My fellow lost sheep,

This is definitely my favorite point in the Survivor game. The tribal lines have dissolved and it's every wallet for itself. Everyone looks over their shoulder and questions every word they hear. It's an excellent study in human behavior! And it's good for some laughs.

Ted believes the liars tell the truth about the liar telling the truth.

On Day 28 Jake tells Ted that the former members of Chuay Ghan had told him they were voting for Ted. The big fella doesn't believe it. He then tells his supposed friends what Jake said they said. Brian and Clay act surprised and lie about Jake's lie that is actually the truth. You got all that?

We jump right to the Reward Challenge which is another great obstacle course. It is one long race but each stage eliminates people. The reward is a trip to the mainland and an elephant ride to a feast. This is the infamous Visa Challenge.

The first part of the contest is pairing up. When Jeff says go, the seven players form groups of two and the leftover person is out. Clay and Brian unite, Jan and Helen team up, and Penny surprisingly pairs with Ted, leaving Jake out to dry.

The next stage is a race across some planks. Jan falls off and her team comes in third and is eliminated.

Next is an individual crawl under a cargo net. Penny is last and is out, leaving the three men. The next step is to climb over a wall but the trick is you have to get another player's help to get over. Brian and Ted boost Clay over so he gets to decide who joins him in the final. Clay says he can't pull Ted over so he helps Brian.

The final leg is a race over balance beams. Clay falls and Brian hangs on for the victory. BUT, as is usually the case, he gets to pick someone to go with him. He says, "Clay, I couldn't be here without you. You deserve half of this," and picks the guy who finished second. A logical choice, but you know Ted can't be happy about it.

Does Clay blow his cover by picking Brian?

Sure enough, the next day Ted is wondering what's up with Clay and Brian. "Their bond is closer than what I thought it was." Brian marvels at his powers over both men. "My agreement with Ted is one statement and my agreement with Clay is another. I have to see which option, which plan is gonna work best for me down the road. That's part of the plan. That's part of my strategy." Can he continue to keep both Ted and Clay happy or will they see through his faux loyalty?

Clay says Brian has a "nice ass" as they ride off in the boat. Maybe Clay has rented "The Virgins of Sherwood Forest." We get the blatant Visa plug as they pay for the elephant. Clay says their pachyderm has a "nice ass." I don't know if they make elephant porn.

Clay says, "Brian was terrified of this elephant." We get a couple funny shots of Brian holding onto his seat with all his might. We then get treated to elephant flatulence. This ain't the Discovery Channel.

Back at camp Jake and Helen are going to get water. "Just between you and I?" he says. "Brian and Clay are going to win the game." He goes on to say the two of them have already established a pecking order. Jake makes great arguments and it's a good move on his part. "I've got nothing to lose," he correctly points out. Helen seems to be at least a little curious about these accusations. "Now I'm going to be deep in thought the rest of the day," she says.

Clay admires Babar's backside.

Brian and Clay laugh and have a good old time at their feast. They load up a couple canteens with beer and shrimp (no, not in the same canteen). This is always a smart move.

As they return to the beach the others greet them warmly. "They all were out in the water waiting for us like, uh, lost sheep, longing for their master." Brian's not going to have any Survivor friends after the airing of this season.

Jan just loves the beer that Brian and Clay brought back. She clutches it like a child and says, "I need a nipple on top of this." Jan could probably use a little help.

On Day 30, the cloaks and daggers start to come out. Penny says, "I can't stay around Jake any more because then that hurts me." She talks to Clay about switching sides and believes him when he promises her a ticket to the final four. Clay opening admits his lies to the camera: "Everybody that's asked me, 'Who's going to be the final four?' I kick out a person and put in their name. I done it with everybody up there, I'm going to continue to do it." The little man thinks his a big player.

Penny has decided to turn on Jake. "My only hope tonight is that Jake does not win the Immunity Challenge." This makes no sense to me. What's the difference between finishing 6th and 7th? I again bring up the Brandon example from S3 on how betraying your tribe never wins you the trust of the other tribe.

The Challenge is a new version of the coconut chop from last season. Instead of chopping bundles of coconuts down from a tree, they snuff out each other's torches. Those sneaky producers. The preview made it look like the winner got to kick somebody off the island for good. Booooo.

Helen wins Immunity but will she snuff out her biggest threat?

Penny makes her betrayal official by snuffing one of Jake's flames first. But she ends up being the first person eliminated when Jan extinguishes her third torch. Jake eliminates Clay next, and Ted knocks out Jake. Helen removes Brian, but Jan goes after Helen instead of eliminating Ted, which is kind of odd. Has she been duped by the lying males too? But Helen snuffs out Jan to leave her and Ted. Helen gets the next question right and is the winner.

First Clay, and now Helen. Who had THAT combo?

Jake is understandably upset that Penny turned on him. She continues to kiss up to the Chuay Ghaners. But--surprise--Ted says they can't trust Penny and should vote her off. Jake wants to get a chance to tell Ted that they're going to vote Ted off next if Jake goes tonight.

At the Chateau Tribál, Jeff asks Clay about deceiving and he replies, "I'm sure everybody's done their fair share." A lie about lying. How quaint.

Jeff opens the floor and Jake grabs the mic. He calls Chuay Ghan out for saying last time that they would vote based on camp performance, and then voting based on tribal lines.

Clay takes offense at this and votes accordingly. "Jake, I didn't like the statement you just made about doing all you can and you're going to be surprised if you're voted off, but your mouth is definitely overloaded your butt." I'm not sure what that means, but I'm pretty certain it's an insult.

Penny does vote for Jake because, "I'm trying to keep myself alive in this game." Such a pity. Maybe Jake and Ken should've stuck with Erin after all. The only other vote we see is Ted voting for Penny.

Penny's loyalty isn't worth one cent.

Jeff reads the votes and the first two are split between Jake and Penny. The third vote is a surprise one for Jan. Where'd that come from? There's another one for Jake, but the next three are for Penny. I'm very satisfied with this result as it's absolutely the wrong time to betray your last ally. She should've been following Jake's lead and trying to get Helen, Jan or Ted to switch sides. She betrayed Sook Jai and paid for it.

Next time on Survivor: It's the recap episode on Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. They promise new footage and interviews with some of the people already voted out, including Shii Ann.

So, Jake voted for Jan, Clay and Penny voted for Jake, and everyone else voted for Penny. Does this mean Clay is out of the loop? The other possibility is he knew everyone else was targeting Penny and he acted on his own out of spite. Either way his position is weakened if they can trace the second Jake vote back to him.

The other person who has to realize her days are numbered is Helen. If she wants a chance at the grand prize she's got to act now while Jake is around. If she waits until Sook Jai is extinct, she's at the mercy of the Chuay Ghan males. Will she make a move to take control of the game?

We don't get another new episode until Thursday December 5. As far as next week, if you'd rather eat turkey than watch a highlight show, we've got you covered here.

Have a great holiday but don't gobble up your friends!

Loyal to the end,
Scott

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