Surviving the Cook Islands, Episode 7: Out of the Loop

Parvati makes it back and Nate is in the water as Ozzy returns to shore. The three Aitus head up a rope ladder to the platform to hand off the puzzle pieces. The other three start on the puzzle as Nate gets back to the beach. They have a good lead before the Raros can even start working on the puzzle.

But Raro is making pretty good progress on the puzzle and it’s damn close! In fact, I think Raro’s going to pull it out! And they do! Raro wins! Unbelievable!

Back at Aitu camp after the loss, Jonathan (who was a bystander) says it’s not like Raro handed them their asses – not like the way they tend to beat Raro. Ozzy feels bummed that somebody has to go home, but he doesn’t think it will be him.

Candice and Jessica are carrying water, with Jessica asking questions and Candice insisting she doesn’t know what will happen. Candice says the debate on who to vote out is between Jonathan, Jessica, and Ozzy. Ozzy brings in a lot of food and does well in challenges. Jessica drives people crazy with her constant paranoia. And Jonathan is on the cusp in their alliance because people don’t really trust him. Sounds to me like Jessica is in the most danger.

But she’s giving it a go, as now she’s talking to Sundra. But Sundra is no dummy – she knows Jessica is trying to be everybody’s friend and is bothering them all “like a mosquito that won’t die.”

To illustrate this point some more, we see her tag-team with Ozzy on Becky to try to convince her to go after Jonathan. They make the point that they can win challenges without Jonathan, and Becky seems to think that’s a good point.

Meanwhile, Candice and Sundra meet up with Jonathan on the beach as he’s coming back from either a swim or an attempt at fishing. Candice says there was a funky vibe and camp and they wanted to get the hell outta there. Jonathan says the decision is whether to keep Ozzy, depending on how long it will be before the merge. So maybe it’s time to take out Jessica.

Jonathan tells us that people already think he’s thinking too much, playing too much. But he’s trying to pick his battles and stay one step ahead. But he recognizes he may trip.

Jonathan talks to Yul. Later, Ozzy talks to Yul. Ozzy doesn’t think of Jonathan as really a potential competitor but rather as somebody who’s always plotting and scheming. Hmmm. He never gives any information, he only asks questions.

Yul tells us that Jonathan inspires distrust in pretty much everybody. Oh, that’s not a good sign. That includes people within the alliance. Oh, that’s a worse sign. Yul hasn’t seen it, but acknowledges that everybody else’s suspicions rub off on him.

As the tribe prepares for Tribal Council, Jessica thanks them all for being up-front and honest, even though nobody seems to know how the vote will go. To me, that’s an even worse sign than the two with Jonathan. If you don’t know how the vote will go, odds are it’s going against you!

So they arrive at Tribal Council and Probst begins the grilling. He notes to Jonathan that at the beginning of the game, they were divided based on race. But the tribe now has at least one member from each of the original tribes, and yet Probst doesn’t have any sense that race plays any part. Is he surprised? Nope. It’s the game of Survivor. They’re all here to play it and some connections have held while others disappeared based on personality, not ethnicity.

Sundra agrees that you can’t plan who you’re going to bond with while others won’t gel. When you can’t get along with somebody, you try to find a common ground.

Jessica says in general they all get along with each other, but some more than others. She likes to go out fishing with Ozzy, the girls do their things in camp, while Jonathan and Yul go clamming.

Probst tells Yul that whenever he asks Jessica a question, she gives a “delightful” answer that’s all sunshine and roses, but provides no info on how it impacts the game. He says it’s nice to have somebody like that because they’re not a threat. They’re not trying to undermine you or outscheme you or backstab you.

It’s been brought up a lot that Ozzy is a provider. Is there a point in the game where you can provide too much and become a threat? He says he hopes not – he wants to make everyone fat! Heh. He’s never been in a position of being the hunter, and it’s kind of nice to know he holds that little bit of responsibility. If that ends up being his demise, then it’s the best way he can think of to go out.

With that, it’s time to vote. Jonathan votes against Jessica, saying he really admires her spirit but she would have been more comfortable with another group of people. Jessica returns the favor, saying she didn’t trust him before and she’s not going to start now.

Probst tallies and reads the votes: Jonathan, Jessica, Jessica, Jessica, and… Jessica. Like I said, if you don’t think there’s a plan, then there is a plan and you are the target!

In closing, Probst says some meaningless words about momentum and sends the tribe back to camp.

In her final words, Jessica says it’s been the adventure of a lifetime and she couldn’t have asked for anything more. She guesses she wasn’t playing the game as hard as she should have, but it’s hard for her to change who she is when she just wants to be herself. She wishes Ozzy good luck and says she’ll be rooting for him. She ends by saying she has great memories and is thankful for the experience.

Next week on Survivor: Brad loses Raro’s trust. But a surprise twist could change everything as Probst tells them they have ten seconds to decide whether or not they want to change their fate in the game. Does that mean the potential for a voluntary tribal swap? Could be!

But until we know, I encourage you to stop by RealityNewsOnline every day to read our commentary articles!

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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