LAST EDITED ON 10-23-03 AT 12:41 PM (EST)
Avast what you are doing, mateys and…matrixes(?)! It's time for the SOTS for Episode 6, a/k/a “The Prodigal Pelican”. Wherein, as a precursor to Ep 7's jaw-dropping, heart-stopping, all-else-topping Twist, the pelican previously dispatched by Drake in Ep 1 returns intact to the game as a member of Morgan, having bested the sandpiper, the kingfisher, the egret and the albatross in a nasty competition.
How long will the pelican endure in the game? We shall see. Meanwhile, on to the human doings in this episode.
The Rupert Show
We have the second episode in a row that references the beloved Rupie in the title. But Me and My Snake sounds a bit more sinister than “Everybody’s Hero". Let's consult See BS Misdirection Item #1:
One castaway has a heartwarming chat with an ailing snake. A real snake, literally.
We saw Rupie bring his new reptilian friend Balboa to IC last week, so there is the obvious implication of the title. But does it mean more? We have preview caps of Rupert talking to and then shaking hands with Shawn, with the word BETRAYAL ominously overlaid. Are there other snakes besides Balboa slithering around the Drake campsite? Hmm.
In a related thread, Mavsfan puts forth theories as to why S7 is being edited as The Rupert Show. Interesting discussion.
Reward Challenge
The cannons are trotted out once again, this time to fire at color-coded targets lined up on the beach. Reward is a surf-and-turf dinner for six (see caps here).
The only people we see participating in this are Christa, lighting Drake’s cannon, and Andrew lighting Morgan's. In the cap of Andrew, the cannon appears to be aimed at the aqua Drake targets, of which there are only four at this point. There are four orange Morgan targets visible as well, but Andrew's body may be obscuring a fifth.
We have a cap of Trish looking happy and raising a fist on the sidelines, and another of Andrew doing the same thing here, probably before or during the challenge. See BS Misdirection Item #2 informs us that:
After a closely battled Reward Challenge, the winning tribe sinks their teeth into a bounty that heats up their camp and revitalizes their spirits.
Morgan should still be on a high after winning three challenges, so one might expect that Drake needs its spirits revived now. Then again, since the reward emphasizes food, an area in which Morgan has not fared as well as Drake, Morgan might be re-energized more by a lobster and steak feast.
Some folks suggest the cap of the six steaks on ice could be a telltale sign that Drake wins, since, if this were taken back at camp or at a picnic area post-challenge, there should only be five steaks if Morgan won. More likely, though, it’s from when J Pro reveals to the tribes what they will be playing for, at which point they would need six steaks at the ready. (And anyway, if Morgan wins, I think the pelican would demand the sixth steak.)
So it’s a close call on the RC right now, maybe tilting just a bit toward Morgan, since they appear to get revitalized enough to win the IC (See below.)
Post RC: A Stunning Confession?
See BS Misdirection Item # 3 tries to drum up excitement with the news that:
While looting the losing tribe's camp after a Reward Challenge, a visiting castaway makes a stunning confession.
This could be a big nothing, or it could be something. If the Morons win RC, who knows what it means? Does anyone care? If Drake wins RC, Jon and Shawn are the only two who have not visited Morgan yet. If Jon goes, perhaps he tells Morgan The Big Lie? And/or the confession might be part of the “betrayal” campaign being waged against Rupert -- VerucaSalt suggests that maybe a Drake takes Morgan’s pot after Rupert promised Andrew they wouldn’t, in an effort to undermine Rupert’s diplomacy.
Another possibility is that the stunning confession is made to the camera, in “confessional”, as a revelation of treachery while at the other tribe’s camp.
Immunity Challenge
See BS concludes its misdirection this week with:
Immunity weighs on two Survivors, who must carry the fates of their tribes on their shoulders.
Caps and discussion of the IC are here and here. We have an endurance challenge similar to the water torture challenge in S2. Three members from each tribe stand on boxes with poles across their shoulders, in a Crucifixion tableau, while two tribemates lade the beams with bags full of heavy stuff like sand.
The weightbearers for Morgan are Andrew, Osten, and Ryan O. For Drake we see Rupert and Christa, with Jon and Trish piling on the poundage. The third weightbearer is not seen; presumably it is Shawn, and Sandra is sitting out.
There are different theories on how this challenge will work. One is that each person must bear bags equal to his/her own actual weight, which might explain why the bags seem unevenly distributed. Or, the loaders may place the bags strategically, giving weaker people less weight, to enable them to last longer.
We see Andrew grimacing and then laying on the ground. Christa also grimaces. Rupert, who has mucho bags on his pole, appears to buckle forward. Then there are what look like "defeat" caps of Rupert sprawled over a log, and "victory" caps of Ryan O. smiling and clenching his fists.
So does this all signify an IC win for Morgan? Well, there are other things that suggest an IC loss for Drake. As VerucaSalt has noted, the chat between Rupert and Shawn, compounded by the "Betrayal?", would probably not be occurring unless Drake has to go to TC. Couple that with the fact that the pelican's visit is apparently the only interesting event at Morgan this week, while we have shriekfests erupting at Drake again, and it seems a safe bet that Drake will be heading to their third TC.
Bootee
Once again this week, Cowboyroo started an excellent bootee thread, and if you go to no other links, at least check this one out, since it saved me a lot of work here 
. But, let's review:
Rupert: Rupert is again a big focus of this episode, and is all over the promos as the projected victim of some kind of betrayal scheme. We are asked “… can Rupert overcome a brazen act of betrayal? and “… is Rupert's own tribe turning on him?” Trish says in one promo that “Rupert has a hell of a lot of power right now.”
Rupert continues to get the highest number of confessionals– thanks, Krautboy! He became friendly with the Morgans and did not try to hide that from Drake. Even without that, logically, approaching the merge, he becomes a bigger target. He could go at any time.
Mitigating against a Rupert boot: He is in the majority alliance, which still appears to be relatively solid. It would take, at minimum, two of Sandra, Trish, and Christa to join Jon and Shawn to get him out. Burton and Michelle remain distinctly cool toward Rupert in their post-boot chats, suggesting he may not have arrived at LL immediately after they did.
Next up:
Shawn: If there is no major shake-up at Drake, Shawn is on the hot seat as the last of the beautiful people clique. He was all over last Thursday's initial preview as being in trouble -- which normally might be misdirection -- but it is logical to assume he really is in danger. His alliance with Jon is all he has right now, and it’s not good for much at this juncture. Krautboy makes the definitive case for a Shawn boot here.
Mitigating against a Shawn boot: It’s just possible that Drake would want to keep his strength for one more IC, if they feel uncertain the merge is right around the corner. Also, Burton and Michelle didn’t make any post-boot comments about Shawn, positive or negative – are they biting their tongues because he sticks around awhile?
Next we have:
Jon: We see Jon fighting with Shawn (with whom he supposedly has an alliance). CBS EyeMail – thanks, Sexishelly – tells us that more conflict between Jon and Shawn arises at Drake, causing some to consider one of them as the next to go. If Shawn were to somehow get himself off the hot seat it’s very likely Jon would take his place there.
Against a Jon boot: he’s weak and easily disposed of post-merge. Plus, it’s possible others besides Burton and Michelle (but not Sandra) find him entertaining, and Michelle claims he actually did work around camp. And workaholic Rupert hasn’t complained about him.
The rest
Yes, Snewser downgraded Christa two weeks ago, and she was a target in Ep 4. She is featured in previews for both of the challenges, and if she is responsible for losing one or both, she might become a target again this week. Still, she disappeared off the face of the earth last week, and Shawn, Rupert and Jon seem to be way more vulnerable.
Trish and Sandra should be well-insulated this week. Michelle tells us that Trish is actually pulling the strings at Drake, and that Sandra will vote for anyone as long as it’s not her. However, see additional spoilerish info on Trish below.
In the unlikely event that the Morons go to TC (did I really write that?), Darrah was next on their chopping block. But our own Bebekid found out she’s around for the Loved One RC, and since MB has yet to edit Darrah into the show, it’s unlikely she’ll be leaving and coming back. Ryan O was rumored as an early boot – he’s gotten continuing character development and increased face time over the last couple of Eps. Still, either of these two should be considered extreme long shots for this week.
Miscellaneous – Past, Present and Future
Check out the Yahoo Insider Five transcript, kindly provided by VerucaSalt this week (hope all is ok with Markopolo.) Also Michelle’s Early Show appearance and CBS web chat. All three of these provided useful information for this week’s spoilage.
mindella29 is running an alliance symposium here.
The lovely and talented Mistofleas has started a fourth thread covering The Big Lie, Regret, and Twist, condensing the main ideas in the first three threads and also providing links to those. If you enjoy the mind-numbing torture of figuring out those riddles, please pay this thread a visit.
The Twist appears to be slated for Ep 7, and esquire’s thread here is dedicated to the Returning Player(s) idea, and how this might work. Chez has a similar discussion going here.
Last but not least, our insightful Jims02 posted a hindsight editorial, warning of the dangers of overanalyzing in our eagerness to spoil. Advice worth noting.
So, Ep 6 in brief:
RC winner -- toss-up. Morgan?
IC winner -- sure looks like Morgan.
Boot -- Shawn and Rupert appear to be the front runners, with Jonny Fairplay a distinct possibility as well.
Well, I think that covers this week’s shebang, but please let me know if I left out anything. Will update with late-breaking bulletins before showtime, if need be.
And apparently it need be:
****LATE-BREAKING BULLETIN Wednesday 5:50 PM*********
Trish tries the Deena Bennett strategy?
Jlude and Mr 411 at Sucks reported that the link to Trish's "Activities" page has been removed from the CBS website at least as of yesterday. Mr 411 claims this has been the case with every previous bootee on the Wednesday before their boot Ep, starting with Ryan S. Apparently the link reappears subsequent to the episode.
The activities page contains the person's status ("active" or "voted off __/__/__") in the game, and voting history. It would have be updated each week for any person who attended tribal council, BUT -- the final words of the bootee go on this page as well, so the bootee's page needs the most updating.
The logical reason for a Trish boot would be that she tries to rally everyone to get Rupert out, as Deena did with Alex, and they turn on her instead. It's not out of the question.
Several of our most enlightened spoilers have already voted (or changed their votes) accordingly. Proceed as you wish.
DEATH TO ALL PELICANS!SOTS is provided by SurvivorBlows.com as a service to our readers. The purpose of this post is to consolidate the threads in the Spoiler Forum pertaining to this week's episode. Feel free to reply to this post if you feel that a theory you support was not adequately represented in this message... Please use this thread for unified discussion of all topics as we approach the next episode.
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