Episode Report Card Sara M: C | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Shamgo
By Sara M | Season 19 | Episode 14 | Aired on 12.17.2009
Yay, we get a reward challenge this week! Probst explains: a bunch of coconuts are being held up by many ropes. The contestants will divide into two teams of three each and then one at a time pull one rope out, hopefully without causing any of the coconuts to drop. The first team to drop 100 coconuts loses. The winning team gets an overnight village stay. With that, Probst passes around a bag of rocks for each player to pick. The last two to pick rocks, Li'l Russell and Natalie, end up getting the colored rocks making them team captains. I'm sure that's a coincidence. Ugh, this season is making me so paranoid. Li'l Russell and Natalie play rock-paper-scissors to choose who gets to pick the first teammate, and Natalie wins with paper over Li'l Russell's rock. Of course, she has to then make a "paper covering rock" motion because she's nine. She picks Brett, and everyone's eyebrows raise. Li'l Russell picks Jaison, Natalie picks Mick, and Li'l Russell is left with Shambo.
Shambo goes first, as her team wisely believes that this is their best chance to minimize the damage she can do to their chances of winning. While Shambo looks around for the best rope to pull, Probst decides to make fun of her hair. "What do you call that?" he asks her. Oh, shut up, Probst. Neutral hosts don't single contestants out and make fun of their hairstyles. "Shambilicious, baby," Shambo says. "How long you had it?" Probst asks. "Since 1986," Shambo says. "23 years," Probst says. Yes, that's probably too long to have the same hairstyle. But sometimes change is scary and hard, and if Shambo's hairdresser is willing to lose business with that walking advertisement of her services, what can we do? At least Shambo doesn't feel the need to dye it jet black and grow it out just a little longer than her age suggests it should be, Probst. "You don't mess with perfection, baby," Shambo says. Finally, she pulls out a rope. She drops four coconuts, but Probst says that's actually pretty good. "Feels good, looks good, ah ha oo rah love it love it love it," Shambo says, having clearly gone insane.
Mick goes up first for the purple team. As soon as he starts to pull one rope, two coconuts fall. He's pretty upset about what's to come, but in the end, two is all that fall. Jaison goes up for yellow and while he looks for a rope to pick, Natalie whispers to Brett, asking if he's a "prayer warrior." Brett says he is indeed. "I'm one, too," Natalie says. With that, she takes his hand and prays that God will guide it to the best rope to pull for the least amount of coconuts. Oooh, sorry, Natalie. God is currently guiding eight-year-old Jackie Smith's hand so she can win Jenga against that nasty girl who lives across the street. You're on your own. Meanwhile, Mick just stands there, all "thanks for asking god to guide my hand, Natalie. Bitch." Jaison is taking forever to pick his rope, so now Li'l Russell starts whispering to Shambo that he's surprised that Natalie picked Brett first. "We're gonna have to break that up over there," he says, as we see that Mick's hand has now joined the prayer pile. Fucking FINALLY, Jaison picks a rope so we can end this. As soon as he releases it, two coconuts fall. Five more come down as he pulls the rope free.