Episode Report Card Sara M: B+ | 4 USERS: B- YOU GRADE IT Titanic
By Sara M | Season 20 | Episode 12 | Aired on 05.06.2010
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.So we've got two immunity challenges and two Tribal Councils this week. Rupert can't contain his rage after losing Amanda, so he tells off Li'l Russell in the hopes that it will get a rise out of him and show his allies that he only cares about himself. It doesn't really work, but that's okay because later on, Li'l Russell will prove that all on his own. The immunity challenge has the contestants' arms attached to a bucket full of paint, because apparently the viewers at home really enjoy seeing women's armpit hair. I don't even have HDTV and I could see it. Not cool. Probst is able to lure everyone out of the game with food except for Parvati and Rupert. Rupert knows that if he loses this, he'll be going home next, so he … loses it. He stumbled and fell. At least he didn't step down for donuts, like Colby did. And all is not lost, as Probst reads everyone a clue to the next stupid idol. Back at camp, everyone desperately looks for it. Sandra finds it and is able to hide it before anyone else knows. Rupert does something intelligent, amazingly enough, and puts a large rock in his pocket so people will think he has the idol in there. Li'l Russell falls for it, and the Villains decide to split their votes just in case he plays it: three for Rupert, and three for Candice. Wait, Candice? Yes, that's right. Colby is freaking useless and pathetic and the female Villains decide that Candice can't be trusted and want her gone ASAP. At Tribal, there are three votes for Rupert and five for Candice, as the Heroes vote for her, too.
Back at camp, Li'l Russell is angry that they voted Candice out and not Rupert or Colby, and decides that the women are too close to each other and not obeying his every word. He wins the immunity challenge and then sets about destroying Parvati and Danielle's alliance by telling each of them that the other one wants to vote her out. Two seconds later, Danielle and Parvati ask each other about that and realize what Li'l Russell is trying to do. All of the female Villains agree to vote for Rupert no matter what Li'l Russell says to them, but at Tribal, Danielle loses her shit and cries about how mean Li'l Russell is being and how he's trying to turn her and Parvati against each other. He denies everything, of course, and then she says that he's underestimating her friendship and alliance with Parvati. Li'l Russell then passes the word around the contestants to vote for Danielle instead of Rupert, and four of them do. And so, much to their surprise, Colby and Rupert are still in the game. And now Parvati is furious with Li'l Russell, so it looks like that alliance is over.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Does anyone think Robin Tunney sounds totally stoned in that "welcome to CBS" message she does right before the show starts? I hope they get rid of that or re-shoot it next season. Anyway, Probst makes the entire previously on segment all about Li'l Russell and very little else, which is pretty accurate, really, since both this and last season have been all about Li'l Russell and very little else. Maybe for the next two seasons, they can just show us footage of everything else that happened when Li'l Russell wasn't on camera so we'll get a better idea of what actually happened out there.
Night 30 at Yin Yang. The contestants return and Candice is not getting the gratitude she probably expected from the Villains. Jerri says Candice's willingness to flip sides only makes her more of a threat, since she'd be just as willing to flip back to the Heroes. Jerri clearly hasn't spent enough time with the Heroes to know how desperate one would have to be to team up with them. Meanwhile, Rupert and Colby are furious with Candice, and say she's "weak," "pathetic," "self-centered," "manipulative," "pitiful," and "greedy." I can see why they're upset with her, but none of the names they just called her are true. Or not any more true about her than anyone else. If either of them had the chance to sell Candice out to advance his own position in the game, he'd do it in a heartbeat and call it heroic. And Candice knew that when she made her choice. I don't know why she thought she had better odds with Li'l Russell, though. Rupert says he and Colby are the only Heroes left. I believe he is confusing "Heroes" with "Zeroes."
The next day, Li'l Russell has now lost enough weight that his shorts are riding dangerously low. Yuck. Li'l Russell tells Sandra (who clearly doesn't give a shit about any of this) that Rupert and Colby refuse to speak to him because they apparently don't realize they're playing Survivor and people get voted out. Indeed, Rupert interviews that Li'l Russell is a liar and "could be worse than Johnny Fairplay." Hmmm ... what's worse: lying about your grandma being dead or lying about surviving Hurricane Katrina? Honestly, I'd say the Katrina lie is worse because the dead grandma lie was so damn funny and made me want to watch more to find out what would happen next. The Katrina lie just made me feel like I wanted to watch anything else. [Also, the Fairplay lie was surprisingly well executed, with advanced planning and everything. You've got to give him some credit for that. -- Angel] Rupert says he can't keep his rage inside any longer and therefore must publicly confront Li'l Russell about his horribleness and hope the Villains see what kind of person they've aligned with. Like they'll really care, Rupert. It's a chance to win ONE MILLION DOLLARS. There are very few people most of us wouldn't align with for that. Hell, Natalie loves Jesus and stuff and she was still willing to align with Li'l Russell. And so, in front of the fire, this conversation happens: