Episode 12- "In Lies We Trust"
By Car84
Previously: Tempers flared after Rupert was voted out. Christa was blamed for throwing out fish, though Sandra was the culprit. At the Reward Challenge, the players saw their loved ones, but stepped aside to allow Jon to win, and spend some time with his buddy Dan, who told him that Jon’s Grandmother died. The rest of the tribe was exiled to a deserted island, while Jon and Dan enjoyed Camp Balboa. Jon and Burton later strategized while Sandra and Tijuana secretly listened. When Darrah won a word-scramble Immunity Challenge, Burton was in danger of being voted off. Jon pleaded with the skeptical pair of Christa and Sandra to vote out Tijuana instead. On his grandmother’s grave, he promised the pair a final four of them and Burton. It worked. Tijuana was voted off, becoming the third member of the jury.
As Burton slips into the water with the fishing spear, Christa and Sandra consider what has just happened. “Now we’re screwed,” Sandra tells Christa, realizing that it may not have been a good idea to trust Jon. Christa comments that she doesn’t know if she could ever believe Jon.
Jon later speaks to Christa, who is openly leery of him. Jon is rather upbeat, and says he “rolls the dice a lot in this game.” Christa warns him, “Don’t go rolling on me!” She later comments that the four women would be better than Jon’s promised final four.
Sandra pulls Darrah aside in order to see where she stands. Sandra makes it clear that she wants the guys to go – Burton first, then Jon. “You think that will work?” she whispers to Darrah. Darrah responds with a non-committal “Yeah, yeah.” Sandra tells Darrah that she thinks “Jon is just like a girl.” Aside, Darrah says she expects to hear a lot of offers, and will listen.
Meanwhile, Burton closes in on and harpoons a stingray. He pulls that bad-boy in, and rounds out the fish bag with some other scaly delicacies. As he is showing off his haul, Jon announces that he has sea mail. Burton starts working on the stingray while Jon reads the clue. The challenge is a water challenge. Sandra says, “Whenever I hear wet and water, that’s awful for me.”
Jeff congratulates the players for making it through thirty-one days. He then describes the challenge. Three-person teams will compete in a water obstacle course. For each team, the first player will walk across a balance beam to a platform, and dive into the water. Two paddles are tied to separate crates. Each must be freed and brought to the second platform, where a teammate is waiting. Together, they dive in and release three floating barrels that are anchored to the seabed, and untie a third paddle. The pair then swims to a final platform, where a third teammate joins them in a swim to shore with the paddles, where a boat is aground. The first team to drag the boat to the water and paddle to the start wins reward.
And what is that?
The trio wins an overnight stay at a spa. They will be massaged, enjoy a dinner of whatever they’d like off the menu, wake up to a scrumptious breakfast, and all that neat stuff. Oh, and they’ll get their swimwear: “The first clothes you’ve seen from those suitcases you left behind thirty-one days ago.” That raises spirits considerably.
The players determine teams and running position by drawing gold and silver coins that are numbered one through three. Darrah draws a one, and leads the team of Lillian and Jon. Sandra also draws a one, and works with Christa and Burton.
“Sandra took a chinner on the first platform,” exclaims Jeff, as she clumsily completed her balance beam routine. Darrah steadily makes progress on the two oars, and joins forces with Lillian, as Sandra struggles with the second oar. As Lillian unties the third paddle, Darrah dives down to release barrels, unconcerned that her top rolled down to her waist. She and Lillian meet up with Jon as Sandra continues to have trouble with the second oar. Burton is visibly frustrated. Darrah’s team swims ashore, and labor with the boat, finally getting it to the water. Christa works quickly on the barrels as Darrah & Co. paddles. Sandra’s team swims frantically towards the shore (minus their paddles) as Darrah, Lillian and Jon win the reward. Jeff tosses them their swimwear.
The trio is whisked off on a boat towards their luxurious destination. Jon proclaims that, “this could be the best reward in the history of the game.” Darrah just “can not wait to get in that bathtub.” Upon arriving at the resort, the players board a small airplane for a fly-over of camp and the surrounding area. Lillian loves the “breathtaking view.” Jon is also impressed. “Words can’t describe how big this place is!”
At the hotel, Lillian and Darrah are shocked when they look in the mirror. “That first look of myself in the mirror was so shocking,” Lillian observes. Darrah sees that she has lost a lot of weight.
Jon comments that this is a great chance to strategize, being away from the others.
The three are treated to a massage and facials. Lillian is rather impressed. “Oh baby!” She tries to explain why the cucumber slices were placed over her eyes. Jon is enjoying his massage (perhaps a lot more so than the masseuse). Darrah says, apparently out of the blue, “I feel sorry for Burton today.”
At camp, Sandra bears down on Burton. “Jon said if we save you that Darrah and Lil will go.” Sandra looks for a sign of loyalty from Burton. Without having spoken to Jon, Burton is hesitant to commit. “I don’t know what to tell them.” Sandra is surprised by Burton’s uncertainty, considering how she just saved him. “You would think that that would count for something.” In a rather frank solo, Christa describes this encounter as “a real eye-opener.” “At this point it’s every man for themselves,” she adds.
At the spa, Darrah, Lillian, and Jon are thrilled to find silk pajamas waiting for them in their room. They put them on and wear them to dinner. When presented with a menu, Lillian opens it and is somewhat surprised that she can still read after so much time. Jon suggests chicken fingers as an appetizer. Lillian suggests clams, and is chided by Jon. They have had enough seafood!
Jon takes charge of the ordering. Lillian tells us that she likes it when the man takes the initiative. Jon later comments that he was looking to make a good impression on Darrah and Lillian. After all, he’s food-savvy, “a great date,” and “much more than just a pretty face.”
Jon tells the girls that Christa and Sandra won’t write his name down. Lillian breaks the news to Jon: “Out in the water they said to me, we’re gonna knock out Jon, and we’re gonna knock out Burton.” Jon is surprised by this, and tells Lillian that he swore loyalty to them on his grandmother’s grave. This upsets Lillian. Before bedtime, a hyperactive Lillian bounces on the bed and was otherwise “very antsy” (Jon’s words). Lillian marches off to bed when Jon upsets her by talking down to her. Jon and Darrah watch a rainy evening sky.
Christa and Burton venture off to discuss strategy. Of Darrah, Christa says, “She has a good chance of winning.” Burton still suffers from not knowing Jon’s marching orders. He asks Christa if she would vote off Sandra. Christa would, but she points out that Darrah was a cheerleader. Also (perhaps with endurance challenges in mind) Darrah can hang in for long periods of time. Burton tells us that Christa has rubbed some people the wrong way, so he’d like to keep her around. He promises Christa a spot in the final four, saying “I’ll do what I can to get you there.”
At the hotel spa, breakfast is served. Among other things, Jon finds “the most amazing banana nut bread” found on the planet he comes from. After enjoying breakfast, Jon meets with Darrah. “I could feed off Darrah’s greed,” he claims. He proposes to Darrah that they be in the final two. Darrah agrees, knowing Jon is a snake, but believing a snake has to tell the truth some times.
The getaway ends, and the boat arrives back at Camp Balboa. Sandra says she was happy to see them because it meant the reward was over. Lillian wants to play down how great the reward was, but Jon holds nothing back. Lillian later comments that it’s good that it wasn’t her saying those things. Jon brags, “We ate for four hours!”
Jon and Burton walk and talk strategy. Jon reports that, “everything is set.” They agree that they need to promise Darrah and Lillian enough so they won’t break ranks. Jon advises that Christa goes next. Burton balks. Jon says, “You can’t be nice” in this game. Burton tells us that he’s trying to be the “good cop,” leaving the “bad cop” role to Jon. That way, Burton could be more popular than Jon in the final.
In the evening, Burton and Lillian cannot sleep. Lillian asks Burton point-blank if they’re still solid. Burton hesitates. Lillian takes this as a bad sign. “You’re telling me now that you have second thoughts?” Burton tells her that he’s not thinking more than a few tribal councils ahead. Lillian tells Burton that, “I am not going to screw you over.” Aside, Burton reasons that he never promised Lillian top two. Lillian realizes that she may need to win immunity in order to stay in the game. And maybe she will turn on Burton.
In the Immunity Challenge, the players fire traditional pirate muskets that have been modified to shoot flares. The targets are cloth flags. Each player has three such flags. The first player to torch all three flags wins immunity.
In the first round, Christa admits to never having shot a gun before in her life. Jon mimics her actions as she awkwardly handles the musket. Surprisingly, Christa score a hit on her first shot. Lillian and Sandra shot low. Jon shot wide left. Darrah and Burton hit their targets.
In the second round, Christa hits her target, and then talks nervously with Sandra when Darrah blazed her second target. The four others missed low. Going in to the third round, Christa and Darrah are one shot away from immunity. Christa started round three by hitting a wooden pole on one of the scorched targets. Lillian and Sandra hit a target each. Darrah then calmly flames her final target, winning immunity. “The smallest girl out here is the safest,” proclaims Jeff.
The others congratulate Darrah on the walk back to camp. Burton refers to her as Dead-Eye Darrah. Christa laments, “I always almost win immunity,” and comments that she could be the one to go.
After confiding in us that, “We want Burton gone,” Sandra, with Christa, meets with Darrah to see if she is on board. Darrah flatly refuses to vote for Burton. “Lil is it tonight,” and that Jon is “telling her right now.”
Jon informs Lillian that, “Christa wants you or Sandra,” and that she doesn’t care at this point. “So you know who to go after tonight?” he quizzes. Lillian concludes: “Christa.” Jon later tells us that all the other players are naïve. Lillian isn’t sure of her prospects, and decides it may be a good idea to organize her stuff, pack her shells, and prepare for jury duty.
Christa and Sandra convene in knee-deep water to discuss what will happen. Christa tells us afterwards, “Trust is nothing at this time in the game.” As for lying, “Everybody has done it, and everybody has done it well.”
At Tribal Council, Jeff ushers in the jury. Tijuana smiles broadly, perhaps thrilled to see Darrah sporting the hardware again. Jeff probes the dirty half-dozen to extract useful nuggets for the jury. Jon comments that these days are the most hope-filled: hope that others are being truthful, hope that you can outlast them, and hope to carry the right person to the end. Burton observes that it’s hard to have to get farther along in the game at others’ expense. Christa admits to lying, though she has tried to keep quiet if that was an alternative.
When asked who she wouldn’t want to compete with at the end, Sandra pointed to Lillian, explaining that she’d out-nice anybody there. Lillian says it worries her that the jury would base their decision on such a thing. Seizing on the good-is-bad / bad-is-good theme, Christa points out that she has “rubbed some people the wrong way.” Jeff polls the six, asking if they trust their relationships. All say yes. Jeff is astounded: “You all trust your relationships?! This is going to be interesting.”
Darrah keeps immunity. The vote takes place. Lillian receives 2 votes. With four votes, Christa is on her way, flashing a peace sign.
Jeff describes what has just happened as a third surprise vote, and observes that “five very clearly skilled liars” remain.
Car84 can be contacted by email at car84@survivorskills.com
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