Episode Eight

http://cbs.com/primetime/survivor5/show/episode07/s5story.shtml
Bye Bye Shii-Ann!
"Life's a box full of chocolates, but most of them are nuts"
And we never saw her tah-tahs! This link is for a recap of last week's episode, and confessional/show highlights by our charming group of nuts. There is no spoiler material in Shii-Ann's "last words", unless someone can understand Taiwanese, and it's really more than the "I love you Mom" message. Sorry to say, she was leading in Larry's Diva Journal, but looks like the catwalk Queen has to relegate the Diva title to a more befitting candidate.

Shii-Ann on the early show
Don't let the title fool you, there is a lot of alliance speculation in this thread!

These are the original vidcaps from Thursday. From these ensued many a debate over the IC, and whether or not this would be an individual or team effort.
Thursday Vidcaps

Here's what you can look forward to this Thursday at 8pm according to the CBS blurb.

Tensions between the original tribes is at an all-time high.
One Survivor is particularly disgusted by the other tribe's hygiene habits in their new home.
Members of the original tribes feel each other out (we want footage!) about the possibility of alliances.
A Survivor holds a funeral for the last-to-be-eaten chicken.

Sunday Vidcaps
Here again, a lot of discussion on whether this is individual or team challenge, and boot speculations are worked in as well.

Honk if you have an alliance with Brian!
Who has an alliance with Brian? Who doesn't? Is Brian just playing with himself?

Just when you thought dating your cousin was wrong
Ken, Jake, Erin and Penny or any combination within, give a whole new meaning to inter tribal mating.

http://www.survivornews.net/article.php?id=126
Jed's article on Sook Jai dynamics or "backstabbing 101"

http://www.galacticcowgirl.com/tracker.html
Thanks to Galactic Cowgirl for the alliance tracker. It certainly has cleared up a lot of misconceptions for me and put all alliance theories in perspective.

Quote from a pregame interview regarding merge to put to rest the speculation that Jiffy actually has any creative say in the show:

Robert: How much latitude do the producers have on creating rules on the fly? i.e.: When in Africa you all of a sudden had people changing tribes.
Jeff Probst: Zero. Nothing is done on the fly. Everything is charted out in advance. We knew we were going to switch tribes. We knew what day, and within a couple of hours we knew what time. There is a lawyer from CBS on site at all times whose job it is to make sure that the game is fair.

With the lawyer that would make 17 snakes on the island

Another little tidbit from the FAQs at Cbs.com:

Will there always be two Tribes?
No. Halfway thorough their stay on the island, the two tribes merge. The remaining Survivors, accustomed to thinking of each other as "the enemy" or members of the "other Tribe" will come to live together and compete as individuals. At that point, the challenges become person against person, as opposed to Tribe against Tribe; only the winning individual will receive a Reward and/or Immunity.

We certainly have seen "halfwit" defined, but what is the true meaning of "halfway"?

The Merge: When/Will it happen
BergDogg stirs the pot
This thread will have your head spinning, it's an E ticket.

Could IC be individual after all?
Out Front Girl wants to know
This thread will show you some intriguing theories, making you think that Spoilers should actually have a say in production, because they make this a hell of a lot more interesting than the actual show.

"CBS Misdirections E8"
Misdirected, misinformed, or mistaken
Is CBS really smart enough to fool us with these tidbits of fluff? No, but they get us speculating at their inapt advertising.

SeeBSeye mail
C-ya
More fluff!

paratrooper
To Paratrooper Spoiler Thread: Analysed here is the significance, if any, of the sun in the Vidcaps provided by Paratrooper. Bring your 3D glasses! Or put on some Pink Floyd and have a flashback.

radio alert
Brownroach brings us the latest radio spot that surfaced Tuesday morning. Raid Alarm: Brownroach is everywhere and indestructible.

Clay Info
Clay whores himself out at Holiday Inn

Ater a long run on the boards, the National Enquirer article has been "Debunked".
The National Enquirer lied?
Does this mean Evil Penny still has a shot at it?

the missing link
Did Robb almost slip in a radio interview? Interestingly enough, the URL for the interview in question, does not work. Is the link extinct? Is Robb the only remaining shred of evidence it ever was there?

Preseason interview to show us that someone out there knows the truth and with enough persuasion and torture we can beat it out of them.

rattler: Is it becoming more difficult to keep the outcome of the show a secret? How do the producers intend to keep it hush-hush as the show gets more popular and attempts to discover details become more common?
Jeff Probst: Keeping the secret is our biggest challenge once the show is over. Ultimately, there is no way to absolutely ensure the secrecy. It comes down to trust. Many of our crewmembers know what went on, and certainly the 16 Survivors know what went on. We try to make them realize that we are all part of this together and that any one of us talking will only spoil it for everyone else. We've been very lucky so far. I hope our luck continues.

Find something else to choke on if you wanna leave the table
Ivory Elephant kindly started this thread to inform us that S5 will NOT air on Thanksgiving evening.

Desperate measures: did they use Erin's flotation devices to go and get water?
Among other things, posters start exploring how news from the contestants' families could impact them as it had in past Survivors.

While the cat's/cats' away
Blurb from Episisode 10 or how many pusses really inhabit he island?

Vote!
Just as I'm sure you did on Tuesday for practice, vote on your bootee pick as if national security depended on it!

SOTS is provided by as a service to our readers. The purpose of this post is to consolidate the threads in the Spoilers Forum pertaining to this week's episode. Feel free to reply to this post if you feel that a theory you support was not adequatly represented in this message...Please use this thread for unified discussion of all topics as we approach the next episode.