Surviving the Cook Islands, Episode 12: The Godfather

Last week, the Pagonging of Raro continued as we said goodbye to Candice after numerous red herrings about the possibility that Jonathan might go instead. After she was gone, Candice defended herself in every interview she did (including both her interview with me and her post-vote interviews on Survivor Insider). Looking at all the information we had, it was decided, after some debate, not to put her in the Reality TV Hall of Shame (though I know some of you still disagree with that decision).

And that’s where we begin today. Adam and Parvati are the last Raros standing, but I doubt they’ll be standing for long. I expect we’ll see some more red herrings about Jonathan, but by the end of the next 60 minutes, Adam will be gone unless he wins immunity again – in which case it will be Parvati. Let’s see if I’m right.

We start immediately after the tribe returns from Tribal Council. Jonathan tells us it got pretty ugly, with him being called all kinds of names, like “rat” and “cancer.” He says Adam and Parvati are angry he flipped but he’s still convinced he made the right decision. He’s become the bad guy and everybody else is good – “nobody else has lied, nobody else has manipulated. Everybody knows that’s not true.” But he’s going to keep his chin up and keep punching. He’s not going to let a couple of “kids like that” ruin everything for him.

The next morning, Ozzy is bringing in a big batch of fish while the women are chopping coconuts. Parvati is comparing it to chopping somebody’s head, and then wonders where “everybody’s favorite person” is. One of them says Jonathan is trying to make amends with Adam, and they all laugh at this unlikely possibility.

Parvati keeps chopping. Chop. Chop. Chop. SCREAM! Next thing we see is Parvati with bloody fingers. No, she didn’t get hold of Jonathan – it’s her own blood. The other women say it looks like a deep cut and she needs to have somebody look at it, as they wrap it in a buff. Parvati goes the drama queen route and says she feels like “my finger’s about to fall off.” I don’t think you’d be saying it that calmly if that were the case, Parvati. It’s bad enough, you don’t have to act like it’s worse.

Anyway, Parvati lies down as Becky describes it to us as a slice through the middle of the nail on her thumb. Ouch!

When Ozzy returns with his fish, the other two say they have an issue – Parvati “kind of sliced her thumb in half.” Sundra tells us she thinks Parvati needs medical attention – you can see where it’s separated. I shudder – did I mention I can’t stand this kind of thing? There’s a reason I’m a writer of reality show recaps instead of a doctor!

The Survivor medical team shows up, and we get a good close-up of the injured thumb. Thanks, Mark Burnett. The doctor has a good sense of humor, at least to me watching at home (if I were in Parvati’s shoes, I might have a different opinion) – he says the good news is that she won’t need to trim her thumb nail for a while. The bad news is it will need a “little stitch in the side there just to hold the rest of it together.” Ick.

Parvati is surprised to find out they’re going to do the procedure right there! I think she probably doesn’t realize that if they take her away, I believe that’s it for her in the game. Of course, she might not really care since she’s likely to go soon, but still.

Adam is about as good with needles and blood as I am, and he hides his eyes while all of this is going on. Plus, he notes the same thing I mentioned – with just the two of them left in their alliance, he figures she doesn’t need to be out there cutting her fingers off.

And with that, it’s time for the reward challenge! Today’s reward is an extra finger! OK, that was in poor taste. Sorry. Sort of. Anyway, Probst of course has to ask Parvati what happened, and she gives him a thumbs-up. She can smile about it, at least. She says she “pulled the old chop-your-thumb-off-with-a-rusty-machete trick this morning.” He asks if she can get it wet. She says “a little bit.” But today’s challenge will definitely get it wet. We’ll see how that goes.

The challenge is that they have to use a small bucket to transport water from the ocean into a larger bucket. When they get enough water in the larger one, the bucket will lower and raise a flag. First person to raise the flag wins reward. Sounds simple enough. There must be a catch.

What are they playing for? The winner will go to another island where locals will take him or her (and, I’m guessing, a guest or two) to a sacred cave where they will have a “spectacular picnic.” And, of course, the winner will send somebody to Exile Island.

Probst says there’s one other element to this reward. Aha, I knew it! “Jonathan, say hello to your wife, Stacy.” Whoa. OK, that wasn’t the element I was thinking of, but cool. She comes running down and they embrace while the others applaud.

Next, Parvati’s dad, Mike, joins them. Then it’s Adam’s dad, George. And Becky’s sister, Sarah. She’s followed by Yul’s brother, Paul. They’re joined by Ozzy’s mom, Gina. Finally we have Sundra’s mom, Jeanette. (Mind you, I’m just guessing on the spelling of these names.)

After the intros, Probst says the person who wins the challenge will enjoy the reward with their loved one. Also, they will partner with their loved ones in the challenge. Here’s the rest of the story for the challenge: The Survivors will scoop water out of the ocean and toss the water (not the bucket, but the water itself) into a bucket held by the loved ones. They will in turn dump whatever makes it into the bigger bucket. Oh, and one more thing – the Survivors will be blindfolded and the loved ones will be their guides. I’m thinking there are going to be a lot of soaking wet loved ones very soon.