Episode 11 - "Dangerous Liaisons"
By Car84
Previously on Survivor: Rupert fishes for sharks as Jon and Burton hatch a plot against him. Lillian and Burton win a boat ride. Burton gives his reward to Jon. Rupert reconsiders Burton's loyalty. Sandra overhears Jon and Burton repeating their plot, and reports to Rupert. Jon lobbies Lillian on the boat, who later reassures Rupert. Burton wins immunity. The powers agree that Darrah's going home, but the vote sends Rupert instead to the jury.
Sandra leads the group as it comes back from Tribal Council. Christa comments that she is shocked Rupert was voted out. Sandra loudly warns Tijuana and Darrah that Jon cannot be trusted. She continues a long, loud outburst over the unexpected turn of events. The topic changes as Burton asks, "Who threw the fish out?" Christa is accused. Later, Sandra stares blankly into the night as a horde of crabs consume the fish.
The next day, Sandra whispers to us: "When we got back to camp, I kept thinking, you know what? They're not coming into Rupert's fish. Screw that. So I got up to camp first and grabbed the bucket full of fish. And it was so damn heavy. And I tripped on a vine and spilled all the fish. And I started arguing with Jon to the point where it saved me. Because they never pointed the finger at me as to being the one dumping the fish."
Christa tearfully tells us that she wants to go home and see her man. "It sucks being here right now."
The Reward Challenge is based on the brutal method of pirate execution - walking the plank. When asked if this sort of challenge appeals to him, Jon says, "I can't wait to see two people in particular go into the ocean." He clarifies that he means Sandra and Christa. Jeff announces that it will be "a lot more brutal" than that. The players will have to force other players' loved one to walk the plank.
Shock immediately gives way to tearful joy. Sandra is met by her husband, Marcus. Tijuana is reunited with her "high school sweetheart and great friend" William. Burton's mom, DeeDee made the trip. Lillian gets a hug and kisses from her husband Lonnie. Darrah's boyfriend Bradley gives her a bearhug. Christa prompts Jeff to say, "Hey, I'm about to cry," while she embraces her finacé Pete. That left, suspiciously, Jon's reunion for the end.
Jon's "buddy" Dan turns the corner, doing the Jonny Fairplay salute, and generally looking like someone Jon would hang out with. There is something Jon wants to know right away: "Oh dude. How's Grandma?" Dan seems taken aback. "Huh?" Jon persists, "How's Grandma?" Dan levels with him, "She died, dude. Didn't you get the letter?"
As Jon rejoins the group, Jeff notes that he went from really happy to really sad. Jon explains that he expected either his buddy or his grandmother, and "my grandmother's not here for a reason. She's … not around." The others comfort him - especially Lillian, who is seated next to him. Sandra sits with an angry stare on her face. Jon suggests, "I could hope to win this and get some more information."
Jeff continues with the rules. The players and loved ones will be asked questions. If a pair's answers match, the player will be able to order a player's loved one another step closer to the end of the plank or, if it's the fourth step, off the plank and into the water. The last player with a dry loved one wins twenty-four hours with the friend/husband/mother back at camp. The rest say good-bye.
The questions included: "What is your survivor's nickname?" "… favorite home-cooked meal?" "… dream job?" "… trait that could cost him or her the game?" "… favorite genre of music?" What the viewers learn, though, is that William knows little about Tijuana, and Bradley and Darrah are going to need to talk after the show's over.
Jon sinks Sandra's Marcus after she dared to move Jon's buddy Dan. Lillian sends Christa's finacé Pete into the drink. Burton dunks Darrah's Bradley. Lillian boots Burton's Mom. Jon eliminates Tijuana's William, who performs an incredible cannonball dive after expressing his condolences to Jon. Tijuana is thrilled. It is then down to Lillian and Jon. Burton has to make the call. Everyone, including Lillian, wants to honor Jon's wishes to learn more about Nana. Off jumps Lonnie (who would have done a perfect jack-knife dive if only he had pulled up a knee to his chest).
Jon thanks everyone for their support and generosity. He and Dan embrace. Jeff explains the reward further. Dan and Jon will go back to Camp Balboa. The others will go to another beach. Jeff gives Burton waterproof matches and a machete.
As the players leave for Isla Hermita, Tijuana needs to know Dan's name. "Thunder D," he replies.
Wading ashore, Sandra says, "Home sweet home." Tijuana explains that they have no food and no shelter. Burton hacks away at a coconut, and is almost sickened by the smell that comes from it. Burton and Lillian comment about how this was the right thing to do. The six sit dejectedly on a log, doing nothing.
Meanwhile, Jon compliments Dan on "a brilliant performance." Jon tells us, "My grandmother's sitting home watching Jerry Springer right now." He excitedly tells Dan that he's in the final two, and hasn't been close to being voted off. Dan reveals the plot to us. Before Jon left for the show, he called Dan, saying, "If you come down here, tell me my grandma died." Dan warns Jon that the others will vote him off if they find out. And what would Grandma say? "My grandma's gonna love it!" Jon replies with confidence.
On Day 29, the others return to camp. Jon tells them, "Dan doesn't like it here." After some small talk and pleasantries, Dan walks into the water to board the boat. Jon gives Dan the fairplay salute as he motors away.
Sandra comments that, "Tijuana has the power to make a move either against us or with us." She and Christa pull Tijuana into the forest. Darrah follows. Sandra tries to convince Tijuana that she and Darrah are seen by Burton, Jon, and Lillian as numbers four and five. And "Darrah's gonna be fourth because they don't worry about Darrah." Christa is a physical threat to Burton, Jon, and Lillian. Sandra later comments that Tijuana just listened and didn't comment.
In the evening, Burton and Jon go for a walk. Sandra comments that she sneaks up on them to listen in and get a working knowledge of what's going on. Now this is an opportunity to include Tijuana. "I went over to Tijuana and said you gotta come with me now." What Tijuana hears firsthand follows:
Burton: "I hope it will go smoothly tomorrow."
Jon: "I'm not majorly concerned."
B: "I just want it to be the two of us in the final two. And when the time's right we'll talk to Lill about the top three. I mean, if we just guarantee those two girls top five, which we have done, and then you're guaranteeing T all the way, final two, then they gotta vote with us tomorrow."
J: "Well I think it should be no problem. I'm not worried about you. I'm not worried about me. I'm not worried about Lill, actually."
B: "You keep working T. It sounds like you've got a good connection with her. I'm gonna talk to D."
Tijuana immediately shares this information with a sleepy Darrah. For them, it was time to regroup in order to do better than fourth and fifth. To Darrah: "I really thought that Jon was thinking of you and I for the final three." Darrah answers: "If Burton doesn't win tomorrow his butt's gone."
At the Immunity Challenge, Jeff comments that 30 days of hunger and sleep deprivation can make it hard to think clearly. The challenge, a word scramble, will force them to use their brains.
Each player will have to form 20 words of varying lengths: Three 3-letter words, four 4-letter words, five 5-letter words, six 6-letter words, and (mercifully) two 7-letter words. No proper nouns, no plurals, no foreign words. When a player is done, he or she should announce "I'm done!" If that player completed the task properly, he or she wins immunity. If not, the player is out, and the game continues.
With the players at individual workstations, the words are revealed. "SURVIVOR PEARL ISLANDS" provided the players the letters they will use. Christa is the first to announce she is done. Jeff points out that she spelled LAVENDER with an "AR." The game resumes. Tijuana announces, but her list includes "NAILS" and "SAILS." The game resumes. Jon announces. But no, silly, it's not "SANDLE." The game resumes. Burton announces. After a check of the board, Jeff awards immunity to Burton. Sandra mutters something that sounds like "mutter something."
And then, as the group files out … "Yo. Survivors. Come back!" Jeff has the players huddle around Burton's board, and points out that he missed the second "I" in "LIAISON." Pointing to the idol, he says, "That, I'm sorry, is not yours." Sandra, Darrah, and Lillian are still in the game. Jeff decides that the three will compete in a second word scramble - a one-minute contest to see who can come up with the most words at least four letters in length. Same rules as before, but different letters. As if they would have any say in the matter, Jeff asks, "Are you guys good with this?"
The words are revealed: "OUTWIT OUTPLAY OUTLAST." (The letters appear to have been hastily written on the backs of the tiles from the first round.) Lillian scored a 10, Darrah managed 14, and Sandra fell short with 12. So, "Nubnut" straps on the huge cutlass - the first female Immunity Challenge winner of the season. Tijuana is ecstatic. Sandra whispers to Darrah, "Anybody but him [Burton]."
At camp, Tijuana and Darrah talk about being the swing votes. They can either support the departure of Burton, or get behind the removal of "antagonists" Sandra and Christa. They decide to get rid of Burton. After that, Darrah doesn't know how to play it. Tijuana says Christa would be next. She reasons that Jon, whom she heard plotting with Burton, "has no other options but to be on our side."
Christa and Sandra privately discuss the vote. They decide that Burton must go next. Sandra wants to see Burton crushed like Rupert was crushed. (For those of us counting at home, "That's four votes Burton. Hand me your torch.")
Tijuana goes with Darrah to Jon, who listens politely, and then runs off to talk with Christa and Sandra. For Jon, this was a painfully tough audience. He unrolls a new final four: Burton, Sandra, Christa, and him. Tijuana goes next. Yes, he promises to get rid of Lillian. "If we go final four, us four, that's fair. Is that not fair?" Sandra reminds Jon that he is distrusted. Jon swears on his grandmother that he will be true to them.
At Tribal Council, Jeff ushers in the jury. Rupert, thankfully, is wearing pants. Tijuana describes the camp as full of chaos. A lot is going on. When asked about the tribe, Sandra harkens back to just after the last Tribal Council, when there was shouting, fighting, and cursing after "somebody tossed the fish in the jungle." Christa confesses only to being "gone for thirty seconds," and helplessly points out that she cannot prove her innocence. She adds that seeing her boyfriend gave her energy and hope.
Jon continues his lie by expressing gratitude to the others for them letting him win the Reward Challenge. "I'll never be able to thank them enough for that." When asked about trust, Burton tells Jeff that, "You don't have to trust someone to have an alliance with him." Alliances are built on common interests. When asked if he would betray anyone in the game, Jon says, "Several days ago, yes. At this point, I don't think so." He explains that he "has had a few rough days." Priorities have changed.
When asked if she would like to give immunity to someone else, Darrah simply shakes her head "No."
In the voting, Darrah votes for Burton because he's "the biggest threat we have right now." Burton says of Tijuana, "I know it's your birthday tomorrow [July 23rd] and I don't think one of us is gonna be here to see it." Tijuana votes for Burton, saying that she overheard him talking with Jon, and he's telling two different stories.
The votes are read: Burton, Tijuana, Burton, Tijuana, Tijuana, Tijuana. Jeff announces that the last vote will remain a mystery. Burton shows five fingers to Jon.
Tijuana is gone.
Car84 can be contacted by email at car84@survivorskills.com
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