Episode 8 post merge

After the merge, Cole was looking to get the upper hand, I’m looking for a clue anything for an advantage.
But, the heroes and Hustlers came together, Ben: we need a healer gone first
Putting the healers on the wrong side of the numbers
Chrissy: God forbid Joe pulls an idol, I think we need a plan B
At TC, Joe thought he was saving himself, but the real target was Jessica.
11 left, who will be voted out tonight

Intro gives Ben the lead....with the we need a healer gone first. I think that those that are mentioned in the opening intro are the ones as the center of the action, and therefore could be the most at risk. Note, it’s Cole, Ben, and Joe.

Night arriving back...Cole, ooooweee, now I know what it feels like to be lied to by every single person here, we’re playing Survivor.

Joe: that was magic, Ben

Joe, conf: I know the heroes and hustlers wanted us down to 4 man, but I didn’t see Jess. Jessica got completely blindsided by the heroes and hustlers. It was an amazing play, as a fan you just gotta appreciate that.

At camp Joe says, it was genius but the only problem now is that you are playing with the devil, meaning Ben.

Ben: Lauren and I put a plan in play, and executed it and got our target out, so it was a good feeling. If I could keep the reigns on this hero/hustler group and get us too a seven, I will. But, I’m worried about the individual part, because an individual can mess this whole thing up.

Is he referring to Joe? See Joe illuminated in the firelight.

Solewa day 20

See Lauren working and hammering. See Devon deep into yoga
Hear Mike: You know when I woke up this morning it seemed like the end of the world. Talking to Joe. It was my first Tribal and everybody else had been through it. See Ben, then Lauren working, hammering.
Mike; And, now I get it.

Lauren drops a nail, and says, did you see that, where did it go, as Ryan is focused on.
See Lauren reach into where the nails are a grab the SA.

Lauren: this morning I reached into where the nails were and picked out a little peice of paper rolled up really tight. It’s a hidden clue or something, ya know? This has been there since we merged. And, then I was trying to make sure that nobody was paying me any attention. My heart started beating probably 150 beats per second. She reads: “Congratulations, you have found a secret advantage in the game. This advantage allows you to secretly not vote at the next TC. And, instead, save your vote for use at a future TC, here’s how it works.
Continues in conf: When it is your time to vote do not write down a name, instead, secretly place this note inside the voting urn and take a blank voting parchment instead, with you. Then, I will get to vote twice. The hard part is going to be getting this paper into the urn in front of 20 other people. I need to make sure that no one sees me do it, because that could blow up my whole game.

Cut to intro

Challenge

race up tower to series of obstacles where you will take a sling shot and shoot down 5 targets. First team to win, reward. Spaghetti dinner, salad.

Joe in conf: Right now I do have a target on my back so I need to make adjustments to my game so this is a great opportunity to improve my game and make better alliances.

See the winners walk to reward area....Joe speaks to them and gives them the order, Devon first, it’s his birthday, I didn’t do anything but sit there so I go last....then Cole, Chrissy,

Joe continues: I put myself last because I didn’t want to put an additional target on my back. Right now, who has the power is the hustlers, I have a decent relationship with Devon so I gave him first dibs on eating. I feel like if I can develop a better relationship with devon, that’s going to benefit me definitely in the long run...

Devon walks up to the food, this is like the perfect date by myself.

Devon in conf: When I walked into the reward I felt like there was a little pressure on me being the first...knowing that everyone else is counting on me to set the bar on how much we are going to eat...He is shoveling it ALL in....

continues: OH man, I am so happy right now, this is insane! Shoving each bite into my face but I felt that I was fair, I mean I might of eaten a little more, for sure, but when there is that much food, it’s hard to stop.

See the written part of the clue under the spaghetti....devon misses it.

JT: I got to eat second, but I wouldn’t have minded going last because whoever was last got to finish it off, but you just want to make sure that everybody gets their fair share. All in all, by no means, but the food is what it is, take your portion and if you take more than your share than that’s on them.
Cole: I think JP and Devon may have had a little more than their share but I’m going to do the same thing. I know I am on the bottom so I’m gonna get back at all these people that stabbed me in the back and eat as much as I want, he sees the clue. There’s writing on the bottom of the plate. It says that you have an idol buried under the tribe flag. So, I am thinking that I may be the first person to see this clue. I know I needed to find some way to hide this clue from everyone. I decided to use an apron that was covering up the bread and tried to make it look as natural as possible.

Chrissy comes up.....I didn’t realize I didn’t get a plate....
Chrissy: I am a student of the game enough to know that there is generally a clue to be found at the reward. So, I begin to look at the bottom of the salad bowl...I unwrap the extra silverware....looked around, looked at the trees around me, didn’t see a clue so I continued to eat. See her peak under the napkin, and there it is, she swears...There is a hidden immunity idol hidden under your tribe flag. I actually think that I am the first one to see this clue and I am hoping that Ryan will also find the clue.
Ryan: Spaghetti is great, I like spaghetti, it’s fine. Caeser Salad’s okay, but I was looking for the clue. Ryan finds it, reads it, says, very direct. If you see the clue you do not have to be a master mind to figure this out. So, I have to hide the plate because the less people that see the clue, the better. I have been looking for an idol for 20+ days, now I know exactly where one is, so if I don’t find it, I would never be able to swallow that.

Here’s ryan....ryan comes back and lies down next to Chrissy, and she whispers to him about the clue, Cole listens, Asks, what’s that whispering about? Ryan: Nothing

Cole: Chrissy and Ryan were definitely whispering about the clue, there is nothing else that they would be whispering about. I could definitely beat out Chrissy and Ryan in a digging contest so if push comes to shove, I’m gonna push and shove there and I don’t feel bad at all about fighting for the idol. (*such an idiot ~ once again as edited as a dumb player. )
Ryan: Knowing that the II is buried right under the tribe flag, my heart is beating right out of my chest. See them file in from reward....I have to just wait for a moment to break away...we were telling the others about the reward and incredulously Ryan notes, and all of a sudden, Cole, goes to pee! This is it, this is when I have to strike...Cole’s literally caught with his pants down, I’m going to dig up this idol. And, we see him doing it. Chrissy goes to join Ryan, while in the middle of talking to the others. JP is walking by him, and Ryan grabs it just as he is there, and shoves it down his pants.
Then Chrissy goes by him, and tells her to cover that back up, I got it. Cole looks over and sees Chrissy there, and runs to dig deeper...
Ryan: I am standing there with the idol in my little pink shorts and pandemonium is ensuing in front of me.

Cole, Chrissy, Joe, and Ben are all there. Ben asks: Cole did you find a clue or something?

Ryan continues: Nobody really knew what was going on, and I was the only one that really knew what had transpired.

The flag drops, Ben says, Cole’s got it, he shoved it down his pants....

Ben: Cole’s digging his own grave at this point. You don’t want your enemies to know you have the idol. He blatantly just went out there running and just started digging.

Hear Ben tell Cole: WAsn’t the smartest thing, bud. You got it now and now everyone knows, so?
Cole: What else was I gonna do?

Ben confessional continues: I don’t like Cole, he’s rubbed everyone the wrong way, and if he’s got the idol everybody needs to know. He’s one of the main targets. I don’t care, I’ll blow his game out.

Cole says it’s still buried out there somewhere.
Ben: I saw you tuck your shirt into your pants.
Cole; It’s a long shirt, dude
Ben: Why would you tuck it in...
Cole: cause it’s like a dress

Cole: It’s like a complete disaster at this point. Everyone thinks that I have an idol, but I don’t have an idol. I feel like I am in big trouble, so letting people think that I have the idol at this point is all I have left, unless I can win immunity. That would be a game changer for me.

Cut to IC

Desi says temporarily when Jiffy says got to take it back. see Ryan. stand on narrow beam while balancing statue with a very narrow pole, at regular intervals, move back, harder.

WHen Jiffy noted losers head to TC, see Desi, and 8th person voted out, then Cole.

First section for 10 minutes, one little movement and your game can be over...

Mike is out. Ryan spits,
Joe out ooooh, killing me Jeff
Devon falls off, third out
Lauren is out
Down to 7
Ryan can’t hang in anymore, down to 6
See desi, others, then see Desi again

everybody moved back one section, beam very narrow
Ashley only lasted a couple ofseconds in this section
Where it gets very very difficult
Ben movement
JP struggling
Cole's feet moving, Ashley says Cole’s done
Chrissy out of no where looked very solid and dropped
Ben, Desi, Cole, and JP
Ben is out
Down to 3
Desi looking very solid, no expression
Desi drops, not keep her streak alive
Cole and JP, JP with a huge recovery, stature has moved alot, base is on the edge
Now Cole is moving
Cole still moving
JP drops

Cole wins individual immunity, safe tonight, cannot be voted out, see Ben.

Chrissy in conf: It totally sucks that Cole won immunity. But, the Hustlers and the heroes still have 3 other Healers to choose from, so we have to figure out which one of those 3 goes next.

Returned

Cole: the Immunity challenge was the bomb. I have new life I am so excited to be her tonight, I was getting pretty bummed out, I was thinking I was leaving tonight...to win that challenge definitely put me on top of the world. However, at this point I definitely think the healers are a sinking ship right now, and if we don’t do something soon we are going to be in a bad, bad place. First see Desi, then see Mike and then Joe. (Wonder if that will be the order?)

See JP, Ashley, Chrissy, Ben walking, that sucked...they say, all the girls vote Joe, and alll the boys vote Des.

Ben: Cole winning immunity changes everything. So, the plan right now is to split the vote between Joe and Desi, given the fact that he’s already found and played 2 idols. He’s a gamer, and the more Joe stays in the game the more time he has to find another one. Desi, she’s physically strong, she’s mentally strong and she can compete with the best of us.

Then see Chrissy Ryan and Ben.
Ben: we can’t put all our eggs in one basket either. Desi, she’s gonna compete
Ryan: No, no, no, Desi’s so strong
Chrissy to Ben: So you feel confident?
Ben: Well, it’s S, and anything can happen, but I think we’ll be good.

See Cole, Joe, and Mike
Cole: Dude, I don’t have an idol
Joe: Damn

Joe: With Cole off the chopping block they are probably gonna vote me out. I still have angles to play because at this point it’s 4 healers, 4 heroes and it’s a matter of who can sway the hustlers.

They ask Cole what he thinks: He replies, I think the heroes think that I still have an idol, so they may split the votes. And, if they split the votes we just need one person to vote and we can send someone home.

See Joe and Ryan, and Devon: and a snake.
Joe: this is the thing, who’s calling the shots right now, it’a a concern I’ve had since the beginning. (See Ben listening and spying on them). Joe tells him that Ben is just running this thing, the Dude is totally....If you all go to the final three with him, you are NOT going to beat Ben.
Ryan: yeah

Ryan: what Joe is pitching is true. If Ben gets to the Final 3, he would win, he’s got a great story, he’s a former Marine, and he’s just a good guy....see Ben squatting in the brush spying). I don’t want to take Ben to the F3, however, if I vote off Ben, I’d be betraying Chrissy, who really trusts me, so now is not the right time.

Ben: Just like i thought, Joe’s trying to put a target on my back. Ya know, I just really don’t like that guy.

See a snake, then Ben and Joe together, and Ben says: Joe, joe, what are you doing tonight? Playing another idol? Ben and Mike are there too, Joe: I don’t know, we’ll see what happens. There’s other threats other than idol hogs, like myself. There’s people that lie that swear on things. I mean you swore on your marines to 3 different people.
Ben: WHO? No I didn’t, who?
Joe: I’m not gonna go back and forth here, Ben
Ben: I never swore on the marine corps to anyone...so, if people are saying that, they are lying to you.

Joe: Ben came up to me real cocky and confident and I didn’t like it. So, I’m thinking he’s always saying, “I’m a marine”, this and that, so I told him, you are going around swearing on your marine, he said, he’s never done that, maybe I said you didn’t swear on yoru marine, but I don’t think it really mattered. I know I am in trouble so I gotta do what I can to blow up this game. t

Joe says, Ben listen,
Ben: NO! YOU Listen....and he gets loud
Desi in the shelter with Ryan and Chrissy: Hey, are they yellling
Ryan: uh huh. They have like a rivalry

Back to Joe and Ben:
Joe: I think that’s your game and that’s cool

Ben: Joe pushed the right button. I take what I did in the Marine Corps very serious, and I am still dealing with it. There’s things that I have to deal with every day. And, uh, thoughts that I have every single day. Some putz like him sitting there and telling people that I swore on it. It pisses me off!

Ben to Joe: I didn’t swear on the marine corps.
Joe: I hope you didn’t, that is all I’m sayin’.
Ben: Joe, I don’t give a ______ what you think
Joe; I know you don’t, when someone swears on the ...

To the shelter, Desi: Yeah, they are fighting for sure. Joe is just sitting there, Ben is the more demonstrative one...see Ashley

Desi: Joe just caused another blow up at camp. It’s certainly unsettling, I hope he knows what he is doing. Cause I do feel like there is a target on my back. But, Joes instincts so far have been good up to this point. This could work out really well for me, or really bad for me.

Cut to see Lauren tell Ben about the secret advantage, where the nails were....
Lauren: I have to tell you this because there is no way we are going to be able to split the votes now.
Ben: We can’t?
Lauren: NOt with the secret advantage...

Lauren: I decided to tell Ben about the secret advantage, because if I play it and don’t vote, then it would be 3 votes Joe, 3 votes Desi and the Healers could use their 4 votes and vote out one of us.

Ben asks her what it says. If she uses it today, then later she can vote twice.

Lauren continues: I am solid with Ben, however, I’m playing this game for myself and for my daughter, and having that extra vote, it could get me to the F3. I gotta make a big decision.

Ben: But this could create a huge problem for us. It’s a blessing and a curse that she found this. Now, I’m worried that Joe’s got another idol, so we have to split the vote. So, I have to convince a healer to come with us.

see 2 snakes...See Ben talking to Mike....

i’m on board with this, I can’t stand to be on this island with him any longer. If you don’t vote with us tonight then I’m going home. Ryan is there too.
Mike: But, who’s gonna vote for you?
Ben: Joe, Desi, Cole
Mike: But that’s only three
Ben: Right, but if something screwy happens, my name’s down.

Mike: For some reason, Ben feels that he needs me to vote out Joe. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t know what is going on. But, if I show my alliegence to Ben, this could be my moment to get off the bottom. At the same time, this could be a perfect opportunity to take out the biggest threat in this game, and that’s Ben.

See Mike discussing his delimma with Cole. They could be lying to me again....

Ben: If this don’t work, I might be screwed. IT’s a game of Russian Roullette. Put one round in the chamber, spin it, and hopefully the hammer doesn’t go down on me tonight.

Dramatic music, dusk, a spider, then TC....suspenseful music...

Joe: last TC came out hot, played idol, survivor....tell me a time that I haven’t felt the heat. Joe says there is one person running the show right now, Ben
Ben says he’s with his alliance, he has their backs
Cole says the healers are targets
Joe is laughing, says he said really, you allowed Ben to come in and cause chaos
Ben: This is from a guy that says I was swearing on my marine...they, Chrissy tells Joe to stop talking none of us want to hear you anymore
Ashley says she doesn’t know if Joe is just good at playing the gmae or just really annoying.
Desi says he’s good at double entendre
Mike says he feels he can’t trust people, feelings get hurt, feel as if you have been betrayed
Ben: I’ve been through alot had to keep our heads cool in dangerous situations, easy to get overwhelmed. since I have gotten out I am working on things like anger
Desi says she guess that lying is not the best version of themselves. there are alot of people here that have lied, have to decide where to draw that moral line
dEvon: I was dead in the shelter I don’t want to be like that I am positive person I don’t want to be a zombie, I like being a light and beautiful light.

Voting...

See Lauren, slip the SA into the urn, and slip the parchment into her bra...
Tally

They all look at Joe to play the idol....no idol play

Ben
Lauren
Desi
Joe
Desi
Joe
Desi
Joe
Desi
Joe

tied, 4 votes to 4 votes

Des
Joe
Desi
Desi
Desi
Desi
First member of jury
Joe: Yo Desi, baby girl, I didn’t flip...
She’s crying

Well, if roller coaster is the theme of the night, we are still early in the ride, that means there are a lot more loops to come.

This episode is interesting. We see that Cole is seemingly edited to be a dumb player. That's because he didn't think, or perhaps we wasn't a student of the game. But, for me, Chrissy and Ryan, the students of the game, are just as stupid. And, they think they are so much better.

First of all, Chrissy didn't even attempt to hide the plate, or do anything with it. At least Cole attempted, however weakly. Did she really leave it there for Ryan to see? Really? Then, when she returned and Ryan returned and they both discussed it right NEXT to Cole. She has no awareness of others....Chrissy constantly talks in ear shot of others, it's as though she dismisses others.

Then, she blatantly attacks Joe at TC as she turns and yells at him..."Just stop talking, none of us want to hear you anymore!" Not wise jury management. Furthermore, they all know how smart she is as she so eagerly showed off her math skills in the middle of the challenge. The sentiment towards her from those evicted from the game have NOT been good. Both Ali and Desi called out her lying. It's becoming more difficult for me to see her as winner, but this is Survivor, and anything can happen!

Ryan: Ryan was not edited well, imo, after the blindside of Roark. He was the one that vehemently attacked Ali, after HE blindsided her. His inability to empathize with her and gently handle the situation was apparent. He's called himself a weasel. He's shown that his words cannot be believed. He chose Devon as his number one because his impression of him was that he was "not as strategic", and physical. He judged the book by it's cover, which we all know is a big NO NO in Survivor.

Devon has believed that Ryan is his number one. Then, this week, we see Ryan tell him that he's got the idol, you are the only one I am telling, and not to tell anyone. Then, we see him tell Ben, and Ben tells Devon. The look on Devon's face, pure betrayal. This is going to be a significant event, imho. And, it could be the beginning of the fall for the weasel. (At least I hope so). For me, Devon is the underdog that I am rooting for, the average viewer perhaps? Devon is good with Lauren, Ashley, has ties to Joe, Ryan thinks that he's good with Devon.

Ben: Ben is someone that is in a personal struggle. He is shown to still bear the burden of the effects of his military service. It is his weak point, and he knows it. He has garnered trust from Chrissy and Lauren. He is in good with Dr. Mike, JP, Ashley. He is in conflict with Joe and Cole. He is a man in the middle, if he chooses to be. He betrayed Mike, but now Mike has decided to work with him. Ben has options.

Lauren: She's in a good place with Ben. Ben is a much larger target than she is, she is positioned with the Heroes/Hustlers, but also has ties to Dr. Mike. Can she trust Ben to keep her secret safe re: SA?

Ashley + JP. The once labeled power couple has shunned the spotlight. We know that Ashley is well positioned with Devon, as well as JP. She's the outer layer, however, of the heroes.

Joe: Joe is a marked man by Ben, and by Chrissy. For him, he's lucky that he is so poor at the challenges, I think that is the only thing that has saved him to this point, bar the idols. He's a very forward player, and he's a huge target. Someone to hide behind. He's trying to appeal to his relationship with Devon, will he be able to? (especially when Devon feels betrayed by Ryan?)

Mike: Makes a move to support Ben. In with Ben, Lauren, Cole. A reasonable man with an idol, that no one else knows about. An underdog with some hope.

All food for thought.