LAST EDITED ON 03-19-12 AT 09:42 PM (EST)

I both agree and disagree, tullfan.

I do know the typical scheduling, and I was expecting a double tribal in Ep 6.

Ep 6 has been used for double tribal episodes, but not for 2 short cycles being aired in one episode. Those have only been done post-merge. That isn't to say they can't change, but to be clear on what they've been doing.

The double tribal episodes have featured the opportunity to win individual immunity from each tribe, plus the reward for one tribe to eat and watch the other TC.

Also, there has never been an RC in a double tribal where each tribe boots one, or in a 2 TC short cycle episode.

The challenge we see does not feature a stand with immunity necklaces on it, or a stand for the tribal idol. There's also no reward table, but that can be explained by a reward that is somewhere else, like a feast, movie, excursion.

Plus there is no indication that that this trampoline bounce challenge could contain individual immunity component. Those challenges, everyone competes at the same time (or everyone on one tribe), while this is pretty clearly a relay set-up.

There has never been a double tribal for both tribes where CBS hasn't hyped that two people are going home and neither tribe is safe. There is no sign in the promos that Salani has anything to worry about.

They only have 18 players, so they don't need 2 episodes with 2 boots, and they may have decided not to do one this time, or it might have been planned for Ep 7, or they may have decided to wait until post-merge to see if they need a double boot (in case of more medivacs).

Lastly, they are very able to show a second challenge even in a two cycle episode, as they did with S23. They just don't put in any shots that show the whole tribe if someone has been eliminated earlier in the episode. But in the "each tribe goes to TC" pre-merge variant, there is only one challenge in any case. There is a Stage 2 of the challenge where the immunity winners face off.

I know you are familiar with this; I'm just recapping for those who might not remember.