Category: survivor samoa

Following Brett’s immunity win, the Foa Foa 4 remained together and voted out Shambo in Survivor: Samoa Episode 14.

Russell complains that he’s there with a bunch of misfits who are laying about and complaining about the harsh conditions as if they’re surprised.

Natalie gets a warning from Russell that she’s probably the next one to go if Brett wins immunity. The guys would rather stay together so that they can get rid of Brett. Russell doesn’t understand this mindset how a guy who two episodes ago probably hadn’t had more than five minutes of airtime the whole season all of a sudden is being put up on this pedestal because he’s won the last two challenges. The sad thing is, if he keeps it up, he’s got a good shot to win, regardless of not having had anything resembling a strategy.

For the immunity challenge, they will race across a series of obstacles, grab a bag of puzzle pieces, and climb a steep wall where they will solve a puzzle. Russell is the first to grab his puzzle pieces, showing no signs of struggle on these obstacles. Everybody else is pretty much neck and neck behind him, but it all just comes down to who can solve this puzzle fastest. Brett wins immunity.

Russell would like to keep Natalie around because there’s no way she could beat him. His suggestion is that Jaison is the weakest link (even more than Natalie) and checked out a long time ago. Meanwhile, Mick might be good to pick off because he’s a threat.

So Russell tells Mick to get rid of Jaison, and he tells Jaison to get rid of Mick. That should put control squarely in Russell’s hands as to who goes home.

Votes
Mick
Jaison
Jaison
Jaison

With the remainder of the tribe going with the strategy of keeping the strongest around, Jaison has been voted off the island. Jaison is now mad at Russell and hoping Brett wins.

Russell promises Brett he’ll take him to the final three if he wins immunity. Brett promises him the same in return.

The final immunity challenge is to balance a statue on a pole. At set intervals, they will add another section to that pole. Mick is the first person out of the challenge. Natalie is right behind him. The other two keep going and make their way through some wind at 6 feet. They move on to hit 7 feet. Brett drops his statue. Russell wins immunity.

Brett’s days are numbered. While he gets credit for keeping himself alive much longer than the rest of his tribe, it would have been a waste of a season if he ended up winning solely because of how stacked the jury is.

In Russell’s opinion, he just won the game. Hard to argue with that.

Mick’s getting paranoid that he’s about to be stabbed in the back. That would be quite a stupid move.

Russell tells Brett to vote for Mick. Maybe they can force a tie.

At tribal council, there’s talk about how Brett deserves to be there more than the others because he won a couple challenges. Anyway… we all know this is just an attempt at creating false drama.

Votes
Brett
Mick
Brett
Brett

By a vote of 3-1, Brett has been voted off the island.

Natalie seems content just to be in the final three.

Even though they’re in the final three and should just be relaxing and enjoying their feast, Russell’s still playing the game. He wants to get into the heads of the other two before they head off to tribal council.

Russell says it would be a shame if Mick or Natalie beat him. For that matter, it would be a shame if anybody else beat him either. If somebody had gotten rid of him, that’s one thing, but he’s clearly played the best game. Now it’s just a question of whether anyone’s too bitter to accept that. There’s no question he’s stabbed a bunch of people in the back and lied to everybody.

All three of those who remain voted for every person on the jury.

Mick wants to receive votes because he was mister nice guy.

Natalie just says she’s grown through this experience and appreciates everybody.

Russell, however, talks about how he played the game strategically, lying wherever necesary (and sometimes when not necessary). If he’s been outwitted or outplayed, feel free to not vote for him. But he hasn’t been.

Jaison’s up first. He offers his former tribemates the opportunity to tell the jury who they really are. Natalie says she’s unemployed at this time. Russell says he’s a businessman and is successful. Mick says he’s in substantial debt from medical school. Jaison says Natalie made good money, Russell’s probably the richest guy there, and doctors make a lot. Nobody is broke, and they should look to other criteria.

Shambo calls Mick’s gameplay feckless. I see somebody got a thesaurus for Christmas. As for Natalie, the word for her is coattail. Natalie says that the aggressive women were the ones who got eliminated early, which is true, although it probably doesn’t help her cause any. Shambo’s closing statement is that she has no intention of voting for either of them.

Brett asks what a “bro date” with Mick would be like.

Kelly starts with Natalie, saying they were very similar, but Natalie was never on the field (in that respect, they were very similar). Russell lied, cheated, and stole. Is that him in real life? He would replace those words with honor, integrity, and loyalty.

Monica gives Russell credit for key moves, but she missed passion from the other two. Why do the others not deserve the money? Mick doesn’t know what Natalie did, aside from align with Russell. He doesn’t like Russell’s lying or (well deserved) ego. In response, Russell says that neither of the honest people there seemed to mind when he was a snake, at least not until now.

Dave wants to ask about chances. Mick says 20-25%. Natalie says 30-40%. Russell responds 55%. I expected more out of him.

Laura asks what Russell learned about her that enabled him to beat her. He knew she was the biggest threat on Galu.

Why should John write Mick’s name down? He’s got solid character.

Erik just wants to hear himself talk and will not be allowing any response, which is arguably the same attitude that got him voted out so early. Mick did nothing with his leadership role on his team. Russell played an unethical game. Natalie may be weak and undeserving, but perhaps that’s better than lying, cheating, and stealing. Because he supports weak and undeserving as traits, Erik will vote for Natalie. All that rambling to arrive at that rather unusual destination.

Votes
Natalie
Russell
Natalie
Russell
Natalie
Natalie
Natalie

The Survivor: Samoa winner is Natalie White. I’m stunned, not just by the results but by the fact that it was a blowout for somebody who didn’t do much, but I guess I shouldn’t expect anything more from a jury that consists of people who were stupid enough to throw away an 8-4 lead. As bitter juries go, this one looks like it just took the cake.

What I find most interesting is that this group of misfit sore losers is giving us a lecture on morality and not lying. Pot, meet kettle. Apparently, it was okay for them to ostracize Shambo and vote out Erik for no good reason, but it was not okay for Russell to play the game. John and Shambo remain the only two people from Galu with half a brain.

If he took Jaison and Shambo with him, the jury tells Russell (reluctantly) that he would have narrowly won.

Russell’s not done playing. He offers to buy the title of sole survivor for $10,000. Jeff and the audience agree he played the better game.

The three top vote getters for America’s vote are Russell, Shambo, and Brett. Brett is out. The winner of the player of the season award and the $100,000 prize that goes along with it is Russell. At least some people can appreciate his game. Jeff’s still trying to figure out how the heck Russell did not win.

Survivor is coming back for season 20: Heroes vs. Villains. 20 former castaways will be returning when the new season premieres on February 11.

Monica was the next person in the Foa Foa firing line in Survivor: Samao Episode 13.

Brett is trying to use religion as a bridge between himself and Natalie.

Shambo has had her hairstyle since 1986. I’d have guessed longer.

The goal of the reward challenge is to pull one of a series of intersecting ropes and pull one of them. Every time a coconut falls, it counts against the team. First team to 100 loses. Reward is to go to a local village for a feast and overnight visit. Russell and Natalie draw to become captains. Natalie picks Brett. Russell picks Jaison. Natalie gets Mick. Shambo joins Russell. On the first move, Shambo drops 4 coconuts. Mick gets out with 2. Natalie decides that God cares who wins and begins to pray with Brett. Jaison gets hit with 7. Natalie drops 1 to make it 11-3. Russell drops 8. Brett drops 1 to make it 19-4. Shambo gets hit with 10 more. With a 19 coconut turn by Mick, the gap closes to 29-23. That doesn’t last very long. Jaison gets whacked with 48 coconuts. Shambo says that Natalie will get 58. Maybe she really can tell the future because that’s exactly what happens. That brings the score to 81-77, giving yellow the lead for the first time. Russell gets through without any damage. Brett is hit with 23, pushing them over the 100 mark. Jaison, Russell, and Shambo win reward.

Russell and Jaison express doubt over Natalie’s immediate choice of Brett and subsequent choice of Mick. For Russell, it’s just an act. He’s confident that Natalie is still with him, but he doesn’t mind stirring trouble with the other two. He’s got to get rid of Brett or Mick, who are likeable guys that need to go.

Natalie is struggling with which decision she has to make. Does she go with her new friend Brett or with Russell, who she’s been with since the beginning?

The immunity challenge is to count the number of objects in each of six stations, then use those numbers to solve a puzzle. Some of those objects are moving. Mick is the first person to get all six numbers. Jaison and Russell are next. Brett follows. If any of the numbers are wrong, they’re pretty well screwed. Jaison is incorrect. Mick is also incorrect. Brett wins immunity.

With that, the plan to get rid of Brett is out the window. Russell has indicated that his next choice is Mick. However, Jaison would prefer to get rid of Shambo. Russell tells Shambo that Jaison wants to get rid of Mick. However, Shambo’s nervous because of Jaison’s behavior.

Then Russell proceeds to trash Shambo to Mick. He plays up how much he hates her, although he realizes she’s the least threatening person still standing.

Before reading the votes, Jeff says that anybody with the hidden immunity idol around their neck who would like to play it may do so now because it is the last night they can. Russell declines. He will keep it for a souvenir. Not that anybody was going to vote for him tonight anyway.

Votes
Shambo
Mick
Shambo
Shambo
Shambo

By a unanimous decision, Shambo has been voted off the island.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Samoa Episode 15, where we will find out who the Survivor: Samoa winner is, which airs Sunday at 8/7c on CBS.

Rather than keep going down the line, Russell decided instead to get rid of John in Survivor: Samoa Episode 12.

Russell’s explanation to Shambo is that John targeted her, so he had to go.

Monica and Brett say that Russell and Mick are the biggest threats because of how strong their games have been. Jaison takes responsibility for the gameplay, claiming that Russell’s just the bulldog, but he has been the one making a lot of the decisions. I don’t think they’re stupid enough to buy this poor attempt at getting people to believe he’s played a strong game, but what they may buy is that Russell told Mick he made $2 million last year.

Rather than the reward challenge, they’re jumping right into immunity. It’s a Survivor bowling tournament. They will be randomly matched up against another person and get two shots to score the most points. Natalie and Shambo go first. Natalie gets a gutter ball. Shambo gets 9. Natalie is unable to beat this with her second roll and is eliminated. Brett and Russell go next. Brett misses. Russell gets 4. Brett gets a gutter ball and is out. Jaison and Monica square off. Jaison gets 2. Monica gets nothing. Jaison gets another 4. Monica gets just 1 and is eliminated. Mick and Dave are the last pairing. Mick scores 4. Dave gets a strike. Mick gets 4 more, which is not enough. Shambo and Russell start off round 2. Shambo scores 5. Russell gets 4. Shambo misses on her second try. Russell misses as well, and he’s out. Jaison and Dave compete for the final spot in the final round. Jaison misses. Dave gets a gutter ball. Jaison scores 7. Dave gets a gutter ball. That puts Jaison and Shambo in the final round. Seems unlikely either of them would be a target anyway, but one of them will get immunity. Shambo gets nothing. Jaison also gets nothing. Shambo gets nothing again. Jaison knocks over more than 1 to win immunity.

The plan is to get rid of Dave. Again. Monica suggests getting rid of Shambo instead. She’s a threat because the majority of the jury is Galu. This logic suggests that people on Galu actually liked Shambo. Ultimately, though, as long as Shambo does not flip back to the other side, which it seems unlikely she would do, they could easily vote either way and still retain the majority.

Shambo’s completely onboard with the Dave vote. If Dave is not voted out, she will be chatting with Russell. Them’s not really fighting words.

Votes
Shambo
Dave
Dave
Dave
Dave
Dave

This week, Shambo gets her wish, and Dave has been voted off the island. That officially puts Foa Foa up in numbers for the first time.

Since we’re just crossing the half hour mark, it’s obviously not over yet.

Russell says that Brett is the biggest threat in the game. He’s too likeable.

Because Russell said at tribal council that his biggest concern is getting rid of people he can’t beat, Mick is freaking out. Will Russell turn on him? Of course he would. It’s just a matter of navigating the waters until then without stirring the pot too much.

So now it’s another immunity challenge. They must race out into the water, retrieve bags, and race back. They will then use a plank to get bags into their basket. First person to get all three in wins. The men are off to the head start, with the women bringing up the rear, Natalie in particular. Brett scores first. Mick is behind him, and then Russell. Shambo’s the next one to score. Brett scores 2 with Mick right behind him. Jaison finally gets his first. Russell has 2. Natalie then grabs her first. That leaves just Monica still scoreless. It’s looking like a battle between Brett and Mick. Brett wins immunity.

Brett having immunity puts the target on Monica. They go talk to Mick to try to pull him over. Getting rid of Russell would sure be a good move if it can be pulled off, but Mick doesn’t want to end up on the short end of the numbers stick. Granted, if they don’t flip now, they may not be able to, unless they can get either Natalie or Shambo to join them.

Then Monica reveals to Russell that Jaison’s just counting down the days to day 36 when it’s his final day to play the idol. By the way, Jaison also revealed that Russell’s a multi-millionaire, so she would not vote for him because her plan is to vote based on need. Russell’s mad now. Jaison actually doesn’t remember what he told her. He was just rambling.

Russell still wants to get rid of Monica because she’s a little bitch who needs to shut her piehole, but he’s keeping Jaison’s betrayal in mind.

First thing at tribal council, Russell pulls out the hidden immunity idol and puts it around his neck.

Monica says that the only reason Russell’s still around is the idols. As stupid a statement as any we’ve heard thus far.

Votes
Monica
Russell
Monica
Russell
Monica
Monica

With 5 votes, Monica has been voted off the island.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Samoa Episode 14 Two Brains Are Better than One, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.

Rather than force a tie, John helped Foa Foa and Shambo to vote Laura out in Survivor: Samoa Episode 10.

It’s time for food, and we see a gavel, so it’s obviously the Survivor auction. There is no sharing money or food. Each person receives $500. The first item is a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich. Natalie bids $200. Wow. The next item remains covered. $80 Jaison. $100 Monica. $120 John. $140 Jaison. $200 Shambo. $220 Dave. $240 Shambo. Shambo has bought herself sea noodles and slug guts. The next item is covered. Dave bids $300. Jaison bids $320. Monica bids $340. She gets a whole roasted chicken. Well worth it. The next item is a significant advantage in the next immunity challenge. John bids $100. $140 Natalie. $200 John. $260 Jaison. $300 John. Jaison bids $500 to make sure nobody else gets it, keeping it in Foa Foa’s possession. The next item is a burger, fries, and beer. Without hesitation, Mick bids $500. The next item is a clue to the location of the hidden immunity idol. We really need another one? Is 4 not enough? John bids $100. $120 Natalie. $200 John. He gets the clue. The Survivor shower is the next prize. John bids $100. $120 Natalie. She gets to take a shower. Apple pie is next. Tasty but no protein. Brett bids $180. $300 John. He gets the pie. Jeff gives John an option. Keep the pie or give it up and divide up a whole pie among four people. He’ll eat the pie. Everybody else who’s holding on to their money may want to consider starting bidding before this thing is over. Too late. The auction is over.

With his hidden idol clue in hand, John goes searching.

Shambo’s grown way too attached to these chickens. The bad news is that the rest of the tribe wants to kill them. Once the chickens are dead, she refuses to listen to anybody else. She will be cooking it her way. End of story.

Shambo, who believes she has psychic dreams, had a dream they voted Dave off. He was the one who told Shambo not to boil the chicken, which made her more mad than she’s been in the month they’ve been out there. Russell knows she’s an emotional player who just needs to get mad at someone as justification for voting them out.

For the immunity challenge, they will have a rope attached to a log. Every 3 minutes, they will switch hands and move one knot lower on the rope, increasing the weight. Last person standing wins. Jaison’s advantage will be to move his hand up two knots at any point during the challenge. After 9 minutes, Jaison already uses his advantage. Pretty early. Too early? After 21 minutes, Shambo is out. Russell follows her. Difficult to believe. The next step is the last. They no longer have any knots, except for Jaison, who will stay that way because they don’t have any further to advance. Monica drops out next. John follows. Brett is next. It’s Foa Foa against Dave. Mick is out. After a pretty damn impressive showing, Natalie is next out. That leaves Jaison up against Dave, with Jaison having a two knot advantage. Dave falls. Jaison wins immunity. That auction paid off.

John proposes sticking to the plan. Vote out a Foa Foa. Russell plays along and suggests Mick.

John says he’s 100% sure that Russell has the hidden immunity idol. Yeah, he plays along with that, too. Following this discussion, Russell has decided he’d like to get rid of John. So he approaches Dave and tells him he’s in danger and should vote out John to save himself. This is just playing with fire for no good reason.

Russell then goes to Mick and asks who he’d get rid of if he had a choice. He picks John. Jaison says that, if they do that, Shambo’s gonna dump them, thereby throwing away their advantage next time. Losing two votes by playing recklessly is exactly how Galu got into this hole they’re in now.

At tribal council, Shambo seems shocked that those around her are thinking strategically. She was under the impression they were going to get rid of Dave because she no longer likes him.

Votes
Mick
Dave
John
John
John
John
John

With 6 votes, John has been voted off the island. What a ridiculous vote, but it should keep things interesting.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Samoa Episode 13, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.

Russell found a second hidden immunity idol without any clues in Survivor: Samoa Episode 9. As a result, the 7 votes against him did not count, so Kelly was voted off the island.

Dave says he’s impressed. That was a good move.

Shambo finds this all quite hilarious, especially the look on Laura’s face when she found out she’d been had.

Since there’s another idol in the game (not sure why, other than to keep the story going), Russell will be on the look out for it.

Shambo doesn’t want just a 5-5 tie. She wants 6-4, so she goes to John. He’s unable to give her an answer, but he does say that he won’t sell her out and will keep in confidence the fact that she went to him and has flipped.

For the challenge, they will divide into two teams of five. One person will lie face down in a cradle, while the other four people use ropes to maneuver them to grab 15 flags in order. Reward is to board a plane and fly to the neighboring island of Savai’i. The yellow team is Shambo, Jaison, Monica, and Mick with John in the cradle. The purple team is Dave, Brett, Laura, and Russell with Natalie in the cradle. Purple’s getting the hang of this pretty quickly, and they’re not looking back. Purple team wins reward.

That will leave Foa Foa, Shambo, and Monica back at camp, minus Russell, who should now be able to go get a clue for the idol.

Jaison goes to Monica, looking for one more person to be on their side. They don’t need one more beyond that. She’s number six. Monica assumes they mean Shambo, although they aren’t giving any names. She wants John out. That’s going to be tough to convince Shambo to do, but for the majority advantage, it makes sense.

As expected, the people on the reward get clues to the hidden idol (both a video clue and multiple word clues). When Russell gets back to camp, he immediately starts the hunt for the idol. This time, he’s not alone. Others are actually making an effort, too. Jaison’s also looking with him, while Dave and Laura follow (or try to follow anyway… they lose him). Russell circles back around to where everybody was looking, and he’s now got himself a third hidden immunity idol.

Monica goes right to Laura to tell her she doesn’t trust Shambo or John. This is why Jaison should leave the strategy up to Shambo and Russell. What’s he doing going up to Laura’s closest ally?

The immunity challenge happens in two parts. The first part is to try to break as many tiles as possible using rocks. For each tile they break, they earn a spear. The person who lands their spear closest to the target wins. They are only given one shot. Shambo and Russell both miss. Jaison gets 1 spear. John and Monica miss. Dave knocks out one of Monica’s tiles, giving her a spear. Natalie misses. Mick gets 1 spear. Brett gets 2 spears. Laura misses, which causes Shambo to burst out laughing and high five Russell. Real subtle.

Going into the second part of the challenge, Brett has 2 spears, and Jaison, Mick, and Monica have 1. It doesn’t really matter here. None of these people are likely to be targets. Jaison hits the target to set the mark to beat. Jaison misses the target and is out. Monica hits the target but not close enough. Mick manages to get ahead of Brett, who’s got one shot left to do better. Mick wins immunity.

With Laura not having immunity, they can finally get rid of her. Shambo goes to Brett to tell him she’s voting for Laura, and also that there is no more Galu.

Laura and Dave want to vote for Russell again. John wants to vote for Natalie. She’s the least likely to have the idol since she didn’t look for it. John is increasingly surprised by how stupid his tribe is.

Monica makes a pitch to Foa Foa: vote for John because that’s what she’s doing. Russell knows that Shambo will vote Laura, regardless of what else is going on. He decides to let John know that his own tribe is after him. Before that can happen, Brett tells John that’s the plan, to which John responds he’d like to have known that before they started it. Assuming this plan works, it gives them the numbers back, but it also gives John 4 votes against him.

So then John goes to Russell. What has he heard? He believes they’re being swindled. Fair assessment. Russell’s mind is unchanged. They will force a tie. Does John want to draw rocks, or does he want to get rid of Laura? John agrees to give up one of his own members, as long as Russell gives up a Foa Foa next time. What this conversation does is ensure John he’s not getting any votes tonight.

At tribal council, Shambo says that Galu is not one tight unit any more. The day Erik was voted off, Galu was broken.

Votes
Laura
Natalie
Laura
Natalie
Laura
Natalie
Laura
Natalie
Laura
Natalie

We have a tie. Laura and Natalie will not vote. Everybody else will vote for either Laura or Natalie. Foa Foa and Shambo will remain strong. It’s just a question of whether anybody from Galu wants to flip.

Votes
Laura
Natalie
Laura
Natalie
Laura
Natalie
Laura
Laura

With 5 votes (including John’s), Laura has been voted off the island. This is getting good. The tribe that was once up 8-4 but threw it away starting with the Erik vote is now left to scramble.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Samoa Episode 12, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.

Not liking his belief that he was in charge of the newly merged tribe, everybody flipped on Erik and voted him out in Survivor: Samoa Episode 8.

Russell, who no longer has his hidden idol since he burned it last time, is pretty sure he’s next.

Natalie spots a rat and kills it. Dinner time.

For the challenge, they will divide into teams of five and race to collect poles threaded with white and black coconuts. They will arrange them so that the coconuts form a 4 digit number. A blindfolded tribe member must then find the same number. The winning team will be taken to a rockslide for lunch. Natalie is the odd woman out, who must choose one team to support. The teams are: Jaison, Laura, Brett, Mick, and Russell (yellow) vs. Shambo, Kelly, Dave, John, and Monica (purple). Natalie supports the yellow team, which contains her three fellow Foa Foa tribe members. Kelly and John start off with a lead, but Jaison and Russell reverse that and give yellow the lead. John and Kelly then erase that lead to tie things up. Russell and Jaison retake the lead, as Shambo drags behind. The yellow team is the first to start the puzzle, but the purple team is the first to solve theirs. They pass it on to Monica to solve it while blindfolded using only her fingers. Yellow also gets theirs solved and passes it off to Laura. Monica solves it first, and purple wins reward. Since she backed the wrong horse, Natalie will be joining the losers back at camp.

In addition to their promised reward of a day at the rockslide and lunch, the winning team also gets the first clue to the new hidden immunity idol. Yeah, we haven’t seen the last of that, even though both of them were burned last week. Without anybody from Foa Foa there, they decide to keep it to themselves.

This is also time to strategize. Kelly wants to take out Russell because he’s strategic. Shambo doesn’t want him to go. He sucks at challenges she explains. Really?

Back at camp, Russell hopes to find the next immunity idol. This time, he doesn’t plan to tell anybody. That would certainly be different. With the belief that it must be some place obvious, he checks all the obvious spots and finds the hidden idol without a clue. Again. I’m impressed.

Russell has decided to share his find with Shambo. Well, that didn’t last very long. She’s been aligned with Foa Foa for two weeks, something her own tribe has been stupid enough to ignore. They were just saying that they don’t need her because they’ve got the numbers. She flips, it’s 6-5. Russell plays the idol, it bounces back on the person with the next highest votes, and we’re then left at 5-5. Works out perfectly and would completely negate Galu’s 8-4 lead that they would have effectively thrown away.

Only one immunity idol is back up for grabs. They will use a grappling hook to retrieve two bags containing puzzle pegs. The first three will move on to the final round, where they will place pegs on the board. First person to get all pegs in the right spot wins. Shambo’s got the first bag. Mick and Kelly also have their first bags. Brett follows. Mick is the first person to get both bags. Jaison gets his first bag, and so does Laura. Russell does, too. Shambo’s the second person into the final round. Russell and Laura are in a race to get their final bag, and Laura wins that race to move on. Laura, Mick, and Shambo will compete in the puzzle portion of the challenge. For Laura, just opening the bags proves to be a challenge. Shambo’s getting a bunch of pieces and takes the lead. It’s not long, however, before Laura starts to run away with the challenge, as the others for some reason seem quite stumped. Laura wins immunity.

Well, there goes that plan. No chance of voting out Laura now.

Shambo suggests getting rid of someone close to Laura, which would be Kelly.

Russell tells Jaison that he’s got the idol, which Jaison then shares with the rest of the tribe. Jaison wants to ensure they vote Russell. If they don’t, Foa Foa’s rescrewed.

Monica suggests planning for just in case someone has found the idol, but it’s a moot point because they don’t have the votes to split it between two people. Dave insists that they not worry. Laura is quite keen on getting rid of Russell, so she’s pushing for that vote as well.

Walking by the other tribe, Russell overhears them pondering voting for Natalie. Now he’s not sure whether to play the idol or not. He really doesn’t have much choice. Now is the time to play the idol. If he doesn’t, the numbers become pretty hopeless anyway.

Jeff asks whether there’s weakness within the Galu tribe since they got rid of one of their own. Dave responds that the tribe was weakened from within by the presence of Erik (the first jury member, who’s sitting there unable to defend himself but clearly wanting to do so). Kelly then calls Erik a snake.

After they vote, Russell plays his idol. Awesome. Erik is quite thrilled by this, as Dave’s jaw drops.

Votes that don’t count
Russell
Russell
Russell
Russell
Russell
Russell
Russell

Votes that count
Kelly
Kelly
Kelly

With four votes, Kelly has been voted out of the tribe. I was the first person to really, really, really hate the hidden idol, but in recent seasons, it’s been used quite wisely to actually make things interesting.

Before they leave, this time Jeff tells them that the idol will be going back into the game once again, despite the fact that it’s already been played (twice).

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Samoa Episode 10 The Day of Reckoning, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.

Foa Foa’s usual loss in Survivor: Samoa Episode 7 resulted in Liz being eliminated.

They’re hoping for a merge. Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt. They’re pretty well screwed.

When she returns to her own camp, Laura’s canteen is missing, leading to a confrontation between herself and Shambo, who it does not appear has ever seen an episode of 90210 (old or new). Erik says that Shambo being crazy is an established fact, so anybody fighting with her is just making themselves look bad.

Jaison says they’re not super confident in their ability to win challenges any more. Yeah, I hope not.

The two tribes get treemail and meet up on the beach. No Jeff in site. What they do see is a treasure chest with buffs, a tarp, and paint. Looks like a merge. They are told they’re all one tribe living on Galu beach. Not the typical way to merge but appears legit.

Russell is immediately under the impression that he’s a king.

The new tribe name is Aiga, which they say is Samoan for extended family.

Russell approaches Laura to show her the hidden idol. He promises her that he will hand it to her at the top 7. This leads her to a realization: they’re going to have to blindside him. His attempt at setting guidelines that she get rid of one of her people first falls flat. His offer does not sound genuine, and even if it did, she doesn’t have the power needed to accomplish his request.

Unable to get anywhere with Laura, Russell next approaches Monica and shows her the idol, which nobody else knows about. If he knows she’s on the chopping block, he’ll give it to her. From there, he goes to John and shows him the idol as well. Laura is Russell’s first target.

Seeing as Shambo hates Laura’s guts, it shouldn’t be hard getting her onboard with the plan to get rid of Laura.

Immunity is tee ball. Whatever section their ball lands in is their score, and the highest score wins immunity. They have one shot. One man and one woman will win immunity.

Dave scores 3. Jaison is off the course. Russell takes the lead at 4. Brett is off the course. Mick scores 2. Erik is off the course. John scores 5. He wins immunity.

Natalie is not close. Monica scores 2. Kelly takes the lead with 3. Shambo ends up not close. Laura scores 4 to win immunity with the only somewhat decent swing.

So Russell’s plans are shot to hell.

Russell wants to get rid of Monica, but seeing as she does not hate Monica, Shambo is not onboard with this plan.

Laura knows Russell has the idol seeing as he showed it to her, so she tells Erik. They hope to flush out the idol but vote for Jaison because he is worthless to the tribe. With this knowledge, Erik tells John that Russell’s got the idol, which should make John not trust Russell any more. Regardless, John wants to get rid of Monica. Dave is suspicious of this plan.

Jaison doesn’t like that Erik is talking to them like he’s in control, so his plan is to play along but vote for Erik. 4 votes may not be enough, but it could make things interesting.

From there, Natalie goes to Laura to see if she’s willing to vote that way. Kelly also gets wind of this, a warning that Erik is targeting the women. Slowly but surely the entire rest of the tribe hears this plan as well. It’s interesting. This is all John’s fault, but Erik ran his mouth, so he’s the one getting blamed.

At tribal council, Erik further puts his foot in his mouth. He can’t see any way in which Foa Foa has a prayer or offers anything.

Jaison believes this is a personal attack on him. Oh geez. Here we go again with this guy. Everything’s personal because his PAC-10 life as a future attorney is too difficult.

Jeff goes to read the votes. He doesn’t even ask, but that’s not stopping Russell from standing up. As planned, the idol has been flushed out.

Votes
Jaison
Jaison
Erik
Erik
Erik
Erik
Erik
Erik
Erik

Now that’s a blindside. With 10 votes, Erik has been voted off the island. The only other person in the dark is Shambo, which has pretty much been the case from day one. Erik’s departure means both idols are now gone.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Samoa Episode 9 Tastes Like Chicken, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.

Russell S worked himself too hard in Survivor: Samoa Episode 6, collapsed during the challenge, and was eliminated for medical reasons. As a result, there was no vote at tribal council.

The guys on Galu are hoping to get Shambo on their side so that she does not side with the girls instead. There’s a problem with that. Even if she sides with you for now, she ain’t on your side. She likes the other tribe better.

Foa Foa has some indication that they may have a chance. I’m not entirely sure what part of this game gave them that indication.

In an attempt to boost Shambo’s ego, the guys have decided to vote for her to be the leader. After the voting process using fingers and numbers or… something… that does not make anything resembling sense, Monica realizes her head’s probably on the chopping block.

Dave’s afraid of the alliance with Shambo because he considers her too dim to share information with, which kind of negates the concept of an alliance.

The challenge is a memory game with a twist. The leader may decide to keep the item, but if they do so, they forfeit the point. Additionally, 4 items are dummy items without a match. Reward is lunch on a sailboat. Kelly, Dave, and Shambo sit out for Galu. Because Shambo is sitting out, she appoints Erik to make decisions for the challenge. At Dave’s very vocal insistence, she chooses Brett instead. Was there an actual point to that, or just a way for him to show that he can control her? Laura scores the first match for Galu, a fire starting kit. They opt for the kit instead of the point. Brett takes the lead 1-0 for Galu, declining the mosquito net. John then takes the lead 2-0 for Galu. Russell makes it 2-1. Laura makes it 3-1. Then time fast forwards and it’s 5-3 Galu. Then 6-3. With 3 items left, all Galu needs is one more match. Natalie makes it 6-4. Monica scores the final point to win reward for Galu. Wow. Shocker. Shambo’s first decision as leader is to send someone to the other tribe (and miss reward). She chooses Laura.

Laura doesn’t think Shambo likes her, and she’s not shy about letting Russell know that she’s not surprised that she was the one to be sent to their camp. Russell has an offer, as always. They make a final two deal. Neither of them is 100% onboard, but at least it’s something. Oh, and by the way, don’t bother looking for that hidden idol, Laura. Ben found it and hid it somewhere in the camp. As if.

Laura’s also getting along well with Natalie, who is the person Russell suggested as their secret final three partner. This does not sit well with Liz, who would rather their guest work than talk.

In the immunity challenge, both tribes will paddle out to get puzzle pieces shaped like fish, which two members of the tribe will catch from their boat. John, Monica, and Laura sit out for Galu. Wondering whether the leadership necklace is bad luck (it sure wasn’t good luck), Foa Foa leaves it back at camp. Using their height advantage, Foa Foa gets off to an early lead. Foa Foa’s the first tribe to the second station. Their 5-2 lead following Dave’s sucking at fishing turns into a 5-4 lead as they struggle to get the final piece, but they are the first tribe to head back to the beach. Both tribes end up back at the beach at roughly the same time. Liz, Jaison, and Mick work on the puzzle for Foa Foa; Dave, Brett, and Kelly do it for Galu. Galu solves the puzzle first to win immunity. Again.

Russell blame Jaison for the loss. Not only was he dragging in the water, but he gave up on the puzzle and just stared at it as if it were going to solve itself.

Jeff doesn’t sugarcoat it. Foa Foa sucks. Their challenge record is 1-8-1, one of the worst overall performances of any tribe ever.

Russell promises that, if they can just keep the 4 remaining people together, the whole thing’s gonna change. Yeah, this again.

Probst notices that Jaison’s had his head down most of the time during tribal council, occasionally popping his head up. Weighing on his mind is that he screwed up the puzzle, which may be a reason to get rid of him.

Votes
Jaison
Liz
Liz
Liz

Despite the poor attempt at creating drama, Liz is the obvious boot choice.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Samoa Episode 8 All Hell Breaks Loose, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.