Episode 4: It's All About the Big Guy
By Car84
Caution: Don't try swim within 30 minutes of eating … or if you don't know how to swim.
After another week of our own mundane work-a-day worries and concerns, we are reminded of last week's happenings on Survivor. Morgan was in a slump after Osten asked to be voted off. Drake searched unsuccessfully for buried treasure. In the Reward Challenge, the tribes competed for new bedding, a piece of the map, and a chance to loot an item from the losing tribe. Drake sunk Morgan for the fourth time in a row. Lillian lost the tribe's last fishing hook. The Immunity Challenge was a battle of strength and will, but Rupert held on. At Tribal Council, Morgan elected to keep Darrah's strength and good looks over Lillian's work ethic.
That was then. This is now. We hunker down to see what is ailing the Morgan tribe this time. They are experiencing higher tides than usual due to a storm out at sea. Waves are lapping at their doorstep. It's them against the surly waters of the Pacific Ocean. And doggone it, they're going to keep it at bay with a wall made of beach sand and drift wood.
As far as the option of moving the shelter is concerned, Ryan comments, "We really don't want to do that." Referring to their situation, he adds, "It's almost comical now." Tijuana and Darrah are shown boiling water, which they had to learn to do since Lillian was kicked off. Andrew lists the hazards they have been up against: the surf, mosquitoes, crabs, fire ants. And he's sick of eating coconut, rice and beans. On Day 10, it finally dawns on him that fish would taste good.
Alas, see what is happening at Drake. Shawn and Jon are arguing over workload - a verbal slugfest that crescendos with Jon insisting "a little more help would be appreciated." Trish observes that "the mood today has been really funky." Personalities are starting to clash after ten days of prosperity. Sandra and Christa confer about Burton's and Shawn's flimsy claim to be the early risers. Christa confesses that they really want someone to leave. Shawn talks about how Christa is getting on her nerves, and how he's keeping score.
Burton is shown pointing at Rupert's backside and quipping "Say no to crack!" He and Shawn taunt Rupert with chants of "Roooop! Roooop!" It is quite juvenile, and it's clear that Rupert doesn't find that sort of attention amusing. Trish comments that the alliance of Shawn, Rupert and Michelle has alienated everyone else.
With no lead-in whatsoever, we're led to the Reward Challenge. Jeff explains the task at hand. Each tribe has to retrieve sixteen puzzle pieces - half of which are buried in the sand, with the others anchored to the sea floor. This must be done one piece at a time. The entire then must piece them together in a rectangular frame. In addition to a piece of their tribe's treasure map and the chance to pillage the other tribe's camp, the winner gets … Jeff unveils … an old-fashioned sewing machine, sewing kit, and material.
What transpired was, in some ways, painful to watch. Drake had seven pieces in before Ryno, Andrew, and Tijuana managed three. In her attempt at a piece in the water, her top rolled down as she dove in. Her inability to dive was also exposed. Upon her return, Osten bravely took to the waves for piece number four. Once over the target area, he made a startling announcement. "I'm about to drown." Jeff sent Andrew and Ryno off in a scene reminiscent of the Wicked Witch of the West sending her flying monkeys after Dorothy. Osten was hauled in empty-handed at about the time Drake had their twelfth piece. Morgan closed late, but lost.
Box score -
Drake 16 (Win): Burton (4 water, 0 sand); Rupert (3, 0); Jon (1, 2); Sandra (0, 3); Trish (0, 3). Sitting out: Shawn, Michelle, Christa. Morgan 15 (Loss): Ryno (4 water, 0 sand); Tijuana (1, 2); Andrew (0, 3); Darrah (2, 0); Osten (0, 1); Unknown (2).
A happy Drake tribe returns to camp with sewing supplies and the final piece of their treasure map. Christa measures Rupert for some new threads and suggests something with a crotch. Rupert insists in adding a second skirt to his wardrobe, and sits down and starts to sew. Christa is impressed. Shawn asks snottily, "Is it going to have slots at the side?" and then adds, "Beautiful work there. When you're done I got some pants that need hemming." Rupert suggests that Shawn do his own work. He models the finished product. Yeah, plenty of room in there!
Burton and Trish look over the treasure map. The clue referred to the "devil's fork" and other landmarks, and seemed to give clear directions. The mood was upbeat. Sandra craves candy, canned juice, peaches, pineapple. "If I see one more grain of rice, I'm gonna p… - I'll be upset." Jon was, um, bursting with excitement over their prospects. "I've had more wet dreams about that treasure than any girl in Playboy!" Rupert is in his old skirt. (Alert the continuity crew.) As it turned out, the directions weren't that easy to figure out. Michelle pointed to the spot where she stood and asked Shawn, "What about over here?" Shawn noticed that the dirt seemed a bit soft around there - a good sign. Moments later, he hit paydirt.
The Drake tribe watched as Rupert, Burton, and Shawn struggled to extract the treasure chest from the firm clutches of the ground. They decided to unlock and open the chest where it sat. When the lid was raised, they were struck by a stench of several items that were at various stages of decomposition. According to Jon, the blanket, hammock, and mosquito net smell "like crap." It seems that the production crew messed up, and some water seeped in. The unspoiled inventory list, according to Burton: goblets, candle holders, candles, canned food, sugar, honey, coffee beans, and chocolates. Unimpressed, Jon described the event as "a ghetto Christmas."
On the other island, Andrew and Ryno puzzle over their spear and wonder where they could possibly find some fish. They set off to the opposite shore, toting their map, which shows dorsal fins offshore there. Andrew is excited about the prospects of finding a "multitude of fish" as he hacks away at the thick brush, with Ryno in tow.
Osten comments on the pending visit from the Drake pillager. "If they want to cripple us, they'll take our pot. End of game." Trish arrives with as much fanfare as the third man on the moon, and is welcomed by Tijuana. Trish tries to give the strong impression that she is on strict orders from Drake to take something, as much as she didn't want to. "I was SO shot down." She claims the lantern for Drake. Tijuana puts up some resistance. Darrah later reveals that the lantern was a decoy meant to distract Trish from their one remaining pot. "We prolly ruint it by putting' cookin' ol in it so it prolly's not gonna work."
Meanwhile, Andrew tells Ryno that he has some bad news and he has some good news. The bad news is they didn't find the cove. The good news is they found Chuay Gahn's boat. No. There was no good news. Andrew points out that the water is choppy, which it shouldn't be on the west side of the island. He looks at the map. It just can't be. They're dejected and totally exhausted. Through the magic of television, they return home safely, yet painfully aware the tribe will be upset they had nothing for them.
During the eleventh night, Burton pulls Rupert aside and tells him, "I've been running every single scenario through my head because you and I are screwed." He goes on to reason that they have to get rid of Christa and Trish because they (and Jon and Sandra) will eventually rise up against him and Rupert. Burton broaches the idea of throwing a challenge so that the tribe can be pruned to his liking. Rupert says he's on board, and agrees not to tell anyone. Rupert later reveals to us his real feelings about Burton's idea. "I wanted to smack him. If this was a pirate culture, he'd be dead."
Jon retrieves the tree mail for Morgan. Michelle interpreted the clue as describing a game of "full contact chess, man," and tells us that she, Burton, and Shawn decided to back off. Rupert decides he can't stomach throwing a competition, but he can sit idly by and watch his teammates take a dive.
Rupert reveals Burton's scheme to vote out one of the women to Trish and Christa. "Burt's the first one out in my mind," he tells them.
Jeff greets the tribes and declares immunity is back up for grabs. He then describes the challenge as having something to do with pirates trying to board other pirates' boats. The playing field is a hard picture to paint with words. Imagine five diamonds pieced together in an "x" shape, with a platform on two opposite sides. A pad is at each of the twelve intersecting points. The pads are connected by planks. The teams alternate sending a player one plank at a time towards the opposite platform. If an opponent is where you want to go, you have a face-off battle on the plank. The first one in the water goes back to the start. The winner gets the other's pad. The first team with all five members on the opposite pad wins.
Before the challenge starts, Jeff produces a rolled up message and explains that it reveals "a little something else" for the winning tribe. Drake elects to sit out Rupert, Burton, and Trish.
In the battle, Drake won only one head-to-head challenge (Shawn over Tijuana). At that juncture, Jeff reveals that he is stunned. Why would Drake sit out their strongest people in a physical challenge? He is told that this is just a matter of their rotation. He seems to accept that. Tijuana avenges her loss to Shawn by taking Jon down, much to the delight of everyone. In the end Morgan wins! Morgan wins! Morgan wins! Jon applauds.
And now, the matter of the little something else. Jeff reads: "Choose one tribe member from the opposing tribe to come live with you until the next challenge." The upshot of this is thus: Morgan gets to abduct a member of Drake. The abductee will not go to the next Tribal Council, and cannot be voted out. They will participate in the next Reward Challenge on Morgan's side, and share in that reward if Morgan wins. As Rupert clutches Michelle and Christa, Jeff asks "Savage" whom they'd like to borrow. To the surprise of no one, he picks Rupert, who leaves the Drake boat and immediately makes Morgan the stronger tribe.
Christa spends Day 12 worried about the effects of Rupert's abensce. She observes that Jon is flitting between the trios of Burton, Shawn and Michelle, and Trish, Sandra, and her. In her mind, he seems a bit too cozy with Burton's group. Jon tells Christa that Burton's group thinks Michelle is the targeted member of Burton's group.
Jon proclaims loudly, and with excitement that he "is so stoked to go to Tribal Council!" He lists his alliances: a) one with Shawn, b) another with Trish, Rupert, Christa, and Sandra, c) another with Shawn, Burton, and Michelle. He proclaims himself the "freakin' puppet master." He KNOWS he's not being voted out. After several swigs from the bottle, he struts and trash talks in front of his tribe mates, who are either starved for entertainment or have too little energy to go someplace else. Jon then strips naked and runs into the waves.
At Tribal Council, the Drakes are welcomed by Jeff, who directs them to light their torches in the cauldron. He goes through the fire meaning life speech. Turning to Jon, he asks about the state of affairs with the tribe. "Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome! Happy tribe. Good tribe. Couldn't be happier!" Jeff asks him if he's loaded, and he confesses he is. Michelle talks about friendships. Jeff says he's still confused about them sitting out Burton and Rupert. Christa says their rotation is the fair way to divide the experience. [For the record, all have sat out once, with the exception of Christa, Michelle, Burton, and Trish (two apiece).] Burton agrees with Jeff that being a strong tribe can be a double-edged sword because you can't get rid of anyone. When asked what he'll base his vote, Jon replies that it will depend on "whatever the astrological signs tell me." Jeff challenges him: "Is that a respectful way to treat somebody that you've lived with for twelve days?" Jon replies, "Maybe, maybe not."
Jeff calls for and tallies the vote.
By a vote of 4 Burton to 2 Christa (with Jon's vote, attitude, and gestures remaining "a mystery,") the first member of Drake makes his exit.
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