Survivor Week 10: The Play-By-Play (SPOILER!!)

April 4, 2001

by j

The episode started with the rains that soaked the tribe the night before at tribal council. Good ol' Jerri decides that she's gonna sleep in while Keith works on getting the fire going again, and Nick suffers from enlarged tastebuds that are hurting the roof of his mouth, making eating and drinking tough for him. Nashtee!

The rains have caused the river to become cloudy, which makes it difficult to catch fish; if that wasn't bad enough, all the debris in the riverbed is snagging the fishing hooks. The tribe is down to its last two fishing hooks and the drinking water is still murky, even after being boiled. Gee…Could things get any worse?

Things look up a little when the tribe gets the message that the reward challenge could result in a couple of them taking a trip to the Barrier Reef. Tribe members have to pair themselves off for the challenge, and while everyone says they should simply draw names out of a hat, Jerri immediately says she wants Colby as a partner. After a few groans from Tina, they decide as a majority to place everyone's name in a hat. However, Jerri has luck on her side when she winds up with Colby, anyway. In a soundbite, Colby says he didn't want to be paired up with Jerri. Awww…poor Texan baby.

The challenge is a simple obstacle course elimination. Amber and Keith easily defeat Rodger and Tina, while Colby and Jerri beat Nick and Elisabeth. The whole time, I was hoping Colby would throw the competition.

In the finals, Colby and Jerri beat Amber and Keith. The best part of it all involves a wall they have to get over in the end. In Colby's haste to get over it, he sends Jerri face-first into the sand.

The next morning, the tribe teases Jerri that Colby has already left. It would've served her right! In a soundbite, Jerri says she doesn't care what the tribe thinks of her. Hmmm…maybe she should. The chopper arrives to take the duo away for the day. This is then followed by what is sure to be a future portion of the Australia tourism videos. The trees, the waterfalls, the beach. Amazing country.

After a boat ride out to a secluded sandbar, Jerri and Colby find a nice picnic waiting for them: pasta salad, fruit, sandwiches, champagne, juice. Jerri tells the camera that it is one hell of a first date. Whateva, sista.

Back at camp, the tribe goes about its basic chores -firewood gathering and cutting, water boiling, fish catching. No one seems to really care that Colby and Jerri are gone.

When Colby and Jerri get back, Colby surprises everyone with a piece of corral. Talk about scoring brownie points with the team! This just leaves Jerri pouting. She tells us that in a perfect game, she and Colby would be facing the jury as they are the most evenly matched of the tribe. But she knows the corral trick has put him one up with the rest of the tribe.

Just before the immunity challenge afterwards, Elisabeth, Rodger and Nick hang out. Nick knows it's do or die as far as immunity is concerned. And Elisabeth feels that if Nick does win, she's going next.

The immunity challenge involves balance - The first round takes place on two pedestals. There is a rope that connects the two pedestals, and the objective is to tug and release the rope in an effort to knock your opponent off. All these balance games reminded me of "American Gladiator." The four winners of that round pair off onto a "shaky board." By using their legs and hips, they attempt to shake their opponents off of the beam. Finally, two floating boxes anchored offshore serve as the final test for the remaining two players. The one person left standing wins immunity. In the first round, Rodger upsets Keith, and Nick beats Jerri. Colby beats Tina and Amber beats Elisabeth. The second round sees Nick beating Amber and Colby beating Rodger. In the final round, Nick keeps his balance and is able to grab ALL of Colby's line, pulling the Texan into the water. Nick has immunity.

Later, Elisabeth talks to Tina. Realizing her time at the tribe may be over, she takes another stab at convincing everyone to vote for Jerri. We also see Keith and Colby discussing whether or not to vote Jerri out.

At tribal council, Alicia is brought back as the first person on the jury. Jerri uses her moment to speak by telling us that she is amazed at how she is acting out there, and that she's not the person she comes across as. Elisabeth gives us a great "Oh c'moff it" look. Hehehehe.

The voting produces the first real shock of the game, as everyone seems to have finally gotten sick of Jerri. She is almost unanimously voted out. In her final statement to the tribe, she says, "Checkmate. You got me." Amber is absolutely stunned, and I cannot wait to see how she reacts next week.

Cheers,
j