Surviving China, Episode 4: Frustration!

Last week, Betsy Wasser subbed for me to recap Survivor and did an awesome job. Thanks, Betsy! This week, I’m back and so are all but one of the contestants who began last week – everybody but Leslie, of course, who lost. What will happen this time? Will Zhan Hu continue their winning streak? Who will go home? Let’s find out!

We begin on Fei Long, the day after their first trip to Tribal Council. Jean-Robert tells us there was a small chance he would go home last night, but he was indeed safe. His plan is starting to kick in – he wanted to start out at the back of the pack and then inch forward. He believes he’s “kicked ass” in the challenges and his work ethic in camp has improved, which people notice.

So he’s not worried about the next Tribal Council, because Courtney is always the weak link in every challenge (gee, just because she could barely even pick up a machete, let alone wield it effectively?). But as soon as he says he’s not worried, I believe I hear the Foreshadowing Fairies laughing. He says if she survives the next Tribal Council, she’s the luckiest girl in Survivor history.

Jean-Robert and Courtney work with a branch to pick up a pot that Jean-Robert believes is hot. Courtney goes to grab it and he exclaims for her not to touch it. She says it’s not hot and she doesn’t like it when he yells at her. Oh fercryingoutloud. He was afraid you were going to burn yourself, you nincompoop!

Jean-Robert tries to explain the concept of cautioning somebody to be careful, but the toothpick just doesn’t like people raising their voices at her. Well, yeah, because loud noises probably cause her internal organs to vibrate painfully, given that she has no insulation for them whatsoever. She then complains to us about how sick she is of Jean-Robert getting in her face and being aggressive. You know what? Next time he’ll probably just let her burn herself. I would.

Over at Zhan Hu, Peih-Gee is marking off the day on a tree trunk. Then they check the rice and find that a lot of it is wet and has gone bad. Dave tells Sherea (who went through the rice to pull the good bits from the moldy ones) they need to put the rice in another container. She asks what he would suggest. He says he doesn’t know, just find something. You can tell Sherea is rapidly getting annoyed with Dave. She basically tells him she did her part so somebody else can do something.

But apparently that’s not what Dictator Dave wanted. He thinks that by going through the rice, she mixed in the mold. He wanted her to leave it alone and he would have handled it. She’s had it with him and says other people have ideas too. He sarcastically thanks her for listening and she shoots back that it’s just like he listens to everybody else (sarcasm evident in her voice). That’s all he does, “listen, listen, listen, right? I don’t think so.”

Of course, in Dave’s mind, the problem is with Sherea, not him. He complains to us that she came “unglued” and has no business getting mad at him because he works a lot and she doesn’t. “It’s frustrating.” Imagine how they feel dealing with you!

Then Sherea decides to clean up some mussel (I guess) shells from camp. She puts them into a dish and is going to throw them in the water. Dave asks her nicely (no, really) to not throw them away. She ignores him. He asks again. She ignores him again. She walks with the dish towards the water and Dave chases her, saying he’s saving some of the shells and trying to grab the dish. She moves her arm away so he can’t and tells him to back off.

He doesn’t get it at first and keeps moving towards her, but finally backs off. Erik (who?) intervenes and asks Sherea for the dish, which she gives to him. Dave mutters about how he just wanted to save some shells to take home to his mom, while Sherea tells us Dave is digging himself a hole. Actually, I think that time Sherea was doing the digging.

Dave pleads his case to Frosti, claiming people are walking around on eggshells because of Sherea, not him. Uh huh. And before that it was Ashley’s fault. And if Sherea were voted out, it would be Peih-Gee’s fault. Etc. But Frosti tells him that people currently see him as somebody who is constantly going off. He’s done a lot of good work, Frosti says, but if he wants to lead, he has to be able to work with the people he’s ostensibly leading. Frosti adds to us that Dave may have worn out his welcome.

Back at Fei Long, treemail arrives saying that both tribes will go to Tribal Council tonight. However, it sounds from the clue like there will actually be a competition for food reward rather than a vote.

Both tribes arrive and Zhan Hu sees that Leslie was voted out. We can tell by the look on Jaime’s face that she’s shocked. So is Sherea, who mouths, “Wow.”

Host Jeff Probst explains the challenge: Two members of each tribe will use giant chopsticks to carry a fireball across a course, drop it in a chute, where it will roll into a wok and ignite a fireworks display. Then the next two go. Each round, the chopsticks will get longer and more difficult to handle. The first tribe to get all three fireballs into all three woks will win reward.

What is that reward? The next morning, a fisherman and his family will visit the winning tribe’s camp and teach them to fish. He will bring spices and veggies to make a meal. In addition, of course, the winners will kidnap a loser.

Fei Long unsurprisingly sits out Courtney – probably because the chopsticks are thicker than she is, and weigh more. No, I’m not talking about the giant ones, I mean regular chopsticks.

To begin, it’s Peih-Gee and Sherea vs. Todd and Denise. And they’re off! Both light their balls (ouch!) and try to pick them up. It’s not at all easy, but both tribes start to figure it out. Todd and Denise move ahead but Peih-Gee and Sherea are catching up. Both are almost at the shoot – Fei Long is first, then Zhan Hu shortly behind!

Amanda (who?) and Aaron begin work on the second ball for Fei Long, while Jaime and Frosti start for Zhan Hu. Fei Long keeps their lead and get to the second wok before Zhan Hu.