Previously on Survivor: Laura M. was voted out of the tribe, leaving no intact couples. Caleb and Hayden tried to blindside Tyson, but Ciera betrayed them. Realizing this, Hayden and Caleb made a last-ditch effort to get her ousted. But Tyson decided to keep Ciera and Caleb was voted off to limbo. Worried about all the tribal wavering, Tyson played his Hidden Immunity Idol.
After that tribal vote, Hayden congratulates Tyson on making a great move. He tell the tribe that everyone else is playing for second place at this point. Gervase takes umbrage at this, claiming that he’s guiding Tyson. Tyson, meanwhile, is miffed that Hayden is throwing him under the bus. By the way, absolutely nobody seems surprised that Tyson possessed the Hidden Immunity Idol.
At the Redemption challenge, Caleb refuses to look at anyone as he enters the arena. When Jeff asks, he admits he’s pretty peeved at everyone but Hayden and Katie. “In the South,” he says, “a man’s word means something. I guess in Utah or Philly, it doesn’t mean as much.” (Utah is Tyson’s home state, while Gervase hails from Philly.)
Gervase shrugs it off. He figures that Hayden and Caleb tried to stab Tyson first, so Caleb’s really just being a sore loser.
Today’s challenge is to build a house of cards. The first person to reach eight feet is the winner, the first two stay in the running. Jeff adds a slight wrinkle to that. After thirty minutes, if no one has reached eight feet, it’s the tallest two towers that count. The shortest one goes home. So, I guess they’re on a schedule today.
Once again, Laura dominates. She reaches the eight foot level with almost no fuss. Tina is the next tallest, but Caleb starts to gain on her, and at three minutes to go, he’s slightly ahead. Tina has trouble — her top storey keeps falling apart. But, with about a minute left, Caleb’s entire tower (which has been leaning to one side) falls. Tina sits and waits until the time runs out, counting the last ten seconds out loud. She hugs Caleb like the cute teddy bear he is, and apologizes for taking him out of the game.
Jeff congratulates Caleb for showing the world what a great guy he is. Basically, he’s saying, “Good for you for not being Colton.” Then he asks how Caleb manages to be in a relationship with Colton, calling it a “great mystery.”
Caleb replies that he and Colton have their differences, and similarities. “In what way are you similar?” Jeff asks, incredulously.
“We’re both guys,” is the best Caleb can come up with.
Laura awards the Hidden Immunity clue to Ciera. This time, Ciera keeps is, since she knows there’s an idol out there to be found.
At camp, Ciera takes her Alliance of Four to the well and shares the clue with them. The Idol is somewhere near the well, and not on the ground.
All four of them start searching the trees around the well. Hayden and Katie show up (probably attracted by all the cameramen) and start searching as well. Hayden says his only chance now is to find the idol.
But Tyson is just as anxious. He interviews that he has to win, in order to justify his staying in the game when he had the chance to save Rachel from leaving. He even starting crying about it, although, having watched him for this many weeks, I don’t know if I really buy the tears. But it makes good TV, for the next thing that happens is Tyson finding the idol and sticking it into his very short, not very loose shorts. In a place where a bulge would not be suspicious. If you know what I mean.
I’m just glad I don’t have to touch it.
B-roll of snakes. So, so many snakes on this show.
Hayden keeps trying. He goes to Gervase to get him to flip. “Sure… but what’s your move?” Gervase asks him, “I don’t see one.” Hayden explains that his big move is to convince Ciera and Katie to vote with him. Good luck with that, Hayden.
The Immunity Challenge is a doozy, involving three lengths of pipe, a small colored ball, obstacle courses, keys, and sandbags. Each player must run an obstacle course while balancing a small ball on the top of a bamboo pipe. At various points, they must add another length to their pipe.
At the end of the course, they unlock a box filled with sandbags. The sandbags are hurled short bamboo lengths balanced on pillars. Monica leads through most of the course. Gervase is the second to the finish, but he’s better at tossing sandbags. After some excited counting by Jeff, Gervase wins. The race is very exciting, and there is a lot of hilarious footage of Katie dropping her ball — once or twice on her own head.
Winning brings a reward of ice cream treats for Gervase. Jeff asks him to pick two friends to share the ice cream. Gervase picks Monica (in return for her giving up her meal) and Tyson. The ice cream arrives at camp in a cart, which makes it fun for those who get to eat it. The others look on hungrily, and Hayden tries to sway Ciera to his side.
At tribal, Hayden, now with nothing to lose, explains that Tyson is controlling four votes in the tribe: His, Gervase, Monica, and Ciera. Jeff points out that Ciera didn’t get ice cream, which Ciera puts down to her getting to enjoy a lot of food lately. But when the discussion continues, Monica says Ciera’s better off with her group because “four is better than sixth (place).”
Hayden, seeing a crack, puts in his screwdriver and cracks it open, telling Ciera that she’s fourth in her alliance, when she could be whatever number she wants in his alliance. The light goes on in Ciera’s eyes as she realizes where she really stands in her group. Hayden quickly tells her and Katie to vote for Monica, and urges Ciera to make a big move.
The voting takes place: It’s a deadlock. Three for Hayden and three for Monica. Jeff has them vote again — but they can only vote for Hayden and Monica. It’s another tie.
At this point, Jeff explains the rules we’ve been wondering about for years. The players must now decide unanimously for either Hayden or Monica, or he’s going to pull out the dreaded bag of rocks. The players decide unanimously to risk the rocks.
So, for only the second time in Survivor history, the rocks are used. Hayden and Monica are now exempt. Gervase is also exempt, as he wears the immunity necklace. So, Katie, Ciera, and Tyson all pick a rock. The black rocks are safe, the white rock goes to Redemption Island.
And, wouldn’t you know it? Katie pulls the white rock. It’s really not her day, today.
What did you think of the show? Is a Tyson victory inevitable? And what did you think when the players took it to the Bag o’ Rocks? And why is Caleb with Colton?
