Previously on Survivor, the clips show revealed that Grindia was a diva, Jake got attacked by a bug, and Ted shaved his head. Also, Erin's ass was on fire.
Previously previously on Survivor, Brian won an elephant trek and took Clay along for the ride. Clay liked the elephant's nice ass. Ted may or may not have been on to an alliance between Clay and Brian, while Jake tried to win Helen over to his side. In the immunity challenge, Penny snuffed Jake's torch, hoping to send the former members of Chuay Gahn a message; unless that message was, "Vote me out ," she was unsuccessful in doing so. During the Tribal Council, Jake called out the others for claiming to vote based on performance, and was curious to see whether that would hold up. Then Penny got voted out.
Night-vision shots reveal the tired-looking tribe returning from Tribal Council on Night 30. Jan voice-overs that Jake claimed to be one of the tribe's hardest workers during the Tribal Council, and that Clay "doesn't really simmer with things like that real well." A clearly agitated Clay blusters in outrage as he asks, "How'd you like that statement?," and then something that sounds like, "Well, we know where number day three lies!" Whatever that means. A concerned-looking Jan watches Clay while Jake rubs his head in dismay before explaining in an interview that he would, indeed, put his productivity up against the productivity of any other member of the tribe, and that this claim offended Clay. Clay announces that he thinks everyone in the tribe works just as hard as Jake does; Jake claims that he didn't say he worked harder than the others do. Clay cuts him off: "Somebody's gotta get their ass kicked off." Hee. Helen tells us in an interview that Clay didn't like Jake's comment because it was true: Jake does more work than Clay does. Her voice scales an octave as she squeals that the people who are working know they're working, while the people who aren't working know they aren't. That's some smart people. She says that Clay was angry because Jake brought the subject to light. At camp, Clay complains that he thought Jake was a "bigger person than that," and accuses him of slapping each of his five tribemates in the face, to which Jake earnestly responds, "I didn't slap everybody!" Clay says, "To hell you didn't!" and, once again, won't let Jake further explain himself. In an interview, Ted tells us that Clay is getting on Ted's nerves. He says Clay's outburst was "childish" and "uncalled for," and that Ted didn't see anything wrong with Jake's comments because they were "just words," and "so what if he felt that way?" Ted and Jan, incidentally, are totally winning me over lately with their nonchalant attitudes about things. I mean, semi-reasonable people on Survivor? Who thought that day would ever come? We see Clay ask whether Ted is proud of him for speaking his mind to Jake, and Ted responds, "That was messed up, what you did." A grinning Clay justifies the attack thus: "Had to be said. Just had to. I just had to."
The sun rises. Gong! It's Day 31, and the tribe members are asleep. Jake, for once, is not on his back with his hands curled into little bitty baby fists. Brian has filthy fingernails, and Clay -- with some serious under eye baggage -- tells us that after thirty-one days, they are "physically whupped." Kind of like his two-year-old? He says they've been living off of "whatever [they] can find," but really it's more like "whatever they've been given." In any case, he misses his home and family, has lost too much weight, and is to the point in the game now "where [he] can start smellin' it," but maybe that's just residual elephant fart. Clay tells us they know the end is coming, and it won't be long now. We see shots of the pensive-looking S6 while pensive-sounding music plays in the background. Jake tells us he spends each day documenting his experiences in Thailand. He says it's a letter to his wife, and that it includes a lot of his "mission." Jake also thinks the end is in sight, and is just sitting around waiting for the challenge. It does always seem that boredom becomes a big factor at this point in the game.
Helen and Jan check the treemail, which is accompanied by a tiny golden box. Helen exclaims that it's "bee-yoo-tiful!" They ooh and aah over it and agree to take a "sneak peek," which causes Helen to freak out even more than usual. She begins squealing, jumping up and down, and clutching at Jan's arm; meanwhile, Jan calmly responds, "Oh, shit. We're gonna eat. We're gonna eat." Hee about the "oh, shit" part. Jan tells us in an interview all about the "real neat little container," and then explains how exciting it was to see rice inside it. The two women take off the beach, chanting, "We're eating, we're eating," as Jake voice-overs that their sprint back to camp was remarkable because "these are people who can hardly walk!" Helen reads the clue aloud -- and for the record, I was wrong to think we'd be spared future affronts to the field of poetry -- which reads, "Good food is luxury. You need nourishment at least. So gather your appetite, for it's time to feast. This one will give you a smile, maybe a tear to your eye. What an experience, so at least give it a try." Helen then urges the others to "look! Look! Look!" at the rice, which I'll bet looks just like all the other rice they've seen in their lives. Ted tells us in an interview that, based on the words "luxury" and "nourishment," the S6 concluded that the challenge would be food-related. We see that, indeed, they did come to that conclusion, although Ted came to it a little late: as the rest of the tribe celebrates the clue, Ted encircles them with his arms and asks, "So what does this mean? It's a feast?"
The S6 take seats at the challenge, where Peachy explains that they'll see the reward before hearing about the challenge. He slowly turns and says, "This is what you're playing for..." A pudgy, pony-tailed, middle-aged man bounds out of the woods, and Helen completely flips out, while the other members of the tribe are all, "Why would I want to win a pudgy, pony-tailed man, middle-aged man?" Helen springs to her feet, but Peachy insists that she must remain seated. So from the seated position, she giggles, bounces around, squeals, jerks Brian's arms, jogs in place, claps her hands, waves, and cries. It turns out this man is not the world-famed author of Thai Cooking: Thirty-Nine Recipes for Thirty-Nine Days, but Helen's husband, James.
Ted's brother, Alwan, emerges ; he is very tall and skinny with a long, thin braided beard, which I find disturbing.
C.C. is the revealed "loved one," and greets Brian with a big "Hey, baby!" while in the background we hear a very chipper Clay yell, "Hey, C.C.!" Hee.
Jake tears up when he sees his wife Jenny, who waves and blows him kisses. Peachy announces, "There's your soulmate, Jake!"
Introducing Clay's wife Linda, Peachy says, "That looks like Lady Luck," which is so much less amusing than if he'd said, "Now here comes one fine, racehorse ass." Clay, for some reason, is very excited to show Linda his buff. They silently mouth "I love you" at each other, which is kind of strange; since everyone can see them doing it, they might as well have just said it aloud.
Peachy says, "Jan, you know we're not gonna leave you outta this," but it's not completely ridiculous to think that he might, since in the first season everyone got letters from home except Jenna. In any case, Jan's son Jeff emerges from the woods pumping his fist in the air while Jan exclaims, "All right, baby boy!" She is particularly excited that "he found it!" so maybe Jeff has a problem with getting lost? He's got the same goofy look as his mother, and it's kind of endearing.
The loved ones line up behind a counter facing the S6, and Peachy announces that after thirty-one days apart, they must look more beautiful than ever to each other. He explains that the winner of the challenge will get twenty-four hours with his or her loved one back at camp, while the losers will get nothing. Peachy says, "Hear me clearly. Not a kiss. Not a hug. Not a handshake." Harsh! At this news, the loved ones are still smiling, but the S6 -- particularly Clay -- look distraught.
Peachy points out that after a month in Thailand, the S6 have avoided eating bugs and insects because they've "sourced" enough coconuts, clams, and edible plants off the land. He's curious now, however, as to whether they'd eat these things in order to get a day with their loved ones. The S6 enthusiastically exclaim that they would, and Clay claims, "Pick the sonofabitch up, I'll eat it. I'm ready." A very weepy Jan adds, "I'd eat whatever I needed to eat...to be with my baby boy." Aw. Peachy believes that all of them would eat anything to claim the reward, but that's not the question. Instead, he reveals, "The question is: would they?" Dum, dum, dum! The S6 look baffled, while the loved ones are surprised and dismayed. We hear, "Oh no"s from both sides, before Helen starts pointing at James and screaming, "Eat it! Eat it!" Oh, poor James. He not only has to eat nasty things, he has to do so while married to Helen.
Peachy explains that he's put together a "nice Thai menu" featuring "some of the most edible creatures" found in the jungle, and I think I'd have a problem with the whole "most edible" part, which seems to me to imply that they're not completely edible, just more edible than the other things out there. In any case, there will be several courses. Any loved one who cannot finish a course will be immediately eliminated and sent away with no further contact. Peachy asks the loved ones whether they've brought along their appetites, and they gamely affirm that they did. C.C. is looking a little grimy. She cleaned up real nice in the video from home.
Peachy disappears and returns bearing the first course, consisting of a "red ants and flying ants" on shiny, gold-edged plates. C.C. asks, "They're not gonna burn us, are they?" and Peachy responds that they're dead, and thus won't hurt them. As the challenge begins, Peachy encourages them with the assertion that the "nice big spoonful" is "just like cereal." He also claims, "Ants are surprisingly tasty, aren't they?" Ted's brother rolls his eyes but manages to finish, and James too downs it and can't wait to stick his tongue out at Helen. As C.C. chews and chews and chews, she says that's it's "not bad," through a mouthful of ants, and then finishes, gives Brian the thumbs up, and does a little hip wiggle dance. Everyone else manages to swallow as well -- even the wincing, gagging Linda -- and so they all advance to the round.
Peachy snits that they've all seen the food item, and promises that it's a great source of nutrition before revealing a "water roach." I don't know about the water part, but that thing is definitely all roach. Nasty! Peachy explains that this round is also not a time trial -- no matter how long it takes them to get the roach down, they will still move on to the round. The camera closes in on Alwan taking his first bite, and water -- or whatever comprise the innards of a roach -- spurts all over his face, clothes, and the counter. Jenny bites and gets the same response, to which Peachy happily responds, "There's that juice! That's why they call it a water bug!" A dismayed C.C. watches as James coughs and gags while Helen, meanwhile, mumbles, "Hey! Hey! Don't you dare!" Peachy sounds amazed as he comments, "Boy, Helen, he really wants to see you. That man loves you!" Linda coughs and covers her mouth with her hand; then, her eyes open really wide as Peachy announces, "Lady Luck goin' to town!" Clay tells her that he's been telling the others about her, and unless he's been telling them about her cockroach-eating skills, I don't really see what that's got to do with anything. C.C., meanwhile, has started pushing the bug around the plate with her finger, as Peachy advises her not to "overthink it." Peachy asks how Jan thinks her son Jeff is doing, and Jan jovially answers, "Good." When Jeff turns to smile at her in response, she gets very serious and urges him, "Don't laugh!" As Ted's brother finishes up with the complaint that the insect "gets stuck," Peachy tells him to "think of the stories you're gonna tell." About that crazy time the roach got stuck in his throat? One by one, the loved ones all finish and look amazed over their accomplishment, until only C.C. and James remain. Finally, James finishes, complaining that it wasn't easy, but Peachy thinks that if he "survived the military" -- particularly with that ponytail -- he can certainly survive this challenge. Peachy turns to C.C., who says, "I'm out." He's not trying to hear that though, and asks if she's talked herself out of the challenge. After all, the others are all done, and she hasn't even began. She says more loudly, "Dude, I'm out. No!" She announces that Brian kills these bugs for her when she sees them at home, and chokes up as she exclaims, "I can't eat this!" Still, she insists that it doesn't matter because Brian knows how much she loves and misses him, and they're soulmates. So C.C. gets dismissed from the challenge with a kiss blown back at Brian, who I'm thinking is probably not all that surprised that his wife wouldn't eat a giant cockroach. I wouldn’t either.
The course is live grubs, which look just like the grubs they ate in the first season of Survivor. As the insects squirm and ooze on the plates, Linda yells in alarm, "They're livin'!" Peachy points out that they don't taste that bad, and then James and Alwan have a delayed reaction to the fact that live grubs indeed move. Peachy reveals that this course is a time trial, and that only the two loved ones who finish eating the three grubs fastest will move on to the round. Jenny looks particularly distressed, and tears up while shaking her head at Peachy. Alwan attempts to drink his grubs, which doesn't seem to me like a particularly promising route to take, while Jenny continues to shake her head in dismay at Jake. Helen's husband may have had a problem with the water roach, but he's all about the grubs. He finishes almost immediately, and Helen is so excited she knocks the sunglasses off her face. By some absolute miracle, Jenny manages to finish , so that's it for the other loved ones. Peachy dismisses Jeff after deeming him "quite a gamer," and Jan cries some more over her departing "baby boy." Clay and Linda exchange more "I love you"s, but this time aloud. Peachy snottily tells Alwan that he "just got outplayed," and that it's part of the game. As Alwan heads off, Ted requests that he pass on his "I love you"s, and Alwan says of course he will. He then takes off his hat causing Clay to bust out with, "Oh, you [sic] bald too!" Hee!
Peachy is as amazed as I am that Jenny made it this far and asks, "Who knew? Who expected this?" while looking over the two unlikely finalists. He then brings out a live tarantula housed on a glass-domed plate, and Jenny is obviously disturbed because she can't stand spiders. Peachy removes the lid from the spider plate and showily forces it to crawl up his arm while slowly explaining to James and Jenny, "That's a tarantula. Obviously alive. It's got a lot of fur on it. But it's absolutely harmless." And what's with the "lot of fur" announcement? Jenny thinks Peachy can't possibly ask them to eat that, causing Peachy to produce another plate, which he uncovers to reveal a second, boiled tarantula. It's black and very hard-looking. Peachy stresses that it's not alive -- and I hope so, what with the boiling and all -- and that it's "like a peach." Given that I can't imagine in what way a boiled tarantula is anything like a peach, I'll take that as a shout-out. The loved ones will have one minute to eat the boiled tarantula, and if neither finishes in that time, they are both eliminated and will leave without seeing either loved one. If they succeed, they both advance to the final round. The challenge begins, and Jenny attempts to shove the entire thing into her mouth while Jake advises her to "swallow it as quick as you can!" A chewed-up leg falls out of her mouth. James approaches the spider-eating more methodically despite the gagging and the fact that his eyes are spontaneously rolling back in his head. Peachy announces that they both can do anything: "You took three grubs!" We see more shots of struggling, insect-eating loved ones, and finally James finishes. With twenty seconds to go, Jenny appears to be having difficulties, but then she pulls through. Crying, she asks, "Do I want this bad or what?" She whines that she's waited a long time for this, and thirty-three days just does not seem that long to me. Jenny then snits that she's "doin' it," and attempts to stare down James, who just looks at her blankly in response.
We're now in the final round, which is another time trial. Peachy reveals two plates, each bearing a shiny, black, boiled scorpion. He announces that although they are lethal when they are alive, scorpions are fine when they're dead, and I wonder whom they tested that hypothesis on. On Peachy's start, Jenny's hands are shaking so badly that she drops the scorpion, which really looks like it's still alive. She scrambles to pick it up and begin eating, but James is already on his way. As the crunching commences, Helen cheers James on with the following exchange, "Jimmy, please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please, Jimmy. Jimmy, please. I need it. I need it. I need it. I need it. Please Jimmy. Swallow it. You've gotta swallow. Please. Please. I need it. I need it. I need it. Please. Please. I need it. Keep it down. Keep it down." And then there's some more "please Jimmy"s and "Jimmy please"s and maybe even a couple more "I need it, I need it, I need it"s thrown in for good measure, and quite obviously, the only reason James ultimately finishes first is to stop the needling, incessant shrewish noise. In any case, as Jimmy nears his victory, Peachy yells that they're taking too long; he urges them both to finish, before Jimmy raises both palms, says, "Here it goes," swallows, and shows his tongue. Helen flits around in celebration, while no one looks particularly happy for her. Clay congratulates her over an inexpressive Brian, who just sits there. Poor Jenny, meanwhile, is bent at the waist and heaving. If that were Erin, the cameramen would run behind her to get that nice clear ass shot. Jake and Jenny apologize to each other and Jenny sighs, "Oh, Jeff." Peachy sends her off, and all of the S6 wave goodbye as she tearfully exits.
For his troubles, Jimmy has earned an ugly gold buff. After handing it over, Peachy adds, "I know there's somethin' you want a lot more than that." Surprisingly, he does not mean earplugs, but a hug from Helen. She jumps from her seat and runs over to her husband, then brings him back to introduce him to the other members of Chuay Jai. Peachy sends him off as an honorary member of the tribe and encourages him to have a "great experience."
As we see the tribe -- plus James -- returning from the challenge, James tells us in an interview that there was no way he was willing to lose the contest, because he would have done anything to spend that time with Helen. He appears to be carrying a very sparkly, sequined messenger bag through the wilderness. The tribe shows off their torches, and Clay points out that Helen had immunity in the Tribal Council. Helen jokes that Clay had it before she did, but that the necklace is girly and looks better on her. Helen tells us that she was anxious to show James everything about their camp and living situation. We watch as she points out the cooking coconut, lemongrass, and crabs, and then makes a joke about throwing in some tarantula. Jimmy tells us he was surprised by how proud they were of their camp, but thought, "God, get me to a hotel." He adds, "This is not the Helen I know." Around the fire, he Woody Allens, "This is wonderful. This is lovely. I guess the losers get two nights out here?" Clay asks if Helen talks about recipes at home, but James can't understand him because of the accent. Helen thinks James is just too slow to understand the question and repeats it very slowly for him, and in the third person no less. Clay jokes, "So you think I've got an accent is what you're tryin' to say?" Jan whinily wonders where she's going to sleep if she gives up her place for James, and the others urge her to join them. Still, she's worried that the "snakes 'n things'll get me." Ted encourages her to let Helen and James have their privacy, and she finally agrees to let them have the "presidential suite." In an interview, Jan realizes that "honeymoon suite" is a more appropriate choice of words, and cackles that she tried to listen to Helen and Jimmy, but couldn't hear anything.
Inside the tent, Helen explains to Jimmy about the original tribal breakdown and the merge. She tells us in an interview that she and James spent a nice evening talking, and that it's not possible to know how "actually, specifically painful" it is to be separated from family members until you are put in that situation. She says tha once you realize how important family is, nothing else matters.
Tinkly music plays on Day 32, as we join Helen and James out in the boat. Helen tells him that she thinks she's been on every water run so far except one, and James is amazed that she swam that far. Helen voice-overs that she took Jimmy out in the canoe so that he could have the "full experience" of being there, but also so that he'd believe there was no tap. As they pour the water from the hole -- which is not completely unlike a tap as these things go -- Jimmy is amazed that they have to fetch water every day. In an interview, he expresses surprise because a two-star hotel is "roughing it" for Helen. A two-star hotel is roughing it for anyone, isn't it? Jimmy tells us that Helen will do what it takes to prevail in the game, because she didn't go on Survivor to win third place. But really, who does? Helen enacts an Herbal Essences commercial by having an orgasm as Jimmy pours a canteen of water over her head. As the hair-washing finishes, Helen looks straight at the camera and then seductively back at Jimmy, who appears to check out her ass. There's some joke about the cameras taping everything they do, and it's a totally romantic, sexy moment. Except not.
Back in the canoe, Helen insists that she knows what she's up against: Brian will play the game fairly and with integrity, while Clay is a throat-cutting, "selfish son of a gun" who will do anything to win the million-dollar prize. Helen tells us in an interview that she's been trying to figure out how to "flip" Jan, Ted, and Brian into voting off Clay. Jimmy then tells Helen that after seeing the way people react to her, he doesn't think she needs Brian to carry her into the finals. He thinks she should get rid of him as her biggest threat, but she's not comfortable doing that. In an interview, James tells us that he thought Helen would do anything for a million dollars, and he's surprised that she also wanted to do what was right. How nice, that he thinks so highly of his wife. Helen says that, "morally," she knows she wouldn't have progressed this far without Brian, and that if he wins, she won't begrudge him the million dollars. She tells Jimmy that Brian promised to take her along, and he caves by saying she's done fine so far so she should just continue on her way. Helen tells us that strategizing about the game with Jimmy has energized her. Although she dreads seeing him go, she knows she's going to be fine.
The tribe is out clamming as they await the boat that will take Jimmy away. Brian grumbles, "There's a clam...or what they're calling clams," which cracked me up. In an interview, Helen tells us that the day with Jimmy was both a huge high and a crushing low. We see the couple hugging each other and whispering their farewells -- most likely, Jimmy is whispering sweet nothings, while Helen is whispering sweet recipes. Helen says that even though she felt bad, she didn't want the others to see, because they didn't get a day with their loved ones at all. She knows she was the lucky one, and doesn't want the others to look at her and wonder what right she has to be upset. The other members of the tribe stand in the surf and watch as Helen sends James off, and poor Jan is crying. Maybe she clipped off a lock of Jimmy's hair so she can toss it in her cemetery to keep Oscar/Oliver the Bat and Lucky the Chicken company. As the boat pulls away, Jim makes a "What can I do?" kind of helpless gesture, and Helen bites her nails before telling us that "in a strange way" she wishes she hadn't won the challenge, because James's leaving was so difficult to take. She knew it would be hard, but not that hard. Helen cries in slow motion for dramatic effect.
There's that ugly Chuay Jai flag again on Day 33. Ted heralds new treemail, but no one really seems to care. The clue is about thinking "outside the box," "pieces fall[ing] into place," and a race. In an interview, Jake tells us he needs to win immunity because it's 5-1 against him within the tribe. He knows the odds are not in his favor, but he feels inspired by his brief time with Jenny. He says that what she did to get to him made him feel like he could run through a brick wall. Now, that would be a challenge I'd like to see!
Instead, we arrive at the challenge site and see a pile of brightly colored puzzle pieces surrounded by a circle of crates. Peachy reclaims the immunity necklace from Helen, and explains that at this point in the game, every move counts. Somehow, that's supposed to justify that they're facing yet another puzzle challenge. Each competitor will have to put together an eight-sided cube with the colored side facing outward. The first person to finish wins immunity and a guaranteed spot in the final five. Before beginning, Peachy asks Helen what the best part of being with Jimmy was, and she grosses everyone out by answering, "Touching him." She adds that "talking to him" was pretty good, too. Peachy concludes from this that Helen means "the love." Peachy asks how Jake felt about Jenny's performance, rubbing in that she was so close, ate everything, and got outplayed by mere seconds. Jake agrees that Jenny tried very hard, and that she didn't want to leave. Peachy adds, "None of 'em wanted to leave. Funny thing is...they didn't!" with this, Ted's head does a near 360-degree snap around and thinks Just Peachy must be kidding him while the others look confused. Suddenly, the loved ones emerge from their hiding place and run in single file toward the S6. Jan's son might indeed manage to get lost this time en route to his mother, as their reunion appears to happen full minutes after that of the others. Peachy irritatedly coaches them to "give 'em a hug, guys. Let's go. Give 'em a hug. Go go, go." Clay and his wife exchange sweet hugs and playful pecks, while Jake and Jenny majorly make with the tongue. Ick. After wrapping his arms around C.C., Brian whispers, "I got a plan goin'. Big-time." As much as Peachy is "a fan of the love affair," he points out that they're there for another reason: the challenge. He reveals that the loved ones will partner with the S6, and thus they'll be able to share in the joy of the win or commiserate in the sadness of the loss. Except he says "blame" it on each other. Hee. Peachy must have very healthy relationships.
The S6 and their loved ones assume places around the circle, and Peachy advises them to prepare to claim a color. Clay and Linda smartly stake out purple from the beginning, but Brian and C.C. and Helen and Jimmy run into a little conflict over blue, mostly likely because Helen ignores Brian's loud and clear plea of, "I've got blue, H. I've got blue!" Either way, it costs both sides some time. As they work, Peachy reminds the teams that the eight pieces only fit together in one specific way, with the color side out. He says that like it's an ominously difficult thing, but really, it'd be much harder if both sides had color. The teams work, and it's clear that Alwan would very much like to be the brother of a millionaire. As Brian points out that Jake and Jenny are getting close, we see that Ted and Alwan are close too, except that they're missing a piece. They track it down and finish with a very loud, united scream, and then Ted tackles Alwan and they fall to the ground while the triumphant music plays in the background. Jake and Jenny stop puzzling at the sounds of celebration, and he and Jenny sadly console each other. We see the other losing pairs hugging as well, while all the while Ted and Alwan continue to roll around in the sand. It seems that grinding may run in the family. Ted asks if Alwan can wear the immunity necklace, and Peachy snits that he's not in the game anymore. As Ted dons the necklace, he and Jan make hula gestures at each other, and then Jan rub's Ted's belly.
So now it's time for the loved ones to again say goodbye to the S6, which is yet one more opportunity for Jake and Jenny to display their tongues. Again, Clay and Linda have a far sweeter exchange. Peachy walks through the hugging pairs, tapping each on the shoulder with a curt "Say goodbye." When they're slow to move along, he attempts to herd them out with a cry of "This way, loved ones!" Clay walks Linda to the field where they'll disappear, and Peachy asks, "Clay, where you goin'? You're goin' back to camp!" Clay says he was just walking Linda over, and they finally say farewell. Jenny hams it up by running back for one last kiss from Jake. She doesn't have much to worry about, though, since we all know she'll be seeing him in a matter of hours. In any case, the loved ones run off and disappear forever and it's just like Field of Dreams except without the hot dogs and James Earl Jones. As the S6 walk back to camp, their spirits seem much higher.
Back at camp, sunlight pours through the trees, a walking stick bug hobbles along a leaf, and a squat little bird bobs its head. The tribe discusses how good it felt to see their loves ones unexpectedly at the challenge. Jake wonders aloud what could possibly wipe the smile off his face today, and Clay looks at him skeptically. In an interview, Jake tells us that he went into the challenge knowing he had to win immunity, but it doesn't matter now because he now knows that family and love are what's really important. Since I refuse to believe that Jake and Helen didn't both know how important family was beforehand, I'm curious how they get prompted to say such ridiculous things. Ted and Jake hug and profess their love for each other, and then Jake tells us that it's a special privilege to spend thirty-three days "in a cave and on a beach without your loved one," because it helps you to appreciate your family. Or, you could just appreciate your loved ones as they deserve from the start and be done with it. But that's just a thought. Jake scribbles -- most likely something very sappy -- in his journal before french-kissing the binding.
It's now evening, and Helen is trying to get Brian aside to run strategies and "do some opinion work." She tells Brian she doesn't trust Clay, and asks whether Brian thinks Clay has "earned...through merit" a spot in the final two. In an interview, Helen explains again that she trusts Brian and doesn't think he'll try to dupe her or "play [her] for a fool," and that she wouldn't do that to him either. Brian is distinctly noncommittal in his response: "I hear you, um, what you're sayin'. And I'm -- ah, ah -- considering that, as well." Helen reiterates that she's working toward forming an alliance to vote out Clay, before we hear from Brian that he needs to "dwell on that." Helen encourages him to do so, proclaiming that there "wasn't a job [they] didn't do" together. And although that suggests an alliance between Helen and Brian, really, it only suggests the fact that Helen thinks there's an alliance there. In an interview, Helen complains that Clay doesn't do "squat" around camp. She thinks he's gone on one water run in their entire time on the island, and managed to swamp the boat during the process. She concludes, "That stuff goes right up my #&*^*#@)&^!" And those symbols don't represent curse words -- that's what she actually said. Or else she had a violent seizure mid-sentence. In any case, Brian tells us in an interview that "practical, logical business sense" is what matters at this point in the game, and using his typical, odd hand motions, he gestures that it's important to react accordingly. He says, "It's just a matter of who trusts who [sic] the most. That's where we're at right now. And who's got a little control. Right now I got a little of both." Not to mention a whole lot of ego.
The S6 arrive at Tribal Council and take their seats before the jury -- including a smug-looking Penny -- files in. Peachy is "just guessin'" that it's been an emotional day for the competitors after having had the chance to see their loved ones. Clay thinks it might have been the most emotional day of his life, and Helen says that having James there was the "best medicine" -- she's amazed that she wasn't even hungry. She adds that seeing James at today's challenge was even better because she also got to meet everyone else's family members. She says it's a "tough platform," because she doesn't want to vote out anyone.
Clay volunteers that his voting mind was long made up, and that it hasn't changed. He claims, "We've had a little tension in camp and, um, it's not gonna be there tonight." Regardless, he says, they've bonded during their time in Thailand and will continue to be "friends forever."
Jake doesn't know how he'll base his vote because he likes everyone on Chuay Jai. He explains that the others got mad at him because of his earlier comments, but he's made "friendships here that you can't lick." Based on his earlier tongue action, I wouldn't put it past him to try to lick anything. In any case, he says it's been an incredible experience for him.
Brian says that although they still have some time, the person getting voted off "brought this upon himself" and could have prevented it. The camera shows Ken grinning and nodding, so I'm not sure what that's all about. Except maybe that Ken likes to grin and nod.
As expected, Clay votes for Jake. Still, he wants to let bygone be bygones because, as he says quite earnestly, "We're too close of [sic] neighbors to be enemies."
We don't see Brian's vote, but he says, "Positivity goes a long, long way, my friend. You need a little bit more positivity in your life." And Brian needs a little bit more dictionary.
That's all we see of the voting, and Peachy's off to tally. As he reads the votes, the only surprise is that three of the four "Jake" votes we see are underlined. They wanted him out of there bad! The jury members shake their heads as it becomes clear that the Sook Jai tribe is now officially extinct. The remaining members of Chuay Jai look thoughtful as Jake turns over his torch to Peachy for his official snuffing. Penny does not come over and do it for him. So Jake heads out, and then Peachy snits that he's "fascinated" that the Chuay Gahns are still voting down tribal lines without even a hesitation, which elicits an exchanged look and raised eyebrows between Erin and Penny. Peachy points out that with an all-Chuay Gahn final five, "the game's about to get complicated." Here's hoping it gets a little more interesting in the process.
The advertisement tells us to wear our buffs "anytime and anywhere." That's so sad.
time on Survivor, Ted erases a devil he's drawn in the sand and replaces it with the initials "BHT." Then, Clay preens in a giant mirror, and the S5 pack themselves into a car and obnoxiously careen around Thailand.
As the credits roll, we see that Jan is the only one who didn't underline her "Jake" vote. We also see that Jake voted for Jan, which makes absolutely no sense to me. In any case, Jake announces that he'll turn sixty-one "real quick" and was looking forward to scoring some retirement income, but he knows that when a door shuts, another opens. He tells us he's had a "grand experience," and is about to return home to Texas and "[his] Jenny," where, he says, "I'll be the happiest little guy in the world." Sounds like a challenge to me; Verne Troyer better watch his back.