Surviving Exile Island, Episode 3: Playing for Keeps

Last week, Shane went nuts but Melinda went home. Aras and Shane revealed their alliance of four to the tribe and told Cirie she was next. When Melinda was voted out, Bruce joined the tribe. Meanwhile, on La Mina the two younger guys found themselves in the middle of two alliances, with both the older men and younger women seeking them as partners. Let’s see what happens tonight!

We begin with Casaya returning to camp from Tribal Council. Bruce quickly assesses the situation and says his new tribemates have good hearts but they need his skills when it comes to things like fire and water. He tells them he taught wilderness survival and backpacking for over 30 years – they just got the most important person in the game. He adds to us that he’s been teaching high school and karate for years and knows how to deal with different types of people – and there are six very different profiles on his tribe.

What type of person is Shane? The type who complains about everything. He says Bruce knows everything about everything and it grates on his nerves – he just wants Bruce to shut up. Funny, that’s about how I’m getting to feel about Shane, and it’s only seven minutes into the episode!

Aras describes a water filtering system that Bruce came up with that they just all believe. It apparently involves pouring water through a couple of shirts and supposedly filters out most of the nasty stuff without boiling. Courtney isn’t buying it and says so. He says of course it won’t get all of the bacteria out, but most. He describes it as being 90% pure. Personally, I’d worry about that other 10%. But Bruce believes the others view him as a gift from Heaven and he is rising to the top of the tribe. Oh my, I have a bad feeling about this.

The next morning at La Mina, they’re cooking up breakfast – a stew made out of snails and some crab legs. Mmmmmm, yummy. Nick says if they could only catch a few fish a day, they’d be much better off. Gosh, too bad some ninny (Sally) lost their spear. But they’re trying hooks, though Nick describes their knowledge of fishing as “minimal.” As if to prove it, they catch a fish and then promptly lose it.

But then Nick reels one in – a big puffer fish, which is unfortunately poisonous. Others catch more of the same type of fish that they can’t eat, which is rather frustrating for them. Finally, Terry catches an edible fish – that’s about three inches long. Still, they all celebrate and roast it up.

Time for the reward challenge. Probst notes that Casaya looks better and they agree, with one going so far as to call Bruce their “savior.” Bobby says Bruce has a positive attitude, which helps everybody, plus he was willing to take the lead on so much that it saved the others from having to expend as much energy.

Enough of that, what about the challenge? Four tribe members stand on a balance beam in the water while three from each team act as launchers, shooting balls from a big sling shot on the beach. Those on the beam try to catch the ball, and can jump off into the water to do so – but they have to come up with the ball to score a point. First tribe to catch five wins reward – and that reward is a tarp, lanterns, fuel, blankets, pillows, water cans, and some rope. Meanwhile, losers will have somebody sent to Exile Island.

For La Mina, Misty, Dan, and Ruth-Marie will launch; for Casaya, it will be Bobby, Bruce, and Cirie. Personally, I’d think the guy who does karate would be pretty good at catching a ball, but what do I know?

Bobby and Misty are the first shooters. Ready, aim, fire! Terry catches for La Mina; Aras dives in for Casaya but misses. Bobby’s second shot is right at Aras, who catches it. Terry tries to dive for his again, but ends up tipping it into the hands of Nick, which is just as good.

New shooters Dan and Bruce are up. Bruce fires perfectly to Danielle, who catches it. Same with Dan and Terry, so La Mina is still up by one. On the second shot, Shane leaps and catches Bruce’s shot, but Terry misses Dan’s, so they are all tied up at three.

Cirie and Ruth-Marie step up as the shooters. Ruth-Marie misses her targets but Cirie hit Shane and Casaya takes the lead. Terry makes a somersault catch to tie things up when Aras misses.

It’s down to the wire, with Misty and Bobby shooting again. Terry dives and catches it for La Mina, but Shane can’t do the same for Casaya – La Mina wins! Again! That would be three challenges in a row. Hopefully, Sally won’t throw the blankets in the water.

This time around, La Mina gets to pick who goes to Exile Island. Unlike last week, the person shipped off will be back for the immunity challenge. La Mina quickly realizes that Casaya tipped their hand before the challenge by talking about how great Bruce is. They believe he’s the leader and the tribe will crumble without him, so Bruce is sent back again. Shane mutters about how La Mina is “playing for keeps.” Uh, yeah.

La Mina returns to camp and Terry talks about how stoked he is about the win. The tarp goes over the shelter easily and provides them with a “domed interior.” That’s good, because it pours that night and they stay mostly dry. In fact, they are dry and warm enough that they have time to feel bad about sending Bruce to Exile Island!

So how is Bruce doing on Exile Island? Soaking wet. He talks about how he’s spent more time on Exile Island than anywhere else! Even worse, the storm hit before he had time to look for the idol (well, at least we know he didn’t have it).

The next morning, we check in on Casaya. How are they doing without Bruce? Well, they’re back to boiling water rather than filtering it, for one thing. But they’re also bummed about losing Bruce.