Last week, Ometepe won their first legitimate Immunity Challenge. Boston Rob awesomely engineered an HII-clue switcheroo for the benefit of his closest ally Grant (who still doesn’t know that Rob has the HII), while Special Agent Crazypants tried to form a bond with Andrea, the only worthy female on the tribe. Over at Zapatera, Russell’s former alliance, Stephanie and Krista, unable to find a chink in the armor of the alliance of the other six large enough to expose, were the only ones on the proverbial hot seat, and it was Krista who was voted out. She will go toe-to-toe with RedIsle wunderkind Matt, who won his third consecutive duel last week by dispatching Kristina.
Redemption Island, Night 13. Krista joins Matt in the tiny shelter after TC, probably the only dry spot on all of RedIsle. Krista tells us how much she admires Matt, and seems almost saddened by the fact that one of them will be exiting the game for good the next day. She does tell Matt that she’ll be giving him a “run for his money," which may very well happen. Krista doesn’t strike me as a dummy, and no streak lasts forever, but I still have to root for Matt because I don’t think Krista, should she reenter the game at any point, would have a prayer of winning. Just my two cents.
Zapatera, the next morning. Stephanie’s not on an island like Krista is, but she may as well be. Steve is still smarting from receiving Krista and Stephanie’s two meaningless votes, however, and he asks her just why they wrote his name down. She states frankly that she is worried about his apparent lack of stamina. Which I honestly haven’t seen, and being an ex pro-NFL-er, he still looks like he’s in good shape for his age (51). Steve feels personally slighted by the vote, which may be just Stephanie trying to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of his allies. Which would make sense, it’s pretty much the last bullet she’s got left in her strategy gun. Steve says that Stephanie is definitely next to go. Well, duh, what else is he gonna say?
Over at Ometepe, it’s business as usual: Phillip gathers firewood, and Natalie and Ashley lie down on a blanket, using a pair of scissors to trim each others' ‘pits. And… that’s a facet of camp life I could have done without. Natalie points out that everyone else is working while they’re doing nothing, but Ashley doesn’t seem to care. And Ashley is moving up my hate-chart by the minute. Phillip is a jerk and possibly unstable, but at least he pulls his weight, and that has to count for something. Speaking of Phillip, at least this morning he’s wearing swim trunks over his Tidy Pinkies. He asks the group to help him out in keeping the fire going, which is a concern because the previous night’s rain made most of the wood wet. Andrea says she’ll help, but the other girls blithely dismiss him. Phillip tries to laugh it off in interview, but you can tell he’s fuming, and I probably would be too. He points out that they’re two weeks into the game, and “the pageant is over”.
Over at RedIsle, Krista’s luxury item has been delivered to her: a bible, which she’s very glad to have. She’s apparently a very devout Christian, something I wasn’t aware of previously. (Maybe I should have read her profile more carefully!) Matt is also a man of strong faith, and it’s nice that the two of them have been able to bond in their brief time. They say a prayer of encouragement before sharing a meal together. It’s worth noting that Matt has plowed through his competition in the first three duels, dispatching Francesca, Russell and Kristina with relative ease. However, he seems genuinely worried about his chances against Krista.
Duel #4: Matt vs. Krista. Andrea and Natalie will be watching the proceedings for Ometepe today, along with Julie and Mike from Zapatera. The challenge itself is rather simple: retrieve three bags with a grappling hook, inside which are balls that they must place in the starting spot of one of those giant tilt-mazes. The winner is the first person who can successfully navigate their ball all the way to the end without having the ball drop through the many holes dotting the maze. Matt’s first throw goes errant, while Krista, the picture of calm, wastes no time in snagging all three bags. She is the first to the maze, and it’s not an easy one, but she cautiously makes her way through it. It’s not the kind of challenge you can rush through, but Matt has little choice, and he is able to power through without losing his ball, passing Krista.
Realizing she’s behind, Krista loses concentration for a moment and her ball drops through the wrong hole and must start over. But by this time, Matt has guided his ball all the way to the end, and his streak remains unblemished. Wow. This kid’s got game. Krista gives Matt her bible, which speaks volumes about her character. If only she hadn’t let the viperous Russell suck her in. Oh well. Krista Klumpp, we hardly knew ye. Take care.
Zapatera, Day 15. Sarita has a toothache. It’s hard to tell how bad it is, but it looks like she’s trying to earn the sympathy card from both Ralph and Julie. Neither seem all that willing to take it, and later discussions among her alliance make it clear that Sarita’s stock within the tribe is falling by the hour. David, who has been nursing a grudge against Sarita since the last episode, is trying to find a way to get Stephanie into a position where’s she’s higher up the totem pole than Sarita, who he believes is now the weakest link. He tells Stephanie that she has to try to get people on her side, but not to be too aggressive, and also tells her that he’s going to try to lobby for her as well. (I’m betting Steve will be the last person approached.)
The storm clouds are brewing over at Ometepe, literally and figuratively. Phillip continues to urge the rest of his sedentary tribe to help him in stockpiling wood, but unsurprisingly, Natalie and Ashley have no intention of helping. Rob and Grant eventually do start helping, but you know a blowup is imminent. What irks me is that Phillip is less angry with them for not helping than he is for their not giving him credit for doing their work for him. Finally, he’s had enough. Phillip confronts the layabouts that they’re not pulling their weight, and it’s not going to stop. Ashley retorts that she doesn’t appreciate the way he asks for help, which is apparently different in Ashley’s ears than in everyone elses. Boo-hoo, missy. Phillip’s as aggravating as the day is long, but you’re not on the side of the angels here.
Rob, having watched this cancer spread before his eyes, now realizes it’s time to step in. He rightly discerns that this is the kind of thing that can fracture a tribe and kill momentum, something they can’t afford as they’re still a player down. Rob does his best to “play Arafat”, as he calls it, but in his mind, he wants things to stay just as they are. If the girls insist on doing nothing the entire game, great, that’s a surefire way to make sure no one gives you the million dollars.
At Zapatera, Stephanie actually chooses Steve as Step One in her self-rescue process. She apologizes for writing his name down, and he cautiously accepts her apology. She confesses that in retrospect, she should have written Sarita’s name down, and Steve admits that the temperature of the camp seems to be leaning that way. Stephanie hopes that she’ll be able to showcase in the next challenge just how much better of a competitor she is than Sarita, because anything that tips the scales in her favor would help. Just as long as the challenge doesn’t involve Stephanie doing puzzles or directing her blindfolded tribe, I find myself hoping that it actually happens.
Immunity/Reward Challenge. After some Jeff-induced chest-thumping on both tribes, the challenge is explained: two members of each tribe will use a slingshot to propel a ball up in the air, while the four other members will attempt to catch them using things that look like lacrosse sticks. First team to catch five balls (regardless of color) wins immunity and a day at a mountain resort spa, complete with food. And this challenge isn’t even close. Natalie continually launches at Grant, who is a beast at this game. Mike even tries to slow Grant down by ripping his shirt off, but by that time Ometepe is up 3-0, and Rob intercepts Stephanie’s shot to make it 4-0. After a couple of whiffs, Natalie goes short to Grant again to complete the sweep. Even Phillip seems impressed by Natalie, which is good to see. I kind of feel bad for Stephanie, but she was hardly to blame for the loss, which came down to sheer hustle. Sarita, meanwhile, sat out the challenge, perhaps driving home the final nail in her coffin. We’ll see.
On top of a beautiful hill next to a giant statue (of Jesus, I’m guessing), a sumptuous feast awaits Ometepe, who wastes no time in digging in. Rob, of course, is the first to spot the latest HII clue, but decides not to make a grab for it in front of everyone. Grant eventually gets it, and he and Rob unsubtly duck behind the statue for a gander, but they are busted by Phillip while they are perusing it. Caught red-handed, they shot it to him, but the fact that they tried to hide it from him is not lost on Phillip. He then goes off on one of his crazy diatribes in interview, stating that Rob’s lack of integrity will eventually get his ass kicked, and Phillip will be doing the kicking. Uh, yeah. To be continued.
At Zapatera, David is very concerned about his tribe’s current losing streak, and continues to believe that Stephanie’s abilities trump Sarita’s maternal qualities. He starts whispering in Steve’s and Julie’s ears, and Sarita knows exactly what time it is, but figures that her loyalty to her alliance will keep her around. Julie is not convinced yet, but hears Stephanie out. So Steve, David, Ralph, Julie and Mike confab on the beach, and all are in agreement that while Stephanie is the stronger player, Sarita is much more trustworthy. (Wonder how they’d feel if they knew about Stephanie’s decree to flip to Ometepe at last week’s duel.) As the group makes the hike to TC, it looks like the vote could go either way at this point.
Tribal Council. Jeff opens the Q&A by asking David how much he regrets throwing the previous challenge to get rid off Russell, and David responds that giving Ometepe a break has come back to haunt them. Jeff asks Ralph about the debacle that was today’s challenge, and Ralph responds that the balls just never came his way, and then poops on Stephanie’s parade by stating that he could have done a better job at manning the slingshot. Sarita is then asked why she sat out, and Sarita says that she would like to have taken part, but Stephanie takes the opportunity to pounce, stating that Sarita is weak in challenges, especially physical ones. Jeff retorts that Sarita took the easy way out, because by sitting out she could not be blamed for the loss. David chimes in that Jeff hit the nail right on the head. Sarita, sensing danger, tries to do damage control by explaining that she could have done well, but Stephanie calls bulls**t (literally, that is the word she uses).
Sarita adds that having to be on the sidelines, watching her tribe get their asses kicked, was really hard, and that losing anyone sucks. Stephanie responds that she’s not buying that at all, explaining that Sarita complains more than anyone else, and goes on to say that Sarita doesn’t want to be there anymore. Go, Stephanie! (I think if this were Trump’s boardroom, Sarita would be the easy choice to get the Donald’s famous two-word kiss-off, don’t you?) Sarita’s last word is that Stephanie is full of beans. Steve brings up my earlier point that Stephanie is more competitive but Sarita is more trustworthy, and David continues by saying that when you’re on a losing streak, trust is the less important of the two, because winning challenges is the most important thing right now.
Voting time. Obviously, Sarita and Stephanie vote for each other. David also votes for Sarita, and that’s all we see. No HII again this week, so out come the slips. Sarita. Stephanie. Sarita. Stephanie. Stephanie. And… Stephanie. Well, crap. Just as I was beginning to like her. She’s just competitive enough to give Matt a serious headache at the next duel, which should be interesting. And the rest of Zapatera now has to decide whether keeping Sarita was worth it, and David may look like a prophet if it isn’t. Speaking of which, David just looks annoyed as Stephanie’s torch is snuffed.
Next week: mental fatigue starts to set in at both camps, as cracks start to appear in previously strong alliances.
