An "Insider" Look at Survivor: Cook Islands, Episode 4: Taking One for the Team

Hi all! Starting this week, I'm going to take over the Survivor Insider column for Mike DeGeorge. I don't think I'm quite as down on the current season as Mike is, but we'll have to see how things shape up. As of now, we don't seem to have strong Pagonging vibes going on either team yet. Raro's decision to boot J.P. this week might come back to haunt some of them. Particularly the men. But J.P. didn't prove himself as strong as you would think he'd be in the challenges, and he obviously rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way by relaxing so much at camp.

Let's check out J.P.'s videos and see if he thinks that's the reason Raro got rid of him this week... that is, if he's gotten over the shock of his eviction enough to tell us!

J.P.'s Final Words: J.P. Never saw his eviction coming. He can't believe he was voted out now. He has no hard feelings, but he's completely baffled. Really, no hard feelings, but he was majorly surprised on this one. He didn't think he'd be going for a long time. He's a big fan of Survivor and he can't believe the tribe managed to pull this off so well. You really “can't trust nobody.” He's sure Raro will be watching each other's backs now. He is exhausted and can't wait to eat. He's not okay with leaving, but he hopes someone from Raro goes all the way. This game is more than being big and strong and tough. You really have to watch your back. He thinks taking a nap today was his real problem, it gave the other folks on his tribe too much time to talk about the “real” plan.

To sum up: J.P.'s shocked. Really shocked. No, really. Did I mention J.P. is a tad shocked?

J.P., the Day After: J.P. thought it was brilliant what his tribe did to him. When he told his team “good job” for voting him out, he meant it. They completely fooled him. He thought he was on the forefront of tribal decisions. Guess not, J.P. J. P. came into the game ready to scheme, but when you play you are what you are. He says his biggest attribute in life is being loyal, but that was probably his biggest downfall. His life has been athletics and the team and that's the way he thinks. J.P. wanted to excel in the game. He wanted to be quieter and focus on that. He thought he was doing that, but he is what he is because people saw him as the leader. He didn't think he was doing that. But maybe he stood out as a leader to them. He might have done this to himself. J.P. Says he was that guy who watched all the Survivors and talk to the screen wondering why these people can't jump over a wall or swim somewhere. He stands by that the challenges are easy under normal circumstances, but when you're exhausted and dehydrated it's just different.

J.P. goes on a bit about competition and powering through before talking about the first tribes. J.P. liked the ethnic tribes. It was an intimate tribe and, all being Hispanic, they felt an immediate bond. He had a lot more confidence on the first tribe. The second tribe was hip and fun and he caught up in the team aspect. This experience is unexplainable to anyone who hasn't been on Survivor. You have to live it. It's a great experience.

Stephannie's Coconuts: Stephannie and the other members of Raro discuss how much coconut they're eating. Stephannie interviews that she's worried about how weak she's getting and how much weight she's losing since she hates coconuts. In another interview, Parvati says she thinks Stephannie's a sweetheart, but she's alone a lot and she thinks Stephannie is ostracizing herself from the group. Parvati does note that Stephannie tries to provide food – and that's good – but she's still a loner. Not good.

Reward Challenge: Strung Along: This is just a replay of this week's reward challenge. We get to see both tribes manhandle their smallest teammates through the course once more. Oh, and Aitu gives Adam a getaway on Exile Island.You know, I think if you go on Survivor you need to like sand... a lot. Because you're guaranteed to get real up close and personal with the stuff on this show.

Adam on Exile Island: Adam's kicking back as he comments that Exile Island is beautiful... but very small. He notes he can't find any coconuts on the isle, but he saw some hermit crabs he could eat. Adam saw the clue for the idol, but he's decided to conserve energy and not look for the idol until tomorrow. Adam rambles on a bit about only having hermit crabs to eat and that he needs to make fire to do so. He hasn't made fire much in his current tribe, so he's a little worried about that. Adam's frustrated because Candice was there before him and he doesn't even know if the idol's still there! It's frustrating. He thinks Candice may have gotten it if the first folks on the island didn't. He would rather Candice have the idol than the other guys, though.

Adam notes that Candice wrote some paragraphs about the isle in the “Exile Island Log.” She wrote that she was still smiling and it made Adam laugh. That's interesting that the producers give the players on Exile Island a log book to write in and for the players who come after them to read. Hmmm....

Adam wasn't surprised he was picked to go to Exile Island, but he's going to be excited to get back to his tribe. It's going to be lonely and boring and he hopes he doesn't go insane. Adam rambles on a lot about the idol and how it's probably gone already, but he wants to find it if it's still there. Duh. Then he grouses a bit about how his tribe all sucked at the immunity challenge – especially the puzzle. They're not communicating or working together and they've been too overconfident. He needs to fix that. You do that Adam.

Immunity Challenge: Mayday: We see Adam looking thrilled to get back to his tribe and then the teams fighting for immunity. Raro starts out strong, but then it all falls apart for them. Ozzie completely smokes J.P. in the swim portion of the challenge. Then Cao Boi does his fire god dance and locks up the win for Aitu.

Tribal Council: We're back to the spiffy shipwreck set to check out Raro's tribal council votes.

Stephannie votes for J.P. “Sorry J.P., it's you or me.”

Adam votes for J.P. “I hate to do this to you buddy, but no one else on this tribe trusts you, including your best buddy Christina. So, I gotta go with the tribe on this one.”

Rebecca votes for J.P. “I thought I could trust you until I found out that you were one of the first people to want to vote me off today.”

J.P. votes for Stephannie. “This really breaks my heart to have to do this. I wish you didn't voice that point of weakness today, but you're a wonderful and beautiful person and you'll be with me the rest of this game.”

Brad votes for J.P. “You cannot come into a game, guns blazing, because at the end of the day it's going to rub a lot of people the wrong way. And, in the words of Heidi Klum, Aufedesein.”

Cristina votes for J.P. “J.P., I think you're a great guy. I just think you had your game face on and none of us wanted to be played. I think you're a really good guy, though. So, hopefully, we can still meet and do those projects we talked about. Good luck.”

Sundra votes for J.P. “I choose you J.P. because when you spoke this morning you forgot about the alliance you made and you gave a speech about something totally different.”

Nathan votes for Stephannie. “Your wish is my command.”

Parvati votes for J.P. “There are just one too many cooks in the kitchen. Gotta let one go.”

Teeuwynn is a professional puzzle, game and event designer. You can check out one of Teeuwynn's current projects at: www.angelquest.com. You can reach Teeuwynn at Teeuwynn@gmail.com

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