In Week 2, Matt got on Boston Rob’s bad side by congratulating the members of Zapatera after losing an Immunity Challenge. Rob determined that Matt couldn’t be trusted, and arranged for Matt to be blindsided and sent to Redemption Island. If it was Rob’s hope that Matt would be out of the game for good, well, that’s about the only thing that HASN’T gone according to plan for him; five RedIsle duels later, Matt is still standing, and if he succeeds in dispatching Sarita, he will be back in the game, just as the two tribes will be merging. Speaking of which, Zapatera has now lost three consecutive Immunity challenges, and their once-promising 9-7 lead has now become a 6-5 deficit going into tonight’s episode.
One could easily make the case that the deck has been stacked in Matt’s favor, given that of the all the duels he’s been part of (including tonight’s), the only man he’s had to face has been Evil Russell; all the others have been ladies who went in at a clear disadvantage physically. But I think that would be selling Matt short, because not every challenge has been a purely physical one. He has kept his wits about him and prevailed every time. The biggest question, should he defeat Sarita, is this: what will he do then?
Zapatera is convinced that he’ll go back to Ometepe despite what they did to him, and Ometepe is equally convinced that he’ll join with Zapatera to exact his revenge on Boston Rob (something Phillip is already planning). Though I’m sure everyone in the game has developed true admiration and respect for Matt, his will and ability to survive will no doubt be seen by all as a viable and tangible threat. Even his one Ometepe ally, Andrea, has admitted as much. I would expect whoever rejoins the game to be rewarded with at least one TC’s worth of immunity, but beyond that, there’s just no telling. Strategies on Survivor change by the hour, and tribal merge always bring with them a flurried frenzy of strategic activity.
Redemption Island, Night 18. Matt admits to being glad to see Sarita, if for no other reason than he’s simply confident that he can defeat her at the next duel. He asks her what’s going on at Zapatera, and she defends them all (except for David) as “good people.” She tells him that he should talk to Mike should the occasion arise, which it just might. He says in interview that his instincts are telling him that the next duel will be the last one, and he is also considering going against his original plan to rejoin Ometepe by instead joining the coalition against them. Hmmm.
The next morning at Ometepe, tree-mail arrives, and instead of inviting only two people from each tribe to watch the duel, all are invited. It’s a very short leap of logic to assume that the merge is definitely imminent. Since they are unsure which team’s camp will be the home of the new unified tribe, they decide to pack up all their stuff and take it with them. Phillip admits that though they’ve had their differences, he feels like he is a fully-integrated part of Ometepe and will stick with them… which I find myself hardly believing. Is he going to move to oust Rob or not? Zapatera is briefly shown doing the same thing, and Mike admits that he’s looking forward to “going toe-to-toe” with Rob, who is clearly their #1 target.
Duel #6: Matt vs. Sarita. It seems that Matt is nursing a small but deep laceration on his foot, and he is understandably worried that if this final duel turns out to be an endurance challenge, it could seriously jeopardize his chance of victory. Both he and Sarita are a little surprised by the increase in attendance, but only until Jeff confirms that this WILL be the final duel, and the winner will indeed rejoin the game. And bad news for Matt, it IS an endurance challenge: both players will use their arms to brace themselves against walls on both sides of themselves while their feet are perched on very small footholds, which will be getting progressively smaller every fifteen minutes.
A challenge like this is as much about concentration as it is about stamina; I’m grateful that Matt at least was allowed to put a makeshift bandage around his foot. After going down to the second foothold, Jeff tries to screw with the contestants’ concentration and everyone else’s patience by asking Phillip what a challenge like this takes, and darned if Phillip doesn’t go into one of his thousand-word monologues about samurai codes of conduct or whatever. We don’t get the whole speech, of course, but it’s humorously edited to make Phillip look like the windbag he is. I’m not sure if anyone besides Phillip is actively rooting for Matt, which doesn’t surprise me. Then it comes time to go down to the final foothold, which is only 1/8-inch wide.
Jeff points out that women have indeed tended to do better at this particular challenge, and with Zapatera rooting her on, she appears to be in the zone. Matt, meanwhile, starts to cramp up, and has to adjust his position several times. But the thing about cramps is, you can never predict when their going to hit you, and Sarita starts to feel the burn around the same time. In the end, it’s Matt’s ability to use his arms to relieve the brunt of the weight on his feet that proves to be key, and Sarita drops to the ground. Matt runs his record to a perfect 6-0, and is officially back in the game. That is impressive. Like, a UConn championship impressive.
So after a bummed-out Sarita drops her buff in the fire, Jeff announces that both tribes have officially merged. The first surprise is that instead of going to one or the other tribe’s camp, they will now be living on a new beach, which means they’ll have to build a new camp from the ground up again. The second – and much larger – surprise is that after the next TC, the RedIsle cycle will start all over again. Holy crap, I did not see THAT coming. And not only that, Matt does not get immunity, so he could very well be coming straight back to RedIsle. Upon hearing this, Matt makes a half-hearted plea to everyone to at least give him a brief respite. Word, Matt. He then says he has yet to decide where to put his alliances now.
Three things are customary after a merge: a new tribal color (in this case, gray), a new tribe name (forthcoming), and a provided picnic feast. The first subject that comes up while they’re all tucking in is the tribe’s new name, and apparently not one of the group speaks a lick of Spanish, because Rob convinces everyone that the word “Murlonio” (which is a private in-joke between himself and his wife Amber… apparently it is the name of one of her stuffed animals) is Spanish for “from the sea, united”. But they all buy it, and voila, they are now the Murlonio tribe.
So while the tribe unites to build a new shelter, Matt tries to fill in the few blanks he had left, like why exactly he was voted out, and Grant tells him that it was because they were worried he’d join with Kristina. Mike notices that Matt is the swing-vote right now, and believes that Matt won’t be siding with the former Ometepe again, though he is pretty close to Andrea. Mike feels that the time to make a move is right now, because not to do so would mean giving all the controls back to Rob. Mike takes Matt aside, and tells him his plan, which involves bringing Matt, Phillip and Andrea over to their side, and will end with Matt and Mike both in the Final Four, even at the expense of several members of his own alliance. He even tells Matt that he “has access” to an HII (Ralph’s), and that it’s Matt’s if he wants it. Wow. I’m not sure how sincere Mike is, since he’s just offered him everything short of free healthcare. Matt ponders this development, and realizes that he has to play a more aggressive game than he did in the first five days.
That night, Matt tells Andrea his own plan: to try to play both sides long enough to take out Rob, with Steve and Phillip being the first targets. Andrea plays along, but admits in interview that it’s a plan fraught with risks, risks she may not be willing to take right now. The next morning, however, Matt seems to have a change of heart: his devout Christianity has reared its head and now he’s thinking of sticking with his old tribe. Uh-oh. But while Mike, Matt and Ashley are discussing scripture, Rob looks on from afar. He interviews that while he is a churchgoer himself, it’s in his best interest to break up any potential common ground amongst his competitors, and his first instinct is to make sure Mike is sent to RedIsle next, should he not win individual immunity.
Immunity Challenge. Jeff collects and retires the tribal immunity statue, and reveals a very cool Aztec-looking necklace, which is now the symbol of individual immunity. And the first individual challenge is a toughie: while standing on a half-buried, circular log, the castaways must balance a rubber ball on top of a wooden disc about the size of a small pizza platter (with one hand), and continuing to add additional balls at certain intervals. A player is out if even one ball falls off the disc or if they fall off the log, and the last one standing wins. (Reminds me of one of those Minute To Win It challenges.) And all this with the wind blowing. All of the women except Natalie bow out early, and then, one by one, the men fall away until only Natalie and Mike are remaining. Just then, a pesky fly lands on Mike’s disk and disturbs his concentration enough to disrupt his balance, and Natalie wins. Way to go, kiddo!
Obviously, this TC could prove to be one of the most significant of the season. Mike confers with his alliance and seems convinced that the target will either be Ralph or himself. Mike also figures that that Step One in taking Rob’s power away is to go after his “right hand man”, Grant. Which is a smart move, because Grant doesn’t even know that Rob has an HII, and as close as they are, Rob would never give his HII to Grant, ever. Of course, this plan entails reeling in Matt and either Andrea or Phillip.
Rob, meanwhile, has gotten first crack at Matt, who interviews that his notions of switching sides have been swamped by his desire to do the right thing “by God”. Matt tells Rob every facet of Mike’s plan and reaffirms his loyalty to Ometepe, and Rob shakes Matt’s hand in apparent gratitude. Of course, Rob then interviews that by admitting that he even took part in a plan to get him out, Matt has proved once again that he can’t be trusted, so Rob is now convinced that sending Matt back to RedIsle is the best move for him. Geez, this kid can’t catch a break. And then Andrea shows up, and Matt tells both of them that he’s decided not to flip, which means Rob now knows that Andrea was considering it, and Andrea most assuredly did NOT want Rob to find that out. Rob then asks Matt who they should target, and Matt suggests Steve because neither Ralph nor Mike are likely to use their HII to save him.
And then, one by one, Rob convinces his alliance that Matt’s got a go, no matter how nice a guy Matt is and even though it’s a shitty thing to do. I was hoping that Phillip would dissent, but he doesn’t, probably because he knows it would be a fruitless endeavor. The final thing that happens before the trek to TC begins: Mike slips Matt a note, stating that if Matt flips and votes off Grant, Mike will take him to the Final Three, which of course sends Matt into a moral tizzy. Andrea, for her part, is loathe to trust Rob after not being privy to Matt’s first ousting, but is unsure what course of action to undertake either.
Tribal Council. Jeff opens the Q&A by asking what camp life is like, and Ralph responds that the two tribes keep themselves separate, and don’t even talk to each other. Jeff then gets David to finally admit that they did throw a challenge, and this gives Phillip the perfect opportunity to get on his high horse. He then calls the Zapaterians dishonest at heart, while the rest of his tribemates silently giggle. Jeff then asks Matt what it’s like to be around a large group again, and he admits that it’s a huge change after two weeks on his own.
Jeff then asks Matt how Matt figures into tonight’s vote, and Mike correctly responds that Matt is indeed the swing vote. Ralph then says that Matt should consider siding with Zapatera, because Ometepe may very well victimize him again. Jeff then asks Matt why he would remain loyal to those who voted him out, and he said he spent the whole day wrestling with the decision.
Voting time. Twelve people vote, and not one of them are previewed. Jeff collects the urn, and asks if anyone wants to play an HII, and holy crap, Ralph stands up and announces that he’s giving immunity to Mike. Oh, Ralph, you are going to feel like such a schmuck in a minute… Out come the slips: Grant. Grant. Grant. Grant. Grant. Steve. Matt. Matt. Matt. Matt. Matt. And… Matt. And so it goes, nice guys do finish last. If Matt had voted for Grant, it would have been a tie, but he decided to stick to the plan that only he was a part of, and now he’s off to Redemption Island AGAIN. And not only did Rob dispose of a potential monkey wrench, his group now has a two-person advantage AND he got Ralph to push all-in with only an ace-high.
So Matt heads back the only “home” he’s really known since the game started, and will await another chance to get back in the game. Julie and the rest of her alliance can only feel pity as Matt makes his exit. And while I sympathize, I can only admit that he had it coming. Boston Rob takes no prisoners.
Next week: could Rob’s “right hand man” decide to stage a palace coup? It could happen…
