If it wasn't bad enough for Ulong losing the immunity challenge again, they are confronted by a storm, and a shelter that won't protect them. They've found caves nearby before, and decide to make their way back to the caves before they are drenched from the storm. But, consistent with their luck thus far, they get lost instead and begin bickering with one another. After a sleepless night lost in the jungle, no wonder they're crabby.
From the CBS website: "One castaway neglects fire duty and dozes off, and a tribemate becomes bitter having to lose valuable sleep to pick up the slack."
From the end of episode preview: "Jenn: It's a big night. JP: While Gregg and Jenn get cozy at Koror. Coby: They gotta think we're stupid if we can't tell that they're together."
From the CBS Internet promo: "V.O.: Anything can happen. Tom: Just keep playing the game."
I believe these clues are connected. The person who neglects fire duty and dozes off is probably Gregg, who enjoys snuggling with Jenn at night. Their romance, revealed in the insider clips but not on the actual episodes, is heating up. There must be a moratorium on how much romance we as an audience have to endure from the tribes. This isn't Temptation Island! Anyway, guess who resents this romance/shirking of duties? Coby. If he is bitter as the promos suggest, then Coby might target Gregg or Jenn or both. Factions are developing on Koror. Gregg, worried about his fate, turns to Tom for support and possible alliance protection. Who watches and listens in? Willard.
The Koror factions are as previously predicted, Ian/Katie/Tom/Gregg/Jenn versus Coby/Caryn/Willard, with perhaps Janu as neutral. If Coby/Willard resent Gregg/Jenn, they may reach out to Tom, Janu, or Ian to help them unseat a possible romantic alliance threat, similar to Rob/Amber from All Stars. Do they have the numbers? Nah. Tom is loyal to Gregg, and therefore Jenn. Ian is loyal to Tom. How Tom thinks is how his faction thinks, due to his influence. Gregg is the red herring of this episode. He isn’t going anywhere. Tom wants his strength, and doesn't care about any romance or shirking of fire duties one lousy night. And if Willard overhears Tom comforting Gregg, then he's got to know he’s in danger. Willard is low man on the totem pole, and he knows it.
From the CBS website: "Both tribes face several twists that they never could have expected that throw them off their game."
Also from the CBS website: "One tribe is taunted and tormented as they have to sit and watch the other tribe enjoy a great reward right in front of them."
From the end of episode promo: "JP: And the game takes an incredible turn."
From the CBS Internet Promo: "VO: Win Survivor Immunity and you're safe. Lose and you could go home. But Wednesday night the rules will change when both tribes go to two Tribal Councils. JP: Win or lose, both tribes are going to Tribal Council tonight."
Ulong inspired me to think of lyrics to this song from the old Hee Haw program. "Gloom, despair, is draggin' in on me. Deep dark depression, excessive misery! If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Gloom, despair, is draggin' in on me!" So no matter what Ulong does, they are going to lose another member of their shrinking team. And, the very fortunate Korors are going to have to lose a member as well. That's right; it’s the double boot episode we've seen before (Mia and John P. from Vanuatu) and will soon see again.
The episode title for this week is "The Best and Worst Reward Ever". What could be better than booting off someone from the other team? They'd actually have a choice who leaves from the other tribe, rather than wait to be surprised. That would be a great reward. What is the trade off? The worst reward ever, meaning the winning team of the reward has to lose one of their players as well. At least they get to decide who goes from their own team. Perhaps they'll have a super-de-duper tribal council with both tribes in attendance. The losing tribe getting no votes at all, and the winning tribe voting twice, once for their own team, and once for the opposing team. That means, as the teasers said, the winning tribe would get to enjoy booting off a member of the other team right in front of them, and there is nothing the losing team can do about it. They can't lobby for votes. They can't plead their case. They are at the mercy of a twist! Gloom and despair! Let’s look at the challenge vidcaps.
The challenge as noted from the challenge board we saw pre-series is called, "Salvage at Sea". This is the only challenge of the episode, which will instead focus on tribal dynamics prior to the double boot rather than two challenges as per usual. There is no immunity challenge because neither team is immune to eviction. Someone will go home from both tribes. The reward is to have the opportunity of choice as to who will be sent home from each side. Is there an additional reward, like food or blankets or something? Perhaps, yes, but it is unlikely. Last week's amazing reward of a shower/latrine for both teams plus a crew built shelter with mats and hammocks for the winning team was pretty extravagant. I don’t think they get anything but choice this reward. The power of choice is a theme Jeff Probst said they intended to explore this season. This episode demonstrates choice through the unique reward.
In the "Salvage at Sea", both teams paddle to a floating structure above a WWII relic, a large ship sunk on the ocean floor. On the left is Jeff, given his own floating platform. Next to him attached to a walkway is the Ulong platform filled with the remaining players, Stephenie, Angie, James, Bobby Jon and Ibrehem. Their empty Ulong canoe stands by to bring them back to their camp when the reward challenge is over. A walkway leaves the Ulong platform for the Koror platform, with Ian, Tom, Gregg, Coby, and Katie in attendance to do the challenge. Awaiting them in the Koror canoe are the sitting out players, Caryn, Willard, Janu and Jenn. They will watch, but not participate. The small platforms off both tribes' larger platforms are for the items salvaged by the tribes. They are the drop off platforms for the underwater divers from each tribe.
From the end of episode preview: "V.O.: Hold your breath. James: Y'all wanna win...do not quit! JP: Ian's having trouble!"
Jeff explains to them the challenge rules. Ulong listens and holds on to a rope. Koror pulls on it from both directions off the platform to the water. This rope is important in the challenge. It is possibly a guide rope down to the bottom of the ocean where the items are placed needing to be salvaged. If it is one continuous rope tied to itself, hanging on to the rope underwater might be a quick way up from the bottom, once something is retrieved. It's kind of like a life line. Yank on it, and they'll pull you up fast. If two people are down at the same time, hanging on the rope, they might be able to pull them up from both sides. Either that, or Coby just doesn’t know which way to pull since he's going the opposite way from Gregg. It could be a pulley system. Or, it could be a way to lift up something salvaged that is too heavy for one person to lift alone. Similar to what Ian did to retrieve the flint box, they may need to tie off the rope to a heavy object. Whether it pulls up people or objects, there is pulling going on in this challenge, mostly by Koror.
In the farther back shot, Koror works hard pulling the rope while Ulong stands around. Isn't that their claim to fame? Ulong stands around waiting for something to happen while Koror beats them with team cooperation. Ulong will lose this, there is no doubt. With deep water flint retriever Ian, Tom the underwater strength from previous challenges and the brut force of Gregg and Coby helping them, they can't lose. Yeah, Katie is there. I think she just cheerleads for the most part and doesn't contribute at all. The Koror men (except Willard) are powerful, and with 4 of them plus Katie against 3 Ulong men plus 2 women, it really isn't a balanced challenge. And according to the promo, James tries to motivate his teammates who appear to want to give up when he says, "Y'all wanna win? Do not quit!"
There are a series of white floating buoys on the ocean floor, marking objects to be retrieved. Bringing up the white buoys may also be part of the challenge. Gregg and Angie are in the first photo, Coby another, and Ian is in two. Ian is apparently the most successful at the deep water retrieval, as he is in many underwater shots. Jeff saying, "Ian’s in trouble," in the promo is a red herring. Yeah, it's hard, but he does whatever the underwater task requires. A floating object, perhaps one of the white buoys, is seen in his hand in one shot. In the other, a rope can be seen to his left, perhaps waiting for him to tie it to something, or hang on to it to surface.
Here what looks like James wearing the mask Ulong won in a challenge surfaces, carrying a white object toward his platform. You can see the blue buff on his arm. In front of him is the Koror brown platform, with an object already retrieved and placed on it. It looks like one of those box-like things Ian had directly below him in the earlier deep water shots.
Whether there are two elements of this challenge (small item retrieval and then one large item retrieved with a rope) or one (to surface quickly with items) is unclear. But what is obvious is that Koror does well. They win, based on the very disappointed faces of wet and upset Ulong players. Bobby Jon looks toward Jeff’s platform when he throws his arms up in the air in frustration. Reward winners: Koror.
Who gets the boot? If Koror wins this reward, then Koror will determine the fate of a Ulong player they consider a threat. Do they worry about the Ulong guys, Bobby Jon, Ibrehem or James? No. Tom, Gregg, Coby and Ian can beat them in one on one competitions. For Koror, the boot would be between Stephenie and Angie, both very strong women. Of the two, Angie has been the most effective in challenges. She mauled Janu and Gregg in the life preserver water challenge, and she single handedly won the barrel challenge for Ulong. She is a threat. Coby also might fear retaliation from her for not choosing her to be on his team when he had the chance, even though he told her they were in the same boat. She may have inferred he would protect her, when he instead chose someone else to be on his team that he liked better, Caryn. If Janu, Gregg and Coby want Angie gone, then the rest would certainly agree she is a potential challenge hog who could be very competitive in the end game individual immunity challenges. Ulong boot: Angie.
Willard has sat out every other challenge for Koror. He is weak. Strategically, he is not in a strong alliance. He doesn't go fishing with the strong guys, he doesn't dominate challenges, and whatever he brings to the tribe, we haven't seen it. Probably Willard has done the tried and true strategy of lying low and working around camp getting firewood and water, hoping not to be noticed. Or maybe he was the one who fell asleep on fire watch duty and Tom resented it. Whichever the case may be, Willard doesn’t have the numbers to save himself. Caryn, Coby and Janu may like him, but not enough to try to overthrow the men who win all the challenges for them, Ian, Tom and Gregg. Jenn hangs on to Gregg romantically. Katie seems to latch on to Ian or Tom by force of her humor and personality, so those two get a free pass. Willard is most vulnerable, followed by Caryn. Mersaydeez from Ezboard has said that Angie and Willard entered the cast off quarters at the same time. That confirms it for me. Koror boot: Willard.
found this at survivor fever, i know alot will be repeats, but maybe some will be helpful!! <[/