesca and Phillip in a clear attempt to stir something up, and it turns out Phillip can pronounce Francesca's name right now - and in fact could all along! Francesca's lack of experience is also brought up. Cochran just really seems to be relishing the exciting part of the game and Malcolm touches him on the shoulder for a joke, mimicking a Boston Rob move Cochran had referenced earlier.

It is time to vote...and it turns out to be a close one! Four people vote for Andrea causing her to almost freak out, and the rest vote for Francesca. Unbelievably, Francesca is the first person voted out of the game...again. I wonder if that rock tasted nice. Oh well, at least the real all-stars are still here and are playing hard already.

STAR OF THE WEEK: SHAMAR THOMAS

Yes, surprisingly it goes to a fan! Shamar made me laugh several times in this episode and he seems to be the biggest drama instigator on the Kota tribe, like I expected. He seems totally fearless and has already shown he's a force to be reckoned with. His assessment of the Favorites? "Lunch meat".