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Survivor: Palau Episode 8

Our eyes have seen things that have never been seen before.

Day 19 and rats invade Koror. Coby says it's because his tribemates leave coconut everywhere. He also says the fly-infested rotting shark head may have something to do with it. I think that's a safe bet. Coby says all three women are completely lazy. For example, "Janu is on her eighth straight day of boo-hoo-I-want-to-go-home."

I can't believe it: They're actually going to do a Challenge with only two people. It's the Gross Food Challenge. They will be consuming fertilized duck eggs. Seriously, I think I saw these on Fear Factor once. They are hideous.

The Reward is a drum of fresh water and hygienic supplies. The highlight has to be the spiffy orange mouthwash.

Ian and Tom will compete for Koror. This is interesting because 1) it's for Reward not Immunity, 2) it's not a really physical game, and 3) neither of them can participate in the next Challenge (if there is one).

All four eaters get through two rounds of nastiness. Nobody has much trouble, but Bobby Jon looks like he's eating jellybeans. The guy's an animal. And not in a good way.

The tiebreaker is a race to eat five unhatched ducks. It's Tom vs. Bobby Jon once again.

Bobby Jon shoves all five into his mouth. Tom does one at a time. Bobby Jon starts gagging because he has too much to swallow! Slow and steady wins the race to eat really disgusting food.

Back at camp, Tom wants to save the new water for drinking instead of showers. Jenn is upset about it but she doesn't speak up.

Over at Ulong--why do they bother putting "Ulong" on the screen? Why not just say "Bobby Jon and Stephenie"? Bobby Jon takes out his frustrations while chopping wood. Steph says, "Half the time he scares me."

Tom and Ian talk some strategy in private. They want to break up the Gregg/Jenn combo. Tom then reveals that on the second day, before they broke into tribes, he set up an alliance with Ian, Katie and…Stephenie! And he and Ian intend to maintain it after a merge! Now that would shake things up.

Day 20 and "Bobby Jon is totally turning into a caveman." Stephenie says he doesn't bathe and we see him blowing "snot rockets" all over. Og grossed out.

The two of them have to work really hard to get their boat into the water. Stephenie finally breaks down a bit and weeps for the camera. Are they honestly trying to drive these people mad?

Day 21. Bobby Jon catches a fish and a clam and they eat well. Finally something positive for Ulong.

At the Immunity Challenge--I still can't believe they're going through with this--Jeff tells them, "Immunity is back up for grabs," then he taunts Ulong by adding, "That means ANYONE can win." The knife, it's sharp.

The Challenge is to swim underwater--good for Ulong--retrieve four bags, bring them back to shore--also good for Ulong--put together a puzzle--bad for Ulong--complete a word find, and unscramble a three-word phrase--very bad for Ulong.

Coby and Gregg are your Kororian participants. Gregg and Stephenie lead off. Surprisingly, Gregg has a slight lead. Bobby Jon "almost walked on water" and catches up. He has the lead after the second leg. Stephenie extends the lead. But Bobby Jon is worn out for his next round and Coby closes the gap.

Koror is the first with their puzzle together. They lead during the word find. Stephenie cheats by looking at their answers…but it's not enough. Jeff declares, "Koror wins Immunity…again!"

So there you have it: the first ever Tribal Council of two. Obviously, they can't vote, so Jeff says they'll have an Individual Immunity Challenge and the loser will go home. I wish Coby would take his bikini briefs home.

That's it. Koror finished tribe play undefeated in Immunities. Wow. Just a hunch, but Mark Burnett probably won't let the castaways pick their own teams any more.

Back at camp, Coby basks in the victory and gets emotional for the camera. He says he's never been part of a winning team, and he even quit school because he was left out and picked on.

Stephenie also philosophizes: "We had a great lead, we just suck at puzzles." Truer words were never spoken. She wonders if the winner will have to come back to camp alone. That would be creepy.

Bobby Jon says, "I could stay out here for weeks by myself." Now he thinks he's Tom Hanks. Where's Wilson?

Welcome to the Most Pathetic Tribal Council Ever. Jeff asks them what's the key to survival and Bobby Jon immediately says fire. Sure enough, the Challenge is to make fire. They'll each get twenty five matches, which may seem like a lot, but look who we're dealing with here. They also get kindling and coconut husks. The goal is to build a fire big enough to light your torch. Stephenie isn't confident. Do it, girl!

Bobby Jon gets his fire started first. But Stephenie blows on hers and it quickly grows.

Stephenie's torch ignites! She wins! Good. She was the only worthy player on that "tribe." In his final words, Bobby Jon calls her the strongest person in the game. Hear hear.

Jeff says Stephenie WILL have to go back to the Ulong beach. Yikes. I hope they at least give her a ride.

We see a commercial for this season's buffs. I think an Ulong buff would be a great gag gift for a Survivor fan. "Here you go, loser!"

Next time on…Survivor: Tom offends Coby. Stephanie is all alone. It's like a life-size science project now. I hope they pay for Stephenie's therapy.

At least we now know what happens when they leave a weak tribe alone and let nature take its course: the weak tribe goes extinct. Many people, myself included, have complained in the past that tribe swaps punish individuals on the winning tribe and save members of the losing tribe, which isn't really "fair." Well, this time the losers didn't get any help and, honestly, it was kind of boring.

The ideal situation is to start with two tribes equal in strength and go into the merge at close to even numbers. When that isn't possible, and the competition gets lopsided, I now believe it's better to mix things up as soon as possible to try and find balance. The point of the game isn't to be fair, it's to be unpredictable, and entertaining. That's this viewer's opinion anyway.

So does Stephenie have a chance? At first glance, of course not. I don't care if she's the mutant offspring of Colby and Boston Rob, she's not going to win seven Immunities in a row. But then Tom dropped that tidbit of info that gives her hope. Will Tom and Ian take Stephenie over the other Korors? Will Gregg and Coby make their move and take control.

This first episode after the "merge" will be very important. I would even wear a blue buff to watch it.

-Scott


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