SURVIVOR RECAP!
Nobag (Merged Tribe): Bob, Ken, Matty, Sugar, Susie
The Jury: Marcus, Charlie, Randy, Corinne, Crystal
Losers: Michelle, Gillian, Paloma, Jacquie, GC, Kelly, Ace, Dan
A LONG TIME COMING: CRYSTAL'S ASS FINALLY VOTED OUT (WHOO HOO)
Matty storms back to camp after a close call at the previous Tribal Council, where Corinne was voted out with only one more vote cast against her than Matty. Aware that his close ally, Ken, had a hand in the plot against him, Matty immediately confronts Ken for stabbing him in the back. Ken explains that his reasons for voting Matty were strategic: “I voted for him and that was strategically a move to gain me jury votes in the final three. I have been calling the shots since day one out here. I am the mastermind behind everything going on.” Matty picks up on Ken’s deceptive plans to oust him, which raises concerns from Crystal and Sugar, who believe that he is overreacting. Crystal sees Matty as a huge threat: “I am really regretting not writing Matty’s name down tonight which is probably the stupidest move that I have made in this game so far. Hopefully Matty doesn’t win immunity at the next challenge, and Matty needs to go.”
A BIG DEAL
Later in the night, Ken panics and attacks Bob for deceiving him with a second fake immunity idol. “I trusted you and Corinne and you lied to me, and now my game is messed up,” he complains. “I risked everything to try to save you and Corinne and this is what I get for being a nice guy.” Bob becomes ridden with guilt and offers Ken the deal of a lifetime: he agrees that if he wins the next immunity challenge, he will give the immunity necklace over to Ken. Bob assures Ken of his intentions of honoring his word because he feels horrible for lying to him the way he did. “I wanna be a man of my word,” Bob pledges.
REWARD CHALLENGE: SWAMP MONKEYS
The Nobag Tribe arrives on their mat as host Jeff Probst explains the rules. They will race out into the swamp through a series of obstacles, and retrieve a ball. They will then race back to the start and toss the ball into a net, and then head back out to retrieve the next ball. The first person to get three balls in their net wins a trip via helicopter to Loango National Park’s gorilla sanctuary, sponsored by Africa’s Eden. They will receive a nice meal, a good night’s sleep and a shower, returning to camp the next morning. In addition, the winner will choose one person to go to Exile Island.
As the challenge gets underway, the survivors bolt out into the swamp, making their way through nets, across planks, and to a station from which they each retrieve a ball. Bob, Matty and Ken manage to toss their balls into the net, while the women struggle to make their first basket. The men keep the lead as they race across the swamp to retrieve their second ball. All three men are dead even after sinking their second ball into their baskets. Meanwhile, Sugar, Susie and Crystal still struggle with their first ball. Matty gains an advantage as he makes his way back with his third and final ball. His efforts consistently fall short as Ken and Bob catch up. Ken, Matty and Bob race to sink their final ball. In the end, Bob wins the reward, and is given the opportunity to choose someone to join him. He selects Crystal, and is then asked to choose a second person to join him in the reward. Bob immediately chooses Ken without hesitation. He sends Susie to Exile Island, and is off in a helicopter to his reward.
THE GORILLA SANCTUARY
Ken, Bob and Crystal take in the breathtaking view of Gabon from above as they glide through the air on a helicopter ride. Upon arriving at the sanctuary, the three are given an assortment of meats, fruits, and tropical drinks. After a brief feast, the trio gets down to business. Ken and Crystal put Matty on the chopping block, asking Bob to jump on board with them. Bob agrees, hoping that they can persuade Sugar to join them. Ken carefully reminds Bob of his promise to hand immunity over to him if Bob were to win it at the next challenge. Bob again assures Ken he has nothing to worry about because Bob is a man of his word and has every intention to honor their deal. He then revises the plan, telling Ken that if during Tribal Council Ken feels that he is in danger, he should signal Bob to give him the immunity necklace. Ken accepts this offer, and the dealing is done.
LIKE BROTHER AND SISTER
Back at the Nobag camp, Matty complains to Sugar about not being able to enjoy the reward, and resents Ken and Crystal for being chosen. Sugar defends Bob’s decision and argues that they hadn’t had the chance to enjoy a reward until now. She then warns Matty that he is on the chopping block. Matty criticizes Sugar for aligning with Ken, and tells her that Ken is lying to her because Ken’s greatest ally is Crystal. Upon reflecting on the situation, Sugar admits that she is in a predicament. “I’m sure Kenny is probably lying to me but Matty is the stronger physical threat. I don’t know who to believe, I don’t know who to turn to.” The two continue to quarrel over the situation and, in the end, Matty comes to the conclusion that he got himself in a bad position.
THE RETURN
A helicopter drops off Ken, Bob and Crystal back at the Nobag camp. Matty is openly hostile about Ken and Crystal being chosen to go on the reward with Bob. Ken calls Matty out for making camp tense, which ultimately leads to another argument between the two regarding Ken flipping on him at the previous Tribal Council. “Matty’s super paranoid ever since his name was written down,” says Ken. “It was a strategic move on my part, but this is a game. People write down names.” Crystal fumes at Matty for lying to her when he denied being aligned with Susie, and continues to threaten to vote him out if he tries to go against her alliance with Ken. Sugar watches in dismay as Matty is chewed out by Crystal. “Matty doesn’t deserve to be yelled at,” she whimpers. “Kenny acts like he’s this weak little meager guy and he spins all these lies and Crystal is just a big bully.” Sugar pulls Matty aside and takes him over to the dock. “I believe you now,” she cries. Sugar then assures Matty that she will make sure that Matty does not get voted out, targeting Crystal instead. “If Sugar really is telling me the truth, then I have hope,” says Matty. “I’m just praying that I can find the strength to finish.”
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE: MASK MATCH
The Nobag Tribe arrives on their mat as Susie returns from Exile Island. Host Jeff Probst explains the rules. Each person will be blindfolded. They will study the features of a Gabonese mask and then grab a bag of mask pieces and make their way through a series of obstacles in their own roped-off lanes to a station where they will find a second blank mask. They will use the pieces to fill in the missing features. The first person to collect all three bags and successfully recreate the mask wins immunity.
The challenge is on, and the survivors begin studying their mask’s features. They are then off through the course and begin retrieving their mask pieces one by one. Crystal has difficulty staying on the course, and spends most of her time trying to find her lane. While the others attempt to solve each mask piece one at a time, Matty’s strategy is to gather all of his mask pieces first before attempting to solve the puzzle. Crystal finally makes it to her station with her first bag of mask pieces. Bob rapidly moves through the course and is the first to assemble his mask. Bob is wrong, and heads back to the start to check his mask. Ken thinks he has it and is also wrong. Susie is completely off of the course and struggles to find her way back. Bob races back and assembles his mask. Jeff checks his mask and determines that Bob is right. Bob wins immunity, guaranteeing him a spot in the final five.
THE REAL MASTERMIND
As soon as the tribe returns to camp, they scatter and proceed to strategize. Ken meets Crystal in the jungle and decides to get Bob to give him his immunity necklace as planned, then blindside him. The two realize that they made the mistake of not getting rid of Bob early on and are now paying the price since he has become an immunity threat after winning four challenges in a row. Ken plays the game by acting scared in front of Bob in hopes of manipulating him into handing over his immunity necklace, fulfilling their deal. Bob becomes suspicious of Ken’s actions and asks that they first find out who is voting for whom. Ken reports back to Sugar, Crystal, Matty and Susie that, in order to convince Bob to hand over immunity to him, they must all play along with the idea that Ken is on the chopping block. Unbeknownst to Ken, Sugar has other plans. She comes clean with Bob about Ken’s plan to blindside him and suggests voting for Crystal. “I really have a big place in my heart for you,” she confesses to Bob. Sugar returns to camp and tells them that she talked to Bob and he is on board to give Ken the immunity necklace. She brings Matty into the loop, telling him to vote for Crystal and asking him to just let her do the thinking. “Just as long as Matty listens to me and Bob knows to trust me, everything’s gonna be fine,” Sugar comments.
TRIBAL COUNCIL
At Tribal Council, Bob’s winning streak is brought to light as being a significant threat. Matty expresses gratitude regarding Bob’s dominance because he thinks that Bob deserves to stay in the game. Ken divulges the details of his deal with Bob to everyone in an attempt to guilt Bob into giving him immunity. Bob admits that he and Ken have since renegotiated the deal so that if Bob feels that Ken is going home, he will give him the necklace. With Sugar wearing the hidden immunity idol necklace, Jeff reminds everyone that this is the last time that it can be played. He then gives Bob the option of keeping or giving up the immunity necklace that he won, but Bob decides that Ken is not in any danger and keeps the necklace for himself. In the end, Sugar gives her hidden immunity idol to Matty, voiding all votes that were cast against him. With the remaining four votes cast against her, Crystal is blindsided and voted out of the game. Crystal Cox, the 29 year-old Olympic Champion from Durham, North Carolina, became the thirteenth person voted out and the fifth member of the jury of SURVIVOR: GABON: EARTH’S LAST EDEN, and a painful elimination it was. Arrrrr, matey.
Remember, the two-hour Survivor finale is on Sunday, December 14 at 8 PM (7 Central) on SeeBS. I'll be back Sunday afternoon with the final preview and picks.