Previously on Survivor, after Reed watched the majority alliance turn on one of their own, he saw an opportunity to flip the game using everyone on the bottom.

Reed convinced the majority alliance to split their votes but his real plan was to vote out Jon, teaming up with Alec, Wes and Keith.

But at tribal Council, nothing went right.

Keith: “I say: Stick to the plan. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”
Keith gave away their plan.

Natalie turning to Jon: “Dude, play your idol.”

Two idols were played and Keith’s son Wes was voted out.
Jon to Reed: “Sly dog you.”

The recap put all the blame on Keith and it was weird to hear him laughing after saying his infamous line. That wasn’t heard in the previous episode and it made Keith sound a bit crazy. This is becoming a theme so I’d be worried if I wanted to see Natalie’s plan succeed because the preview for next week tells us that her plan all hinges on Keith being tight with her. As for Jon, the recap made it clear that Natalie needed to tell him to play his idol even if Jeff didn’t spell it out.

The Fight

Huyopa – Night 26

After thanking God, Jon hugged Missy.

Keith in confessional: “Tribal Council was crazy. It didn’t go quite like we anticipated and Wesley went home.”

Alec (solo): “I’m pissed at Keith. Keith gave us away tonight. He’s not very good at Tribal and now I feel completely helpless. My alliance means nothing. We don’t have the numbers and I don’t trust Reed at all.”

This is how you create a theme. After the recap, the editors gave us a confessional to reinforce the idea. From Jeremy to Josh, Reed and Wes, everyone who aligned with Keith has suffered the consequences but, to make our work harder, Keith hasn’t come out of it looking smart at all. Would the editors try to hide some of Keith’s rough edges to enhance his image if he’s the winner or would they show all these warts? I’d love to hear the discussion that goes on in the editing room when it comes time to cut and piece together a scene that involves Keith.

While Reed said that the angry girls were plotting their revenge, Jon was taking credit for the best blindside sniff-out ever. Natalie and Jaclyn agreed that Jon wasn’t going to play his idol but Jon was adamant: “No, I would have played it. I was going to play it.” Natalie objected but Jon stressed the point: “I was going to play that.”

If last week wasn’t enough for everyone to realize that Jon’s story was over, this history revision skit should make it clear. No one tells lies to the audience! If the editors wanted us to see that Jon was saved by Natalie then how dare he contradict them!!

Natalie in confessional: “Jon keeps saying that he was going to play his idol which is totally bull crap... I had to convince him to play it but Jon is so concerned with looking like he is the mastermind of everything he does but he’s really not at all.”
Left alone with Jaclyn, Jon told her that she shouldn’t give credit to the other players because he was worried that the jury wouldn’t give him the credit. Jaclyn (unlike Becky with Yul when he counted his jury votes in front of her) asked: “But what if I am in the top three?” After Jon’s confessional, Jaclyn rightly added: “It was me and Natalie. We were helping you with that.”

Jon in confessional: “Jaclyn gave Natalie the props for my play. We need this for the jury so we can’t say that was her play because then she’s going to use it. We can’t do that. That’s terrible.”

Jaclyn’s confessional: “I was so mad when he took credit for something that I helped him do. He was like: Stop saying you helped and Natalie helped. It was my decision. I was like: Screw you. I’m going to the top three then.”

This scene was quite amusing and it carries a big message: Jon will be going to the F3 after all. That changes our impression from last week that Natalie would be successful because now we see that Jon will not only face the jury but will be short of arguments to make his case. He is so desperate to get some credit that his story has to fall short. I would say that all the hints that made us think that Natalie’s plan would come to fruition were shown to create suspense for this very predictable episode.

The Reward Challenge

The players were asked questions about the castaways that made the merge.

Jeff asked them who had a twin besides Natalie. Everyone knew it was Jeremy except Keith who was probably fantasizing about seeing Jaclyn with a twin.

They played the challenge like amateurs (or as if no one ever heard of Survivor Marquesas): Natalie and Jon went after Reed (who stupidly told everyone it was OK if he missed the horseback ride because his family had 12 horses. I guess he forgot about Carl in Survivor Africa). Alec went after Natalie. Missy put Reed out of his misery. Jaclyn hit Alec and was immediately followed by Baylor. Finally, Reed took revenge on Missy.

The second round was just as boring: The question was about Julie and everyone got it right so Jon sent Alec to the losers’ bench after Alec gave Jon some payback. Missy, Jaclyn and Baylor all went after Keith who went after Missy. Getting to the bench, Keith told the other guys: “It shows you where we stand.”

Now, it was Natalie’s turn so she asked what she should do. Jeff got upset when he saw the last 5 players discussing the outcome. He ended this farce by asking who they wanted to see win it. They said Missy so he gave it to her.

The main problem was the questions which were way too easy. How about asking for posers and who don’t they ever want to see again? That’s the interesting stuff.

Jon volunteered for Exile Island so Missy sent him and then she chose Baylor and Natalie to accompany her. Jaclyn got upset at that (even if Natalie had given her a reward not too long ago!)

Jaclyn told Jeff that those three are really tight. Jeff stirred the pot to let everyone understand what was evident. “A moment ago it was a happy five... now Jon is going to exile and you are going back to camp to eat rice with three people who probably don’t like you very much.”

Reed interjected: “We like her a lot.”

Missy replied: “I’m sure you do.”

When Baylor added that he liked everybody, Reed got into it, saying he was a people person while Baylor was a brat. Missy got involved, telling Reed to listen and shut his mouth. She said she had his back multiple times but he lied to her face. When Reed talked back, Missy turned to Jeff saying it wasn’t worth it, that Reed doesn’t know how to listen. The trio left and, judging by the blur, Missy flipped the bird to Reed as her parting gift.

Jeff still wanted to know what had just happened. Jaclyn said that Jon sacrificed himself for the alliance, that she got the butt end while the top three people were going horseback riding.

I wished she had said: “Well Duh! Jeff, weren’t you watching?”
Keith said: “Them three are tight.”

Right then, in a scene that had to remind people of Jerri, Amber and Mitchell in the canoe, we saw the three women laughing on their way to reward.

Jaclyn in confessional: “That was very telling. Missy chose Natalie so that makes me think that when it does come down to our five, it would be Baylor, Missy and Natalie. It makes me second guess everything.”

If Keith has warts then so does Missy who made an obscene gesture to Reed, laughed at the miserable players much like Jerri was shown to do and has been surprised by a few votes up to now. Which is worse? This season won’t spare anyone so we have to see which is the least damaged.

Exile Island – Day 27

Jon: “I’m excited to be back at Exile because... there was going to be a new clue for an idol...Having time on Exile gives you a lot of time to think and right now my fear in this game is that I’ve become the biggest threat. That’s scary...so I’m not going to stop until I find the damn thing... I see a lot of cracks and crevasses. This looks like the perfect place to hide an idol.” He started laughing as soon as he saw the package: “Finding this idol is definitely something that is going to help me...”

The Reward

Natalie (solo): “Riding horses was wonderful. We got to see Nicaragua from another view... I don’t think I’ll ever forget the experience.”

Missy: “To have me and Baylor was fantastic and then to have Natalie along, who really adores my daughter as a big sister kind of type, she’ll be like a daughter to me forever...”
To the other two, Natalie said: “Jaclyn is such a little princess that you have to worry about Jaclyn’s feelings.”

Right there, we have evidence that even Miss Michigan has warts. The editors have shown us enough of Jaclyn’s attitude to know that Natalie is right.

Missy said that Reed and Alec would be piling on.
Baylor in confessional: “This was an amazing reward but it’s hard to have a good time because we are nervous that Jaclyn is back in camp with these three guys; she can easily be swayed and told things that would change her mind on how she feels about my mom, me and Natalie.”

That’s when Natalie and Baylor told Missy that they have an idol.
Missy in confessional: “I’m proud of my daughter: She found an idol. I cannot believe it. Today proved to me that she is playing this game and I’m going to pat her on the butt the whole way through it.”

Natalie had another interview: “Final three with me, Baylor and Missy would be a hand-picked team for me to go to the final three with. I would be a sure win in my head. I mean anything can happen but I would be completely comfortable going to the final three with them.”

Besides her lack of airtime before the merge and her obsession towards Jon, we now see Natalie’s main editing flaw: She is convinced she would win in a Final Three. I don’t remember hearing even Boston Rob be that confident. That tells us that Natalie either falls short or doesn’t get the votes. Since she only sees the need to get revenge on Jon, I see her getting blindsided very shortly.

Huyopa – Day 27

Jaclyn had an interview: “It’s so funny that Missy would pick Natalie. I don’t know if that was the smartest move on Missy’s part. Maybe it’s just me being hot-headed and mad because I didn’t get to go horseback riding but that was dumb.”

How ironic that she says that Jon always feels entitled.
The guys prepared extra rice for Jaclyn so that she could enjoy it. Reed gave us a confessional about his plan which was to show Jaclyn that Missy, Baylor and Natalie were going to the F3 together.

Jaclyn in confessional: “Alec, Reed and Keith are being super nice. It’s so funny like; really guys? I want to tell them to stop being fake but at the same time I’m interested to see how things work out tonight with the guys and what they try to pitch to me.”

Reed told Jaclyn that Missy was more ruthless and that he didn’t want to see her and Jon get steamrolled by that.

Jaclyn’s reaction was heard in confessional: “It’s not the first time that Jon has returned from Exile and I’m like: Hold the phone, we are flipping the game. We are in the middle again and it’s so funny. I don’t know why this keeps happening.”

I’d say it keeps happening because neither Jon nor Jaclyn can make up their mind. She had just told us that the guys were fake so why does she suddenly want to go with them? I’d understand humoring them to eanr jury votes but to even consider flipping to them is ludicrous.

Huyopa – Day 28

The trio returned to camp.
Missy in interview: “My fear for Jaclyn was that Reed was going to bend her ear so it’s important to keep an eye out.” When Jaclyn got out of the shelter, Missy hugged her while her confessional continued: “I have to continue nurturing Jaclyn to make sure that she knows that she still got me because I think Reed works fast and who knows what Alec says.”

Jaclyn was sitting with Alec, asking him about Baylor wanting to know if they were like brother and sister or would he take her on a date. Alec said he wouldn’t date anyone on Survivor...unless Jaclyn would go on a date with him. That comment made Jaclyn laugh.

Alec in confessional: “Jaclyn is a cool chick. I like Jaclyn a lot. It was a smart move to make her feel as comfortable as we can. It doesn’t mean she is going to vote with us but it doesn’t hurt. It’s kind of like cream cheese.”

Natalie was observing the whole flirting scene between the two. She gave an interview: “Why is Jaclyn flirting with him? Jon has been gone two days and their body language is really inappropriate. If I had a boyfriend here, I wouldn’t be acting like that with Alec.”

The flirting continued in the shelter. Alec was inviting Jaclyn and Jon to come have a blast with him and Drew in Orlando.
Baylor in interview: “It definitely made me suspicious that Jaclyn was working more closely with Alec than I thought. My concern is that Jaclyn will be swayed by Alec. If Jaclyn is swayed then Jon is swayed because they do everything together so Jaclyn and Alec flirting and talking about the game is not OK.”

Is there a bit of jealousy peeking out under that layer of game talk?! I think the Baylor-Alec relationship is a hint about Missy’s chances to win the game. It’s not only the mom that is blinded by guys and the daughter still has things to learn.

Day 29 - The Immunity Challenge

We already had a challenge that involved balancing balls on a paddle so why do another one that was so similar. Keith won. Big surprise! It makes us wonder if it was planned especially when we consider that the next challenge also required having a steady hand. Do we have to ask why we haven’t seen any puzzles? I’m just guessing but it must not be Keith’s specialty. They say that all the challenges are planned before the season starts but I simply do not believe them. They certainly have some flexibility.

Reed had the dead-man walking confessional spot. He was hoping to take out Missy.

Huyopa – Day 29

The Howler monkey jumped once more from one tree to the other. Like Jon, he’s just showing off now.

Jaclyn gave us a confessional: “The options are: Go with Reed and vote out Missy and then there’s the option with Missy and our alliance to vote out Reed tonight. I will be telling Jon that...we are in the middle again and we have another big decision to make.”

Right then we saw Missy hugging Jon again, pretty much telling us how the vote would go.

Jaclyn and Jon walked out of camp so that she could tell him what happened after he left.

In confessional, Jon told us that all he wanted to do was spend time with Jaclyn because he missed her. When he told her that he already knew what she was saying, she erupted.

Reed came by to talk to them but Jon didn’t look like he wanted to listen to his BS. When Natalie came by, Jon winked at Reed as if he was lying when he said he didn’t trust him. Reed felt a little encouraged by the wink.

Jon next went to Missy and told her he found the idol. That made Missy happy.

For some reason, we saw Natalie standing alone in the waves. Will Jon’s idol drown her?

We then had this interesting confessional by Jaclyn: “After our argument, the only person that I would expect Jon to talk to would be Missy because he looks to his mom for advice in real life and, here, Missy has taken on that role on the island. It made me mad that he talked to her for half an hour and didn’t come talk to me at all.”

Ha! Mother-in-law problems! Jaclyn is not alone but in a game where trust is so valuable she should put that aside and use Missy to her advantage.

Natalie had a confessional where she said she wanted the couple to be fine because she didn’t want any surprises.

That’s when Jaclyn started with the silent treatment. It was presented like a challenge because we saw that 5 hours had elapsed and they were still not talking to each other.

In Samoa’s merge episode, we heard that the players were rushed out of camp and ordered to remain silent 10 minutes after Laura got Galu to consider Erik as the boot option. This time the editors were giving the players all the time needed to come up with an interesting TC but it was hopeless. That pointless fight was just a smoke screen to make us think that something could happen.

One person that wasn’t getting the silent treatment from Jaclyn was Alec and that made Jon even madder. While Jon was pissed, Reed was getting really frustrated.

Tribal Council Highlights.

Jeff was surprised to hear that Jon and Jaclyn had a fight.
Reed said that the fight made it more complicated for “those trying to play the game.”
Jeff realized that Jon and Jaclyn were once again in the middle.
Reed brought up Missy’s reward selection while Missy recalled Reed’s vote against Jon and Alec’s flirtation with Jaclyn. She said it was like joke, that it was obvious.
Baylor said that Jon and Jaclyn were lucky to be able to choose between alliances.
Missy said she was concerned that her choice could get her out of the game.
It was time to vote and we saw Missy voted against Reed calling him a “big rabble-rouser”.
Reed voted against Missy, saying: “This will likely be the only time I ever write your name down.”

In the end, everyone including Keith and Alec voted against Reed.
Jeff sent them back to camp with the message that they would have to deal with personal issues since there were still 4 Loved Ones in the game.

The Story

Since it would be pointless to analyze this episode without considering what we know about the next, I thought I’d look at Reed’s tactic in this episode and see where he went wrong. This whole episode tried to make us believe he had a chance but we saw that he wasn’t going at it smartly. His first mistake was to say that he preferred working with Jon and Jaclyn instead of Missy because it had to make Jon think that he preferred working with Missy over Reed. His biggest mistake however was in offering absolutely nothing to Jon. He was selling his alliance of three to replace the Natalie, Baylor and Missy trio. Why would ANYONE buy that? The tactic would have carried a lot more potential if Reed had tried to sell himself alone. Why go for it all at once? Reed tried to hit a homerun when all he had to do was get on base. Maybe he should have gone to the baseball reward to see what I mean. Reed should have said that Jon and Jaclyn’s problem was Natalie and that they needed to have someone else at Final 5. Instead of having Natalie, Baylor and Missy going together at the end, they should keep him to make sure they are in the Final Three. He should have thrown Keith or Alec under the bus for this vote instead of trying to protect both and then said they could use the other to get Natalie out at 7.

A Surprise... Well, Not Really

Night 29

Natalie said what I was thinking: Tribal Council was couples’ counseling (not actual Survivor). Missy was happy that everyone was on the same page for the vote while Jon was saying that he was sorry.

Jaclyn in confessional: “Jon and I resolved everything at Tribal which was pretty interesting.”

Alec’s exit was set up early when we heard him in confessional. He thought it was sick that he was called a flirt. He said it sucked to be alone.

Day 30

After Baylor was shown handling a fish, we heard a confessional from Jon: “I feel for Alec but I honestly don’t believe that Keith and Alec have any play left in the game.” To Alec, Jon was honest and said he trusted his alliance so that Alec wouldn’t be able to find a crack. His confessional continued: “I believe that I have found people who are trustworthy (Natalie was on screen as expected right then) and, unless I am reading everything wrong, which I haven’t yet, I am still controlling and steering the direction of the game.”

He must have forgotten the two Tribal Council in which he had no clue what was going on. It’s funny that he thinks he is controlling the game because Jaclyn and Missy have also had their hands on the steering wheel and Missy just saved him from a fatal crash. If he is at the wheel we have to say that his judgment is impaired: He is driving under the influence of ignorance.

The Reward Challenge

As soon as he heard the reward, Jon was determined: “I’m winning this” he said.

Then Jeff said that the challenge required concentration and balance and Alec immediately lost both. (Maybe he never had either!) It was interesting to note that while everyone placed one foot on top of the other, Baylor used sort of a stork posture, one leg bent with her left foot resting on her right knee. I thought she’d win this thing.

Missy was the second person out of the challenge and she was quickly followed by Keith.

Jeff’s words were interesting: “Not only are you trying to win reward but you are trying to build your case if you get to Final Tribal, show that you won something.”

Right then, the camera turned to the losers’ bench where Keith was the only who has built a case. Alec realized he didn’t even have that going for him.

Baylor was the next out and she was followed by Jon.
Jeff noted his big effort but that he came up short which sounded a lot like foreshadowing.

Jaclyn gave a good effort but a fly landed on her wrist and it seemed to disturb her. Natalie won

Natalie sent Alec to Exile Island and chose Jaclyn and Jon to accompany her in bed. She did however say: “No getting freaky tonight, guys.”

Missy was ready to leave but Jeff asked her about her feelings. Missy said it wouldn’t be fun because it would be in their faces.
Natalie in confessional: “I’ve been wanting to get Jon out ever since he voted out Jeremy so taking Jon and Jaclyn for the reward showed that I am such a loyal person and they will trust me even more. When I take my revenge, he won’t see it coming.”

Day 30

Survivor has very good home delivery: The bed was already in place when the tribe arrived. (Well, of course we didn’t see how long the staff had them walking around in circles but we aren’t supposed to know those things)

Jon in confessional: “Oh! My God! Something comfortable to lie on. But...you realize that we will be enjoying that while they are staring at us.”

When Keith, Missy and Baylor went to get water, Jon worried that something fishy could be going on. Natalie reassured him.
Jaclyn’s interview: “Missy, Baylor and Keith just left and I was like: What is going on? But Jon has had a very strong bond with Missy from the beginning so hopefully we can keep going with that and nothing crazy will happen.”

Natalie said that it was just paranoia, adding that they just had to stay with her.

Jon’s interview: “As we are approaching the end of this game, there are always chances for weird things to happen but I’ve grown to trust Missy a lot and the more I get to know Natalie, the more reassured I am of the strength of our alliance.”
Yes, this guy hasn’t been reading things wrong at all! Just then, as if to stress the point, Natalie was shown smiling behind Jon’s back.

After making a toast, we heard Natalie’s confessional: “Reward at this stage of the game is way more than getting to sleep in a bed and enjoying pasta... Everybody wants to get rid of Keith because Keith’s story and his connection to the jury is scary. But I want to blindside Jon, I want to get back at Jon for Jeremy. I don’t trust Jon in the long run. All I want is to move forward with a new plan and without Jon in it.”

While Natalie was threatening his future in the game, Jon was pouting about his empty glass of wine. Natalie said he could have hers.

Jon told us that we can call him a wine snob. His dad showed him how to taste wine. Jon explained but I will pass on the oenology.

Natalie told us in confessional that she doesn’t care for all the wine talk on Survivor. She did bring up that Jon was arrogant and felt entitled.

When it came to strategy, Jon admitted that Missy was like a mom to him. He went on and told Natalie that he found the idol.
A cymbal crash made it sound like a mistake.

Natalie’s interview: “Jon shouldn’t trust me but I am happy that he does. The fact that he told me that he found an idol on Exile is amazing because I’ve become like the best friend for him. Getting Jon out now is really important. I just have to figure out how to do all this and if I can pull it off, it will be amazing.”

Day 31

While Jon and Jaclyn were still in bed, Jaclyn saying that she was freaking out because she was stuck in the middle, Natalie was telling Baylor that Jon was so fake and that he was already thinking of spending the million. Natalie added that it was all about them and the perfect life they want as a couple. She even called him a little punk. After the confessional that is transcribed below, Natalie told Baylor that they needed to vote out Jon adding: “Don’t tell Missy because she’s not going to vote Jon out. Your mom is blinded by Jon.” Baylor agreed, adding that her mom is blinded by trying to help out men. Baylor thought that was the perfect plan and we then heard her confessional.

Natalie’s confessional: “Jon is very confident. He thinks it will be an easy cake walk for him to the final three because he’s got Missy around his finger, he thinks Baylor is not going to do anything to mess up her mom’s plans. He’s got his girlfriend wrapped around his finger and he thinks I’m going to do whatever he wants. The thing is that even if he is obnoxious, Jon has played a really good game so the more I’m thinking of the jury, why risk taking somebody like Jon because, if he wins, I would literally kill myself. ”

Maybe some jurors already think like Natalie.

Baylor’s confessional: “Me and Natalie, we are kind of like Survivor sisters at this point and we decided to get rid of Jon. Unfortunately, my mom, my closest alliance here, is aligned with him. Jon reminds me too much of past men in my mom’s life where she gets blindsided, heartbroken and hurt and I don’t want him to screw her over so it doesn’t make me feel bad voting him out.”
Natalie told Baylor that they had the votes with Keith and Alec. She said she had been sleeping with the enemy. Baylor found that funny.

After their night in the comfortable bed, Jaclyn and Jon found nothing better to do than go rest in the shelter. Like Jon, the howler monkey was also sleeping. Keith remarked that they hadn’t been awake for two hours the whole day. He told Missy, Natalie and Baylor that he couldn’t understand why they were keeping him around.

Being called lazy has been the kiss of death for many players over the years. Jon’s laziness was on full display and it rarely got worse than that: Getting out of bed only to go sleep in the shelter is inexcusable. It was worse than people coming back from enjoying a lot of food during and reward only to eat part of what they brought back for the others.

Keith’s interview: “I’m behind the 8-ball now and it pisses me off that Jon is just coasting. I have no stroke out here, I’m not the captain out here. That fivesome they got is tight and I’m still on the outside looking in. I feel like somebody is going to bolt here before long and hopefully they will bolt my way.”

Keith and the women gathered enough wood to make Butch proud. The sound of that cord of wood hitting the ground got Jon out of bed and he was impressed. Jaclyn hardly stirred but then she got up and proposed that they go get water. Jon’s confessional started as soon as they walked out of camp. During their walk, Jaclyn said that something was going on back there. She asked Jon if he trusted Natalie and when he said yes, she put it off as paranoia.

Jon’s interview: “Today, I got a really weird vibe from camp and it worried me because we are so close to the end a weird vibe can mean very bad things.”

Jaclyn’s confessional: “I’m worried that Keith is trying to sway Missy, Baylor and Natalie to probably vote out Jon. It makes me just so nervous that Jon thinks that he’s got it in the bag and that’s how we are in real life too. He gets super amped up for stuff and says he’s got it but, when it doesn’t happen, he gets super disappointed. I’m worried that if he is not careful, it could happen again.”

So now even Jon’s girlfriend is telling us that Jon isn’t winning because he thinks he has it in the bag. Jaclyn is worried right now but on Reunion night she will realize that it happened again.

Day 32 - The Immunity Challenge

Once more, we didn’t see the player that was on Exile Island. It was going to be Alec’s last episode so we should have had a moment with him like we should have heard from Wes earlier but since he really didn’t matter and there were no idols to find, we could forget about him right away.

Jeff asked Baylor about the mental state of the tribe. She said they were fatigued. Missy almost started to cry so Jeff asked her why. She said she was fine that it was the lack of sleep. Baylor said she wished she could give her some of her energy.
This exchange sets up the fall that Missy will take next week and makes us think she could be taken out by medical.

Keith was off to a great start so Jon looked over, wondering how he was doing it. However, Keith saw his blocks topple over a few times so that opened to door to the slow and steady Jon. We heard him praying for God to be with him. Jon won immunity. When he got a hug from Jaclyn, the camera turned to Natalie and Baylor who weren’t sharing the joy. Alec was clearly disappointed.

Natalie in confessional: “I wanted to get Jon out tonight but he won immunity so we have to come up with a plan B and fast because we have no plan B right now. I am feeling like now what do I do?”

Plan B should have been evident: Boot Jaclyn.

Huyopa

Jon’s interview: “Winning this immunity challenge felt incredible especially since, going into it, I had a few worries about my alliance. I’m sure I was only being paranoid but it’s a great feeling going into Tribal wearing the necklace. I don’t have to worry about anything going on tonight just focus on what we need to do... The plan is to get Keith out. He’s an incredible threat in all immunity challenges, he’s been right in the fight for every single one and he’s won two of them so he needs to go.”

According to Jon, they needed to split the votes just in case Alec or Keith had an idol. To the four women, Jon said they should put three votes on Keith. Natalie agreed.

Good grief!

Missy in confessional: “Jon wants to split the votes and that’s fine with me. Jon is my guy: He’s got my back (we had an image of Baylor rolling her eyes just then!) so our Fab Five is strong and we are sending Keith home.”

Missy is being fooled also but at least she didn’t say the usual: “Jon’s got my back and I got his”. I’m not saying she will betray Jon but the omission says that Missy is using Jon.
Taking a walk with Jaclyn, Natalie was told that she should vote for Keith along with the Michigan couple, leaving Baylor and Missy to vote against Alec.

Natalie in confessional: “Jon won immunity and I was so mad. It felt like everything I was doing for the last couple of days went down the drain. It makes me really depressed at this point.”

Natalie talked to Baylor who said she would have been on board for today. Natalie said: “Keith, stupid #####, I needed him to win.”

Baylor in confessional: “It completely sucks that Jon won immunity today. Natalie and I were banking on him not winning but now it’s back to the drawing board and it’s frustrating because there’s not much time left.”

I guess most viewers would look at those two and say: If you wanted to prevent Jon from winning immunity maybe you should have won it yourselves instead of blaming Keith for failing. This didn’t show the two conspirators in a very good light.
Back in the shelter, Alec was expressing his frustrations to Baylor. In confessional, he told us that he wasn’t going to give up. He was willing to lie and flirt with anyone.

Baylor said that she liked hearing “wisdom” and “true feelings” from Alec. Baylor’s confessional was placed here. After that, we heard Baylor tell Alec to be patient and to trust her.
Baylor’s confessional: “Alec, I don’t know. We have such an up and down relationship: Brother, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend weird kind of thing. Still, part of me is glad that he’s not going home tonight because I saw a different side of him that I didn’t see in this game and I liked it a lot.”

It's funny that Baylor thinks her mom is blinded by Jon while she falls so easily for Alec. We know that Jon is loyal to Missy but Alec JUST told us that he is willing to lie and flirt after earlier telling us that he wasn’t interested in anyone. Who is blind now? I definitely see that part of the season’s story is showing Baylor that her mom can make the right decisions.

Keith asked Natalie where he stood. She said the vote was between him and Alec, that she felt he deserved to stay but that it was scary to keep him because of his challenge strength compared to the useless Alec. Keith turned the discussion back to Jon who was once more shown resting in the shelter.

While we saw him spitting once more, we heard Keith’s confessional: “I was real close to getting the necklace again today and I can kick myself right now. I needed it. Everybody knows I needed it and it’s a bad feeling.”

Natalie, in confessional, told us that she could flip the game and the camera showed us that the thought made her smile.

That was great camera work, synchronizing Natalie’s confessional about finding a way to flip the game with the smile that appeared on her face when the idea probably popped in her head while she was talking to Keith. You could tell by the lip licking that she was enjoying the idea... but it was the wrong one! She was going to go after Alec instead of Jaclyn. Jaclyn was the obvious plan B but Natalie shied away from it because she wanted to keep Jon in the dark. Switching her vote from Keith to Alec will alert him also. It will be easier to explain but it didn’t accomplish anything except open the door for Keith.

That’s when Natalie told Keith not to worry about her, that she is smarter than she looks sometimes.

Natalie’s plan was explained in confessional: “Right now, me, Jon and Jaclyn are voting for Keith but if I flip and Keith and I both vote Alec then Alec would go home instead. That way, Keith is still here and he’ll be loyal to me and I can use him to blindside Jon. If I do this and betray Jon, it will be my biggest move yet. The only scary thing for me is dealing with everything when I come back to camp because Jon is going to be really pissed.”

Right then, the editors showed us Jon spearing a crab, showing us that it’s not a good idea to mess with him.

Natalie exposed her plan to Baylor, ending that short showmance.
Baylor in confessional: “Natalie wants to make big moves and I do as well but I don’t know if I want to get rid of Alec right now. It’s a huge risk because Jon could freak out and turn on us in a heartbeat.”

After Baylor told her she’d prefer to keep Alec, we heard Natalie say that she didn’t know if it was worth getting in trouble with her alliance. As the tribe walked to Tribal Council, we heard her confessional: “I have to decide if I have the balls or not.”

Tribal Council Highlights

Missy and Jon agreed that they had to look at who is strong in challenges so Jeff turned to Keith saying he was the obvious target.
That must not have felt good for Alec to hear that he is considered weaker than a 53 year old man.
Keith rightfully said that he won some challenges but that he wasn’t good at some other stuff.
Natalie said there was more to the vote, that it wasn’t as simple as being strong in challenges.
Jaclyn and Keith aren’t alone: Natalie can also say too much in TC. Jon was already on alert.
Just then, a rat appeared, scaring Natalie and Missy. Jeff wanted to use the rat to put the survival aspect of the game in perspective but Jon used the opportunity to talk about the reward, the wine glass and that his dad introduced him to wine. He then brought up his father’s cancer which was the first time we heard him telling the other players. Jon said that being out there showed what was really important and that winning immunity made him tear up because he knew his father would be proud. He went on to say that he regretted not having spent more time with his dad earlier in his life.
Jeff asked Keith if Jon’s tragedy could work against the others in the game.
Keith, not unlike Sandra, didn’t fall for the tears: “I guess all is fair in Survivor but I hope them 4 over there (the jury) are sharper than that. I’ll be over there soon...and I hope I’m sharper than that to see through some of this stuff.” Keith added that he had a vote and that they could use it to do something.
Jeff turned to Natalie (I wonder why!) and asked if it was time for someone to show the jury that “I came to play and I came to win.”
Natalie said everyone was looking out for themselves but that they were all on the same page and that there would be no surprises.
Only “Kieth” and Alec’s votes were shown (I miss the days of “Souna” and “Denver Diva”) and no one played an idol but there was a surprise!
The surprise didn’t escape Jeff who said: “Based on the reactions after the vote this tight alliance of five may not be so tight. Keith; that is good news for you.”
Natalie smiled in the direction of the jury when she grabbed her torch.

The Story

In a season where no one is dominating the game, we have been able to see all the players’ faults. Natalie was certainly the star for another episode but this felt a lot like an opportunity missed. Her Plan B was weak and now she has to count on keeping it a secret by probably telling Jon, Jaclyn and Missy that she got mixed up. The problem is that both Baylor and Keith know that it was planned so, while Baylor may keep it from her mom (daughters are good at that!) who believes that Keith won’t blurt it out somehow. Can you just picture him thanking Natalie in front of everyone for saving him! That would be hilarious and so fitting.

The Characters

Jaclyn: The princess is just as entitled and wishy-washy as her boyfriend. They are a lot like Sugar in Gabon. Twice the sugar isn’t good for our health.

Jon: Lazy, arrogant, self-entitled and blind to the events around him. I am sure that many will still hang on because of his story with his dad but I think we saw the conclusion of that story: Dad is already proud of his son because he gave a great effort, won some challenges and said he regretted all the wasted time. There really isn’t anything more to add to that story and we know that the jury is sharp enough not to fall for that drama. Jon will need God’s intervention to win and no, I don’t mean Burnett even if he has a god complex.

Baylor: Interestingly, Baylor got some very nice confessionals to talk about her strategy. Her main story this week though was worrying that her mom was blind to Jon and that he will break her heart but Jon and Jaclyn both said that Jon considers Missy like his island mom so he won’t turn on her. Baylor is the one that almost fell for a guy’s line, needing only to hear Alec’s pity story to want him to stay. Natalie’s plan put an end to Baylor’s attempts of making a move by using Alec so I wonder why she didn’t flip her vote also. If we go by Natalie’s words, it showed that Baylor doesn’t have the balls. The other players consider her a brat and think that she is lazy so there is no way she could win a jury vote.

Natalie: She has truly emerged as an important character but where was she before the last three episodes? Natalie’s plan to get rid of Jon has become an obsession and it appears that she has missed her opportunity. Now her plan depends on Keith and Baylor keeping it secret from Missy which seems highly unlikely. While many viewers are probably rooting for Natalie to win her battle against the entitled alpha male, I think it was telling that she criticized Jon’s appreciation for wine even after he explained that it connected him to his father. She saw arrogance where we saw an attachment to his dad. While we previously saw hints that Natalie would be able to eliminate Jon, we realized that it was just to create suspense for these episodes. Now the indications are that she will fail.

Keith: Now that he isn’t behind the 8-ball as much and that Natalie opened the door, Keith could very well win this game. He has been building his case for the jury because this 53 year old man is scaring some very fit players that are half his age. He also has a good connection with the jury. Keith, the fire captain, isn’t in charge here and that is good since this season seems to favor the Indians over the Chiefs. If Missy does have to leave the game, I think Keith will win but he has so many warts in his story, he has been clueless and ill-mannered so often that I don’t see an acceptable winner’s story. That doesn’t eliminate him though because no one really has an acceptable story.

Missy: There are so many questions regarding Missy’s edit. Were we to see her as arrogant when she laughed on her way to the reward? If so then that is a great sign for Keith even if Missy stays in the game. Did she lose a jury vote when she showed the finger to Reed? It was very interesting to hear Reed say that he will not be writing Missy’s name again. First of all, it tells us that Missy is unlikely to leave the game because she has to be in the Final 3 for Reed’s remark to mean anything. I even wonder if Reed doesn’t go back on his vow and actually votes for her. The same way, Natalie’s comment that going to the Final 3 with Baylor and Missy would be a sure win tells me that whoever is in the F3 with those two will get a big surprise...and a big disappointment. That player would be Jon who thinks he has it in the bag.

So, will it be Keith or Missy? We’ll know soon but it’s been a weird story either way.