Jamie continues to alienate his alliance with his bitching and whining when everyone returns from booting Bobby Jon. Gary, Judd, Steph, and Danni win the reward challenge, and travel by helicopter for an overnight stay at a mansion, where they are able to eat, sleep, and shower. Gary takes advantage of everyone's relaxed attitudes to make an alliance with Stephenie and Judd to get rid of Jamie . As if the food and soap and whatnot aren't enough, the winners also get to watch videos from home. When the winners return to camp, they bring coffee, and Judd brings reassurances to Jamie that nothing has changed, alliance-wise. Judd is really, really sure about this. In the Immunity Challenge -- which involves unwinding ropes from obstacles in a maze-like fashion -- Rafe wins immunity that he really didn't need. Jamie continues to be paranoid, and Judd continues to try to talk him down. It doesn't work that well, and Jamie continues to annoy his fellow alliance members with his constant need to discuss the game. Rafe finally proposes to Lydia and Steph that they get rid of Jamie, but Steph is concerned about Gary's big bag of tricks coming back to bite them in the ass. At Tribal Council, Judd basically flat-out admits that he's voting for Gary, and Jamie flat-out admits that he's going insane. I guess Jamie's paranoia had some basis (or maybe it was that his paranoia caused his ouster), because he gets voted out by everyone but Judd.
Previously: the minority was in danger of getting Pagonged, still. Everyone was searching for the secret Immunity Idol, so it was extra gasp-inducing when Probst announced that the winner of the Reward Challenge (Judd) would get a nice meal as well as a clue to the location of the idol. Judd showed the clue (which said that the idol was not on the ground) to Steph, and then lied to everyone else and said the idol was totally on the ground. Everyone continued to be annoyed by Jamie. Steph lobbied to get rid of Gary, who may have had a career in the FBI as well as the NFL, because he tailed Judd like a pro and ended up finding the idol and using it at tribal council, leading to Bobby Jon's ouster.
It always freaks me out a little to see the photos of the tribe members from the beginning of the season during the credits. They all look so healthy and shiny and happy. Why don't they look that way at the finale, too? They just look puffy and weird. I think it's all about lighting.
Everyone returns to camp after booting Bobby Jon, so we're treated to creepy night-vision footage. I sometimes wish that camera-makers had never invented night-vision technology. While the resulting footage may sometimes be juicy, it's still pretty freaking creepy. The glowing eyes! The blue skin! Anyway. Everyone wants to know when and where Gary found the Immunity Idol, and he admits that it was in a tree, and that he just found it that day. No one immediately blurts, "But...but Judd said it was on the ground!" I don't know if they just don't want to start a fight (doubtful) or if they haven't put two and two together yet (likely). Jamie interviews that he thinks Gary is shady, even though everyone else likes him. Jamie tells his alliance members that Gary voted for Cindy to shake things up. I'm not clear on exactly how that would shake things up, and neither is Cindy. She actually says, "I don't care! It's one vote. Whoop de doodle." Heh. "Doodle." Cindy interviews that Jamie always wants to have an argument, and that when she wouldn't get mad at Gary for voting for her, Jamie got upset. Both Cindy and Steph try to explain to Jamie why Gary's one vote was neither surprising nor upsetting, but Jamie keeps trying to press his point, because he obviously still can't read a room. Or campsite.
Cindy voice-overs that Jamie doesn't make any sense, because when she wouldn't take his bait and talk shit about Gary, he immediately went over to talk to Gary. Jamie tries to get Gary to admit to vowing to vote for Brandon, and then voting for Jamie instead. Gary insists that he never made any such vow. Jamie apparently took Gary's agreement with the idea of everyone voting for Brandon and subsequent noncommittal response as a vow to vote for Brandon. Jamie thinks they need to fight it out. Like with fisticuffs and whatnot? Somehow, out of this conversation, Jamie also heard Gary call him a liar. I think Jamie needs to start listening to the voices of the actual people he's with instead of the voices inside his head. Judd actually takes Gary's side to try to get Jamie to shut up. Jamie accuses Gary of being mad. Oh, no! He's mad! That could change the game. Gary says lightly that he's not mad, and Judd backs him up again. Judd tells Jamie to drop it, and Jamie actually shuts up, although he's grinding his teeth like a madman. Get it? Mad man? Okay, that was weak. Judd interviews what everyone is thinking: Jamie is losing it. And then the scene is punctuated by a screeching monkey.
Challenge time! Wooden beams! Jugs of corn! Probst in his stupid hat! I'm not opposed to hats in general, but you can just imagine Probst standing in front of the mirror as he prepared to go to the airport to fly to location, adjusting the angle of his hat, and thinking to himself, "Aw. Yeah. I am super-fly." And his stupid girlfriend Julie was probably lying on the bed, watching him pack, and telling him that it looked awesome and would probably spark a trend. I'm surprised CBS hasn't started selling the stupid hats on its website. If it has, please don't tell me. I still can't get over the fact that people buy Survivor buffs. I mean, someone must, because they advertise them every season, and I just can't figure out where people would wear them. To work? To the mall? To church? To the beach? There's no right answer to that. Anyway, the players arrive at the scene of the challenge, and Jeff points out that there are four men and four women remaining. He explains that they will be divided into two teams, and that each team will be made up of two men and two women. Each team member will be attached by rope to a same-sex teammate, and the pair will have to go through a deep mud pit and both over and under a series of obstacles (something like the sort of gates horses jump over) to retrieve a jug of corn. They'll bring the jug back and fill a big pot. The first team to fill the pot wins. Jeff explains that the winning team will leave by helicopter to go to a private home, where the winners can shower, eat, and sleep. But can they mingle? Steph is actually crying over the description of the reward.
The teams are randomly chosen as follows: Jamie and Rafe, Cindy and Lydia on one side, and Gary and Judd, Steph and Danni on the other. The male teams head out first, and for some reason, Rafe veers off to one side and nearly wipes Jamie out before they even reach the first obstacle. Gary and Judd spill a few kernels of corn at one point, which Jeff makes a big deal of, but while you don't want to spill the whole jug or anything, I don't think a handful of kernels is going to make the difference here. It's just the beginning of Jeff's overinvolvement in this challenge. Gary and Judd make the mistake of trying to hand the jug to each other through one of the obstacles instead of passing it over the top, which slows them down, and Lydia and Cindy start out for their team. The teams must have been told at some point that they had to stay in the center of their path, because it's much muckier there, and I couldn't figure out why they wouldn't just stay on the edges where it's more solid. So there must have been a rule or something that they couldn't go outside certain boundaries. As Cindy and Lydia approach the finish line, Lydia totally bites it and is somehow unable to stand back up. It's sort of like Rafe being unable to climb the ladder; you feel bad, but you're also like, "What is the problem here?" It takes her a really long time to slither her way to the finish line, and they lose the lead in the process, but finally Rafe and Jamie take off.
Rafe always turns his head the same way when he dives under an obstacle, so one side of his head is completely muddy and the other side is relatively clean. It's funny. Jamie and Rafe regain the lead, but then Cindy and Lydia quickly lose it. Jeff keeps yelling that Lydia is slowing her team down, and says, "You're going to have to move, Lydia! Dig deep! Let's go." Moments later, he says, "Lydia still struggling. Let's go, Lydia! Move!" Why doesn’t he just yell, "Lydia is totally losing this for her team! She's worthless! Lydia, the tribe has spoken and you are SLOW!" Seriously. Shut up, Jeff. While Lydia struggles (and Jeff continues to tell us exactly how she is struggling), Danni and Steph fill up their pot of corn and win the reward for their team. The winners celebrate with muddy hugs, and Jamie starts yelling to Lydia and Cindy (who are still out on the course) that they should still finish, because they're not quitters. Cindy is fairly hilariously like, "Hell to the no!," and when no one joins Jamie's "Let's finish" crusade, it quickly dies out. The winners run right to their helicopter as the losers just stand there, all muddy. Or, in Rafe's case, half muddy.
But the winners are still all muddy, in the helicopter. I pity the poor PA who had to hose that thing out afterward. They ooh and aah over the scenery, the chance to get away from camp, and the experience of riding in a helicopter. There is also discussion of how weird it will be to see an actual, working bathroom, with a mirror and all. The music swells, and I've been watching too much Lost, because with all the lush jungle scenery and the dramatic music, I keep expecting something completely horrible to happen.
I'm rescued by happy music as the winners arrive at their destination and are greeted by Louis, the house's owner. They go down to a beautiful in-ground pool and use the outdoor showers to rinse off the mud. I don't see any soap or shampoo, but I don't think they care. Steph interviews that she was really glad to share the experience with that particular group of people: she really likes both Danni and Gary, and she's always gotten along with Judd. Speaking of Judd, he decides to bare-ass it to clean up more effectively. The girls giggle as we get a shot of Judd's blurred-out junk.
Much cleaner now, the winners start devouring the food set out for them. Steph thinks they are eating "very fancy hors d'oeuvres," but I thought it looked more like Happy Hour food at TGIFriday's. For example, there are jalapeno poppers. I mean, I'm sure the food is good, but I wouldn't call it "very fancy." Steph and Danni share their love of eating. Then again, it's not corn. Steph talks about how the losers must feel, especially Lydia.
So let's go back to camp and see how Lydia is doing. She's talking to Rafe about how she lost the challenge for them. Rafe tries to tell her it was a team effort, but Lydia keeps harping on all the great things they missed out on by losing, like a bath, and coffee. Is she trying to get Rafe to hate her? I can understand addressing the elephant in the room that is her sucky challenge performance, but once Rafe said it was a team effort, she needed to shut up. Rafe tries to avoid blaming her, but admits that he wishes he could have gone on a helicopter. Jamie just sits there and glowers.
Later, Jamie and Rafe are playing mancala, and Jamie tells Rafe that he wants to make a deal for the two of them plus Judd in the final three. Rafe half-heartedly agrees, but Jamie wants him to swear to it. Rafe says he doesn't feel good giving his word, because he hasn't had time to think it through. Rafe interviews that he doesn't really understand Jamie's strategy, and that he thinks Jamie is losing it. That's a recurring theme in this episode, no? Jamie asks Rafe to swear to stick with the top six plan, and Rafe says that he already has. Jamie asks Rafe not to sucker him, and Rafe just kind of laughs it off.
Back at the mansion, the showered winners are all wearing these white linen pajamas so that they kind of look like members of that Heaven's Gate cult. Gary interviews that he thinks this is his opportunity to strengthen his ties with Judd and Steph. As they eat chips and salsa, Gary asks Judd and Steph if they're totally happy with their current alliance. Steph says that's a hard question. Gary introduces the strategy of taking the strongest players to the final four, so that no one gets in by sliding by. Well, that's not a great strategy. It's probably a good thing to say to these particular players, though. Or at least to Steph. I can see her being swayed by the whole "most deserving players" thing. Gary interviews that he tried to convince them that winning against the best is the only way to truly win. Gary points out that if Lydia or Cindy goes to the final two, either of them would win, and neither is necessarily the most deserving. I can't believe that, in the eleventh season, people still argue over who deserves to win. The person who managed to not get voted out, by whatever means necessary, and not piss everyone else off, deserves to win. As Miss Alli has pointed out many times, the objective of the game isn't to outnice or outfriend. It's to outlast. Steph interviews that she understands Gary's logic, but that she doesn't really want to give up her current alliance, because it's working. Steph asks Gary who he would want to vote out if there were no alliances. Gary and Danni both agree that they would vote out Jamie. Judd interviews that this night together isn't going to change his strategy, but that it's nice to get to know some new people a little better. They all snuggle into bed. Judd interviews, "Sometimes this game affects your heart a little bit. Sometimes it kind of wrenches it a bit. And getting rid of those two is...you know, that's gonna be a little heart-wrenching. That's just the way it is. If I want to go a little farther in this game, that's just the way it's got to go." And while Judd is definitely not my favorite player, I do agree with his rationale. We'll see how that plays out, though. I think he's missing the part where you also have to know which way the wind is blowing in your alliance.
The day, the winners wake up and find a selection of Folgers coffee for their consumption. And I was going to make fun of them for drinking Folgers coffee, and then I realized that, every day, I drink the horrible bitter coffee at my workplace, largely because it's free and it's there. So I'm not exactly Joe Organic Bean Freshly Ground French Press or anything. So then there's a commercial for Folgers coffee, essentially, until Louis, the homeowner, shows up with a gift for them. Gary opens the package to find videotapes for each of them from home. Everyone starts crying, and Steph interviews that the videotapes were all she needed, and that she would have given up the shower and the food.
Judd's tape is up first, and he watches his daughter and wife, along with his extended family, but doesn't really seem to cry. Danni's tape is , and her tape heavily features her dogs. Danni interviews that she knew her family would be fine, but that she wanted to make sure her dogs would be okay. Her dogs are pretty cute. Steph goes , and her family is HUGE. She has one really mouthy nephew, which is cute in small doses. Gary interviews that it was neat to see everyone else's family, because they've heard a lot about them. Gary cries when he sees his wife and daughters. I was totally sure one of his kids was going to slip and talk about the NFL or something, which would have been kind of awesome. Gary's family concludes by doing some sort of family chant, which probably looks weird to an outsider, but I'm sure it meant a lot to Gary.
Now it's time for the two teams to join back together. The winners' clothes are awfully clean. I wonder if they got to wash them in a machine. Lydia's t-shirt is really, really white. Does she have bleach out there? Steph brought back a basket of coffee for everyone, and Cindy, in particular, is really excited.
Judd greets Jamie. Judd interviews that he was concerned about Jamie, because he didn't want Jamie to feel like they made alliances while they were away. Jamie immediately asks if there was any strategy talk, and Judd tells him that there wasn't, and that nothing has changed. They have to cut it off as Gary walks up to greet Jamie. And at first, I thought it was really nice of Gary to make a point of greeting Jamie, since Jamie was such a dick to him earlier, but then I realized that Gary was actually probably trying to break up any strategy talk between Jamie and Judd. So just in case Judd was actually considering Gary's proposal, he didn't want Jamie ruining it all. That Gary. He's a sly one. Gary interviews that Danni and Steph really seemed to hit it off, and that he had to take a shot at changing things up. He doesn't know if it worked, and if it didn't, he knows he'll probably be the voted off.
The players report for the immunity challenge. Jeff is still wearing his stupid hat. Jeff explains that each player will be attached to a long rope which is threaded over, around, and through a number of obstacles. The player has to unwind the rope and make it to the finish line. The top four will move on to the finals, where they will do the same thing, except that the obstacles will be three levels high, which will be more complicated.
Jeff gives the sign, and everyone takes off. Judd has a lot of trouble right off the bat, and I think it's because he's too big to toss himself over and under the obstacles. Plus, he's pretty sure he's safe, so he's not trying all that hard. Gary takes an early lead, and Danni and Lydia are back with Judd, who has stopped trying. Jeff calls him on his lack of effort, and Judd claims that he just can't figure it out. Come on. He can figure it out. Rafe is the first one across the line, and Jamie soon follows. Steph manages to get the third spot. Gary has lost his early lead, and he and Cindy are neck and neck for that fourth spot. They both clear the final obstacle at almost the same time, but Cindy crosses the finish line first.
So it's Rafe, Jamie, Cindy, and Steph for immunity. This particular section of the challenge doesn't seem to involve untying as many knots as the first part did. Instead, you have to climb up and down and over and around a big wooden jungle gym, so I think both agility and endurance play big parts. Cindy has the lead at first, but she slows near the end, and Rafe takes over and wins. And I'm glad he did, because I like him, but I don't know that he needed it. Unless he just wanted to win to ensure that Jamie didn't get it. Interesting.
Everyone returns to camp, and a few people limply congratulate Rafe on his victory. Rafe interviews that, of the three immunity challenges he's been in, he's won two and finished second in the other, so he just made himself a huge threat, and he might need to change the way he's playing. Steph, Danni, and Gary rehash the competition. Steph points out that Gary had a disadvantage because he's so tall. But he did have an advantage in that he's practically a skeleton at this point.
Jamie asks Judd if they're still good and solid. Judd interviews that Jamie is paranoid, but that he's not going anywhere. Judd thinks Jamie might get one vote from Gary, and that's it. That's about where I knew Jamie was going. It was too perfect that Judd made such a point of saying that Jamie would only get one vote. Judd assures Jamie that there's nothing to freak out about. Jamie points out that "Rafe is Stephenie's lap dog," although I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. I guess that if Steph defects from the alliance, Rafe will too? Jamie interviews that Gary is the threat right now, but that he knows that, soon, everyone will catch on that Jamie's the actual threat, so he wants to keep their original alliance of six together. Jamie asks Cindy if they're sticking to the plan, and Cindy says that she hasn't heard any different. Jamie says he's unsure about Steph's allegiance, and Cindy says that nothing is every really sure, but that she doesn't know why any of them would want to ruin the good thing they have. Cindy interviews that Jamie's paranoia is driving her crazy, and that he doesn't know when to shut it. Cindy seems really, really annoyed. She's talking to Jamie like the babysitter talks to the two-year-old who can't stop whining, "But whyyyyyyyyy?"
Jamie invites Rafe to play mancala, which isn't a euphemism, except that it kind of is. Just not for what you're thinking. As soon as they sit down, Jamie starts talking about how nervous he is, and Rafe tells him that the paranoia is starting to freak people out. Rafe interviews that whenever Jamie wants to play mancala, he really just wants to talk about the game, and that it happens every day. Jamie asks if he has nothing to worry about, and Rafe says he doesn't think so. Rafe interviews that Jamie keeps asking if Rafe is sticking with the six, and Rafe throws a little pretend hissyfit over how annoying it is. Rafe finally just tells Jamie he's sticking with the alliance, but adds that if Jamie keeps asking him, he might change his mind.
Rafe and Lydia sit on the steps and...sort leaves? I'm guessing Rafe has made up a new game that uses leaves, but I don't know. Rafe says that Jamie is driving him insane, and Lydia carefully asks what he's saying. Rafe says again that Jamie keeps asking him about voting, and that it's getting old. Lydia asks if Rafe has talked to Steph, and Rafe says that he needs to. Lydia interviews that she's been with Jamie since the first day. You'd think that would make her more likely to want to get rid of him. Steph joins Rafe and Lydia; Rafe explains that they've been talking about getting rid of Jamie. Steph says she'd be for it, but that she's worried about Gary, because he's "a smooth operator." It's funny, because they all want to get rid of Jamie, but none of them wants to be the one who says it, or argues for it, probably because you know Jamie is going to get up at the jury questioning period and ask who masterminded his ouster. They don't reach any real conclusion that we see, but I'm sure that's just for suspense purposes.
Everyone arrives for tribal council. Bobby Jon comes in as the first member of the jury. He looks pretty cute, actually. A shower actually does him good, which strangely isn't usually how that works on this show. ["Maybe because he'd be less likely to put on sixteen pounds of makeup than, say, Steph would?" -- Wing Chun] Jeff starts the questioning by asking Steph whether the winners bonded on their reward. Steph says that they did, and Danni agrees. Judd says he bonded with Gary, because he really admires Gary's manhood. I don't know. That's what he said. Jeff asks if the bonding makes the voting more difficult. Judd says that it will be difficult, but that he'll do what he has to in order to move forward in the game. So he'll be voting for Gary. Not that Gary didn't already know that, but still. Jeff asks Jamie if there is anyone left in the game that he wouldn't miss if he or she were voted off. Jamie, predictably, says that he loves everyone. That was the guilt-inducing question of the week. Jamie admits that it's easy to go insane in the jungle, and that everyone has been supportive of him. Jeff asks Gary about his mental status. Gary says he's tried to keep a positive attitude, despite his physical weakness. Rafe decides to hang onto his immunity, and the voting begins.
Jamie votes for Gary, saying that it's going to be one of them to go. Gary votes for Jamie, saying that Jamie has a big heart. Judd votes for Gary, and thanks him for sharing the experience with him. There's a quick shot of a tarantula crawling across a rock. Wouldn't it be kind of awesome if someone got bitten by a tarantula as they were casting their vote? At least it would mix things up a little.
Jeff reveals the votes. Gary gets the first two. Jamie gets the third. And the fourth. And the fifth. Jamie looks confused, and Judd looks shocked, like someone poked him with a stick. Jamie get the two votes as well, but Jamie already knew what was coming after he got three votes, and he's already up and moving. Judd rubs his head, still not quite believing it. Jamie's torch is extinguished, and he turns to the players and yells, "Blindsided! Nice! Now that's how you vote somebody out." Which could have been totally bitter, but he sounded like he actually kind of admired what they did. Unless he was being sarcastic. Jamie walks out, and everyone looks a little guilty. Jeff tells the remaining tribe members that Jamie gave them some good advice, because sharing information is critical in this game. Man, is Judd going to be PISSED!
In his parting words, Jamie says that he's the most hurt by Lydia, because he warned her when she was in trouble. He says that she was a good person, but that she went bad, and that he'll have a hard time forgiving her.