Well, welcome back, kids. On Survivor: Samoa two weeks back, Foa Foa got the upper hand again, finally eliminating Laura. Then again, you can't really call it an advantage their very own--after all, they wouldn't have done it if not for Shambo's little vendetta and her wooing John to flip to her side. And his deal with Russell. And possibly, the fact that we'll end up having more purples in the jury. Does that mean the yellow comeback is slowing down? Is it a good thing? A bad thing? Something?

We begin right after the last Tribal Council, and a very ecstatic Shambo. "Medusa has been dethroned," she says. "Isn't that just hysterical?" Monica, on the other hand, gets some sort of explanation from John--I don't really know why, and I'm sure I missed something, but she likens him to Judas anyway. She's still fiercely loyal to Laura, seems.

And then, a break at momentum: treemail containing nine blue envelopes with money on it. The previous night's sour mood turns into sheer glee. Money! Which should mean food! Which should mean sustenance! Which should mean... it's the auction! The rules are much like previous auctions: each got $500, and they can bet in $20 increments, and nobody can share anything to anyone. And the items, well, are interesting.

Item one: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which Natalie bids $200 for.

Item two: Jeff would rather keep it covered. Jaison and Monica kicks off bidding, but it boils down between Shambo and Dave. Shambo eventually paid $240 for what they called the "Survivor version of spaghetti": sea noodles, slug guts, and parmesan cheese on top. Her "yum!" was sarcastic, but I think she's in it for the nutritional value.

Item three: Jeff is also keeping it covered. Russell won't bid, thinking it's another bad item. Monica bids $340 and wins a whole roast chicken. Now that's really yummy.

Item four: Jeff calls it "a significant advantage in the next immunity challenge," although it's a small wrapped tube. Almost everybody wants it, but the moment John bid $300, Jaison knew he had to get it. He bids all his $500 for it. He can only know what it is during the challenge, though.

Item five: A (really huge) cheeseburger, fries and beer. Mick bids all his money on it. Jaison regrets the move, somehow.

Item six: A clue to the hidden immunity idol. John bids $200 for it, beating Natalie.

Item seven: A shower with the works--and by "the works" I also mean clean underwear. Natalie bids $120 for it, and then we're treated to an oddly uncomfortable yet slightly sexy shot of her taking that shower. Covered, of course.

Item eight: "One gigantic piece of apple pie," which doesn't really look like apple pie. John bids $300 for it, but before claiming it, Jeff gives him the option to give up his slice and give four others a slice each. He keeps his slice. Russell calls it a bad move. "You don't need to eat," he says.

And then the auction is over, and I start wondering about how someone like Monica can eat an entire roast chicken. I mean, I eat a lot and I can't finish a whole chicken... not that I tried.

Back at camp, John opens his clue. It is a good clue, and it leads him to the same spot where Russell found his third immunity idol two weeks ago. Of course, that means he can't find it there.

Shambo, on the other hand, is busy pondering the fate of her chickens--you know, the ones Galu won in a previous challenge. After that roast chicken, I think everybody else is hungry for food that's closer to home, and since no eggs are laid, it's time for them to eat some fowl. "I'll talk to you in heaven when I get to heaven," she tells the chickens, and then goes sentimental about her "single source of happiness", just as Mick and Russell go in for the kill. She doesn't want to look at it, but she boils it anyway, thinking it's the one thing she'll get right. No bother, until Dave comes in and claims she's cooking it wrong. He should have a say at how it's cooked, he claims, because he won the chicken. Ooooh, Shambo is pissed.

Apparently, getting Shambo pissed makes you a target for elimination. We get treated to a horror-like treatment of her dreaming of the dead chicken, which turns out to be of her dreaming about Dave getting voted off. Meant to happen, she says, and Russell concurs... but not before going, is she going crazy or what?

This week's immunity challenge is as simple as holding on to a heavy piece of wood. Whoever holds on the longest wins. The catch is, you have to hold with only one hand, and you have to go lower down the rope every three minutes until you're holding on to just rope rather than a knot. Jaison's advantage? At any point in the game, he can move his hands up two knots--he does just that nine minutes into the challenge. Everything goes smoothly until the very end, when castaways drop (literally, in some cases) one by one. Jaison and Dave faced off at the end, and the latter lost his grip and fell. Jaison wins immunity. Finally, he says, he won something.

And then the politics begins. John talks to Russell about the deal they made earlier, attempting to squeeze out the immunity idol--he knows!--and floating Mick's name in the process. Russell does tell John that he has the idol, and promises to keep him in when he has to play it. Realizing it's a stupid mistake, he decides he should kick John off the island. It's an easy sell for him, easily convincing the former Foa Foa (except for Jaison, who's worried that the move will turn Shambo against them) and even Dave. Well, Russell had to tell him that Shambo wants him out.

So, come Tribal Council, it seems nobody knows what really is up. Nobody can even agree as to whether there will be another surprise elimination or not. Shambo thinks the past few days have been peaceful, but Russell (and even Jeff) is surprised that she didn't see all the strategizing around him. She gets the look of a spurned lover, or better yet, an eight-year-old whose candy got stolen. That changed the whole mood, somehow.

Well, Russell's plan worked: after Shambo's expected vote for Dave, and John's expected vote for Mick, everybody else voted for John. Slowly, it's his face that becomes like that of an eight-year-old's. Laura takes the role of animated jury member, although not as animated as Erik: "he's so screwed," she goes.

The moment John left, Shambo reclaims the eight-year-old position, only looking more suicidal. Under different circumstances she would've snapped and thrown a fit. "She has no idea what happened," Laura says.

Next week, Russell's intentions are put into question. And, unlike last time's fake out, it seems this one is for real.





(Image courtesy of CBS)