Episode Six: Switch and Bait

It didn't take a Survivor buff- if you'll pardon the pun- to realise that this week's episode would deviate slightly from the usual format. After an unusually comprehensive pre-credits recap, and the almost immediate arrival of tree-mail to camp (not to mention last week's brief little teasers), even a series proselyte- or 'n00b' as you kids like to say- could tell that some kind of shake-up was on the cards. Let it be noted that last week's predictions (down towards the bottom there) proved eerily prescient. Be not overly astonished, brave reader: further feats await thee in the ensuing paragraphs. Come! We have work to do!

Typical, isn't it? Just when we were all au fait with tribes Moto and Ravu, they had to go and shuffle 'em all up! Well, there's nothing for it: we shall have to delve right in and get reacquainted.

By the way, did anyone else not have subtitles for the majority of Saturday's show? What's up with that, TGCeathair?

We endured only a flyin', fly-infested visit to Camp Ravu before tree-mail arrived, and both tribes soon found themselves side-by-side, ready for their next Reward Challenge. Only it wasn't: it was Merge Time! Well, no, it wasn't that either, but buffs were dropped, and two new tribes assembled from the besoiled remains.

Edgardo and Earl initiated proceedings, each picking a member from the opposing tribe, who in turn had to pick a member from their opposing tribe, if you follow- and so on till there was only one left: Lisi. She was quickly deposed to Exile Island, having herself abandoned all rational thought, and the ability to stop talking now. Edgardo won the dubious honour of deciding which of the two new tribes would get to live at the fancy beach, but pulled the wrong colour buff, and doomed himself and his new tribemates to life at the crap camp, and perhaps even more dispiriting, to the cursed name 'Ravu' (the tribes having retained their original monikers).

Still, an all-male Ravu soon bonded back at camp over a much-needed (at least for the returning Rocky, Anthony and Mookie) feast, an inspiring quotation from Alex (another Dumas reference this week), and a spot of light-hearted misogyny. The 'burly men' went off hunter-gathering, while a freshly emasculated Anthony was volunteered to keep the home fires burning. Alterations were required at the new Moto too: a dethroned Boo worried for his future as Earl, finally, initiated his Plan, and found Cassandra quite open to the idea of turning on her old Moto comrades.

A stickler of an Immunity Challenge tested each tribe's communication skills, and a coordinated Moto were first across the line, due in no small part to Boo's level-headed instruction. Rocky was right: Ravu look good on paper; unfortunately for them, this was not a theory test.

Due to Anthony's inability to capitalise on the affects of an apparent psychotic relapse by Rocky, we said goodbye to the self-proclaimed 'black, male Cinderella' at Tribal Council. But not before another lively diatribe from Rocky, and a desperate, quivering rebuttal from Antho. Alas, it came too late to save himself, but will his departure mean redemption, finally, for Ravu? I'm afraid I lied earlier: I'm no tasseographer. You'll just have to tune in next week, like the rest of us.

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The Switch: Obviously, both Edgardo and Earl had physical strength in mind when they started to build their new tribes, hence the choice of Mookie and Boo, respectively. By choosing Michelle, Boo put paid to this strategy for what would become the new Moto, but as it turned out, this may not have been such a bad thing, at least for now. Ravu consistently prioritised physical strength, but the presence of so many chiefs may hurt them later in the game. It certainly didn't do them any favours at the Immunity Challenge: their strength kept them close to Moto throughout, but the lack of any clear leader was really what did it for them. Next week, it seems, there's another challenge designed to build (or test) trust and communication skills; it looks like Ravu may have to wait some more for their first ever win.

The other thing that became apparent at the switch is that Lisi is a friggin' nutcase. Is there any filter there between thought and speech? To be fair, she may have been a little thrown at not being picked by either tribe; one can only assume she made a bad impression on what became the old Ravu during their first few days together as a single tribe. She now has to return to Ravu, from Exile Island, with an extremely tenuous (read: non-existent) alliance with Alex and Edgardo, no testicles, and a well-positioned nemesis in the form of Dreamz. Factor in her comments at the switch, to the effect that she wants to leave the game, and she surely won't be around for much longer. Lisi seemed not the least bit interested in the Immunity Idol clue, and it's doubtful she'll even bother looking for it, but she may inadvertently give away its location in one of her bouts of chuckling, spittle-flecked dérangement. Lot of wackos this season, no?

Incidentally, if you're still a little unclear as to who's on what tribe now, you can view- free of charge!- each of their rosters under the 'Tally' menu on the right hand sidebar.

There wasn't a whole lot else to remark upon at the switch itself. All the good stuff came afterwards...

Nu Ravu: I suppose the big issue this week was Anthony, and Rocky's lambasting thereof. To be honest, I was getting tired of both of 'em; hopefully Rocky will be the next to go, the lazy bugger. I felt sorry for Antho for about 3 (possibly 4) seconds, but seriously, if you can't turn a situation like that to your advantage you deserve to be voted out. Dreamz had gone a round with the Rockster already, so obviously there was bad blood there; Edgardo and Alex were definitely put off by his antics, all they needed was a push in the right direction; and Mookie, well, he's still a little hard to read, but now that he's (apparently) alligning with Alex and Dreamz, he probably would've turned too. Anthony just didn't have the charisma- the 'social skills'- to influence anybody: it's no wonder his torch was snuffed.

We're being treated to some very evocative interludes this season: in episode four we had the classic 'snake puking snake' vignette; this week we were treated to an extract from 'giant yellow spider versus gang of ants', backed by what sounded like vintage Kraftwerk. Allegory, no less.

Something that isn't at all clear is exactly why Rocky was so vexed by Anthony. Sure, he was weak at challenges, and a bit of a dweeb, but I've never seen anyone, at least on Survivor, have such a personal reaction to somebody else's personality. As Jeff said at Tribal, Rocky could have just kissed Anthony's ass, told him he's a good guy, and wrote his name down anyway. But Rocky went out of his way to 'tutor' Anthony, and pass on his virile 'life lessons', like a disappointed father forcing his mincing son onto the soccer pitch. Evidently Rocky thought he was doing Anthony a favour- "Take this experience and learn from it, bro." I wonder who will be the next one to find themselves beneath his barbed wing.

The Fates Will Know You As A Man: Alex will hopefully go a lot further in the game; he seems like a genuinely nice person, and is quickly becoming the leader Ravu needs. He also seems to be the only one with a strategy, proactively seeking out and forming strong alliances, while everyone else stands around waiting to see what happens. Plus, extra points for quoting 19th century French literature without looking like a twob.

Dreamz, too, seems to have finally found his niche in the new Ravu. If he stays quiet, does what Alex tells him, and keeps bringing in the fish with Mook- they semed to hit it off, while out on the rocks- he'll go far. I think the all-male Ravu suits Dreamz: he operates best in an implication- and subtletly-free environment. Speaking of matters masculine, was anyone else slightly disturbed by Rocky's ode to the fairer sex?: "...no offense, I love women- I love 'em- I love to touch 'em, make out, have conversations with 'em, get along well..." *Shudder* OK, I couldn't tell if he said 'touch' or 'talk to', but the former is far more disquieting.

Moto In Toto: The new Moto may not have the muscle, but they seem a more rational, mentally-balanced tribe, and are working well together despite the emerging divisions and alliances. The Rise of Earl was surprising in its rapidity; I assumed he'd ruminate a bit more before putting The Plan into action. But he went straight to work, smooth talker that he is; Cassandra went to putty in minutes, as Yau Man looked on in awe. With three out of a possible five Motoans in his pocket, Earl seems set to stroll with ease into Final Tribal Council. But this is Survivor dawg, the show that throws more curveballs than some baseball player famous for throwing lots of curveballs (sorry, baseball's not really my forte). Also, 'ridonculous' is so not a word...

I'd be reluctant to see Boo go any time soon, assuming Earl's plans bear fruit. He's fairly innocuous, performs very well at challenges, and injects some much-needed humour (intentional or not) into the everyday goings-on at camp. At the least, he deserves another few days for coining the phrase 'Motolicious, baby!'.

Just to fulfill the Moto quota, I will say that Stacy needs to be watched (she's gonna pull something before she leaves), and that Michelle is, um...in Moto too. Wait, no, it was Michelle that kept getting in Ravu's way during the Immunity Challenge, wasn't it? It was hard to tell if it was an effective tactic, really; wouldn't she have been hindering her own tribe's progress as much as her opponents'?

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Quote of the Week: In such a dialogue-heavy episode, one quote o' the week just wouldn't suffice. Here are a few choice quips and wisecracks:

Jeff, dispatching Lisi after the switch: "Maybe Exile will straighten out your head, (and you'll) come back wanting to play." Chuckles all round from this one; you so droll, Mr. Probst.

Earl's parting shot to Cassandra, as he and Yau got on with the fishing: "It'd be nice to have a little meat." Cassandra certainly wouldn't disagree with that sentiment, methinks.

And, to end, the exclamation du jour, heard as the Immunity Challenge reached its frantic denouement: "All twist! All twist for Boo!"

Peculiar Fact of the Week: Before Anthony ruined the trend, every Survivor voted off to date had a) been female, and b) a name ending with an A.

Predictions for Next Week: Lisi boils the rabbit of a Ravu man (that may or may not be a euphemism); Ravu finally win a challenge, though it's probably not the Immunity one; Yau Man comes up with an ingenious excuse when he gets caught three-and-a-half feet under in his hole (where'd he get the frickin' pickaxe, by the way?).