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The tribes merge and name the new tribe Aiga, after the Samoan word for "extended family." And what a great extended family it is! Li'l Russell immediately sets about telling everyone on Galu about his immunity idol in order to make some kind of deal for it, an offer no one actually believes in except for John, who is supposedly a rocket scientist. Laura is so dismissive of Li'l Russell's plan that she incurs his wrath and he tries to convince the men of Galu through John to vote Laura out . That appears to be the plan until Laura goes and wins individual immunity in a stupid T-ball challenge. John also wins immunity because Probst decided to give two necklaces away this week. Which means, if you're keeping track, that there are four people with potential immunity going into Tribal Council. Li'l Russell tries get Monica voted out instead, but the only person he has on his side is Shambo and she's useless. Erik decides that he would also like to see Monica go, but tells Jaison, Mick, and Natalie to vote for her in such a way that they are totally disgusted with him and decide that all four Foa Foa votes should go to Erik. While Li'l Russell sits around and worries that he'll be the to go, Natalie heads for Galu's women and easily convinces Laura and Kelly to get rid of Erik. They, in turn, manage to get everyone else to agree to this except for Shambo, who doesn't remember who Erik is. At Tribal Council, oblivious Erik does most of the talking, saying the people of Foa Foa are useless and there's no way any of them can do anything in this game now. Um, except be four jury votes when you're trying to win a million dollars best case scenario, idiot. The votes are cast and while Li'l Russell decides to play his idol (underestimating Natalie's ability to make things happen), Erik keeps his in his pocket and we all get to watch his smug smile disappear slowly but surely as he is voted out of the game with ten votes to Jaison's two. Although I'm pretty sure one of those was Shambo voting for Laura, forgetting that she had the immunity necklace and also that her name was Laura and not "Jason."
Get our predictions on who we think will win.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!The pathetic tribe of Foa Foa return to camp. Jaison promises his tribe that he'll be less of an Eeyore from here on out, except he says this with absolutely no joy, so I kind of doubt it. He then reminds us that Foa Foa is down to just four members and their plan going into the merge is to "divide and conquer" Galu, which he pronounces incorrectly despite hearing Probst say it the correct way all those times that he announced their challenge win. Li'l Russell calculates that with 12 people left in the game, it's possible that the merge will happen now. Only because if they don't do the merge now at 12, then by the time they do it at 10 there will only be 2 people left on Foa Foa and the producers simply must give Li'l Russell every possible opportunity to win at the expense of all the other contestants and also the viewing audience's enjoyment of the show. Both Mick and Jaison can be heard coming up with plans on how to split Galu apart and who on the tribe to ally with, but only Li'l Russell gets the interview where he explains the strategy the show will no doubt credit him for coming up with on his own. Even though we already saw this happen just last season.
The morning, we go to Galu and a seriously edited voiceover from Laura where she says that it's obvious since her return from Foa Foa that Shambo doesn't like her and there's a divide amongst the tribe. This is illustrated by the fact that Shambo says they're missing a canteen and offers to lend hers to Laura until they find it, only for Laura to decide to count the canteens out herself because she doesn't trust Shambo's counting abilities. I wouldn't either, but on the other hand, Shambo has demonstrated that she's really good at losing essential survival items, so I might also be inclined to believe she's done it again with a canteen and not bothered to count them. Shambo is all offended, thinking that Laura is accusing her of lying about the canteens when I think it's more that Laura doesn't have much faith in Shambo's ability to count to nine. She says Laura clearly has a problem with her and offers to "take a walk" to talk it out while various men listen and make "ugh, women fighting" expressions. Shambo quite diplomatically says that if Laura doesn't want to talk to her about it, that's fine too. Laura snottily says she doesn't need to work anything out with her. Shambo walks to the beach and throws a rock in the ocean and, contrary to my expectations, she obviously doesn't have much experience in softball because that throw was awful. Can't Shambo be good at something? Laura innocently interviews that she was just asking where her canteen was, since the last time she saw it was when she handed it to John on her way to Foa Foa (apparently they aren't allowed to take their own canteen to the other camp? Okay ... ) only for Shambo to make it a "huge big deal" and bring up other stuff. Laura pretends she has no idea what Shambo is talking about even though Laura just said last week that she knows Shambo doesn't like her and we've seen plenty to suggest that the feeling is mutual.
Shambo tries to talk to Laura again, saying she's sensing some kind of "power struggle" between them while the rest of the tribe look on with blank expressions on their faces. Shambo says there's a "little young thing and [Laura]" clique that she finds "bizarre." Do you think Shambo even realizes that she just insulted Laura by basically calling her old? Because I don't think she does. Laura just says that if Shambo's feeling are hurt then that's her problem. At least, I think that's what she said. The argument was so edited that I really can't tell what's going on. And yet, Li'l Russell is given all the time in the world to make the same point over and over again. I don't get it. Shambo interviews that she wasn't fighting with Laura about the canteens (duh), but about how Laura treats her, like she's the popular cheerleader and Shambo is the overweight girl who smells bad. Also, sad music is playing during all of this so we can really feel sorry for Shambo the outcast. Even though high school was like thirty years ago and she kind of needs to get over the whole persecution complex thing by now. Shambo says she's "done" with Laura and has no use for her, which is kind of hilarious considering the fact that Laura pretty much came to the exact same conclusion about Shambo on Day 2.
Laura, meanwhile, accuses Shambo of turning things around and making her look like the bad guy here. Maybe that's because you treat people like crap so you kind of are the bad guy, Laura? Just a hunch! Meanwhile, Erik and Kelly laugh at them from afar. It won't be so funny when your tribe is all fractured and Foa Foa comes in to take advantage of it and your ass gets voted out. I'd just like to add that I wrote that before I saw the rest of the episode. Either I've been watching this show for too long and so am wise to its ways or the previews are too revealing. Erik interviews from his little tree hole that Shambo is crazy and everyone knows it, so "if you get in a fight with ShamBO, who's the one that looks bad? You look bad. If you fight with Shambo, that means you're just as crazy as her, only you're not really crazy -- you're just being a bitch." Ahahaha! I like Erik. More tree hole interviews, please!
Foa Foa has treemail. It says something about pumped bodies and sharp minds leading to food. Ever optimistic, Natalie says the prospect of winning food is "awesome," while Jaison shows off his new rah rah attitude by staring at the ground and sighing "sooner or later, something'll change for us. I'm hoping today is the day." Li'l Russell decides that the treemail was "so vague" that he decided to dig up his immunity idol and bring it with him just in case there's a merge. You know, I'm having a tougher and tougher time not believing that this guy is a plant. Also, if there was a surprise merge and they had to leave camp, wouldn't they make sure he got his stupid idol back?
Sure enough, the tribes meet up on a beach. Probst is not there, but a treasure chest is. It makes for a great stand-in, actually. I think it should win the Emmy year. They open the chest to find blue buffs and paint. Yes, they have merged. Mick reads the note that says they'll all live at Galu now, but first they have a feast to get to know each other. Everyone is happy about this. Sure enough, there's the merge feast, which I think is the true source of their happiness. Erik is able to remove bottle caps with his teeth. Ouch. Everyone toasts to the new tribe, and Shambo interviews that she is very happy about the merge. Also, she's on a massive sugar high. While everyone else walks around and gets to know each other, she goes for a swim by herself. In a social game like this, isolating yourself is a great idea, Shambo. John and Jaison bond over their good educations. Dave Ball creeps out Natalie. Li'l Russell smirks and interviews about how everything is going according to his brilliant plan. You know, the plan that JT, Taj, and Stephen used just last season. Monica holds some grapes over Li'l Russell's head for him to eat, and he brags that that's how kings eat. The only king Li'l Russell reminds me of is the one in that "Wizard of Id" comic strip.
The new merged tribe arrives at Galu. Foa Foa look around and Natalie interviews that their camp is like the Hilton compared to Foa Foa. And she thinks the people here are so nice, like family! Laura is quick to take Natalie under her wing and show her around camp, which Natalie interviews is good for her because she's counting on Laura's mother-daughter bond with her to show her where the cracks in Galu are. "Make no mistake, there are cracks," Natalie says, showing that she, too, is capable of thinking of things like this in her own mind so it's not all Li'l Russell and his stupid seeds. She says the question now is, are those cracks big enough for Foa Foa to use to their advantage?
It's time to pick a name for the new tribe. John asks if anyone knows any "funny Samoan slang." Brett, whoever he is, says he knows the word for "extended family," which is "Aiga." I wonder if Brett knows the Samoan term for "grown man with child beard?" He should learn it. Anyway, no one else cares enough to think of second choice, so Aiga is the new tribe's name. I guess it's as good as any other tribe name. And better than "Nobag" or "Dabu." While some people get to work on the new banner, Erik confidently interviews that this is like "Day 2" for the Foa Foa members, while it's Day 19 for him. He has the numbers and a hidden immunity idol, so Foa Foa can try to make new friends on their new tribe all they want, but he doesn't believe in this extended family thing at all. In fact, he will stick a finger down his throat about it like it's 1992. Between that and the references, I'm starting to think that Erik and Shambo are hanging out too much.
The morning, Li'l Russell is ready to begin the phase of his game. He says that everything worked out at Foa Foa like he wanted it to, which is total bullshit. He wanted to be in a tribe with just four people going against one with eight? He wanted to lose all those reward challenges? Really? He says he's going to pull people aside one by one here just like he did in the beginning at Foa Foa, but this time he has the idol to show them to somehow help them trust him. He walks with Laura and pulls his idol out of his pants to show her. That didn't come out right, but whatever. You all know what I mean. He wants to make a deal with her: if she gets him into the Top 7, he'll give her his idol. He swears he will! Laura can't possibly be stupid enough to think he's for real. Even Shambo would have doubts about this. I think. Maybe not. He insists that Laura is the only person who knows about him having the idol. Laura interviews that "desperate people do desperate things," and while she doesn't think he'd actually give her the idol, she's glad to know that he has it because now it means they'll have to blindside him out of the game when the time comes. LET IT COME TONIGHT PLEASEEEEEE. Also, nice fake boobs, there, Laura. Way to be a Christian grandma. Li'l Russell says that to seal the deal, Laura has to make sure that one of the men on her tribe is the first person to be voted out. Then they can take out anyone on Foa Foa whenever they want. Laura immediately shakes her head and says that won't happen -- either someone from Foa Foa is leaving first or Shambo. Laura interviews that she found Li'l Russell's bossy attitude and rules "funny" because she's on the tribe that has the advantage. Unfortunately, she decides to say as much to Li'l Russell, who interviews that she's digging her own grave by telling him to "sit down and listen." "It don't work like that for me," he tells us. And, of course, now he's threatening to get rid of her first. He says that since his stupid plan didn't work with Laura, he'll just try it with someone else. Like Monica.
Sure enough, he finds a picturesque spot on some rocks overlooking the water to whip out his idol for Monica to see and touch and hold. That didn't come out right again. He tells her that no one else knows that he has it and he wants to go to the Final 2 with her. She agrees to that. Li'l Russell interviews that he knew Monica was lying to him at the time, but maybe she'll fall in line with him if he can get rid of "her boss," Laura. So he knows that Laura is Monica's "boss," and yet still thinks it's a good idea to tell her that he has the idol and no one else knows, which will easily be proven a lie when Monica no doubt reports all of this to Laura? BRILLIANT!! Li'l Russell sure is a master strategist. He pats himself on the back for basically two failed attempts to get a Galu member on his side and giving away that he has the idol, then says he just needs to get one male member of Galu on his side to take Laura out. It has to be a male, because Li'l Russell clearly has weird trust issues with women. Just another reason to love him!
Li'l Russell shows John the idol. So now everyone knows he has it. I don't understand the logic in this. He says that he and John can team up and he'll totally give John the idol if John needs it because he thinks John is the only person here who can "play this game" with him. And he thinks that Laura and her "girl power" should go first. John interviews that this seems like a good idea, because the Laura-Monica bond needs to be broken up and they might as well do it while they have votes from Foa Foa. Except that you don't need the votes from Foa Foa. You already have the majority vote with the men and Shambo. The smart (yet boring) thing to do is vote out Foa Foa and then concentrate on Laura and Monica. Li'l Russell interviews that he really does think that John is smart and would make a good teammate. See, when it's a woman who is smart, Li'l Russell wants her gone right away. But when it's a guy, Li'l Russell wants him on his side. Funny how that works, isn't it? With that, they shake hands for like five minutes out in the open for anyone to see. SMART! Li'l Russell interviews that Babe Ruth struck out more than anyone ever but he also got the most home runs. I don't watch baseball and even I know that's not true. Maybe it was during Babe Ruth's era, but not now. Also, Babe Ruth was once struck out by a girl. Just saying.
Day 21 at Aiga. We get a shot of a cute little spider running its little front legs over its head and then a shot of Shambo doing the same motion as she tries to wash her hair in the swamp. But the spider didn't have a mullet, so it's just not the same. Li'l Russell ties to fish on the dock nearby. He interviews that he has a connection with Shambo because he's Southern and people find that trustworthy (that is so last season) and she can be a number on his side. He mentions Laura to her, and she talks and talks about how horrible Laura is and how they had that fight a few days ago. "Yeah. Wow," Li'l Russell says, so bored but yet compelled to listen. He suggests to her that they vote Laura out, thereby getting rid of a "snake" and a strong player. Yes, those grandmothers are known for their incredible strength. Shambo interviews that she trusts Li'l Russell "implicitly" and they're "cut from the same cloth." Yes, the cloth of way too much cameratime. She says she has no problem writing Laura's name down tonight, and tells Li'l Russell to pull all of his Foa Foa tribemates away and tell them to do the same. He does. Shambo says they're writing Laura's name down "no matter what." Shambo has clearly forgotten about things like immunity challenges. Li'l Russell sums up that Galu's minds are sufficiently and easily controlled and Laura is a goner.
The tribe arrives at the Immunity Challenge. Probst takes the immunity idol away and replaces it with the individual immunity necklace. It isn't covered in pointy objects this season, so that's good. Probst explains the challenge: it's a game of Survivor T-Ball. Oh, don't be the guy who hits the T instead of the ball, thereby causing the ball to pop way up in the air but go nowhere. That's always embarrassing. Probst says each player will put a ball on the tee and hit it onto a field divided into sections worth different amounts of points. Whoever gets the most points wins immunity. But wait, there's more!!! That's right, Probst doesn't have one immunity necklace hanging out on that post but two! That means two people can win immunity -- one woman and one man. I think I like this twist, although not necessarily for this particular challenge, which doesn't seem to favor one sex over the other.
Dave Ball is up first, and someone actually calls him "Danger Dave." Probst follows suit. Stop calling him that! It's ridiculous. He asks if baseball is Dave Ball's sport. "Making love is my sport," he says. Everyone laughs at this, including Probst, who asks if Dave Ball plays his sport a lot. "Not often enough," Dave Ball says. We can't all land the hot ex-contestant until she gets tired of us and moves on, Probst. With that, Dave Ball hits the ball into the 3-point zone. Jaison gets a solid hit -- too solid, actually. It overshoots the field and gets him no points. Foa Foa continues to suck and suck hard. Li'l Russell is up , and he gets 4 points, putting him in the lead. That means someone has to get a 5 or the elusive flying 10 point net to beat him. You can't tie him? Brett appears to come close to the 10 point net, but misses and overshoots the field for 0 points. Mick gets just 2 points. They can't do this more than once? It seems like such a waste of a well-made field to have each contestant get only one chance to hit. Erik says he's going for 10. He misses way right and lands off the field for 0 points. Loser. John is the final man up. He hits and it lands (suspense as the camera man cleverly takes forever to pan to it)... in the 5! Hooray!! John wins and not Li'l Russell!
Now it's the women's turn. Natalie goes first. She hits it way right and nowhere near the field for 0 points. And that means Foa Foa has no chance to win immunity this week. Or ever, let's face it. Monica manages to get 2 points. Kelly immediately beats her with 3. And then it's Shambo's turn. "Let's go Sham," a woman says (I think it was Natalie). It turns out I was right about Shambo's softball skills, as her hit is terrible and the ball doesn't make it onto the course. It was even worse than Natalie. "Outstanding," Shambo says sarcastically. Or maybe she really thought that hit was outstanding. You never know with her. Laura is the last woman to go. She puts her serious challenge face on and hits the ball hard, landing in the 4 zone. Ha!! Li'l Russell's plans are ruined! Ha ha ha! HAA!! Suck it, Li'l Russell! Probst places the necklaces on the winners' necks and only then does it occur to him to ask what their new tribe name is. He so does not care. By the way, now that I've gotten a closer look at the immunity necklaces, the one around John's neck is covered in pointy objects after all -- shark teeth. So dangerous! On the way out, Shambo interviews that Laura's win gave her "a gut-wrenching feeling," because now the plan to vote Laura out is off.
Back at camp, Monica makes sure to congratulate Laura with a kiss. What is up with those two? Erik talks to Monica , laughing that Foa Foa "can't win shit" and the vote tonight should be pretty easy. Li'l Russell meets with Shambo by the fishin' hole. She asks him who he wants to get rid of instead of Laura. He says Monica, to "get rid of the girl thing." Yes, say that to Shambo WHO IS ALSO A GIRL. Shambo just says that won't happen because Erik and Laura are going to be the ones who decide who is going home tonight and it will be someone from Foa Foa. Um, what happened to Shambo loving Foa Foa more than her own tribe and wanting to join in with them come the merge? Has she even spoken to anyone on Foa Foa besides Li'l Russell since they become one tribe? So much fail. Li'l Russell interviews that he's probably a target for Galu, so he might have to play his stupid idol tonight. Too bad that half of Galu knows he has that idol because he thought it would be a great idea to tell them. Now he can't use it to blindside out someone from Galu. But I'm sure that's all part of Li'l Russell's brilliant plan.
Sure enough, Laura tells Erik that Li'l Russell has the idol. "Damn it," Erik says. They think their best bet is to make Li'l Russell think he's being voted out so he'll play the idol and then actually vote for Jaison. That way, they get rid of Jaison and Li'l Russell's idol. Well, Jaison will be happy about that. He wants to be out of this game so bad. While Li'l Russell snoozes in a hammock (brilliant plan!) Erik goes to John and tells him that Laura told him that Li'l Russell has the idol. So now John knows that Li'l Russell told Laura and Li'l Russell told him that he didn't tell anyone. Oops! But John says he wants Monica to go tonight since they can't vote Laura out. John, you are an idiot. Yes, you do need to weaken or get rid of Laura at some point, but this is not that point. And yet, he interviews that voting out the members of Foa Foa first is like playing "Junior Varsity Survivor," and he thinks they're better off taking the risk and breaking up Galu to get rid of Monica. John wants everyone on Foa Foa to vote for Monica, while Erik while vote for Jaison along with Laura, which Erik likes because he think that will gain Laura's trust.
Erik takes a meeting with Brett, Dave Ball, and John. He tells them not to tell Shambo anything and let her vote for whoever she wants. "I don't give a fuck if she votes for Probst tonight," he says awesomely over a shot of Shambo struggling with a fishing net. Meanwhile, Foa Foa will vote for Monica. They seem to agree, but then Dave Ball interviews that it's "crazy" to vote out someone on Galu and not Foa Foa. Thank you, Dave Ball! Now he's worried that Erik has an ulterior motive. Dave Ball is officially the smartest player in this game. For now.
Erik talks to Jaison, Mick, and Natalie (I'm guessing Li'l Russell is off doing five hours worth of interviews) and tells them to vote for Monica but not tell Li'l Russell so he'll play the idol. And they'll trust Erik over Li'l Russell why, exactly? He says if they do as he says, they'll stay another day. "What you need to know, you know," he says, saying if they don't do as he says then he "can't guarantee" one of them won't be voted out tonight instead. I don't think threats are the best way to go about this, Erik. He walks away, and Jaison turns to Mick and Natalie and says, very calmly: "here's how I feel right now. I feel like Erik is talking to me like a fucking child." Just when I count Jaison out, he reminds me of how awesome he is. His plan is to tell Erik what he wants to hear and then turn around and vote Erik out. Jaison interviews that he doesn't really like Erik and would rather just give him four votes and see what happens. "I can leave this game easily knowing that he went before me," Jaison says. Well, I think you'd leave this game easily no matter what, Jaison. But I appreciate your attempt to make things interesting.
And so, Natalie runs to Laura and tells her that Erik is trying to get Monica out tonight because he wants to get rid of the women. So maybe the women should get Erik out instead. Laura says there's "no way" that'll happen, but pulls Kelly into the shelter to discuss it. Natalie says that Galu still has the numbers against Foa Foa if Erik goes home tonight, so what's the harm of getting rid of one member? Meanwhile, she says, if they keep Erik around "he is gonna wreak havoc." And Natalie wasn't chosen as the Product Placement Player of the Week this week why, exactly? Because she did a whole lot more to change the game than nominees John or Li'l Russell (who is nominated every week no matter what) did. Kelly tells Monica that Erik has to go tonight because he's trying to get rid of her. Monica is chilling in the hammock and thinks that's cool, whatevs. Kelly and Laura then run over to Dave Ball and tell him to vote for Erik with everyone else. Since he just said he doesn't necessarily trust Erik, he's intrigued by this idea. Natalie runs and tells Mick and Li'l Russell that she convinced the Galu women to vote for Erik. "It's done, I swear. I just did it. I just changed their mind," she says. Of course, Li'l Russell doesn't think that's possible, because he is the only person in this game capable of doing anything. "I don't think you talked them into it," he says; "I think you think you did."
Meanwhile, Dave Ball has the unfortunate responsibility of telling Shambo the plan. He tells her to vote for Erik. "Who's Erik?" she says. HA!!! I LOVE SHAMBO FOREVER! That was the greatest. Dave Ball immediately regrets saying anything to her whatsoever, but patiently attempts to explain who Erik is. She probably will vote for Probst tonight after all. John has gotten word of Erik's ouster and pulls Kelly aside right in front of everyone (perhaps as they were lining up to leave for Tribal Council), obviously shitting himself. "You're not," he says. "Yes we are," she says. "Nuh, uh," John says, apparently then wandering off in a panic. Meanwhile, Jaison wonders to Li'l Russell if Galu is just putting on a show to force Li'l Russell to play the idol. He has to admit that he doesn't know what's going on at all. Ha! Ha! Ha! Erik also has to admit that things seem "too easy" going into the vote, so he's bringing his idol with him just in case. Quick!! EVERYONE PLAY THE IDOL! IDOLS EVERYWHERE!!! Shambo will be so confused, especially since she doesn't know what an idol is or why that guy with the black hair and the woman with the boob job are wearing those fancy necklaces.
With all the dramatic build-up, the tribe finally arrives at Tribal Council. Ah, this could be awesome and then I will love this show again. Or it could totally suck and all that last-minute plotting they showed was just to trick me and I will hate it. Probst asks Jaison how much it sucks to be down so many tribe members and then have to merge with Galu and live at their camp. Jaison says it's even more frustrating than losing a challenge, since then they at least had some say in their fate in challenges and this time they didn't. Although if they had done better in those challenges then maybe things wouldn't be so bad for them now, hmm? Probst asks Monica how the merge changes her trust in people, since she had to go from not trusting certain members of her tribe to trusting all of them against Foa Foa. Monica says she still doesn't know who to trust, and just because Foa Foa is down on numbers doesn't mean that everyone from Galu is necessarily targeting one of them tonight.
Probst asks Erik what Galu "should" base their vote on tonight when it comes to the members of Foa Foa. Erik apparently thinks he's in an interview and not in front of his fellow contestants as he says he doesn't think the members of Foa Foa have anything to offer Galu. Li'l Russell smirks his little head off while Jaison looks pissed and Natalie just looks bemused. Erik continues that if Foa Foa were able to get even one member of the "very cohesive" Galu to turn on the tribe, he would be shocked. Surely he must know that Galu isn't really that cohesive, considering that he's been rallying to vote out one of their own all afternoon? "And that's not me being cocky or confident," he says cockily and confidently; "but I just struggle to see what it is that they can do." Probst asks Li'l Russell how he feels about what Erik just said. Li'l Russell just says that Foa Foa does have a lot to offer and Erik will be surprised. "It's a longshot," Erik scoffs. What is his problem? Has he never played a game before? When you're on top, you don't brag about it or assume that it'll stay that way forever. Especially when it's this game.
Probst asks Erik if he can't understand why Foa Foa would do anything and everything to try to keep themselves in the game. Erik tells him what he's seen from Foa Foa since the merge so far: Li'l Russell running around scrambling and talking to everyone, Mick seems to have accepted that the numbers are against Foa Foa and given up, Natalie is trying not to piss anyone off and fly under the radar, and Jaison "is just an enigma," because while they know he's smart and athletic, Erik hasn't seen it "come together." Li'l Russell spins around to Jaison with a "oh, what did he just say about you?" look on his little face. Probst asks Jaison how he feels about Erik basically saying that he hasn't lived up to his potential. "He can take a look at my résumé," Jaison says, adding that he has his own strategy and his own way to play this game, so he has a big problem with what Erik just said. Erik fires back that if they want to look at résumés, they can look at everything Jaison has and hasn't done since he's been in this game. Jaison says he's dealt with personal attacks about how he's not able to do things his entire life and he's had to push through and prove himself over and over again. Oh come on, Jaison. Erik isn't saying that you can't be a good lawyer or water polo player or whatever (which, by the way, is what Li'l Russell has said more than once) -- he's saying you haven't been able to do much with those abilities in this game. Which is true. Although one thing Jaison has been able to do that Erik clearly cannot is not expose his asshole side in front of everyone. Erik says he likes hearing that Jaison is fired up and passionate about this game. "I don't care what you like," Jaison says. Awesome!
But Probst must interrupt this to talk to Li'l Russell, who has nothing to do with anything. He asks if Li'l Russell feels "attacked or misunderstood" by the judgment coming his tribe's way from one member of Galu. Li'l Russell does not air his dirty laundry in front of a crowd like Erik does, and just says he still has hope that his tribe can make something happen in this game. Probst asks Erik if he has respect for Li'l Russell and his hope for his tribe. Erik says he respects that Li'l Russell doesn't give up, but then says something about how Li'l Russell's competitiveness is "misaligned" and could make him the person to go if he doesn't "focus." Li'l Russell and Jaison just laugh at this, and Li'l Russell asks if Erik is saying he should just roll over and wait for his turn to be voted out. He says that won't happen, and he'll keep talking to people and fighting to stay in this game. Which should be obvious, but I don't think that occurred to Erik before. He seems to think he is the only person doing any kind of strategizing right now, and that the other eleven people are just sitting around waiting to hear from him on what to do. Oh, and that when the end of the game comes and he's still in the game with two other contestants and it's time for the four Foa Foa members on the jury to vote for who wins the million dollars, they'll all forget that Erik treated them like shit.
With that, it's time to vote. Right before Li'l Russell votes, I'm pretty sure we get a close-up of a Samoan mop. Li'l Russell votes for "Eric" with a big smiley face. That's the only vote we see. Probst returns with the urn and is about to start reading the votes when Li'l Russell suddenly stands up. Probst looks scared that Li'l Russell is about to beat him up or something, but Li'l Russell just hands him his immunity idol, saying everyone knows he has it, so he might as well play it. Yeah, and Probst might as well have offered idol holders a chance to play their idols in the first place! Did he forget? That was weird. Probst announces that this is a real idol and so any votes cast against Li'l Russell will not count. And with that, he gets to reading the votes. Either Erik didn't want to play his idol, or he didn't get a chance to.
Anyway, after all that talk about getting rid of Monica, the first two votes are for Jaison. Then one for Erik from Li'l Russell, followed by three more, all of which he probably assumes are from the members of Foa Foa. When the fifth Erik vote comes up, he frowns. Shambo, too, is puzzled. Who is this Erik person everyone voted for? She obviously voted for Jaison. Way to use your friendship with Foa Foa to your advantage, Shambo! Erik gets a sixth vote, and Jaison can't help but grin. When Erik gets the seventh vote, he's out and the first member of the jury. Wow, you just can't beat that. He spent the entire Tribal Council talking about how tight Galu was and how Foa Foa had no chance, only to get voted out by everyone except Shambo because she doesn't know who he is.
You can read more from Sara Morrison at L.A.me, follow her on Twitter, or you can email her at saramorrison@gmail.com.