Surviving Exile Island, Episode 6: A Foregone Conclusion?

Previously on Survivor, we said goodbye to Bobby without ever realizing how much he knew about the game. Luckily, he told us in my interview with him; he also told us that he read RNO, and what he really thought of the rest of his tribe. The quote about Courtney, in particular, was hysterical: “I really think Courtney's crazy, not the cool kind of crazy. But the Crazy kind of crazy. Like don't hand her sharp objects kind of crazy. And she's dumb.”

Anyway, Bobby is gone and the Casaya tribe is going in three different directions. Will Aras get upset at the lone vote tossed his way? Will Courtney be annoyed that Bruce voted for her while she was saving him? Or will it not matter anyway, ‘cus La Mina will end up going to Tribal Council? Read on and join me as we find out.

We begin the night after Tribal Council at Casaya. Everybody is sleeping – or at least lying down in the dark. Shane starts talking, saying they made the wrong decision because of Danielle’s personal feelings, and “it’s a bad, bad, bad thing.” He continues that Bruce is falling apart – it’s not his fault, he’s 58 and nervous. The response? One of the women tells Shane to “shut up.” Thank you! Shane says he knows Bruce is in the shelter with them, but he’s not worried about anybody.

Danielle tells him she doesn’t want to fight with him now, so put it off ‘til morning. He continues anyway, saying he wants out of the alliance he’s in with them, but he can’t do that unless they allow him to take his son’s name back. Oh jeez. How idiotic. Why does he want out? Because he doesn’t trust they will make the right decisions. He’d rather go into the merge as a lone wolf.

Danielle says she doesn’t know why he’s bashing her now – unless he’s about to go through one of his “manic, crazy spasms.” She doesn’t want to deal with it and she’s going to sleep. If he still feels this way in the morning, they’ll discuss it then.

Aaaaaand, it’s morning. Courtney and Cirie are up tending the fire, and Courtney had been sleeping on the beach during the previous night’s discussion. Cirie helpfully fills her in on the details (helpfully for Cirie, of course, because she would love to see their alliance break up – in fact, she’s loving it, laughing out loud as she tells the camera all about it). Cirie talks about how Shane wants them to release him from his promise, and Courtney retorts that she’d like to release him from the game! Cirie smiles and says they could, easily. Courtney counts up four votes – the three women and somebody else, though who is not quite clear – and gives the “you’re out” sign for Shane.

Danielle joins them as Courtney says she can’t believe she talked Shane back into the game. Yeah, I can’t believe you did either. Danielle gives Courtney the same “you’re out!” sign for Shane. They’re obviously thinking the same thing.

The discussion continues as Danielle calls Shane an “idiot” and a “moron.” Courtney says he’s going to get what he deserves. Danielle shares with us that he’s a “lunatic” who has “lost his mind” and is “a freak.” I wonder what she really thinks.

Over at La Mina, things are much calmer. Dan sits on the beach watching the sun rise and enjoying a quiet moment with the waves. Meanwhile, Sally tells us that the four guys have formed a boys club. She thinks none of them really know how the game works – she would be surprised if the alliance lasts as long as they think it will.

They’re taking another shot at the beans, plus catching some tiny minnows and eating ‘em raw. Ick.

Nick and Dan row out into the ocean, probably to fish. Dan asks if he can trust him with a secret. Uh oh. I just know he’s about to tell Nick he’s an astronaut. Yup. Jeez, man, why can’t you keep it to yourself?! He tells Nick he was on three space shuttle flights. Nick thinks it’s really cool and Dan is humble about it.

Looks like Nick isn’t the only one he’s telling, as Terry walks into the shelter to find Dan telling Austin as well. Austin tells us Dan “is a stud.” Heh. Oh look, Sally knows now too. He says he didn’t want to keep secrets, he just didn’t want to be known right off the bat as “Astronaut Dan.” Hey, that would be a cool name for a band. Anyway, he thinks it’s another way to bond. I think it’s another target painted on him. We’ll see. As a final parting joke, Austin says he has to come clean – his real name is “John Grisham.”

Back at Casaya, Shane is up and the mood is tense. We don’t see any words exchanged at first, but then Shane approaches Courtney and Danielle. He says in a “normal alliance,” he could just approach them and say he wants to be out of it. Oh, believe me, there’s nothing normal about this alliance! He continues, saying he can’t pull out because he swore on his kid’s life.

They ask him why he’s so upset – he says he’s not and doesn’t really want to talk about it. He just wants to take his son’s name back. Before he can even finish the sentence, Danielle says, “Done!” Courtney says he’s making a mistake, but Shane says no, he doesn’t want to be part of an alliance that uses personal feelings to make decisions – they voted out Bobby ‘cus he pissed them off five days earlier.

The two women start haranguing him about how he lashes out at people, etc. He stays calm and denies it, but then goes on the attack, saying, “You guys do nothing.” Danielle says she doesn’t want to hear it from him anymore and flat-out tells him not to lash out at her anymore. His retort? He points to Courtney and says, “I haven’t lashed out at you in… days.” Oh, well, that’s alright then! But Courtney says even that isn’t true – he lashed out at her yesterday and didn’t even realize how mean he is. Then again, neither does she, so they’re perfect for each other. Throw ‘em into a room together and see who comes out alive.

Aras tells us that Shane isn’t the only one who wants out – he wants out of his alliance with Shane, who he calls “an idiot.” Ironically, Aras says one reason he wants out is that he doesn’t trust Shane to keep his mouth shut. Remember, this is the same Aras who announced to the tribe that there was an alliance and those not in it were doomed. Anyway, Aras continues that he doesn’t like the way Shane treats people, either. He just doesn’t want to be a part of it.