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There was a lot of talk about someone flipping sides to improve their odds in Survivor: Marquesas Episode 12, but ultimately they all kept going the same way they were going and voted out the final remaining Rotu alliance member, Robert. That leaves a pair on either side of Kathy.

Vecepia’s playing the race card. She doesn’t get that she and Sean are linked because they’re an alliance, not because they’re African American. Well, she probably gets it, but this is a nice way to try to make Kathy feel guilty if she goes with Paschal and Neleh instead. Vecepia and Sean have been together from the beginning, except for a few days in the middle when she thought she had a better chance if she distanced herself from him. While Sean was tighter with Boston Rob, once Rob was eliminated, Sean gravitated toward V. Whether it’s more of an alliance of convenience or not, it’s obvious these two are allies who will vote as a block.

The reward challenge is a combination of previous challenges: they will assemble a tiki, break coconuts and fill a chute with juice, untie stilts and walk 10 feet, and open a box with a slingshot in it that they will use to break a tile over their own tiki. Reward will be a Saturn Vue, an SUV that’s likely soon to be phased out under Saturn’s new owners. Vecepia is the first one to complete her tiki. Neleh is next. Sean has his built next. Kathy is fourth. Paschal’s out of it and has no apparent chance of getting past the first station. Sean is the first to fill his chute with coconut juice. Then he’s the first to get his stilts, and nobody else is even going to challenge him. Then he walks on stilts and gets his slingshot. Everybody else has been forgotten. Sean wins reward, which if we’re to believe him happened as a result of divine intervention.

Paschal is discussing how he’s too weak to do much of anything. That makes him an ideal person to take along further because he’s not a challenge threat.

Because she doesn’t want to be the only one wasting energy getting food, Kathy plans to teach everyone how to get it. Sean has managed to get his first trocha shell. It’s been over a month.

Vecepia approaches Paschal because he looks down. His concern is that he and Neleh are targets because they’re a pair. They agree to discuss it with the group later that night. He gives them some new information, which wouldn’t have been hard to guess. He has no intention of voting for Neleh, even if it costs him the game, which is news to Kathy. Unlike Paschal and Neleh who are being honest, perhaps too honest, Sean and Vecepia continue to deny they have anything going. Nobody’s dumb enough to believe that blatant lie. Paschal’s tired of hearing this crap.

The immunity challenge will be based on a story about the local history. As Kathy suspected, anybody should be able to win this. Jeff will tell them a story, and from that story, they will have to answer questions. The first person to answer 5 out of 6 and cross the finish line with 5 tikis will win. Kathy, Neleh, and Paschal get the first one right. As time goes by, it comes down to a battle between Neleh and Kathy. Around this time, Paschal trips, showing how much of an advantage they will have over him in even the remotest of physical challenges. Kathy is the first to 5, and she’s just ahead of Neleh. One falls off of Kathy’s necklace as she’s running back to the finish line. As Neleh begins to celebrate, Probst informs her she, too, lost a tiki. Kathy finds hers first and wins immunity.

Now Kathy has her full choice of options. Does she vote out Sean, or does she vote out Neleh? Or does she force a tie and let the tiebreaker decide?

Probst points out the obvious. As strongly as it may be denied by some, Kathy is the swing vote. She doesn’t really need immunity, and she thinks immunity is up for negotiation… if somebody were to come to her. Nobody did. So now Sean agrees to make a deal with her. A cryptic deal. When Kathy presses him, he offers a final three with himself and Vecepia. Vecepia agrees to that alliance deal. Oh, so now they do have an alliance? Regardless, this is a stupid deal. She’s not going to give up immunity just so she can get a final three deal with somebody because she could get that anyway and still keep immunity.

Votes
Neleh
Sean
Neleh
Sean
Sean

By a vote of 3-2, Sean has been voted off the island. He’s certainly the biggest physical challenge threat, but unlike Pappy and Neleh who will never break, he may have possibly (albeit not likely) broken from Vecepia to save his own skin.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of Survivor: Marquesas Episode 14 The Sole Survivor, where we will find out who the Survivor: Marquesas winner is.

Tammy kept fighting to the end but ultimately was voted out in Survivor: Marquesas Episode 11 as the others remained more or less together.

Everybody’s talking about missing home. As we see the waterworks start to flow, it becomes obvious that a visit from home is coming. Unlike the rest of the tribe, The General is there to win the game, and that’s it. His family will still be there when he’s done. Paschal realizes he’s got himself a second family. Other than their immediate families, they spend more time with these people than they have with anybody else.

When they get to Probst, he asks how they would react if he offered them a phone call home. After getting their reactions, he tells them it’s not going to happen today. He’ll do them one better. Their families are there. The challenge is the puzzle to flip over colors and keep going until you have no more room to move. The added twist is that there are 6 skip a turn tiles and 1 wild card, the latter of which is hidden and will allow the person who lands on it to vote one person out of the game. The contestants won’t be playing, though. Their loved ones will. No verbal communication is allowed throughout the challenge, but they can communicate nonverbally. Paschal’s wife Beverly is the first one out. Sean’s buddy has landed on the wild card. He now has to vote somebody out, from a group of people he doesn’t know. sean is not offering any advice, so he tosses his hat and hits Vecepia’s husband Leander. Shortly thereafter, Sean’s friend Daryl runs out of room and is eliminated. Neleh’s mom Becky is the next out. Robert’s sister Diana has been eliminated by one move, so Kathy’s son Pat wins. For one night, he’s a member of their tribe and will head back to camp.

Everybody takes time to reflect how much they take for granted in their daily lives. They say that when they get home they need to change their ways and think twice about what they’re doing.

Kathy wants to discuss her dilemma with her son. Either way she’s pretty well screwed, staring down the barrel of third place. Maybe she should ally with Rob, Vecepia, and Sean to get rid of Paschal and Neleh. He doesn’t appear to be of any use in her decision making process.

Robert tells Kathy that Sean and V are getting upset with Neleh. This may present a saving grace for him and a solution to her concerns. They, or more specifically Sean, are growing tired of Neleh riding Paschal’s coattails. Not that he’s got much in the way coattails to ride because he hasn’t played the game very much either. Vecepia, the one who’s been praying and kissing butt in every episode, doesn’t think that Neleh being a nice sweet Mormon girl has anything to do with this game.

The immunity challenge is to use slingshots to target other players. Last time we had a challenge like this, it was the beginning of the end for Robert’s alliance. Sean gets nicked. Robert takes some damage. On the second move, Robert nails Paschal and eliminates him. Kathy eliminates Sean. Vecepia eliminates Robert, bringing it down to all the ladies left. Neleh and Vecepia unite to eliminate Kathy. After the two who remain miss a few times, Vecepia beats Neleh to win immunity. Unlike the last time, this game really doesn’t show how anybody’s thinking. Granted, this time seems to be more luck based than the last one.

Despite all her talk earlier, Kathy says it’s Rob’s turn to go, apparently because she’s just sticking with the majority. She realizes that Paschal and Neleh need to be split. So how exactly does she intend to do that if she doesn’t plan to make a move?

Sean makes sure to bring up his point at tribal council that Neleh’s a threat. Nonetheless, he, too, will maintain the status quo.

Votes
Robert
Sean
Robert
Robert
Robert

By a unanimous vote, Robert makes it 4 in a row for the alliance that at one point assumed they were in charge.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of Survivor: Marquesas Episode 13 A Tale of Two Cities.

Since Tammy had immunity, the elimination process was carried down the line with Zoe instead in Survivor: Marquesas Episode 10. By voting out the individual who had strayed from the alliance, the rest of the tribe still left a pair intact.

It’s the let’s talk about food and how tired we are episode. While the others talk about food, Kathy’s diving for shells, but she hopes to kill a baby shark.

We know where all this is leading. The reward challenge is the food/bed/shower challenge. It’s an island version of musical chairs. Scattered on the bottom of the ocean are shells. Whoever dives down and comes up without a shell is eliminated. The final four will compete in a sprint from the dock to the shore carrying a 40 pound rock. Their reward will be a room on a luxury cruise ship for the evening. Vecepia quits on the first leg. At least pretend to try. Neleh lags behind but grabs one. Sean, despite his original fear of the swimming challenge, pulls it together to get one as well. Sean is eliminated in the second leg, but at least he tried. The final four is as obvious as it originally appeared, as Neleh gets eliminated. 40 pounds in the water is not very heavy, but it’s probably enough to weigh down the women and make it a race between Paschal and Robert. Paschal wins reward pretty easily. He is not forced to make a choice of who to bring with him. Not at the challenge anyway. Probst will clearly make him pick when he arrives with the boat. It goes without saying he invites Neleh. Sean points out that it’s Vecepia’s birthday, and he should have picked her like he would have if he won (granted, V is also Sean’s closest ally, so it’s pretty easy for him to say that).

After Neleh and Paschal have their multiple course meal, utilizing Jeff Probst’s Visa to leave a $200 tip, they return to a tribe expecting smuggled food. Neleh’s not shy to tell them about her adventures in excessive detail. So what has she brought back for them? A used mint. No takers. The next morning, Sean’s using the reward as a reason to complain about Neleh. He says she’s lazy. Ironic. That’s what people said about him the first 21 days or so of the game.

Tired of being taunted by a pig, Robert has decided to make himself a snare. He believes that catching a pig will save him. A little late for that.

The immunity challenge is to make fire and pop one kernel of popcorn. Then they will move to the final station to make another fire. Unlike most seasons where they’re given flint or matches, this year they’ve had a magnifying glass, so this challenge using magnesium, flint, and steel will be new to all of them. Vecepia is the first one to get a flame. The General is right behind her, and he knows he has to win. Kathy is next to get fire, followed closely by Sean. Neleh is next. Paschal is just hoping for some matches. Robert is the first to move on to the next station. Vecepia is in second. Nobody else has a chance here. Robert wins immunity. Oddly, Vecepia actually held her own this time.

With that win, Robert assumes that Tammy is going. Kathy is afraid that Tammy has something up her sleeve, though. She’s worried that Vecepia and Sean will flip. That would make them a foursome rather than a fivesome, theoretically improving their odds. Granted, they also run the risk that one of the others, likely Kathy, would see this betrayal as an opportunity to make herself a final three pact with Rob and Tammy.

Votes
Tammy
Tammy
Vecepia
Vecepia
Tammy
Tammy

By a vote of 5-2, Tammy has been voted off the island. I didn’t care for the rest of her alliance, but Tammy actually seemed to be a competent player.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of Survivor: Marquesas Episode 12 Marquesan Vacation.

The tide turned on the Rotu 4, and John was voted off the island in Survivor: Marquesas Episode 8.

It’s a new day. A brand new day. That brand new day includes the beginning of the end for the three who remain in the minority. Tammy blames John. She was dumb enough to go along with it, and she’s still dumb enough to remain loyal to them. When she aproaches Zoe, the response she gets is that it was a pretty loose friendship, and there was no alliance. Worse yet, Zoe says that, from the beginning, she didn’t really like Tammy. Well, they’re over.

The reward challenge is divided into four teams of two: Sean and Paschal, Tammy and Vecepia, Kathy and Robert, and Neleh and Zoe. Their goal is to fill their three foot tall bamboo chute to the top with coconut juice. They can either stick around on shore or head into the water to gather coconuts. Reward is a helicopter ride to an authentic Marquesan feast. Most people head for the bundles in the water, while Neleh and Vecepia opt for the individual ones on shore. Sean and Paschal strike first. The General is on vacation apparently. Zoe and Neleh get on the board. The others follow. It’s largely a matter of luck. The amount of milk in each coconut is critical. Sean and Paschal win reward. This presents a chance for them to bond, a surprise to Pappy, who two days ago counted Sean down and out. While they’re eating more than they can likely keep down, they stuff their pants full of food for the others. Kathy, Neleh, and Vecepia run right up to them upon their return, as the divide in the tribe becomes more and more evident.

Tammy hopes to bring Paschal and Neleh back into the fold with herself and Robert. What would they have to gain by trusting these guys who tried to stab them in the backs? They play dumb about John’s alliance plans, but their pleas fall on deaf ears. General just gets up and walks away, an attitude that may well cause him to get voted off next.

Unlike the grumpy general, Zoe’s maing an effort to fit in with the majority. They probably won’t end up trusting her, but she’s playing wisely enough that she should theoretically at least be able to outlast the rest of her alliance.

The survivors get stilts to practice for the immunity challenge. Tammy enjoys this because everybody else sucks. She heads down to the beach to practice in private, knowing she’s probably gone if she doesn’t win. The challenge is Marquesan stilt fighting. Two people enter a ring, and the first one to fall loses. Vecepia beats Robert. Paschal beats Kathy with limited effort. Tammy and Neleh both do pretty well, but Tammy beats Neleh. Zoe beats Sean within about a second. Vecepia beats Paschal to make it to the finals. Tammy beats Zoe. In the final round, Tammy beats Vecepia to win immunity, then gets extremely vocal about it.

With Tammy’s win, it’s between Robert and Zoe. There’s no apparent chance of anything else.

Votes
Zoe
Robert
Zoe
Zoe
Zoe
Zoe

Despite Robert’s unwinning personality, Zoe has been voted out because she’s considered a bigger challenge threat. Her former allies voted against her as well, as the alliance imploded.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of Survivor: Marquesas Episode 11 The Princess.