The last episode of “Survivor Samoa” ended with a vicious blindside when the newly merged tribe voted out Erik. It was the first time this season that the women have gone on the offensive after being steadily picked off by the men. Upon returning from tribal council, the women celebrated voting off Erik and getting Russell to play the hidden immunity idol. It seems that they were finally aware of the potential they have in the game, if they act as a cohesive unit.
Alone with the camera, Laura said:
“I think that it was the dumbest move Russell could have made, playing that idol tonight. When he stood up and he used it, I about came off my stool. It could not have happened any better for us because not only did we get rid of Erik, we just flushed out that idol and then exposed who is gonna be coming up next. It could not have happened any better. Russell should absolutely be nervous. Russell is gonna be gone next. “
The women continued to step outside of typical gender roles and this was exemplified when Natalie caught a rat. She watched it, hemmed and hawed, then finally struck it with a stick. She carried it back to the tribe with a smile on her face. Alone with the camera, Jaison expressed pride in Natalie’s achievement. The fact that Natalie was understood as a Southern belle made the capture of the rat a big deal.
Yet even if Natalie never provided a single meal for the tribe throughout “Survivor,” how does this frame her as incapable? Once again, this is an example of the ways in which men focus on the physical side of the game and ignore the mental strategy of a female player. Natalie is still in the game because she is making strategic moves. Had it not been for her intervention, it is quite possible that a male member of the now defunct Foa Foa would be sitting on the jury.
At the reward challenge, it was necessary to do a random draw to decide teams and because 11 castaways now remain, one person would have to stay out of the competition. Natalie was eliminated from competition and so she chose to support Laura, Brett, Mick, Jaison and Russell, thereby tying her fate to theirs. Unfortunately for Natalie, she picked the wrong team and had to return with them to camp empty-handed.
The reward was an afternoon at a beautiful natural rock water slide with a magnificent feast of chicken and chocolate brownies. While enjoying their reward, Shambo, Kelly, Dave, Sean and Monica found out that an immunity idol had once again been placed in the game. Since there were only former Galu members present, they decided to keep the information regarding the idol to themselves and continue with their plan to vote off Russell. Shambo tried to fight for Russell to stay in the game, but others were certain in their decision.
Feeling that perhaps there was an undiscovered idol on the tribe grounds, Russell began to search. After looking around briefly, he found the idol.
download Bandits movie “I just found the second immunity idol without a clue… This is crazy. Look, I’m shaking. This might be worth one million dollars. This is it, number two. This is amazing. Am I that damn good? This is just unprecedented. I missed fried chicken and brownies for this second immunity idol; sounds like a good exchange to me.”
download The Curse of El Charro dvd Regardless of Russell’s misogyny, this achievement must be recognized. He is the first survivor to ever find a single idol without a clue. The fact that he went on to find a second idol makes his actions absolutely legendary. Not even the hated Johnny “Fairplay” was ever able to play such a strong game.
Knowing that the former Foa Foa tribe is still outnumbered, Russell decided to show the idol to Shambo. She once again repeated her trust in him and was excited that he managed to pull this off. Together, they decided to encourage the members of Galu to vote for Russell, so that he would be able to blindside them with the idol.
Unfortunately for Shambo and Russell, their plans were be stymied when Laura once again won the immunity challenge. Realising that the opportunity to eliminate a member of the former Galu tribe was still an option, Russell showed the idol to Jaison, Mick and Natalie, and they decided to vote off Kelley.
In consultation regarding the upcoming vote, Monica was the only one to suggest possibly splitting the vote, in the event that Russell had revealed the immunity idol to the former members of Galu. Even though the rest of the tribe agreed that it was possible, they decided to dismiss Monica’s suggestion. Once again, the tribe ignored a strategic suggestion coming from a woman.
At tribal council, all of the former members of Galu cast their votes for Russell, but he played the hidden immunity idol, thus erasing their votes. With only the votes of the former members of Foa Foa left to count, Kelley was voted from the game and became the second member of the jury. From watching the expression on Laura’s face, it was clear that she was enraged.
Once again, the women in this episode proved that they are still thinking along tribal lines rather than gender differences. Had they listened to Monica when she made the suggestion to split the vote, they may have been able to eliminate Jaison or Mick. With the loss of Kelley, their numbers continue to dwindle, thus eliminating the possibility that they will be able to act as a cohesive force.
It is also now clear that the next episode will be a showdown between Laura and Russell. This is a competition between two type-A personalities. At this point in the game, it would easier to neutralize Russell by pacifying him, while picking off the male members of the tribe. On this show, the women need to learn to keep their friends close and their enemies even closer.