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Originally Aired Thursday, April 20, 2006
Epsiode Rating: ***(Three Stars out of Five)
Episode Overview: Terry continues his dominance in the challenges, while Cirie works behind the scenes to alter the course off the game.
Episode Highlights:
- Shane is either going off the deep-end or doing an extended, convincing improv.
- Terry, Danielle and Courtney win a team reward challenge, and Terry also wins an SUV.
- Yoga dude Aras is sent to Exile Island.
- Cirie, seeing the writing on the wall, works to undo the Terry's and Shane's separate plans.
Recap:
Though the tribe is running out of food, Terry finds a bright spot in the current state of affairs. The removal of Bruce from the game, due to a medical emergency, meant that a challenge could be skipped. Who knew that a crippling, nationally-televised constipation could turn out to be a positive? Terry knows, as the last remaining member of La Mina, that he needs this time to arrange an alliance with at least one or two members of Casaya.
And how many days in the wilderness did it take for at least one player to become unhinged? Twenty-nine. Shane is either play-acting for some still-unknown reason, or completely bonkers. He's found a piece of wood on the island and is calling it his "Blackberry." He sits on his "thinking rock" and thumbs away at it, saying it's got text messaging, a web browser... it's really keeping him in touch with his son and business partner. If this is a joke, none of the other players are amused, and Danielle is pretty certain that he's lost it.
The team meets up with Jeff on the beach for their next reward challenge. They will be split into two teams of three, and then have to complete a watery ropes obstacle course while clipped together. After the obstacle course, each player will unclip, dive into a marked area, and retrieve a bag. Once each player on the team has his or her bag, the team will clip back into the rope, and go back through the obstacle course. The team to return to the beach first with all three bags will win a barbeque feast as a reward.
The teams are randomly assigned with Terri, Danielle and Courtney up against Aras, Shane and Cirie. It's not even a contest: Cirie slows her team down with a fall at the start. Terry's team takes off and gets to retrieving bags while Cirie and company are still tangled up in the obstacle course, to Jeff's typical haranguing disappointment. Once they do get free, Shane makes a good effort to catch up, but it's too late.
In addition to the reward, the winning team also gets to select one person to send to Exile Island. They select Aras, feeling he's the strongest player and so needs to be weakened before the next immunity challenge.
After the losers leave, Jeff informs the three winners that there's more to the reward. The three will now compete against each other for an individual reward. It's one of those break-tiles-with-slingshot games, and the winner will receive a fully-loaded Yukon. Although Courtney does edge close to the end, it's absolutely no surprise that Golden Boy Terry wins the prize.
The three are, in Terry's words, "airplaned" ("airplaned?") to an island, where they find his new SUV loaded with everything they need for the barbeque.
Meanwhile, pretty Aras is doing the triangle pose on Exile Island and grumbling. He's certain that Terry has already found the immunity idol, and so can't find anything positive about being sent to the Island.
At the barbeque, Terry puts out feelers to the girls, hinting at his Immunity idol, to try to arrange the final three. He wants to vote off Aras and then Shane. Courtney is game, but Danielle isn't convinced she just wants to do his bidding.
Back at the camp, Shane is strategizing with Cirie, telling her he wants to take out Danielle. Cirie wisely assesses that he wants to position himself to wind up in the final two with Courtney, because, based on the withering results of the likeability poll taken a few days ago, she's not likely to be handed a million dollars by the jury. She feels that Courtney is therefore much more dangerous to have around than Terry and wants to put a plan in place to get rid of her.
With most of the tribe gone, Cirie decides to try her hand at fishing. She is squeamish with baiting, squeamish when she pulls one in...but she pulls one in! It's a big one too, and she's proud to show it to Terry, Danielle and Courtney when they return from the reward.
The next immunity challenge is looming and the wheeling and dealing is in full effect. Danielle approaches Terry to ask what his intentions are when it gets down to that proffered final three of Terry, Danielle and Courtney. Terry tells her that he hasn't thought about it. Cut to: Terry in interview saying if he had his druthers, he'd take Courtney to the final two. Cut back to: Terry proposing to Danielle that whoever comes in first and second in the final Immunity challenges will automatically go to the final two.
This placates Danielle, who then updates Courtney with the plan. Courtney is less than thrilled, especially at Danielle's comment that this way, "No one is getting a free ride." Courtney assumes this is a backhanded way of saying that she's been getting a free ride, and tells Danielle she's offended.
Cirie, whose been watching this from a distance, asks Danielle what is going on after Courtney leaves. Danielle fills her in on Terry's very fair plan, and Cirie just laughs, saying, "Of course, Terry is going to say that!" She tries to point out to Danielle the likelihood that she is being strung along to arrange a Courtney/Terry final two, but Danielle doesn't seem 100% convinced.
Everyone has to take a break from the negotiations, though, as it's time for the Immunity Challenge. Aras returns from Exile Island, Terry returns that Immunity necklace, and the castaways start the challenge. It is an endurance test; each castaway squats and holds two ropes weighted with a percentage of their body weight. If they lose hold of both ropes, their platform will collapse, they will drop into the water and be out of the game.
They each start with holding 20% of their body weight, which they will remain at for fifteen minutes. Shane is the only one to drop out during this first period: losing his grip on one rope and unable to hold all the weight with just the other, he lets go and drops into the water.
After fifteen minutes, another 10% of body weight is added to everyone's ropes. This proves too much for first Cirie, then Danielle. Two days on Exile Island have eliminated whatever advantage his yoga training gave him, and Aras plops into the water too, defeated. Courtney and Terry are the only two left, and have another 10% body weight added. They are now each at 40% of their body weight. Courtney hangs on for dear Survivor life, but it proves too much. She loses one rope, then the other, and is deposited with a splash, leaving Terry to win his fourth Immunity in a row. A shot of the reactions of the other castaways shows that he's the only one happy about this.
Back at the camp, Shane and Terry are each arranging their own alliances to try to ensure they each are in the final two with the Anti-Miss Congeniality, Courtney. Shane wants Danielle out, and Terry is position his crew to vote off physical threat Aras.
Cirie, on the other hand, in an exceptionally clever maneuver, is working double-time to flip Danielle to vote off Courtney. She knows, with both Shane and Terry gunning to keep Courtney around, Courtney is by far the "most dangerous" castaway there. Aras seems to be solidly behind Cirie's plan. Cirie is worried about Danielle, though, saying that Danielle gets nervous and can be easily influenced by others around her. She does her best hard-sell to convince Danielle that it's in her best interest to vote off Courtney tonight, but when Danielle walks away, her uncertainty is palpable.
To Tribal Council! Jeff asks some pointed questions of most of the members, but everyone has their game face on and no one is revealing more than the usual bland statements about being "in the game." They each head off to vote, and, per usual, we are shown only those votes we know of already. Cirie votes for Courtney, Terry votes for his "ultimate competitor...rival" Aras, Shane votes for Danielle and Courtney votes for Aras.
Jeff reads the votes. It's Aras, Danielle, Aras, Courtney, Courtney...and Courtney! She's out, Cirie's machinations were successful. Shane is visibly shocked.
-BuddyTV Staff Columnist
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