My Dear Heavy Breathers,

Another night of suspense, plus extra helpings of emotion. Dry your eyes and come with me, my tribal family!

It's Night 21 and Chuay Ghan is waiting up for Sook Jai to come back. They want to see who got voted out and why. Brian, who Shii Ann thought was going to be loyal to her, couldn't even remember her name. More proof that Shii wasn't too bright for ditching her tribe.

"Hey Ken, mind if I take a whiz right here?"

SJ returns, one person lighter, and Ted asks why they voted the way they did. Ken is honest and says it's because she had made deals behind their backs. CG, especially Clay, plays dumb (not much a stretch for him). The mind games are in full effect.

On Day 22 Penny is being very friendly with Ted saying she wants to do his exercise routine (looking at their physiques, shouldn't it be the other way around?). As she leaves, Ted just rolls his eyes. "Penny is going out of her way to be superly, overly nice to the point where it doesn't feel genuine. It feels…It feels fake." Brian senses it from SJ too. "It all looks peachy--there's a lot of phoniness," he says.

Ken tries to relax in the cave but is having problems due to the smell. "It's a piss cave. Very nice," he complains. "It's like pissin' in your front door. You know, you walk in your front door, you close it, 'Honey, I'm home, let me take a piss right here!'"

Later, in true Chuay Ghan fashion, the women do all the work while the men sit around and talk about it. "It kinda resorts back to like the good ol' days," Brian boasts again, "when the men just ate and the women did all the cooking and cleaning." Jake thinks Brian is only tough when it's convenient. "You notice he's saying that when they're down there." I wonder what Mrs. Brian thinks as she watches the show.

Helen likes to talk nonstop about recipes and Jake says it drives him crazy. We get dramatic close-ups of his beard to drive the point home. Look at Jake's beard! He must be crazy! Jake and Brian go off to get water and they seem to be getting along. Jake asks Brian which girl he would most like to star in a porno with--I mean, who is the best looking, and he says Penny.

"Ugh, me Brian. Me no do work."

Jake says he's trying to get a feel for Brian as a possible alliance partner. He then talks to Ken about maybe making a deal with Brian and Clay, but "I'm just not sure," Jake says. "Don't be," Ken replies. "Don't believe everything he says. Just remember, he's a used car dealer. And what do they sell? They sell lemons." Ken is wise in many things.

Day 23 brings the Immunity Challenge and it's another group one! The tribes are still separate. This is great news for Sook Jai. They need this one bad.

The challenge is simple. The Survivors will be underwater trying to breathe through a bamboo tube. The tribe with the longest combined time underwater wins.

Penny lasts a whole 9 seconds. Ken makes it a whopping 15 seconds. Unreal. Their tribe's entire future is at stake and they can't even combine for half a minute. You should be able to flat out hold your breath for half a minute.

Clay, Ted, and Jan come up within three seconds of each other, so Sook Jai has hope. But Erin gives up just two seconds later so it's up to Jake. After some quick math Jeff says that Chuay Ghan is leading by 15 seconds. Jake will have to stay underwater for at least 16 seconds longer than Brian. Of course Jake doesn't know that, and when he comes up first, CG is Immune once again. They will now have a huge two person advantage!

Meanwhile, the monkey is back at camp and he's going bananas. And rice. And chicken feed…. When the castaways return, Ken pretends for a second that the chicken itself is also gone. That wacky Ken.

Jake is taking the loss very badly. He feels like it's his fault. Why? He's only the oldest person on the island and he beat the pants off all the young people. If Penny and Ken had half a lung between then, Jake is a hero. He has an emotional moment with Erin who tries to comfort him.

Bats and chickens and Jan, oh my!

As the tribemembers hang around camp we get our first gratuitous butt shot of Erin. I'm proud of the camera crew for holding out as long as they did.

The four members of Sook Jai embrace their final moments as a group with this exchange:

Jake: "The only thing I know is this is our last time for the four of us to be together."
Penny: "Maybe the four of us should sleep together tonight."
[Long awkward silence.]
Jake: "That sounds almost…erotic." Ha ha! I love Jake.

The man of the hour has center stage again on Day 24 with the killing of the last chicken. We learn that his name is Lucky and Jake gets emotional again as he talks about Lucky's sacrifice (shouldn't his name be Unlucky?). Jan naturally joins in and ends up burying the chicken head in her "pet cemetery" next to Oliver the Bat (wasn't his name Oscar before?). "I'm happy they're together." Good grief.

The Sook 4 sit together and Jake asks if they want to decide who's going to get voted off before they leave. Penny says she'd want to know if it was her. Ken says he'd want to know if it was unanimous against him. But in the end they decide to just let it happen as it happens.

Jake continues his weepiness. Such a nice man. Even Ken gets choked up. "I kinda laughed to myself. This is a game, and I'm fighting back tears? I used to compare this to Monopoly. This is nothing like Monopoly. This is amazing." You want the truth on something, you go to Ken.

At Tribal Council (thanks, Grace!), Ken says Chuay Ghan has been very kind and he feels welcomed by them. Erin agrees. Jeff keeps pushing for some controversy but he's not getting any. Penny says everyone is sharing and teaming up with each other.

A teary time at Tribal.

Jeff goes down the line and asks why each person thinks they should stay.

Erin: "I feel like I'm an asset."
Penny: "I feel that I pull my own weight as well."
Jake: "I'm probably the strongest of the teammates in the water." (That's for sure.)
Ken: "I think they should keep me because of the fact that I am physically strong enough to get by."

The votes are cast but none are shown. We hear Jake say, "This is probably one of the most difficult votes that I've ever had to do. You've been a great tribemate. You've been a great companion." I'm thinking it's Ken at this point.

We then hear Erin say, "I think you've roughed it enough. It seems like it's beginning to wear on you." I'm thinking it's Jake at this point. Is each person going to vote for a different person?

Nope, it's Erin by a count of 3 to 1. Penny cries and Jake seems crushed. They genuinely care for each other and it's nice to see.

Jeff does his best to keep the ratings up: "You guys are running out of members. You're running out of time. What you can't run out of is hope. Anything is possible in this game." It's true (ask Rotu last season) but the last three Sookers are in big trouble.

There just has to be the merge next week (a three on three tribal challenge would be no fun). If I'm Jake and co. I keep playing nice with Brian but go after Helen and Jan for the overthrow attempt.

Say bye to the boobies and booty.

So Erin becomes the first Survivor ever to make the jury without making the merge. In her final words she says, "I'm very happy the way I played the game…. I came to Thailand with a small bag and myself and I'm leaving with more than I ever could have expected." She lasted a lot longer than I thought she would (much longer than Sarah, her sister in boob). Well played, Erin!

Next time on Survivor: Keep the tissues handy because the castaways get their messages from home. But one person's video may work against them as Helen says seeing new cars in the garage means that person doesn't need the money.

Jake and Ken plot their next move with Jake saying, "We gotta create a little bit of a stir." I'm excited. The stakes are a lot higher when people start fighting as individuals, and the desperate moves of the outnumbered are some of my favorite Survivor moments. Bring on the back-stabbing!

May your camp stay monkey-free,
Scott

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