Episode Report Card Sara M: C | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Not That There's Anything Wrong With That
By Sara M | Season 18 | Episode 5 | Aired on 03.12.2009
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Jalapeño has no time to mourn the loss of Sandy as Taj has to go off and plot with Stephen. She finds the idol and promptly gives it to Stephen for safe-keeping, since he has pockets. He also has a brain, and starts to think of ways to keep the idol for himself. Jalapeño wins the reward challenge, which involves making tribe members dizzy and then forcing them to walk across a balance beam. Their prize is one of the lamest product placements this show has ever had: a trip to Brand Name Toilet Paper Café, where they get coffee, pastries, and a chance to use a real toilet and real toilet paper. Also, letters from home. Even though they've been gone for less than two weeks, crying ensues. Stephen does not get to enjoy the reward, as he's chosen by Brendan to go to Exile Sand Dune instead. Tyson starts to become suspicious of Brendan and all the time he's spending with various members of the other tribe, and he, Douche, and Debbie decide that Brendan should be the next to go. They don't get the chance to vote him out this week, as they win the immunity challenge, which involves catching sling-shotted balls in nets. J.T. almost single-handedly wins it for Jalapeño, losing half a tooth in the process and becoming Probst's onetruelove for his determination and grit. But then Spencer forgets how to guard Tyson, allowing him to catch enough balls to win the challenge for Tempura. Back at camp, Taj flips out on Joe for no reason, putting her on the possible boot list along with Spencer. But then Spencer reveals to us that he's gay (no duh) and he'd been hiding that fact from his tribemates for fear that they'd use it against him, and this sudden appearance of a personality indicates that he's the next to go. Sure enough, the tribe unanimously decides to get rid of him after a poorly-edited Tribal Council.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!After Probst recaps like the entire season thus far and wastes five minutes of precious airtime, we go to morning at Camp Jalapeño, where Taj's back itches. Stephen is more than happy to literally scratch her back to pay her back for figuratively scratching his. As she moans in ecstasy, he notes that he's "never brought such pleasure to a woman before." Way to use your national television fame to get ladies, Stephen! I'm sure they'll be lining up at your door now. Taj interviews that she wrote Joe's name down last night because she didn't want to write Sandy's. A sweet gesture, but I doubt Joe appreciates it. Be careful, Taj! As Taj and Stephen go off to get water, she interviews that their four-way alliance with Brendan and Sierra is intact, and all she has to do now is find the idol. She's so eager to get the idol that she actually runs to treemail and starts searching. The clue said something about asking treemail "why the sad frown?" which obviously means the idol has been shoved up its ass. I would have a sad frown if that happened to me, too. Taj quickly finds the idol. It's not all that well-hidden, actually -- what would they have done if someone found it by accident? Taj interviews that now that they've got their alliance and the idols, all they have to do is make it to the merge and the game is theirs to win. "I just love it when a perfect plan comes together," Taj A-Teams. I'm not sure if Taj is the best judge of perfect plans, though, as she then gives the idol to Stephen to hold for safekeeping. What is with these people and their mistaken impression that immunity idols are group projects? Stephen wants to bury it somewhere, but Taj thinks he'll be fine hiding it on his person since no one will suspect him of having the idol. Stephen then interviews that he and Taj "found the idol together" even though Taj totally found it and he happened to be nearby. Stephen says that since the idol is now in his possession, he's going to work hard to keep it that way. Because, unlike Taj, he understands that only one person can use the idol. Not two. One.
Let's go over to Tempura. They're making beans, which is never a good sign. While the rest of the tribe goes off to do the dishes, Brendan and Sierra stay behind to get the fire started. As soon as Sierra ascertains that they're alone, she's kind of annoyed with Brendan for not telling her about the Exile alliance, but says that Taj filled her in. Brendan fills her in on something else -- that he already has the idol. Brendan and Sierra now fully believe they're in the Final Four and there's no way to stop them. Pride goeth before the fall, guys. How many times have we seen people on this show talk about their foolproof plan to make it to the Final Four, only to see them leave before the merge? Sierra interviews that she's proud of herself for going from the first person voted out to a member of a powerful alliance. As if she had anything to do with that. As if any of them had anything to do with that, really. Brendan just happened to have been chosen to go to Exile and he just happened to choose Taj. Sierra's only move was to confide in Brendan that she had a clue to an immunity idol because she couldn't find it for herself. "We're really going to take over the whole world. That's right," she says with a giggle. Okay, she's still endearing.