Surviving the Cook Islands, Episode 13: “Being Foolish”?

Last week on Survivor, Yul & Co. voted out Jonathan, and just about everybody on this website and elsewhere said, “You did what?!” Will this come back to bite the Aitu alliance? Will they split into factions and allow Adam and Parvati to stay in the game? Frankly, I don’t think so. I think they’ll still get rid of a Raro. But then, I thought that last week too, so what do I know? Let’s find out together.

We begin on day 34, with Adam saying he and Parvati feel better with Jonathan voted off. Adam wants to stay in the game as long as possible and try to crack into the Aitu four, though Parvati says they know they’re in a tough spot. She needs to make a play but do it in a way that doesn’t make it sound like they’re betraying their allies. Hmmm. “Vote against him, but that doesn’t mean you’re betraying him.” Yeah, good luck with that.

Treemail arrives, which Yul reads. It’s a reward challenge that involves swimwear and mud. The reward sounds like they will spend the night eating and sleeping someplace nice. Parvati tells us she or Adam has to win or else Adam will end up at Exile Island.

They show up at the challenge, and host Jeff Probst explains it. They will be diving into a mud pit and covering their bodies with as much mud as they can. They will race back and scrape it into a bucket – they cannot carry mud, only use their bodies. The person with the most mud in their bucket after ten minutes wins.

What do they win? A luxury spa reward – massage, pool, bed, laundry, food, drink, and dessert. The winner will be joined by two people – the second- and third-place finishers (so no choosing, which is sure to split up the group quite well. And, of course, the winner also gets to send somebody to Exile Island.

And they’re off. Surprising nobody, Ozzy takes an early lead by hurdling the fence that surrounds the mud pit. They are rolling around in the mud, some putting it on their heads, etc. The guys are first back. Thing is with this challenge, it’s kind of hard to say who’s leading at any given point, because we can’t see the buckets. Yul is using his back to bring mud, Parvati is using her chest, Ozzy has his hair. As they scrape off, Probst says, “It’s like watching bad performance art.” Heh.

Ozzy appears to be in the lead with one minute left, as he has used the back of his neck to carry a huge load of mud. Yul does the back trick again. Parvati has a humongous mud pile on her head. But Ozzy has a bunch too, and Probst says his bucket is almost full. And… we’re done!

Probst starts with the one he thinks will be heaviest – Ozzy’s, at 45 pounds of mud. Can anybody beat him? Parvati has 24 pounds, Adam has 22 pounds, Sundra has 20, so she’s out of third place for sure. Becky is also at 20 pounds. Yul has 22.5 pounds – just enough to bump Adam! It will be Ozzy, Parvati, and Yul going for the reward. Meanwhile, Adam gets the expected news when Ozzy sends him to Exile Island.

The two losing women arrive back at camp, still full of mud. But it’s raining, so maybe they’ll get cleaned off that way. Nope, they hide in the shelter instead. Sundra tells us if she has to be stuck at camp, she’s happy it’s with Becky, because they’ve been through everything together.

Becky tells Sundra they’re “being foolish” by keeping Ozzy around – he’s just way too competitive. They need to get rid of him now rather than staying four strong. They discuss how it wasn’t even close! He is a bigger threat than people realize.

The three winners fly on a plane to their spa – the seats are covered with plastic because they’re still full of mud. Parvati tells us how frustrating it is being on the outside. She thinks Ozzy is the only hope she has of pulling somebody to her side.

They arrive at the spa and shower off. Ozzy says it was the best shower he’s ever had. Then it’s time for massages.

Meanwhile, Adam isn’t having quite as good a time on Exile Island. He’s just lying around, then he eats some raw seafood. Ick. A storm rolls in, forcing him to hide under what little shelter he can find.

But let’s not worry about him – there are people enjoying the high life! Parvati and Ozzy talk about how there will only be four more days left. Ozzy says Parvati has to win immunity if she wants to stick around. She’s playing the charming/flirting game to try to stick around.

The storm hits the spa too and the power goes off! But that’s okay. They light candles and an island band and dancers show up to perform by candlelight.

Then the alcohol kicks in, and it’s time for naked hot-tubbing! Alas, we only get a blur shot of Parvati. And one of Ozzy for the women. Yul, meanwhile, notices how much Parvati is flirting with Ozzy and wonders whether he will fall for it somehow. Parvati, meanwhile, talks about how she is with two naked guys in a hot tub and the numbers are in her favor here! Well, especially with Ozzy, who has already been naked and had sex on a reality show!