Surviving Guatemala, Episode 5: Who’s Smiling Now?

Last week, Survivor switched things up earlier than ever before. Producers were rewarded when a tribal alliance broke down and Judd voted with the old Yaxha members to evict Brooke. The question now is whether that alliance of convenience will hold. Let’s find out!

We begin at Nakum, night 11, after Tribal Council. Stephenie says she’s sick of it and never wants to go there again. That’s kind of a no-brainer there, Steph.

Margaret is giving some nasty looks in Judd’s direction but he tells us he feels good about his vote. He tells Margaret that it’s a cutthroat game, and she agrees. He continues to press his point and she continues to agree. Okay already, we get it, she gets it. Methinks he doth protest too much. Margaret doth thinketh so too, as she tells us how he is a traitor and switched sides as soon as he had the opportunity. Back in their conversation, he tells her he doesn’t care what people think about him after the game and she heartily agrees that he obviously doesn’t. Heh. Judd tells us that he can’t wait ‘til Margaret goes too.

The following morning at Yaxha, Blake is sitting and thinking about how his game position is – he thinks it’s pretty good, and I would have to agree, since original Nakum outnumber original Yaxha four to three on new Yaxha.

And then… it happens. Nobody saw it coming. Nobody could have known. Nobody could have prevented it.

Yes, that’s right, a beetle attacks Amy. It may look small but it’s got big teeth! OK, not really. It just kind of lands near her and she freaks out, to the great amusement of her tribemates.

Brandon, especially, notes that Amy is a city folk. He’s a farm boy and is used to hanging out with “rednecks” and “hicks.” Amy asks Brandon and Bobby Jon about farming things – like what they do when the crops are done. Bobby Jon explains in detail how wheat is harvested.

Brian also feels a bit out of place among the farmers. He says he’s very New England, very blue state. He doesn’t dislike them, but they aren’t the kind of people he would normally hang out with.

As if to emphasize this fact, we see Danni leading the tribe in grace before a meal. Brian tells us how religious the other members are – not just grace before every meal, but prayers before every challenge (because it’s a proven fact that God cares about who wins reality shows). He says he’s not a religious person at all, but it would be stupid to object to it. Yes it would, Brian, and you are a smart man for realizing it! “Grin and bear it,” he says.

Cut to the tribes arriving at the reward challenge. But before we get into that, Probst wants to know about life at Nakum. Stephenie says they can’t go in the water because it’s muddy and murky (the implication being that there may be crocodiles hiding there), so they just dump buckets of water over their heads. Probst notes that it’s been over 100 degrees every day and the water is their only relief. Blake says it’s miserable not to be able to just dive in and swim in the water.

Amy says there was a croc like five feet from their dock. Probst says it’s news to him that they’ve seen a croc. So I guess the croc by the dock was a shock. Blake and Amy explain that they’ve seen ‘em a few times.

Time to cut to the chase. Probst explains the challenge: Both tribes will race to the first station where one tribe member will cut through the rope using a sharp stone. Once the rope is cut, two handles will be released. On to the second station where a different tribe member has to chop through a log to release two more handles. They have to bring the handles up to a platform, where four different tribe members put in the handles and start cranking a turnstile. As it’s cranked, a cart will be dragged up the hill by a rope. Once it reaches the top, all six tribe members who have participated so far get in the cart. The last tribe member uses a machete to cut the rope, which will send it “screaming” down the hill. First tribe down wins.

So what is reward? Well, it was hinted at when Probst was asking about the crocs and the water. First, they are told about margaritas, chips, and guacamole. The second part of the reward is a floating crocodile-proof swim cage. So they can have some guac by the dock without fear from the croc. It even comes complete with decking, lounge chairs, and an umbrella.

And they’re off! Jamie and Brandon each start cutting the rope for their respective tribes. Jamie tries to use it as a saw or a knife while Brandon makes much quicker work of the rope by using it more like an axe. Brandon gets it done first while Jamie finally figures out that using Brandon’s way would be smarter.

Yaxha gets to the second station and Bobby Jon starts hacking at the log. Jamie still hasn’t cut through the first rope. Bobby Jon has hacked through the log.. and Jamie has finally gotten through the first rope.

Yaxha is cranking the cart up. And Jamie is still working on the rope. He seems to be back to sawing rather than hacking. Yaxha has the cart up and everybody but Danni gets in. She chops it and off they go. I wouldn’t exactly say they are “screaming” down the hill, but they go down and easily win.