In Week Three, Zapatera, who had won the first two Immunity Challenges to excise poison pill Evil Russell from their midst. Momentum is a fickle thing, and you just can’t give that up, EVER. Since then, the butterfly effect has caused a tidal wave that has smashed the once-dominant Zapatera into tiny bits. For last week, none one but TWO former Zapaterians were chewed up by the Rob Mariano war machine, and both hunky former Marine Mike and self-aggrandizing strategist David were sent to what may prove to be the coolest Redemption Island duel yet. Both will square off with Matt (whose duel record is 6-0); two will live to fight another day, while the other will presumably become the first two members of the jury.
Redemption Island, Night 24. While Mike sleeps, Matt silently prays. He says that he wants “out of this game”, and I can’t blame him, but will cede to His will if it’s his destiny to stay. Then David arrives, and the trio begin to bandy ideas around about what’s in store for them. Will it be a three-person duel? Will it be all three-person duels the rest of the way? Could this one possibly be the last one? Good questions all. I’m hoping answer will appear come morning.
The next morning, Steve, Ralph and Julie have their breakfast, and Steve confesses that he’s glad it wasn’t him sent to RedIsle the previous night. While Phillip sits a few yards away playing with his hawk’s feathers and speaking in some strange African-sounding dialect that probably only exists in his head (forgive me if its an actual language and I’m just being ignorant), Steve admits that he can’t imagine anyone acting as strange as Phillip has their entire lives, and wonders just why Ometepe keeps him around. He then concludes that the best way to keep themselves in the game for a while longer is to push Phillip’s buttons – and I’m betting he has many that we haven’t seen – until something breaks and even Boston Rob admits he’s a liability. Good luck with that.
We next get a shot of Phillip meditating, and he interviews that he recently “got into Buddhism,” and during this meditation he says that he’s “come full-circle of trust” with regards to Boston Rob or something like that, I’ve given up trying to understand him. He says he still plans to stick by Rob for now, but vows that he will still be around at the end of the game.
Later on, the three ex-Zapaterians decide to gorge themselves on their apparently large supply of rice, which makes them happy because they have been hampered by hunger a lot lately. And since Rob has effectively segregated his alliance from them, he can’t really complain about that. (Plus, it's worth noting that the two groups keep their rice in separate containers.) Phillip can, though: he immediately informs Rob that the trio is trying to finish all the rice up before they are voted out, and that they need to find a way to “get even with them”. He decides to do this by emptying out Ometepe's urn with the rice into a sack so that he can monitor it. Rob grins and dubs Phillip the “rice police”.
Redemption Island: Duel #7: Matt vs. David vs. Mike. All are in attendance for today’s duel, which Jeff lays out: each player will have a stack of tiles that they must use to build, like a stack of cards, a structure that reaches eight feet high. And the last person to finish is out of contention, while the other two remain in the game. So, under the blazing sun, they set to work. Mike works quickly and efficiently, but his skinny tower starts to wobble ominously, allowing Matt and David to catch up. But Mike and Matt eventually prevail, and a disgruntled David smashes his tower in frustration. David has just become the first member of the jury, and Matt is now 7-0. He should get a prize for that alone regardless of whether he wins the million or not. At this point he’s definitely got a leg up on the voter’s choice prize, if they are doing that this season.
Day 26. Andrea discovers that Ometepe’s rice supply is infested with maggots, so she and Phillip proceed to dump the rice onto a blanket and remove the bad grains from the good. Waste not, want not. Now that they have no container big enough or sanitary enough to hold the rice, Andrea asks Steve if they can combine their rice supplies in one container, and not surprisingly, he refuses. And then Phillip goes on a rant on what horrible people the Zapaterians are. Steve retorts that he can’t make that decision without Ralph’s consent, because he is mysteriously not present. And then Phillip, who was taking the moral high ground a moment ago, threatens to steal Zapatera’s rice supply as soon as their back is turned. And then it gets ugly.
Steve calls Phillip "crazy", and then Phillip trots out the race card. Seriously. Even Rob and Grant do a double-take at that. It looks like Steve’s plan is working, doesn’t it? Phillip yells that Steve’s accusations are just another examle of “the man” trying to “keep a brother down”, and blah blah fishcakes. Steve was in the NFL, for God’s sake! I don’t think that is an organization that is exactly a fount of racism. Steve may not be the most diplomatic guy, but I’d definitely side with him over Special Agent Crazypants. Rob and Grant watch the whole fracas from afar, and Grant jokes that it’s “like watching Divorce Court.
Put yourself in Zapatera’s shoes. Ometepe has gone out of their way to keep your group separated from them. They never go anywhere in groups of less than two, just so you won’t have the opportunity to have a private, possibly dangerous conversation with them. Such is the government that Rob has created. They don’t eat with you, they don’t sleep in the same section of the shelter with you, and they have proven that they are committed to executing you one by one. So now their rice supply goes bad, and you’re just supposed to say, “Sure, guys, use our stuff! You strut around camp like you own everything in it, including us, acting like arrogant pricks the whole time, lording your superior numbers over us at every turn. You’ve made no attempt to talk to us about anything more interesting than the weather. But now YOU need OUR help, and refusal to do so makes US the bad guys?” If it were me, I’d probably add, “I hope your rice goes bad. I hope you get to eat less than you’re used to. I’m glad something happened in this game that was beyond your control, and oh, by the way, I’ll be sitting in the jury box grinning like a Cheshire Cat when your alliance is force to eat each other.”
About the only thing germane that is revealed in the aftermath of all this is that Phillip interviews that he realizes that none of the Zapaterians are going to vote for him anyway, so what’s the point in making nice? Which brings up a point: since the jury is likely to include a majority of Zapaterians, what exactly could Phillip’s endgame strategy possible be right now? The fact that this yahoo is getting more screen time than everyone else combined, including Boston Rob, just grates on me. I know that every season of Survivor has that one contestant that acts this way, and watching them is like watching a weekly train wreck in slow motion, but face it: it’s all for ratings. Provocateurs like Richard Hatch, and Johnny Fairplay, and Coach, and NaOnka are there to make us hate them, and the show plays that up in every way possible. Which is one facet of the show that I wish I could change.
The drama ends with Phillip yapping nonstop, and though it’s bleeped out, it’s clear that he uses the “N” word several times. Steve just walks away, but informs a reclining Rob that the three Zapaterians will be voting for Phillip at the next TC, so here’s his chance to rid himself of a major headache. I doubt Rob will bite, because we all know he’s smart enough to realize that Phillip is the perfect person to take to Final Three. Of course, there are four other Ometepe that would love to get that spot as well, and I would think that going behind Rob’s back and blindsiding Phillip would force Rob down another path. I doubt it will happen until the Zapaterians are down to one or two members left, but it’s something to think about. Rob and Grant have a conversation about it, and Ashley interviews that she’s reached the end of her rope with Phillip, alliances be damned.
Immunity Challenge. This one involves puzzle piece assemblage. First they have to unscrew the circular base of the puzzle from a wooden post, then put together a six-piece puzzle inside the base. The first six to do this (Rob, Julie, Ralph, Andrea, Steve and Grant) move on to Round Two, where the circular base is put inside a larger circle, with about a dozen pieces that have to be assembled around the first puzzle. It is very close the entire way between most of them, but the victory eventually goes to Rob, who edges Steve out by mere seconds. Told you, the guy’s a whiz at puzzles.
Back at camp, Julie reasons that Ometepe is now in a position, up 6-3, where they can still vote Phillip out and maintain their majority. Then she, of all people, decides to stir the pot even more by stealing Phillip’s bathing suit off a drying line and bury it in the sand while he’s out strolling in his Tidy Pinkies. Wow, I’m impressed. This is like the first time all season I’ve seen her do… well, anything. Of course, Phillip makes a federal case out of it when he notices their absence. Remember, only two Ometepe need join the Zapaterians to vote Phillip out, and it seems clear Ashley will be one of them, at least, stating that everyone is now completely “over” Phillip.
Phillip goes away and comes back, having fashioned some sort of cloth to cover his junk at least, and now sporting that damned feather again. Steve, Ralph and Julie make no attempt to talk the rest of Ometepe to vote for Phillip… really, there’s no need. Either the group will collectively decide to make Phillip Matt's and Mike’s headache or they won’t. Rob seems unsure whether taking one surefire loser to Final Three with him is worth all this aggravation. Could it be…?
Tribal Council. A much more refreshed-looking David take his spot in the jury box, and of course, Jeff opens the Q&A by pointing out Phillip’s wardrobe choice. Phillip seems confident that Steve is the one who stole his clothes (which is not only wrong, obviously, but Phillip did have a shirt at one point, and I’m pretty sure no one touched that, and Phillip only chose not to wear it to magnify his victimization). After relaying the basics of the “rice war”, Steve says that it’s nobody’s concern but Zapatera’s about how much of the rice – that was allotted to THEM – they eat, because there are fewer of them and the rationed portions are bigger. Jeff asks Andrea whether that’s true, and she replies that it’s frustrating only because their rice supply has gone bad. Jeff is shocked to hear about the use of the “N” word from Julie, and Phillip interjects that he used that word because when Steve called him “crazy”, it carries exactly the same meaning as calling him a (N word).
I really, REALLY do not want to wade ankle-deep in these waters, dear readers. I’m hear to recap a reality show, and this is about one of the ugliest episodes I’ve ever recapped. I’m Caucasian, and I hope that no one has, now or ever, construed my calling Phillip “crazy” in any way a racial slur. I would like to believe that this high-falutin’ reverse-racism only exists in the stygian depths of Phillip’s psyche, but I know better.
Jeff, looking very uncomfortable, tells Phillip he can’t reconcile calling someone “crazy” with calling someone a (N word). Phillip then spouts out at Jeff that that’s because he’s not African-American. Jeff defends himself by saying that if he can’t understand Phillip’s position because he’s white, then Phillip can’t understand Steve’s position for the same reason. Steve adds that in his last seven seasons in the NFL, he played for the L.A. Raiders, where only 20% of the team was white, and that there is no racism whatsoever in his being. I believe him. Jeff does his damnedest to quell a possible race war by saying, very elaborately, that the whole thing was a misunderstanding, that Steve used a poor choice of words and Phillip simply took it the wrong way.
Jeff asks Rob if the tense situation that has developed will factor in to tonight’s vote. Rob replies that both Phillip and Steve are grown men who say and feel what they want, but ignoring what’s happened will be nearly impossible. Natalie says she’s upset because she feels bad for both men. Jeff then asks the group who stole Phillip’s shorts, and Julie pipes up that it was her. Jeff comments that perhaps, because of this, Zapatera has finally found the crack in Ometepe’s armor that they needed. Julie admits its possible, and Steve says that if Phillip is voted out, he’ll be glad, but not because of any prejudicial issue. And finally, the group therapy session ends, and it’s time to vote.
Steve votes for Phillip, and so does Julie and Ralph. Phillip votes for Julie, and the rest of Ometepe’s votes are not previewed. No HII again this week, so out come the slips. Phillip. Phillip. Phillip. So far so good. Julie. Julie. Julie. Julie. And… Julie. Gee whiz, what is wrong with Ometepe? Don’t say you’re “over” Phillip and then keep him around! And if you’re going to do that anyway, send away Steve, the other half of the “rice war”. Not only would Steve have a better chance of ousting Matt (one of Rob’s biggest concerns right now), but now you’re guaranteed a few more days with both Steve and Phillip staring daggers at each other. I understand Rob sticking to his game plan, but Grant and the three girls are little more than robots, and this proves it. Julie tells Phillip good luck finding his shorts now, and her torch is snuffed. Off she goes to an almost certain loss in the next duel.
Next week: Phillip’s mood improves, while Matt’s sinks to rock bottom. And there are hints that the first of Rob’s alliance to fall under the ax just might be Andrea.
