Back on Lairo Beach after Tribal Council saw Ronnie voted out, Aaron is understandably upset about how the whole thing went down. He does what he’s supposed to do and tries to explain that he wasn’t as close with Ronnie as it may have seemed. Whether they believe him or not is another question, but at least he’s taking the right steps.
Missy also gets credit for at least making an effort here. She talks to Aaron on her own, in an attempt to make him feel safe, telling him she wants to work with him. Again, who knows if it will work, but like Aaron, Missy is at least doing the right thing. Aaron isn’t particularly receptive to the notion, however, but we’ll see how that changes as the game progresses.
But someone who didn’t do the right thing here? That would be Vince. He received two votes at Tribal, from Ronnie and Aaron, the two people the tribe was voting against. And yet, he comes back to camp very heated. I know nobody likes to see their name pop up at Tribal Council, but come on man! You need to keep that in check. Recognize the situation and keep that to yourself. It doesn’t seem like it rubbed anyone the wrong way, but still. Let’s keep this reaction in mind if Vince gets on the hot seat for real, or if the game starts to get away from him, even if he may not be the target.
And in the big news from the camp, Chelsea finds this season’s first immunity idol, seemingly completely by accident. She’s out gathering firewood, and happens to notice something in a tree trunk. It may have been luck, but an idol is an idol.
Vokai Beach
Noura is going to be a character this season. Or an early boot. Or both. Only time will tell. But for now, let’s all sit back and enjoy what she’s bringing to the table. I don’t doubt that someone like her would be hard to live with on an island, to be with 24 hours a day with little to no reprieve. But at home from my couch? Oh boy, she is some quality entertainment.
She does what any good Survivor player will do: admonish her tribe for being lazy. Because we all know laziness is totally objective and inarguable. She complains that she was the only one up early working on the fire (here’s a tip: If you’re the only one awake, it doesn’t matter what time it is. Nobody else will think those sleeping are lazy because, duh, they’re sleeping too!) Social awareness is a huge part of Survivor, and Noura doesn’t seem to be on top of that right now.
As expected, her tribemates don’t take too kindly to Noura’s complaints. If Noura is leading a class on how to become an early target, then she’s doing a bang up job. But if she actually wants to stay in the game, and strengthen her chance to win? Well, she’s got work to do on that front.
Island of the Idols
The Vokai tribe sees a boat arrive, and we know we’re about to find out the next visitor to Island of the Idols. And this time, the lucky winner is Kellee.
Has the in-game usefulness of the Island of the Idols run its course after just one episode? If episode two is any indication, then that answer might sadly be yes. The fire-making lesson Elizabeth learned has legitimate benefits to her time on Survivor. But what game-changing skill does Kellee learn? You must listen and pay attention.
This is obviously critical to success in Survivor. It’s also important to listen to others in life in general. So if someone needs to be taught this fact, maybe they’re not quite equipped for Survivor in the first place.
Boston Rob and Sandra pepper Kellee with constant questions to Kellee and statements about themselves. Clearly Kellee is supposed to listen and remember as much as possible.
Kellee’s test is a five question quiz, related to what Sandra and Rob shared with her. At stake again is an immunity idol – good through the next two Tribal Councils she attends – against her vote. She must answer four correctly to win. She hesitates at first, and Rob changes the deal to three correct answers and the idol now lasts through the next three Tribals.
At that, Kellee decides to take the plunge and goes for it. She answers the first three questions correctly, winning the immunity idol.
Kellee returns to camp and, like Elizabeth, lies about the Island of the Idols. She also goes with the urn story, and says she did not get anything. She fakes (?) having a bit of a breakdown, even offering to strip down to prove she doesn’t have idol (paging Alan Ball). This would have worked, as she hid the idol in her hair.
In the larger scheme of things, I’m already a bit nervous about how the Island of the Idols twist will continue to play out. I have no doubt that it’s going to result in tons of fun and entertaining moments. But how much will it actually impact the game? And how much will we lose by having several minutes devoted to it each week?
Challenge
The tribes swim out to release a ladder on the ocean floor. They use the ladder to retrieve a bag of balls, before transporting both the ladder and balls to the beach. The ladder is set on a ledge to make a bridge. After crossing the ladder bridge, the tribe must land the balls in three separate targets.
Lairo gets off to a good lead, which almost disappears after Chelsea throws the bag of balls towards the beach. The bag gets washed away and the tribe is delayed while they search for it. However, it was mitigated a bit by Vokai’s inability to hold the ladder up, causing the ladder, and Molly, to repeatedly fall (always a crowd favorite). But the challenge eventually tightens up, as both have 2/3 targets. But Missy lands the third one, winning the challenge for Lairo.
Pre-Tribal
Noura and Jason are on the outs and appear to be the two obvious choices. The plan is to split the vote between the two, to protect against a potential idol play. It all seems pretty straightforward, but then Jamal happens (and for reference sake, Jamal is on the side of voting out Noura or Jason). He makes two completely boneheaded comments:
“We’re pretty impressed with ourselves.” The Survivor gods hate these kind of statements.
“I recommend a mid-day nap.” Intelligent Survivor players hate these kind of statements.
And this is when Lauren strikes. She talks to Kellee and Janet about switching the vote to Molly. Molly, Jack, and Jamal are seen as the power trio, and Molly is seen as the ringleader. Molly has a strong social game, and is flexing her strategic muscles early on. Lauren sees that, and being that she’s not a part of that group, wants to do something about it.
As always in cases like this, how early is too early to try and make a move like Lauren wants to make? If it fails, you could see yourself voted out. If it succeeds, you’ve likely painted a pretty large target on your back. You may want to stake your claim to the game, but at what cost? Had I been on Vokai, I would have gone with Lauren’s plan, but because that’s where the majority went. But I tend to think the risk is often greater than the reward when you go for a move like this so soon. If it works, great, but now you’re on everyone’s radar. And is anyone going to remember, or care about, a Day 6 move at. Final Tribal Council?
Tribal Council
Lauren’s plan succeeds, and Molly gets the boot, voted out 7-2-1, with Jason receiving two votes and Noura one. Will Lauren become the new power player in Vokai? Or will this move make her enemy #1 after showing off her strategic chops?
