Episode Recap: Cook Islands - Week 8

Episode: Why Aren't You Swimming? Original Air Date: November 2, 2006 It's Day 16 and Nate, who has been "kidnapped" from the Raro tribe, is sitting around the campfire with Aitu. The Aitu members try to pump Nate for information, but he's the one who winds up getting an earfull when the topic of Cao Boi's elimination is raised. Flicka (Jessica) says, "'Kay, so like, I was totally bummed because, like, I totally thought we were voting, like another way. And like, I totally voted for Jonathan and stuff. And like, then you guys voted for Cao Boi, so like, I'm like, 'No way!', 'cause you guys totally didn't tell me. And like I just want to be like, on the same page and stuff." Yul is not happy this discussion took place in front of Nate. Meanwhile, Nate is taking notes and thinking about how his tribe can use this intel to their advantage. Yul, Becky, and Candice meet to discuss the status of their alliance. Jonathan is missing from this discussion for a reason. Yul tells us the original plan was to vote off Ozzy, then Flicka, then Sundra, leaving just the allied four. But now the rest of the alliance is afraid Jonathan might be too much of a threat once the tribes merge. They wonder if they should just vote him off now. Later, the teams receive a "Survivor's Catalog". That means they get to choose their reward should they win the next Rewards Challenge. Aitu chooses potatoes and peanut butter, while Raro chooses bread and peanut butter. I guess none of these people are on the Atkins Diet. The Convoluted Rewards Challenge - In this challenge, a member of each tribe is to take a wooden club, swim out to a platform, climb the platform, smash a clay case containing a key, dive down to retrieve the key, and take it back to shore. Once all six keys are retrieved in this manner one at a time, two other members of the tribe will unlock cases holding puzzle pieces. The first team to assemble the puzzle, which is a map of the world, wins. Each team must choose three swimmers, and two, uh, puzzle putter togetherers. Aitu chooses to sit Nate out for this challenge. "Interesting," host Jeff Probst says, "Aitu kidnaps Nate to keep him from competing for Raro, but then doesn't trust him to compete with their own tribe." Amazing! Jeff figured out their whole evil plan all by himself! He's a genius! The contest begins and Aitu sends out their athletic mutant Ozzy first, while Raro inexplicably starts off with Rebecca. Ozzy runs on top of the water to the platform, uses his heat-vision to burst the clay case, then blows the key back to shore with his super breath, all before Rebecca reaches the water. Meanwhile, as Rebecca runs across the beach to the water, it is obvious no one has ever introduced her to a sports bra. Seriously, as she's running, it looks like she almost slaps herself in the head, if you know what I mean. Rebecca is still trying to climb the platform just as Ozzy returns to the beach and Aitu sends out their second swimmer. Back at the beach, Nate looks over at his Raro tribe and notices young buck Brad is not among the designated swimmers. "Why aren't you swimming?" he asks him. "Because I'm good at puzzles!," he says. Uh, Brad, the puzzle has only six pieces. There are puzzles designed for five-year-olds that are more complicated. I think Raro could've spared Brad's puzzle-related super powers on this challenge. In fact, Raro must be questioning this decision as Rebecca is still having a rough time. Rebecca has finally managed to climb the platform and smash the clay box, but is still trying to find the key as Aitu's second swimmer, Yul, smashes the box and finds the key. Exhausted, Rebecca heads back to the beach without the key. Aitu has sent out their third swimmer while Rebecca is still trying to make her way to the mat to tag the next Raro swimmer. As she comes out of the water, her top has come up and she is truly swinging free (the screen has been fuzzed out for the benefit of us back at home). Rebecca finally reaches the mat, tags Adam, and collapses. In spite of a strong effort by the rest of the tribe, Raro is never able to make up the lost time. Aitu finishes the challenge before Raro even gets to start on the puzzle. Aitu is ecstatic - peanut butter and potatoes all around! Woo-hoo! But they also get to choose which member of Raro gets exiled. They choose Adam. Nate returns to mope with the rest of the losers on Raro. Later, Aitu has returned to camp, and is bonding over their peanut butter. "I'm in love with everyone I see right now," Candice says. In the absense of utensils, everyone is sticking their grubby fingers into the jar and licking. Evidently, the Double Dipping Rule does not apply here. Apparently, neither does simple hygiene. The atmosphere is not quite so mirthful at the Raro camp. Rebecca is distraught and blames herself for the tribe's loss. Nate, however, places the blame on Captain Puzzle Boy. In Nate's opinion, Brad should've been swimming. "I don't know if he was cold, or didn't feel like getting wet, or he's just a Nancy-boy..." Nate tells us. Jenny and Parvati agrees with Nate. "I wanted to punch [Brad] in the mouth," Parvati says. Adam, on Exile Island, is griping about the rest of his team and how he's tired of losing challenge after challenge. He reflects, "It's hard to soar like an eagle when you're surrounded by turkeys." Words to live by. Later that night a storm rages through. Adam manages to construct a tiny shelter from parts of the fake wrecked ship, but still has to spend the night curled up in the fetal position. Day 17, Aitu - Ozzy, King of the Jungle, has managed to catch yet another critter for consumption. This time, it's a bird. Look, those people on Gilligan's Island were marooned for like seven years and I don't remember them ever having to kill a single bird. They got to eat all kinds of tasty treats, like coconut cream pies, and Skipper never even lost any weight! These people, on the other hand, can't survive a month on the island without slaughtering everything in sight. The tribe is grateful, though. "Ozzy is amazing," Candice says, "He's like, half-animal, half-man, part fish, part monkey, part Lord-knows-what." Ozzy decides to try to use his position as Mighty Hunter and Giver of Food to his advantage. He senses he might be the next one voted off, so he tries to form an alliance with Candice and Flicka. "If I'm voted off," he asks them, "what will you eat?" The Convoluted Immunity Challenge - In this challenge, the tribes must each contstruct a staircase, then ascend that staircase to a platform. Once on the platform, three tribal members must each swing down on a zip line to a platform in the ocean which holds three bags of puzzle pieces. Each of the three tribal members must then swim back to shore with a bag, climb back up the platform, and give the pieces to the other three members who will assemble the puzzle. The first tribe to assemble the puzzle will win immunity. Once on the zip line, and then in the water, Ozzy gives his tribe an early lead, thanks to the fact that he is part dolphin and was raised by monkeys. It looks like it will be another easy win for Aitu, but suddenly Raro pulls ahead in the puzzle portion of the challenge and wins, in spite of Brad being nowhere near the puzzle. It's time for the scheming to begin amongst the Aitu tribe. If the Jonathan/Candice/Yul/Becky strategy goes according to plan, Ozzy is next on the Hit List. But no one trusts Jonathan, not even the members of his own alliance. This is ironic, considering Jonathan has so far been true to the alliance and is not the one considering voting off one of his own. Flicka campaigns hard to get Jonathan voted off. Jonathan, who has been oblivious to the scheming, returns from hunting clams and decrees the alliance needs to change its plans and vote Flicka off, since they may need Ozzy for the last challenge or two before the tribes merge. Tribal Council - More idiotic questions from Jeff. The voting proceeds and the votes are read. Flicka is the eighth person voted off of this season's Survivor. As the closing credits roll, and everyone is shown voting, the count is six to one, with Flicka voting for Jonathan. The others may not trust Jonathan, but apparently they are also too afraid to go against him. Next week - Most of Raro start to distrust Brad. There is a twist in the challenge.