Last week on Survivor, the tribes worried that there might not be a merge. Sambutwo stuffed sandwiches in their mouths, and Boranew cooked up some KFC -- that's Kenya Fried Chicken. Brandon was so sorry when Lindsey got voted off, but no one else was.
Before the show begins, we must endure a preview for You've Got Mail, a movie which -- as I mentioned last week in the recap -- I'd be happy never to see. Obviously, CBS is spiting me for mocking their efforts at poetry by showing me some real art.
A peaceful ah-um! brings us to Sambutwo on Night 18 as they walk back to camp after Tribal Council. In a confessional, Brandon says that Lindsey "left Tribal Council lookin' like a jackass." He tells us he's glad she's gone and then says, "Can I just say that again?" He can, and does. He couldn't stand to think of going into the merge with Lindsey's "whinin' and cryin' and bawlin' and bein' a baby." He wants to know "whatever happened to leavin' with dignity." I want to know whatever happened to the "g" at the end of "ing" words. During this confessional, a come-hither Brandon lounges against a rock -- shirtless and all Saving Private Ryan. Or Saving Ryan's Privates, if you prefer.
At camp, Brandon tells Kelly that he and Kimp had no choice but to align with Lindsey and Silas because of the Oldskool alliance within Samburu. He says that Playskool made him feel protected, and that he was protected by his alliance. Or at least that's what I think he says. Kimp punctuates Brandon's statements with a nod or affirmative noise, even though if she's anything like me she has no idea what he's talking about. Kimp tells Sambutwo that the ethics of Survivor are killing her because she wants to push herself, but she also wants to keep her word to others. She thinks it's a hard, selfish game. In a confessional, Tom grins, "If you make your bed, you gotta lay in it. And I think they laid in it a little bit last night and got the weasels." He wiggles around a bit to emphasize the "weasels" part. I think he might have meant "wiggins," but it's Tom and he's a goat farmer from Rich Valley, Virginia; maybe they do literally get weasels there, I wouldn't know. As the tribe prepares for bed, Brandon asks Kimp whom she plans to sleep with -- him or Kelly? She snarks that she usually sleeps with him, so why would she change now? Brandon then explains in a confessional that Playskool's situation has changed because they are in the minority for the first time. He plans on maintaining his relationship with Kimp, but more distantly, because he knows that one of them will go before the other.
The moon morphs into the sun and it's morning on Day 19 at Boranew. A chicken crows for her lost kin. An African chants for his corrupted continent. Clarence informs us that the tribe ate a chicken the night. He says, "And we all took our turn on it and it was awesome." It was the best thing he's had so far in Africa, but his digestive system is bothered because he hasn't had "fat or grease in it for a while." He says he woke up "with a little rumblin' in the stomach" and headed out into the bush with his shovel. We see a panorama shot of elephants and a dark, small blurb in front of them that turns out to be Clarence squatting and standing up and pulling up his pants and tucking. He tells us that when he finished "doing [his] business," he saw a "nice little herd of elephants" nearby and realized he'd been lazy about security. He says, "While I was doing my business, I could have got trampled," and laughs that that would have been an embarrassing way to die.
Back at camp, Kimj wonders to Clarence whether they'll merge. He tells us in a confessional that the tribe thought it was "merger day," but so far they've just been "pretty much hangin' out." Kimj tells us she's learned playing Survivor that just when she thinks there's a pattern, there isn't one, so now she just waits to see what will happen. Boranew eats a breakfast of surprisingly large piles of cornmeal; Kimj wants to know if they're all thinking about the prior evening's chicken feast. Clarence responds, "I was thinkin' about that chicken this morning." Hee. Kimj then points out that the swarm of flies buzzing around the cornmeal don't even move when she swats at them. She jokes that the meal is just like Sunday brunch -- with a newspaper, cornmeal, and a comfy sofa. Frank asks, "What is brunch again, exactly?" There's a pause while the others try to figure out if he's for real. Kimj explains, "Brunch -- depending on where you go -- is all and any kind of seafood to eggs to -- I mean -- just huge, and it's just all a set price. I mean, you get a lot of food for your money." That could possibly be the least helpful (and strangest) definition of brunch ever. For starters, she's confusing "brunch" with "buffet." I know some brunches are buffets but not all brunches are buffets, and certainly all buffets aren't brunches. I'm only nitpicking because, in a confessional, Kimj says that Frank knows a lot of things, but she can't believe he's never heard the term "brunch" before. I suppose she should feel better about herself for having heard of brunch, but why disseminate false information to define it? Back in the discussion, Frank concludes of brunch that "it's a combination breakfast/lunch," thus handily managing to define the term more accurately than Kimj did. For the record, the dictionary defines brunch as "a meal typically eaten late in the morning as a combination of a late breakfast and an early lunch." Kimj further explains in her confessional that Frank is a "three meals a day man" and probably eats them all at the same time every day. We then see Frank off by himself somewhere scraping at a pot and Teresa yells, "Frank, you want any more mush...I mean, excuse me, cornmeal?"
Lex, Kelly, and Tom stand around at Sambutwo and gloat over how good things look for their future. Lex thinks the only thing standing between the three of them and the Final Four is immunity challenges. He says that they've "pretty much locked it." Kelly resembles Julia Stiles as she does a poor version of the White Man's Overbite. I haven't seen Save the Last Dance, but word around town is that Ms. Stiles should stick to acting. And barely that. Tom completely shows up Kelly with a most excellent Cabbage Patch. As an African wails in the background, Brandon tells us in a confessional that he doesn't want to be with his tribe anymore because it's horrible. He says "horrible" several times, so I guess the situation really is horrible. Or, Brandon's a drama queen. He tells us -- while wearing a buff that looks like a turban -- that he looks forward to the merge because in the individual competitions, "it's everybody for themselves." Didn't Samburu sit his skinny ass out every chance they got? Lex meanwhile tells Tom and Kelly that he's "stoked" because it's a whole new game. Tom points out that they should merge today, and they all agree that they hope the merge will happen.
At camp, Lex hacks at something with a machete-like knife. He tells Tom that he's "making [him] a little present," and deems it an "über-spoon." ["Shout-out." -- Wing Chun] He then questions whether Tom knows the definition of "über," and explains that it means "the ultimate." Except he sounds it out phonetically, like "UL-TI-MATE," as though Tom's some kind of moron, which he probably is, but that's beside the point. We know what über is here at MightyBigTV...it's us! In any case, Lex brags that he found a piece of wood that was "ergonomically and functionally perfect," which is a pretty heavy burden for a soon-to-be-spoon to bear. He shows the Über-Spoon (coming soon to an infomercial near you, along with Super-Pole 2000) to Kelly and Tom and names it "The Big Tom Buchanan Spoon." Kelly tells us in a confessional that Lex is "so politicking for a win," and she's irritated by watching him kiss ass and "talk in his dad voice." We see yet another clip of Lex and the Über-Spoon in which Kelly does a less than convincing job of seeming impressed. Back in her confessional, Kelly asks, "Am I the only one who notices he's a totally weird person?" ["No. Lex stalks me through my nightmares. He seriously gives me the creeps really, really bad." -- Wing Chun] Kelly's funny when she's not cheering. Actually, she's funny when she's cheering too, but in a different sort of way. She then fast-talks that she'd vote Lex off if she were sure there wasn't a forthcoming merger. Lex continues to be absurdly jazzed about his spoon, and tells Kelly he might even take it home with him. She responds, "That's great." Well, her mouth says, "That's great," but her expression says, "Shut up."
Is it wrong that I really, really like Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes? But I'm not convinced that when Supertramp sang "Give a Little Bit," they were thinking of GAP sweaters.
Boranew remains happy and colorful on Day 20. Clarence gets the tribe's attention with, "Yo, yo, everybody wake-up!" He announces that they have mail, adding, "It is big, and it is nasty." Which aptly describes Tom, as well. Clarence informs the tribe that they only have twenty minutes to eat and get to the challenge site. Sambutwo checks their mail as well, retrieving a bottle with a multi-colored dog collar around it. The clue is about raising hands and having patience and "last suppers." One line reads, "Raise your hand, if you know how to do it." Clearly, the producers are fully aware they've cast the mentally challenged. After reading the clue, Clarence again concludes, "That's sumpin' [sic] nasty!" Each tribe talks through the clue and they come to the separate conclusions that an individual immunity challenge is forthcoming.
The teams arrive at the challenge, where Peachy stands beside a row of bucketed piers. He reclaims the idol from Boranew and proclaims, "The ten of you have now merged into one tribe." Anti-climax, anyone? The competitors hoot, holler and hug. Someone says, "Nice job!" as if they've actually accomplished something. Then Teresa hops over and affectionately taps Frank on the head. Is it just me, or are a lot of these people genuinely likable this time around? Maybe I'm getting soft. As yet, the new tribe is nameless, but they are given a new color -- they call it green, but it looks turquoise to me. Peachy asks the new tribe to pick their camp, which they easily agree upon: Boran. No one objects, including the Samburu members who haven't yet seen the Boran camp. Peachy tells the S10 that they'll return to Boran together after the challenge, and that their personal items will be waiting for them there. So they can do a challenge wherein they relocate a scaled-down camp 200 feet to mimic the nomadic tribes of Africa, but they can't move their own real crap when it comes down to it? And for the record, Kelly shouldn't dance.
Peachy explains that team immunity is now gone; the new symbol of invincibility will be the immunity dog collar. The challenge will require endurance and a "strong threshold of pain." Each of the S10 will stand on a log pier with one arm raised and connected to a bucket of water. According to Peachy "the slightest movement" will knock the bucket over and disqualify the competitor attached to it.
The S10 assume their positions and stand around, looking very serious, with their hands in the air. Brandon has an itch and instead of scratching it with his free hand wriggles his mouth around -- more motion than if he'd just scratched it normally. I would not enjoy this challenge. Mostly, the S10 look sad and quiet. Peachy taunts Kimp by asking if her back is getting to her; she answers, "A little bit," and smiles sweetly. He then gets in a jab: "Well, we're ten minutes in. I figure it'll go several hours." He moves on to Kelly, who says, "I love doing this. I do this at home." She adds, "You don't get this enough in life, I find." Look out! A woman who knows how to handle a Peach. She can't handle a bucket, however, and it falls on her after only fourteen minutes. She's surprised, so I guess -- as it appears to happen with most of the others, as well -- that her hand involuntarily jerked, thus pulling the bucket's contents down on her. Peachy barks, "Kelly! Benches!" and before she even sits down, Kimj is out, too. Ethan, meanwhile, is in deep inspection of his arm. Kimj and Kelly probably have not had a chance to talk since the re-division of the tribe, so they trade all sorts of gossip and conversation. They're both pleased that Silas got ejected. Kelly then tells Kimj that they don't want Frank on the jury, because he "hates women and doesn't want a woman to win, period." And Kelly would know this how? She hasn't even met Frank yet. And sure, there are misogynist husbands and fathers-of-daughers in this world, but I'm not convinced Frank is leading that charge. After eighteen minutes, Brandon decides to "screw it" and pulls his rope. Kimp calls him "B" and wants to know how it feels, but she finds out soon enough when she's the to go, at thirty-six minutes. Tom's out at forty-four minutes, and he seems surprised when the water hits him. We then watch Frank just staring up at his bucket and perhaps even tugging on the rope to test the slackness. Kelly and Kimj whisper about what he's doing, and I think Kelly says, "Come on Frank, dummy!" but I'm not entirely confident. It appears that the entire gallery of losers is rooting against poor Frank. Brandon explains to the others about how tired Frank and Ethan seem, which is strange since they can see it for themselves. He says that Frank is "all over the place"; then Frank's bucket tips at fifty-five minutes. Brandon starts cheerily clapping at Frank's demise until a reprimanding elbow from Kimp causes him to unconvincingly say, "Aw, good job, Frank." ["Which was really quite funny." -- Wing Chun]
At one hour and fourteen minutes Teresa starts belting out the words to "Tomorrow" from Annie. The other S10 are very amused, as am I. Ethan is laughing very hard and trying not to jiggle his bucket. Clarence extends his hand in a grand finale gesture as Teresa does the same. Everyone claps -- Lex on his stomach and Clarence on his chest. Someone yells, "So talented!"
At two hours and seventeen minutes, Peachy appears to comment that "it wouldn't be Survivor without a little temptation." He has with him a "fresh off the grill all-American cheeseburger" with "a lot of beef." It's very large and pale. The sidelined survivors debate who will take the reward, and Brandon is sure "somebody's gone." Tom thinks Ethan will go for the burger, and Kelly thinks Lex will. Kimj tells the others, "This'll appeal to Clarence," but she yells for him to "hang tough!" Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, hangin' tough! (Are you tough enough?) New Kids aside, we see Clarence encourage Lex to take the food, but without luck. Peachy then goads them by calling it a "pretty simple deal": he says that whoever feels safe in the Tribal Council should come down and "have [himself] a meal." He waves the burger under Clarence's nose and says, "That's a burger!" Tom yells, "Bring it over here, let me taste it!" and when none of the remaining competitors cave, Peachy hands it off to quitters. Eating calls for the happy la la la la la music. The losers pass it around, and that burger goes a long way. Kimp cringes and cries over it. As the others feast, Lex yells for them to eat quietly, and Brandon apologizes for making pig-out noises. Kelly tells them not to feel too bad, because the burger's a little cold.
As the camera pans over three of the four remaining competitors, it looks like a bizarre depiction of the crucifixion. At two hours and forty-eight minutes Ethan asks Clarence if he'd step down for an entire pizza; Clarence claims that he would, "100% guaranteed." Ethan doesn't seem to believe him. It takes Peachy nearly another two hours to rustle up that pizza, and still he only comes up with half. He struts out with the plate behind his back claiming, "on the menu: it's got crust, it's got cheese, it's cut into four slices, and it is very hot." And it's not Silas after a shaving accident and a one-night stand with Kimmi Kappenberg. Peachy makes "mmmm, mmmm" noises at the remaining four, and in the loser gallery, Kimj complains that if Clarence takes the pizza and eats all four pieces in front of them -- which she's sure he would -- she'll kill herself. But instead the remaining four pass on the half pizza. But get ready for more la la la la la-ing, because the losers inherit the pizza. Kelly tells those still in the competition that the pizza isn't cooked properly, and is doughy.
Lex then inspects his nails and accidentally pulls his water bucket down, and Peachy laughs at him because he "missed out on all that food by minutes." Because it's fun to torture hungry people. Actually in this case, it would be fun to torture hungry people. Joining the others, Lex whispers to Kelly that he doesn't want to see Clarence "wearing that damn necklace," because it would piss him off. Kimj wants to see the challenge come down to Clarence and Ethan, but at four hours and thirty-eight minutes Ethan accidentally pulls his bucket down, leaving only Teresa and Clarence in the game.
Teresa is concentrating very intensely, and Clarence has to whistle to get her attention. He requests a compromise: Rock, Paper, Scissors for the victory. Teresa thinks she has "too much to lose," because she's outnumbered by former Boran tribe members. Clarence assures her that she's not a target, but she doesn't believe him, so the challenge continues.
At four hours and thirty minutes, Peachy appears with some chicken, salad, corn on the cob, a cold beer, and Mountain Dew. At first I thought he said he had "chicken salad," and I couldn't figure out how that bested pizza and a burger. Brandon tells Clarence and Teresa to close their eyes, and Kimj also advises them not to look at the food. Teresa tells Clarence that he's stronger than she is and will win more immunity challenges. She pronounces "immunity" as "i-moo-nity." Clarence insists that the others want him gone because he's the strongest. Teresa finally reveals the psychotic tendencies that account for her selection as a Survivor competitor as she pouts, "You made that up. Tryin' to trick me, and I don't like it." ["In that moment, she really reminded me of Sissy Spacek in Carrie. -- Wing Chun] Lex, meanwhile, whispers to the others that Clarence is trying to make a deal with Teresa, so he must be getting weak. Clarence tells Teresa that there is "strength in alliances," and says, "I'm not Silas -- you gotta trust me." This is followed by an "I'll trust you if you trust me if I trust you if you trust me" exchange. Clarence then extends his free arm with his palm facing the watching contestants. He mouths words to them but his hand is kind of covering his face. Lex tells the others that he thinks Clarence is trying to bait Teresa by saying he can get the others not to vote for her. Lex says, "He keeps lookin' over to us askin' for some sort of assurance that we won't. I don't know why he's askin' us for anything, though. When you're up there, it's just about you!" After unanimously agreeing that it's ridiculous for Clarence to seek their help, they all give him sweet little waves. Clarence then whispers to Teresa, "They can't even tell what I'm talkin' about." What is he talking about? I think this is the first challenge in all three seasons of Survivor wherein the competitors have seriously become delusional.
At six hours, Clarence proposes Rock, Paper, Scissors again, and Teresa caves. Paper covers rock, Teresa wins, and Clarence honors the deal: he gets the food and Teresa scores the dog collar.
As they walk back to Boran's camp, Lex and Teresa appear to be holding each other up. Lex complains that his bucket-pulling was an accident because he was still "so strong." He doesn't add, "But then, I'm a sore loser, aren't I?" The whole tribe is chatting it up, but Frank walks off by himself. In a confessional, he tells us that the merge was like receiving an invitation to the Wagner family reunion when his last name is Smith. The music comes to a grinding halt as he relates this last part. Frank explains that he feels like he's floating on the outside looking at things. It'd be fun to see Frank float. Preferably in some sort of tutu.
The group exclaims over the campsite even though most of them have seen it before, and Kelly is psyched that "they brought the cart." The new tribe then discovers that there's a crate awaiting them. And if you thought you were spared this week because there was only one challenge, don't be fooled: the editors still managed to get two crappy poems into the episode. This poem mentions a "housewarming gift," and instructs the new tribe to design a flag and choose a name. The tribe wants to eat the fruit, crackers, and wine before it goes bad, so they decide to have a celebration.
While the others dig into their housewarming booty, Frank heads off into the bush. In a confessional, he tells us that everybody was happy and "ready to partake of the feast," but there can only be "so many preparers [sic]." Instead, he decided to gather wood for the camp. In a confessional, Kelly tells us that Frank is a "very big loner." She calls him socially inept, and then disses a large part of the population as "introverted and anti-social." It is my duty and privilege as an obsessively proud introvert to point out that "introverted" and "anti-social" are in no way the same thing. We introverts just have rich enough inner lives to provide for our own entertainment independently. I shouldn't start on this because I could go on, and then you'd think I was crazy. But maybe you already do...but I don't need your approval like an extrovert might. Because I'm an introvert, and it's all about the rich inner life.
A liquored-up Teresa toasts her "ten new friends" and says she's excited to share the adventure with them. Tom tells us in a confessional, "You could almost tell Teresa's a good woman." Almost? He says it's clear that "there's a good old girl in there," and besides, she "sure ain't bad to look at." He says, "My wife knows I'm just a man, hell," and that after looking at Brandon for seven days, he'd be attracted to Teresa if she had an eye in the middle of her forehead. It sounds like someone in the group then calls Tom a pervert, or maybe he calls someone else a pervert, but in any case, we don't know exactly who or why. One out of ten people is bound to be some sort of pervert, anyway.
Kelly suggests that the tribe play a drinking game and Brandon wants it to be something very personal. They decide on "I Never," which Kelly describes: "You're supposed to, like, tell dirty stories and whatever." Ethan announces to the group that he's never walked in a crowd naked, and Kimj wants to know if thongs count. Tom says he's never been "turned on" by a fifty-six-year-old woman. Brandon says he hasn't had sex in an airplane. Teresa has had sex in an airplane, which I don't find nearly so shocking since she's a flight attendant. But then perhaps TWA or United or American Airlines is not so blasé about it. Southwest is blasé about everything. Frank announces, "I've never broken the honor of a handshake." There's a pause, and then the others are actually kind to him while he explains that it's a "golden rule" he lives by. They say it's a good one. I can't imagine who -- in this game, anyway -- would admit to not honoring a handshake. Frank later tells us in a confessional that he enjoyed the game. but that he still wanted to get it over with.
The drunken tribe decides to go get firewood, which is a great idea because everyone should stumble through a hostile wilderness while shit-faced. Ethan announces, "I needed a little booze in my system," and then starts doing The Snake. As in breakdancing. Lex joins in, and soon Ethan does a routine of "Robot" mixed up with a little "Dead Arm." Hee. In any case, the tribe ends up fetching wood near an elephant and Frank wants the others to give "this guy" some room. He starts analyzing the movements of the elephant, including that he's now "taking a little dump." That's the second pooping animal we've seen on this show -- third, if you count Clarence, but in that case we didn't see the actual poop -- so I'd say someone on the staff might have a little fetish. In any case, this commences the quirky music for quirky Frank; it's different from the la la la la la la music. Frank watches the elephant and mimics its movements, swinging his canteen behind him like a tail. In a confessional, Tom tells us that Frank was making elephant motions and he does a quick rendition of the elephant imitation he did several weeks back. He says, "I don't know what he was doing, but he was messin' with that elephant!" Frank continues talking out the motions of the elephant, either to the cameraman or to the other members of his tribe. He explains that he's imitating the elephant to make the animal more comfortable. He doesn't think the elephant is able to visually determine what Frank is, but that he might relax when he "just sees a gentle tail sway, a loping..." Frank's a poet! He also talks about it "wagging his tail." We get several shots of Frank casing the elephant, or is the elephant casing Frank? In any case, Frank tells us later that he just wanted to enjoy the "experimental animal behavior" and "hang out there with him." He says that at times it seemed like the elephant was acknowledging his presence, and concludes, "There's a few humans here I wouldn't interact with, but the animals, yes."
The tribe now sits around the campfire discussing potential new names. Kimp suggests having a "tribe name ceremony," but no one seems to pick up on it. Frank says they need a new name "now that [they're] a family." Lex suggests "Moto Maji," because it means "hot water." He's excited because it has a "double meaning." In a confessional, Kimp -- pronouncing it "Moto Masho" -- tells us that these are the Swahili words for water and fire. We then see and hear various tribe members -- around the campfire and in confessionals -- trying to pronounce the tribe's new name. Frank emphatically declares, "I like it!" even though he can't say it: in a confessional he tells us it's something like "Moto Java." Kelly talks it out: "Moto Mahgy, Moto Magi, Momo Maji..." Brandon tells us he doesn't care what they name the new tribe because "that's all kind of cornball anyway." Back at camp, a show of hands reveals that they've agreed on the new name, and Frank announces that it's "Magi Motto" only to be corrected by Lex: Moto Maji. Hee.
On the morning of Day 21, Lex tells us in a confessional that Survivor may be a game, but that it's also much more than that. He says they've been thrust into a survival situation and are in the process of "creating a society." He insists that they have a lot invested in the game now that they're down to ten people. Brandon tells us that $1 million will change anyone's life. He says they're at the point in the game when they need to be very aware of what they say and to whom they say it, because of the jury. Kelly tells Brandon that he's been "unusually quiet" lately, and he says, "I know. I can listen better whenever I don't talk." That new buff really brings out his blue eyes. In a confessional, Frank tells us that's he's noticed whispering and conversations around Moto Maji, but he has no idea whether they're about bringing him along for the ride, or getting rid of him. We see Tom ask Ethan about the "hatchet," and Ethan doesn't understand. Tom rephrases his question as "the knife in the back," and Ethan is still confused. Finally, Tom says, "Who we gonna slice?" and Ethan is silent and perplexed-looking. The cameras show the entire group looking concerned over Tribal Council. Or maybe they're all practicing their acting skills according to the Joey Tribbiani "Smell the fart" method.
As Clarence works on painting Moto Maji's flag, he tells us it's an important job and he wants to finish it. Lex whispers to Tom that he wants to "straight-up" tell "him" that he's getting the vote. Tom doesn't even know who "him" is, and then suddenly Lex tenses up and we see that an innocent-looking Clarence has appeared behind them. In a confessional, Lex says, "The one person that's gonna be voted off at this point...I don't think he has a clue about it." He tells us he's taken it upon himself to pull this person aside and inform him of his imminent demise. Lex doesn't know how this person will react to the news, but he feels it's his duty to share their plans.
We see Lex and Clarence head off into the bush together, and then Kelly tells us in a confessional that "the Grand Master Lex" -- who, "for some reason, people bow to, I don't understand why" -- came up with a "scheme" to inform the person getting voted off. Lex tells Clarence that they've gotten close while playing the game: "You're a man, I'm a man, and I can only deal with you man-to-man." How Richard Hatch is that? Lex tells Clarence that he wants to tell him face-to-face that "we've all decided to vote you off today." Clarence barely reacts to the news; he's very calm and resigned. Lex patronizingly explains that Clarence is likely to win too many immunity challenges. He adds, "We can't have you winnin' all those things" because "it just doesn't work." Lex says he wants to be straight with Clarence because he can't play games. In a confessional, Kelly calls out Lex for being a hypocrite. She says he lied to Clarence all day long about who was getting voted off, and only at the very last minute told him the truth. She doesn't think it was any more ethical than lying to Clarence the entire time would have been. She then tells us that she likes Clarence and that he's grown on her since the beginning of the game. She says he learned a lesson from stealing the beans, and is funny and friendly and part of the group unlike "crazy outcast Frank." Kimj then tells us in a confessional, after talking to Lex, that she doesn't like being told what to do. She's not sure she trusts Lex's agenda and is thus guarded against him. We then see Clarence tell Tom that he hopes Boran will stay together as a tribe. He says he doesn't want to be voted off with Brandon and Kimp still in the game. Tom answers that he would be embarrassed to vote anyone off besides Brandon, and Clarence says it's all about loyalty. We're supposed to think this conversation is happening after Lex talked to Clarence, but I'm sure it happened before. Teresa tells us she won't vote for Clarence because he gave her his word and stuck to it, and she'll do the same.
The tribe begins the trek to Tribal Council in daylight, but it's night by the time they get there. Peachy admires Teresa's fetching new dog collar and points out that she is the only one of the remaining ten assured a place on the jury. He then starts his usual campaign to smoke out tension between the players. Lex explains the new tribe name to Just Peachy, and Ethan says that the first day and night of the merge went well and they were like a "big old happy family." My family used to go to this Chinese restaurant and we'd get this huge dish for four, called "The Happy Family," that was served in one of those edible bird's nests. But that Happy Family was nothing like the Moto Maji tribe. In any case, Brandon says he's seen a new side of Frank, because Frank made a joke causing him to "almost hit the floor with a stroke." Brandon says it was really nice to see the softer side of Frank. He then calls Frank "more humane" than he has been. Tom says the game is unforgiving, and that after last night's party, "just as soon as the cheese was gone, reality set in." He adds, "And if it's not the animals, it's the people." Teresa says that there are no certainties in the game, but that she wanted to win immunity so that she would feel at least a brief moment of security. That might be the most diplomatic answer I've ever heard on Survivor. Are these people smarter than past competitors? Really, Kimj, Kelly, Brandon, Teresa...these aren't dummies. But again, maybe I'm being dumbed down after three seasons of watching. Clarence admits that he spent his time during the challenge measuring his confidence level in old Boran loyalties against his feelings of vulnerability because of his physical strength. Peachy wants to know why he quit the challenge if he felt like he needed the immunity, and Clarence says he could tell Teresa was in pain but that she wouldn't quit. At that point, he thought the most fair and respectful thing to both of them as competitors was a round of Rock, Paper, Scissors. He goes on to say how impressed he was by Teresa, a mom in her forties, having the will to remain in the game against him, an athlete in his early twenties, long after the others had dropped out. He says that Teresa's will blew him away, and that he will always remember it. Clarence is very earnest in this declaration, and Teresa reaches back and kisses his hand. Ethan says that the game changes and -- depending on who you are and how you play -- it's important to feel good about what you say and how you present yourself. He can't confess his love for someone and then turn around and backstab that same person. Is this supposed to be admirable? He further philosophizes, "I like truth." Maybe Ethan spent a little too much time with Silas?
In any case, this brings us to the vote. Clarence says he respects Lex for explaining the situation to him man-to-man, but that he still wants to make it harder for Lex "on [his] way to winning this thing." Whoever Brandon votes for is "a really nice guy" for whom Brandon doesn't want to vote, but does anyway. Lex says Clarence made some "huge mistakes" at the start of the game and adds, "But you've come a long way, my friend." He says that Clarence is too big a threat and concludes, "Sorry, brother." Teresa calls Lex a "wonderful, fascinating person," but adds that she is threatened by his leadership skills and strength. That's all we see, and Peachy leaves to tally.
The first vote is for Clarence, the second for Lex, and the third for Clarence. Lex receives the fourth vote, and his head whips around with surprise. The remaining votes, however, are all for Clarence. Even Peachy sounds demoralized as he reads the deciding vote. As Clarence leaves, Peachy tells the others that no matter where they end up in the standings now, they'll have a significant impact, because they'll all be members of the jury.
week on Survivor: a clips show. But the week after that, Lex wants to know who voted for him, goddammit! He doesn't say that, but you know it's what he's thinking.
Over the credits, we confirm that the remaining members of Moto Maji all voted for Clarence, who tells us that he'd hoped Boran would have more loyalty, but that he's done nothing to shame his mother, who I suppose is an advocate of bean thievery.