“ Neleh complains that being 'stuck' on an island with people who are 'talkin' and back-stabbin'' is difficult. And I understand that sentiment completely, because talking people are really hard to take sometimes. ”
Last week on Survivor, the tribes saw their loved ones, and we saw that Neleh's mother was a freak. Kathy's son Pat spent the night at Soliantu, and Kathy asked his advice, then didn't let him get a word in. The S6 continued to haggle over alliances, Joanna did some really bad math, Vecepia won immunity, and Robert got voted out. Five are left. Who will be voted out tonight?
Tribal chanting, island scenery, soaring bird, Soliantu flag. Kathy groans as she sits down, and Sean mumbles something. Kathy wants to know why he's mumbling, and Vecepia says he's hungry. Kathy offers to fetch some apples, but Sean wants "real food." He doesn't say he's lost his appetite because Kathy is picking at her teeth with something big and green and apple-like right in his face. Sean whines that the situation sucks because the days aren't passing as quickly as he thought they would. In a confessional, he says he just wants to eat, get through another day, win the immunity challenge, and then see where the cards lie. Depending on who wins the immunities, Sean thinks he could come up with ten different combinations of what might happen in the several days. He's not going to do that, though, because it "takes too much energy to strategize," and he prefers just to take it day by day. But still, he'll go out fighting. Literally, as we'll see later.
Vecepia matter-of-factly tells us in a confessional that it's easy to perceive Kathy as the swing vote, because she and Sean appear linked, as do Paschal and Neleh. She says that, as the fifth person, Kathy is looking for a reason to swing her vote someone's way, but that she "truly [does] not believe race is an issue on this beach." We see Kathy continuing to scrub her teeth nastily as Vecepia goes on insisting that -- no matter what the situation is -- people will assume that she and Sean are allied because they are the only African-Americans. Kathy nods and laughs, then tells us in a confessional that Vecepia made mention of her status as swing vote. Already there's finger-pointing, since they both told us that the other one brought up the subject of Kathy's vote. Kathy says that Vecepia was "playin' the race card a bit," but that she hadn't thought about it like that yet. As they continue to talk, Neleh creeps up in the background and then sits directly in the middle of their conversation. In a confessional, Neleh complains that being "stuck" on an island with people who are "talkin' and back-stabbin'" is difficult. And I understand that sentiment completely, because talking people are really hard to take sometimes. Neleh continues explaining (as best she can explain anything, that is) that Vecepia took Kathy aside and had a "little discussion" with her, which is a condescending way of putting it. Neleh thinks the whole race thing is ridiculous, and insists that it "never, ever" played a part in the game. When Neleh hears Vecepia say something like, "Well, you know, it's us two African-Americans against you two. And then Kathy's the swing vote," she gets irritated. Sweetly irritated, of course.
“ Neleh -- who should really just keep her mouth shut -- says she would be 'pukey sick' if Kathy aligned with the others. And I'm sure knowing that Neleh might throw up will weigh heavily in Kathy's decision- making. ”
Now Neleh and Paschal lie together on a makeshift bed and bitch about the situation. Neleh says it's "almost like a guilt thing," and Paschal responds, "It's like we owe 'em something," so I'm taking it he's not a supporter of affirmative action. He says that the situation gives him more resolve, and that Kathy would be a fool to fall for the others' argument. The camera then pulls back to reveal Vecepia sitting less than ten feet away from where this discussion is taking place. In a confessional, Paschal says that Vecepia is stupid if she thinks pulling the race card so late in the game will swing Kathy to her side; he says that Kathy wouldn't allow herself to be put in that spot, and that Vecepia's maneuvering is "sickening." ["I seriously had no idea what the hell Paschal thought Vecepia was doing, or why it was sickening, except that it looked as though the tide was turning against Paschal and Neleh." -- Wing Chun]
Now it's Neleh and Paschal's turn to kiss Kathy's butt, and I'm kind of amazed how well this has worked out for someone who irritated every single member of her tribe three minutes into the first day. Neleh complains that Sean's attitude drags her down, but makes no mention of the saggy bathing suit bottoms that have had the same effect on her in all the challenges. Neleh continues rambling, and Paschal -- well aware that no argument from Neleh is a good one -- cuts her off to get to the point. He says he's had no reason from the first day to believe either Vecepia or Sean, and Kathy agrees. Neleh -- who should really just keep her mouth shut -- says she would be "pukey sick" if Kathy aligned with the others. And I'm sure knowing that Neleh might throw up will weigh heavily in Kathy's decision-making. Kathy makes the Home Alone Macaulay Culkin hands-to-cheeks- mouth-wide-open face in response to all the confusion, and then voice-overs that she doesn't want to be "cast as the swing player who made the wrong vote." She tells us that she spends all her time figuring out how to play the game, and -- despite all the others' plays for her attention -- she's still looking out only for herself.
Now we see a pair of stilts propped up against a tree, and hear exclamations of dismay from Neleh, Kathy, and Paschal as they approach the treemail. They moan and discuss what it means while remaining a good distance away, and it's like they're afraid of getting any closer to the evil stilts. The clue reads:
Balance aim and cunning
You've done it all before
Capitalize on past mistakes
Comfort awaits behind the door
And at least it was a short one. Paschal plays with his pants while hearing the clue, and then tells us in a voice-over that the clue says they'll do stuff they've done before, "whatever that means." He then hopefully tells the others, "It may not have anything to do with stilts!" Kathy quickly shoots him down, "Oh, yes it does!" He responds, "If it does, I'm out," and then explains in the confessional that he's never been able to figure out how to use the stilts, and that he'll just wait and see at the challenge. He concludes, "When Jeff tells us, that's when I'll know," and also that when Jeff builds it, that's when he'll come.
“ The prize is a red Saturn Vue, which is not nearly so ugly as the cars they've won in the past. This one at least resembles a car, and not some kind of catastrophic breeding mistake. ”
The challenge music plays as we see palm trees, colored trunks, the sand-filled towers from the slingshot challenge, and an angry-looking, exploited tiki. Peachy -- in a white cowboy hat and white shirt -- tells the S5 that in the thirty-four days they've been in the Marquesas, they've done and experienced many things, and he hopes they have few regrets. Vecepia looks incredibly unamused as Peachy continues that he knows there must be at least a challenge or two they would like to do over again. He reveals that today's reward challenge will consist of elements from six contests.
In the first part of the challenge, they will each have a "color-coded tiki that's been chopped into eight pieces." The S5 have to collect all the pieces which have been scattered throughout the jungle, and then correctly assemble their individual tiki. This is accompanied by a shot of the tikis magically assembling themselves.
In the second part of the challenge, the S5 are directed to find a pile of coconuts and break them open until a bamboo shoot overflows with milk.
They will then continue through the jungle until they reach stilts hanging in the air and tied to a log. They are instructed to undo the knots and release the stilts before progressing to the "stilt-walking portion of the challenge": a ten-foot section the S5 will need to cross before moving on. And I think this must be a two-parter: the untying of the knots, and the stilt-walking.
, the S5 will come to another pile of coconuts, one of which will contain a key. They will use the key to unlock a spray-painted trunk and then retrieve the slingshot inside.
In the last part of the challenge, the S5 will attempt to break one of their tiles causing sand falls on their tiki. And that's the win.
Peachy knows they're tired, but he hopes the reward is worthy of the very long, strenuous race. Behind the S5, a big red boat looms in the background, and there's no way they wouldn't hear that thing approaching. Still, they act surprised as they turn around when Peachy yells, "Bring it down, guys!" The prize is a red Saturn Vue, which is not nearly so ugly as the cars they've won in the past. This one at least resembles a car, and not some kind of catastrophic breeding mistake. Peachy tells them the car is "fully loaded" with "all the extras," which, given that it's a Saturn may just mean that it has windows, doors, and a steering wheel. That's not meant as a jab at Saturn; I just thought they were the no-frills "for the people" car company. Peachy makes a point of saying that the car is for them to enjoy when they return home, in case they think they'll get to cruise around the island in it for the rest of their time there.
“ The S5 start out running, but quickly slow to walks because they're so exhausted from all that lying around every day. ”
Peachy lines the S5 up, and the challenge begins. They start out running, but quickly slow to walks because they're so exhausted from all that lying around every day. Sean and Paschal both stack up and carry a bunch of tiki parts, while Neleh carries the pieces one at a time, perhaps having learned a lesson from her attempts to carry multiple coconuts in past episodes. Vecepia is off to a strong start, while Sean's and Neleh's tikis are also quickly taking shape. Paschal's tiki stands high, but he doesn't appear to be bothering to order the pieces correctly. Vecepia finishes the tiki and moves on to the coconut-smashing section, and Neleh moves on shortly after. Kathy self-deprecatingly laughs as she asks whether her tiki is constructed properly. You know she at least kind of thinks she has it right, but Peachy tells her it's not. Sean moves on ; Paschal, meanwhile, is just staring at his tiki, perhaps willing it with his eyes to move. Then Kathy's tiki is also a go; Paschal cheers her on, and then slowly tips his whole tiki tower over, so clearly he's given up. ["I got the impression he was never really trying, since he either doesn't want or doesn't need a new car and wanted someone else (read: Neleh) to win it." -- Wing Chun]
So everyone has moved on to the bamboo-filling challenge while Paschal remains behind, which is where he will stay. Sean is good at the coconut-smashing and finishes first. From this point on, it's his race.
Paschal is still at the first part of the challenge, staring at the tiki pieces and bumbling around, as Sean unties the knots which hold down the stilts and Peachy yells, "Nobody's close!" as Sean reaches the stilt-walking starting point. Peachy snits, "Let's see if you can do what you couldn't do a few weeks ago: walk on stilts!" And then Sean totally breezes through it on the first attempt, so either they've had stilts back at camp and have been practicing out of boredom, or these are a different, easier kind to use.
Peachy coaches, "It's as good as yours. Nobody [sic] close!" as Sean cracks open his key-filled coconut and unlocks the trunk to retrieve the slingshot. He then totally nails the tile over his tiki on the very first shot.
So Sean wins, and he's excited and jumping up and down, and I'm there with him until he starts screaming, "God is so good! God is good! God!" and "I can do all things through Christ, baby! I can do all things through Christ! Jesus Christ!" and then throws himself down on the beach yelling, "God! God!" And I understand gratitude and all, but I'm just asking for a degree of restraint. Like, if his mother gave him the car, would he be running around yelling, "Mom is good! Mom is good! Mom!" ["Plus, seriously, I like to think God has better things to do with His infinite power than win people cars on reality shows." -- Wing Chun] Peachy says again that no one was even close to Sean, and then randomly slams him: "You know what? You may not look good, but you're gonna look good in that ride!" Sean's too tired to haul off and hit him for being rude, and then Vecepia comes over to congratulate Sean: "Give me some love, brother!" But not too much love, I hope, being a Leander fan and all. I mean, Vecepia's a Leander fan, but I'm a Leander fan, too. I wish Leander would come to Baltimore and hug me. But only if he hasn't read these recaps. Anyway, Vecepia seems really happy for Sean, and then suddenly they're all on the boat and swarming around the car and someone -- oddly enough, not Sean -- says, "Get your hands off it!" As they all look the car over enthusiastically, Neleh says, "And it's an automatic, too! Wow!" because they don't have those in Utah. Sean gets into the Saturn, prompting Kathy to tell Sean how good he looks. What's with that, anyway? So the S5 stand around looking proud and happy and Sean gives them the thumbs-up, and then turns around and gives the camera thumbs-up, too. I give Sean the thumbs-up back.
“ Sean insists that the win was for all city kids, as well as 'for everybody who feels like they can look at me and feel represented, this was for them,' and who is he, Halle Berry? ”
As the tribe returns to camp, Sean has his arm wrapped around Kathy, and Neleh wants to join in, even though she can't stand Sean. Paschal thinks Sean's students are going to be really proud of him. If Paschal had students, I don't think they'd be very proud of him, based on what he says in a few minutes. Sean can't believe he won such a great new car, and with no car payments to boot. I'm not sure if would really qualify as "winning" a car, if you had to make payments on it, but whatever. He's blessed, and he can't ask for anything better. He tells us that winning the challenge and overcoming his fatigue was as much a part of the victory, and then insists that the win was for all city kids, as well as "for everybody who feels like they can look at me and feel represented, this was for them," and who is he, Halle Berry? Vecepia hugs Sean and says, "You're Harlem, brother! Came up in here runnin' things!"
Now Paschal and Sean make a little "V" with their heads together and bodies stretched out in different directions under a tree. Sean says he didn't realize how emotionally attached he'd get to people during the game, and Paschal -- who can barely talk -- rambles on about what the experience is like for "somebody [his] age." In a confessional, he explains that he's a physical wreck. Coming into the game, he felt like he was capable of dealing with anything, but they haven't had protein, carbohydrates, or "much of anything," and the last few days have been a real struggle. He says that their bodies are "takin' a pounding," and that it's having a real effect on him. Paschal then tells Sean that he wants some water, but will probably have to wait until morning to have any because he can barely get up, and when he does get up, he needs to prop himself against a tree and close his eyes because of the dizziness that ensues. Sean jumps up and offers to go to the waterfall for Paschal. Except he doesn't, but it would have been something if he did. In a confessional, he tells us that they're all just holding on right now, and that after five to six weeks of having diarrhea and "having to dig holes to take a crap," as well as challenges, dealing with other people's lies, and "sleeping in dirt," they've reached a point where they don't know "which way is up." Sean thinks Paschal is more affected than any of the others, and this is accompanied by shots of all the S5 looking uncomfortable in various positions of supposed repose.
Now Paschal complains to Kathy that he gets dizzy every time he tries to stand up. Kathy does, too! She thinks they might be dehydrated, and suggests that they drink some water, except that Paschal says he's been drinking water all day. He then tells her he spent the prior day "in a complete fog," and couldn't see straight. Kathy, too! She tells us in a confessional that she's depleted both physically and mentally, and that Paschal's in the same place. She thinks he's "hibernating," and is not up to making any twists and turns in the game at this point because it's "too much." Now Paschal plays dead. His hand flops about off the raft-mattress like he thinks he's Anthony Edwards or something. And he didn't even get to go surfing one last time!