At this point you can't help but think that the same old will happen on Survivor: Samoa--Galu wins immunity, Foa Foa votes someone off again, everything descends into chaos.  It happened last week: Galu won immunity, Ashley was voted off, and everything descended into chaos--Shambo feels alienated, Russell feels cornered, and of course, the strong rains.  Talk about insult to injury.

The rains are still keeping both tribes sidelined.  Jaison over at Foa Foa has even compared it to Captain Planet, saying that he wishes he had the heart to do so.  Nice nostalgia trip, that one.  The folks at Galu, on the other hand, are reeling from the cold, with Mick squeezing himself to the side of a tree, thinking it's much better than their shelter.

But we begin with a tale of two Russells.  The one over at Galu is still busy at work, keeping a fire just in case the rain stops, although it's obvious he isn't feeling well.  The one over at Foa Foa is, of course, going I'm-so-much-better-than-everyone-else: he's working because, he says, everybody else are babies.  Convenient adjective, that one, but his views this time aren't as extreme as they were at the start of the season.  Or am I just getting used to it?

The rain did end, and the folks at Galu are greeted by a rainbow.  And then it's off to this week's reward challenge: one tribe member gets strapped inside a ball and helps two blindfolded tribe members navigate it through a dirt road.  At the end, there's a table maze, and the balled-up member help everybody else, still blindfolded, solve it.  The reward: hot pizza.  The catch: both tribes will go to Tribal Council, and the winning team gets to chow down in the middle of it.  Insult to injury, again.  Well, possibly.

The game was pretty neck-and-neck, with both tribes grabbing the lead pretty often.  Foa Foa eventually took the advantage, after getting to the maze first, although Galu caught up when Liz, who was inside the ball, had to be reoriented because she was upside down.  But the biggest worry went to Galu's Russell, who looks absolutely exhausted and out of touch with everything.  He drifted to Foa Foa's side, was pulled to his maze, and slumped his head on the table's edge before finally collapsing.

Jeff had no choice but to stop the challenge, call in medical, and have Russell checked.  It's absolutely scary, especially when the docs reveal that his blood pressure has hit a dangerously low level--much lower than Mike, who was evacuated for medical reasons earlier.  The only choice was to end to challenge--nobody wins the pizza, and both still go to tribal council.  As for Russell, well, they'll only know his fate when they vote someone off.

His fate, as it turns out, was sealed.  The doctors had him sit up, but he blacked out again and his heart rate dropped in a snap.  He had to be pulled out.  Russell won't have any of it, but Jeff is obviously concerned, giving him a pep talk and convincing him to just let it go.

Back at Foa Foa, Jaison contemplates why they lose everything just when they get there--the challenge, of course, because they were ahead.  Natalie and Liz, convinced that they're on their way out, decide to pack up.

But back at Galu, a power shift is brewing.  For a moment the tribe is a headless chicken, now that their leader is gone.  The girls discuss the vote, and are still bent on kicking Shambo out, with Monica taking that one vote she got personally, it annoys me.  The guys, however, plan to kick Monica out--gratification!--claiming that Shambo has done a lot for a tribe, never mind that she isn't, according to Erik, a threat.  She learns of the plan because they need the numbers.  Of course, she bites.

Thirteen people head over to Tribal Council, where Jeff announces that Russell has been pulled out of the game.  Of course, talk begins about the conditions and the circumstances, but it eventually moves to the reward challenge, where the other Russell (I won't be confused anymore) claims a "moral victory" for Foa Foa, since they were ahead, and that their tribe has never been stronger.  Erik wasn't buying it, and vowed to bring it on in the next few challenges.

In the end, Jeff decides that no vote will happen, since things have gotten too weird already.  The yellows are happy, but Monica isn't.  They head back to camp, with Galu now tasked to elect a new tribal chief.

As for Russell, the evacuated guy?  Flustered, of course.  But, he said, "to do it and fail is better than to never try."  Cue cinematic treatment.

Next week on Survivor: Samoa, Shambo gets acceptance, and Russell gets playing with Galu.  Is it a merge, or did Foa Foa just send him there?





- Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of CBS)