Surviving the Cook Islands, Episode 10: A New Identity

The challenge begins. It doesn’t look like fun. Ozzy and Candice look comfortable, though. Nate and Adam are the first to start fidgeting and losing their footing. Candice shows off, holding on with one arm. She bugs me. Adam and Nate start sliding down their poles and losing their footing. Adam is the first to fall after just nine minutes.

Time passes. Jonathan starts looking shaky. He says that his feet hurt because they’re bigger than everyone else’s. Yul speaks up that he has a point; they all have the same surface area supporting all of them, but mass goes up at a faster rate. That’s why elephants can’t run up trees. Jeff quips that that’s just what he was thinking. Yul laments that now he’ll never get another date. Don’t underestimate the attraction of smart hot guys, Yul.

Jonathan slides down to his last foothold. Nate is struggling as well, but it’s Jonathan who falls second, just three minutes after Adam. Jeff notes that the first two people out were guys. Nate keeps sliding and Sundra becomes the first woman to lose her foothold. They both wind up on their bottom footholds. Nate winds up dropping after 23 minutes. Sundra gets herself situated and Yul adjusts himself to get more comfortable. 34 minutes into the challenge, Sundra drops. Candice shows off more, doing some squats. Parvati says that Candice is wild now that she’s on Aitutonga. Jeff likes the new tribe name.

Yul starts sliding and clutches at rope to hold on. No good - he has to slide down, then jumps after 51 minutes. Ozzy is now the only guy left. Parvati is the next to start slipping. Then it starts raining, which can’t help with their grips. Becky slides as well and Parvati winds up on her bottom foothold. She drops after an hour and 29 minutes. With only Ozzy, Becky, and Candice left, Jeff tries to entice them with the immunity necklace. He assures Ozzy that it’s unisex.

Becky is the next to fall, just one minute after Parvati. Now only Ozzy and Candice are next, and both still look calm and comfortable. The rain falls harder but Nate doesn’t think it will speed things up. Candice starts sliding and Jeff notes that it’s the first move she’s made in over two hours. She keeps going to her bottom foothold while Ozzy stays still. Finally, after two hours and 15 minutes, Candice lets herself drop. I think she decided that she was safe and it wasn’t worth it. Ozzy has the first individual immunity. He feels like an old man thanks to the challenge, but he’s safe. Someone else will be going home tonight.

Back at camp, Ozzy says he can’t believe Candice stayed up so long. Nate is happy that Ozzy got immunity because he likes him and wants to find a way to work with him. Candice asks how much longer Ozzy could have stayed on the pole. Ozzy says he could have kept going. Adam interviews that this is the perfect example of they we should get rid of him - he’s a challenge threat. Of course, they can’t right now. They’ll stick together and vote out Yul tonight. Parvati says they’re getting rid of Yul because he’s “Mr. Harvard/Yale/Stanford Guy” and is also strong.

Jonathan returns from fishing and Yul meets him on the beach. He tells him that the hypothetical is a reality and shows him the hidden idol, asking him to become his ally. Jonathan interviews that he wasn’t that surprised; after their conversation, it made sense. He still has a huge decision to make. Basically, Yul is saying that either Jonathan votes with the former Aitu or he goes home. Yul tells him this is the only way this will work. He wants to take Jonathan to the final two because Jonathan has enemies. Good plan, but I’m not sure he should share it with Jonathan, especially after Jonathan has already proven himself untrustworthy. Jonathan appreciates seeing the idol but still has to think.

Later, Jonathan tells the former Raro that his only concern about Yul is that he’s the only other guy who’s been to Exile Island. He asks Adam if he has the hidden idol, but Adam, of course, doesn’t. Parvati thinks that Yul doesn’t have the idol, since he was only on Exile Island for a day. Yeah, that’s logical. Jonathan interviews that he floated the idea to the former Raro, but they don’t think Yul has the idol, so they still want him to go. They’re not thinking and don’t want to put forth the mental energy involved in running the scenario. If he can’t convince them that Yul has the idol, it will bounce back at him and he’ll be going home.

Adam and Candice approach Nate and ask if he wants to vote out Yul, since Jonathan doesn’t. Adam thinks that they should just let Jonathan have his way this time, though I’m not sure who they would target if they did. Their only other options are Becky and Sundra. Anyway, it doesn’t matter, since Nate says that they’re calling the shots. Adam reminds him that they need five votes. Nate says that they don’t want Yul around for the challenges; they “don’t want that clock ticking.” Adam gives in, but he’s concerned about Nate. He thinks he’s acting differently; he’s not his usual self and he’s been hanging around Ozzy a lot. Candice thinks Nate just needs to chill. Adam thinks Nate needs to stop thinking so much, adding that Jonathan makes people think too much. They make out. Ewww.

Jonathan tells Aitu that he has a big decision to make. Adam and Candice kept him alive when he came over to Raro, and he would hate to betray them because then he will have betrayed everyone in the game. He wants to get rid of Nate before Adam. Yul tells him they’re happy to accommodate that. Jonathan interviews that he wants Nate gone because he trusts him the least (mostly because he knows him the least), and he feels some loyalty to Adam.