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Survivor 12 Episode 8

Let me say up front that I am really enjoying this secret individual Immunity Idol and the fact that you can bring it out after the vote. It adds another layer of strategy and really gets you thinking. Peter writes in and says, "Terry was an idiot. He should have given his Immunity away forcing Shane to go, then it would have been an easier 5 on 4."

That's the beauty of this twist. There are so many different ways you can play it. Last week I proposed Terry keeping it a secret and losing the Immunity Challenge on purpose. Giving it away to an ally is another option. What will Terry do?

Day 19, and for the Reward Challenge the tribe is split into three teams. You put your coconuts into another team's boat then you paddle out with your boat, retrieve a fishing net and a flag, and unload the coconuts with the net into your bin. The winning trio gets a trip for breakfast in bed the next morning.

The teams are Shane/Terry/Austin (the boys), Danielle/Courtney/Cirie (the girls), and Bruce/Aras/Sally (the mixed). Once they start Aras tells the girls their two teams should both put their coconuts in the boys' boat to slow them down. That doesn't help the girls any as they fall way behind.

The boys don't drag all their coconuts in the first trip but the mixed team does and they're ahead. But Jeff reminds them they need their flag and they forgot it! Sally runs back out to the boat as the boys bring in their final load. It's close but Aras, Sally and Bruce win.

Jeff now says the winning team has to send one person to Exile Island…from each of losing teams! They end up sending Austin and Danielle.

The next morning it's raining. The winning three have to ride in the uncovered front of a boat so they get soaked from the rain. Then they arrive to find the bed for their breakfast is outside! It's drenched as well. Oops. But they're very happy to eat.

Terry gets Shane to say the final four will be Shane, Aras, Cirie and Courtney. Terry now knows to go after Danielle and Bruce to see if they'll switch.

Why do the winners always come back and talk in great detail about their meal? Sally even whips out her big belly to rub it in.

That night brings more rain. Austin and Danielle are absolutely miserable. Danielle says because of their new bond Austin is her backup plan.

The next day Terry tells Sally he has the Idol. She says, "I just about pooped my pants."

At the Immunity Challenge Jeff responds to Bruce with the hand-heart thing. Please don't do the karate, Jeff.

The Challenge is four obstacles with people eliminated after each stage. The first is digging under a fence. Aras is the first to get his head under but he gets stuck. Jeff says he needs to make the hole bigger for his butt. Sally, Danielle, Courtney, Terry, Shane and Austin advance in that order.

The next round is a brainteaser. Austin, Sally and Terry prove that La Mina was the smarter tribe. How on earth did they keep losing to Casaya?

In the third stage Terry and Sally pull away from the exhausted Austin and make the final.

The last course is a like a McDonald's Playland gone mad. Sally puts up a good fight but Terry surprises no one by winning again.

Back at camp, Terry also tells Austin he has the Idol and says he's going to offer it to Danielle to switch sides. See, that's another way to play it…but I don't think it's a good one because it's an all-or-nothing move since it blows your cover.

Terry tells Bruce that Shane said Bruce isn't in their final four. Aras tells his group they should vote out Sally in case Austin has the Idol (or Terry gave it to him). Courtney angrily disagrees. Aras knows he'd get La Mina's votes if the Idol is played.

This is what I'm talking about. Not only does Terry have to decide how to use the Idol, but Aras and company have to think how to counter if someone has it. It's like chess where you have to think four or five moves ahead. Such a great twist.

Courtney tells the camera she doesn't care if Austin does have the Idol because Aras has to go sometime. Austin and Terry approach Danielle and Terry shows her the Idol! The really ugly cat's out of the bag now. Later, Austin tells Terry he should give the Idol to either him or Sally if they can't be sure they have the numbers.

At Tribal Council Aras says he's in trouble if the Idol comes out. Danielle says she and Austin bonded.

Jeff asks Danielle, then Bruce about people wondering if they're at the bottom of the six-person alliance. Shane says it's "impossible" that two people from their alliance would flop.

Austin and Terry vote for Aras. They show Bruce writing down an A. Ha ha, good one.

The tally reads: Aras, Aras, Austin, Aras (3), Austin, Austin (3), Austin…Austin. The Improbable Six hold once again.

Next time on…Survivor: Terry brags about his ability to keep winning. At the Immunity Challenge, "a twist divides the confident from the concerned." Would that be the food offer Shane was looking for a couple Challenges ago? And Shane has a "chafing issue" on his junk so he exposes himself to nurse Cirie.

Terry lost a lot of power with his failed bribe. Without the element of surprise all he can do now is just hold onto it for himself and hope he only loses one Immunity Challenge. Even if he uses it to get someone to promise not to vote him out, and even if he can trust that person, there are way too many other people who could still vote him out. Surprise was his biggest weapon and he blew it.

As far as Aras (who, annoying as he is, is proving to have a very strong handle on the game), what he should do if they can beat Terry in the next Challenge is split their vote and force him to play the Immunity Idol. Right now it's 6 against 2. You have 4 people vote for Terry and 3 people vote for Sally (assuming she didn't win the Challenge), then you eliminate Sally and leave Terry one more loss away from going home.

But keep this in mind: The big pre-merge alliance never, ever holds up.

Greed and paranoia are powerful things.



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