Back at camp Tai returned Jason’s Idol and it’s game on as the sun rises on Day 25. Tai really wants to bring harmony back to the camp and Scot seems to agree with him but he wants to see where Aubry’s head is at first because he wants assurances from her before he makes any decisions. Despite his desire not to become the Russell Hantz of Season 32, that’s exactly what he’s become with his overbearing attitude and mopey teenage responses.
Scot takes Aubry aside and tells her that he’d like things to go back to normal but he and Jason really want Cydney gone because they see her as a traitor. Apparently Scot has forgotten that he’s playing a game. It’s Scot’s soft side of bullying that Aubry is fully aware of and she knows that going forward she’s going to have to keep the boys believing that things are indeed going their way, regardless of whether they are or not.
It’s time for the Reward Challenge and they need to place one foot at the end of a balancing beam and keep a clay pot balanced at the other end . . . but when that clay pot drops, they’re out. A classic Survivor challenge that looks really easy on the outside but aches like hell on your legs. Jeff has decided to mix it up a little for the reward this time as they get to choose either Food, which consists of a bacon cheeseburger and fries with cold beer, pop and chocolate chip cookies for dessert, . . . or Love, the letters from home that tend to come around this time in the season, . . . or an Advantage in the game. The real twist is that they have to consider that they’re only playing against whoever else wants that particular Reward. Well this sounds interesting.
Choosing an Advantage are Tai vs Cydney vs Aubry, . . . choosing Food are Scot vs Jason vs Michelle, . . . and choosing Love are Julia vs Joe. All they need to do is beat the people in their category as the challenge begins. Joe’s old legs aren’t what he wishes they could be as his pots topple over and Julia wins her Love letter from home. Jason almost loses it but as he recovers Scot glances over and there go his pots. As the wind picks up Jason loses control and Michelle wins the Food Reward. We’re down to the Advantage and nobody is moving, well, except for Aubry. There go Cydney’s pots and it’s down to Tai or Aubry and Aubry is just sticking in it to prove she can. They’re only ten minutes in but the pain on their faces looks like they’ve been there for hours as Aubry moves her pots a little more and then Tai starts to move, but it’s Aubry who goes out and Tai wins the Advantage.
Scot seems to think that Tai’s advantage is his advantage, but he’s even happier that Cydney didn’t win the advantage and didn’t eat so he’s now sure that Cydney goes home. The worst thing you can do in Survivor is delude yourself into thinking that you’re in control, just ask Debbie. Meanwhile Michelle is so proud to have beaten both Scot and Jason for that Food Reward because the boys really wanted it.
As Scot and Jason go off to get more water Tai wanders off to read his Advantage which sends him to TreeMail. He knows that, now that his Idol has been exposed he needs a little more edge to guarantee his safety. Sooner or later he has to realize that Scot and Jason are going to vote him out and hopefully that comes to him before it happens. When Tai retrieves the box from TreeMail he opens it to discover that he has won an extra vote at Tribal. That can be crucial if he uses it correctly but, as he pointed out, if he’s not careful he could still go home with both advantages in his pocket.
Back at camp Julia is enjoying her letters from home. There’s a lot of smiles and laughter and it helps her to refocus on exactly what and who she’s playing for. After enjoying her letters, Julia joins Michelle and Aubry on a walk and they discuss how dumb it was for the guys to expose both of the Idols. Add in Tai’s new advantage and the girls are a little concerned so Julia puts forward the idea of voting out Tai which, if he doesn’t play his Idol gets rid of Tai and if he does probably gets rid of Cydney, but it flushes out an Idol. The girls need a plan to flush those Idols but Aubry doesn’t trust Julia and she doesn’t want to be sitting next to her at the end.
It’s Day 27 and Aubry finally gets some time to chat with Tai as they discuss how much bigger the game is when you’re actually in the game. This is something that Wayne and I have discussed about Amazing Race, the fact that it looks so easy until you find out all the things that were edited out of the footage. Tai seems to have a lot of trouble aligning his personal views with the side he’s chosen and Aubry can see that so she’s trying to bring Tai back from the dark side. She lets him know that the girls want to flush the Idols and she really wants to work with Tai and gives him an alternative to working with Scot and Jason.
Too bad that the first place Tai goes is down to the water with Scot and Jason to discuss the news about flushing the Idols. He pretty much throws Aubry under the bus when he says that she wants to work with him and then he says that he’s kind of a free agent so that could work . . . and I’m thinking someone should get this guy a gag. He really needs to just stop talking because he keeps opening his mouth and inserting both feet. Scot gets his angry look on (just like Mr. Potato) and says that at the next Tribal they’ll vote Aubry out, end of discussion.
Finally Tai realizes that, even though he’s participating in the actions of his alliance, he has absolutely no say in any of the discussions and he’s just supposed to do as he’s told once he’s given his marching orders from Scot. Scot has decided that they need to get rid of Aubry so that he has all the power even though it means keeping Cydney in the game. Scot really doesn’t like Cydney but he hates anyone standing up to him more and Aubry is doing just that by trying to work with Tai. On the upside, Tai now knows exactly where he stands in his alliance, but now he has to decide what he’s going to do about it.
He might want to hurry up on that because it’s time for the Immunity Challenge. Jeff retrieves the necklace form Julia and then explains today’s challenge. Each tribe member will stand with their arms stretched out and their fingertips pressed against two wooden discs, each of which has a ceramic pot attached beneath it and when that ceramic pot drops so do their chances of winning the Immunity necklace. Obviously the last one standing wins Immunity and a one in seven chance of winning the game.
With their arms extended there’s a lot of pressure on their fingertips and as they tips go numb that numbness travels up the arm and . . . well, it’s not really a surprise that Joe is the first one out of the challenge. Jason is dripping with sweat as he keeps the pressure on. Everyone is shifting their hips and legs to keep themselves from tightening up and Julia almost lets it go but she recovers. Not so much Scot who is easily distracted because as soon as he looked over at Julia both his pots fell to the ground along with his chances of safety at Tribal. Julia shifted again, then recovered, but eventually just removed her discs without breaking her pots because her thumbs had gone numb, and we’re down to five.
The more Jeff comments through a challenge the more easily everyone becomes distracted as they start checking out the competition and gauging whether or not they have a chance of winning. Tai’s left disc starts to slide but as he tries to recover his right disc starts to slide . . . and Tai is out. Then there goes Michelle. Down to three . . . Aubry, Cydney and Jason. They’ve been up there for 45 minutes and Jason almost lost his left disc but he recovered and then Cydney lets her pot fall, leaving one Brain vs one Brawn. Jason says he’s not going anywhere and Aubry says neither is she and when Jeff asks if that gets to her she says it doesn’t because Jason has been through a lot and she expects him to keep going, but she also expects herself to go further.
Aubry and Jason have been up there now for an hour and fifteen minutes and they both look like they’re in serious pain. Jeff is impressed with their stamina and maybe even mores when Aubry slips but recovers. That was tough but she did it and she may be in an even better spot. There’s a lot of movement from both of them but in the end Aubrey can’t sleep recovering and both her pots fall which means Jason has won the Immunity necklace. This one was really well earned and I just wish Aubry had won after everything she put into it, but Jason earned it.
With his win of the Individual Immunity Jason is almost as deluded as Scot by thinking that they are unstoppable because that’s exactly the kind of thinking that gets players on the jury. He’s sure that Aubry is going home and they can play their Super Idol to ensure their own safety if things don’t go as planned. To be fair, with an Immunity necklace and two Hidden Immunity Idols, plus the possibility of a Super Idol, I can see where they could get a little deluded.
While most of the Survivors are going about their day, Julia is hanging out with Scot and Jason in the shelter and when they ask her what she thinks she tells them everyone is voting for Tai to flush his Idol. Julia is an idiot. Okay, maybe that’s just my opinion but she’s playing the game all wrong and this whole double-agent thing is bound to backfire on her. Scot is happy to have his own double-agent and they confide in her that they know they can’t beat Tai at the end so they’ll need to blindside him eventually and with her in their alliance she ends up in a final three deal. Young, naive, manipulated . . . so sad. I mean, she’s just as deluded as they are if she thinks they’ll take her to final three.
While Julia is enjoying her supposed end game, Aubry and Cydney are planning on blindsiding Scot to flush an Idol rather than Tai because they both realize that Tai is just being used. All they need to do is bring in Tai and the bully alliance will fall apart like a tower of Jenga. Aubry goes to Tai to tell him about her plan to blindside Scot and keep him in the game and that puts Tai in a delicate situation because the poor guy hasn’t a clue where he should be standing. My recommendation is out of the way of the rapidly approaching train. Tai still thinks that he can get to the final three with the boys but he has no idea that they intend to blindside him . . . maybe even tonight.
Tai returns to the boys but for a change he doesn’t say much and Scot informs him that everyone is likely to vote Tai and he can then play his Idol for a Super Idol and turn the tables on them by voting out Aubry. Jason is so sure of this plan that he even gives Scot his Not So Hidden Immunity Idol. Tai just nods in agreement and keeps silent knowing that, if he makes this move there’s no turning back. As he says, he’s not in the game to make good friends, he’s in the game to win.
Everyone arrives at Tribal and Jeff brings in the jury . . . Neal, Nick and Debbie. Jeff mentions the last Tribal and the display of Idol power and then he turns to Scot saying that, as an athlete they pretty much said “bring it” and Scot agrees. Jason is nodding as Scot says they’re not going anywhere and now it’s Jason’s turn to ramble for a change by saying that the others can’t cut them so they get to decide who’s going home. Aubry makes light of it all and Scot says that they tried to tell her what was happening but got no response. Tai continues to stay silent as Jeff continues to ask questions and Cydney mentions how angry Scott and Jason became when she decided to go against them on a vote so she feels a bit vulnerable.
Jason continues to prophesize that He and Scot are not going home, and then adds that neither is Tai, but adding Tai as an afterthought must be working in the back of Tai’s mind as Jeff notices that Tai has been silent. Tai says that boasting is not his way but this is war and Jason points out that Tai has stood by their alliance. Jeff mentions Aubry’s ability in the challenge and she says that it meant a lot to her to go toe to toe against an NBA player and a veteran and to almost win. Kudos to Scot for pointing out that Aubry has been giving 110% throughout and then Jason points out that she’s been kicking butt so at least they realize that she is a strong competitor and she has to be happy with that. Quite the compliment when Jason says that she has as much brawn in her as he has.
Unfortunately Jason continued to talk about their dominance in the game and as Jeff says it’s time to vote you can see the gears turning in Tai’s head. With the last vote cast Jeff gathers the votes and calls for the Hidden Immunity Idol but none of them do so despite Julia telling Tai to play it and Scot telling Tai not to. Jeff reads the votes . . . Tai, Aubry, Scot, Tai, Aubry, Scot, Scot, and finally Scot. As Scot looks on pleadingly to Tai who keeps looking between Scot and Jason like a puppy between two masters, Tai eventually just shakes his head and says “No”. Now thats the way to perform a blindside and Julia just realized that she’s backed the wrong horse.
As Jeff says, there goes another blindside and then he sends them back to camp. Jason has got to be livid about Tai’s decision but at least he’s the more mature of the two bullies and hopefully he can see the logic behind Tai’s move. Scot on the other hand is probably banging his head against a coconut tree, button hard enough to cause Jason’s Hidden Immunity Idol to fall out of his pocket. That’s right, not only did they vote out Scot but he took Jason's Idol with him. That’s hilarious, but at least he feels guilty about it and proud of Tai’s gameplay.
Next week it’s all abut revenge as Julia and Jason plot to avenge Scot after Tai’s awesome decision to finally play his own game. I expect better from Jason but I’m not overly surprised. It should be a heck of a ride and I’ll be right here to review it. Be sure and check out my Big Brother Canada reviews and, of course, our Amazing ace reviews after Friday’s episode. See you later tribe mates.