It's time for family week, so we get a glimpse at a bunch of blood relatives and Denise's husband. Amanda's sister looks just like her, right down to the blurred behind (which is pretty damn funny), Peih-Gee's dad is amusingly businesslike, Courtney clings to her father like she's never clung before, Erik's mom thinks he's too thin, and everybody cries. And Todd's sister lets slip that Todd's other sister, who's even younger than this sister, who's even younger than 22-year-old Todd, has had a miscarriage of a very early pregnancy. Denise wins reward, and she chooses to take Todd and Amanda with her, despite the fact that Peih-Gee just included her in an awesome reward last week. And then, just when viewers at home are hating on themselves for fleetingly wondering whether there's any chance that Todd and his sister were putting on that sad story, it turns out that everyone not on the reward is wondering the same thing, including Courtney, who's so sure it couldn't be true that she guarantees herself a place in the history of the insensitive jerk if it turns out that her eye-rolly "whatever"-ing is wrong. Later, Peih-Gee wins immunity again (where's her big love for being such a challenge monster, Jeff Probst?), and Erik is in trouble. There's an effort to get Denise to force a tie so she can have some chance at finishing better than fourth, but she's the kind of inert player who really just can't bring herself to act if there's any risk to acting, because she underestimates the risks of not acting. So Denise dutifully votes along with Todd, Courtney, and Amanda, and Erik goes home. His mom will be glad he can eat now. So Peih-Gee is basically the Boo at this point, going into the endgame with an absolute requirement that she win immunity every single time, because there's no way they're letting her get near a jury including Erik, Jaime, Frosti, and a bunch of people with good reasons to hate Todd and Amanda for dicking them over. It's immunity or bust, lady. Keep it up.
Previously on Midnight In The Garden Of James's Discontent: An Apple-Eating Primer: Peih-Gee took Denise and Erik on a great reward that allowed Denise to show off her kung fu skills for a bunch of monks who probably would have been more impressed with a nice turkey tetrazzini. According to the Jeff-over, James "was in the best position to win it all." Apparently, Jeff is privy to information the rest of us do not get to enjoy. Erik used throwing stars and channeled his natural aggressiveness and super-secret combat training to win immunity for himself, so in theory, Peih-Gee should have been on the block. Amanda and her blurry bottom, however, came up with the idea that perhaps allowing James a free ride to F3 wasn't the smartest possible move, so she arranged to have James blindsided. Despite the fact that he had two immunity idols and three tribal councils in which to use them, and despite the fact that he certainly could have won immunity once or bluffed once or something, James chose just to sit there and do nothing. Unlike Jaime, who at least went out swinging, James went down on a called third strike -- a pretty unspectacular ending for such a heavily hyped player, which James took quite well and Jeff Probst undoubtedly did not. "The most powerful player in the game was gone," says Jeff. "And I went home and curled up with James's shirt, which I had stolen from camp by a production assistant I threatened to fire if she didn't bring me things that smelled like James." (I made up the last part.) Six left; who will go ?
Hae In Da Noise, Hae In Da Fung, Night 30. I've never noticed that Todd's name is rendered on the team flag as "T-Roc." Oh, I'm sorry: "T-ROC!" Apparently, he is a gay Mormon flight-attendant-slash-rapper. Amanda comments that this was "the most shocking tribal council yet," which means she is ready to start her new career as a promo writer for The Bachelor. Courtney notes that Jean-Robert very much enjoyed James's booting, and you know how Courtney likes to look out for Jean-Robert's good time. Todd interviews that he was really, really concerned that this idea might not work, but, as he eloquently says, "It did." He's got his little gray cap turned slightly at a jaunty angle, like he's the moppet in a Cary Grant movie...about a moppet. They all discuss how concerned they were about how ugly things were going to be back at camp if they had to come back with James, having tried and failed to get him out. Considering that James's major weapon appears to be pouting, I'm not sure they have that much to worry about. The top six share a group hug. Well, except for Peih-Gee. She interviews that seeing the original Fei Long choose to start eating each other "absolutely gives [her] hope." She interviews that if she can get one or two more people on her side, she could force a tie or otherwise do damage to the obvious plan to take her out the minute she doesn't win immunity. "I love it that I'm still here," she grins. I'm a little confused by the robe she's wearing in this sequence. Did that come from the reward? If not, she waited a long time to bust out her bathrobe. Maybe this is somebody's solution to how tired they all are of blurring everybody's ass.
Credits. Hey, look! It's James and Jean-Robert on the jury! This has to be one of the beefiest juries ever. This jury would totally win a tug-of-war against other juries. And that would be a much more interesting way to spend the jury's part of the finale, although it would take away from James's dagger-glaring time.
We return to Hae Da Fung on Day 31. It's raining hard on the already-saturated camp, and there's water pooled everywhere. The tribe is huddled in their little cave, and surprisingly, they're collaborating on a little song that appears to be called "Cave Dwellers." (Good movie!) Todd interviews that he is extremely "miserable" and constantly thinking about home. He rubs his little beard and says that he's "so close" to being done. He reminds us that he is in an alliance consisting of himself, Amanda, Courtney, and Denise. The idea is to get rid of Erik and Peih-Gee, but no one is completely trustworthy. No one! "If they turn on me, it would be a very smart move on their part to get rid of me now," says Todd. "Of course, I'm not going to tell them that." I don't know if luxury items are allowed anymore, but I think if they are, Todd clearly brought the book, Mwah-Hah-Hah: Sayings To Twirl Your Mustache By (and possibly the companion volume, How To Grow Big-Boy Facial Hair When You Look Twelve).
Challenge field. Looks like a big round maze with a platform in the middle. Everyone comes and lines up. They sure are wearing a lot of red this season. Jeff promises that the challenge is "about speed and communication." In the challenge, you'll be in teams of two, and each team member will be separated from the other at the ends of a maze, and you have to find your way to your teammate. And you'll both be blindfolded, of course. And then Jeff says, "All right. Erik, you're going to be paired up with your mom." Amanda puts her hand to her mouth as they all realize what the deal is here. Erik's mom is cute as a button, mom-wise, and she comes over to see him. They hug. "Is this really happening?" Erik wonders. Aw. She's happy just to see him, but you can see all her OH MY GOD HE'S SO SKINNY buttons flashing. "Lookit you!" she says, and Erik says, "Yeeeeah, I'm all skinny and bearded." Heh.
Amanda's sister Katrina is to appear, and she looks really quite a lot like Amanda. As they embrace, Amanda apologizes for smelling so bad.
And then Peih-Gee's dad! Aw. I love how her dad says, "Hi, Peih-Gee!" in this cheery way. "My God, you're skinny." Awww. I just love him instantly, because he's not a big boo-hooey guy, but he adores Peih-Gee, you can tell.
And then, Todd's sister Brandi. Again, she looks quite a lot like Todd. They hug, and he pointedly asks whether everyone is okay. She says that they're fine. And then he specifies, "Kim's okay?" And he says something about "baby," and Brandi hugs him again and says, "She miscarried it, Todd." And he says, "Are you -- okay, okay." He gets back in line, and Jeff Probst very tastefully (as is his practice) asks what the last part was. Todd explains that his sister -- younger than Brandi, who's younger than he is, and he's twenty-two -- was pregnant, but that she's had a miscarriage. On the one hand, I tend to think this is true, for lots of reasons but particularly because of the abbreviated part where it sounded like Todd was going to ask more questions and then suddenly thought twice about it. But on the other hand, Todd does weirdly sound like he's fake-crying, so it's confusing. Brandi repeats that the sister herself is "doing good."
Now, it's time for Courtney's dad, and she sniffles as she walks out to the relative-meeting spot, and she stretches out her arms to him. (Legend had it on the boards that she stood still and wouldn't go to meet him, but whatever else Courtney's done wrong, this is a bum rap; she took a few steps to exactly the same meetup spot everybody else hit, which is undoubtedly pre-determined for good over-the-shoulder camera shots; she just beat her dad there and stuck her arms out.) She sobs as she and her dad hug. She turns and says to the group, "I told you he'd wear a suit!" Her father says, "I'm English, I don't do shorts." And he's not kidding. He's in a button-down and long pants. And it's really hot, you can tell. And he's English.
And now, Denise's husband. He kind of looks like you'd expect a lunch lady's husband to look like, and I don't mean that negatively at all. My favorite part is that the first words out of her mouth after they kiss hello are, "Can I have your socks?" Hee. And: aw. He tells her she can have them, and as they separate, she holds his shirt front in her fist, which is another one of those gestures, like Jonathan had with Stacy, that just has the feel of genuine, real, years-long partnership and affection.
Jeff explains to the loved ones about the challenge, and Courtney's very English dad looks a bit stricken that he is to be participating in something. "I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't know!" she says with a big cringe. I have a funny feeling Courtney had to talk her dad into all this in the first place, and now she's like, "Um." The reward for winning is a boat trip and a big meal, as well as a phone call from home (let's plug Sprint! Spriiiiiiiint! SPRIIIIIINT IS GOOOOD!) (even Jeff Probst looks like he hates himself as he says that Sprint is "also known for speed and communication," which is what he said the challenge would test), so you get even more of your loved ones than just the one who's visiting.
So, time to get started. Wait, someone has blindfolded the camera! Oh, that was just an effect. Whew. Anyway, as soon as the blindfolded folks all get going, it becomes clear that the only way to find your way to your partner is to call out to him or her. With voices very hard to hear, Amanda comes up with an idea that will draw ridicule but is actually pretty smart, which is that she and her sister do goofy birdcall noises at each other. It's very easy to make fun of, but I can completely understand the thinking, which is that you'll be able to pick that person out more easily. I do think Amanda chooses a slightly less dumb-sounding noise -- "brrrrrrrr!" -- than her sister, who goes with "p-cow! p-cow!" Amanda's sister's one moment of fame: yelling "p-cow! p-cow!" on television. Unfortunately for them and other strategizers, however, I think a lot of this turns out to be luck, in that you kind of blunder around in the maze, and either you pick the right directions to walk and you approach the center, or you don't.
The first ones to meet in the middle are Denise and her husband. Amanda and her sister get very close to each other using the birdcall method, but they've got a couple of barriers between them. Peih-Gee and her dad find each other. Courtney's in the middle, but she can't find Dad. "Courtney, still lookin' for her father!" Jeff calls out. "Oh, stop it, Probst," says Courtney. He smiles, but it's interesting, because much like Jonathan, I don't think Courtney sees Jeff Probst as a real authority figure. But in the end, Denise is the first to get her husband through the maze, and they step up on the platform victorious. Bet you didn't see that one coming. Everybody takes blindfolds off. Jeff hands Denise her Sprint phone. Denise now is confronted with probably the hardest decision of its kind all season, because she has to pick two people who get to come with her and bring their family members. Peih-Gee looks at her kind of pleadingly, because you'll recall that Peih-Gee just took Denise on an incredibly awesome reward last week. Denise's first choice is Todd, whom I think she undoubtedly felt obligated to take because of the bad family news, and she's probably not wrong. She says that the second choice is very hard, but she takes Amanda. Again, here's Denise, doing the most conservative, stand-pattiest thing she can do to assure her position as the person who will make it to F4 and be eliminated.
Hae Da Fung, Day 31. Peih-Gee admits that she's "kinda pissed" about missing out on the reward after she took Denise with her last time. And then Erik has something to say: "I've got to get this off my chest. I did not believe Todd's story." Courtney takes this and runs with it, saying that the "unplanned teenage pregnancy" and "convenient miscarriage" were too much for her as well. But her angle is a little different: "You'd think the girl might not want the entire world to know about that." I think for Courtney, it contributes to the unbelievability that she can't believe anyone would really go on television and tell that story if it were true. "If it's true," says Erik, "my deepest condolences to his family, but..." See, he's a smart guy, in that he's expressing his doubts while trying to avoid going to hell if it turns out he's wrong. Courtney has no such hesitations. She interviews that "Todd was going for the Oscar with his performance," and as I said, while I tend to believe the story, he did seem to be acting to me too, so...I don't blame them. She also does a pretty damn funny Jeff Probst impression, making fun of the way he does the thing with "Todd, it looks like you just got some bad news!" She goes into an imitation of Todd's boo-hooing over the whole thing, which...again, this is so dangerous if you happen to be wrong that I don't think I'd actually do it. Courtney further says that she would have forgiven the Jon Dalton Dead Granny Maneuver, because at least it was funny. It...was? I'll tell you, not only does Courtney have horrible judgment in doing this, but the show kind of has horrible judgment in showing it, if you ask me. When there's a third party who's most likely under the age of twenty involved? Maybe we could have gotten through the season without this clip, you know?
Hey, I don't blame them for the fact that this possibility occurred to the contestants. It occurred to me and Joe R and Survivo-Nerd also, but frankly, I don't think any of us thought they'd show anybody on the actual show doubting the miscarriage story. The thing is, Todd really, really wants to be a beloved character, and he doesn't want to be a beloved asshole, like Dalton did. He wants to be a beloved adorable schemer, like Cesternino did. He doesn't really want to be the guy you love to hate. I could be wrong, but I don't think the kind of notoriety you'd get from this move (faking this, that is) is the kind of notoriety Todd wants at all. He wants attention, absolutely, but he wants positive, head-patting, "you scamp" attention. I think he's not at all the person who would do this. Notably, Peih-Gee is very quiet during this entire exchange; I think she's the best at reading people, of these three, and I think she's the most likely to correctly peg Todd as far too invested in his own lovability (straight-on lovability, not ironic love-to-hateability) to get involved in something like this. And in one sense, of course, you can say it was absolutely outrageous for Todd and Brandi to bring this up on television, but on the other hand, on rewatch, you can kind of see how it happens. Todd asks if everybody's okay, and Brandi says yes -- she doesn't intend, I don't think, to bring it up. And then he asks about Kim, and she still doesn't say it. It's not until he specifically asks about the baby, and she's unfortunately stuck with either actively and specifically lying or telling him the truth, that she tells him. It kind of sucks, but you can see how it might have developed. If it's true. Which maybe it's not, in which case I am dumb. I think Todd asked in good faith, really thinking, "What are the odds that she, like, had a miscarriage?" Because Todd doesn't understand, maybe, that at two months (where she apparently was when he left), it's still really up in the air, because at that stage? Very common. With women often advised not to tell people until three months, he should have realized you shouldn't inquire on television when the last update you had was at two months, but he didn't, and I don't think either of them intended it to go down this way until...it did.
The reward boat returns. When Erik sees three of his tribemates returning with their loved ones, he admits that it makes him sad, and he's not sure how to act. Bitterness disorients him! You can tell he is not cut out for this show. They also note that Todd's hand is covered with melted chocolate. It turns out that Amanda and Todd grabbed as much chocolate as they could with their fingers, and they will now allow Erik and Peih-Gee and Courtney to lick it off. It's, uh...I guess it's the thought that counts? I don't think I'd be licking anything off anyone's fingers unless the reward included a shower, which it appeared it did not. These people appear to still be grimy, and as Sars pointed out to me, Amanda spends a lot of time...adjusting that wedgie to be offering anyone anything off her bare hands. (Don't blame me; I didn't say it.) As Erik seems to take some special pleasure in removing chocolate from Amanda's fingers, she nearly blushes as she says, "Kinky," going for the joke but...most likely a little turned on. I mean...she kind of should be. Peih-Gee admits in an interview that she wasn't really feeling the interacting with everyone after such a disappointing situation. She repeats that she took Denise on, like, the best reward ever, and this is what she gets. Of course, she didn't take Denise on that reward out of the kindness of her heart; she took her out of strategy, which I think Peih-Gee would admit, which is probably why she's not making too big a moral deal about it; she's just saying she was mad.
Highlight of the episode? Amanda's sister leaps into the water, and her ass is blurred as well, so I guess that's genetic. Amanda and her sister and Todd and his sister all have a little discussion in the water, in which he reveals that he was afraid everyone would think he was lying about the miscarriage. In an interview, Todd insists that the entire thing with his sister was true, and that he wasn't playing it up for strategy or for anything else. Asked how far along the sister was, Brandi says about two months. "Three months now," says Todd, and Brandi's eyes flash, and she says, "She lost it a while ago, Todd." He asks whether it was pretty much right when he left, and she says it was.
Denise and Robert have a talk in which she admits that she doesn't have much in common with the "young kids" in the group -- which is now pretty much everyone. She says she just hopes Todd and Amanda will take her to F3 and won't backstab her and take Courtney. Well...right. "Do what you think's right," says Rob, which is why he'd be terrible at this game. Meanwhile, Amanda tells Todd that while they shouldn't backstab anyone, she thinks taking Denise to F4 will be enough. Hey, who would ever mind being taken out in fourth place? Todd tells his sister that, obviously, Courtney is easier to beat than Denise, so obviously, they'd send Denise out first. Hi, Denise? This is reality calling. You should know all this stuff. Todd explains that he and Amanda and Courtney have kind of all done the same things to make people angry, so they're all reasonably even and therefore have good reasons to go to F3 together. "And we make such a cute final three!" says Amanda. Oh, Amanda. That's so beneath you. "It's perfect," says Todd. And...commercials!
When we return, it's time for the loved ones to leave, and Rob and Denise share a big hug as he tells her he thinks she's going to win. Keep the dream alive, Rob. They have a little nose-rub, which is very cute. And then they hug, and he tells her how terrible she smells, and she apologizes, and they laugh. The loved ones get on a boat, and everyone says goodbye. Todd says that saying goodbyes are always hard, but that "you can't stop the game." Or the game will stop you! Or something. As he and Denise hug, Todd voices over that it's good to think you can trust people, but that you can't. He needs to stop combing the hair quite so high. The straight-up look is not as flattering as he thinks, tempting as it must be to substitute it for the all-over-the-place business that seems to be his other choice. It's not like it actually makes him any taller.
Peih-Gee is sitting alone in the shelter, curled up in a ball, when Denise approaches. Man, you can add Denise to the list of people who really should make sure they bring supportive bathing suits (or, if you will, "swimming suits") when they do this kind of thing. This is not flattering her. Also, Peih-Gee's entire ass area is blurred, even though we're seeing her from the front as she lies sort of mostly on her side. I can't imagine what's going on there. It's like this entire season was made with union blurring guys who wanted to get their hours in, you know? Denise comes up, and they actually have a very mature discussion, in which Peih-Gee acknowledges that she was kind of mad that Denise didn't take her on the reward, and Denise acknowledges that she wanted to, but that she felt too insecure in the game to piss off Todd and Amanda. Denise also cites the fact that Amanda has seemed weak and hungry, "stumbling around" and generally not doing real well. Peih-Gee notes that there is some "sympathy card" business going on with Amanda, and wonders if she should start looking weak, too. Peih-Gee interviews, essentially, that while she wasn't exactly convinced by Denise's efforts in this conversation, she appreciated the fact that Denise at least acknowledged how she might be feeling and came over to talk to her, considering that they might need to work together at some point. Peih-Gee says that she's going to focus on winning immunity, because she feels like she needs it every time out.
Challenge. Jeff brings everyone in, and it's as good a time as any to note that they're definitely at the Looking Mighty Skinny phase of the game. Jeff takes immunity back from Erik and hangs it on the post. Back up for grabs...again! Jeff says that this is both a physical and mental challenge, in which you'll be attached to a rope that wraps around various posts, so you have to go under/over/around the posts to keep going as you move through the course. At the end, there's a set of boxes. Each box contains a true and a false statement. Each has a key with it. You pick the true one and take that key, then you slog back through the course (which is about knee-deep in mud and water, incidentally, so that will take a lot out of you in a short time) and try the key in one of three locked boxes in your lane. If it works, great. If it doesn't, you have to go back. First one to unlock all three boxes will win.
Todd is the first to get to the end of the course and look at the questions. Amanda and Peih-Gee follow. When Todd gets back, he opens one of the locks. Amanda gets hers, too. And we get the rare unblurred shot of Amanda's ass as she tugs her camo swimsuit down, and it becomes clear that the issue with her behind is the cheek, as suspected. That suit is just not really big enough for her, which is exactly what was wrong with Jennifer Love Hewitt's bikini, by the way, and if she had worn one that fit, we'd have avoided the whole thing. But anyway. Peih-Gee gets her first lock open. Denise and Erik are pretty much out of it, so you can forget them. Todd and Amanda are in the lead with their second keys, but Peih-Gee is still in it. Todd gets his second lock open. Amanda does not get her second lock open, giving Todd a big lead, but Peih-Gee does get her second lock open, so a very miserable Amanda puts her head all the way down on the table before setting back out to slog across that swampy course that, like I said, I'm pretty sure is taking a huge, huge toll on these people. Peih-Gee keeps trucking; Todd is ahead of her, and he's now taking his third key back to the beginning. Peih-Gee is behind him a bit. Todd slogs. Peih-Gee slogs. Todd's key...does not work. He keeps turning it for a minute, like he thinks it's suddenly going to work, but it isn't. He has to go back out, and Peih-Gee is obviously running on fumes as she returns with her third key. She holds the key to her forehead, like she's praying, and then she goes to open the lock. It opens. She wins immunity...again. She takes the necklace. Lady looks worn out. Somebody's going tonight, Jeff reminds them all.
Back at camp, Peih-Gee is drying out her hair, and it's remarkable how nice it looks in some of these shots; hers is staying in much better shape than some. I don't know why hers doesn't look greasy and everybody else's does; I guess she probably got to wash it at the temple? As we watch her cook rice, she interviews that she's felt like an underdog the entire time, so it means everything to her to come back and win immunity. She tears up as she tells us that every time she doesn't have immunity, she expects to get voted out. They all eat nasty-looking soupy rice, and she says that it's one of her "proudest moments" to be staying in the game so long when the odds were so badly stacked against her. She says that things have been "mentally and physically exhausting," and at this point, I can believe it. Not when people say it on the third day, as they often do, but after a month, yes.
Todd's hair is incredibly porcupine-y as he strolls around camp. He sees Amanda and Erik out on the boat together, and he does not look pleased. Todd tells Courtney and Denise that everything is fine, as long as...you know, everything is still fine. He says that the only problem would be Amanda flipping, but that he thinks Amanda knows enough not to want Erik or Peih-Gee anywhere near F2, and I suspect that's correct. I think Amanda's ideal F3, actually, is herself and Courtney. Todd interviews that Erik is the obvious boot, now that Peih-Gee has immunity. He says that it's "the easiest vote" thus far.
Out on the boat, Erik makes the risky move of telling Amanda that he's suspicious of Todd's story about his sister. Amanda claims that she believed it was "a way to get further in the game" for Todd, but I don't think she actually...thinks that? Anyway, Erik interviews that it's very frustrating to him that nobody trusts Todd, but that nobody will vote him out. Hey, I think that same thing about certain people every time I turn on CNN. Peih-Gee tells Erik that she's not going to be voting him out. They don't need her vote anyway, so she's not doing it. He shrugs. "Thanks," he says, undoubtedly wanting to be nice but knowing that her gesture kind of...doesn't mean anything. He says that he's going to talk to Denise, and Peih-Gee agrees that this might be Erik's best bet. Peih-Gee and Erik have a chat in which they tell Denise that they think Todd wants to go to the end of the game with Courtney and Amanda. Denise says she knows. Peih-Gee lays out exactly how this is all going to result in Denise's dismissal at F4, and how totally obvious it is to everyone but Denise herself. Denise, again, claims she knows. Apparently, she's counting on the magic twist where everyone else's vote is nullified at F4. Erik says that Denise's other choice is to go with Peih-Gee and Erik and be guaranteed F3. Peih-Gee explains in an interview, and she's entirely correct, that if Denise forced a tie tonight and Todd went home, her chances of making F3 would improve drastically. Completely true. Denise talks about what a difficult decision this is, but Erik reminds her that F3 is better than F4 by leaps and bounds, not just incrementally.
Elsewhere, Todd asks Amanda and Courtney whether they think he has cause for concern. He says he can tell that Erik and Peih-Gee are trying to convince Denise to change her vote. Courtney tells him to talk to Denise as soon as they're gone. Todd says that "Denise isn't stupid," and I don't know what he means by that, but if Denise isn't stupid, she's not going to settle for a guarantee of F4 when she has a shot at F3. Not a great shot, but a shot. Of course, this is a textbook example of what happens to people who can't take an immediate risk when there's immediate safety available, even if it's obvious that the immediate risk is the only way to avoid total disaster one step down the road. I understand the "just get through each week" philosophy, but not this late in the game. They're going to boot Denise at F4; she should be able to discern that this is true. Nothing is going to save her if she goes to F4 with Todd and Amanda except winning immunity. And she's probably not going to win immunity. So her chances of surviving to F3 if she continues down this road are merely her chances of winning immunity at F4. Her chances of surviving to F3 if she goes with Erik and Peih-Gee are the chances that they'll win the tiebreaker (let's say 50%), plus the chances that she'll win immunity at F4, minus the chances that they'll screw her and take Courtney instead, minus the chances that Courtney will win immunity at F4...well, not really; I'm making all of this up. But you see what I'm saying. There are a lot of factors, but it has to be better than just relying on winning immunity, because if Denise wins immunity, she'll get there either way. Even if her odds of succeeding on a tie-forcing plan aren't good, they're better than her odds otherwise, and that's a very hard thing for people to recognize. Getting to the point where you acknowledge that your current plan has zero chance of success, and you therefore should absolutely sign on to a plan with a 20% chance of success? The mind resists this kind of thing. For her part, Denise interviews that she's thinking about whether she'll win against Erik and Peih-Gee versus Todd and Amanda, which is stupid, because it won't matter, because she won't be there with Todd and Amanda, because the fact that she has a decent chance of winning against Amanda and Todd is exactly why they will not take her to F3. Come on, Denise. Light the pilot light.
Todd tells Denise -- in front of Peih-Gee -- that he's "had [her] back." I'd like to know when exactly Todd has had to have Denise's back. Like, never? Todd tells Peih-Gee he's sorry about voting out her "buddy." Peih-Gee says it's not like she's surprised. When Peih-Gee gets up and leaves, Todd tells Denise that he "trusts" her. Denise admits that this is "do or die" for her, and that she's "a little flippin' out." She looks up at the sky. "Can you help me?" she asks, and we get a cut to a big bolt of lightning. ("Deniiiise, this is God. You are going to be voted out at final foooooour.")
Tribal council. Everyone enters. The jury comes in and is seated. James has shaved his head entirely, and is now wearing a shirt and real pants, so the camera guys have lost all interest in him. He tries to give everyone a steely glare, but...you know. Not the star of the show anymore, dude. You finished seventh. That's not much better than the middle of the pack, so...get used to it. Oh, and guess what! They're still eating and surviving without you. Unless you're feeding them from Loser Lodge, the Lodge of Losers, where Losers get their Lodging. In which case I take it all back.
Jeff asks Amanda about spending all this time with Denise and whether she knows Denise better. Amanda says that, clearly, Denise is "blessed with a great life." Jeff asks Denise whether there's a downside to that. Denise says yes -- they might vote against her because her life is so good, or on the flip side, people might be afraid to go up against her. In other words, she can see a way it might make her less likely to get votes, and a way it might make her seem more likely to get votes. Both are probably true. Denise is squirming.
Jeff asks Peih-Gee for a take on the vote, in light of the fact that she and Erik have theoretically been the possible boots for what feels like years. Peih-Gee says that she thinks there are uncertainties, and if you think it's really 4-2, then there's a person in the fourth position with nothing to lose from switching sides. She's right, of course. Jeff asks whether this worries her. Denise acknowledges that she feels left out of the Todd-Amanda-Courtney group, but she won't go so far as to say she might ever do anything about it. She says she hopes she can trust people tonight. She wants to stay as long as possible. She's going to "hope for the best." Jeff asks Todd whether he trusts anyone, and Todd says that when you don't have immunity, you have no choice but to trust people. Denise is squirming.
Jeff asks Erik if, should he go tonight, he'll feel like he did everything he could to crack the alliance he's up against. He says yes. He explicitly says what everyone knows is the issue: the fourth person in a four-person alliance ought to think long and hard about getting herself (or, of course, himself, hypothetically) out of that position, because otherwise...you know, you're in fourth. Denise is squirming.
Jeff calls for the vote. Amanda votes. Todd votes for Erik. Peih-Gee votes. Courtney votes. Erik votes for Todd. Denise votes, saying, "This is probably the biggest mistake I'm going to make in this game." Yeah, probably. Jeff brings back the urn. Erik. Todd. Todd. Erik. Erik. Erik. Sooooo, that'll do it for Erik. And for Denise! Erik smiles, stands up, and hugs Peih-Gee. Denise look over at Peih-Gee, and Peih-Gee looks back, like, "Hey, it's your funeral. Well, our funeral." Erik's torch is snuffed. What a sweetheart, that kid; I really liked him a lot. He handled a lot of things really nicely and really subtly. Not a great strategist, but, like Peih-Gee, he was dealt a horrible hand, and he played it as well as he possibly could have, I think.
Jeff claims that they're all battling the question of whether they should take someone they can beat, or someone who's deserving. I don't know a single person in the entire group who I believe is battling that question. Jeff is seriously such a wad, I just don't know. He sends them back to camp, as unenlightened by his words as always.
In his final words, Erik says that he could always go back and question things, but frankly, he's exhausted, and he's proud of making it thirty-three days. Seriously, kid played a good game.
time: Amanda "targets Todd." Todd gets mad. "Alliances crumble." Peih-Gee would like to see Todd go. So you know he won't.