Aiga (Merged) Tribe: Brett, Jaison, Mick, Natalie, Russell H.
The Jury: Erik, Kelly, Laura, John, Dave, Monica, Shambo
Losers: Marisa, Mike, Betsy, Ben, Yasmin, Ashley, Russell S., Liz
SHAMBO VOTED OUT
As the final six castaways wind down for the night at camp upon their return from Tribal Council, Brett massages the Foa Foa Four’s greatest ally, Shambo. “Brett, I think you should be a massage therapist,†says Shambo in state of bliss. Realizing that all of his original allies in the game are out, Brett’s goal is simple. “I’m the last true Galu and I’m a fighter and I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing and make it as far as possible,†Brett proclaims. Russell, however, has a keen eye on Brett after his immunity challenge win, and sees him as the last big threat left in the game. “As soon as Brett loses, he’s gone. He has to because he’ll keep winning and keep winning all the way to the top,†says Russell.
PRAYER WARRIORS
At the dawn of Day 34, Brett bonds with Natalie over their intense Christian beliefs, quoting passages from The Bible while they lay in the shelter. “Natalie and I come from I think a similar walk of life, and I think something like that is a great foundation for a trusting relationship, so you know I think that our personal interactions potentially can turn into something really promising,†says Brett. Natalie is in concord with Brett over their religious commonalities. “It’s been nice to have that in common,†she says.
Meanwhile, Shambo gives Russell a chuckle when she makes a comment about needing a haircut. “Mullet went out in the ‘70’s. It looks terrible. Her hair is funky,†Russell insists. “She puts bananas in there and pieces of coconut. It’s nasty,†laughs Russell. Unbeknownst to Shambo, Russell will not hesitate to oust her the first chance he gets. “If I didn’t need Shambo, I would definitely get rid of her because, you know I’m doing whatever it takes to win the game,†Russell reveals.
REWARD CHALLENGE: COCO PLUNK
The final six castaways arrive on their mat. Host Jeff Probst explains the rules of the challenge. The tribe will divide into two teams of three. There are a series of intersecting ropes holding up coconuts. One at a time, tribe members will walk out and pull one rope out. The goal is to drop as few coconuts as possible. The first team to drop 100 coconuts loses the challenge. The winning team will be taken to a local village where they will have a massive feast and spend the night sleeping on soft beds. Jeff then presents the tribe with a bag of colored balls that they randomly draw to determine team captains. Yellow and purple are the captains, which are drawn by Russell and Natalie. In a shocking move, Natalie chooses Brett first, followed by Mick. Russell chooses Jaison and Shambo for his teammates.
At the beginning of the challenge, Natalie leads Brett in a prayer to win the challenge, and Russell spots the two holding hands. “I’m surprised by Natalie’s first pick…straight to Brett,†he whispers to Shambo. “We’re gonna have to break that up over there. Something might be going on,†Russell warns Shambo. Yellow lags behind with 29 to 4 coconuts in the first half of the challenge. Mick drops 19 coconuts, bringing the purple team’s coconut total to 23. Just as the yellow team gets a hint of hope, Jaison drops 48 coconuts, bringing the yellow team’s total to 77. Natalie is up next for the purple team. “God has taken care of me for sure,†she assures herself as she walks up to the challenge. “My prediction is 58,†says Shambo. Just as Shambo predicted, Natalie drops 58 coconuts, bringing the purple team’s total to 81. Russell is up next, and after careful examination and threading of his rope, he does not drop a single coconut for the yellow team. “Dude! Are you freaking kidding me?†Shambo cheers. Brett drops 23 coconuts for the purple team, bringing their coconut count to 104. The yellow team of Russell, Jaison and Shambo win the reward challenge.
THE VILLAGE REWARD FEAST
After the challenge, Russell, Jaison and Shambo venture off to a remote Samoan village and partake in a delicious feast. The native Samoans welcome them as they indulge in food and dance. “To have that day off was absolutely amazing,†Jaison cheers after enduring several difficult days of starvation and game play. Russell sees the reward feast as an advantage over Mick and Brett, who are left back at camp, hungry and defeated. “I think it’s a great thing that they didn’t win today,†admits Russell. Shambo makes a toast to the people of Samoa, who are eternally grateful. “What I most wanted to do in Samoa was be part of that cultural experience with the native tribes here and I was so happy,†says Shambo. The natives then break out into song and dance, while Russell, Jaison and Shambo join in. “I’ve been fortified by the power of food, and now I’m about to get jiggy with it,†says Jaison. The three end their day with a group hug. “I love you guys,†says Shambo.
THE LOSERS’ REWARD
Back at the Aiga camp, Brett suggests that he, Natalie and Mick create their own reward by collecting snails to eat and enjoy a day of leisure. Everyone is for it, and the threesome bond as they collect the food. Natalie and Mick take note of Brett’s uplifting personality. “Brett’s an amazing person. If I have to be standing next to a Galu, you know, Brett is awesome, but I have been in with Russell since the very first day,†says Natalie. “Hopefully my mind is thinking clear enough to look at the end to be able to win the game,†Natalie concludes.
SOMETHING’S UP WITH NATALIE
As Russell, Shambo and Jaison crawl into their comfortable beds at the village reward, Jaison questions Natalie’s decision to choose Brett as her first pick during the challenge. “I’ll tell you what I call it: very telling,†says Shambo. Russell assures Jaison and Shambo that when he gets back to camp, he will pull Natalie aside to solidify what they have and get to the bottom of why she appears to be aligned with Brett. Russell, however, already knows that Natalie is loyal to him. “My whole point of this is to get rid of Brett or Mick. Those two are big threats. They’re likable guys, and then there’s nothing else that can stop me,†Russell proclaims.
STRATEGIZING WITH NATALIE
The next day, Russell approaches Natalie and probes her about her decision to pick Brett as her first choice in the reward challenge. “Now they were worried because you picked Brett,†Russell warns Natalie, referring to Jaison and Shambo. “They freaked out. Everybody. Every single person there,†Russell continues. When Russell points out that Natalie’s actions put a target on Mick and Brett, Natalie confirms that was her plan with Russell all along. “So we gotta get rid of Mick or Brett,†Russell decides. Russell confides in Natalie that he is sure that he is in control of the game, and vows to oust Brett first if he does not win the immunity challenge. “They say don’t get confident in this game. You know what? I’m confident as hell,†Russell proudly states.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE: COMBO PLATTER
The Aiga tribe arrives on their mat. Host Jeff Probst explains the rules of the challenge. Each tribe member will race out into a field where they must count the number of objects in each of the six stations. They will use tiles to remember the number of each item they have counted, and then use those numbers to solve a combination lock. The order of the numbers will be different for each person. The first person to solve the combination and break their tile wins immunity.
The castaways race off into the field, counting various objects ranging from fish to live pigs. Each of the six tribe members use different strategies, some taking more time counting, while others count their stations one at a time. Mick and Jaison are the first back with all six numbers and begin working to solve their combination. Brett is the next to collect all six numbers, followed by Russell. As all four men attempt to solve their combination locks, Jaison is the first who thinks he has it, but is wrong. Jaison races back out into the field to recount the objects while Brett, Russell and Mick attempt to solve their combination. The three men race to the finish, and Mick and Brett arrive at their final numbers at the same time. Mick is wrong, while Brett is correct. Brett wins immunity, guaranteeing him a spot in the final five.
FOA FOA CHANGES GEARS
With Brett having won immunity, the Foa Foa Four’s hopes for ousting him are shattered. Jaison arrives at a new plan to get rid of Brett by voting off Shambo. “If we’re going to have a shot at Brett, then we got to have Mick,†he suggests to Russell. Just as Jaison walks off, Shambo approaches Russell and interrogates him over what Jaison just said. Russell lies to Shambo by telling her that Jaison wants to get rid of Mick. Shambo becomes paranoid that she is being targeted, and bluntly asks Russell if Jaison wants to vote her out. Russell brushes off her comment and reassures her that the tribe is voting for Mick. “I attributed more helpfulness to the Foa Foa tribe than anybody and I don’t think they’re ever gonna forget that, but I don’t think anybody’s beyond the chopping block, including myself,†says Shambo. Just as Shambo predicted, Russell begins gunning with Mick to vote off Shambo, mouthing off that she is an annoyance and was only kept around for votes. Mick is shocked at Russell’s sudden change of heart with Shambo, and becomes paranoid that he is being lied to. Russell tells Shambo that Mick thinks that she is going home tonight when truthfully, Russell is unsure of whom to vote for. While Shambo would be a great choice to keep around because she would most likely get little to no votes from the jury, keeping Mick around would be beneficial for the survival of the Foa Foa Four: “Keep athletes together to be able to beat Brett in the next immunity challenge,†says Russell. Russell wears the hidden immunity idol necklace as he walks out to Tribal Council since it is the final time that he can play it.
TRIBAL COUNCIL
At Tribal Council, Natalie illuminates the fact that Shambo betrayed everyone on the jury and would be an excellent choice of someone to take to the finals. Russell admits that his allegiance to Shambo tops that of his with some of the Foa Foa Four, to Mick’s surprise. Jaison reveals that Brett’s back-to-back immunity challenge wins puts a target on his back, and in order to defeat him, the Foa Foa Four have to make a big move. Shambo backs up Jaison’s comment by stating that Brett is not only an immunity threat, but a jury threat as well. With this, the final six members of Aiga cast their votes, and with five out of the six votes cast against her, Shambo was voted out. Shannon “Shambo†Waters, the 45 year-old former Marine from Renton, Washington, became the thirteenth person voted out and seventh member of the jury of SURVIVOR: SAMOA.
Remember, the two-hour Survivor finale is this Sunday, December 20, at 8 PM on SeeBS, followed by the one-hour reunion show. See you there!
Thanks, JillValentine!
You rock!
:-)
I liked Shambo... can’t really say much about the remaining survivors. Except Russell is a horrible person! lol
Doing the Survivor ping list has been fun. I think I've enjoyed doing it even more than you've enjoyed reading it. I'm sad it has to end like this.
For the last time, here are my predictions: (of course, "highlight to see")
Final 5: Jaison wins immunity, Brett voted out.
Final 4: Mick wins immunity, Jaison voted out.
Final 3: 2 votes Russell, 2 votes Natalie, 5 votes Mick. Mick wins $1 million!
Remember, the finale is Sunday, December 20 @ 8 PM.
Goodbye.