When we last left our intrepid group of soon to be victims, the castaways were scrambling to discover their own strategies... and allies...

Leaving room for this guy...

...to exact his debauched treachery.

*bleebloobleebloo**bleebloobleebloo**

Julia: "Hello"

BadGuy: "Hello Julia. Answer me a question. Do you like scary movies?"

Julia: "Do I like scary movies?"

BadGuy: "Don't answer questions with questions."

Julia: "Sorry. Uh... No, not really."

BadGuy: "What's your favorite scary movie?"

Julia: "Um... I don't really have a favorite. An ex-boyfriend of mine thought it would be fun to go see "The Conjuring II" and I couldn't sleep for weeks. scary is not really my thing."

BadGuy: "What about Friday the 13th? or Halloween? or Psycho? or The Shining? or The Exorcist?"

Julia: "Huh? Never heard of them. Are they scary? The Shining is scary?"

BadGuy: "Yeah..." *eyeroll* "Perhaps I have dated myself but... have you seen Scream?"

Julia: "My older sister watched the TV show but she didn't really like it."

BadGuy: "Yeah, I agree, that was pretty awful. But I'm talking the original Scream. (and Scream II and Scream III and to a lesser degree Scream IV movies."

Julia: "Wow! 4 of them?"

BadGuy: "Yup. Gotta give it to horror director Wes Craven. The guy created a lot of iconic "scary" movies in his career. (Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, Nightmare on Elm Street, Serpent and the Rainbow, Music of the Heart (hehe) ) Sadly, even Wes has met the Grim Reaper."

Julia: "Reealllly?"

BadGuy: "Yeah. RIP Wes. Anyways. Since you haven't watched many scary movies, I guess ... um ... Who is your favorite BadGuy?"

Julia: "...um... Jason?"

BadGuy: "Oh!? So you HAVE seen Friday the 13th?"

Julia: "Huh? Nooo..."

BadGuy: "Jason Vorhees? The killer in Friday the 13th?"

Julia: "No. Jason Kyle the BadGuy from KaohRong."

BadGuy: "Wait...what? Who?"

Julia: "The lazy thug on season thirty-one slash thirty-two. The season that is soooo dreadful and depressing that it may very well include a chicken as it's saving grace. A chicken that outlasts me."

BadGuy: "Tell me more about this chicken."

Julia: "Ahhh.... well, his name is Marc. He's got a big pecker, loves to eat worms and frankly, is kicking everyone else's bootee."

BadGuy: "Certainly a suspect. But, I'm thinking in this case, the BadGuy is neither Jason or Marc. The bad guy is me. And I've got your basketball-playing boyfriend tied up in a rolling chair next to the pool."

Julia: "Scot? You have Scot?"

BadGuy: "Oh my goodness...you are narrow."

Julia: "Thanks. I used to be an obtuse youth."

BadGuy: "No questions there."

Julia: "That wasn't a question."

BadGuy: "Nevermind."

Julia: "Nevermind what?"

BadGuy: "Look. I'm gonna off you. Send you to the big Ponderosa in the sky."

Julia: "Cool. I need a hamburger."

BadGuy: "And I need to get back to chilling out."

Cue to present...

where castaways are commenting on the latest choice of victim. Most are worried about surviving themselves as the killer is still on the loose. But some of them are planting seeds for future backstabs.
Jason: "Now's the time to start scheming."
Michele: It would be smart to go to the end with Jason."

...

...

...

Getting us through the SOTS this week... I've invited, via phone, Randy Meeks to start us off with "The rules of surviving Tribal Council ala horror movie tropes"...

Hey folks, while these aren't my rules, my rules are indeed covered in this with one ammendment, Never say "I'll be right back".

10. Listen To The Kid/ Old Lady: (The wisdom of children and the elderly is questioned more often than any other age group, so it makes sense that horror movies reveal the truth of the situation to them first.)
Too bad crazy old lady Debbie ain't still playing. I'm imagining all the remaining castaways could learn a thing or two from her. Although maybe we can read her thoughts via the jurybox.

9. Don't Sneak Up On Your Friends: (Nothing is quite so frustrating as the false jump scare. )
Making castmates jumpy is a sure way to call bad attention to yourself. Variances run from a good old fashioned witch hunt, slapping a flip-flopper or the Bell method of laying the plan out move by move to the frienemy.

8. Assume The Monster Isn't Dead: (To survive, always assume that the monster isn’t dead when it appears so. aka the rule of the DoubleTap; wherein, ALWAYS shoot twice perferably at close range.)
By changing a couple of words... Assume The Plan Isn't The Plan. It leaves credibility for all of those last minute deals before going to tribal that work their way into reality. Many a safe survivor has relaxed too much before TC and ultimately paid the snuffer.

7. Don't Do Drugs: (In the world of horror, drugs are bad no matter which way you cut, and so to survive, one must abstain.)
Alternatively, in the world of Survivor, perhaps some anti-biotics or pain medications can be overlooked for the sake of storyline.

6. Don't Be A Jerk: (The jerks don’t know that being a team player from the start increases your odds of survival. So if a character is set on ending their meager existence, they only need treat the other characters like crap. Their time will come sooner than later.)
Jerks. The show wouldn't be the same without them but some seasons are worse than others and this one in particular has a bright and shining example in Jason.

5. Don't Have Sex: (There’s a kind of disturbing poetry in corrupting an act of love with an act of violence, and perhaps horror villains realize this.)
Yeah, not a worry on Survivor. Even with known couples.

4. Don't Touch Anything Strange: (If the numerous examples from cinema history have proven anything, it is that you should always refrain from messing around with strange objects found in equally strange places.)
Again, not really a concern for survivors in the hidden idol sense or the food gathering sense. It's certainly wise to monitor your movements closely when amongst poisonous and venomous critters, but some of the longest living survivors have dug in tree-holes and swallowed larvae making it imperitive for them to touch odd things.

3. Don't Go Alone: (In horror situations, strength comes from numbers, so if you want to survive, bring friends.)
True. True. True. It only leads to others talking about you. Use your potty time wisely and for the rest of the time stick with the groups.

2. Don't Take Vacations In Secluded Areas: (In the world of horror, secluded areas outside of modern civilization are a breeding ground for demons, killers, and diseases.)
Boy oh boy. Did they ALL fail miserably at this one. Looks like they are all victims here.

1. Pay Attention To Your Surroundings: (Perhaps more than anything else, the reason so many horror characters fall prey to their assailants is because they simply don’t pay attention to their surroundings. )
This may be the ultimate advisory. It not only aids with number 4 but will pave the path to victory. Knowledge and information are key, being adaptable is the winning strategy. Knowing where you are with whom and when is the right time will make all the difference. So, who of who is left whom has been paying the most attention?

With these kinds of guidelines, the statistical next victim should be one whom is...

WAIT!

I can't reveal the identity just yet.
Let us gather some intel first.

Summon Deputy Doofy...

Well it starts here where JP summons the castaways for a required challenge which will have the group split into 2 teams of 3.

It looks like it's Team Blue (Jason, Michele and Tai) VS Team Yellow (Aubry, Cydney and Joe)...

One at a time the castaways will jump in the water, over an obstacle, back in the water, over a net obstacle, back into the water, retrieve a bouy, back into the water and then climbing onto a large puzzle wheel, signalling for the next castaway to begin. Once all three team members have arrived at the final puzzle wheel, they will work together using their weight to tip the puzzle wheel allowing for their three bouys to reach the center point.
Jason and Joe lead of for each tribe.

Not hard to predict the winning team as Joe is definitely the liability for whichever challenge team he is on.
But, considering the only glimpse we have of the puzzle portion participants, it is Team Blue...

...and they are apparently VERY near the end.

Now as to what transpires at the reward, or back at camp during the reward, it's clear that Joe, Aubry and Cydney will have a bit of time to plot revenge against a certain chicken-lovin' threat.
What's interesting is that AFTER the reward, Tai wants to target Michele. So even after spending time with her on reward, he has decided she is the biggest threat at this time. Hmmm...

Next up we have the Immunity Challenge:
Using a levered platform attached to a rope, the castaways will attempt to bring 1 tile at a time to the platform, keeping it balanced the whole time. Drop your tiles, you have to start over, mis-spell the word and you'll suffer a lifetime of ridicule. The stakes are high as only 1 will be safe at the next TC. The word is "Immunity".
Go!

WAIT!

Let's have our expert exhibit witness speak for a bit.

Sorry, wrong expert. That was the exhibition expert. Let's get the exhibit expert please.

Oh. You ARE the exhibit expert. Sorry about that. Go ahead...

I would like to present 6 Exhibits, A thru F; that highlight IC winners through Press Images.
In each case, since the merge, the winner has had at least 1 individual Press Image featured.
Excepting one case, where the only image of the IC was a group image.

Exhibit A. E07: Shown...Nick, Tai, Aubry and Jason. Winner: Nick

Exhibit B. E08: Shown...Nick, Aubry, Jason, Cydney and Tai (2 images). Winner: Tai

Exhibit C. E09: Shown...Aubry and Julia. Winner: Julia
This one is a bit convoluted, as Julia's face is not shown...in all honesty, I would have called it Aubry's. BUT Julia was featured during the IC.

Exhibit D. E10: Shown...Aubry, Joe, Tai, Scot and Jason (3 images). Winner: Jason

Exhibit E. E11: Shown...A group shot of all remaining castaways. Winner: Michele

Going into the current episode...

Exhibit F. E12: Shown...Tai, Aubry and Cydney (2 images).

In this case, it would be a great departure from the norm for someone not featured to win the IC.
So, the winner's pool is narrowed greatly to just Tai, Aubry or Cydney winning.
Taking evidence from above, those with multiple images have consistently been the winners and with 2 images featuring Cydney...

And heading into Tribal Council...
Let's ask our expert killers about some of the tid-bits of misdirection and otherwise.

First up, Billy.

Billy: *mumphfmummlnflunff*

Okay, let's move on to Stu.

Stu: Early in the episode... Cydney is sitting with Jason and Michele when Jason states the title. Causing Michele to consider Jason as a good finalist for her game.
So campwise, it's apparent the Julia boot caused both Cydney and Michele to cling to Jason. He certainly is quickly becoming everyone's Finals goat.

And what do you have to add, Micky...

Micky: Symbolically, this image of Jason apparently cutting Michele off at the knees...

...would imply Michele is indeed in trouble. If not specifically, by a degree of one. Is she a target or is it one of her allies.

Since we can't have crazy Debbie, let's hear from psychotic Debbie.

Debbie: Tai is openly targeting Michele, to Aubry.

Tai: "I think it's Michele. She's a bigger threat."

(and probably in earshot of Cydney.)

Debbie: So apparently, Tai feels confident enough to openly target someone who could claim to be connected to the two women. And with a Hidden Idol and a Vote Advantage, Tai is certainly, on paper, not only safe, but has the power to quickly make up a number.

Okay, so what does Roman have to offer?

Roman: Well it looks like Cydney is NOT happy with being told who to vote for.
Aubry: "Cydney is not going to be told what to do."
Cydney: "Absolutely not. Tai is not going to dictate who I vote for. You're trying to run this show. I'm like, no. Tai has his own agenda."
Joe: "I'd like to get rid of him."
Roman: But even though Cydney is on the warpath and certainly has the backing of Joe, could she successfully pull off a blindside without causing the target to switch? OR does her plan include a pawn, in case an idol is played?

And now it's time for Charlie to share thoughts...

Charlie: Well... apparently the one in true control is Aubry. She knows Tai wants to boot Michele. She knows Joe and Cydney are tiring of Tai. Jason is still her enemy but Tai has since altered his target. Does she bite the bullet and target one of her own?
Cydney: If it came down to it, would you vote with me, or would you vote with them/him?

And finally, Jill. Jill you wanna say something?

Jill: Yes. As is becoming very "Aubryish in" character, Aubry is struggling with her position of power. Therefore, I would like to postulate as to why Aubry is crying/having a breakdown...

Aubry: "This is rough."
Jill: Whom of the remaining castaways is Aubry "forced" into deciding between? If Cydney wins the IC and is ready to target Tai, and Tai is ready to target Michele... then Aubry is forced to decide between Michele or Tai? One of them will go, but will Michele go in an idol bounce or a vote advatage or is it Tai that goes with an idol in his pocket and a knife in his back?

My official, probably wrong, picks...

RC Winners: Jason, Michele and Tai
IC Winner: Cydney

TC Voting:
...for Michele: Tai (hopefully Cydney and Aubry too, with Tai's extra vote.)
...for Tai: Joe, Michele, Jason (and probably Cydney and Aubry as well)

Bootee: Tai