Surviving One World, Episode 7: New Tribes/Old Tribes

Sabrina goes out for her group, but gets stuck in the sand (remember, she’s not on the same team as Leif, so this is new for them). Kat, however, slides right through her team’s hole in the ground and tries to make up some time. Sabrina gets free before Kat can get too much of their time back.

Kat does return before Sabrina gets her team’s puzzle pieces. Mike – who I noted before is rather big – has to head out, and he starts digging a bigger hole. He gets through and gets to the puzzle dig portion, where Sabrina is still searching. Yep, they’ve essentially tied it up. But Sabrina does find the fourth bag before Mike. She gets through the crawl first but is once again stuck going under the log. They both pull themselves through at essentially the same time.

Puzzle time! It’s Troyzan & Christina vs. Tarzan & Jonas. Things don’t start off well for the latter when Jonas tells Tarzan to feel free to start working any time. It looks to me like Troyzan & Christina are doing better, but then Tarzan & Jonas (really, it’s almost all Jonas) seem to pull ahead.

Probst comments that Tarzan put a piece in and Tarzan retorts that he put a few pieces in! Jonas tells him to quit talking and focus on the puzzle. Anyway, it’s down to just a few pieces left for each tribe. And… the… winner… is… Troyzan & Christina’s tribe! Everybody on their team jumps for joy – and Alicia almost jumps right out of her top.

Tarzan says, “Oh well” – not a sentiment you really want to hear if you’re on the team that just lost, but it’s not like this is a “tribe” that can vote him out because of it. Trozan pounds his fists on the puzzle table and declares, “This is my island!”

The winners head out to enjoy pizza and beer on the beach. It’s so sad to see no name brands attached to either – doesn’t Survivor have the drawing power to attract advertisers anymore? Anyway, Sabrina tells us she knows good pizza because she’s been living in New York for 10 years. Uh, Sabrina – talk to me after you’ve gotten real pizza in Chicago.

Alicia opens the secret note and reads it to the others. It says that as part of winning reward, only these six will know that there is another immunity idol hidden at camp. Yeah, like it will stay to only these six for more than a few minutes once they get back. Chelsea, however, seems to have that fantasy as she tells the others that the fewer people who know about it means it’s more likely for one of them to find it.

Chelsea tells us her biggest fear is somebody from Manono finding the idol and messing up the plan – she doesn’t want a Salani going home. I find myself scratching my head because I truly don’t know which version of “Manono” and “Salani” she’s talking about! I’m guessing it’s the second versions, but I’m really just not sure.

Back at camp, Jonas talks to Mike about their plan, but is apparently unaware of Tarzan’s grand scheme, which Mike finds rather odd. Jonas tells us Tarzan is a loose cannon who does “whatever the hell he wants.”

So Jonas confronts Tarzan and asks why he told “the least reliable guy” about the plan. Tarzan says they need all six guys, but Jonas points out that they should tell him right before the vote, not two days ahead of time. “If he’s playing both sides, what is he gonna do? He’s gonna tell the women.” Jonas explains that they need to consult with each other as an alliance rather than just blabbing.

Jonas also wants to know when things changed and why he’s the last to know. Tarzan gets upset and angrily insists he told Jonas the plan two days ago. He then tells Jonas that he’s a “confused @$$#ole.” Wow. Pot. Kettle.

They gripe at each other as Jonas tells Tarzan to stop interrupting and Tarzan says Jonas is accusing him of things. After a few more profanities are exchanged, Tarzan calms down and simply says there is so much confusion that he’s going to “drop out of the tribe” and they can go on without him. He drops his allegiance, he says, because the others contradict him and don’t remember what he says. Wow. Tarzan really is so far gone that he thinks other people don’t remember what he says!

Mike walks over and asks what’s going on. Tarzan says it’s a misunderstanding and then turns to Jonas, saying they should just admit that Tarzan doesn’t like Jonas, so he shouldn’t talk to Tarzan anymore. He reiterates that feeling to us and says he can only play the game so much before he gets irritated.

The next day, Troyzan is up before the crack of dawn while everybody else sleeps in, so he decides to go idol-hunting. He starts searching through the usual hiding spots – the hollows of trees, etc. Lo and behold, he finds it in a tree trunk! “The early bird gets the idol and gets the power.” He continues, “This could be a million dollars.”

Indeed it could, which is emphasized by Jeff Probst live-tweeting during this part of the show and noting how crazy it is that nobody else is searching for the idol. What the heck are they thinking?!

But there is another type of immunity to be earned – it’s challenge time. Probst shows them the new immunity necklace and then explains the challenge: They will be perched on a small horizontal log, balancing a ball on a wooden disc (it looks like the disc has a small rim on it). At regular intervals, they will add more balls to make it more difficult. If a ball drops or a person falls off the perch, they’re out. I’m thinking Leif actually has an advantage in this challenge, since he has a lower center of gravity. We’ll find out if I’m right.

And they’re… on! Just as they begin, the wind picks up. Tarzan is out quickly as he loses his balance. The rest make it through to the next round, where they add a second ball. Christina loses it. She’s out. Mike has “balls hanging on both sides of his disc” – sounds like a personal problem – and he’s out as well. Chelsea soon joins them, as does Kim.