Charlie will live. Gays like a little pretty, pretty like everyone else, but I have a feeling that even he would knife ol' Marcus in the back if he had to.

I can't stand Corinne. I'm surprised you didn't mention how after the Immunity Challenge when Probst said something about the "Fong" tribe, Corinne smarmily said, "It's Fang." HATE HER!

I thought this was a great episode and you gave us another lovely recap, as per your usual. :-)

I too, can't wait to see the look on Charlie's face, as well as Randy and Corinne's when they find out who is no longer with them. Priceless I'm sure!

Corrine has offered basically nothing to her tribe but has balls of steel because of their big winning streak. That's why she's all big and mighty talking about Susie nonstop. I know that there's been a very poor showing by the females this season but I'd love to see Corrine GONE immediately

WTF?! I HATED this episode! I think it is slightly funny, slightly smart, and slightly stupid that they let the immunity idol go.

But WHY OH WHY did marcus not just tell crystal and kenny to vote for Susie?! What good is she? She does nothing and sucks at challenges. That could have been a 4-1 TC vote. When Marcus was voted out it was the closest I've come to crying about any eviction EVER.

I don't even want to watch anymore...but i will.

At least we can still see his hotness on the jury..YUM. And it will be hilarious to see charlie and corrine eye-fucking him during future TC's.

Poor Marcus. I read an interview with him on another website and he seems like a really decent man.

I hope Charlie doesn't cry over the news. Maybe, Charlie can switch his affection and fall in love with Randy now?

I live in Los Angeles so I know a few things about the show...all I can say is -- I don't like the way this thing is heading...

Marcus was a goner as soon as Crystal learned that her cousin was his best friend.

You could see it in the look she gave him -- how long would he have needed to figure out that his buddy's cousin Crystal-the-Olympic-gold-medalist was THAT Crystal? (the fact that he didn't seem to get it right away pretty much points to his cluelessness in general)

At this point, I'm assuming she's been throwing the competitions --otherwise she'd have been a big target from the get go.

I mean, most top athletes are pretty good at strategy --there's a hell of a lot of background that goes into any race. Although usually they'd give us an interview with her where she reveals this strategy.

At last, Ken should have figured out that knocking off Bob will give them all of the power when they do eventually merge -- which means I'm guessing they'll throw the challenge next week.

Nice of the producers to make it impossible to throw the challenge this week though.

The season's finally getting underway, eh?

Oops, I mean 'at least' not 'at last'

And what the hell is "dap"? First time I read that, I though you were saying they gave him the clap.

itchy, i didn't even think about that. i noticed that Crystal wasn't nearly as excited as Marcus seemed to be about their connection, but i wasn't sure why. makes sense.

not to defend Crystal--although she doesn't bother me half as much as Corinne--but i think the food situation has had more of an impact on her than most everyone else. not only was she an Olympic athlete--and we know how much they need to eat--but she is also an amazon, so i'm sure her normal caloric intake is several times what she's getting on Survivor. she was really complaining about it back when Doucheface McQuitter was still there.

i liked Marcus and Bob, but with the exception of Corinne (HATE) and Randy, i pretty much like everyone left. Ken is my favorite, of course, and he has been playing a pretty good game given his skill-set.

Schoonie commented on how this is the first individual endurance immunity challenge in tribe format. I think what that shows is that the producers are totally manipulating the show. They had planned and anticipated a merge - therefore, an individual challenge. But, the season was boring, and Kota had a clear majority in a merge = more boring. So, they switched it up.

It may be outplay, outwit, outlast, but it seems unfair to keep switching people around when this game has always been about alliances. How can you have an alliance when you are with different people every 4-5 days?

Itchy- "Dap" is the equivalent of a high-five or a handshake; its acknowledgement of the other person as a cool, trustworthy individual. Not so good an idea for Survivor! LOL.

I LOVE the way they are manipulating the show this year! The alliances always bore me, because they usually stay loyal, unless someone is really smart--and this group isn't, except maybe Ken. It's like a schoolyard, too, because someone has to decide the order that they go out, usually on the basis of who is "coolest," e.g., Marcus.

Sure, Marcus was eye-candy, but he was dull and clueless. He just thought he was God's gift, so everything would fall into place for him.

I also like the idea that the producers are improvising, because it forces the players too, which I find more interesting than a well-thought-out, long-term strategy (which probably explains my bank account and life).

Great recap as always. My husband and I jumped up and gave each other a "dap" when the final vote was revealed. We were convinced that Suzie would do what the low man always seems to do... something stupid. We were so glad that someone finally switched sides. It was awesome.

Lawyergal - I don't think so. This sort of accusation was made several seasons ago and the producers showed the logs of the show which showed that they planned certain things for certain episodes. If that was originally going to be an individual imm challenge, the poles wouldn't have been split into two colors. I think that this was one of the change ups. After all, EVERYONE playing and watching the show expected a merge this week. They always merge at 10. I love that they threw something into the mix. I also love the fact that they keep mixing things up with regards to tribe. This game doesn't have to be about keeping alliances. It says "outwit, outplay, outlast" after all. For the past few seasons, you get a power alliance who just systematically gets rid of everyone else. This is simply boring as fuck. I applaud the producer's efforts to keep it exciting for us.

I LOVE that the producers have shaken it up this year. I just think that the old alliance system is so boring, because mostly people stick with the first alliance they're in, unless someone is pretty smart. This season, the only one that seems to be is Ken. Also, it is a schoolyard thing, because somebody has to decide the "pecking order"--usually on the basis of who is "coolest," e.g., Marcus. Who died and made him king?

Sure, he was eye candy, but he was dull and clueless. He just thought that he was God's gift, so everything would fall into place for him.

I also like that the producers are improvising, because it forces the contestants to, which, to me, is more interesting than a well-thought-out, long-term strategy. That probably explains my bank account and life!

Snootchy Bootches,

I totally agree with you. As long as this show as been on, we all assumed that they would merge at 10. But to change things up and make the show a bit different than before, they didn't. How many of us would still be watching if they had made no changes between season one and now? I don't think very many...Got to keep shaking things up. And I personally, loved it! :-)

Snootchy Bootches,

I totally agree with you. As long as this show has been on, we all assumed that they would merge at 10. But to change things up and make the show a bit different than before, they didn't. How many of us would still be watching if they had made no changes between season one and now? I don't think very many...Got to keep shaking things up. And I personally, loved it! :-)

I thank you most kindly, Ms. Whore, for the definition. Guess I've been out of the States too long.

I like the heavy hand of the producers too. It's part of what I like about reality television, the idea that the producers are building a story line (fiction) based on what they were able to film.

"I don't think they've ever done an endurance challenge in a tribal format before."

I think they did in Thailand at F9 immunity challenge. Fantastic recap!

Sorry about posting twice, but I got a "can't find the server" message. That will teach me to have dial-up.

They'll probably merge when there are eight left, huh? Too bad, I wish they'd do something else weird to shake it up some more.

Lavenderincense, I just checked the Thailand season's challenges, and they didn't do any tribal immunity endurance challenges. They had one where they all had to hold their breath and were timed or something, but it wasn't last person standing like this.

On a side note, I think I've read somewhere in the past that they have to set all of their twists out in advance of the show even beginning to ward of tampering lawsuits. I think they submit an outline for the season to their attorneys or whatever, but I'm not sure. The fact that James quit last year and then they did a bunch of challenges that were clearly designed for more people than were left in the game certainly threw me off.

Does anyone else think that Susie might have changed her mind about who to vote off while they were AT Tribal Council? It seemed like when Bob said that he would've voted differently last week to keep the tribe strong had he known they weren't merging this week (i.e., he would preferred Susie left over Dan), that a light bulb finally went off in Susie's head.

Anyone else? Anyone?

Schoonie, you keep me entertained through hours of boring legal mumbo jumbo learning. I managed to keep it together until I got to the part where you called Crystal a grizzly skank .. then I busted out laughing in middle of my class. Chances are good I'll get my ass handed to me tomorrow. For that line, though .. it's all worth it. Great recap!

I actually hope that Crystal and Ken can make it to the top, as they have engineered Ace's and Marcus' exit from the game. As Cirie proved in her original season and Fans v. Faves (Parvati winning that season was a complete letdown, btw), you don't have to be physically strong to be able to get further into the game. I do like the Crystal/Ken dynamic because they are surely loyal to each other and have helped each other out in the game, rather than one person doing all the work and the other being dragged to the final to get abused by the jury.(paging Yul and that Asian girl from his season or Earl dragging Cassandra to the end in their season. Dreamz was abused for reasons all his own.) If they do make it to the end, and they do face the jury, it would be interesting to see how the jury would react.

"This came is Outwit, Outplay, Outlast, and you can't outwit Crystal Cox, baby." Well, unless you are a box of rice.

Favorite line of the recap!

I love that they mixed up the tribes again. It makes it more intersting than watching one side just get picked off each week.

First off, I'm so glad they're starting to show Crystal's personality. We're starting to see some real spunk - plotting and planning with Kenny.

Second - Randy needs to go in the worst way.
I see him, and it just turns my stomach. He's awful.

Ms. Whore:

Earl did NOT drag Cassandra to the end. They worked at getting to the end together.

Wow, I haven't watched Survivor since Season 2 or 3.

Many people are saying this season is boring so far (minus the recent twists), but it has reminded me why I used to watch the show. All the outwitting, outlasting, and outplaying, oh my!

Matty should thank his lucky stars that he's athletic, cuz homeboy's mind is off.

Suzie is too upfront about her intentions to win. She will be used to help other smarter people stay.

Corinne and Charlie, your time is up now that your Kota leader is gone. (That was a brilliant Kenny move, btw!)

Randy can't get booted off soon enough for me.

It's still early in the game but I pick Kenny and Sugar as the dark horses here.

And I agree with the person above who said Crystal is probably throwing these challenges. I'm watching a Survivor marathon (thanks CBS online!) and noticed on the very first episode that Crystal said her strategy is to keep her Olympic background a secret. Any clever schemer/liar knows that to make a lie believable, you have to fully commit to it. In Crystal's case, it's not enough to just not tell anyone she's a gold medalist. She also has to suck athletically for no one to suspect. Because let's face it, she is built like a freakin' tank. Looking at her build, I would immediately guess that she was a star volleyball player, a javelin thrower, or a track and field pro. Unless she sucked at physical challenges...

Also, I think Sugar is playing the dumb blond role. Maybe I'm dumb for thinking Sugar is that smart...

Whoops, javelin tossing is part of track and field. :)

So Sugar/Matty of me...

God, my brain must be tired...

I meant to write Susie is too upfront about her TACTICS/STRATEGY to win (not her intentions).