Assumptions

Previously on Survivor, Ted and Clay predicted an upcoming merge. Robb bit Ken's hand, which was fuckin' tryin' to feed him, and then fuckin' tried to feed himself, by biting into some contraband bananas. Sook Jai enjoyed a Thai feast, but didn't enjoy losing the Immunity Challenge, nor did they enjoy the resulting Tribal Council, which led to Robb's ejection. So maybe they did enjoy it after all. In any case, ten are left. Tonight, one more will go.

As the members of Sook Jai walk back from Tribal Council on Night 18, Erin says it was one of the hardest things she ever did. She tells us that after bonding as a tribe, it's hard to vote someone out because they are your family "for right now." Jake doesn't think anyone feels good about the vote, but promises that it will only get harder. Despite her Tribal Council misgivings, Erin doesn't feel completely confident about the allegiances of any of her tribe members. She lies inside the shelter with Penny, and the two women whisper about the relationship between Ken and Shii Devil; they think the two may already have an alliance. Back in the interview, Erin tells us she's keeping an eye on them.

Turns out we're keeping an eye on them too, as we join Ken and Shii Devil by the fire. Ken rants about his recent argument with Robb, and insists that he told the truth about everything. He reveals Penny's betrayal, and Shii Devil says, "It's kinda messed up that Penny keeps doin' that." So they've caught Penny in lies before? In any case, Ken responds that Penny's just playing the game, but "playing hard." Shii Devil says several times that Penny's playing "hardball," hoping Ken will catch on and agree. He finally does. He then calls Penny "sneaky," to which Shii Devil exclaims, "She's so sneaky about it!" In an interview, Ken explains that he is watching Penny because of her sneakiness. He knows her "MO," and sees right through it. He adds, "I can just picture her in high school. I know how she was when she was in high school." Even I hate high-school girls, and I was one. Ken knows how Penny "operates." Back at the fire, Shii Devil suspects that Penny wants to vote out Shii Devil, and Ken reveals that Penny has been after Shii Devil from the beginning. Shii Devil tells us in an interview that Ken was upset about Penny's manipulation; even though he knows that's just the way Penny is, he is still concerned because he's strong and will enter the merge as a target. Shii Devil and Ken continue to poke and walk around the fire. After a goodnight hug, they promise to "see [each other] tomorrow." But aren't they headed off to bed in the same place?

Quick-moving time-lapse clouds bring us to Day 19 at Sook Jai. Chuay Gahn must have been watching bark peel during this time, because we haven't checked in with them yet. The tribe receives a treemail clue, which includes five shades of paint, and reads: "A different color per person/ Adorn yourselves well/ Show some personality/ 'Cause you can never tell/ Use only one color/ Don't share with a friend/ Take pride in your artistry/ It will pay off in the end." This sounds like a challenging competition for our S10 -- particularly the whole "show some personality" part. Jake exclaims as he opens the mail, "Hmm...let's see what these are -- probably little finger paints. Oooh!" He is very excited, as are the other members of the tribe. Ken is fanatical about getting the blue paint as they attempt to distribute the colors. Shii Devil voice-overs that the tribe didn't know what the paints were for, but that they assumed it had to do with a merger.

We finally make our way over to Chuay Gahn, where a happy Ted yells, "Ey! It's body paint stuff!" The tribe members cackle and high-five each other. Clay urges the others to "show personality," which is funny. Personality just kind of is, and the fact that they have to work at it says a lot about them. A montage of the tribe members painting themselves follows. Helen's artwork looks like it will be a real problem, while Jan has a triangle on her forehead. Ted is painting himself -- including his shiny bald pate -- in a metallic gold. He glistens and poses in the sun.

The colorful tribes strut into the challenge. Peachy welcomes them while attempting not to crack up over Helen, who has painted herself up in blue-black paint to looks just like The Joker. Even more so than non-painted Zoe from last season. Jan's forehead triangle has evolved into a full pointy sun. Peachy congratulates them on making it to Day 19: he says it is a "physical and political feat" that none of the booted six was able to accomplish. Peachy thought it would be fun to give the S10 a chance to get to know each other and to "spend a little quality time one-on-one." He explains that in randomly selecting their paint colors, they matched themselves up with someone from the other tribe. At this, the orange-painted Penny totally checks out Brian and blushes. Too bad there wasn't any pink paint to choose from. Brian checks her out, too. Peachy calls the pairs out; they will meet in the middle of the circle and randomly select one of five baskets, two of which contain further instructions. Afterward, they can find a private spot on the beach to get to know each other. As we see the pairings happen, Jan voice-overs the process, in case we didn't get it the first time. Clay is paired with Shii Devil; Penny with Brian, who starts to kiss her but then changes his mind and dodges into a hug at the last minute; Ted with Erin, who doesn't look like she knows how to hug someone of Ted's sheer girth; and Helen with Ken. This leaves Jake for Jan, the latter of whom tells us, "As luck would have it, Jake and I ended up the same thing! So that was real funny 'cause we were the original ones to pick tribes!" Jake and Jan hug, and Peachy tells them to have fun. They walk off swinging their held hands, and Peachy likes it!

The tinkly music of blossoming, orange-colored love plays as Penny and Brian sit together on the beach. They toast each other with fruit from their basket, and then Brian explains in an interview that they exchanged information as to how both tribes were living. Penny tells Brian that Sook Jai "did a lotta oysters and snails in the beginning," and Brian commiserates on how difficult it is to clean shellfish. They must have had a really uneventful conversation for Mark Burnett to forgo the chance to make like a romance was brewing.

Clay and Shii Devil don't have fruit in their basket, but they manage to "wow" over a little scroll instead. The scroll reads, "Getting to know you/ Getting to know them/ Go to Chuay Gahn camp/ But with foe or friend?" It looks like there's more to the clue, but we're only subjected to the first part. In an interview, Clay reiterates that Shii Devil was instructed to visit Chuay Gahn's camp, and that "the other couple" got a similar note in their basket. As he says this, we see Helen unscrolling the clue she and Ken received.

Shii Devil and Clay chat each other up en route to Chuay Gahn's beach. Shii Devil marvels that Chuay Gahn has a cove and cave, and tells Clay they don't have either at Sook Jai: "We had a rooster wakin' us up for a while. Then we ate 'im." Clay says that they have many monkeys around the Chuay Gahn camp, and Shii Devil is surprised. An amazed Clay asks, "You haven't seen monkeys?" then tells her all about the boat-stealing, grinding Magilla. He puts his hand on Shii Devil's back to guide her as they walk. They finally arrive at the camp, and Clay points out the shelter, which Shii Devil thinks is much better than Sook Jai's.

We move on to Helen and Ken, who have arrived at Sook Jai. Helen is not flattered by her paint, and Ken doesn't appear to be wearing any. Maybe he scrubbed his off when he saw how silly Helen looked in it. Helen exclaims over Sook Jai's bed, but she doesn't sound particularly earnest. Ken confirms that they did indeed make it themselves. Helen is surprised that Sook Jai has chickens, and Ken reveals that they've already eaten two of them. Helen responds, "You gotta be kidding me!" In an interview, Helen says that her first impression of Sook Jai was amazement over how well they built their structure. Ken and Helen toast each other with fruit from their basket and say, "Cheers," except Ken says, "Chee-yahs!" I have never toasted anyone with fruit -- or any food item, for that matter -- but I think I'll have to start doing so. Maybe today when I unwrap my peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, I'll be sure to step outside my office and toast the secretary's hard-boiled egg. That aside, Helen was surprised to see that Sook Jai's water source was so near to their camp. As Ken shows it to her, Helen tells him that Chuay Gahn has a similar water hole, but that they have to swim a mile to reach it. Or they could paddle there if they hadn't lost their boat, but Helen conveniently leaves that part out. Ken -- who has likely been hanging around Penny too much -- says, "Oh my goodness!" when he learns this news. In an interview, he explains that as one of the four "ambassadors," he listened to Helen but didn't say much: "Let's face it -- this is my enemy." We rejoin them; Ken is questioning Helen about her tribe's ability to get along. Joker-faced Helen looks away, and then says they like each other "as much as you can like strangers." In an interview, she tells us she is a "suspicious new Englander and he's a New York cop." She didn't want to give up Chuay Gahn's secrets "to the cop" so he could run back to Sook Jai with them. Why not just call him a "pig" and get it over with?

Shii Devil and Brian walk off together, as Brian voice-overs that he knows there's some "cattiness going on with the girls" of Sook Jai. He says, "We'll see if I can use [Shii Devil] as part of my kingdom." They pick up sticks as Brian says that the vote is going "towards P," which Shii Devil knows. In an interview, she tells us it was a dramatic morning, because the Chuay Gahn tribe approached her to join them in voting out Penny. Ken asked her if she was going to switch, and she explained that she was really confused and didn't know what to do. Shii Devil tells Brian that if she joins Chuay Gahn, she will betray two members of the Sook Jai tribe who trust her. Brian says that first instincts are usually the best, and she reveals that her first instinct is to vote against Penny. Still, she insists, Ken makes a good argument for staying with Sook Jai. Brian urges her to remember that she is now part of the Chuay Gahn family, and that they all love her. He says, "And you can feel it!" She is obviously flattered by the love and attention of the other tribe, and tells us in an interview that she told Chuay Gahn directly that she was on their side. She says, "I'm workin' a deal. I'm voting Penny out." As she and Brian walk off together, they agree that it's "gonna be a blast."

A black and orange spider takes a really long time to eat a little worm trapped in its web. Shii Devil tells us again that she's decided to vote for Penny. She wants to talk to Ken about it because she knows that's the "right thing to do." "Right thing[s] to do," would also include keeping her original word and not stabbing Jake and Ken in the back while screwing herself over in the process, but it's all subjective, I suppose. Shii Devil isn't sure if it's wise to reveal her plans to Ken. When Ken asks if she's figured out her voting plans, she starts to tell him, stutters for a while, then says she's "flip-flopping." He is upset because he'd defended her when everyone else accused her of being a traitor. She's gone back and forth on the decision, and he needs to know what she's going to do. In an interview, Ken tells us that she'll be considered a rat for the rest of her life if she turns on her tribe, and I think that's a little extreme. Shii Devil insists that she's confused, but Ken wants an answer. Shii Devil says, "I'm stayin' on your and Jake's side..." Ken sees this statement as promising until she adds, "But I'm not stayin' on Penny and Erin's side." And where has the "g" in "ing" gone in the English language? It's not so hard. Sesame Street needs to do a better job with these people. In any case, Ken knows Penny has to go and has already discussed it with Brian, but he wants Sook Jai to have the advantage first. In an interview, he explains that the tribes currently have even numbers; if Shii Devil votes against Penny, she's going to give Chuay Gahn the advantage "because [she's], like, a little snake. Now they're gonna invite [her] in." Ken says she's showing disloyalty, and that she will make herself an outcast on both sides by voting outside of her tribe. Again, Ken attempts to reason with Shii Devil; he knows she doesn't want Penny on the jury, but she shouldn't screw over everyone else, including herself, because she's mad at one person. He asks her to think about it and let him know. Isn't that where the conversation began? Anyway, Shii Devil tells us in an interview that she won't further discuss the situation with Ken because he used his "interrogation routine" on her, and "the policeman is comin' out." She thinks he was trying to intimidate her, and says she's willing at this point to gamble on voting out Penny and Erin and seeing what happens. If "see[ing] what happens" means "getting her ass voted out for betraying her tribe." Shii Devil walks by the tent, inside which Erin randomly rambles on to Penny and Helen about boys and their middle names.