SURVIVOR RECAP!
New Fang Tribe (Red Buffs): Ace, Crystal, Kelly, Ken, Matty, Sugar
New Kota Tribe (Yellow Buffs): Bob, Charlie, Corinne, Dan, Marcus, Randy, Susie
Losers: Michelle, Gillian, Paloma, Jacquie, GC
GC CHECKS OUT, GETS KICKED OUT
After Fang loses immunity again, they face yet another Tribal Council. Although Kelly is still vulnerable and Sugar is seen as a threat because of the hidden immunity idol, in the end it is GC who is removed from the game because of his quitter's attitude.
SUGAR SURPRISE
The new Fang Tribe returns to camp after their previous Tribal Council, where Jacquie was voted out. Ace admits that he is at a loss without Jacquie, and feels vulnerable. Knowing that Sugar will soon be joining his tribe, Ace lays out his new plan: "One of Sugar's biggest plusses is the fact that she has the immunity idol tucked up her sleeve, and I've got Sugar in my pocket." Sugar arrives at her new camp and is shocked to find out that Jacquie was voted out instead of Kelly: "My very first thought when I saw that it was the new Fang Tribe was, 'Yeah! I get to see Jacquie and Ace.' But instead, I saw Kelly, and that was a big surprise."
REWARD CHALLENGE: FRUIT FLIES
Kota and Fang arrive at their colored mats as host Jeff Probst reveals that Fang voted Jacquie out at the last Tribal Council. Jacquie's original alliance of Marcus, Charlie and Corinne are visibly shocked at the news, but Marcus asks them not to worry and to focus on the challenge. Jeff Probst explains the rules. Each tribe will start with a large pile of fruit. When Jeff says, "Go!" tribe members will toss the fruit to their tribemates through holes in two net walls while members of the opposite tribe use wooden clubs and attempt to whack that fruit out of the air. Once a piece of fruit hits the ground, it cannot be picked up. The fruit will be weighed at the end of the challenge and the tribe that manages to collect the most fruit at the end of five minutes wins their own herb garden which includes salt, oil and chili sauce. In addition, whatever fruit the tribes catch is theirs to keep.
On defense and wielding the club for Fang is Crystal at the front net, and Ace at the back net. For Kota, Bob is at the front net, and Charlie is at the back net. Jeff yells, "Go!" and the fruit tossing begins. Kota scores the first point right off the bat. GC tries to toss fruit through the front net, but is constantly blocked by Bob. After numerous tries, he finally gets a piece of fruit through the front net past Bob to Matty, who tosses the fruit through the second net to Ken, who catches it, scoring the first point for Fang. Kota struggles to get past Ace after numerous pieces of fruit are blocked by him. Fang maintains their lead as Ace continues to block Kota's fruit and Ken continues to score. Realizing that they're falling behind, Kota changes their strategy and Dan begins to throw two pieces at once. The strategy proves to be a success as Dan launches fruit through the net and into the waiting arms of Randy. As Fang throws one small piece of fruit at a time, Kota throws two larger pieces simultaneously and scores. Ace gets drenched in pulp as his bat and his nose connect with a watermelon and a pineapple which both fail to make it through the net. Both tribes are neck-and-neck in the final seconds of the challenge, desperately launching as much fruit at the nets as possible. After the challenge is over, Jeff weighs Fang's fruit first, which comes to sixteen pounds. Kota's fruit is then weighed, and is an impressive eighteen pounds. By two pounds, Kota wins reward, and sends Sugar to Exile Island.
THE EVIL EMPIRE
Kota returns to camp ecstatic over their latest victory. With the addition of their own herb garden, Charlie realizes that they are way ahead of Fang in terms of food supply and quality. Dan huddles the group together and pledges his undying devotion to his new tribe. He attempts to convince the original Kota members to vote unanimously even after the merge, and coins their tribe, "The Evil Empire" to inspire confidence and unity. Marcus sees right through Dan, as he insists that all seven Kota members must stick together no matter what. Marcus is also concerned about Susie's loyalty, as she is too quiet around camp. "I don't have the confidence that we get to the merge and these people have my back," he says. Randy, on the other hand, is taking a more subtle approach to schmoozing his new tribemates. He reveals, "My plans right now is just to continue to win challenges and not rock the boat, and I will be Kota yellow 'til the end."
THE HEAT IS ON
Things heat up at Fang when GC comments on the low remaining portions of rice, to which Crystal retorts, "Eat your rice." This sends GC over the edge, and he begins questioning why he is even playing the game: "Not only do you gotta win these challenges to live well out here, you know, you gotta deal with these people day in and day out twenty-four seven. It's hard and I do question, 'What am I doing?'" Ace sees this as a benefit for himself, as he watches his tribe begin to implode.
GC GOES MISSING
Matty reads treemail at Fang, which hints at another immunity challenge. Matty's morale is low as he admits there is no chance of winning with the current state of his divided tribe. GC separates from camp and takes the canoe out as the rest of his tribe gets ready to head out to the immunity challenge. When Matty realizes that GC is missing, Kelly and Ken join him and they yell out for him. Crystal is enraged at this, and reveals that she is sick and tired of GC's tantrums. After yelling his name several times, Fang finally spots GC approaching the shore in the canoe. When Kelly tells him that they would've left for the challenge without him, he replies, "That would have been cool with me."
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE: CLIFF BOWLING
Both tribes arrive at their mats as Sugar returns from Exile Island and rejoins the Fang Tribe. Host Jeff Probst explains the rules. One member from each tribe will throw a ball down a cliff through a series of obstacles while a blindfolded member of the other tribe will use a shield in an attempt to block that ball with the aid of a caller. The objective is to get the ball past the defender and into a goal, scoring points for your tribe. The goals represent different point values with five being the highest. The tribe with the most points at the end of five rounds wins immunity.
The defender for Fang is Ace and the caller is Sugar. The defender for Kota is Dan and the caller is Randy. Charlie and Matty are the first to throw. Both balls make it past their defenders and make it into a goal with Kota scoring two points, and Fang scoring five. Susie and GC are next up and toss their balls down the cliff. Sugar struggles to communicate with Ace and, as a result, Kota's ball goes right past him. Randy is able to communicate perfectly as Dan blocks Fang's ball. Kota now has four points to Fang's five. Kelly and Marcus are next up and they both launch their balls down the cliff. Both balls roll recklessly down the hill, crossing paths just as they neared Dan and Randy. In the resulting confusion, Dan inadvertently blocks his own tribe's ball and Ace allows his tribe's ball to enter a goal. Fang now leads seven to four. Corinne and Crystal are up and send their balls hurtling at the defenders. Dan stops Fang's ball and Ace lets Kota's ball slip right past him, scoring two points for Kota. Kota now has six points to Fang's seven. Ace complains of a "shield to the face," after Dan's shield briefly struck him. For the final round, Bob and Ken are up. They send their balls rolling down the cliff. Dan immediately blocks Fang's ball after which Randy confuses Ace by yelling "Freeze, Ace, freeze!" Ace stops dead in his tracks, enabling Kota's ball to reach the goal and score two points. Kota wins immunity, sending Fang to their fourth Tribal Council.
THE QUITTER
Fang returns to camp with their morale lower than ever. GC has a chat with Matty and admits defeat. He reveals that he is nearly ready to quit the game and would like to be voted out. Matty brings the news to Crystal, who is outraged. "He wants to go home, then let it be," she snaps. Soon news spreads all over camp that GC is ready to give up, which excites Sugar and Ace. Ace asks Sugar where her idol is because, at some point, he might need access to it. Sugar reveals to Ace that the idol is in her bag. Meanwhile, back at the tribe's hut, Matty tells Crystal that Sugar is a threat if she has the immunity idol. Crystal decides to go through Sugar's bag and discovers the idol. Kelly and Crystal decide that tonight is the only night to blindside Sugar since everyone thinks that GC is being voted out.
TRIBAL COUNCIL
At Tribal Council, GC admits that he is done suffering, and wants to quit the game. Sugar shows compassion for him when she cries and agrees that it is tough on everyone's psyche to be in this game. When Jeff asks Sugar about the hidden immunity idol, she coyly reveals that nobody ever asked her if she had the idol or not, and is aware that anyone could have gone through her bag to look for it. Crystal gives herself away by telling Sugar that it is crazy for her to leave her bag out in the open where anyone can go through it. Despite Sugar being a major and obvious threat, the tribe came to the consensus that GC should go home, and he was voted out of the game with five out of the six votes cast against him. GC became the fifth person voted out of SURVIVOR: GABON: EARTH'S LAST EDEN.
I'll be back Thursday with next week's preview and picks.
Fun Survivor Fact: In the first challenge of Survivor: Pearl Islands, when Osten, Andrew, and Ryan of the Morgan tribe (which was trailing in the challenge) got naked, there was a shot of their bare asses with the caption "Morgan Behind."