All for one and none for Tai…
Last week Jason was sent packing, not Michele as Tai had planned, leaving him on the outs with the rest of the tribe. When they returned to camp, Joe told him that the group, as a whole, had not wanted to keep Jason any longer. However, Tai felt blindsided by the decision because he thought that they had agreed to vote out Michele instead.
I’m not sure why he felt that way when it was obvious to the audience that Tai’s idea had not been well received. I suppose he took Aubry agreeing with him to mean that the others did, too. That’s the real reason he was so shocked, though. He truly trusted Aubry and was hurt by the fact that she hadn’t given him a heads up of what was going to happen. He said he probably wouldn’t have been on board, but at least he would have been prepared. Aubry admitted in her confessional that Tai had so much power at that time, what with the idol and the advantage, that she wanted to take some of that power away from him.
An incredible reward…
This week the contestants battled it out for a visit to the Survivor Spa. The winner would take a bath, get a massage, feast on chicken, beef, and cheesecake and sleep in an actual bed. Players had to race through the jungle, climb a ladder to untie sacks containing sand bags and then race back to launch those sand bags into their targets on the board. It seemed like it would be a race to the finish, but it turned out that the tortoise beat the hare. Joe, the oldest contestant, was dead last throughout the contest, until everyone ran out of sand bags to launch. (You couldn’t gather the bags that were on the sand unless everyone was finished tossing. Only then the game could be reset.)
Therefore, everyone waited on Joe to finish so that they could get back in the game. Unfortunately for them, Joe took his time running to gather the other sacks and launch. Incredibly, and with so much pressure on him, Joe won, coining the phrase #GetsItDoneAt71. Jeff Probst allowed him to choose someone to go with and he didn’t hesitate to pick Aubry. However, when he was allowed to pick someone else, Aubry told him to pick Cydney because everything was up in the air with Tai, so she needed to explore other options.
Joe enjoyed the reward immensely, especially the beef. Cydney watched as he downed everything, predicting that he would be in a lot of pain later. (Oh how right you were, Cydney!) The three also discussed strategy as Joe announced that Aubry was the only real threat in the game. At that moment, a lightbulb went off, causing Aubry to realize that Cydney was the actual threat, even though Cydney was working hard to downplay her game.
Which way to the finals?
Meanwhile, back at camp, Michele and Tai had a heart-to-heart to clear the air after the words they exchanged at tribal council and immediately after. He explained that he’s drawn to people that he has chemistry with and it just so happens that he doesn’t feel that with Michele, hence why they haven’t gotten along. After a Thai-style massage from Tai (haha), Michele and Tai decided to work together. They were at the bottom of the totem pole, plus no one would expect it, so it made perfect sense to team up. The only trouble was deciding who to reel in to make it a solid three-person alliance.
When the others returned from the reward, Aubry pulled Tai aside for a while to discuss some things she had decided – namely that her ideal top three was herself, Tai, and Joe, but that they could only pull it off if they worked together. All that talk about teamwork and trust made Tai cry and confirmed for him that Aubry was still going to be loyal despite last week’s events. They returned to camp a little too cozy for Cydney’s taste, so Cydney pulled Michele aside to strategize a bit.
Throwing a wrench in the plans…
Unfortunately, Joe began experiencing serious stomach issues. A medic was called in and told him that if he continued to have trouble passing water, it could lead to worse problems. (Cydney had called it during the reward challenge when she saw Joe eating too much.) As he tried to tough it out for the rest of the day, the others became very upset that Joe might have to leave the game so close to the end. (Cue tears and hugging on both sides of the camera!)
Later that night, Joe couldn’t stand the pain and discomfort any longer. The medic and Probst arrived to pull Joe from the game due to the potential risk for long-term kidney damage. Joe told Probst that he was “extremely disappointed,” but that he had to take care of himself in order to look ahead to new adventures. His inner strength and composure throughout the ordeal left me in awe, not to mention his positive outlook and excitement for what’s to come.
And with that, an incredibly inspiring man left the game, making this the most medical evacuations of any Survivor season and leaving only four contenders to fight for the top prize.
Who do you think will ultimately win? Let us know!