Surviving Micronesia, Episode 12: The Lady Don’t Mind

Last week, Jason was played for a fool by Natalie, who then added insult to injury in her one-on-one chats with the camera. When I originally wrote this recap, I hadn't yet had a chance to write Jason's Hall of Shame induction article, and many of you wrote in to say, "OK, is he in now?!" As an update, yes, Jason has been inducted into the Reality TV Hall of Shame.

In any case, though, everybody else on Survivor is moving forwards towards the finale a week from Sunday. Yes, I know – I can’t believe it’s coming that soon either! So we’d better get going right now.

As you may recall from the end of Tribal Council, host Jeff Probst told James to hang around so medical could look at his finger. James is brought to a boat that serves as Survivor Medical Services as he tells us his finger injury is no big deal. But it was swelling up at Tribal Council. So the medic washes it out and gives him what looks like some IV antibiotics.

The medic says if he gets an infection they can’t cure, he runs the risk of disablement of the joint. They don’t want that (duh!) so they can’t let it go very long. James asks how long he has and she says they’ll check it again in the morning. That’s not very long! James tells us he works with his hands so it’s very important they get it fixed – “I need my hands when I get back home.”

The medic finishes wrapping James’ finger and says the infection is probably in the joint. If it doesn’t look better in the morning, he’s off to surgery.

James joins the tribe and they return to camp. He explains the situation and then Amanda re-explains it to us. James keeps saying it’s going to be all right, which is what Amanda hopes for.

Morning comes, and we find out that there is another injury! Alexis was walking in the dark and apparently tripped on something, really hurting her knee. Cirie tells us about the tribal injuries and says she knows it looks bad because she’s a nurse, but that’s two less people she needs to fight against for a million dollars! And people wonder why I love Cirie…

Not sure where the medics are – weren’t they supposed to come check on James in the morning? But it’s already reward challenge time! They arrive and find miniature likenesses of themselves in statue form, which they all find amusing.

Probst says for this challenge, they will answer a series of questions about their tribemates in private. He’ll tally the results and then ask the same questions, but this time they’re trying to guess whose name came up most often from the group (yes, we’ve seen this challenge at least a couple times before). Each time they get a question right, they get to chop the rope of another tribe member. When all three ropes of a tribe member are chopped, their statue is smashed and they’re out of the game.

What are they playing for? A little love! Probst brings out Parvati’s mom, Gail. They hug and Gail tells her she looks awesome and smells fabulous. I worry about Gail. Next is Erik’s brother, Kurt. They hug and Kurt makes fun of Erik’s beard. Erik then hysterically chirps, “That’s Jeff Probst! That’s Jeff Probst! He’s just standing there!” Probst replies, “Erik, you’re a freak.”

Natalie’s mom, Rocky (interesting name for a mom) comes out and they hug with many tears on both sides. Then Natalie shows Rocky her armpit hair. Nice. Alexis is greeted by brother Nathan. More hugs.

Amanda’s sister Katrina joins her. Katrina tells her she smells better than last time, and Amanda seems pleasantly surprised to hear this. For James, we have James Sr.! James Jr. says, “What’s up, Dad?” and they share a manly short hug. Sr. says Jr. looks good in the stomach region – he wishes he looked that good.

Cirie’s husband, H.B., runs out next to give her a big hug. He brings her a flower and they kiss.

The winner of the challenge will go with their loved one to Jellyfish Lake, where they will swim with literally thousands of non-stinging jellyfish. In addition, somebody will go to Exile Island, where there is a new idol hidden.

They fill out the surveys and it’s time to begin:

• Who does the most for the tribe? Everybody says James except James, and the correct answer is James! Cirie chops Amanda; Natalie chops Erik and he returns the favor; Alexis hits James as he says he’s gonna fix her; Parvati gives James a second chop; and Amanda slashes Parvati.



• Who never shuts up? The correct answer is Parvati. Her mom says, “I knew it.” Heh. Amanda, James, Alexis, and Erik got it right. Erik chops Alexis and she returns the favor; James also hits Alexis; Amanda gets even with Cirie from last time.



• Who mistakenly thinks they are in control of this game? Oh, this one should be interesting! Everybody says Parvati except for Parvati and Alexis – and Parvati is the right answer. That’s an ouch moment for her, and her mom doesn’t like it much either.

  James adds injury to insult by chopping Parvati’s rope; Amanda hits Natalie’s while Erik chops Cirie; Natalie slices Amanda; Cirie slowly moves to Parvati’s last rope and gives it a whack. A weight falls and slings up a big stick with a spike that smashes into Parvati’s statue. Apparently, they didn’t quite realize what it would look like, as several of them have their mouths dropped open in half-mock/half-real shock. Amanda even says, “That’s a little vicious, Jeff.” James is laughing out loud, though. So am I. And Cirie is as well, as Parvati walks off and tells her, “You’re in trou-ble.”




• Who is the most honest? The correct answer is Alexis, but the only one who gets it right is Cirie as answers span the group. Cirie heads directly to Erik’s rope and chops it, sending his statue to a smashed end with the hair on it even falling off.



• Who are you least likely to invite to a family dinner? James is the correct answer, and everybody gets it right except Natalie. Everybody is down to one rope, so whoever is hit is gone. Alexis chops James. James Sr. says, “Wait until I get back home, we’re going to talk about her.” Ha! James takes out Cirie even as she’s pleading with him that she never did it to her. Cirie’s hubby is not pleased. Amanda is still complaining about how violent the statue destruction is, but she has to chop somebody – Natalie is gone.

  Cirie has one hit left, which will decide who wins – Amanda or Alexis. If she’s smart, she should try to make a deal because you know the winner will get to take somebody along with them. But she doesn’t – instead she walks right over and chops Amanda’s rope and giving the win to Alexis!