ARRR! Mateys! It be Monday and time fer a recap. So without further ado, here be yer:
The Captain: J.D.
The Officers: Ben, Cheryl
The Crew: Alexis, Azmyth, Christa, Jay, Joy, Jupiter, Kendra, Laurel, Louie, Nessa, Sean
Sent ta Davy Jones’ Locker: John, Christian
From NFL Superstar to Pirate Castaway: Christian is Cut Adrift
Captain Joe Don and his Officers realize the importance of the Expeditions this week when they choose the three marked Pirates based on their performance. Joy's injured knee, Kendra's slow swimming and Christian's bulky size bring each a Black Spot. Despite some unhappy shipmates and the threat of Mutiny, Joe Don is safe at Pirates' Court. Instead, it's former NFL Running Back, Christian, that must be cut adrift.
As Christian floats out to sea, he thinks about his experience: "The things that I'm gonna miss the most about the pirate ship was the guys that I was there with. It's one of those things, like when I played football, I will always remember. And the pirate ship is the same thing. It's an adventure of a lifetime."
Captain's Order
With John now cut adrift, the tension aboard the ship has eased, and the crew of the Picton Castle rejoices below deck. Nessa even points out how John's compass maneuver failed because everyone on the crew has a pretty good sense of where north, south, east, and west are.
Meanwhile, in the Captain's quarters, Captain Joe Don meets with his two Officers, Cheryl and Ben. "Now that John's gone, the ship's gonna improve," comments Joe Don. "I think there's a need for some sort of order on the ship right off the bat." To do this, Joe Don meets with Sean and asks him to be the ship's cook. Sean happily accepts this new position. Joe Don also wants to elect someone in the crew to be his eyes and ears on the ship and report to him with any updates on the crew. Despite Cheryl's misgivings, Joe Don hires Jay to be his Bosun, which means he has authority over the rest of the crew. However, Joe Don doesn't realize that Jay may be playing both sides by accepting this position. "I came here committed to be a pirate," Jay explains. "And the only thing that I want is the loot."
Behold the Pirate Flag
The next morning, the ship sets sail and the crew gets to work hoisting the pirate flag. Kendra stands atop the rigging and looks at the majestic ship in awe and says, "It's amazing being on the ship. I absolutely love it. I love going up on the rigging to do the sails. It's absolutely stunning…I wish I could stay on the boat forever."
Breakfast Time: A Hungry Crew and a Happy Captain
Sean starts his new job as the ship's cook right away as he serves breakfast to the crew. The hungry shipmates line up for food but their excitement quickly goes away once they take a look at their meal. Alexis takes one look at the gruel and refuses to eat it. But her complaints to Sean won't bring her better food. Making matters worse is the fact that the Captain gets to eat a heartier, tastier breakfast than the rest of them. Sean prepares a medley of scrambled eggs, diced bell peppers, onions, a little bit of steak, some fruit and bacon, just for the Captain. Once the delicious breakfast is served to Joe Don, he begins to eat, washing the eggs down with rum, proudly commenting, "Ah, the life of a Captain."
Jay also begins fulfilling his duties as Bosun when he orders the crew to scrub the deck. "Life on the Picton Castle is no easy task," laments Louie as he and the rest of the crew get to work. As Jay observes the crew hard at work, he also notices the Captain enjoying his breakfast. "Everybody's busting their butts," complains Jay. "Joe Don's just sitting back, getting fat, avoiding the sun. And he's up there like the cookie monster, just cramming stuff into his mouth." Joe Don doesn't show any remorse as he continues to eat his breakfast, chuckling as his crew scrubs the deck.
The Master Gunner's Treasure
Host Cameron Daddo arrives on the ship with a key that will open the next compartment of the Chest of Zanzibar. Kendra takes the key and opens the compartment where she finds two maps, one for each crew. Cameron informs everyone that from this Expedition forward, the Captain and the two Officers will lead the Black Crew. The rest of the shipmates will be randomly divided to either follow the Captain on the Black Crew or oppose him on the Red Crew. Everyone proceeds to pick either a black or a red shot to determine which crew they will join. The Black Crew now consists of Joe Don, Ben, Cheryl, Nessa, Azmyth, Louie, Christa and Jupiter while the new Red Crew includes Sean, Joy, Kendra, Christian, Alexis, Laurel and Jay. Only if the Black Crew wins will Joe Don remain Captain.
Cameron introduces the new Expedition by explaining that this next treasure was hidden by Felipe Sanchez Grillos, Captain Henry Steel's Master Gunner. "He had a talent for trickery, booby traps, and a love of snakes," Cameron explains. The Pirates learn that they must swim to shore through shark-infested waters, then hike along the treacherous coastline before entering the jungle where the leading crew can sabotage the other crew. Then, they have a grueling run up a steep mountain in search of a Snake Pit where the deadly snakes guard the tools needed to find the treasure.
The Expedition Begins: Swimming and Sabotage
The Expedition begins with everyone jumping over the side of the ship and into the water where they must swim to shore. However, Kendra has some trouble swimming, so her Red Crew teammate, Alexis, comes to the rescue and helps bring her to shore. The Black Crew reaches shore first and Azmyth leads everyone on the search for the sabotage point. Azmyth finds the sabotage point first and once the Black Crew is in the clear, the sabotage is triggered and a thorny wooden gate is dropped right in the middle of the path. Meanwhile, the Red Crew finally makes it to shore, with Kendra heading up the rear as the last one out of the water. "I just died inside. I couldn't believe it," she laments.
The Black Crew continues to forge ahead up the steep mountain, which leaves Louie exhausted and a little dizzy. As the Red Crew continues to walk along the shore, they encounter the thorny gate at the Sabotage Point. They struggle to move it out of the way so their team can pass.
A Sea of Snakes
The Black Crew is the first to arrive at the Snake Pit, where a Compass Plate is buried beneath the swampy snake-filled waters. When Louie sees all the slithering serpents around him, he clams up and wants to see the map again before jumping in. "If I'm gonna start looking through this swamp of snakes, I'd just as soon be looking in the right spot," he says with nervous laughter.
The Red Crew continues up the steep mountain, where Christian's bulky frame works against him. "Going uphill after you swim, it was very difficult, even for an athlete like me," he explains. Jay observes Christian falling behind and realizes this is an Expedition where Christian's brute strength will be unable to help bring his Crew to a win. Meanwhile, at the Snake Pit, Nessa is the first member of the Black Crew to start climbing down into the Pit. "I laugh in the face of danger," she says with playful confidence. But it's Azmyth who unearths the Compass Plate from the snake-infested swamp. Joe Don looks on from high above the Snake Pit, leaving Louie to comment, "That Azmyth, he's a rock and roll pirate. He's the real deal. And then the Captain, he does nothing."
No Joy On The Mountain
The Red Crew faces another setback when Joy twists her knee during the trek up the mountain. Sean comes to her rescue when he picks her up, throws her over his shoulder, and carries her up the hill. Meanwhile, the members of the Black Crew open the Compass Plate to receive their next set of clues. They must find an altar nearby to put the Compass Plate on top of and then use the mysterious Compass Spoon found in the box to lead them to the Master Gunner's buried treasure. The Compass Spoon is an old fashioned way of reading north, south, east, and west. If you stick the Spoon on the Compass Plate, the Spoon's red tip points north and will tell the Crew where to walk to find the treasure. Azmyth finds the altar and they use the Compass Plate to determine how close they are to the treasure.
Azmyth Locates the Loot
As Azmyth and the rest of the Black Crew search through the leaf-covered ground, the Red Crew starts to catch up and realizes the Black Crew hasn't found the treasure yet -- they still have a chance. The Red Crew searches for their Compass Plate in the Snake Pit. Christian tries to keep the snakes away from the others, but Jay notices he's not doing a very good job at it. Eventually Azmyth finds the treasure buried under a bed of leaves. The Black Crew rejoices and fires the Blunderbuss in the air, signaling their second win in a row.
As the Red Crew returns to the ship, everyone helps an injured Joy climb up the side of the ship. Sean watches as Joy's knee is bandaged up and notes, "If you gotta throw the dart at one of us who lost the expedition, it would definitely be Joy. Not due to lack of physical strength, endurance, or prowess. Just due to injury."
I'll Take Half!
The mood is decidedly different for the Black Crew as they excitedly bring their treasure onboard and dump out the coins on the deck, with the Red Crew watching from below deck. Once all the coins are counted, the Black Crew learns that the treasure is worth $45,000. Joe Don takes his half, but before the Officers can get their portion, Joe Don learns that he now has the opportunity to choose two new Officers. He elects to keep Cheryl and Ben by his side, so a quarter of the treasure gets split up between the two of them. Louie can barely hide his disappointment over Joe Don not choosing new Officers. "I'd like to set all three of them adrift at once," he says. "And I want them to see the inside of a shark's belly." The remaining quarter of the treasure is shared among the rest of the Black Crew, where each member gets $2,250. Now, the Captain has until the morning to decide which three Pirates will be marked with the Black Spot for Pirates' Court.
Below deck, Nessa informs the rest of the Red Crew that the Black Crew just received $45,000 and that Joe Don is keeping the same Officers. Everyone complains about the Captain getting rich. Jay jokingly gives Sean advice on what they can do to the Captain: "You're the cook. You can screw with his food and make him crap all night."
A Pittance for the Pirates
In the Captain's Cabin, Joe Don and his Officers can barely contain their excitement as they count their treasure. "I have enough money to pay off my credit card now", says Joe Don as he stacks his gold coins. However, amidst the excitement, Joe Don starts to think about the rest of his crew. "Unfortunately I think a lot of the people who have lost are still broke and the Black Spot's coming up and I think it's gonna cause some serious anguish and problems," he notes. "I gotta kinda pay attention to that."
This leads Joe Don to visit his crew below deck where he pays each of them $200, reassuring them that, "A couple hundred bucks a piece is a couple hundred more than what you had." However, Joe Don's gratuity doesn't sit well with Alexis, who later complains: "Big deal. You're sitting on 45,000 dollars and you're gonna throw me 200 bucks apiece. How's your gold treating you?" After the Captain leaves, Louie tries to make everyone feel better by saying, "Things will change."
Secret Pacts in Private Places
Later, Joe Don meets with his Bosun, Jay, in the privacy of the Captain's Quarters. Joe Don wants to make sure jay can continue giving him information on how the crew is doing or feeling, so he has set aside $2,000 in gold coins for him. "I'm not buying you, I'm rewarding you," Joe Don explains. "Big difference between the two." Jay happily accepts the money and the two of them enjoy a glass of rum. Unbeknownst to Joe Don, Jay reveals that he'll continue to be the Captain's number one man only as long as it's lucrative for him. "I've got $2,000 that nobody knows about and I haven't won a thing," he explains. "That's the key here. You don't have to go out and get the loot to be a Pirate. You just gotta know how to get the loot into your bag."
Who Will Get the Black Spot?
When it's time to determine who gets the Black Spot, Joe Don meets with his two trusted Officers. With John already gone, it's not as easy to choose who should be cut adrift this time. Ben suggests that they choose three Pirates who contributed to the loss of the Expedition. Eventually Joe Don hands three letters to his Officers. "It was a harder decision this go around," Joe Don explains. "This one's gonna be a heartbreaker. So be it."
The Officers summon the crew together on the deck of the ship as they start to hand out the letters. Cheryl comments that the three marked Pirates were chosen for purely physical reasons because "we are only as good as our weakest link." When Kendra opens her letter and sees a Black Spot, she thinks she received it because the Captain doesn't care for her. Christian displays a cavalier attitude when he sees his Black Spot. "I'm not worried about it," he explains. "I survived football, I survived training camps. I have to plead my case and I feel very good." Joy receives the Black Spot for the second time in a row, which does little to boost her self-esteem but helps her realize that she still has some fight in her.
Anyone for Mutiny?
As the Pirates discuss the Black Spots, Jay comforts Kendra and sees a way he can sway the vote at Pirates' Court. He comments on Kendra being weak and says, "I want to keep Kendra out of there so that I can use her down the road. But Christian, I don't know where he stands, how he's gonna vote with me down the road, or against me down the road. That's the biggest reason he's gotta leave." Jay then talks to his fellow shipmates in an attempt to bring them on his side.
With Pirates' Court looming, Louie confers with his fellow shipmates and reveals his desire for a Mutiny. "Anytime anybody wants a Mutiny, I am in," Louie reiterates. "The whole ship is talking Mutiny." Louie finds that his new friend on the ship, Christian, is in full agreement. Christian believes a change must be made and the two of them agree that it's the Captain's time to go. Louie even proclaims, "I want to cut the rope."
Pirates' Court: Joe Don vs. Christian
At Pirates' Court, Cameron explains that tonight, the crew must cast ballots and choose which of the three marked Pirates is cut adrift, or they can rise as one and Mutiny against the Captain. Captain Joe Don begins the proceedings by explaining why each Pirate received the Black Spot: Kendra showed she wasn't proficient in the water, Christian's size could work against him and Joy injured herself, which kept the Red Crew from winning. When Kendra defends herself, she admits to her swimming mishap, but encourages her fellow shipmates to weigh that against the fact that she was fast on land. During Joy's defense, she points out that her bandage is gone and that she was hard at work that morning, despite her knee injury. Christian begins his defense by saying he loves the crew and loves the ship, but his mood changes when he brings up the fact that some of the crew has been complaining about money. "If they choose me to be captain, I will not take 50 percent, I will not take 40 percent, I will not take 30 percent," he states to the crew. "If I don't make my crew happy, I'm not doing my job." Joe Don declares that he won't get into a verbal spat with Christian and says he thinks Christian is digging his own hole by bringing up the idea of a Mutiny.
Backdoor Deal Exposed
Cameron informs the Captain that it's time to make a case for his command. "You know how I roll," the Captain begins. "I say what I do, I do what I say. I think you guys are happy and I'm good with that." Cameron asks Louie if he has a gripe with that and Louie brings up the fact that the crew isn't getting paid well or fed well. When Louie brings up the fact that the Captain is sitting on $40,000, Joe Don admits that the amount is less because he shared money with Jay. The crew looks betrayed as Jay lies to everyone, saying that he only received $1,000 and that some of the Captain's money also went to the losing team. Alexis reveals that the $200 she received from the Captain seems offensive considering how much money Joe Don currently has in his pocket.
Cut Adrift by a Single Ballot
The time to cast the ballots arrives, and one by one, the Pirates place their ballots atop the blade of a dagger. Cameron examines the ballots and reveals that there are no Mutiny ballots and that Joy is safe. Kendra and Christian remain. One of them has four ballots in favor of them being cut adrift; the other has five ballots.
The count is close, but it is Christian who has come to the end of his journey. The Captain cuts him adrift and he floats out to sea, leaving Louie shocked at the loss of his brother Christian and desperate for revenge against Joe Don.
ARRR!!!!
Here be yer running tally of how much booty has been collected and by whom:
Alexis: $2,200
Azmyth: $2,450
Ben: $10,625
Cheryl: $10,625
Christa: $2,450
Jay: $2,200
J.D.: $38,100 *
Joy: $200
Jupiter: $4,450
Kendra: $2,200
Laurel: $200
Louie: $4,450
Nessa: $2,450
Sean: $200
* J.D. has collected a total of $42,500, however he gave each of the crew $200 each (total $2,400) and he gave Jay $2,000.
Cast adrift:
Christian: $ 200
John: $ 2,000
Take Care,
ARRR! Send me a FReepmail if ya wants ta be added to the Pirate Master Ping List!