Surviving the Pearl Islands, Episode 8: Revenge Is Sweet

Whether you think the twist of bringing back previously voted off contestants is a great idea or a terrible one (the writers of RealityNewsOnline will be addressing both sides of that in an upcoming RNO Roundtable), the fact is that if you’re anything like me, you were darned certain that you would not be missing the first few minutes of this episode (okay, admittedly I can’t miss an episode no matter what, or all of you looking at this now wouldn’t have anything to read, but you know what I mean). Last episode, we said goodbye to Shawn, who was voted out, and Osten, who was wimping out of the game and straight into the Reality TV Hall of Shame.

We begin immediately with the Outcast Tribal Council. The six file in and host Jeff Probst notes that this is a first – a tribe excited to come to Tribal Council! He questions them much like any other Council. He begins with Michelle, asking her about her reaction when she heard she had a chance to get back. She says she almost wet her pants. It was just amazing. She says that they all had one thing on their minds – revenge.

Probst asks Ryan how big a factor revenge was for him, especially considering he has “Die Jerks” on his bandana. Ryan says it was a huge motivation. He never thought he was really let into the tribe to begin with, so for him to come back and win, and then look over and see the others still struggling, the feeling of revenge was unbelievable.

What was the key factor to doing well for Burton? He says it was their internal drive. They all pulled together to win.

OK, now each of them will have a chance to plead their cases for why they should represent the Outcasts back in the game.

Probst notes that Nicole must hold a lot of grudges (although he doesn’t mention that two of the main people against whom she might hold such grudges are sitting there too – Ryan S. and Lill). Why should she go back in? She says she was voted out for being the bad apple. Her biggest mistake was speaking her mind, but that’s also a good trait, she says (I would beg to differ). She can kick some ass and make them all proud.

Lill says she gave it her all and she still wants to prove to those sons of bitches that she’s tough. She wants to go back and no matter what, get sweet revenge.

Trish says she never took her eye off why she was there and she absolutely wants one of them to win. If they put her back in, she’ll make sure that happens.

Michelle says it comes down to all of them being deserving, all of them having been kicked in the face. There is no better way to kick them back in the face than by putting the sweet girl in there to do it.

Ryan says they all know how much he loves the game and how much heart he has. He wants them to give him a chance to carry the torch and bring victory to one of them.

Burton says he is the most competitive person he knows. When he heard he had a chance to come back, he knew there was nothing he would not do to make sure he was going back. If he goes back, he promises that whomever goes with him will always get the truth.

Each of them will be voting for two people (rather than just each voting once and letting the top two get in that way). They, of course, cannot vote for themselves.

The votes we see are: One from Ryan, for Lill, saying he would never put her name down unless it was for something good. If it’s not him, he hopes it’s her. One from Trish for Burton, saying if she can’t win, she wants another Outcast to win. One from Lill for Ryan saying he was her friend from the very beginning and accepted her no matter what. She wants him in almost as much as she wants to be in herself and hopes they can go back together. And from Michelle, a vote for Nicole, saying, “I know you’re one bad bitch,” and she knows Nicole will go and get ‘em.

Time to tally the votes.

The two who have the most votes will return to the game. And the votes are: Burton, Lill, Burton, Lill, Michelle, Nicole, Ryan, Trish (OK, so all of them get at least one), Ryan, Nicole… And the first one going back is: Burton. They all applaud. The second person going back is: Lill! She can’t believe it, saying, “Oh my God! … I am a nice person! … My heart.”

Probst tells Lill and Burton that, as they know, fire represents life, so they need to grab torches and get fire, because they’re back in this game. To the others, Probst says they’ve put their faith in these two, so for the last time, it’s time for them to go. Each one files out in turn, with a hug and kiss from Ryan for Lill before he goes.

So now the only question is where they are going. Probst puts one Drake buff and one Morgan buff in the voting container. Lill reaches in to pull out a buff to see which tribe she’s on. It’s Morgan again. Her reaction? “Oh, God help me.” Heh. So Burton is obviously back to Drake. Probst tells them to make the most of it, but it might be difficult. He reminds them that they are immune at the next Tribal Council.

OK, so who voted for whom? I kind of expected them to show us as we went to commercial, but they didn’t. Hmmm… Is it destined to forever be a mystery? I dunno.