Desperate Measures

Previously on Survivor, Chuay Gahn and Sook Jai lived together as separate tribes, and Brian saw the enemy. Peachy -- evidently confused by the fact that Jake did better than every other member of his tribe in the underwater immunity challenge -- determined that he "hand[ed] Chuay Gahn their victory." There was an "uneasy atmosphere" around the camp, likely due in no small part to Ted's whining that he was unable to enjoy his tribe's win. Clay, had no such problems, and declared himself "damn happy." Jake squeaked his dismay over Sook Jai's losing situation before joining his tribemates in unanimously unloading Erin. Eight are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

It's Night 24, and shadows pass over the moon. As Chuay Gahn waits for Sook Jai to return from Tribal Council, Ted tells his tribe that everyone deserves what they get at this point in the game; he thinks they've earned their current good standing. Helen punctuates his commentary with exclamations of "I know!" and "Oh no!" and "No arguments about that!" and "Sing it, sister!" and "Right on, brother!" and "You don't have to tell me twice!" and "Amen!" and "Hallelujah!" and "No shit, Sherlock!" and "Darn tootin'." Except without those last few. Ted thinks the members of Chuay Gahn have earned the right to boil soup. He actually says that. In an interview, he posits that at the beginning of the game, no one could have anticipated Chuay Gahn's success. No one except Mark Burnett, that is, who not only anticipated it, but engineered it. Ted explains that they're in a very good position right now, with or without a merge. Brian tells the tribe that they've already had their "downtime" and now it's Sook Jai's turn. In an interview, Jan reveals that they tried to guess which member of Sook Jai would be voted out, and have narrowed it down to Erin or Ken. I'm not sure why we're seeing this now; we already know that Erin's gone, so there's nothing particularly suspenseful in it.

Chuay Gahn begins to enact their version of Sook Jai's current Tribal Council. This might be funny if any of them remotely sounded like the people they are attempting to imitate. As Penny, Helen simpers her indecision before Jan jumps in with bizarre and incomprehensible giggling about being a cheerleader. Helen finishes it off: "I think I'm gonna have to stab my friend Erin in the back and take her out." Jan then calls on "NYC himself!" and Brian begins an imitation of Ken that's more like an imitation of himself. He pretends to ask Peachy how his hair looks, then says he wants to make sure everyone knows he's a police officer and one of "New York's Finest." This, from the man who includes being a member of the "National Association of Homeowners" on his CBS bio. In any case, Jan yells, "And I don't want the women to know that!" As usual, I have no idea what she means. Brian concludes, "When you put on a uniform, you get all kind of bitches. Yo, yo, yo, yo." Jan tells us they felt bad that Sook Jai had to lose someone, but not bad enough to refrain from mocking them. And poorly so. She's just glad they're not losing a member of Chuay Gahn.

We're spared equally bad imitations of the rest of the tribe, as we join Sook Jai fumbling around in the dark on their way back from the Council. In an interview, Penny says it was hard to vote Erin out because now they have only three people compared to Chuay Gahn's five. If you were expecting her to say that voting Erin out was hard because they were such good friends, or because it meant breaking an alliance, then you're clueless about Penny -- or, as I now like to call her, "Penniless." The members of Sook Jai agree that it was a tough day before confessing their love for each other and hugging. Penny looks very small compared to Ken and Jake. And she is small in my opinion, but not just in the physical sense. Jake tells us that they're still two separate tribes, and that Sook Jai needs to figure out how to win future challenges in order to resume control of the vote. He says they'll have to fight for everything they get at this point. As opposed to lolling around and waiting for it to be handed to them along with the fruit and cheese and crackers and such. As Chuay Gahn hears them approaching, Ted proclaims, "Your questions shall be answered in a short second...survey says!" The tribe remains expressionless as Sook Jai reveals that Erin was voted off. Clay asks how she "took it," and Jake responds that they all took it hard; he doesn't want to return to Tribal Council. Penny thanks Chuay Gahn for waiting up and apologizes because they had to go through the process with them. Jake adds, "Thank you guys for mourning with us." Considering that at least one member of this tribe has thus far mourned a dead baby bat and the night's dinner, it's not saying much. Jake announces that he doesn't know if he's tired or depressed because of losing another person. In a typically self-serving statement, Penny again states her difficulty in voting Erin out. This time, she says it was hard because she lost her sleeping partner. Now she'll have to find another set of pillows, and I challenge her to find a tribemate so appropriately constructed as Erin.

As the tribe awakes the morning, Brian lies in a fetal position with his back arched so his butt sticks way out, but it doesn't turn Clay's head the same way Erin's ass did. Jake tells us that it's an interesting time because both sides are trying to determine how to get ahead in the game. He's concluded, apparently, that the best way of doing so is to boast about his cruelty to animals, telling a long-winded story about shooting a deer "right square in the ass." He prefaces the story by deeming it "hysterical," which always bodes poorly for both story and storyteller. While Jake chatters on, Ted voice-overs that Jake relayed his adventures as if the others would be "overly wowed" by them. Jake then tells us in an interview that his attitude was, "Guys, I'm an adventurer just like you. I just happen to be an old adventurer." His story also includes the assertion that the deer had the "prettiest open chest and neck shot that you've ever seen in your life," but I think some of the more lascivious cameramen would beg to differ. As Clay says in an interview that everyone in the group is sick of Jake's "Roy Roger tales," we rejoin the group where Jake has moved from the dead deer to a story about parachuting over an airport runway and the resulting "ka-pack!" sound of his breaking ankle. And I'm so glad the deer-shot-in-the-ass story didn't include sound effects. The other members of the group feign amusement, except Magilla, who hovers around looking blatantly uninterested. Ted snits in an interview that he doesn't know much about parachuting, but the story sounded far-fetched. He says, "In the middle of a [sic] airport? Aaaah...I would imagine that's some type of FAA violation." Jake then starts bragging that he's broken his ankles playing football, skydiving, motorcycling and skiing. In short, he's bragging about being either very careless or very clumsy. Or unusually brittle. In any case, Clay tells us that Jake thinks he's being "smooth" and conniving while attempting to suck them all in with his stories. He imitates Jake by drawling, "Hey, I'm just a good old mountain man that goes out and kills them elk, falls down them mountains, and wrestles grizzles and I fight off men with alligators." Hee. And although he is imitating Jake, it sounds a good bit more like the longlost verse of Arlo Guthrie's, "Alice's Restaurant." We cut away as Jake cracks himself up while no one else laughs.

Now it's nighttime again, and Clay stares at the moon before turning to the others and exclaiming, "Hey! Does anybody miss their family?" as if the possibility has just occurred to him. Helen and Ted emphatically proclaim that they do, and Clay says it's the hardest thing he's ever done. He then reveals that his twenty-three-year-old son told him just to look at the moon, and he'd give him all his strength and energy. So Clay's son is some freaky moon-energy telepathic conveyer? Cool! Clay continues to stare at the moon, and Ted asks if he's going to cry. Then Helen launches into a gruesome version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" as Ted continues to encourage Clay to cry with, "That's what I wanna see! I wanna see some boo hoo!" The he should come on over to my house when Helen's singing. At some point, the violin background music begins to accompany Helen, which is kind of funny. Not funny enough for me to prevent me from great joy when she finally wraps it up. Come to think of it, Helen sounds a lot like Snow White, which is not a compliment. Ted shrieks because he thinks Clay is finally crying, but Clay denies it.

The editors of this episode apparently agree that we've seen enough poor displays of aspiring artistry in this episode, and spare us the pre-challenge poem clue. Instead, the S8 are suddenly walking up to a bunch of colorful beach mats, which my friend Miriam saw in a catalogue. The S8 settle into the chairs as Peachy welcomes them to the challenge. He points out that they probably all made assumptions going into the game, one of which was that they'd miss their loved ones. He enthusiastically crushes their hopes by saying that their loved ones aren't "anywhere on the island," but throws them a bone by revealing that they've been sent videos from home instead. Ted exclaims, "You lie!" and high-fives Ken, while Penny looks particularly toothy.

Jake's wife Jenny is first. She calls him "darling" and "sweety" while telling him she loves and misses him. When he looks up at the stars, she tells him, "You can see me, lookin' down." So clearly Jenny shares Clay's son's psychosis which causes them both to believe they can project their images and emotions onto inanimate cosmological objects. She tells Jake that although everyone loves him, she loves him with all her heart and soul. When the video's over, Peachy says, "Nice little reminder of what's at home, huh, Jake?" and Jake cries because she's "quite a woman," and also because one of his ankles has possibly just broken.

Brian is , and we meet his son Logan and his possibly topless wife CC. CC tells Brian that Logan is antsy because they just got home, but she's been thinking of him and she loves him. Brian makes whistling mouth gestures at the television, and CC ends the film with a smooch toward the camera. Brian mumbles, "That was cool; that was cool," as the other members of the group look at him with slightly alarmed expressions.

Jan's three children -- Lisa, Keller, and William -- are , and she's very weepy over them. Clearly, they bring back fond memories of Oscar/Oliver. Lisa says they're on campus and they made the video to say "hello" and let her know they miss her. Keller or William says he hopes she's doing well and he loves her. Not-Keller or Not-William doesn't get to say anything at all.

We see Clay's tape , and when his daughter Shanda appears, he makes the standard Macaulay Culkin-in-Home Alone face and accompanying hand gestures. His helmet-haired wife Linda says she's rooting for him and she loves him. I guess his son was too busy channeling the moon to make an appearance on the tape. Helen and Jan congratulate Clay on the gorgeousness of his wife.

Peachy reveals that Helen's husband James and her daughter Kiki are on her tape, and she seems particularly excited that Kiki's there. Not nearly so excited, though, as when her cat makes an appearance, which causes Helen to squeal repeatedly and jog in place. James wishes Helen were at home because he's forgotten the recipe for Uncle Waldo's Zippy Celery Snaps. Kiki looks a little bit like Erika Christensen.

Ken's mom, who is very soft-spoken and timid, squeaks, "Kenneth. Hi. How ya doin'?" His brother and his dog also show off some tricks. Technically, the dog does the tricks, not the brother.

Penny's tape includes her fianc, her brother-in-law, her sister-in-law, and their two precocious kids. There are also two very cute, non-precocious Boston Terriers in the video. Penny's clan gives the standard "love you, miss you" fare, and then the precocious little girls are forced to say something precocious. The Boston Terriers, sadly, don't get any close-ups. Penny wipes away tears as Peachy asks if the time away has made her realize that her relationships at home are special. He says this as if it's brain science and not a long-winded paraphrasing of "absence make the heart grow fonder." Penny is amazed by "how much in love everyone is with their loved one." Which is good. Because when people aren't in love with their "loved one[s]," things can get kind of sticky. In any case, Penny wants to be an "awesome wife," and, to that end, she has spent a lot of time talking with Helen about recipes. She's going to go home and "be this awesome cook and just love everyone as much as [she] can."

Ted says, "You're killin' me, Jeff," as Peachy blatantly prolongs the time before Ted gets to see his family. Ted reveals to the group that his daughter was born just a few days before Survivor started, and that she was still in the hospital when he left for Thailand. As Peachy says that he'll now see both his wife and daughter, Ted says, "You're crazy. You are killin' me!" I don't really understand many of Ted's responses. What's so crazy about it? It would have been much crazier had the tape come from Grindia. Ted's wife holds up an itty bitty fussy pink-clad Baby Ted, who wriggles around and cries and makes cute little baby fists. Ted's wife reminds him to "put God first."

Now that they've glimpsed each other's loved ones, Peachy reveals that the winner of the reward challenge will get to watch his/her entire tape "while enjoying a nice, cool beverage." He then trots out the whole assumptions shtick again, pointing out that the S8 may have assumed there'd be a merged because of the individual nature of the challenge. As he digs out some gold buffs from a nearby trunk he snits, "Finally, an assumption that's right." Peachy officiously announces that Sook Jai and Chuay Gahn are no more, and that paints and a new flag await them back at camp. He says that with fourteen days left in the game, they're off to a whole new start. Jan thanks God for the merger.

Peachy reveals that the challenge is in two parts, the first of which is an obstacle course. Randomly paired, the S8 will compete in twos to carry a gold, spray-painted wicker ball from one end of the course to the other, which involves climbing a ladder, unwrapping a burlap-covered machete, chopping through a log, releasing the wicker ball, moving said wicker ball through a fishnet tube and over a series of horizontal ladders, climbing over a cargo net, and placing the ball on top of a pyramid. They will compete in heats; the winners of the first heat will compete against the winners of the second heat. Then, the prevailing pair will compete against each other in the second challenge, which Peachy says is a "mental" one. Uh oh.

In the first heat, Clay and Ken are paired against Jake and Jan. Now, there's a fair race. If the finish line is natural death. Seriously, how do Jake and Jan keep ending up paired together? Peachy advises them to "switch out [their] buffs." Standing to stately Ken, Clay is looking particularly gnomish in his teensy tennis shorts. They're off, and Jan manages the ladder fairly well. Actually, considering all the busting I do on her, she performs reasonably well in the physical challenges. Still, Clay and Ken are ahead, causing Peachy to dramatically announce, "Clay has released his ball," which cracked me up. The whole fishnet thing is stupid and demonstrates no skills whatsoever. As the race continues, Peachy insists that Jan and Jake are "right behind," but really they're not. As Clay and Ken approach the cargo net, Peachy warns, "Don't lose that ball!" Jan and Jake somersault down the cargo net in surprising symmetry, but their tandem acrobatics aren't enough to secure them the win, as Clay and Ken are proclaimed the victors.

up, Ted and Penny take on Brian and Helen. They're even up the ladder, and then the log-hacking begins. Ted -- who Peachy accurately describes as swinging "like a madman" -- is doing so in the most literal sense. There's no method to the chopping as he flails about while the other members of the tribe slowly back away. It's no surprise when the more methodical Brian finishes first, since it's unlikely that Ted's hatchet made contact with the log in the same spot twice. From this point on, Helen and Brian zip through the fishnet, and take it through to the end.

Back at camp, Jan uses a stick pointer to demonstrate the layout of the new flag. You can so tell she's a teacher. Clay thinks it will be "real neat" to put their handprints on the flag. In an interview, he tells us that the game has really started since the merge. He says, "I'm gon' tell you what. Hell, I'm here to win a million dollars! To outplay, outwit, and outlast!" So the advertising's working on someone, anyway. Ken seems confused by the whole handprint thing, but goes along with it. In an interview, he tells us that his main concern was making the merge, because he'll be a viable threat in all the immunity challenges. Now Brian tells us that the merger represents a new game; although they're former enemies, it doesn't matter anymore because he'll vote against the most annoying person. CC, sadly, is not eligible for that vote. We now see that they've painted a giant, purple football in the center of the flag.

Penny tells Helen that she gave her the wrong recipe for refried bean dip the day -- the recipe should have sour cream instead of cream cheese. I have always confused those two things, so for once I can't come down on Penny. Except any moron can make a bean dip, so trotting it out in a recipe exchange is kind of lame. Helen, know-it-all that she is, was already questioning the recipe because it sounded kind of "thick." Maybe if Helen wasn't so "thick," she'd realize that no one wants to hear another word about Mabel Cunningham's Baked Cheddar Asparagus Poofs. Ted -- who has painted another sun on his chest but sadly refrained from recreating the shiny golden pate -- tells us that Helen's constant talk of recipes and food really bothers him. He sits beside the tribe with his head in his hands and, when Ken asks if he's sleeping, responds that he's just resting his eyes, which is something my father always said when we were growing up. I've always wondered if there's some problem with admitting you're sneaking a nap, or do I just have particularly robust eyes? In any case, Jan has joined in the foodfest, rambling on about Worcester and soy sauces and how when she's used up the bottles, she buries them in her backyard so they can sing songs and play "Go Seek" with each other. Ted voice-overs that he has "internalized" his angst until now, but that he needs to get away. So he takes the boat out by himself and enjoys some "real good, quality me time." And with Grindia gone, we all know what that means. Ted laments that people don't usually take "me time" because people don't want to be perceived as anti-team. Not to mention pro-masturbation. In any case, Ted is aware of the risk he takes in separating himself from the tribe.

In an interview, Jan hangs on a branch and tells us that Ted went off in the canoe without telling anyone. Penny doesn't think Ted intended to go out as far as he did, and Brian thinks he just needed to get away. Clay and Jan point out that Ted can't swim, and that he's "too big to run." I think we're supposed to think they're counting that against Ted, but since that would make him no threat in the immunity challenges, lacking those particular skills would really work in his favor. Helen and Clay then discuss someone -- we're to think it's Ted, but we don't hear his name, so for all we know they're having an intelligent discussion of Saddam Hussein -- that it's "his way or the highway," and "he ain't got a clue." Brian philosophizes in an interview that the most minute things escalate into big problems at this point in the game, "which is so interesting to [him]." Clay and Brian discuss how they need to get Ted on the jury, which will secure them through the end of the game. This conversation must have been filmed at least an episode earlier, since at this point it's clear Ted's already made the jury. Brian tells us in an interview that although he has an alliance with Ted, if it comes down to either him or Ted, he's looking out for "Good Old #1." And now I'm suddenly hungry for Chinese food. In any case, Clay tells Brian that if they play it cool, they'll march right into the final two.

Ted struggles with beaching the boat, while Jake peeks at him from the cave without offering to help. He voice-overs that he's looking for a Chuay Gahn member to bring to the Sook Jai side, but he doesn't know whom to trust. We see Clay tell Jake that although they love Ted, they're tired of listening to him, and his attitude is getting old. Jake pushes Clay to say that if he had to cast a vote today, he'd vote off Ted. Jake tells us in an interview that he just "got a sense" that the Chuay Gahn tribe was tired of Ted. That Jake is really good at sniffing out the obvious. Clay tells Jake that they were originally going to vote out Ken, but have since realized what a "good guy" he is. Which is exactly why they'd want to vote him out, so I have no idea why Jake is buying Clay's crap except out of sheer desperation. Ken struts down the beach, while Ted does yoga. Jake tells Clay that if they can get some kind of an alliance "cookin' right now," they will be able to handle things "systematically." I think Chuay Gahn is already quite capable of handling things "systematically"; it's just not the system of choice for Jake.

Jake scurries back to both Penny and Ken with the news that Ted will be Chuay Gahn's choice to go at the Tribal Council. He then tells us in an interview that he's trying to salvage his own predicament as well as the predicament of the Sook Jai tribe. He's trying to "ooch" his way into the final four. "Ooch" sounds like a word CC would use to describe a female body part.

We arrive at the immunity challenge, once again having been spared the clue. The camera pans over a giant grid in the sand, marked by lots of little flags, and a board with nine numbered symbols. Peachy welcomes the S8 to the challenge and shows them the tortuous-looking, giant, gold immunity necklace. Whichever members of the S8 wears it they guarantees him- or herself immunity in the Tribal Council. Not to mention entry to P. Diddy's party on the Vineyard. Peachy explains that this challenge is also a two-parter, the first part of which is a memory-testing elimination game, followed by the "final showdown race" on the grid course we saw earlier. Peachy points out the board, which he explains has the numbers one through nine written in "English" and in corresponding Thai symbols. The S8 will have thirty seconds to memorize the symbols before Peachy quizzes them; when they miss one answer, they're out of the game. The S8 study the squiggles and curves, and then Peachy asks them to show him the number nine. It looks like a little sperm, and Ken, Clay, and Penny get it right. Everyone else is eliminated, so we're already down to the final three. Peachy quizzes them on the spirally number one, which Ken and Clay both get right. Penny, however, is wrong. Hee. Penny is wrong. I like saying that.

Ken and Clay advance to the final round -- a race in a course comprised of a "series of sandy mounds laid out on a grid." I think "Sandy Mounds" is CC's porn-star name. Buried under the mounds are disks with navigational instructions on which will be written a Thai symbol, representing the number of sandy grids to travel, and another symbol laying out the direction in which they will travel. If they misread and dig up the wrong sandy mound, a red disk will be revealed, signaling the need to try again. Each disk bears a tally card, which the competitors will place on a scoreboard. The first person with ten tally cards on his tally board wins immunity. Peachy points out a compass and reminds them that water is westward. Basically, this is a giant map-reading challenge, and I'd so get my butt kicked. The challenge begins, and Ken and Clay both stand with their tally cards and attempt to orient themselves. Clay digs up a navigational disk on his first attempt, but Ken looks confused as he unearths a red disk and is returns to the starting point to try again. Clay has three tally cards before Ken even gets his first; Clay continues to increase his lead while Ken flounders. At seven to two, when Ken digs up yet another incorrect disk, an exasperated Peachy snits, "Ken, wrong again." Ken hustles through the end, but to no avail as Clay finishes well ahead of him and is proclaimed the winner. Clay jumps around with his hands in the air; when Peachy puts the necklace on him, he exclaims, "I know I look sexy, baby! I know I look sexy! It's me, baby!" Peachy reiterates the benefits of wearing the necklace, as the camera focuses on a dejected Ken and a spirited Clay.

Back at camp, I realize that they did actually name themselves Chuay Jai. That's so sad. I can't believe Mark Burnett let them name themselves that. The tribe congratulates Clay on the victory, and he jokingly hopes that they won't mind if he wears it for a while. Ken earnestly says that he "done good." Ted voice-overs that Ken demonstrated his strength in the challenge, and since their strategy is to eliminate strength, it doesn't bode well for him. This, I think, is the inherent flaw of this game. Who wants to celebrate a winner whose victory is based completely on being ineffectual? In a private conversation, Ken tells Jake that the other tribe has been worried about him since the beginning; they know it's not in their best interest to compete against Ken in the immunity challenges, so they'll get rid of him. In order to avoid this, Jake proposes they "create a little bit of a stir." Ken agrees that they need to "shake up the chicken coop" as they agree that they need to create some doubt amongst the Chuay Gahn tribe. Ken thinks they have to bring a member of Chuay Gahn onto their side, and wonders who they should get. Really, they need two members of Chuay Gahn on their side, so either they already think they've got Clay, or they're really bad at math. Jake thinks they don't have a chance of winning against Brian, which cracks Ken -- and me -- up. In an interview, Jake says, "The plan's pretty simple. We get rid of Brian, and we get rid of Brian tonight." He says that Brian is a "class act," which might be one of the funniest things I've ever heard on this show. In any case, Jake plans to "use his team members" to vote against Brian, and thinks that Clay will bring over one additional vote. He seems to think it will go "just that quick." Jake asks if Clay can "handle one of the ladies," and if he was really looking for a lady handler, he should have gone after Ted. Jake tells Clay that it's a good plan for getting to the end of the game, insisting, "It's a great plan for you!" In an interview, in which he wears an odd sleeveless polo shirt, Clay tells us that Jake is trying to get Clay to help vote Brian out. He says that they'll have to wait and see what happens because "Jake is out for Jake and Clay's out for Clay." Ken and a toe-picking Jake assure each other that it is in Clay's interest to vote off Brian, but they worry that Clay won't see it that way. Maybe he won't see it that way because it's not that way. Ken tells us about Jake's plan in an interview, and insists again that it would benefit Clay to join their side. I don't know why Clay and Jake are wasting all their time convincing each other -- and the home viewing audience -- of the possibilities of their plan.

As the tribe packs up for Tribal Council, Ken reveals that he's since heard of Chuay Gahn's plan to vote against Ted. If there's a chance of that happening and it will help him stay around, he'll "throw a vote that way." As they ready themselves, Jan adjusts her top and complains, "I hate this clavage [sic] leakin' out in front of everybody." Jake dryly responds, "Now you got us all turned on." Hee. In an interview, Brian tells us that as they enter the final stretch of the game, everything -- friends, relationships -- counts. He says you can't know what's going to happen unless you're wearing the necklace.

The moon drops into the ocean as day turns to night. The tribe arrives at the Council, plants their torches, and have a seat. Erin's breasts enter the room followed a few minutes later by Erin. My, how she's grown. Seriously, who would have thought they could get any bigger? For once, the camera manages not to focus on Clay's drool. Peachy explains that the game is politically difficult to navigate; he then asks how Clay looks at his seven tribemates. Clay -- who incidentally pronounces "Penny" as "Pinny" -- answers that they're all trying to determine where they stand and the strengths of the competition. He says he's trying to figure out how he can best "both the big and the little, and I'm not a real big guy." He then yelps that the game "plays on ya!"

Jake is trying to focus on the game while maintaining his genuineness; still, he says that lies are inherent to the game and they need to accept that and try to "ferret out" who is lying the most.

Peachy asks if Ted has doubted anything he's said or done so far in the game, but Ted has no regrets. He admits to feeling homesick, and depressed over seeing his daughter, but he "rectified" that situation by "taking some me time." He says that "clearing all that blueness" will take him through to the end of the game, but quickly corrects himself to say it will take him as far as he'll get.

Peachy asks whether Penny has started to notice new things about people. She hasn't, because she's been busy enjoying the merge. She says they're more relaxed now because they can share in each others' excitement and joy.

Brian thinks the night's vote will be based completely on past performances and contributions to the camp, or as he claims, "production...or lack of production." Peachy points out "that immunity necklace around [Clay's] throat," and Clay thinks it feels good -- much better than Robb's hands around his throat did earlier in the game.

Helen votes first. We don't see the name, but she hopes to see this person soon, adding that he/she is a "great player." Jake didn't know whom to vote for, but he enjoyed meeting and knowing whomever he decided upon. Brian wordless drops his vote into the urn, and then makes a "smell the fart" face at the camera. Clay votes for a "great guy," but says he needs to get rid of the strong in order to keep going in the game.

Peachy returns from tallying. The first vote is for Ted, as are the second and third. Wow! Someone's really out to mess with Ted. He nods and looks sad. He doesn't have to worry for much longer, though, because the remaining votes are for Ken, including one for "NYC" with "Ken" written in parentheses, and another which has been underlined. Ken shoulders his purplish-gray bag, while Clay openly grins and Jake meditates, trying to figure out what went wrong with his perfect plan. Ken hugs Jake but no one else, then wishes them luck and heads down the path toward a little boat where someone waits to row him away.

time on Survivor, Ted "feels the sting" of three votes, and doesn't know that Clay instigated the Sook Jai members to vote for him. Also, Peachy makes like the reward challenge victor will win an elephant, but it's just another meal.

Over the closing credits, we confirm that all the members of Chuay Gahn voted for Ken, while all the members of Sook Jai voted for Ted. Ken tells us Survivor was a life-altering experience, and rambles on about the "life-giving, delicious, incredible thing(s)" known as bananas. He then encourages us to send him chocolate chip cookies.