Tag: Kristie

Australian Survivor finale

Here we are – finally! It’s the last day of Australian Survivor.
Who do you think will win? And who do you want to win?

Tonight I’m recapping as the program goes along (SA time).
Here we are and – oh my goodness – they are doing the walk of the fallen comrades! Original Survivor hasn’t done this for yonks, because so often the final three is reminiscing about people they never met. And that’s evident tonight, with a lot of “nice girl” and “what a character”. “Ah, Sammy boy,” is all Sam gets (from Lee), who follows it up with “Ah, Matt”. Yep – that was a worthwhile few minutes, although it’s nice to hear the former contestants voices again – and be reminded who some of them were.
Leel and Kristie arrive at the final immnuity challenge and, for drama, JLap meets them atop a cliff that looks like it’s made from volcanic rock, with the odd wave pounding against it to spray them.
He also reveals their loved ones are here, and this move is actually pretty annoying, because in “real” Survivor, loved ones visits are usually held around final six to eight (although not every season). I always shed a tear when the castaways realise their loved one is here and look forward to some noses getting out of joint as, inevitably, only some people get to spend time with their loved one. Usually the challenge winner gets to pick two or three other people and their love ones to accompany them on a reward, or to spend the night back at camp, and this can expose some alliances. Or it can lead to sneaky gameplay, a la Jonny Fairplay and the Dead Grandma Incident (and if you are new to Survivor, you have to YouTube that episode of Survivor: Panama).
But this is Australian Survivor so the loved ones are being brought out at a time when it really makes no difference to the game, other than to dehydrate contestants from crying so much.
Kristie’s dad is here and we know she’s watched Survivor with him since she was a kid, and he says some lovely things and we’re reminded that Kristie won only one reward the whole season, and gave up her letter from home. Lee and El get their sisters (and you have to wonder if anyone whispered “that’s my new squeeze”). We learn Lee once had major back surgery and thought he wouldn’t run or play cricket again, but went on to play professionally. (Sorry – I missed the bit about El because my 4yo woke up briefly).
JLap lays down the immunity challenge rules, which we already know from Survivor Borneo, the season that started it all. Back then, Rudy, Richard Hatch and Wiggles stood with both feet on a stump and leant in to a central pole relatively comfortably (see a pic here), but here the Aussies have to really lean in to it and have each foot on a pole at different height (as in Survivor: Africa). First person to lift their hand from the idol pole is out. In Borneo, Rich deliberately stepped down, knowing he couldn’t outlast the others and trusting that both would pick him as their final two opponent. Wiggles won when Rudy had a brain fade and lifted his hand.
Here the waves are an additional challenge, soaking them regularly. El at least manages to change position by squatting but Lee tells JLap his knees are buggered from sport so he has to stay standing. After 90 minutes in JLap starts with the questions about the pain and Lee’s feet are starting to look a bit purple. Eventually JLap gets sick of getting soaked and goes to sit with the loved ones for a chat.
Kristie’s Dad tells JLap Survivor started at the time of his divorce, so Survivor became an example of triumph through adversity and calling on inner strength for him and his kids. The waves are getting massive as the tide comes in so the trio are drenched, freezing and accidentally swallowing gobfuls of salt water.

Six hours later …
Six hours later they are still going.
“My wrist – I can’t move my wrist. I’m going to have to step down,” says El, screaming as the waves hit again. Finally she does hop down and Doctor JLap comes over to help her to her feet and almost carries her over to hug her sister.
No matter what happens now kudos to Kristie to outlasting an army major in and endurance challenge.
“Lee, you’ve got to let me have this one,” Kristie tells Lee.
“I don’t want to go home,” he replies.
“I will take you … I promise. You ave me an opportunity in this game that I could never have gotten without you. I swear to you, I promise, I will take you. And you know what you will probably beat me … I won’t have the votes,” she cries.
His response: “Keep fighting.”
“You remind me so much of my Dad,” she tells him, thanking him for his support throughout the game, throughout the “crazy”. Now, this is likely true but it is also very good strategy on Kristie’s part, because she knows how much being a role model for his kids is. “I swear on my Dad,” she continues.
“I’m so proud of you,” he tells her. And then he falls hard off the poles.


Kristie wins immunity! Five seconds later she follows, tumbling to the jagged rocks below. “Kristie, are you ok?” JLap asks as they both lie helpless on the rocks.
“Can you get me up, please, because it’s hurting,” she sobs. Her dad picks her up and carries her off. She is both crying and laughing as she shakes on the ground with fatigue and what looks like hypothermia. Don’t they have blankets for them? And water? We do get to see El put an arm around Lee as he apologises for not lasting.
Will Kristie take Lee? I reckon she will. JLap gets dad to come over and put the immunity necklace on his now-crippled daughter, which is a cool moment for the both of them.

Tribal council
I want to see their faces when they see Kristie has the necklace. There are gasps from Matt, Nick is open mouthed and and there’s a whispered “I can’t believe she won” from Flick. Tonight, Kristie is the only one casting a vote but Leel get to put forward lacklustre pitches.
“What you see is what you get with me. I think I’m less likely to get votes off the jury,” El laughs.
Lee says: “We all three of us have been together since day one. It’s up to her – it’s her choice. It’s the first time she can have a decision by herself without any pressure.” God, Lee, you still sound patronising.
And the 22nd person voted out is El. Yep. No surprise there.


Lee and Kristie head back to the beach for one final night and to hone their jury speeches. Kristie should kick Lee’s arse when it comes to conveying emotion and passion for the game – it will come down to whether the jury thinks she fluked it – and whether they are annoyed at Lee for distancing himself from the game for so long.

Day 55
Kristie is delirious with happiness whereas Lee is rather subdued, but he perks up with the final day breakfast arrives and they can eat bacon.
“I’m very happy with how I played the game; good people can win,” Lee tells the camera. Urgh – does this mean Kristie is not a good person by your standards, Lee? This is the girl who gave up her letter from home to someone else. Although, to be fair, I can’t see either of them doing much opponent bashing at final tribal.


Final tribal
“Looks pretty, doesn’t she?” murmurs Lee as a showered El arrives at the jury bench. JLap announces they will do opening statements (which US Survivor ditched a while back, or at the very least started cutting them from the edit).
Lee’s jury pitch is, as expected, about playing a clean and honest game. And unless there was a lot that was cut out, that’s about it from Lee.
Kristie has obviously thought long and hard about her jury speech. “All of you, you thought I was absolutely crazy,” she tells them. Her “move” was successfully gunning for Phoebe, who had flipped on her, and how, despite her name always being mentioned, she outlasted everyone.
“I have had to fight my way through 20 tribal councils. In the end, I was able to get through two whole tribes. Who in Survivor can say that? I can,” she says with conviction.
Well said, Kristie!
Time for jury questions .. El’s is a Dorothy Dixer about what his first “selfless acts” will be. Apparently, looking after his folks, his boys and some unnamed philanthropic works. El’s question is just a criticism of Kristie’s perceived lack of strategy but Kristie responds with some good examples and how her strategy of stepping back and watching them eat each other paid off.
Flick tells Kristie everyone is pissed at her for “not playing the game” and making big moves (because that worked so well for you, Flick). Kristie schools her in the difference between subtle moves and big moves. “You look at the jury and the people who made big moves were voted out straight away afterwards,” Kristie responds and she’s getting the swelling music and nods from the jury.
Brooke asks Lee an awkward question about whether he and El had a secret romance. “There is no romance going on,” he replies, stating they will be good friends. Brooke tells Kristie it seems she let Daddy Lee control her, but Kristie replies it was all part of her masterplan to make others think she could be controlled.
JL goes in hard, telling Lee he is ignorant and arrogant for thinking people who wanted to win were greedy pigs – and reminds him she is an aid worker. Go, JL! Lee does not compute. Lee apologises to her and says he made the comment at tribal councils, which were “not his forte”. (He was worked in the media, previously, though, so he should be more eloquent.)
Kylie basically just gives them a pep talk
Sam accuses Lee of taking advantage of Kristie. Lee mentions Kristie had a rough time in the early days and he supported who through that. “I didn’t force her to do anything; she probably played me as much as I played her.”
And now to Nick, and he gives Kristie a big compliment: “Tonight you have come out balls to the wall and you are literally a different person.”
Nick tells Lee he is hypocrite for playing the “morality” card, and mentions they initially got on, doing “manly things” together.
“And that is not as weird and as Brokeback Mountain as it seems,” Nick jokes. (I love that JLap starts cracking up at this.) Lee says he didn’t realise, coming into the game how impossible it would be to stick to that moral code.
“Kristie, you did my head in. You did a lot of flip flopping … and I think you now that,” Sue says. “Of course,” replies Kristie, saying she was sorry but she had to deflect heat off herself. “Well, you outsmarted me – well done,” concedes Sue.
Matt, a fellow huge Survivor fan, tells Kristie she often appeared panicked and yet at other times was friendly and supportive (is that a reference to her giving him the loved ones letter?), and wonders who is the real Kristie. She admits she had two panic attacks early in the game and didn’t realise until she arrived in Samoa she suffered from anxiety.
That’s it. Kristie has soooo got this. Sure, El will vote Lee but will anyone else? Maybe Flick?

Time to vote
Here comes the crazy loud music. Nick is first and, for dramatic effect, draws a downward stroke that could be the start of an L or a K. Matt does the same – love it. Bet they talked about it beforehand.


We see El votes for Lee – der – and Kylie for Kristie.
At this point the US show would normally cut to a studio several months later, for the big reveal in front of an audience.
JLap is set to read the votes but first announces that their families are here, and it’s lovely seeing Lee sob as he quietly hugs his boys. Asked by JLap what they think about Dad’s beard, the elder replies: “He looks like Obi Wan Kenobi.” Kristie is so happy to introduce her family to JLap.
So here come the votes.
Kristie, Lee (and we know that’s El’s vote because of the smiley face), Kristie, Kristie, Kristie and the winner is Kristie! She collapses screaming and is picked up be her family.


(I can’t be sure but I think they did and MKR and recorded two endings, which is such a shame.)
Well done, Kristie. You absolutely nailed that final tribal.
We get to see how everyone voted.
“I don’t know how you’ve done this, but it’s inspiring, it’s incredible,” says Matt.
“Good on you, but you are still a naughty little girl,” says Sue. The others congratulate her and a smiling Brooke says Kristie’s words changed her vote.

That’s all folks. Well, that was actually a pretty fun end to what at times has been a lacklustre season due to the lack of tribe shakeups.
A reminder the Survivor Family Feud is on Ten, Sunday at 7.30pm (and how strange is it to see Phoebe all dolled up in the promo. A lot of people online wondered why Craig wasn’t selected to take part as he seems such a natural fit for game shows, but on Facebook he messaged fans he’s travelling overseas.
Oh, here’s a fun tweet from JLap:



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Australian Survivor – Mon, Oct 24 – Does she get the Flick?

It’s final four time! We’re down to Flick, that “poor girl” Kristie and power couple-but-it-doesn’t-mean-we’re-in-an-alliance “Leel”.
Before we go any further, can I just boast about this:
jlaptweet

Back at camp, after Flick failed to vote off El, we hardly get any of the fallout chat, which is really annoying as it makes it hard to judge where people really stand. Flick, understandably, feels she’s next.
The next day there’s a bit of awkward chat about what what they are proud about and everyone says stuff like “building a shelter”, “doing well at a challenge”, except El, who digs the knife in a bit about sticking to an alliance (oops – except that one with Magic Matt that was just friends who voted the same).
Everyone’s spirits are lifted by cooking a Samoan lovo but there’s not that much food. Perhaps they didn’t want everyone to get the runs before a challenge.
Lee is more excited about being given tinder for the lovo fire and Flip not at all subtlety asks Lee to teach her how to make the fire. Because Lee is not a Survivor fan he doesn’t twig that Flip’s sudden interest in fire is obviously because she wants to be prepared for a tiebreaker fire challenge and not because she wants to prostrate herself at the feet of the fire guru (which no doubt he is, because he is Lee the almighty).
Kristie, however, has been watching Survivor since she was a kid and knows exactly what Flickety is up to, so she starts paying attention to the fire lesson also. (Side note: Did you know Flick’s partner has a brother who was a Survivor contestant in 2010 this dude )
Flick hopes “Leel” will forgive her planned betrayal and keep her around over Kristie. El tells the camera she did regard Flick as a little sister and in not so many words says she doesn’t really like Kristie: “I think she’s a really nice girl; a strange one, but a lovely girl.” We keep hearing about how Kristie is weird but the camera hasn’t shown it at all, apart from what looked to be an anxiety attack in the game’s early days over what she thought was her missing bag. She’s certainly not weird by US Survivor standards – they’ve had some people on who obviously cheated on the psych exam.
Later, Leel discuss how Flick is weak at challenges and would pick El for final two and they would pick each other, so it would be smart to go with her.
And then we get a cool scene of Kristie, scurrying off in the dark with flint and a coconut husk, trying to make fire while the others sleep. Go Kristie – but, really, what kind of fan goes on Survivor and doesn’t insist on making it at camp once in 51 days. I’m sure all the guys were doing the manly thing and being the fire lords, but who was making the fire when she was on the loser tribe with Sue, Conner and Kate? Kate, I’m guessing (sorry, Conner).

Immunity challenge time
It’s a convoluted one involving bits of previous challenges, including the one where they have to create a long stick to hook a key, walking while rolling on a barrel, and ending on a puzzle. This has Lee written all over it, unless the puzzle is really hard. Flick is off to a poor start and if this was the US show Probst would be yelling: “Flick, falling waaay behind.”
She actually catches up well until it’s the bit where they have to throw something the size of a cricket ball at a specific spot – geez, who’d have thunk a professional cricketer would be good at that?
Lee is first to the final element, the puzzle. Will this be immunity No. 4 for him? El is next, then Flick. JLap isn’t bothering to say what Kristie is up to.
Flick knocks a puzzle piece off the table and by the way the camera keeps lingering on it she hasn’t realised. Is JLap’s next bit of commentary a clue? “She needs to find the pieces; she needs to pick it up.”
El wins, which makes things soooo boring.

Later, Flick tells Kristie she heard Leel whispering about taking each other to final two, which is no surprise. But will Kristie do anything with this info? Flick is scrambling to save herself, reminding El she saved her bacon previously. She asks El to split the vote so she can do a fire challenge with Kristie. But Lee isn’t keen and here we get proof Lee is actually thinking more about strategy than previously shown. “I understand the theory behind it, but that exposes me,” he says, and he’s right. If Flick teams up with Kristie, Lee could well be going home. Flick pinky swears with a cherry on top she won’t even talk to Kristie but Lee’s brow is furrowed. Daddy is not happy with her desperate moves.
“It’s a bit Nick-ish, this,” Lee tells Flick after she makes her pitch. Ah, when will they drop this whole Nick is a snake bizzo. Over it. Flick even pulls out the “I love you”, which could well be true but she forgets her fellow castaways are not following the US Survivor rule book.


Tribal council
Here comes the jury and how skinny does Matt look with the beard shaved! After some chat about alliances, fighting to stay and trust. JLap suggests it’s a good idea to vote off an ally so you can get their jury vote. “I want to win it next to someone I’ve been through the whole time, and someone I can trust,” El says. “So, Lee,” Flip interjects. And El takes the bait: “Okay, Lee. There you go: I’ll be taking Lee to the final,” she says frustratedly. Gotcha! On the jury bench, Nick’s “what the?” hand gestures are a thing of beauty.
Lee tries to distance himself from the declaration but when asked point blank if he promised El a final two spot he can only shrug. You can see the jurors willing Kristie to make a move but all she says is she has to win immunity (despite never having won a challenge before). Nick practically slumps to the ground in frustration and Kylie and JL cover their eyes in horror.


Now, is this all talk or is this how Kristie really thinks? “I can see the jury absolutely cringeing over there, but I’m still in it. I’m going to fight for it.”
Flick responds Kristie has “dug a hole” but still a chance to win the game by ensuring there’s a 2-2 vote between Flick and Lee to ensure a fire challenge. True – or perhaps this is a plan to get Kristie herself out. I can’t see Lee turning on Kristie, though. Hurry up and vote!
The vote: We see Flick vote for “Leeroid”. And it’s Flick going home. It’s hugs all round, apart from a joking “you’re an idiot” to Kristie.

Tomorrow
The finale screens from 7.30pm-9.15pm on Ten. Sadly, Ten is not doing a reunion show straight after, which is modus operandi for the original and is always great fun as there’s none of this “let’s record two endings and make people pretend they’ve won”. Plus, I’d love to see JLap rock up to the Opera House on a jet ski, clutching the urn full of votes. We get a glimpse of the final immunity challenge and it’s fun to see they’ve gone way back to Borneo, the first season of Survivor, for the “standing on a log and touching a pole” challenge. These can go on for hours. (History here)

SO …
I really want to see Kristie take this thing out but her moves have baffled me. If she does freakishly win the final immunity, I’m guessing she will take Lee and that would be her ticket to winning, because she can boast: “I beat this dude – little ole me”.
And for all those Flick’s, Matt’s and Sam’s banging on about how people should have moved against Leel earlier: Where were you guys this whole game? Why didn’t you do something when you had a chance? This is what happens when Survivor goes for 55 days and they don’t mix up the tribes enough – everyone gets too entrenched in their perceived alliances.



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No Australian Survivor tonight – Sun, Oct 2

Silly NRL grand final meaning there’s no Survivor tonight. Instead, if you haven’t already, check out US Survivor online at 9Now.

Does Sue make a big move tomorrow night? Let’s hope she can rustle up some support from Magic Matt and Kristie.
Fingers crossed Adelaide will still have power tomorrow (more rain on the way) and I’ll be recapping as usual.
Meanwhile, here’s Conner’s audition video:

And Nick’s:



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Australian Survivor – Tues, Sept 20

Instead of starting with the awkward fallout of the attempt to vote out Kristie, we begin with kidnapped Sue’s introduction to her new blue tribe.
They must all have been wondering which of them Sue was there to send back to yellow, but it looks like that’s one twist the producers aren’t playing … for now.
Former yellow Nick gives her a hug but you just know it’s all going to blow up later on, as it did with JL.
At blue Kristie knows she had a lucky escape, but tells the camera she still has Phoebe as an ally. Oh, Kristie – I fear Conner’s naivety has rubbed off on you.
As Kate sunbakes on the beach we get a glimpse of her armpit and she’s no longer wearing a bandaid.
As Phoebe and Kristie chat the shelter they’ve built over the fire catches alight and thank goodness for Kristie’s quick thinking or their sleeping shelter could have gone up in flames a la Survivor Amazon.
At yellow, Nick starts chatting to Sue about why she voted him out – in front of the whole tribe, mind you – and it escalates quickly. Everyone else pretends they are off in the jungle with the chooks.

Immunity challenge time
This is a challenge they’ve used a few times on US Survivor (including Second Chance), involving spinning quickly to retrieve puzzle, then staggering drunkenly to a balance beam and so on. A few people usually get so dizzy they fall over.
The winner gets immunity and a Hungry Jack’s breakfast (with coffee) eaten by a waterfall.
Blue has to sit out more than half the team and it’s Sam v Conner to begin. Conner does really well, despite looking like he’s going to throw up at one point. Poor Sam takes a hard fall on to one of the poles and it looks like his own pole would have been injured in the process.


Kate then leads Magic Matt and she kills it. OMG – yellow is in the lead. Kristie takes on Brooke and keeps the lead. It’s Phoebe versus JL for blue and JL is a little dynamo, making up a tonne of ground.
The puzzle makers are Magic Matt versus Kate and while JLap says it’s neck and neck it looks like Matt is way ahead. Interestingly Kate did the puzzle last time and was beaten by Nick – does no one else want to have a go at puzzles and put a target on themselves?
Poor old yellow has to head back to camp without so much as a nibble of a hash brown.
Phoebe tells the camera: “The strangest thing is I trust Kristie the most in this tribe but, strategically, I have to vote for her.”

At the waterfull, everyone discovers the way to make Hungry Jack’s coffee taste good is to go 30 days or so without caffeine. Wonder if they will all have massive headaches a few hours later? Sue is stoked to a) be safe and b) eat something that’s not rice and beans and c) to wash herself in fresh water.


At yellow, Kate and Conner do an awkward yet rather sweet exchanging of trust with each other, involving placing invisible “trust” in each other’s hand. Aww – you wouldn’t see that on US Survivor.


Meanwhile, Phoebe is still playing Kristie, telling her they can pull Conner in to vote out Kate. Kristie says she just wants to have a chat with Kate and Phoebe’s mind works frantically to come up with a plausible reason this is a bad idea. But Kristie goes ahead and Kate, honest Kate, makes it clear the vote was Phoebe’s idea. Uh oh!
I know Phoebe is just playing the game and has done well to save herself from a few raw deals, but I can’t help but be Team Kristie on this one, due to her quirky, slightly awkward vibe.
“She’s the black widow; she’s weaving a web of lies,” Kate tells Kristie.
Conner is happy Phoebe and Kristie are mistrusting each other and he’s telling both of them what they want to hear.
Kristie tells the camera she’s determined to not be a goat and to make a move by taking out one of the biggest plays in the game. Ah, it’s refreshing to hear someone talking who’s actually watched Survivor. (And a nice little evil chuckle at the end of her spiel.) I don’t know if it will work but at least she’s trying.


Tribal council time
JLap again starts by reminding them how much they suck, having not won a challenge since the tribe shuffle. JLap desperately tries to get Kristie to say something bad about her tribemates or her fears but she won’t bite.
“This is very cryptic,” JLap smiles, shaking his head slowly.
Conner says it’s important they are strong in challenges as they still don’t know when the merge will be – but they must be thinking it’s the next day.
The votes are read: Kristie, Pheobe (sic – seriously – can’t she tell them how to spell her name), Phoebe (that must be Kate because she spelt it correctly before) and Pheb’s (ick).
Well played, Kristie!
It’s hugs all round and Kristie tells Phoebe, “I love you, babe”.

On Sunday: After 32 days it’s merge time at what looks like the Survivor auction. Yay!

Phoebe afterwards: Give Kristie credit for outplaying her and takes it with grace.

So, now the question is, what will happen to the three remaining yellows when they merge with blue to create the black tribe? I kind of hope Kristie teams up with Nick. I can see Kate getting along with Lee, Sam and El but whether there will be time for her to forge a bond is unclear – and she’s an obvious threat.



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Australian Survivor – Mon, Sept 19 – are you Team Phoebe or Team Kristie?

Yellow tribe arrives back at camp after the Craig blindside and everyone quizzes Phoebe about the where and when of the idol.
Kristie – who acted so well earlier – awkwardly lies that she only had an inkling that Phoebe had the idol. Even Conner – dear, sweet Conner – thinks her pants are on fire, and he trusts everyone. Sue is not happy. And that’s what you get when you don’t split the votes, people!
It’s Day 28 at blue tribe camp and everyone seems a bit chirpier. They even get to gaze at a rainbow as they talk about wanting to win yet another challenge.


Over at yellow, Kristie is up a tree trying to fish using Rohan’s dacks as a net. Her plan would work better if she stood in the water. And then we get a whiff of Phoebe – rocking a massive topknot – thinking of turning on ally Kristie, who is “a bit weird”. Uh, no, weird in Survivor is Phillip Sheppard, not Kristy of the expressive eyebrows.
Sue and Coma Kate go for a stroll and Sue has to fill Kate in about Kristie’s “Academy Award-winning performance”, because Kate is one of those always think the best of people types (as you would be, after her experience). Sue has the shits about the havoc Phoebe has wreaked on her alliance. How dare Phoebe play the game when the odds are against her!
(Side note: My, we’re getting a lot of footage of pounding waves tonight – does someone’s camp get washed away later? Or did they run out of wildlife shots?)

Challenge time
And we don’t even get a “Come on in, guys”. Blue team cracks up when they see yellow enter without Craig – that kind of “I’m horrified and shouldn’t laugh but I can’t stop” laughing.
The challenge is a memory test – yay! I wonder if the producers had to drop some of the bigger, more elaborate challenges they had planned because yellow has been decimated. First tribe to five wins.
Blue has to sit out FOUR people: Kylie, Elle, Flick and Lee. Magic Matt and Nick should ace this – plus blue has had a lot more to eat – but at least yellow is in with a chance.
The first round involves memorising five objects (coconut, mortar and pestle, tribal statue-type objects) and Nick wins the round against Conner. Conner just can’t catch a break.
Brooke beats Sue – the first person back to the mat with the correct objects wins, so it’s speed as well as memory. Kate beats Magic Matt – ouch, that’s gonna hurt, Matt. Perhaps you should have eaten the chicken.
Phoebe beats Jenna-Louise so at least it’s not a slaughter of yellow, as in previous challenges. Sam and Kristie both stuff it up and get a do over, but as Kristie sprints back her statue topples off the shelf and does not count.
Nick battles Phoebe and super fast Nick kills it. It’s Kate V Brooke and they have to memorise eight items. And Brooke wins and blue gets a meat and seafood feast. Poor yellow – they are doing it tough.


Yellow gets an awesome feast – it’s much better than what they often get on the US Show, with a mixture of fruit and protein. Perhaps it came from the resort a stone’s throw away? Good one, Samoa.
“Eat now and worry about what happens to the guts later,” says Lee.
Cut to poor little depressed yellow team. There is a chicken wandering around but no talk of eating it.
Kristie is determined to pick up everyone’s spirits and goes snail hunting on the beach so they can have a snack. Luckily they taste pretty good. “They do taste like mussel, says Conner.”
As they nibble their snails and put on brave faces, blue team are trying not to throw up from their pig out. “I’ve got the crab sweats,” gasps Nick, clutching a tree for support. He is sooo going to cop it from his students tomorrow morning. Sam spews in view of everyone – charming.

On Day 29 at blue, Kylie decides it’s time to try and forge alliances and get a girl power thing going. Why would you bring that up in front of El, Kylie – don’t you know how tight she is with Lee? Flick and JL are stunned and there is awkward silence. (More Survivor 101: Nod, smile, say “cool bananas” and then report back to your real alliance.) Kylie is really bad at the social aspects of Survivor, but a gun in the physical stuff.


At yellow Sue mentions she reckons Rohan would be a snake in real life – bit harsh, Sue. The talk turns to lying and Kristie again does a bad “I didn’t know Phoebe had the idol for sure). And then the minute Kristie is gone, to try and save her own skin, Phoebe throws Kristie under the bus completely by saying she knew all along.
And then Phoebe pulls Conner aside and tells him Kristie is basically a crazy person and wanted to vote Conner out earlier. Ouchie! Well, now I’m Team Kristie – do we get the merge tonight so she’ll be safe?

Immunity challenge time
“Welcome back,” says JLap, before launching in to: “Phoebe, you’ve had eight losses.” And then they have to stand there shivering while they get rained on.
The challenge involves paddling a boat, opponents pulling a rope to drag the boat back, and doing a puzzle. The winner gets immunity and a huge, secret advantage. Brooke, JL, Sam and Magic Matt sit out for blue.
Nick makes quick work of the knots and drags the yellow boat back quickly. Kate does well but it’s tough in the slippery conditions and they are wearing reef shoes.
The puzzle has a lot of pieces and, from the sidelines, even Magic Matt concedes it looks tough. “Can Nick keep his title as the Puzzle King?” intones JLap. Nick takes a while to find his mojo but gets the hang of it and blue wins yet again. Poor Kate is devo and seems to start crying. Blue team looks awkwardly over at the team they keep thrashing, wishing they could hand over a participation medal.
JLap reveals the secret power is that blue gets to send a player to observe the yellow tribal. Cool. So, obviously, they’ll send Kylie. Just kidding. I’m guessing Matt because they may not trust Nick enough, although he has sworn revenge on his enemies.

Back at camp Phoebe tells everyone they should write “Kristie” and they seem to agree. She and Kate even fist bump on it, although Kate later tells the camera it’s a case of “keep your enemies closer”. Phoebe tells Conner to pretend to Kristie that he’s voting Sue. Conner, who is a terrible liar and is notorious for saying the wrong thing at tribal. We don’t see the tribe discussing how they are going to handle having an interloper from blue at tribal council, but surely they would have.


Tribal council
Ah, the interloper is Brooke! I wish we’d seen the conversation that led to that. Is JLap going to turn around and say: “Surprise – you’re now part of yellow.”
JLap makes them talk about why they each should not be voted out and then, through his questioning, makes it clear to onlooker Brooke that Phoebe has masterminded a lot of the vote outs. Kristie says she didn’t know for sure Phoebe had an idol and the others all say they don’t believe her but she defends with, correctly, saying she never actually saw it. Then she gives an emotional speech referencing her mini meltdown at the start of the game (guess she means the “someone took my bag” Abi-Maria-esque moment”. Kristie is a goner.
And this is when JLap drops the bomb … “Tonight, one of you will be leaving this tribe but you will not be leaving the game.” He reveals Brooke was told before tribal she had the power to take one person back to blue and there will be no vote. Ooh – twisty.


Brooke says she’s been tossing up between Phoebe (but her gameplay is making her nervous) and Sue. And it’s Sue. So, she took Sue in order to have a sacrificial lamb? Sue looks gutted.
As Phoebe rightly says, it’s not 10 versus 4. And then JLap appears wise by tweaking a Mark Twain saying to cheer them up with: “You need to remember what matters is not the size of the tribe in the fight but the size of the fight in the tribe.”

Next time: We see Kate telling Kristie Phoebe betrayed her and it looks like “game on, mole”.

And: So yet another tribal council where no-one goes home. You can tell the producers really want yellow to finally win a challenge, after which they will do a proper merge. I look forward to seeing the Kristie V Phoebe fallout. Will Conner be Team Phoebe and Kate Team Kristie, or vice versa?



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