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Tree mail:

Each tribe got a chest with three padlocks. Instructions on the chests were to not open them, and to keep them dry.

Reward Challenge

Prize: Blankets

The challenge was to build a stairway using five bamboo planks. First team to complete their stairway and to get all tribe members to the top would win. Richard again didn’t cover the hatch. First time out, five tribe members swam together to get the furthest plank, each trip to a nearer plank, and each trip with one less tribal member.

Winner: Saboga

One of the many twists in the game that we can come to expect; Jeff Probst offered the tribe a choice. He revealed that the content of the chests is rice, and should the tribe so choose, they would get a pot to cook rice in and a clue to the location of one of the keys to open the chest. In addition, the pot came with a magnesium fire starter, giving them fire as well. The twist being that if they chose to take the alternative, all three tribes would get it. They chose to take the alternate prize and give fire to the other two tribes, as well as clues to the first key needed to open the rice chest.

Immunity Challenge

Instructions: All members must swim out to a float, touch it, and then they could swim down, remove the slip knots on ropes holding weighted chests which needed to be taken out. The boat would float to the surface as soon as it was empty, then the tribe needed to return the boat to the starting float and bail out the water. Once that was completed, they could then paddle the boat into shore, haul it up on the beach, and then onto the tribal marker. First two tribes to compete the task would win immunity.

Saboga was the first to remove all the crates from their boat, though Chapera and Mogo Mogo soon emptied theirs by tipping the boat over under water to dump out the remaining chests. Saboga was first back to the starting position, and the tribe members busied themselves bailing out the boat.

Chapera returned to the starting float, lifted the boat out of the water and onto the float, thus removing the water that needed to be bailed, then the tribe members got into their boat and started for shore. Mogo Mogo, seeing the trick on the starting float, also dumped their boat, but failed to return it to the water completely empty. A couple more attempts and they got most of the water out, and started for shore, bailing as they went.

Meanwhile, Saboga, noticing the actions of the other two tribes, attempted to duplicate the method. However Ethan’s eagerness to enter the boat from the bow dunked the boat, ensuring the team’s eventual going to tribal council.

Chamera first, Mogo Mogo second, Saboga lost.

Notes on story arc: The story line basically followed a paired theme.. Rudy drinking contaminated well water, followed by Ethan noting that Tina was kicked out and he’s likely next, followed by Rudy having trouble with his ankle, followed by Ethan fishing unsuccessfully, followed by Rupert bringing home the tribe’s first fish. Sure, there were obligatory cuts of Richard being what he is, a pompous hatch, but do we expect anything different after two episodes? And yes, of course, Alicia continues to be the loud bossy person we came to either love or hate from Australia.

An aside on production: The show format wasn’t satisfying last week, and it wasn’t satisfying this week. The three team concept is a huge failure in my mind, not because the idea is unsound, but because covering those three teams in an hour long program is rather difficult and has been completely unsuccessful. The show’s producers have made it into a virtual policy that following the immunity challenge, we basically only get to see the team facing tribal council. Deals or no deals, maneuvering - but the other two teams were ignored. Yes, it worked sort of better this week, but last week’s show was unsatisfying.

I really wanted to see these ‘best of the best’ suffer without food. *grin*

Tribal Council: Rudy voted out
(Two votes Ethan, three votes Rudy - Rubert voted for Ethan, Ethan voted for Rudy)

A final note: In past seasons, Jeff Probst has taken to task those who did not follow instructions. The details on the contest specifically said to bail out the boat, yet the first team across the line didn’t even make the attempt. This went over really poorly with the group I was with who were watching the show, with shouts and jeers of ‘cheaters.’ Most were convinced that the Red team would be disqualified for not following the rules, and the objections just got louder and louder when Probst handed out the immunity idol parts.

It will be interesting to see what the reaction is in the communities I follow as to their opinion on what happened. Nothing like annoying your audience.

Thanks for the excellent re-cap.

Sad to see Rudy go though :(

The members of the Saboga Tribe missed a GREAT opportunity after winning the reward challenge... They had a choice to make: either take the blankets or allow all three tribes to get the pot/clue/flint.

They chose the second option... WITHOUT GETTING ANYTHING IN RETURN from the other tribes!!

They should have turned to the other two tribes and started cutting some deals... I would have tried to get agreement from the other tribes that each member of Saboga got one "free pass" - at any given tribal council later in the season, any Saboga tribe member could "call in" their free pass and the members from the other tribes would be obligated to NOT put their name down. Of course, it would be a "rely on your word" type thing, which we know you can't really depend on in this game - however, it would have made for some interesting television.

I've found the first two episodes to be rather dull so far - we need something to shake it up a bit!