Kalabaw returns back to camp and Penner has questions. He is surprised that Katie voted for him. He then asks Jeff Kent if he knew of it. Jeff admits she wanted him out and could not convince her to vote another way. Penner says he will keep his eyes and ears open because this game is a game where everyone lies.
Jeff made a mistake last tribal. He should have told Penner that Katie was voting his way just to keep the male alliance strong. Now, Penner has reasons to not trust Kent because he is not 100% honest with him.
The Merge
On Tangdang, Mike has nostalgia. He fell in the fire on this day on his season. He tells his tribe that they are all on equal footing.
A boat arrives and the tribes have 10 minutes to collect their personal items because the boat will take them to a new beach. It is a tribe of 7 vs. 4. A feast is laid out on the beach. Baskets full of wine, cheese, meats and bread, the environment is full of merry. Well, except for RC and Skupin. They are the free agents of Tangdang. Since they are the red-headed children of the bunch, they have no allegiance to Abi, Pete, and Artis.
Pete makes an interesting comment. He says Skupin only does what RC tells him. This does not paint Skupin in the winner’s light. I don’t know if the editors want us to root for Skupin or Pete’s side.
While everyone is getting to know one another, building camp, and making deals, Lisa is doing a good deed. She decides to air out everyone’s clothes so it can be dry by nighttime. Malcolm wrapped his immunity idol in his shirt and Lisa found it. They both talked, awkwardly, and now Lisa is in a three person alliance with Malcolm and Denise. Lisa is hesitant about this alliance because it came so fast and she thinks that she may not be the only actor on the island.
And she is right, Penner is a former actor. Granted, he wasn’t as famous as her but he did work in the 90s. Those two had a convo about her fame. He makes a comment that the younger people have no clue who she is because they are young. Lisa says it is healing to know people genuinely like her for her and not because she was on TV.
Penner talks with Skupin in the sea. He is scared of the returning player bull’s-eye. The two propose an alliance with 4 Kalabaw teaming up with RC and Skupin, since they were ostracized by Tangdang.
Jeff leads the anti-former player alliance. He wants the merged tribe to tie the vote 4-4. 4 votes to RC and 4 votes to Penner, in case he plays the idol.
Immunity Challenge
I love these ‘who wants it more’ type of challenges. Everyone has to hold on to a bucket that is filled with 25% of their body weight. There will be a male and female winner. This should be an easy win for Abi since her bucket weighs like 5 pounds.
As expected, the men drop like flies. Skupin, Pete and Penner are the first 3 out. Lisa can’t hold on anymore. Malcolm drops leaving 3 males competing. RC is not looking good. She tries to rally her bucket but it’s too late; she is out. Abi drops immediately. It is apparent that she didn’t want RC to win and now that she is out, she couldn’t care less who won. Denise wins immunity idol for the females. This will be the first tribal Denise doesn’t have to worry about being voted out.
Artis finally gives in to the pain and we are down to Jeff and Carter. It is past 25 minutes and those two try to make a deal. It is awkward to watch, as a fan, because we both know they are safe and that they are aligned. We are shouting for one of them to drop. Jeff quits, giving the win to Carter.
Back at camp, Skupins talks with Jeff about an alliance. Jeff shares his reservations about joining up with Penner and Skupin. He doesn’t want a returning player to win. Jeff then talks with Carter about this. Does he go with the veterans and be in the majority sub-alliance? Or does he go with Tangdang and be at the bottom? Jeff’s decision will ultimately come down to not wanting Penner outlast him in the game.
At Tribal, Jeff congratulates Tangdang. They are the only tribe to not go to tribal before a merge. However, that doesn’t mean that they are a happy family. Seconds into tribal, RC and Abi talk about their main argument. Did RC leave the clue out to frame Abi? Is Abi crazy and making this up in her head?
Lisa makes a comment about flippers. They won’t benefit because they are in a weak spot on the tribe (If Tangdang goes to Kalabaw). Also, there is a possibility for a flipper to join Tangdang if they perceive themselves to be at the bottom of the totem pole. It will buy them some time in the game if a kalabaw decides to flip.
The group votes. When Jeff goes tally the votes, everyone hears a weird noise coming from the jungle. Is that a sign, a pain sign for whoever is about to get voted out?
Penner uses his idol. That means all 5 votes that he received will not count. He would have been voted out. The votes are split between Pete and RC. Another beauty left the game with 4 votes, the tribe has spoken RC. Pete received 2 votes from Penner / RC. Penner knows he has no alliance.
The Breakdown.
This move was really good for Kalabaw in the bigger picture. If tribes are split then its 6 vs. 4. However, we know that Kalabaw doesn’t want to work with Penner and he is the target.
This move was great for Artis, Abi, and Pete as getting rid of RC is getting rid of their enemy. Their next target is Skupin.
For Denise / Malcolm (Lisa), this move was iffy. It is beneficial to have the numbers go down, with your alliance intact. However, she could have been an ally for their alliance. It is best for them that it is shaping up to be newbies vs. veterans. This will blindfold the newbies from thinking that they are in an alliance.
Alliance Breakdown
Abi + Pete + Artis = core
Carter + Jeff = core
Denise + Malcolm = core
Abi + Pete + Artis + Carter + Jeff + Denise + Malcolm + Lisa vs. Skupin + Penner is the main storyline for next week. I can imagine that the majority alliance will breakup after Penner is voted out. Lisa and Skupin will probably team up with Malcolm and Denise for a secret alliance. I can then seeing Tangdang wanting to get rid of Kalabaw men for being an endgame threat. This leaves the secret alliance to then dominate the end game totally blindsiding Abi and Pete.
This is all speculation but I can totally see something like this happening. Jeff Kent made a big mistake in not taking over majority by adding RC and Skupin. I think he sealed his own game in the fate of Tangdang. If they would have stopped to check the rational levels of both sides they probably would have sided with RC, instead of voting her out.
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