Surviving the Marquesas, Episode 8: Nursing a Grudge

So, will the Rotu Four waltz into the finals? Or will Paschal and Neleh finally wake up and smell their torches being snuffed? These were the two main questions going into tonight’s episode. And boy, do we have answers.

We begin with Vee telling us that she had told Rob ahead of time that he would be getting her vote last episode. So it wasn’t a surprise to him. OK, well, good for her and him. But his being voted off was good for lots of people – namely, almost everybody else. Zoe, for one, says it’s much more peaceful and you don’t have to worry about his smart-ass remarks.

Then discussion turns to Sean – his flatulence problems, in particular. Kathy says Sean is probably next to go because he isn’t working hard (whoa – newsflash there), he complains, and he farts a lot. Hmmm. Well, I have to say, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that used as a reason to potentially vote somebody off! Sean says he is true to himself, and that’s what matters.

During the night, a couple of small trees are knocked over by the wind but miss their camp sleeping area. Vee, of course, praises God for missing.

Kathy pulls Zoe aside and tells her she’s been confused and wants to know what went on. Zoe says it was all intended to throw Rob off his guard, there is no way in Hell Zoe was going to vote off Kathy. Um, yeah. Ya know, Zoe, if you had said this earlier, it might have been believable. Now, though, Kathy figures you just lied to her face. Still, since Kathy isn’t Rob, she just lets it pass and tries to put a little guilt trip on Zoe.

After a brief stop at the waterfall, we quickly move into the reward challenge. They have to build their own kites and then fly them. Neleh uses her material to make a new outfit as well (of course, she’s so small and pixie-like she could float away in a good stiff wind, so it’s appropriate to use kite material). As they’re building, Kathy is trying to get Neleh and Paschal to listen to reason and vote with her, but Paschal will have none of it.

The challenge is to see who can fly their kite out to 300 feet of string. The reward is a Giant Snickers bar and a trip to go deep sea diving. First, host Jeff Probst gives samples of the Snickers bar to each of them and they show how appreciative they are by making all sorts of ooohing and aaaahing sounds as they eat their delicious Snickers bar. Then, they’re off. Kathy gets a good start, and Zoe seems to as well, though soon she crashes. Neleh isn’t getting far, Tammy is grounded, Sean is getting “nowhere fast” and later says his kite “looks like the Little Rascals built it.” Paschal – well, I’m not sure just what he was doing. But Kathy kicks all of their asses and wins easily. And she’s even been diving before, so it’s that much better.

One surprise from the reward is that, unlike almost any reward I can think of in the past that has involved a special trip, Kathy did not get to pick somebody else to join her. Interesting. But anyway, she goes diving and sees lots of fish. She says it’s a nice vacation away from the island and the stress.

Meanwhile, we hear that Paschal, Neleh, Robert, Zoe, John, and Tammy have all agreed to vote the same way for the next three votes. First to go: Sean. And he knows it. He says he didn’t come here for a vacation (could have fooled me) and tells Vee he will try to talk Kathy into an alliance involving Paschal and Neleh. Not surprisingly, Vee responds in the only way she knows how – by praying. But Paschal thinks Sean is just trying to stir the pot.

Kathy, trying to keep people happy, brings back the Snickers bar to share with everybody. John thinks it is a nice gesture – he’s not going to change his vote for 1/8 of a Snickers bar, but it was sweet anyway.

Sean talks to Kathy, and she’s with him. She talks to Neleh and Paschal. No go. Neleh says if you make waves, you’ll get voted off. Paschal says there is no way he’s aligning with Sean and Vee. It seems everybody wants Sean off, and that’s that. In fact, Paschal goes so far as to tell John that he would be embarrassed if Sean made it to the finals. Ouch. John tells the viewers that Neleh and Paschal support his success – they are like having two free passes. Sorry, John, but there’s no such thing as a free pass…

Day 24 dawns and Sean knows it’s every person for himself. Especially with the immunity challenge coming. This one is an interesting one. They each have three bundles of coconuts hanging by ropes in the trees. They are asked questions about life and survival on the Marquesas, and if they get a question right, the can chop down somebody else’s bundle. Last one with bundles win. What makes this interesting is that they can so obviously choose who to knock out. Sure, there have been previous challenges where they target other people, but they had to throw a bizarre weapon or the like, and odds were just as good they might hit the one they were aiming at or any of the other ones nearby. This one is extremely precise.

First question: In a prolonged survival situation, you should drink a lot of coconut milk – true or false? False – it’s a laxative. Robert, Tammy, and Sean get it right. Sean goes for John as John calls out, “Surprise, surprise.” But Robert and Tammy both go for Sean. Ouch. Probst notes, “You’re a marked man.”

Next question asks why cannibalism was common on the Marquesas – the answer is that it was thought they would seize the power of the person being eaten (well, he sure as hell won’t be using that “power” any more!). A bunch get it right and Sean ends up out of the running while Vee gets two ropes cut. Sean yells from the sidelines, “I’m calling Johnny Cochrane!”

On to the next: True or false, if you’re at sea without fresh water, you should refrain from eating. True. (I knew this one ‘cus it had been asked at an earlier Survivor challenge, and is reprinted on the Survivor calendar – eating causes you to lose fluids in the digestive process, in case you were wondering.) Vee is gone, Paschal is out, and even John is given the boot.

Next question asks what a horse is, and gives several silly answers. The real answer is that a horse is a horse, of course, of course. By now, only Robert and Tammy are left, Robert with one rope left. Last question: True or false, sea cucumbers can be deadly to humans. False. Tammy gets it, Robert doesn’t. Tammy gets immunity (just as the spoiler mentioned by Brian in his “Reality Factor” column noted).

After the challenge, the mood in camp has changed. A number of people noticed the cockiness of the Rotu Four (John, Robert, Tammy, and Zoe). Not just Vee and Kathy and Sean, but even Paschal and Neleh saw it. Paschal tells Neleh they had no consideration – it was a signal of the pecking order even if they claim it wasn’t. Neleh says she follows her heart, and her heart won’t let her vote out Sean now. They worked too hard to get this far and they’re not going to go like this. Something needs to change.

Paschal says he just doesn’t know how to play. He wants to sit back and see the lay of the land. He thinks he is a fair and consistent judge and a fair and consistent player.

So off to Tribal Council they go. Probst begins by asking Vee if the challenge said something to the first three cut down. She says it does reflect the way those players were thinking, and there was gloating as well. It was apparent to several of them and it set off alarms.

John is asked about the kiss he blew to Sean just before chopping his last rope, and John says it was a taunt, but a friendly one, because they understand it’s just a game and they have no hard feelings.

Probst asks Paschal what his objective in playing is. Pappy responds that he wants to be as honest as he can given the framework of the game. But he doesn’t think he really started playing the game until today. John also says he came in wanting to be Mr. Integrity and Mr. Honesty, and while he doesn’t think he flat-out lied, there have been some half-truths.

Is Sean proud of the way he’s played? Yes. He hasn’t lied at all, he says, and sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe.

Tammy is given the option of giving up immunity. She says that at first she didn’t think she’d need it, but now she respects it and will keep it. I think she figured out there had been a change in the wind, and knew it might spell trouble.

The voting only shows us Robert and Tammy voting for Sean, the latter saying he’s been better lately but still isn’t pulling his weight. And Sean unsurprisingly votes for John, saying, “Checkmate.” John may have thought he had Sean, but Sean says you should always bet on black.

And, indeed, he’s right. John goes down as everybody who was ever on Maraamu join together against the cocky Rotu Four leader. And Zoe even tossed her vote his way as well! Maybe Kathy's little talk had an impact? After John leaves, Probst notes that just when you think you have this game figured out, whoops! Surprise.

Surprise indeed. And one I’m glad to see. This really throws everything up in the air. While a number of us in mentioned, in the post-merge RNO Roundtable article, that we thought the Rotu Four might go all the way, meaning things might get a little boring, I’m glad to see we were wrong.

In leaving, John says, “Well, well, well…” He talks about the shape he’s in and then says to his mom that she can’t retire. As the tears start to come, he says he’s proud that he made it as far as he did.

Next week: Wednesday will be a recap episode. Then Thursday will be the regularly-scheduled one. In that, we get to see what happens when the power shifts and things become unpredictable. So I’ll see ya then!

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