Survivorfest week 11

Crystal finally outruns the only thing she can...her luck.

Back at camp, Matty was very unhappy to find out that Kenny was using him as a backup plan in case Corinne had an actual immunity idol.

Kenny: "I have been calling the shots...I am the mastermind!"

Matty agreed: "Kenny's the mastermind!" I prefer to think of him as more of an opportunistic rodent.

Crystal weighed in: "I regret not writing Matty's name down. That might be the stupidest move I've made in this game." With so many stupid things to choose from, that must be hard to say.

Bob fessed up to Kenny that the idol they thought Corinne might have was one of his exceptional fakes. Kenny was very upset that he was deceived and actually made Bob feel bad enough to promise to give him immunity if he should win it at the next challenge.

The reward challenge involved running through a swamp to grab a ball, running back through the swamp, shooting the ball through a basketball-type hoop and then returning for another ball. First contestant to hit three baskets would win reward.

Heh. Kenny runs like a rag doll.

Crystal should star in a movie called "She Ain't Got Game." Seriously, how can someone be so awful at every single challenge? And did I mention she's an Olympic athlete?

Matty sunk his first two balls quickly, but seemed to freeze up when trying to sink his third ball. Bob, who was retrieving his balls at a fairly leisurely pace, came back and calmly sunk this third and final ball to win the reward challenge.

During this time, Crystal spent the entire challenge failing to make a single basket. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2004 Olympic gold medal winner!

Bob was allowed to take two people with him to the reward trip. He chose Crystal and Kenny for reasons that weren't particularly obvious to me. Susie was sent to Exile Island.

The reward started out with a nice meal and what appeared to be mojitos, followed by a shower and some clean clothes. Muumuus, actually.

Bob looked ridiculous. Kenny seemed to enjoy his new threads: "They've even got pockets!" Ah, soon it will be known as "gamer wear".

After dressing the three were treated to a trip to a gorilla rescue station. It was a little disappointing, honestly. They didn't get to frolic with the gorillas or feed them or even fight to the death in a cage match. It was a little like a trip to the zoo.

Back at camp, Matty was chastising Sugar over her recent relationship with Kenny and Crystal: "You're the evil 3!"

He even tried to get her to give him the idol. You know, just because she should feel bad about being evil.

When Crystal and Kenny returned from reward they took turns laying into Matty. I'm not really sure why. I guess all that eating, sleeping and hanging around with gorillas pissed them off.

Sugar felt so badly about the two of them kicking Matty while he was down that she started to...you guessed it: cry. I think Sugar is the biggest crier in Survivor history.

The Immunity challenge was a puzzle that was completed on one end that the contestants would have to replicate with unassembled pieces at the other end of an obstacle course. While blindfolded.

Matty's strategy was to retrieve all three puzzle packets and make his way to the other end of the course to start working.

Crystal's strategy appeared to be to wander off and get lost. Possibly to be eaten by wild animals with any luck.

After several prompts from Jeff, Crystal eventually managed to find her way back to the obstacle course, to which Probst yelled: "Crystal, miraculously, is almost there!"

Bob finished first, but didn't complete his puzzle correctly.


Susie chose this time to wander off into the savannah. How is she still in this game?

Kenny finished, but also didn't have all the pieces right.

Bob finished again, and this time had the pieces placed correctly to win immunity!

Back at camp, Kenny plotted to take Bob's idol, as Bob promised, and then vote him off. What a bastard!

In practice, this plan seemed to hit a snag as Bob appeared to have second thoughts. Rather than reneging, he altered his agreement with Kenny to be that he would give him the idol if he thought that it was likely that Kenny would be voted off.

Sugar didn't like being part of the "evil 3" and ratted out Kenny's plan to Bob. She then went on to tell Kenny and Crystal that she related to Bob that everyone was planning to vote off Kenny. Tricky.

When Matty tried to put in his two cents Sugar shushed him and told him to "let her do the thinking." I don't know about you, but when I let someone named after a sweetner do the thinking for me, I expect mixed results.

At tribal council we were treated to Randy's new haircut. A mohawk. Strangely, it made him look about fifteen years younger. And even angrier.

Probst extolled the virtues of Bob's recent success. When asked his opinion, Kenny said "He's strong, he's smart, he's agile...he's Bob." I gotta tell you, after the first 4-5 weeks I don't think I would have believed that I would hear anyone say that about Bob. Maybe he is worthy of a Yau-Man comparison now.

Probst explained that anyone possessing a hidden idol would need to play it at that council. He reminded everyone that only legit idols would be accepted, since there have been occasions where people have been fooled into playing false idols. In the resulting closeup, Randy appeared very close to ripping off his own ears. he wouldn't have any trouble finding them without any hair on the sides of his head.

I'm amused to note how easy it is to read Crystal. She either has this sneaky, smarmy look when things are going according to plan or she has this petulant, about-to-cry thing going when something unexpected is happening.

Bob decided to keep his idol, declaring that he didn't believe Kenny to be in any danger of being voted off. Sugar gave her idol to Matty after the vote, which turned out to be fortuitous.

The first two votes read were for Matty and were discarded. The next three were for Crystal, sending her to the lodge with some of her very best friends.

She took it much better than I would have guessed.


This Sunday is the final episode for the season! Glenda has a small lead at this time. Let's see if she can keep it!