The Challenge – Survivor Triathlon“Come on in guys” said Jeff after letting both tribes wait in the heat of the Greek afternoon.
“Nachos getting their first look at the new Doritos; Susie and Natalie Tenerelli voted out that the last Tribal Council.”
There were no particular expressions on the faces of the Nacho members mainly because they had already been talking to the Doritos for the last couple of hours.
With no shade and no place to sit other than the ground, the Survivors were just happy to get things started.
“This challenge will be for both reward and immunity and I remind you that, once more, the losing tribe will have to eliminate two players at the next Tribal Concil. This challenge is based on the Olympics: We will first run a 4x400m relay with 2 men and 2 women on each side. Then we will have 3 Survivors for each side doing long jumps and finally, two survivors will be throwing a javelin. The fastest relay team, the best jump and the best throw wins a point for their tribe and the first tribe to get 2 points wins immunity and reward.
Do you want to know what you are playing for?”
On cue, everyone said yes so Jeff revealed the traditional fishing gear.
The tribes decided on their line-ups:
Danni, Aras, Kelly and Ian would run the relay for the Nachos against Becky, Chase, Natalie and Greg for the Doritos.
Neleh, Katie and Mick would do the long jumps against Sophie, Jenna and Dreamz.
The Nachos’ javelins would be thrown by Mike and Earl while Todd and Yul would be doing the honors for Doritos.
In the relay, Danni gave an early lead to the Nachos but it was still close when the two anchormen got the baton. Ian showed great form as he quickly made his way around the track.
The long jump was mostly a joke, no one knowing able to get a good jump except Dreamz.
With the score tied, it was up to the javelin throwers:
Todd went first and had a decent throw.
Mike was first up for the Nachos and his javelin sailed clearly over Todd’s mark, putting his tribe in the lead.
Yul was Doritos’ last chance and, while he had a good form, the result was disappointing.
With that, Earl didn’t even need to make his throw because Jeff was already saying: “Nachos win immunity!
He handed Mike the immunity idol and told them to come get their reward. The tribe was smiling and congratulating each other under the dejected looks of the Doritos.
Day 5 – Nachos Camp
The happy tribe came back to camp and quickly made use of their new fishing gear.
Mike had a confessional as members of Nachos were setting up the raft: “My tribe won again! We are so good and I haven't even fallen in a fire yet! I've already caught a pig and six chickens and think of all the fish I'll been catching now with this great fishing gear. Of course my tribe is strong! We're gonna go all the way to the end. Me? I'm gonna win this time...not get life-flighted out. Well, I do have a bit of a plan to stay safe...that's to make myself valuable to the tribe. So far, I've been feeding them like kings!!! I know, they like to vote out the helpful ones. But right now, I'm keeping their bellies full. Besides, our tribe has bigger fish to fry.
The camera showed Mike, Ian, Aras and Mick taking turns with the fishing spear and catching some nice fish.
Doritos Camp
The mood was somber in camp, no one really talking to each other, everyone knowing the tribe was in trouble.
Natalie W had a confessional: “My word. Second tribal council in a row! I'm actually surprised I'm still here! I mean, I won Survivor and when I saw Sophie's name came up, I thought for sure that they’re ganging up on us winners: I was gonna get a vote or two, if not voted out! But my word! I guess there's something to be said for beating Russell Hantz, right?”
I've sent feelers out to Jenna and Greg but can't get a read on either of them at this point...so time will tell.
Last night, Becky and I were talking and she suggested making a fake F2 deal with Dreamz so that at the merge, we would still have the numbers. It’s funny that Becky is taking the lead over Yul this time but Yul seems content to just go along. Maybe he’s giving her a chance to shine. Of course, this sends up huge red flags to me and I expressed my concerns about all that. How many times have I sat at home yelling at the players what a dumb move they are making by trusting someone completely??? Well, now I kinda understand why. You don't have much choice in matters like this. I'm still gonna keep trying to get to Jenna and Greg, but I dont know if either will trust me. I hope so. I will remain completely loyal to Becky, UNLESS Dreamz does not go out at 5 or 6 like she says he should. If that's the case, then I may need to rethink about trusting her so much. But for now, she has the benefit of the doubt.
As far as lies go, I've only told one lie in this game. That was to Sophie right after first tribal. She asked if I voted for her. I said no (of course, I told Becky that I did). That's the only lie I've told to anyone in this game. I don't think that if the truth comes out about that it will matter much because I found out after last night's tribal, that Sophie’s the next to go. That being the case, what does she have to get peeved about, right? Keep your fingers crossed.”
Todd: “I'm in an alliance with some people but I don't really know how much I'm going to stick with them. And actually I guess not very much since I was supposed to vote Chase and Sophie this time and instead I'm voting Chase and Dreamz! Oh well. It probably won't change anything, and Sophie will probably go, but I have to try. I’d like to work with Sophie but I don't want my 'allies' knowing what I'm thinking!!”
Becky: I think this upcoming vote is going to be pivotal. Alliances are definitely going to be tested. Dreamz wants to vote out Chase, but I think he'll be useful until the merge, where he'll be an easy target.
There have been a few names coming up around camp, myself included, so we'll see. The people in my tribe still can't decide which people we're giving votes to, but if I were to decide, I would send Sophie and Jenna out of here.”
Sophie: Jenna and I are in a secret alliance but I don't know how much longer we can pull that off. Dreamz and Becky are very savvy and Todd hasn't said much at all but I know he's taking it all in. We are trying to throw Dreamz off the scent by throwing votes out there for Natalie and Chase. I will clue Becky in - I'm trying to have her be my Albert this time. I like having someone to bounce ideas off of that I trust. If she screws me, so be it.
Chase: “If it works out with all of us guys on Doritos, we will boot the girls first, and then concentrate on the remaining survivors that according to a "rating list" have the best (in everyone's opinion) chance at winning and targeting them. That’s it in a nutshell.
I can't take credit for the nuts & bolts; Dreamz has been doing much of the figuring out of this. We are attempting to keep our alliance unknown to the rest of the group.
Dreamz has come up with the pecking order. Dreamz potentially could figure out who’s the biggest threat but like I said that's the best we can come up with. It may evolve later, it's sort of fast & loose for now.
It's not foolproof and there is probably side alliances but it's been a hoot working with the devious minded! It's a trust thing for the most part but in reality by the way this game started, this is probably the closest any of us will actually be able to "feel" what it's like to start an alliance, then wonder if we are in it to win or being played. It's rather a hoot if I say so myself. We’ll see how it plays out.”
After this series of confessionals, the head staffer made a quick call: “Shut them all up immediately and tell them to get over to Tribal Council NOW! They are so all over the place that this will be good!”
The crew gathered everyone and told them to get their torches. They’d have to make it over to meet Jeff without saying another word to each other.
Tribal Council
Jeff had a smile on his face, knowing that someone was about to get a big surprise. He’d hand over the rope and see who would hang himself.
Jeff started: “Two times in a row…Is this tribe doomed?”
Dreamz was quick to respond: “We only lost two challenges and we were close in both.”
Jeff turned to Yul: “You led your tribe to one of the biggest comebacks ever in the Cook Islands. Do you think you can do the same here?”
Yul: “The Aitutakis managed to work well together but I’m not so sure this tribe can do that.”
Feeling he had been targeted, Dreamz replied: “We only need to win the next challenge and we are right back in this thing.”
Jeff said: “Yul knows what it takes for a tribe to make a comeback so maybe you should listen.”
Dreamz: “Yul knows how to lead a tribe into giving him the money. We aren’t going to do that.”
Jeff: “If you mean that you won’t let a former winner get to the end again, I’ll note that you have 5 former winners in a tribe of 9.”
Dreamz: “But some winners were more popular than others so they know they can’t stay together. Anyway, some of those winners don’t even want to be here.”
Jeff faked being surprised: “Like who?”
Dreamz turned to face the person he had accused: “Sophie doesn’t want to be here.”
Sophie was surprised: “Well…I…”
Dreamz: “See Jeff, it’s Lisi all over again! If you want to be here, you’d defend yourself.”
Sophie: “I do want to be here but maybe not with this tribe.”
Chase tried to calm things down: “Jeff, all this tribe needs is one win so we are voting to keep the strong players together in order to beat the Nachos.”
Jeff knew where that could lead: “So, you guys are all together on this and you are eliminating the weaker players?”
Chase: “We have to. The guys may not agree on everything but we know we have to stick together.”
Jeff: “So, you will be voting for?”
Chase: “I told the guys that we need to eliminate Sophie and Jenna.”
Jeff: “Jenna, you look surprised by that!”
Jenna: “I’m surprised that Chase would think he could get me voted out! We’ll see who is surprised after the vote.”
Jeff knew when to end things so he told them that it was time to vote.
As the players stood to go to the voting booth, the camera lingered on Chase’s face as he tried to make eye-contact with the voters but couldn’t. His anxiety grew as each returned to their seat, the realization slowly dawning on him.
Jeff read the votes:
Chase, Dreamz
Chase, Dreamz
Sophie, Jenna
Chase, Sophie
Chase, Sophie
Chase, Sophie
Chase, Natalie W
Chase, Sophie
Chase, Sophie
While Sophie looked resigned as she set her torch in front of Jeff, Chase was shocked, unable to say anything except: “Why?”
Jeff’s answer offered little solace: “I guess it wasn’t a male alliance after all.”
As the two walked off, Jeff turned to the remaining Doritos and said: “You have to get your group organized or you will see many more Councils.”