Nothing like some good Survivor dirt.
Night 6, and Bruce is already taking charge of his new tribe. He says he's taught wilderness survival for 30 years and they can just filter the water through t-shirts without boiling it. Shane tells the camera that Bruce is "neurotic" and Courtney doesn't think his filter method is safe. But Bruce thinks everyone loves him and he's now at "the top of the tribe." Funny how that works.
The next day La Mina tries to fish with their hooks but all they can catch are poisonous puffer fish. Terry finally hooks something edible but it's so small Austin calls it "Nemo."
As they gather for the Reward Challenge, Danielle says Bruce is a "savior" for their tribe. The game is four people from each tribe standing on separate beams out in the water. The remaining players take turns shooting balls at their tribe with huge rubber slingshots. You can jump off the beam to catch the ball and the first team with five catches wins a tarp, blankets, pillows and lanterns.
The match is close the whole way with Terry and Shane doing most of the acrobatics for their respective tribes. Terry makes one final leaping grab and La Mina wins. New twist: They get to pick someone from Casaya for Exile Island.
La Mina huddles and Austin wants to send Bruce back because of how they were praising him before the Challenge. Dan doesn't seem happy about it but the tribe agrees. And, naturally, it rains on poor Bruce all night. I guess when you're on top of your tribe you get wet.
Day 8, and Shane picks out a rock for his "thinking seat." Someone teases him about it and he absolutely freaks out. Aras says, "I'm in an alliance with three nutballs." Cirie just laughs at them all.
Then Shane says, "Courtney is a lunatic." That's like the crazy pot calling the crazy kettle crazy black.
Over at La Mina Misty rubs Austin and Nick's shoulders to cement their alliance. Sally thinks she's a genius.
The Immunity Challenge gets physical. There's a bag buried in the sand. The goal is to find it and bring it back to your tribe's mat, which is right next to the other tribe's mat. First team to three wins.
The first round is two women vs. two women. Misty and Danielle roll around together. Aw yeah. Bruce yells out for Cirie to sit on Sally which she does. Hey, you gotta play to your strength. All four of them end up in a big ball near the mat. Cirie gets close enough to tough the bag and step on the goal. 1-0 Casaya.
Next is two-on-two for the men. Nick somehow gets free and runs uncovered back to the mat. 1-1 tie.
Round 3 is two men and a woman from each tribe. Shane slams Dan to the ground and pins him. We have another scrum near the mat, this time between Austin and Shane. Austin is able to get his hand on the mat first and La Mina has a 2-1 lead.
By the way, can you throw the bag to a teammate? They didn't show Jeff forbidding it but no one's tried it either.
Two women and one man make up the teams in the next heat. There's a huge pileup and Aras does some weird knee-rubbing thing that actually works. He gets the bag and runs free to tie the score. Next point wins.
The final match is Danielle and Bobby against Ruth Marie and Terry. Lots of tackling going on. Danielle flashes everyone and Bobby moons the world. Terry hands off to Ruth Marie who has a clear shot at the goal. But Bobby catches up and grabs her shirt from behind at the last second and pulls her over to his mat. Casaya finally wins something!
Austin and Nick find themselves still in the middle at La Mina. The older men get to them first and Dan says they should vote off Ruth Marie, but Austin says it should be Misty.
Later the younger women get their turn with the young guys and they push for Ruth Marie. That sounds like great news for Nick and Austin.
At Tribal Council Dan says, "The companionship is excellent." When asked why they're not eating Austin says, "We had a little incident with the spear." Misty says they're a unified team but Terry says, "There has been talk," and Nick mentions "conversations" and "strategy." Ruth Marie realizes she's the only one who didn't have an ally from her original tribe.
Misty votes for Ruth Marie and Terry votes for Misty. The tally goes Ruth, Misty, Ruth, Misty, Misty…Misty. She does not have the Immunity Idol and the men have stuck together.
Next time on…Survivor: La Mina continues to starve and Shane continues to fight with Courtney.
Nick and Austin blew a golden opportunity to maintain both alliances for another three days. The young girls wanted Ruth Marie out, and so did Dan! All they had to do was go back to the older guys and say, "You were right, let's get Ruth Marie this time." You never know what the next twist will be. Having four people loyal to you is a lot better than only having two.
Plus they would've gotten more back rubs. Idiots.
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