Episode Nine: Emergent Behaviour

Four ghastly spectres appear at the crest of the hill, their hideous bulks supported by nightmare charges who impatiently paw the stony soil. Silhouetted as they are against the pallid, bloated moon, you find it hard to make out their features; something, a feeling deep in the gut, assures you that to look any closer would be foolish- perhaps terminally so. But now you have no choice; the figures have begun to descend, knocking aside bushes and dislodging rocks as you stand below them, rooted to the earth. It's a dry night- it hasn't rained in days- but you feel something wet snake beneath your collar and down your back.

The foremost wraith approaches, its cthonic form shrouded in a cloak the colour of despair. As it dismounts, a loud hacking cough erupts from behind; one of the other riders is doubled over across its mount's back, its ribcage exposed and heaving, struggling to expel the foul contents of its rotting lungs. To one side, it's emaciated companion watches through sunken, catarrhal eyes; a look of grim expectation as it works its glistening maw. The third rider, armour sleek as oil in the moonlight, stands poised in the stirrups as its mount writhes beneath it. There is excitement written on its flushed visage; fire and pain flicker in its dark eyes.

The fourth apparition is upon you now; obsidian rifts in place of eyes, and a snarling rictus that seems to hint at a joke you will never comprehend. It leans across to whisper in your ear, and when it speaks your skin puckers beneath the rimy draught. The words fall like anvils on a neutron star. The phantom intones:

A'right mate! You didn't happen to catch this week's Survivor by any chance? Only I forgot to set the bleedin' tape. Typical, eh?"

You slowly raise your arm, and stretch out a trembling finger. In that direction lies your salvation; in that direction lies the Survivor: Emerald Isle blog, and the rest of this post. The figure stalks away, disappearing into the greedy night. Its final words drift back on the wind...

Ooh, a merge! I thought as much...

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The episode began with what we would soon learn to be our last visit to camp Ravu. With the Immunity Idol now quite literally tucked away in their pocket, Ravu's 'Four Horsemen' were counting on a relatively straightforward gallop into the Final Four, though Mookie's 'selfish' streak and Dreamz being kept out of the loop would later come back to bite them on the rump. Tree-mail came early to both tribes, and brought with it ominous portents and wild speculations. The tribes were instructed to leave all their stuff at camp, and paddle directly to Exile Island, bringing only their personal items and their canteens.

Plans to infiltrate and sabotage Moto should a merge arise were devised at Ravu, and soon the tribes found themselves reunited on the shores of Exile Island. Instructions and new buffs were uncovered- eventually- and tribes Moto and Ravu were officially retired atop Exile's austere tower. A 'relieved' and 'elated' tribe of 10 returned to camp Moto, to discover that somebody had snuck in through the bathroom window and stolen the TV, so to speak; luxurious Moto was no more, and the gang were back to square one. Some members of the newly-christened Bula Bula took it harder than others, and some were secretly pleased at the implications. With head honchos Earl and Alex both stepping up their respective games in the aftermath, the scheming, lies and false-plays resumed in earnest.

Bula Bula were in for a bewildering surprise when they were randomly redivided at the Immunity Challenge, and with the losing team going immediately to Tribal Council- and, crucially, not containing loose cannon Boo, whom both factions had agreed should be the first to go- jolly goat Michelle was sacrificed in a confused, but revelatory, voting session. It could be a hard blow for Earl, but with Dreamz seemingly adrift and miffed with the other Horsemen, both Immunity Idols now in play, and (presumably) the first Individual Immunity Challenge next week, the beginning of the endgame is finally here.

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Of The Apocalypse: Everything seemed rosy for Alex and co. for a while, but the seeds of destruction were already in the ground, and now the shoots are beginning to show. Mookie has pocketed the Idol, and is intent on using it for his own good, when the time comes. Despite Edgardo's threat that he will 'bleep him over, man' if he does so, it's obvious that Mookie has no qualms about using the Idol against his 'allies'. Dreamz was kept in the dark about the idol because 'he's a liability' and 'not good about keeping information to himself', and the fear was that he'd tell Cassandra once the tribes merged. Now that Dreamz has finally been told about the Idol- a seemingly dumb move on Mookie's part- it has only made him distrustful of the other guys, and more likely to betray them. Ironically, if they had brought Dreamz into their confidence immeditaely, he would probably remain loyal to them.

Mookie ran the risk of getting Alex and Edgardo pissed off with him when he told Dreamz, and as expected he received a bit of a tongue-lashing. But he was perceptive enough to realise that things weren't quite as balanced as they should be, especially with the possibility that Alex would bring Stacy (an old Moto) into the mix. By reaching out to Dreamz, Mookie has strengthened their alliance, and hopes to reap the benefits later in the game. Had he gone behind Alex's and Edgardo's backs to do so, Mookie would've been taking a big risk; doing it as he did, in a 'by the way' aside in front of Alex, was the smartest and least damaging way of going about it.

All of this activity is bubbling away as the Four Horsemen put their plan to dissect Moto into action. Dreamz was charged with getting Cassandra on their side; Mookie would attempt to get Michelle, and/or Yau Man; and Alex would try to 'pull' Stacy. Alex had a fairly straightforward job with old tribemate Stacy, and Mookie didn't have much trouble reconnecting with his old Ravu buddies either. Dreamz and Cassandra were happy to be back in each other's company again, and both seem to assume they have the other on their side right now. Although which side, if any, Dreamz is currently on remains to be seen.

Early Days: Earl is calling the shots in the other main faction of the new Bula Bula; the 'tribe within a tribe' which also contains Yau Man, Michelle and Cassandra. From the way Earl and Cassandra were talking on the beach, they are assuming that they 'definitely' have Dreamz too, though it's not clear when the deal was brokered; it seems to be an assumption that because he and Cassandra are tight, Dreamz is now part of Earl's clique. The clip from next week, in which Dreamz tells them about the Idol, would seem to confirm this. Mookie, as an ex-Ravu member, had better legs to stand on when it came to ingratiating himself with his old tribe, but Yau Man was astute enough to 'trust nobody here', and Earl professed the same in direct reference to Mookie, so it remains to be seen whether he's fooling anybody.

Earl's plan is fairly similar to Alex's: to infiltrate the opposition and take them down one by one. The executions of said plans are disparate though, reflecting Earl's laid-back, smooth-talking nature. "Keep them thinking that they have you," he told Cassandra, "keep them thinking that I'm not thinking, and we just sail on." Cool as the breeze.

It's interesting to note how fast and total was Cassandra's conversion to Earl and the other Ravuites, though it's not particularly surprising, given the weak ties she had with her old Moto tribe. What is surprising is that she and Earl think nobody has or will notice it. Between the hand-delivered coffee and the twilit rendezvous on the beach, it should be clear where Cassandra's loyalty lies...mm-hmm.

Naturally, the faction with the majority vote will have the advantage. Assuming Dreamz has flipped (and with Michelle out of the picture) we are left with two groups of four, and Boo, who may become a very popular boy in the forthcoming days.

Boy In Da Corner: The pratfalls and tomfoolery aside, Boo has maintained a low profile in the game thus far. He has performed well at challenges, and doesn't cause friction at camp, but the only strategising on his part seems to have taken place exclusively in his head. It's true that he had his niche in the first and second Moto tribes- not difficult in a tribe defined by non-contention- but his assertion that 'when it's time' he would 'assume the leadership role again' was faintly delusional, given that he'd never had such a role in the first place. At any rate, a clearly anxious Boo realised that his head was on the chopping block this week; having 'dodged a bullet', he may now feel more inclined to make a foray into the Machiavellian machinations of the game proper. As already discussed, now is the perfect time for him to make a move; let's just hope he doesn't encounter any rakes- or snakes- in the grass as he proceeds.

Two Become 2: Apparently intent on keeping the 'two tribes' dynamic going for as long as possible, the show's creators subjected us to an unorthodox post-Merge Immunity Challenge, in which the nascent Bula Bula tribe was redivided into two teams and sent to battle as before. It's difficult to think of a valid argument for this retrograde behaviour, though theories abound; Edgardo's bemused, or resigned response summed up this apparent twist-for-twist's-sake: "I don't know what to expect anymore."

A fairly straightforward challenge ensued, and unsurprisingly Yau Man brought his team another victory. Alex fought hard for his team, doing two jobs at once, but the Ravu curse seemed to persist: he, Dreamz, Mookie, Stacy and Michelle were sent to Tribal Council immediately, giving them little time for plans or strategy. Like the challenge itself, it seems that this 'instant Tribal' was employed to elicit a wholly unpredictable, and presumably damaging, vote; one that would keep the boat rocking under Bula Bula's feet. It was a little unfair to deny half the tribe the traditional Merge Feast, even if it was appropriate to this season's rich/poor theme.

Assuming Exile Island comes back into play once the individual challenges begin- and there's no reason to believe it won't- we can hopefully look forward to some deliciously vengeful banishments, and somebody discovering (and using!) Moto's peculiar 'third' idol...

It's Not The End Of The World: Before the Challenge, Mookie and Dreamz had a few moments alone in which to discuss the Stacy Problem, i.e., if Alex brings her into their alliance, it can only benefit him and Edgardo, and prove dangerous for Mookie and Dreamz. They both agreed not to 'play into Alex's hands' in such a way, Dreamz being particularly vehement, perhaps for reasons personal aswell as strategical. His comment that he was, "...looking forward to voting out Stacy, 'cause she treated me so bad when I was with the old Moto...and all of a sudden she's happy and nice and glad to see me [...] 'cause I got friends, and she ain't got the power no more," was quite poignant, in an Enid Blyton, school-bully-gets-their-comeuppance kind of way.

Anyway, all this made what happened at Tribal Council all the more interesting, especially since Jeff's question session was (apparently) the only chance the Survivors had to (cryptically) discuss voting strategies with each other. After a couple of throwaway questions, Jeff began asking each of them for a reason to vote off any of the others. Alex made his intention to vote for Michelle fairly explicit, and said that he didn't have a reason to get rid of anyone else. Jeff asked Dreamz if he thought people were using this Q&A session to communicate their intentions, and of course that was the whole point of it in the first place. Dreamz aknowledged this, but then went on to say of Alex, "He don't have to talk to me; he's one of the people I do trust in the game."

This must have worried Mookie slightly, and when asked how he thought tonight's vote would change the game he responded, "...it's going to reveal some things to the other guys (back at camp), and they're going to see who's been telling the truth and who's been lying." Through the magic of the Tribal Translator Tool, we can determine that this was as much to say to Dreamz, "Dude, we're supposed to be tight with the Ravu gang. If we vote for Michelle now, it'll give everything away. Plus, we can vote for Stacy, like we agreed, and use the excuse that we didn't want to blow our cover to justify it to Alex and Edgardo. This is a good thing."

Now, it'd be easy to assume that Dreamz simply didn't pick up on this, and went along with Alex's broad hint to vote for Michelle. But what if Dreamz actually realised that he could hang Mookie out to dry? Mookie's vote for Stacy was akin to a neon sign pointing out to the other Horsemen that he is no longer (or never was) part of their alliance. What would Dreamz hope to gain from this though? How about the complete trust of Alex and co., and one less person to share their Immunity Idol? And how will he atone for his vote to Cassandra, Earl et al? Well, divulging the presence of said Idol might go some way to deflecting the fallout from his actions. It'd be surprising if Dreamz was operating at such high levels of guile and chicanery, but stranger things have happened.

Moto Way Ends: Stacy's earlier remarks to Michelle- that the two of them would be safe now because they were 'non-threats', and the 'super-competitive' boys would vote each other off first- proved almost laughably misguided, given the final outcome of the voting. They made a pretty flag though.

Earl has lost 'a key component' in his strategy, as he put it, and it'll be interesting to see how he deals with the ramifications. He also said that 'a lot of truth' would be revealed by the vote- very perceptive, that Earl. Will he take the possibly ostracised Mookie under his wing? And if so, could we see an alliance with two Immunity Idols at its disposal, assuming Mookie is able to 'steal' it from under Edgardo's bleepin' nose? Whatever happens, Earl is going to have to work fast with tribemates old and new to get his cabal- The Coleition, if you will- back on even keel.

Words Of War: Alex: "The moment has finally arrived...these first couple of hours are really crucial: they're gonna determine who [makes it to] the Final Five." "I'm ready to fight!"

Earl: "I'm happy about the Merge...now the game is really on; it's time to take it to the advanced level." "This is real Survivor"

Edgardo: "Right now we have to get nasty."

Activate!

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Quote of the Week: Alex, at the prospect of having to live on the barren Exile Island: "Is this the cannibalism part?"

Hmm, that probably won't be for another few weeks yet, methinks.

Predictions for Next Week: Yau Man endures at one of the infamous 'endurance' challenges, easily winning Immunity, but refuses to come down from the pole, claiming to have discovered some of Lisi's 'spiritual enlightenment bullshit' atop it's mossy summit. Also, is it about time for the loved ones to appear? Roll on the tears!