Episode Report Card Sara M: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Special Guest Editor: Parvati Shallow
By Sara M | Season 20 | Episode 3 | Aired on 02.25.2010
Round 3.5 begins with some slow motion and suspenseful music as Douche readies himself for another battle. He does this by winking at Rupert. Rupert does not wink back. The editors have way too much fun with Douche. The replay round doesn't last long, as Rupert simply shoves Douche backwards off the platform and into the mud. "Get your ass up!" James shouts at Douche, because James is nothing if not a great sport.
Round 4 is Jerri vs. Cirie. Jerri is no match for Cirie's power and quickly leaves the platform, making it 4-0 for the Heroes, who act like their road to victory wasn't paved with the producers stacking their team with physical threats against the puny Villains.
Round 5 will be J.T. against Tyson. J.T. kicks the mud off of his sneakers by flinging it at Tyson, who stomps the mud off of his feet in J.T.'s starting area, hoping for some extra slipperiness. Courtney loves it. J.T. gets an early advantage, nearly knocking Tyson off the platform, but Tyson is able to recover and get lower than J.T. as he pushes back. But then he stands up, allowing J.T. to get under him and push him into the mud. Tyson has no hard feelings though, and jumps back on the platform to give J.T. a congratulatory kiss, much to J.T.'s displeasure.
Round 6 is Danielle vs. Amanda. Amanda gets nice and low to start the match, although this also earns her a face full of muddy bag from her opponent. Danielle is able to push Amanda close to the edge of the platform, but Amanda does a spin move around her (without her hands leaving the bag, unlike Douche) and hits Danielle with the bag until she goes into the pit. It's now 6-0 for the Heroes. Amanda sassily throws her bag down and struts off the platform towards her team.
Round 7: Colby against Rob. This could be the Villains' best chance to get a point, as Colby is one of the smallest and weakest Heroes while Rob is one of the strongest Villains. Colby nails Rob first, causing him to do a flip in mid-air and land on his back. But he's able to stay on the platform as Colby tries to shove him off and even get to his feet somehow. He puts Colby on the defense, and Colby is forced to take his hand off the bag to regain his balance. But Probst doesn't notice this even though it happens at least two more times in the match and could have given Colby the advantage that lead to his eventual win over Rob. The Heroes are up 7-0. "This sucks," Danielle mutters, her teeth smeared with mud.
And now it's time for Round 8, which will be James vs. Randy. James takes a confident swig from his canteen, because the only way he can beat Randy is some last-minute hydration. "Good luck, man, that's a strong opponent you're gonna have," Rupert tells him, possibly sarcastically. Over on the Villains' side, Randy also gets some encouragement from his tribemates: "fight as dirty as you can," Danielle says. Randy does have one thing in his favor going into this match: he's almost definitely racist, and James is black. So his racism might give him some misplaced-anger-strength. "Come on. Get down in here," James orders Randy. "You like picking on an old man, don't you?" Randy says, knowing that he's going to lose this anyway so he might as well try to make James feel as bad as possible about it. Probst calls go, and James easily pushes Randy off the platform with just one hit. He then throws his bag down into the mud, hitting Randy in the face. Well, that's not necessary. Probst announces that the Heroes are the winners, and as they celebrate, the Villains take shots at them for heroically throwing muddy bags at old men they've already defeated. "Real classy," Randy says. James loves yelling at people he's just beaten (see: Stephenie last week) when they try to save some face with a smart remark, so he tells Randy to "get you [expletive] your ass out of there." At least, I think that's what he said. Between the expletive being bleeped and James's usual inarticulateness, it's hard to tell. "I told you you were on the wrong team, James," Courtney says, having a blast despite her tribe's defeat. And thus ends the "a Hero spirals out of control" story Probst promised us in the previews last week. Probst gives the Heroes their reward and the immunity idol, which Rupert of course grabs and holds aloft with a victorious yell. The Villains do the slow-motion walk of shame, with Douche appearing to give Probst a friendly "sorry about flipping you off" salute on the way out.