Caramoan Episode 11: Idol Speculation

Stealth R Us is dead. And Erik is fine with that, because now he has more options and is relishing his position as a swing vote. Next day, Brenda is breaking down. Partially from not having water, and partially because she's scared of the three amigos.

Hope it was worth it

With the auction coming up, Malcolm knows he has to save his money for the advantage  But Probst brings out the first item (beer) and Malcolm bids straight away. Worst restraint ever. Reynold gets to choose between his blind items. Cochran tries to tell him it's better to swap, but Reynold doesn't trust him and sticks with his item, which is a pizza slice. Not bad, but Sherri gets a better deal when she buys the whole pizza.  The next item is an idol clue, which only Malcolm gets to look at. Uh oh! At least they didn't let him get the challenge advantage though, that ends up going to Cochran. Brenda wastes her money on pig brains, and is a wreck once again. Good thing she gets a letter from home, along with everyone else except Malcolm, Sherri and Dawn who had spent all their money. Eddie buys peanut butter for the whole gang and the auction is over.

Brenda cries peanut butter

The group all read their letters together. Brenda is emotional once again (rough episode for the little cutie!) and so is, surprisingly, Cochran. Aww. Malcolm and Reynold are trying to strongarm Sherri into voting with them, but the best they can offer her is fifth. Lame. Reynold wants Cochran out as that would really shake things up.

Malcolm goes looking for the idol, following the clue's instructions. But as he is digging in the dirt, Andrea comes up to watch him which makes him stop. This results in an awkward stand-off for a while, until Malcolm eventually gives up and just walks back to camp. All that money spent on an advantage and he can't even use it. How frustrating!

Another thrilling installment of Malcolmwatch!

The immunity challenge is to hold a log by rope until you can't any more. Eddie says he doesn't consider Cochran a challenge threat. That may change, as Cochran uses his advantage straight away to put him two knots ahead of everyone else. Brenda and Erik

Eddie starts to feel the burn

are the first ones out of the challenge. Sherri at least makes it to the final round before falling out. Malcolm slips and his hopes of winning are smashed. With Andrea and Dawn out next after a great effort, it's just Cochran and the two bros. Cochran manages to outlast Reynold and then Eddie to claim the immunity necklace for a second time.

Cochran is relishing in the statistic that he's won more challenges than anyone else this season. Don't get too cocky John, that advantage was pretty huge. With no idol, Malcolm is having to bluff to Sherri that he has it, and tries to get her to vote Andrea. Erik is also playing both sides in an attempt to get as much information as possible.

The majority alliance are still going to split the vote, even though Cochran and Dawn both have doubts about Erik's loyalty. Sherri is loving the fact that she has all the power for this vote, although she's pretty delusional if she thinks she's running anything.

Cochran giving Malcolm the kiss-off

At tribal council, Reynold talks about how Phillip leaving changed the game whilst Sherri is openly flaunting her swing vote status. Dawn and Andrea try to keep any flippers in line by telling them what huge threats the three amigos are. It is time to vote and wow, Cochran really wants Malcolm gone. He may get his wish, as with no idols played it comes down to a re-vote between Andrea, Malcolm and Reynold. Nobody's flipping tonight. Malcolm is sent home and as he walks out, says he needs a drink. Was that beer at the auction not enough?

With the three amigos taking a hard hit, Reynold and Eddie's time in the game could finally be done. But don't be so sure, we've been saying that a lot lately and the players in the majority are going to have to battle it out eventually.

STAR OF THE WEEK: ANDREA BOEHLKE

By staying on guard Malcolm duty, she may have single-handedly been responsible for getting him out of the game. She's been playing a good game and although she's kept the target off her back for now, pretty soon she's going to be looked at as a jury threat.

Caramoan Episode 10: Children Of The Revolution

Stealth R Us decide to have a meeting after tribal council. That involves everyone except Malcolm, Eddie and Reynold. Eddie is starting to see the upside to being on the bottom - at least he knows what his position is, and from here the only way is up. The boys are gonna look for the new idol first thing tomorrow, but Andrea isn't scared, all they need to do is split the vote.

Another day on the Dawn rollercoaster

The next morning, Cochran and Phillip talk about how Dawn may not be the unbeatable force she once was. As he says this, Dawn is screaming and crying for some reason. Brenda comes to her aid, and she tells her she lost her retainer in the pool that has some of her teeth in it. If she can't find it, she'll quit the game. Luckily Brenda dives down and manages to retrieve it, and the two of them share a bonding moment. Awww.

The reward challenge is an obstacle course designed to get them dirty. Reynold, Erik, Dawn, Cochran and Phillip make up the purple team and Eddie, Malcolm, Sherri, Andrea and Brenda form the orange team. Erik takes a lead over Malcolm,, who stops to take all the bags out of the mud...a strategy he's stolen from Penner last season, no doubt. He takes a long time doing it though, as Reynold is able to reach the mud pit and beat him at his own game. Whatever time Andrea makes up for the orange team, Sherri manages to lose. Soon the purples are shooting their balls into the net and secure a victory.

I'm on top of the world

The winners are taken to a luxury resort, where Reynold is delighted to get a decent meal for a change. Cochran talks about being the challenge monster of the season without any trace of irony. Dawn feels reinvogirated after a shower, although Phillip decides to clean himself in the pool instead which pisses Erik off.

Dawn is having trouble sleeping. She's paranoid about Andrea joining up with the bros to take her out. Phillip assures her that's not going to happen, mainly because why would Andrea trust the people that just voted for her? Andrea thinks she's losing it and even Dawn admits she needs some time alone.

After getting a good night's sleep, Dawn is feeling good again. Stealth R Us have a group meeting and almost unanimously agree Reynold should go, for being the biggest immunity threat. Wait a minute, I thought that was Cochran?

Stealth R Us discuss the vote

The classic keelhaul challenge from Pearl Islands is back. Run over a platform, swim back under it, put your ring on your post. In the first heat, Reynold smokes everyone but Andrea comes in second ahead of Sherri and Cochran. For the second heat, Phillip

Malcolm getting that sinking feeling

chooses not to compete...he had a childhood trauma in the water. Malcolm gets first place and it looks like Eddie is going to come second, but in his over-the-top dive, he failed to land his ring, so crippled Brenda manages to take it. Owned! In the final round, it comes down to Malcolm and Reynold, and Reynold manages to beat him out. Better have a back up plan, Stealth R Us!

So Reynold feels he can do whatever he wants now he's immune. The fact that Phillip didn't even compete in the challenge rubbed him up the wrong way, so that's who he has in his sights for now. Malcolm still has the idol, but he's hoping to find another one. Dawn and Andrea are also looking. Malcolm manages to find it right in front of Dawn, who has to pretend to be happy for him. Of course, all they have to do now is split between Eddie and Malcolm and Eddie goes home. And even Eddie thinks he's doomed. Don't be so sure, bud.

Malcolm's idols cause double trouble

At tribal council, at first it certainly appears that everyone thinks Eddie is gone, mainly because they know about Malcolm's idol. But everyone is stunned speechless when Malcolm pulls out his other idol and hands it to Eddie! Andrea slumps down in defeat. Now the scrambling really begins. With nobody sure what to do, Brenda is suggesting Andrea, but Dawn can't tell Erik and Cochran because they're seated too far away. Malcolm throws it out there that the three amigos are voting for Phillip, because he's sucking the fun out of the game. Erik points out that the two holding idols might try to keep them so Phillip suggests to call their bluff and just vote for them anyway, even if he pays the price.

Everyone gets up to vote, and Cochran is relishing the insanity. Erik switches his vote to Phillip, will anyone else follow suit? Probst asks for idols and although the boys are tempted to hold onto them, in the end they play them both. 2 votes for Malcolm are cancelled, along with 4 votes for Eddie. The 4 votes for Phillip are enough to send him home. The Specialist is finally out! Who saw that coming?

Well, looks like Stealth R Us isn't unbreakable after all. It'll be interesting to see what happens now, but the camp certainly just got a lot quieter.

STAR OF THE WEEK:  MALCOLM FREBERG

This guy just can't stop finding idols! Strategically I'm a little disappointed he didn't try to leverage them better or take out a real threat like Dawn or Andrea, but goddamn if he didn't make it one of the wildest tribal councils ever.

Caramoan Episode 9: Down, But Not Out

Even though he was on the wrong side of the numbers last night, Reynold is still content with how things turned out. He's just happy a Favorite went home and that he's still around. Deciding to play a bit more, Reynold opens the door to Andrea for offers, but she shies away. Malcolm knows he took a hit last night, but he's still got room to maneuver. He considers himself the head of the snake, not Corinne.

Phillip gives Sherri the name "Tenacity". Sherri takes it in her stride, she's fine with dealing with big personalities. Phillip is now her Shamar. Wasn't it the other way around before?

And now we play water basketball for reward! The teams are divided by schoolyard pick. Erik, Eddie, Reynold and Cochran, with Michael as their defender, make up the purple team. Phillip, Dawn, Andrea and Brenda, with Malcolm as their defender, make up the orange team. Orange team take a lead courtesy of Brenda and Andrea after Eddie misses his shot. Cochran of all people gets purple back into it with a great goal. Phillip and Eddie both score, but after Brenda misses, Erik scores the winning goal. "I'm on a winning team!" screams Michael, adorably.

Cochran bonds with the bros

Cochran climbs down a waterfall on reward, and talks about how far he's come since being the kid afraid to take off his shirt. Michael proposes a male-dominated game to Cochran, just to make a change from the last FvF. Cochran is not the type of guy to go for that though.

Malcolm talks to Sherri about making a move on Stealth R Us. He then talks to Dawn about the same thing. Uh-oh, isn't that where Corinne went wrong last week? Sure enough, both Sherri and Dawn report back to Andrea, who tell them to let them think they're voting with him. Phillip tells Malcolm they're splitting the votes between Eddie and Reynold but their real intention is to blindside Malcolm.

Eddie and Andrea go for a swim at a lagoon, which Andrea says feels like a date. The couple then discuss the game, flirt, and try to bond a bit. Andrea asks Eddie if he'd be willing to vote with her and he says "if I had to".

Lovestruck

The immunity challenge is to stay underwater. Phillip and Sherri are the first ones out, followed rather surprisingly by Erik. Cochran puts up a great showing again and manages to outlast Malcolm, Michael and Reynold before dropping out. It soon comes down to Andrea and Brenda...and the cool, stoic Brenda wins. Typical that she wins the challenge that involves just staying still and not doing anything.

Fish out of the water: Brenda wins the challenge with her zen

Malcolm thinks he has secured the votes of Dawn and Sherri, and he targets who he thinks is really running the show: Andrea, not Phillip. He thinks he's playing her, but its actually the other way around. Though she does admit, "Malcolm's a good liar". Another good liar is Dawn, telling Malcolm she'll vote Andrea on the condition that she gets to see Reynold's idol. Reynold shows it her and then threatens that he'll play it if he feels like he's getting screwed. Dawn doesn't take kindly to this, though. "Shame on you, you shouldn't have showed me your idol" she says.

Don't make her paranoid

Eddie wants to know who Andrea is voting for, but she doesn't say. Andrea just wants Eddie to be happy with knowing it's not him, but he's not. Both are trying to get info from the other without giving up much in return, making it frustrating and funny to watch at the same time. He then lets slip to her that she will be getting votes tonight. This makes Andrea scared, and now she wants to switch the vote to the safest option, Michael.

At tribal council, Michael talks about how he was glad a Favorite went home, even if he wasn't in on it. Phillip introduces Sherri as the newest member of Stealth R Us, and she says she doesn't mind turning on the rest of the fans as they all voted for her at the last tribal. Phillip ends with a speech about how he believes he still has the upper hand over anyone wanting to defect, which sets off a few alarm bells.

Wild Malcolm used thief!

Reynold stands up to play his idol and Malcolm tells him to stop, and give it to him instead. Amazingly, Reynold does this. It's a move made even more badass by the fact that Malcolm JUST VOTED FOR HIM. Cold-blooded move or what? But it was all for nothing anyway, as it turns out Michael was the recipient of the votes, and shows his appreciation by flipping the tribe off after his torch is snuffed.

Well, there we are. Final 10 and the game is the most intense it's ever been. What's gonna be the fallout from all the lies and manipulation? Can't wait to see.

STAR OF THE WEEK: DAWN MEEHAN

People have been underestimating Dawn all game, and she's using that to her advantage. Great job on squeezing all the information she can out of her rivals and using it to benefit herself.

Caramoan Episode 8: The Decision Maker

The rest of Bikal congratulate Michael on staying. Phillip tells Dawn and Corinne he threw the challenge, but they don't believe it either. With a merge coming up, Dawn is thinking a lot, because not playing hard enough at the merge was what lost it for her last time.

Dawn turns on the waterworks

Come sail away: Gota are ready to join the party

Gota see a boat coming, and it turns out to be taking them to the other camp for the merge. Andrea is excited to reconnect with her allies on the other side. Now all on the Bikal beach, the tribe are given green buffs and tuck into the feast. with Dawn going to "mom mode" and cutting cheese. Malcolm wants to call the new tribe Enil Edam, which he claims means something relevant but is actually just a shoutout to his mom, Madeline. Corinne hates it.

Phillip and Andrea want their core four to stay intact, and are hoping Corinne isn't going to start scrambling. "When you go to sleep tonight, pretend you're Boston Rob" Phillip tells Andrea, "that's what I do". I'm sure you do, Phillip. How many times is he mentioning Boston Rob out there? Obviously enough for Corinne to be able to mock it in a confessional. Speak of the Devil, Corinne is plotting Phillip's vote-off with Malcolm after revealing what a dick he's been to her the last few days. But they still have their sights on Sherri as an easy vote for now because Malcolm thinks she's "weird".

The treemail hints at an eating challenge. This is something Reynold considers his Achilles heel, and it's just his luck that it's coming at a time when he needs it most. Anyway, the first round involves eating grubs. Andrea, Malcolm and Eddie get through. In the other heat, it's Cochran of all people who swallows first, followed by Phillip and Michael. The next round sees three going through. They are eating a really ugly-looking pile of shipworms, and Malcolm's reaction is hilarious. Eddie and Malcolm finish first, followed by Cochran.

Cochran wins immunity - three words
I never thought I'd hear on Survivor

After beating Eddie to eating the nasty balut, Cochran is now in the final round of an immunity challenge, which Probst points out is pretty absurd. The final food is pig brains, and Cochran manages to get it down faster than Malcolm. He does a little boxing/victory dance to celebrate, and rightly so - he's earned it.

This is gonna be the one

Corinne wants Sherri out. Phillip is resistant to the idea, though. He wants another split vote between Eddie and Reynold, to get one of the strong guys out. Cochran begins to suspect ulterior motives, which are later confirmed when Corinne talks to Eddie and Reynold in the woods about how she wants to "throat-punch" Phillip. She then goes to Dawn and tells her she wants to make a move next round. Why she thought Dawn was on the outs, I don't know...but Dawn is now going to use that information to beat Corinne to it and pull a power move of her own.

After Cochran and Andrea discuss it over, they decide it's time to get Corinne out, as long as they can get Erik on board. Erik's been very wishy-washy this game, and Cochran pointing out how he's already proved himself incompetent at the game starts to look like a fair criticism after Erik admits he basically has no idea what he's doing. I loved the scene where Erik asked Andrea to point to a name on the flag though...very Godfather-esque. Sherri has also been informed of the plan by Phillip, and even though she doesn't like him, she pretty much has to go along with it otherwise it's her leaving.

At tribal council, Corinne reveals how she's pretty open-minded after reaching the merge. Andrea says she's more paranoid than usual. Sherri thinks a fan is definitely leaving, and although Reynold agrees he thinks there might be some surprises in the not-too-distant future. Don't you ever get tired of being wrong?

Sherri lives!

Phillip votes for Corinne, calling her selfish. Andrea crosses her fingers that enough other people are too. As the votes are revealed, a shocked Corinne soon realizes things have gone wrong and can do nothing about it except cringe in embarrassment. Corinne is out, Eddie and Reynold are in the minority again, and now it's up to Michael and Malcolm to see if they can dig themselves out of this hole. Yet another classic merge episode. But why isn't Corinne on the jury? Anyone?

STAR OF THE WEEK: JOHN COCHRAN

Look at me, giving Cochran some credit for once! That's two in a row! Cochran was so rootable this episode, I loved that he got his Rocky moment and pulled off an unlikely win. But props to Dawn as well, for correcting her previous mistake.

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.