SHATTERED ALLIANCE: BIG TOM OUSTED
With deception and paranoia growing with each passing day, SURVIVOR: ALL-STARS has been whittled down to the Final Four Chaboga Mogos. Feeling secure in his alliance with Rob and Amber, Tom Buchanan, the 48-year-old tribe member of SURVIVOR: AFRICA from Rich Valley, Virginia, was shocked to hear his name read at Tribal Council. Big Tom had mistakenly thought Jenna Lewis, the 26-year-old castaway of SURVIVOR: BORNEO from Franklin, New Hampshire, was the target of the alliance, which sent him home in a four-to-one vote.
Shortly after seeing his torch extinguished, Big Tom rationalized, "Don't worry about me. If you can live with it, I can live with it. And I'm going to live with it happily ever after."
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GAME
As day 34 crept into the Chaboga Mogo camp, the five remaining castaways were feeling the weight of the journey. Niceties were no more. Silence ruled the camp, and the game was the only thing on every All-Star's mind. "Camp life is hard. And as it gets down to the last few days, it's getting harder everyday," explained Rupert Boneham, the 40-year-old castaway of SURVIVOR: PEARL ISLANDS PANAMA from Indianapolis, Indiana.
PARANOIA WILL DESTROY YA
After breaking away from the tribe, Jenna and Rupert discussed their alliance. Just as they were strategizing about possibly voting off Rob Mariano, the 28-year-old All-Star of SURVIVOR: MARQUESAS from Canton, Massachusetts, Rob appeared out of nowhere, to the horror of the scheming tribemates. Paranoid, Rob then expressed his fear of mutiny to Amber Brkich, the 25-year-old castaway of SURVIVOR: THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK from Beaver, Pennsylvania. "I was under the assumption that the game would be easier in the end," mused Amber, "Because I knew we had our strategy set in the beginning and that we weren't really gonna have to worry about it too much in the end. But I was completely wrong."
REWARD CHALLENGE: SECOND CHANCE
As the tribe convened for a Reward Challenge, they were delighted to see a brand new Chevy Colorado truck parked in the clearing. Host Jeff Probst explained that this Challenge would give the castaways a second chance at some of the obstacles from Challenges past.
The five All-Stars must first negotiate a long balance beam, and the last to cross it would be eliminated. The remaining four castaways must then do a military crawl to a slide puzzle; the last to finish the puzzle would be ousted. The three remaining must then stomp an item from a balance beam into a raised bucket three times; the last to do so would be eliminated. The final two must then compete by climbing a rope ladder to catch a flying fox.
The first All-Star to jump off the flying fox and grab a waiting set of keys would win the Reward: the Chevy Colorado truck, which the winner would get to drive off immediately in order to enjoy a drive-in movie replete with refreshments.
The competition started off with a close race over the balance beams, and Rupert fell off. The second round came down to the difficult slide puzzles, which Jenna just could not figure out in time. Tom had trouble figuring out the stomp competition and simply could not launch his item into the bucket three times.
The Challenge came down to Amber versus Rob. In a close race, Boston Rob scaled the rope ladder just a nose quicker than Amber, which made all the difference. Excited, Rob swooshed down the flying fox then snapped up the keys to his new Chevy Colorado.
Boston Rob was then offered the chance to invite another member of Chaboga Mogo to join him for the movie and he chose his sweetheart, Amber Brkich.
DRIVE-IN MOVIE
After driving his new Chevy Colorado through the Panamanian jungle, Boston Rob was happy to arrive at the makeshift drive-in movie theater. His movie companion, Amber, was even happier when she was surprised with a Reward of her own: a brand new Chevy Malibu. The couple and their new cars then set in to watch a screening of "Lord of the Flies," a movie that serves as an inspiration and shares many of the same themes as SURVIVOR. "Time alone with Amber was unbelievable," smiled Rob, "For the first time, I didn't have to think about the game at all."
JEALOUSY AT CHABOGA MOGO
After the couple returned to camp, they relayed the news of Amber's new car. It was obvious that the other members of Chaboga Mogo were jealous, more bitter than happy for Amber. "If there is a little SURVIVOR hex that keeps the car winners from winning the game, I would love that," Rupert admitted, "That would be my little justice."
JUNIOR HIGH REVISITED
Feeling vulnerable after witnessing Rupert and Tom confer in private, Boston Rob tried to pit one against the other. Rob claimed that Big Tom was gunning for him, and he knew this because Rupert had told him so. Rob's lie worked, as Rupert and Big Tom had it out on the beach. "Did you or did you not tell me we needed to get Rob off?" Rupert repeatedly asked Big Tom.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE: SURVIVOR SCRAMBLE
As the tribe reconvened for the Immunity Challenge, Jeff Probst explained that this competition would be a word scramble. Each castaway must search amongst a jumble of letters for a list of former SURVIVOR tribe names. The 17 tribe names would intersect and share letters. Once all tribe names have been found, the intersecting letters would unscramble to form the winning word. The first Survivor to unscramble the winning word would win the crucial Immunity.
The five remaining All-Stars worked diligently to unscramble the tribe names from SURVIVORS past, as Amber took the lead, with Boston Rob and Jenna not far behind. Big Tom and Rupert fell back. Amber held her lead and was first to reach seventeen words, but she had trouble unscrambling the final winning word.
Shortly after getting his seventeenth word correct, Rob immediately guessed the winning word to be "Chaboga Mogo" to take Immunity right out from under Amber's nose. Boston Rob would be wearing the coveted necklace at that night's Tribal Council.
PROMISES PROMISES
As Tribal Council loomed near, the members of Chaboga Mogo were panicked, making sure their alliances were still intact. Sensing she was on the chopping block, Amber feared Big Tom would join Jenna and Rupert in order to vote her off. After pulling Big Tom aside, Rob and Amber pressured him into reassuring them that their alliance was still strong. "What you tell me, that's what I'm putting on that card," Tom promised Rob and Amber.
In the end, Tom kept his promise to Amber and Rob by writing down the name he was told. However, Amber and Rob didn't keep their promise to Tom by writing down his name. Livid, Big Tom was shocked as he witnessed the four-to-one vote that expelled him from the Chaboga Mogo tribe. Tom became the fifth member of the Jury and will now have a hand in deciding who will win the million-dollar prize and earn the name Sole Survivor.
