Tarzan Ain't Sherlock Survivor Palau Episode 6 by atarus
It's that time again! Survivor time, which is also now synonymous with Ulong being pathetic time. At Ulong, Ibrehem is saying he walked into TC believing he was going to be voted off, but the other tribe gave him immunity. Way to recap there big guy...that's my job! James tears into Ibrehem yet again, saying that next challenge everybody needs to pay attention and listen, since the last challenge Ibrehem didn't remember to pull on the bottle, not the rope. James continues to tirade and Ibrehem explains himself again and again but James says that "the bottom line is you went down three times and didn't come up with anything." Bobby Jon isn't a fan of this, and he says that you win as a team and lose as a team, and if you can't get over beef and stew, well... (Go Bobby Jon!) The next morning, we are shown Ibrehem's faith, and he is praying to Allah and saying that there's a reason he's still here and that Allah had a hand in it.
Over at Koror, Ian recaps the night before, saying that they had to vote out Willard last night, but the beef stew revitalized the tribe and everybody was working today. Coby has a gem of a line that made me giggle a lot. "Today was Camp Koror craft day! Oh wait, no that was just Katie. Everybody else was working." So while everyone else is doing fire, working on the shelter, etc. etc., what's Katie doing? Making necklaces. She then has the gall to say in her confessional that "this has been easier than I thought." Right Katie. Your tribe wins a lot of immunities that you haven't been stellar in, and you don't work around camp. I wonder *why* it's easier? Caryn tries to knock down Katie in her confessional, but ends up tripping over herself. She says "I'd like to see Katie movie a little faster. She's here to entertain...I don't know what her purpose is." ....*facepalm* Caryn, you just said...er...ah never mind.
Reward challenge time! They get to shoot a big gun! YAY! The reward is Pringles and maitais on a cruise, and then a swim in Jellyfish Lake. The first tribe to knock out 8 of their own tiles wins the reward. So it starts out with everybody missing. But then Hero Tom comes in and first shot..BAM! Koror gets first point. (We all know where this is going.) But wait....Stephenie steps up and BAM! Tied. Then Caryn misses, but BJ connects! BAM! Ulong takes the lead 2-1! But Koror is hot on their tails, as Gregg connects. Ibrehem and Steph connect again, putting Ulong up 4-2, but Coby connects for Koror, then BJ and Gregg both connect again, and Steph and Caryn connect again, making it 6-5 Ulong. Bobby Jon nails the next one, and Ulong is one away from victory. Meanwhile, Gregg keeps pace and knocks one home, making it 7-6. It's up to James. Putting the shot through will win it for Ulong...and James...misses. (Note, he didn't make a single shot the entire challenge. Huh, James. Eyes on the prize, buddy.) Coby steps up, and once again James is showed up by a "homosheckshooal" and it's tied 7-7. It's time for Ibrehem to shine and redeem himself.....but he misses. And guess who's up? Hero Tom. You know he's going to win it for Koror. Even the music goes up in tempo and in attitude, proclaiming a Koror victory.
But what's this?
Tom misses?
As Tom misses, the music kinda goes "Awwwww....." and gets softer again, which makes me giggle. Steph is up for Ulong, and BAM! Steph is savior of Ulong! It's now up to Caryn to tie it up and force a tiebreaker....but it isn't in the cards. Ulong FINALLY WINS AGAIN!!!!! You can't help but smile as the foursome of Ulong does a happy hug dance similar to the Lil' Maraamu group when they won the reward way back when.
So Ulong goes on the boat and enjoys their Pringles and maitais. Steph says that this is a "whole new chapter" for them and a boost for morale. Rupert makes a cameo apperance through Pringles trivia, as do Rob, Amber, and......Shii Ann? Then it's time for swimming with the jellyfish, and Bobby Jon proclaims that it's "amazing to swim with jellyfish that don't have their stinger-things." Hehe, Bobby Jon. He also says it's a euphoric experience and he enjoys it because it's a place in the world he'll never go again.
That night, a storm bashes on Koror, hard rain and hard wind. The next day Janu has a bit of a breakdown. She said that the brutality of the storm made her feel alone, vulnerable, and scared, and it lingered into the day after. Janu is crying in the hammock, but Hero Tom tries to talk her up. He says that you've passed your worst fear of going home early, you'll probably make Jury and maybe even final 2. Janu says she doesn't have the strength between sobs, but Tom tells her that you may not have the strength today but you'll have it tomorrow. Meanwhile, Princess Katie has decided that Janu is "always dramatic." While I found it hard to sympathize with Janu because....well, has she been on the show before this? But Katie's comment was a bit out of line too. Boo Katie.
It's challenge time! Ulong gets a treemail with a crate. The crate has the opposing tribe's flag in it, and they have some rope to make the box impenetrable. James, who was in the Navy, takes charge of the immunity operation and says he has a big knot that will make it impossible for them to get in. So everyone lets him take charge.
For immunity, the tribes have to get into the box and hoist their flag up first. The catch is, the tribes will also have twenty minutes to swim out, grab some floating wood piles, and use that and some more rope to make a fortress around the box. After twenty minutes, they will switch sides and go at the box and whoever gets in first and gets their flag up wins immunity.
On a random note, you have to admit this is absolute bad luck challenge-wise for Ulong. They're up against Jenn, Janu, Katie, and Ian, who would probably get their butts handed to them in an overtly physical challenge by BJ, Ibe, Steph, and James, but this one is very less physical and more mental and quickness. *shakes head* Poor Ulong. So Probst says go, and if you're looking for mental and quickness, don't look at James and Ibrehem. While BJ and Steph go full-tilt into the water to get the piles, Ibe kinda half wades into the shallows and James stands around trying to fix his skirt. Meanwhile, Ian and Jenn are swimming to get wood and Janu and Katie are starting to rope up their box. James...does more skirt work, until Ibe, Steph, and BJ return with the logs, and then he lets the camera-blurrers do their work and gets to work on immunity. While the two tribes build their fortresses, Coby gives us play-by-play commentary on the sidelines. "I think they're ahead of us." And when Jeff says that Ulong has used all of its rope, Coby remarks "And we haven't" right before Jeff does. I think Coby should look for a job replacing John Madden after Survivor's over with. Either way, we know where this is headed. Koror and Ulong switch places, and Koror gets through the fortress and box the fastest, and while Ulong fights gamely on and isn't far behind, the flag is hoisted and Koror wins yet again.
Ibrehem is annoyed and says that "Ulong hasn't won an immunity challenge yet, and my only criteria for voting is who's done the worst in all the challenges." James tells Steph that he is confident that BJ won't vote for him. He makes the comment that "by the grace of Allah Ibrehem stayed last time, but this time my God says he's going home." Meanwhile, BJ is honing his detective skills, and says that he's sure that James voted with Angie against him last time because it was a "male's handwriting" and he knows that Ibrehem didn't do it. Steph, meanwhile, stands there and lies to him and manages to keep a straight face and saying she voted for Angie too. Poor Steph, she probably wanted to beat BJ senseless for saying she wrote like a guy. But Bobby Jon is lovable in that dumb but cute kinda way. Think like Andre the Giant. Anyway, Bobby Jon decides to make a pact with Steph that she'll vote out James and if they lose next time they'll vote out Ibrehem. Steph is unsure what to do since she's stuck between two sides.
As the Ulong Four show up at TC, Jeff is merciless. James tells him that they "subconsciously sabotage" themselves when they hear the word immunity. Jeff then points out that James and Ibrehem weren't trying very hard at the immunity challenge, and asks James if it's fair to single out Ibrehem for performing poorly when he did poorly too, and James says that "it's not just challenges, but personality and who I like around camp." Way to cover yourself, James. Steph says that "she just wants to win one immunity" before she goes home. Jeff also points out the 'Bama boys and how Steph could feel threatened by the boys sticking together. Steph hopes that doesn't happen.
It's time to vote. James votes Ibrehem and Ibrehem votes James. Jeff tallies the votes...and it's a tie. Steph tied it! Wow. It's time for a revote with Bobby Jon and Stephenie. They both vote (with a lot less hesitation this time from Steph) and when the votes are retallied, Steph changes her mind yet again and James becomes the next victim of the Ulonging.
James says in his final words that his gut was saying he wasn't going home, but his gut failed him. He's happy though because he's accomplished things that not many people can say they have.
Next time, Gregg and Jenn get noticed again. Bobby Jon brings in a fish for the small Ulong, and Tom brings in a shark for the great big Koror.
You can't help feeling bad for Ulong at this point. Well, at least for Bobby Jon. Ibrehem and Stephenie aren't my favorite players ever, but c'mon. How can you not like Bobby Jon? He's definitely not the smartest player to grace Survivorland, but he's honest and hard-working to the point where you can't help but enjoy his innocence and attitude. And to think he was one of my pre-show picks that would annoy the heck out of me, but he's absolutely awesome now. And James I was a fan of at the beginning, but very quickly my opinion of him soured. As for Hero Tom, Team Player Ian, and Sarcasm Coby? They waver back and forth. The only unwavering thing I know of in this season is that Jenn and Janu will never get enough airtime for me to even have an opinion on them. E-mail me at atarus33@yahoo.com with comments, and I'll see you next week back at our regular time!
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