Looks like Natalie is going to really stay true to her word. At this point, Natalie and Russell are a guaranteed two votes against either Jaison, Mick or Brett.

Brett looks to be giving a strong performance at the challenges and if this continues, he will set himself up in a very good position.

Mick seems like he'll do anything to secure he is one of the three at the end.

Shambo took her boot well, and it looks like she really is going to base her vote on who played the game the best, and probably from her standpoint, Russell impressed her the most.

See you guys all on Sunday!

Russ' game is really one-sided. He's too focused on getting to the end that he seems to forget that how you play the game can also affect whether you get votes from the jury or not. For that reason, it seems like he'll lose favor in front of a jury simply due to the fact he played a lot of people out there and made several promises he could not keep with the jury.

Next week, it looks like Mick has even more suspicion about Russ and we hope that plays out. Here's hoping!

Jaison... he took a bold sacrifice this week and it was good to see him take the reins for a change (yes, we're looking at you Mick, who looks to be the one wanting to turn on Russ the next episode). I don't know if Jaison had any seed planted in his mind about the loyalty of the Foa Foa 4, especialyl since they got to bid on all the other luxurious items at the auction. I think Mick immediately after Jaison won the advantage got a real nice food dish and I would be quite upset at that situation.

Dave is really  invested in this game, and he seems to be one of the few that seems to recognize how to play it. He isn't going crazy about the purple tribe but feels he has to make certain moves (like voting off John) to advance further in the game. We know he was given a reprieve last week, but Foa Foa is running out of people to vote out so his number is almost up.

The last couple of Tribal Councils have been entertaining, but does anyone feel that the Foa Foa domination isn't as captivating to you as say when Aitu was down to only 4 members and won every challenge from that point forward? Hm, I hope the finale finishes off strong to a overall, good season.

Any who, it looks like the odds were no longer in Galu's favor after Kelly was voted out. Shambo has been tinkering for quite some time now and once she saw Laura without the necklace, she was ready to sink her fangs into Laura.

Now the big question of the week is whether John made the smart move or not. Let's look at this from a numbers standpoint.

Mick has immunity. Galu members have 5, they intend to vote for Natalie. Foa Foa + Shambo have 5, they intend to vote for Laura. If the vote was a deadlock again, Laura and Natalie would be immune. Now you have a toss up with the dreaded purple rock (whoever picks the purple rock will be the next sent home). Now you have 4 Galu members at risk vs 3 members of Foa Foa... in other words if you are in John's position, you have a 57% chance of going home. Is that a risk he was willing to take? After talks had spread that they were trying to make John the target, I guess one would be justified in jumping ship for the time being. That was probably a poor move on Galu's part, they should have stuck someone else out there instead, someone who is connected deeper with the Galu 5. We feel his power play was justified, but we don't see how he's going to bounce back from this, it's not like Foa Foa is going to take him with open arms.

We enjoyed Laura and her gameplay. It's always refreshing to see a woman display physical prowess in the challenges and play the game hard. Still, her editing made her look to be like a bad guy but we were still rooting for her. You could tell that she was running the show, not so much Erik (after Russell's departure).

The rest of the bunch? Not getting much substance. It continues to be the Russell show and with a few more episodes to go, we don't see that changing much. Galu had the game set up in their favor and it looks like they have lost control.

First off, Natalie's scene with the rat was particularly cool to watch. We would never have thought she would make it this deep into the game and do something so out of her comfort zone (killing the rat). When she brought it back to camp, you could tell everyone was pretty shocked themselves at the transformation they were seeing in this Southern Belle. If Russell represents the rat of the game, it looks like Natalie has a good chance of making it to the end and maybe even winning it all.

The reward challenge was also pretty neat to watch. I never knew there were such things as rock slides. It was kind of funny how that team of 5 ended up being all Galu members. I would have bet money on purple winning the challenge if I were Natalie. You had a tribe that has three of your old members on it and somewhere along the way, she had a sudden burst of faith in them. Not going to happen anytime soon. Foa Foa is definitely not winning this game based on physical prowess.

Russell finding the idol yet again was another magic moment this episode. He's really determined to stay in this game for as long as he can, and at this point, it doesn't really look like he is using his alliance of 4 for evil, but he seems to have a hidden agenda to get the group to the final 4 first. I guess he does grow on you a bit and you always have to appreciate the person that is playing this game hard.

Laura has proven to be an immunity challenge dominator. Granted, the first challenge she won didn't really require a whole lot of skill, but she easily creamed Shambo and Mick in this. It's refreshing to see a woman take some of these challenges, especially since they are typically ignored the rest of the show. Laura doesn't seem to understand how she's been needing the necklace every time they go to Tribal Council. I am sure she is shocked at what was supposed to happen.

Russell wants to use his idol to get rid of Laura but his plans get ruined when she wins immunity. The group decides to take someone out of the girl power alliance, and it ends up being Kelly because she is seen as a bigger threat in a challenge than Monica. Foa Foa hopes that Galu focuses their votes on Russell so he can play his idol and then have Kelly eliminated instead. Moments before Tribal, Russell hears them discussing other names and it becomes clear they are considering other people to boot before Russell. He hears the name Natalie and you could tell he's afraid of what will happen. They head into Tribal Council, and we haven't been given an answer on how they want to approach all of this.

Discussion at Tribal center around blindsiding Erik and this continued power struggle because of the imbalanced numbers. Russell does not hesitate for a minute and decides to use his idol. While hesitant after his last mistake, Russell has a huge smile on his face once he sees his name on the parchment. Eventually, we see the original Galu (Shambo seemed to know what was going on but was trying to keep face). Things become more nail biting crazy after the Galu 7's votes were read--they voted for Russell and therefore, no votes counted. The first name Jeff calls is Kelly, and she very well knows that she will be leaving the game. Laura ends with accusing Russell of breaking hell loose.

Will Galu keep the numbers or keep turning on each other? How will the Foa Foa survive another 3 days? See you next week!

On Foa Foa, Mick was pretty much invisible this episode. We saw Erik get a rise out of Jaison at Tribal Council. It seems like Natalie and Russell really are working their magic to weasel their way into the end game. This was probably the first time we saw Natalie outshine Russell in terms of strategy. It doesn't bode well for Russell that he was showing everyone his idol and then caught in a number of lies with a bunch of people he has yet to build a bond with. Natalie sunk her fangs into Laura and it looks like it will pay off. I guess we should start paying attention to her and it'll seem to be easier now that they are giving her some air time.

Laura suddenly emerged as a power player this episode. I was deeply afraid she would walk right into Russell's trap per their conversation with him last week, but she showed a bit of skepticism on him and that was great to see. I don't think she had any idea that her head was on the chopping block but it's always fun to see the person that is supposed to get the boot win immunity and cause the rest of the tribe to figure out what the next best move would be.

Shambo, she doesn't know what is going on and clearly after being blindsided by the vote herself, it doesn't look like people care enough to include her toward another number. The confrontation she had with Laura ended up making her look okay and Laura as the bitch. Again, leave it up to coincidence for Shambo to make a genius strategic move.

John also seems to be playing the game hard and we hope he continues to do so. The guy really is a thinker, but even with a 8-4 advantage, is taking out one of your own the best decision. I think David was on the right track when they said they should just zoom forward, get rid of the Foa 4 and game on. The guys would easily have the majority because there is no way that Shambo and Laura would join forces to really pull a "girl power" alliance.

Now, Erik... he's really something. I guess he didn't realize that you should treat people in your tribe with a bit of respect UNTIL they are voted off. I guess he wasn't thinking about the end game at all... even if he stuck around, he wouldn't have won because quite frankly, is social abilities were severely lacking. It's too bad that he got a bit cocky and ran his mouth as much as he did because that was his downfall. He seems like he'll be a bitter juror and will not vote for any Foa men or any Galu women.

We're anticipating how things pan out next episode, especially since we see Russell in the dark about what is going on for the first time. Too bad he played his idol, because it'll look like he'll need one sooner or later.

The men at Galu are surely doing their best to secure their spots and prevent an all female alliance. Last I checked, Shambo wasn't particularly fond of the girls anyways, and so I question if making her the leader was the best strategic move. I wonder why we didn't hear any of the women say they were suspicious how the voting a leader process went down. Blah, another season where the women are being led around by the guys--don't think a woman is going to win this thing.

Was it a good idea for Shambo to send Laura over? It's a tough call. But if she really meant what she said... that she wanted to keep her guys strong, why send over the strongest woman? I guess sending Monica would just continue a bigger rift between the two and when you send someone over to the other tribe, you have to think, will they make friends with them? I think it would be giving Shambo too much credit for thinking that far ahead. I guess she would have been trapped whoever she chose.

Any wow, Jaison was just sending us Osten vibes. I couldn't believe he would risk getting voted off by simply not trying to put the puzzle together. It was disheartening to see that he stuck around over someone that we could see playing a more lucrative game (Liz). Liz seemed to be wishy washy, and that was her apparent downfall. I wonder why she didn't make any solid alliances with anyone. It's too bad that she crossed Russell because that was already 2 votes against her.

Finally a merge is upon us, we need a change of pace in this game because it's going downhill fast.

While we had known who was the medevac for weeks, it would have been nice if CBS attempted to keep the identity of that person a mystery. Despite this, it was certainly an element of drama that no one in the game was expecting. How can the leader of your tribe, the one working tooth and nail at camp, and the person that is giving his all in the challenges go down? For Galu, it has definitely lowered their spirits and it's strange that Russell went from an unlikeable guy to the person he left as, very respected by all players of the game. It was heartbreaking to see him in tears, really wanting to continue on for his family. This dude was definitely there to play the game, and we appreciate that. As a side note, did anyone catch the foreshadowing of Russell out in the ocean and shutting his eye very strangely for a second before snapping out of it?

Jeff drops a bomb on both tribes saying that they will both be going to Tribal Council regardless of the outcome of the reward. It would have been interesting for the tribe to have sit in on the other tribe's voting especially since the merge is probably just around the corner. On Foa Foa, the girls realize it is going to be between them. Whatever happened to aligning, pull in a third, and vote out another person. It is kind of disappointing to see that they are still going along with this mentality that they need the strength to keep lasting in this game--this is Survivor, not world's strongest man. Natalie and Russ seem solid, while Liz is hoping to get Mick and Jaison on her side. Over at Galu, the girls' club is out to get Shambo, the clear outcast left on the tribe. The men of the tribe have other plans, wanting to get rid of Monica as she has been underwhelming in the challenges since. No one is giving Shambo any indication that she'll be staying which ends up making her a lot more paranoid than she needs to be. The problem with Galu is they have two separate factions on one tribe, whereas Foa Foa is just one cohesive unit. That seems to be an advantage Foa Foa will have if they go into a merge soon.

At Tribal Council, everyone is reflecting on Russell leaving the game. The somber tone suddenly turns into a throw down. What started it all? Jeff simply asking Foa Foa if they felt they won the challenge today. A confident Mick says while there wasn't a winner declared, the tribe took it as a win to boost morale. Erik quickly chimes in and says that it's ludicrous to think Foa Foa has a chance to change the momentum of this game--the numbers on each tribe doesn't tell a different story. It's pretty clear there is going to be an interesting showdown post merge and we have a feeling that Galu won't be coming out on top. While it's unfortunate the way Russell went out of the game, we are happy that it prevented a double boot--which only helps those in the majority gain more power, we've seen enough of those. How about an extra episode CBS, you're still making money off this thing...

In the end, Jeff surprises everyone by saying neither tribe will be voting off anyone. It was kind of interesting to see that everyone was gathered in this place to vote out someone, and then that didn't even happen.

All in all, this episode stands out as very different from the rest. Did anyone feel like Jeff was just as much a character as some of the people on Galu? He didn't seem to be alleviating the situation once Russ blacked out but I guess he was doing his job. He's also doing a great job at getting reactions out of people they wouldn't have had otherwise by asking the right questions. Probst, just sign on for season 21 and 22 now already!

My only question is... who at the reward challenge pizza?

On Foa Foa, the tribe finds out the next reward will involve eating "untasty" food. Ashley is confident that she will be able to perform today, to prove that she has earned her spot on the tribe. Moments later, we see Liz pulling Evil Russ aside saying she has doubts about Ashley's ability to perform. She points out that since they've been out here, she hasn't even touched the coconut. Russ takes in this news, but we later finds out he approaches the other guys saying Liz is trying to defer the target on Ashley. The guys agree that she is definitely planting different seeds around camp. Russ says that it's threatening to have someone that can manipulate what others are thinking, especially since he is the only one who wants to be in control.

Ashley isn't able to get her smoothie down, and that ends up costing the tribe. It's funny how a reward can still put people in a bad spot. When Russell S. had to send a person over, he didn't hesitate much when he picked Shambo. She met his decision with opposition, but she really had no other choice but to comply. The way he is treating her, I don't know how she'll be able to survive the next vote. It seemed harsh to send the lady for releasing a chicken, his logic just doesn't seem reasonable to me (think back to picking luxury vs. comfort)--it was kind of nice to see the storm hit Galu pretty badly, it was a nice I told you so moment! The reward also led to some tension between Dave and Russell over the fire. People are on edge, it's hard to contain your frustrations so all in all, this reward seemed to help Foa Foa in a sense.

More doubts about Liz are brought up when Shambo comes over and shares the clues to the immunity idol. When it was discussed where it would be, Shambo came up short leading Liz to believe that Evil Russ had already found it. She approaches him about the matter, accusing him of lying to her before he is caught off guard and warns that she is walking on thin ice. Liz shouldn't have approached him in this matter, but rather could have gone several other paths to prevent her becoming a target at Tribal Council. In any case, we hope she prevails over the evil that is Russ (we all want to see the 'good' guy win). Shambo really is putting all her trust into Foa Foa, and I don't blame her after the way Galu has been treating her.

Natalie was featured this episode by being the close ally of Ashley. She reassures her the challenge was not lost because of her and continues to console her. I think this scene was shown to us to really showcase that she is building personal relationships with everyone out there (which is part of her strategy). In the end, I think this scene was shown so that we get a feel that Natalie is playing this game.

When Shambo returns to her tribe at the immunity challenge, no one greets her except for Erik. The others really are ignoring the social aspect of the game. Yes, it is raining, you are cold, but don't think for a second once the temperature lets up, Shambo is going to forget how everyone snubbed her upon her return. The immunity challenge really put Liz in a positive light for her tribe. Everyone recognized that she carried more than her fair share of coconuts, and even received acknowledgement from Galu. Still, it wasn't enough to push through and win. I thought Foa Foa was pretty horrible at tossing the coconuts in. The guys weren't any better than the girls from the looks of it. Another Foa Foa Tribal Council... all episode it's been alluding to Liz as the boot with Ashley as a contender as well.

Now the storm was wonderful, a welcomed element to this ever changing and unpredictable game. Due to the weather conditions, the Survivors were restricted to the confines of their small shelter, making it virtually impossible to communicate who should be leaving the game next. Ultimately, the tribe must decide between two choices: 1, allowing the person that is getting voted out know in advance, or 2, having Tribal Council with anyone making 'independent votes' without consulting one another.

At Tribal, trust comes up as an issue for the Survivor. Ashley says she can look to Russ and Natalie for trust, while Liz finds it hard to believe that in this situation, she trusts everyone left in the game. Moving forward, the tribe still didn't know which way to vote but in the end, they set their sights on Ashley. After failing to drink her smoothie and barely contributing in the immunity challenge, everyone blindly voted for Ashley to be the next to go.

For starters, the reward challenge was quite interesting. Many speculate that Jeff wasn't feeling good for that particular occasion, but regardless of the reason, it was quite humorous for them to stand there and not know what to do (kinda shows that this isn't entirely staged). Anyhow, the challenge was simple and the ending was just painful to watch. Here we have the tribe of underdogs almost clinching victory and then the Kevin Spacey lookalike, Dave, comes in and shatters their dream. We always saw Dave as background material, but we see him becoming a character over the next few episodes.

Over at Galu, we find out that Yasmin isn't doing much work. I loved the scene of her waiting aside Kelly for the coconut juice only to be disappointed that there was no juice to be shared. Moments later, we see Kelly bringing the juice over to her other girls and they down it so quick. For a second there, we felt bad for Yasmin, but then realized she was probably napping way too much for her own good. It was pretty evident that she was banking on being a good performer in the challenges, and she definitely did not disappoint. Still, her defense for not working too hard because people would cut her down did not sit well with the rest of her tribe. Wish she had made it a little bit longer, her one liners this episode were hilarious.

Shambo is a chicken whisperer? Who would have thought? And does this woman not have lady luck on her side... she somehow manages to lose a chicken. Sure the blame could go toward her, but it kind of let Erik see how horrible his tribe is. No one was really make a wholehearted effort to get the chicken and you could tell that upset him. At this point, we are seeing Erik becoming more of a character, especially now that he has possession of an idol. We still wonder if either idols will be good since the other tribe should be finding the one that applies to them at the enemy camp. We will have to see. Again, getting clotheslined in the previews was just misdirection...

Jaison, we thought had a bit more game to him but the guy just seems drained. It is a pretty bold statement to say deciding to come on Survivor is the worst decision he's ever made in his life. Deal with it and suck it up! There are plenty of people dying to take your spot in the game. We hope that the tides turn for him because at the core, we know he's likeable but this episode, he definitely came across as whiny.

Monica... it's funny that Russell S. said that she disappeared during the challenge. If anything, she's been invisible since this season started. Now, all we have to go off of is that she doesn't do the best in challenges and she has a small core group of people protecting her.

And Tribal Council, it was definitely entertaining in a different sense. Yaz had something sassy to say every time, and whether the tribe likes her or not, it seemed she was able to get a chuckle out of everyone, including Jeff (wearing heels to impress him is not the way to win this game, haha). In any case, we loved how she carefully walked down the stairs after she was voted out. What a personality...

And next week, we have our gross food challenge again combined with a Liz and Russ H. confrontation (uh oh) and then we cue to a clip of Liz struggling to hold on. We don't like where this is going.

Ben was such a firecracker. He didn't seem to really give a damn about the social aspect of the game. For him to eat up Russell's lie was expected, and targeting poor, little Ashley seemed to misdirect us as to who would be leaving the game. It was nice that Jaison recognized that he hasn't done much in any of the challenges. If anything, it seems like Liz is the strongest in challenges on Foa Foa (even noted by their guest Shambo). Still, Ben was entertaining why he was out there, but he's not your typical southern boy.

Shambo... her reference to the 90210 clique was simply hilarious. This episode, we see her playing the game hard, and for some reason, we wish she could do that within her own tribe. We are thankful that Galu hasn't lost any challenges yet, but we are worried that she really will be the first to go (there was even a scene when all the ladies of the tribes were holding hands except for her). We know she is fully capable of adapting, Foa Foa wanted to instantly adopt her. I guess she is becoming a bit more likeable than we had initially thought.

Russell... I wonder if this evil, villain thing is wearing off. He really didn't do anything too evil this past episode, and instead of taking charge over who gets voted, just went with the pack. At least he recognizes that it's in his best interest to stay with the group. We still think he has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

Jaison, now that's a guy we are rooting for. We liked how he stood up against Ben at Tribal Council, and for a moment, I forgot they were out on an island playing a game. It seemed like he brought up a lot of valid points over some comments that Ben made to Yasmin. Whether intentional or not, it seemed like he made a valid point. And the notion of quitting the game over someone not getting voted out seems to be a really good strategy to use against a tribe that's on the border of becoming extinct.

We'll see how things further develop next week!

Mike, we hardly knew ya. That was a pretty abrupt medi-evac, we didn't have much time to really take in the fact that this game is tough on your body. We hope that you're doing well.

Yasmin finally got some airtime this episode and boy was it a turn around from the premiere. We just don't get how after so many seasons of Survivor, people feel justified when complaining about the horrible conditions. You knew what you were getting yourself in for, suck it up and move on! We were surprised at the way she conducted herself when she was at Foa Foa. First, implying everyone was a baby, and then saying Galu basically has this game in the bag. And despite what you may think about a man tackling a woman, it was probably in her best interest to remain mum about the matter instead of blowing up in front of the other tribe. She will not get close to the finals.

Now Ben... we want to say he's misunderstood but he's just as boneheaded as Yasmin when it comes to playing this game. Right after you are given explicit instructions of no foul play, and then get kicked out of the challenge just for it, to me, that is not a smart move at all. It also seems very logical to keep as quiet while the tribe is sleeping. Rest seems to be important out there simply because they don't get enough of it. That was a bad mistake on his part. However, he's going to be kept for his strength but he really doesn't have the people skills to make it very far into the game.

Russell H. didn't seem like too much of a villain this episode. I think his likeability went up when he allied with Jaison, the nicer guy of the bunch. It was sheer genius to look for the immunity idol before any clues were given for it. We hated him the first episode, enjoyed him in the second episode... I think we're in for a rollercoaster ride with this one.

Shambo... an eccentric character that will get voted out simply for being different. In any case, if she was aware of this situation, I think she would have been more careful with the fishing equipment they had just won. I think it only made things worst when she didn't really own up to the fact that it was gone, but blamed it more on the murky water. Sigh... we're not loving her like Jeff said we would.

Ashley seems to be getting a lot of confessional time, but doesn't seem to be a big player in the grand scheme of things. It looks like she painted herself a target for not going along with Russell H. so smoothly.

We're also keeping an eye out on Elizabeth. She was present when Ben had made comments that could easily be deemed as racial. But seeing the kind of person she described herself as preseason (mouthy, speaks her mind), she's done a wonderful job saying things when it is necessary and really pulling her weight in the challenges. We think she actually has a better shot than originally.

Next week, more Russell, more Shambo, and a little yoga.

Now, with 20 Survivors, I was deathly afraid that we would not get to meet the whole lot of them and unfortunately, that's what we found soon entering the show.

The stars at the moment seem to be Russell H. (it's like it is HIS show), Erik, Russell S. Shambo and to a lesser extent Betsy and Ben. In any case, we haven't gravitated toward any certain personality, but so far we feel justified in saying we hate Russell H. He's playing the game hard, which we always welcome, but the way he is playing it is making us a bit comfortable... I mean burning peoples' belongings and purposely making someone dehydrated... it just all seems too childish. I really hope CBS doesn't keep shoving him down our throat and actually spends some airtime showcasing the other 18 people left on the island. Even the Katrina story was well-played, but at the same time, you can't help but think this guy is not for real...

A lot of the commentary in this episode reminded me of Cook Island when they divided the tribes by race. There were comments regarding that from Jaison and Elizabeth and it was interesting to hear their take on it.

And we come to Marisa, her free spirit wanting to always be honest. She didn't realize she picked the wrong person to be honest too and for that reason, she was the first to go. I guess it was a boneheaded move to make, she didn't seem to have the best answers to any questions directed toward her, so I guess you can say she didn't have the social chops to make this game--even that fight with Ben seemed a bit unnecessary.

It's hard to say who we are rooting for at this point, but we can say we aren't exactly digging Russell H., Ben or John. We hope one of these guys go out next week. Stay tuned later this week for our feature-They CANNOT win SURVIVOR.

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