The tribes get mail explaining that they're merging at a new location. Malcolm manages to bring his Immunity Idol, and Denise reveals in an interview that she'd like to go back to her original alliance with Malcolm. Once they arrive on their new beach, they get a ton of fruit, cheese, and bread along with wine. The new tribal name is DanGrayne.
While hanging everyone's clothes out to dry, Lisa discovers Malcolm's Hidden Immunity Idol. Malcolm talks to her about it and reveals that he has a preexisting alliance with Denise, and Lisa can join them. Lisa agrees warily.
Penner reveals to Lisa that he recognizes her and they bond, and he bonds with Skupin too. Meanwhile, Jeff Kent and Malcolm talk strategy with Pete and Artis. They are all pretty sure Penner has an Idol and don't know how to get rid of him. They decide to split the vote between Penner and RC, and if Penner plays his Idol, they've flushed it out and they get rid of RC. If he doesn't, on the revote, they all vote for Penner and get rid of him. It's a great plan, but as with most plans on this show, it sounds a little too perfect, especially for one that requires eight people to all vote as directed.
The first individual Immunity Challenge involves keeping a heavy bucket aloft by holding a handlebar with a rope wound around it. There are actually two Immunity necklaces up for grabs: one for men and one for women. Denise wins for the women. It comes down to Jeff Kent and Carter for the men and they talk about one of them dropping out, but neither one wants to be the quitter at first. Eventually, Jeff Kent drops out and Carter wins immunity.
Skupin gets worried about his safety and makes a deal with Jeff Kent, basically pledging his loyalty to the former Kalabaw. Jeff Kent agrees, as long as Skupin agrees to work with them to get Penner out. When it comes down to it, Jeff Kent tells Carter that he's worried about jumping ship and joining up with Pete and his crew, since they'll always be at the bottom of that alliance.
At Tribal Council, Abi Maria actually doesn't sound AS crazy as she possibly could for once, but she and RC have it out over the hidden clue that Pete planted in RC's bag. Every possibility of flipping is brought up and discussed. After voting, Penner plays his Idol. It's a good thing he did, since he got five votes and would have been eliminated. Instead, it's RC. It's really just a shame that RC made a quick alliance with Abi Maria on day one – if she hadn't, none of the craziness might have happened and she might not have been targeted.
Kalabaw returns from voting out Katie. Penner notes that they need to give Denise a break from going to Tribal Councils, and Denise interviews that she's just glad to still be in the game and wonders if she's cursed or something. It is quite remarkable that she's been to every single Tribal Council so far and has barely gotten any votes. Penner comments that he was surprised that Katie wrote down his name and wonders what that was about, and Jeff Kent says that Katie was just mad at Penner for some reason.
Jeff Kent interviews that he was really close to voting Penner out, but he decided not to at the last minute; they are just two guys taking shots at one another and Jeff Kent hopes he can get Penner out first. Meanwhile, Penner totally thinks that he and Jeff Kent has an alliance; it's probably stupid of him, but he has never said (that we've seen) that he wants Jeff out. Jeff Kent has built up this imaginary duel between the two of them in his mind. We'll see if that will bite Penner in the ass or what. Penner vows in his interview to keep his eyes and ears open as they move forward, since he's been reminded that other people lie in this game. Uh... yeah. You'd think he'd remember that by now -- his THIRD try at this game.
Tandang. Day 17. Skupin tells the group gathered around the fire that, in a few hours, they will be on a level playing field because this is the point on his season when he fell in the fire. Someone jokes that he needs to stay away from the fire and Malcolm jokes that Skupin barely made it this far anyway. And when you look at Skupin, he is TORE UP. He's got cuts all over his face, his shoulders and abdomen are abraded (is that from the last challenge with the balls? Why is no one else all torn up?). He is a serious mess. Anyway, he claims that the future is all unclaimed territory for him, which doesn't make a ton of sense because I think he has an advantage just playing the game at all, because he knew what it was like to be out in the elements and miss family etc.
Artis spots a giant outrigger boat in the ocean and remarks that they need one of those. The tribe notices that the boat is getting closer and finally figures out that it's coming onto their beach. Abi and RC get a note from a guy on the boat that tells them that the tribes are merging, and the boat will take them to their new beach. But first, they have ten minutes to gather whatever they think they need for their new tribe. They all scream and run back to their shelter to start packing. They grab personal belongings as well as tarps, food and cooking supplies. Malcolm runs into the forest to dig up his Idol, which he wraps in a pair of shorts and stuffs into his bag. I can't believe he managed that without anyone seeing him. Then they wave goodbye to their beach and hop in the outrigger.
Meanwhile, Kalabaw is getting the same message. They are psyched to merge, which seems a little weird since they only have four people to Tandang's seven. I'd think they'd want to compete a few more times and try to knock down Tandang's numbers before a merge, but as Penner explains, they're hoping there is some dissent on Tandang and they can sway a few over to their side before cutting them out. They gather up their things and head to the boat. Denise interviews that she plans to stick with her fellow Kalabaw members, but also stick to her alliance with Malcolm if possible.
The formerly two tribes arrive at their new beach and become one. People introduce themselves. Penner and Skupin hug. Jeff Kent interviews that he strongly believes that no veteran should win and now that he's on a tribe with Penner and Skupin, he's prioritizing getting them out. He doesn't really explain WHY he feels that way. I guess they've already had their chance? Except that, especially with Skupin, his one chance was taken away from him due to injury. And even if you discount that, I feel like if that person is able to learn and overcome any prejudices (see: Boston Rob), that person does deserve to win. But I'm not Jeff Kent, who might just be threatened by other strong men his own age? He doesn't seem as nervous about, say, Malcolm.
Anyway, the tribes get a feast of fruit, cheese, crackers, and meats. And wine! Jeff Kent is psyched to find out that no one seems to recognize him. Pete interviews that they had hoped to keep Tandang strong after the merge, but he doesn't think RC is with them and knows Skupin will do whatever RC tells him to do. Skupin interviews that he is just delighted that he made the merge this time, and is also psyched that his tribe has the numbers. However, he has noticed that Pete and Abi are being quiet and that they haven't been cool with RC and Skupin for a while now, so Skupin considers himself and RC as free agents.
Abi, Lisa and RC quietly discuss strategy. RC says that she thinks she can make a connection with Denise and Abi wants her to use that to get information. RC says lightly that she would, but that if they're being honest, Tandang isn't "one big happy family." Lisa puts her head down and stays quiet, but Abi agrees that they're not. If RC were smart, she would hustle to put together a new alliance before Pete gets his dirty claws into the former Kalabaw.
Now that the feast is over, the new tribe members are starting to put their stuff together, including gathering bamboo to build a shelter. Lisa starts gathering clothes to hang them in the sun so no one has to sleep in wet clothes. And of course, she finds Malcolm's hidden Immunity Idol. She doesn't say anything immediately and luckily is hidden by hanging clothes when she finds it, so no one else sees her. Malcolm and Denise walk into the woods, and Malcolm is panicky, realizing that someone must have found his Idol since his clothes are all laid out in the sun. Denise is sure Lisa found it. Malcolm interviews that he thought he'd have at least an hour before he needed to secure the Idol, but jokes that the estrogen took over. Yeah, that was a dumb thing to say -- implying the women are unable to let wet clothes go undried -- but he seems chagrinned that he even said it, so I'll give him a pass unless he shows further evidence that he's sexist. I think his strong alliance with and admiration for Denise wins him lots of points in that regard.
Malcolm finds Lisa and takes her for a walk on the beach. He just looks at her, and she realizes that he knows what she found and she smiles and says she wasn't looking for it and didn't mean to find it. Lisa vows that she won't tell anyone, and Malcolm tells her that he has an alliance with Denise already and now the three of them will have an alliance as long as Lisa is cool with that. Lisa readily agrees, and they both know that they can't mention it to anyone else. Malcolm interviews that he's now involuntarily locked into this alliance with the two people he doesn't think he could beat in the finals, because Denise and Lisa are so nice and well-liked, but he doesn't really have a choice. I'm impressed that he thought that far ahead; I'm worried for him that he doesn't have a goat. I think his best bet would be to win immunities and then make the "I earned my way here" argument that might beat out the "You like me, you really like me" argument. Maybe. He has to make it to the finals first. Lisa interviews that Malcolm promised her final three with him and Denise, but she also recognizes that he could be playing her so she's proceeding with caution.
The morning, Penner and Lisa sit out on the beach talking. Penner asks if any of the others have recognized her yet and Lisa says that they haven't. Penner laughs that they're all too young. Remember, Penner is an actor, so he and Lisa bond over being in the entertainment industry. Lisa confesses that for the first time, she's really enjoying making friendships based on who she is instead of the fact that she was on TV. Penner interviews that Lisa is a nice lady who could definitely end up in the final three, because she's not a threat. Back in the water, Penner promises Lisa that he won't blow her cover. Aw. Those two are cute together. I know Lisa just got divorced, but I don't know Penner's marital situation and I refuse to look it up because that would be a little too creepy, even for me. But they make nice friends.
, Penner and Skupin go for a swim. This lagoon is quickly becoming Penner's equivalent of the bathroom at Arnold's for Fonzie. Anyway, Penner tells Skupin that they are obviously both targets because they are returning players, and the others have the numbers to vote them out. Penner interviews that he's trying to find fissures in the former Tandang and hopes Skupin will give him some insight. Anyway, Penner promises that he has "four loyal people" and "a serious bloc" and he's willing to work with Skupin to figure something out. I think Penner had better check his assumptions there.
Now it's time for Skupin and RC to discuss their options. RC is "fifty-fifty" on staying with Tandang versus making a move. Skupin points out that he's not assured that Tandang will unilaterally vote out Kalabaw before moving on to cannibalizing their own. RC interviews that Pete and Abi have ostracized Skupin and her for days and Penner is offering to let them join his alliance of four, so why wouldn't they? Well, there are a few possibilities. First, how confident are they that Penner is speaking for his alliance? It would suck to agree to join them only to find out that the other three aren't on board. Second, do they want to make such a bold move against Abi and Pete on their first time out as a merged tribe? Or pretend to play along, get rid of a few more Kalabaw members and then make a move once they see how things are situated? There are still a lot of people left. Abi isn't exactly a challenge monster, they don't know she has an Idol AND she's been an asshole around camp, so she could be an easy target. I mean, I get why RC wants to immediately make a new alliance. I just feel like she's so excited to be with someone that values her that she's jumping in with both feet without considering the alternatives.
Jeff Kent talks to Pete, Malcolm, Artis and Abi about how much they hate returning players and want to vote them out. Someone (Pete, I think?) says that he thinks Penner has an Idol so they would have to blindside him to get rid of him, and Jeff Kent says he might be able to help with that. Interesting that Jeff Kent doesn't reveal that he KNOWS Penner has an Idol, but he does interview that he'll join up with any gang that will help him get Penner out before himself. Why is he so fixated on Penner? If everyone hates returning players, wouldn't it make sense to take one to the finals with you? Ultimate goat, right?
Jeff Kent, Artis, Pete and Malcolm sit around and strategize. Pete says that RC is their first priority and then either Penner or Skupin is second. Man, Pete is anxious to get rid of his former tribemates. What is his core alliance? Abi? Maybe Artis? I guess he thinks Malcolm is on his side and Lisa, but they'd drop him in a heartbeat. Jeff Kent says he can get Carter and Denise's votes, so with Abi they have eight. Pete wonders what happens if they give four votes to RC and four to Penner. Does he really not know or if he trying to make it look like he's not the architect of this plan? Malcolm finally speaks up and says that if Penner plays his Idol, votes for him are nullified and RC goes home. If Penner doesn't play it and there's a tie, they will have to revote and they can all just vote for Penner and send him home. They agree to that plan. Malcolm explains the whole plan in an interview and then says that the whole plan is kaput if Jeff Kent, Carter and Denise don't go along with it. Pete puts a cap on it by reminding everyone that RC and Penner can't win individual immunity either. I hate Pete. I hope he gets voted out soon. He thinks he's so smart and he's an average game player at best.
The tribe arrives for the first individual Immunity Challenge. Probst explains the game: they will each hold a handle, around which is wound a rope, which is attached to a bucket containing twenty-five percent of each player's body weight. So a customized challenge. I like those once in a while. As time goes on, the weight will become more difficult to bear and the bucket will drop. One man and one woman will win immunity. Nice twist there, too.
Everyone gets into position and the challenge begins. A few players grumble immediately, so this challenge might not last long. It's all about wrist strength, which isn't really something that people tend to develop, right? Skupin is the first one out as the bar slips out of his hands. Pete is out . So it's obviously not really about strength; it's about endurance and will. Penner struggles and his rope is nearly entirely unwound. Rather than let it drop, he stands up and lets go, as he was obviously only seconds away from losing it. Probst points out that Penner is out and in trouble at Tribal tonight. That's a weird thing to say. He didn't say it to anyone else. Penner sarcastically thanks Probst and Probst shoots back, "Glad you're on the show, Jon." WTF was that about? Why does Probst hate Penner? Is it because Katie's gone and he has no one to hate on now?
Lisa and Malcolm fall out pretty quickly. Now that Penner's gone, there's no reason for the men to stay in, right? RC's hands are slipping and she tries to wind it back up, nearly crying. As she tries to rewind a second time, it slips and she's out. Abi goes out and that means Denise wins immunity. She screams in celebration and lets go.
So now it's down to Artis, Carter and Jeff Kent. Artis grunts as he winds his rope back up so his bucket is the highest again. He is sweating a lot, though. Jeff Kent gives him some words of encouragement, and Artis looks at him, nods and lets go. So now it's down to Jeff Kent and Carter. They hang out for twenty-five minutes and then Jeff Kent whispers to Carter that whoever drops, the other will owe him a favor. Carter doesn't really respond other than to agree. That wasn't really an offer of a deal. Jeff Kent finally lets go and Carter wins immunity. He immediately says that he knows Jeff could have kept going, but let him have it. Jeff doesn't deny it because his huge ego won't let him. So Carter and Denise have immunity. Neither of them were in danger, though I don't know if they knew that. Artis interviews their plan to split the vote between Penner and RC again for those of you who weren't paying attention earlier.
Hey, the new tribe has a name! It's Dangrayne, which I didn't get at first, because I was reading it like a man's name: Dan Grayne. But it makes a lot more sense when you realize it's dang rain, but Survivor-ified. As the tribe returns from the challenge, RC interviews that she's feeling pretty safe because she and Skupin are aligned with the former Kalabaw, so they have a solid six. Oh, RC. Are you just taking Penner's word for it?
Skupin interviews that he knows returning players are being targeted and he doesn't plan to go down without a fight. He goes for a walk with Jeff Kent and relays how he doesn't get along with Pete and Abi and is willing to make a switch to avoid being allied with them anymore. Jeff Kent says that his main objective at this point is to get rid of Penner and Skupin says he'll help out with that if it means staying in the game longer. Skupin interviews that he sees no reason to stay loyal to people who've disrespected him, but he also knows that if he and RC flip and then Jeff Kent and Carter flip, nothing has changed. I'm not sure why he doesn't include Denise in his calculations.
Jeff Kent and Carter sit down in the jungle to figure out their best move. I'm not seeing a lot of brain power between these two. Carter practically has to use his fingers to count that, if RC and Skupin join the former Kalabaw, they will have six people. Jeff Kent adds that Skupin promised to ditch Penner first when the time comes. Jeff Kent also adds that they've built some value with Penner, and if they jump to the other side, they will be at the bottom of that alliance. Again, what about Denise? If everyone is forgetting she's playing this game, she is definitely making the finals. They'll be at the final Tribal Council and turn around and be like, "Oh, Denise. Are you still here?" Before Jeff Kent and Carter can make any decisions (although it sounds like they're leaning towards going with RC and Skupin, which would be great, because maybe they'd vote Pete out), Penner strolls up and interrupts their conference to take their pulse.
Penner tells them that he's loyal to his former tribe and he hopes they won't be voting against him tonight. Penner interviews that if his alliance votes against him tonight, it means he's a terrible judge of character and he deserves to be voted out. That's the kind of thing that Penner fans love; where he sounds so magnanimous, like he wants to win but he also respects good gameplay and no hard feelings. We'll see if that feeling holds true for him when he finds out about the plot against him. Penner tries to make a case for Kalabaw plus RC and Skupin voting out Pete and taking control of the tribe. I think he makes a valid case, but who knows.
Jeff Kent and Carter return to camp and Jeff Kent salutes Pete and tells him that he's still going with them to vote Penner or RC out. Meanwhile, Jeff Kent interviews that he's the key to tonight's vote: either he sticks with his former tribe, or he goes with Pete's plan and gets Penner out, but then he's on the bottom of their alliance. So why not run this thing? You've already got Skupin's word that he'll help you get rid of Penner and he'll owe you one. Jeff Kent interviews that he's humble but he will admit that tonight's vote is all up to him. I'd like to make fun of him but he's not wrong. He also knows that, whatever he does, some people are going to be pissed at him. He's not wrong about that either; he made a few too many promises to a few too many people.
Probst welcomes the new tribe to Tribal Council and points out that it's a show first: Tandang never visited Tribal Council as an individual tribe. And Denise has never missed one. So Probst starts off by asking how the former Tandang tribe is getting along, and Skupin admits there are cracks in the tribe, but that's to be expected after so long together. RC smiles that they're a family and families fight sometimes.
Probst smells blood in the water, so he asks Abi how they can be a family since families don't win this game. Abi says that things are always shifting, like she was close with RC but then RC betrayed her. RC pipes up that she's glad they are talking about this, because she still doesn't understand what she did, exactly. Abi relays her version of the story: she and RC found the clue together, and buried the clue together, but then RC dug up the clue alone. RC smiles and nods and then says that she didn't unbury the clue. Abi says she didn't either and there's not much else to say, since we know Pete's not going to speak up. Abi just says that she trusts her own actions more than RC's and that's the end of it. I'm just shocked that Abi managed to contain the crazy.
Probst asks Lisa if she's concerned hearing her tribemates argue, since it might give the former Kalabaw ideas about taking advantage of those cracks to sway some people to their side. Lisa says that her tribemates would be fools to defect, because they're higher up if they stay with Tandang and would be first voted off by Kalabaw. Jeff Kent points out that anyone who joins Kalabaw will be in the number five slot, as opposed to the six or seven slots they currently have on Tandang. Lisa counters that, once you flip, no one believes your promises anymore. Also known as the Cochran Condition.
Probst asks what the general consensus is on returning players. Pete says that every season has bad feelings towards the returning players and theirs is no exception. Probst points out that it seems that Skupin and RC might be willing to defect and no one is talking about the possibility that Denise and Malcolm might still have an alliance. Hey, maybe you should let them figure this shit out, Probst. Lisa pipes up and says there's also a possibility that some of the former Kalabaw members will decide to slide in with Tandang, even though they won't be in a top slot on that tribe, just to avoid being voted off. Jeff Kent looks nervous, since she figured him out and Penner suddenly gets a worried look on his face like, "Oh, shit. What does she know? This could be really bad for me."
Probst asks Pete what he thinks about Immunity Idols and Pete says that he's pretty sure there are only two in play, because he thinks Matsing's is gone. Malcolm looks down and smiles. Pete has a lot of confidence for someone who knows nothing about anything. Probst asks Pete if he's worried and Pete says he is and Abi agrees that he's in trouble. They don't believe that. They just don't want to give away that they have a plan. Probst finally asks Jeff Kent if there's going to be a blindside tonight and Jeff Kent says that there will be, since it's really obvious that they're all still scrambling to figure out who's going home tonight, even now. Penner just nods to himself and I think that's the moment he decided to play his Idol because he knew he was screwed.
Time to vote! This would be my concern with the plan to vote a tie between RC and Penner: that's relying on eight people to vote in an assigned way or else it doesn't work. Plus there are wildcard votes and you don't know whom RC or Penner or Skupin are voting for. That's a lot of people who have to agree and keep their word. I mean, it's a good plan, but I would be scared is all I'm saying.
So we see Penner and RC vote for Pete and then one vote each for Penner (from Abi) and RC (from Pete). When Probst goes to tally the votes, some wild animal cries out and freaks everyone out. Before reading the votes, Probst asks if anyone wants to play an Idol and Penner stands up and says he will. Probst reminds everyone that this is a legit Idol and any votes cast against Penner won't count.
Probst starts reading the votes. The first three votes are all for Penner. Then there's one for RC and one for Pete. The two are for Penner. Then one more each for RC and Pete. The last two are for RC, so she goes home with four votes against her, as the alliance planned. Penner would have gone home otherwise; he had five votes against him, so their big plan to force a tie wouldn't have worked. Man, if only Penner and RC had somehow gotten wind of what was happening, they only needed a few people to switch from RC to Pete and Pete would be going home. Penner looks both bemused and angry, if that's possible. I don't know what his move is now, but I hope it involves winning immunity or I don't think he's long for this game.
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