When a Survivor: Samoa episode ditches the names of the remaining castaways and goes straight to the titles, you know a lot of things are up. And, after last week's events, who doubts that? Russell engineered John's elimination to cover up for his little mistake, leaving Shambo alone again. Suddenly, the most dominant player on the show (arguably, note) is no longer as dominant. Surely something will be up.

After Tribal Council, Russell quickly had an excuse for Shambo. John, he claimed, was pissed at her, and wanted to vote her out. Of course, it's a lie, and she buys it--as long as Dave goes next.

Already there's some talk of the finale, and thankfully--only eight castaways remain! Jaison is showing signs of breaking out, already thinking about the jury, and playing up his cool demeanor. Suddenly, talk of Russell's actual past--of him owning an oil company, of his being a millionaire--floats, and Brett thinks that revelation will start cracks in the Foa-some. Jaison, of course, is surprised.

Time for the challenge, then--an immunity challenge, the first of two. The first one is a virtual bowling tournament: whoever hits the most pins goes to the next round, and the last man standing wins. There were a lot of gutter balls, and in the end, Shambo and Jaison faced off in the final. He wins his second immunity in a row after she gets two gutter balls.

Still, Shambo doesn't mind losing--as long as Dave doesn't have immunity, she's fine. What she doesn't know is that she's becoming a target, now that Monica is virtually campaigning for her elimination. Russell takes her suggestions to mind--if he bring Shambo to the end, he will lose in jury votes, and that is a good point--but uses that knowledge on Dave, who is led to believe a vote against Shambo is on.

Tribal Council, also the first of two, went smoothly for Russell, as he leads everybody else to vote for Dave. It did defuse a potential Shambo explosion--she still looks pissed after John's elimination, after all.  Off the hook? Not so. After the vote, there's some talk of Russell being eliminated, but he's just taking it in stride, confident that he'll be staying.

The second immunity challenge had the contestants retrieve three bags off shore, one at a time, and catapult them to a basket above them. The stresses of the past month bore down on weak, thin contestants and dropping clothes--yep, the blur is on. It all boiled down to Brett and Mick, who got to their third bags first. Brett eventually wins, a development that worries Jaison, who thinks it will put a crack about Foa Foa's plan.

And that plan, according to Russell, at least, is to kick Monica out. A "no-brainer," he insists. She knows she's a target, and as everybody ponders about who they'll take to the finale--and presuming that Russell will bring Natalie and Shambo--she proceeds to stir the pot. Boom! His millionaire background is revealed. Boom! His hidden immunity idol is revealed. She says Natalie and Jaison told her. Both deny it, but the allegations--and an angry Russell--worries them both anyway.

The second Tribal Council begins, and Russell launches his immunity idol at the moment of arrival. Just a necklace he wants to show off, he says. Not exactly a shocking move, I say. What's shocking is to see Monica and Russell rub elbows in derision. She's very confident she's stirred the pot and, possibly, kept herself safe for a couple more days. You can see that look of glee in her face, although it annoys me a lot.

That would be the last time I'll see her face. Monica was eliminated, but it wasn't a unanimous vote. Monica and Brett, the two remaining Galu players (and I'm not counting Shambo), voted for Russell, and those votes count because he did not play his immunity idol. He just wanted it around his neck, that's all. Still, maybe that scramble worked to her advantage.

Next week, Russell is undermined further, as his very own allies make new alliances. It will unravel soon, I say.





(Image courtesy of CBS)