The wrong or right word in the wrong or right ear is sometimes all that it takes in the game of 'Survivor'. For Yasur Tribe members Rory Freeman and Lisa Keiffer, what they said sealed their individual fates on last night's broadcast.
While Rory's forthright speech seemingly convinced most of Yasur that he is indeed loyal to the tribe, Lisa's stupid but innocent comment about wanting to know where the tapioca plants were located just in case Ami Cusack ended up getting booted, destroyed her chances at winning the million dollar prize. Ami took offence to Lisa's statement and that snowballed into a majority vote against the real estate manager sending her off to Loser Island rather than the lone Yasur male - Rory, who against all odds managed to save his own skin. For his part, Rory continued to work hard around camp and at the challenges though telling Yasur that he couldn't possibly return to the Lopevi Alliance at the merge since he helped vote out Travis "Bubba" Sampson certainly played well with the women and confirmed his devotion to Yasur.
The Survivors at the start of the broadcast were:
Lopevi Tribe
1. Julie Berry: Youth mentor. 2. Chad Crittenden: Teacher. 3. Chris Daugherty: Highway construction. 4. Twila Tanner: Highway repair. 5. John Kenney: Mechanical bull operator, model. 6. Lea "Sarge" Masters: Drill Sergeant.
Yasur Tribe
1. Ami Cusack: Coffee server, model. 2. Lisa Keiffer: Real estate manager. 3. Eliza Orlins: Pre-law student. 4. Leann Slaby: Research assistant. 5. Scout Cloud Lee: Rancher. 6. Rory Freeman: Housing Case Manager.
Yasur Tribal Happenings (Night 12)
Look out. Mount Rory is about blow! Finding out at Tribal Council that he was the initial target of the Yasur Elders Alliance has peeved him off. Rory tells the women he just wants to be left alone. He could cuss them out but he is going to bite his tongue.
Rory tells us he is going to lay a guilt trip on the women and play it for all that it is worth.
As he works on the fire, Rory comments that he has always been straight up with the women and they had him on the block all along. Scout counters that she never thought that way. Rory: You judged me soon enough though.
Rory: He is going to push the women for some sort of opening while playing the role of the upset brother.
Rory remarks to Scout that Yasur needs to decide whether they want him as a teammate or not. He needs to know where he stands.
Scout: Rory is sitting on his pity pot. He needs to wipe his ass and get over it.
Lopevi Tribal Happenings (Day 13)
Sarge feels Lopevi is blessed to have women on the tribe now.
Sarge says to Julie and Twila his dreams have changed since the women came aboard. Julie prods him for details. Sarge pulls his combat boot out of his mouth and refuses to elaborate.
Chris thinks that Julie is the perfect UTR (under the radar) type of player. Before anyone realizes it, she could be in the final five.
Julie knows she has to work the passive aggressive deal.
Julie and Twila walk and plot. Twila confirms that they are still the outsiders. The only way they can remain safe on Lopevi is if they keep winning Immunity Challenges. Twila is making in-roads with the men but she knows in the back of her mind that they might be setting her up for a fall.
Yasur Tribal Happenings (Day 13)
After Yasur receives tree mail about the upcoming Reward Challenge, Rory gathers everyone together. He has something to say. He apologizes for the things he was thinking about all of them last night. When he is angry he can be very hateful. All he wants is a fair shot and he has done his best to prove his dedication to the Yasur Tribe. Helping them vote out Bubba means that he can't go back to Lopevi. They will assume he sold Bubba out to save his own neck. Rory: Your side is my side. Rory finishes by saying he won't bust his rump any longer if Yasur won't give him a chance at Tribal Council.
Rory: It was a cheesy speech. He couldn't believe he said it. He hopes that it will sway some of the women to his side. You gotta do what you gotta do.
Reward Challenge
A new low for 'Survivor: Vanuatu'. It is a pig catching game. Each tribe must round up 10 pigs located in a large pen filled with mud. One tribe member is designated as a gatekeeper of a capture pen to make sure the pigs don't escape once they are snared.
Reward
A steak and eggs dinner.
Result
Julie is the gatekeeper for Lopevi while Scout takes on that duty for Yasur. Eliza blunders around when it is her turn and eventually gives up. Ba-deep. Ba-deep. That's all, folks!
Winners: Lopevi.
Lopevi Tribal Happenings (Day 14)
Chris: If Lopevi continues to win, they will continue to stay.
As Lopevi washes the mud off themselves, Twila says to the men that she loved watching those "prissy girls" stumble around in the mud.
Sarge as he starts cooking the steaks: It is party time! He is pumped!
While everyone chows down, Sarge comments that the taste of real meat is better than sex right now. The tribe chats about how Eliza blew it for Yasur. Chris says he would be pissed at Eliza for giving up if he was on Yasur. He messed up on the balance beam but kept trying and never gave up even though it probably made him look like a fool. Everyone is sure that Yasur will kick Eliza next. Twila can't understand why Yasur heaved Bubba and not Eliza.
Yasur Tribal Happenings (Day 14)
Stealth Leann tells us she is upset at Eliza for throwing in the towel. Leann: She is the only one who didn't catch a pig. Did she even get dirty?
Rory mentions to Lisa that if they lose the Reward Challenge he knows he is done for.
Rory: Eliza is killing Yasur.
Eliza apologizes for costing Yasur the challenge. Lisa tells her it is okay over and over again. Lisa tells us that she is aggravated by Eliza's attitude. She is the reason Yasur lost.
Ami comforts Eliza on the beach. Ami: Cry it out, okay. Eliza: I am not used to being bad at things. I like Scout but I wish she wasn't here because then I would have been the gatekeeper and wouldn't have looked so bad. Ami: You're just coming up with excuses. You don't give yourself enough credit. Eliza: We can't beat the men over there. Ami: Get that idea out of your head. We are not going down just because of the muscle on the other team.
Rory: Eliza is signing Yasur's death warrant. He has been looking for a little crack in the Yasur Women's Alliance and he thinks he has found it.
Lopevi Tribal Happenings (Day 15)
As Lopevi takes some time to lay in the sun, Julie says she wants to tan her butt. She strips off her bikini and lays down.
Chad: The co-ed thing is working at Lopevi. Everyone is becoming more relaxed.
Julie: She likes to flirt. That is how she connects with people.
Sarge: Julie was tanning her buttocks and they looked good. If you got it, why not sun bathe it?
Julie: Feels Twila is up to something.
In perhaps the strangest 'Survivor' love story of all time, Twila lays with her head on Sarge's chest on the beach and then the two kids go pick some bananas together. Ah, how sweet.
A smitten Sarge: He would take Twila over ANY of the remaining Yasur women. He could drink a beer with Twila. He could take Twila to a race. He could dress her up and take her out to dinner. Twila is his kind of woman.
Sarge asks Twila if she will return to the Yasur Alliance when the tribes merge. Twila is not sure since Scout sent her and Julie to Lopevi. That move must mean something. Sarge invites Twila to join him, Chris and Chad as a Final Four. He doesn't want John K. around. He can't be trusted. Twila accepts the offer and pledges her commitment to the alliance.
Twila: Sarge could be a lying sack of you-know-what. The Lopevi men could very well be telling Julie the same exact thing in order to blindside them at Tribal Council. They could be playing her for the fool.
Immunity Challenge
Back to the more intricate 'Survivor' Challenges we are used to. The producers must have settled with the challenge co-ordinators. The players must move some Tiki puzzle pieces through an obstacle course out in the water. It is harder than it sounds. The pieces are secured on a line that is wrapped through underwater barriers and over a wall. There are eight pieces in total, which must be shuttled through the obstacle course and back to shore.
Reward
Immunity from Tribal Council.
Result
Scout and Lisa will remain at shore as puzzle-solvers for Yasur. Twila and Chad fill that role for Lopevi. Even though Rory worked like a madman to regain lost ground and put Yasur back in the game, Leann blows the challenge. She is too exhausted to continue and allows herself to be lapped by Lopevi. It might have something to do with her having one kidney or not. Years ago, she donated one to her ailing father. Leann cries as Scout hugs her and says Yasur is proud of her no matter what.
Winners: Lopevi.
Yasur Pre-Tribal Council Happenings (Day 15)
Leann: The challenge totally drained her.
Eliza comforts a sobbing Leann. Leann: I failed so bad. Eliza: I know how you feel. Leann: I should go home for screwing up. Scout asks Leann if she can get over the loss. Leann to Scout and Eliza: You guys make me feel like the best loser ever. Scout and Eliza assure Leann she isn't getting voted out over one lousy challenge. Leann feels bad that someone else will be booted when she is the one who deserves to get the axe.
Ami decides they need to go collect some more tapioca root. Lisa wants to come along. She wants to know where it is just in case Ami is ever voted out. Ami is insulted by the comment and tells Julie so in front of everyone.
While gathering tapioca with Scout and Lisa, Ami makes it clear she doesn't trust Lisa. She is not voting for Rory. She is casting her vote now for Lisa over the rude comment. Lisa is flustered. She can't believe what is happening. Ami says she trusts Eliza more than Lisa. Lisa: You need to trust me. It is unfair to vote for me over one comment. Scout makes her hands into a Bible and Lisa swears that she is with the Yasur Alliance to the end.
Lisa: She is not kissing Ami's butt any more or swearing on her God for these people.
Scout explains to Rory that there was a tiff between Ami and Lisa. She won't give details. Ami reassures Rory he isn't leaving tonight. Ami: I am happy you are here. There is no way I am voting for you.
Rory: It is a knockout for the kid! He has found the crack in the Yasur Alliance. The odds were against him but he broke up their alliance.
Lopevi Tribal Council Happenings
Scout to Probst: Jeff, we gotta quit meeting like this. Yasur isn't whooped yet. Leann feels responsible for the loss. Swimming isn't her strong point. Scout is voting for someone based on their loyalty not their strengths during the challenges. Eliza is sure the people she has spoken a lot to trust her. Rory: You haven't spoken like that to me. Eliza: You can trust me, Rory. Ami is voting based on loyalty too. Rory believes he still is on the hot spot.
Lisa votes for Rory. She doesn't want him out but she has to prove her loyalty to the other women. Scout picks Rory too. It is not a vote against Rory but a vote for her alliance. She cherishes Lisa. After Probst reads the votes and snuffs Lisa's torch, she tells Lopevi that she was always true to her word.
Final Voting
1. Ami Cusack: Lisa. 2. Lisa Keiffer: Rory. 3. Eliza Orlins: Lisa. 4. Leann Slaby: Lisa. 5. Scout Cloud Lee: Rory. 6. Rory Freeman: Lisa.
Tribal Council Victim:
Lisa Keiffer.
Parting Comments
"I was voted off because there were a few women whom I tried to be trustworthy with, particularly Ami, and they could not trust me for whatever reason. I don't know. She definitely has some power over the other women so they voted me out and that's the way it is but I think it is totally unfair." -- Lisa Keiffer .
On the next 'Survivor': Television. Julie to Twila: I think the guys are going to shock us. Julie and Twila conspire. Julie: Little do they know... Rory tries to break into the women's alliance. Rory to Ami: I don't know them men. I know you guys a lot better than I know them. Ami: You are definitely in a rough spot right now. Rory: If I get voted off this island, the Yasur Tribe will burn.
On the next 'Survivor': Internet.
"One member's lack of work ethic prompts negative reactions in the tribe. After winning a hard-fought Challenge, one tribe is rewarded with more than just sustenance. One Survivor, in danger of being voted off, wins a Challenge for the tribe, thus buying more time on the island. A potential target at Tribal Council, one Survivor tries to convince the rest that another tribemate should be next to go. "
Powell's Thoughts:
A very revealing episode indeed. Now we know why and how Rory makes it to the merger. He cleverly escaped tonight's vote and it seems as though Lopevi loses the next two Immunity Challenges. The question is will Rory turn his back on Yasur and rejoin Lopevi once the merger occurs?
Who holds the real power in the Yasur Alliance? It sure isn't Scout. She was kept in the dark about tonight's vote probably due to her friendship with Lisa. By all appearances, when push comes to shove Ami seems to be pulling the strings at Yasur which is why Lisa said she won't suck up to her any more. Will the vote to kick Lisa cause Scout to jump ship at the merge? Will Eliza follow suit setting up Ami and Leann for defeat at the hands of Lopevi? Hmmmm.
We saw John Kenney's exit foreshadowed by Sarge's comment tonight about him not being trustworthy. Sarge has also not factored him in when putting together his ideal Final Four. With Twila getting along so well with the men that leaves Julie as next on the chopping block after John K. She is probably the one mentioned in the promos as doing very little work around camp.
