by Gina Scarpa

 

Tonight, on Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains, Jerri's worried that her head is on the chopping block following Coach's elimination. She wasn't brought into the loop before tribal council so, understandably, she's concerned. As Danielle reassures her in the woods... wait, does anyone else hear a cell phone going off in the background? How does anyone on the crew get a signal out there?!

 

The heroes are completely, 100% convinced (without any solid proof, I might add) that the men on the villains' tribe are being picked off by an all female alliance. At the reward challenge, they see that Coach has been voted off and Rupert smiles that cocky Rupert smile and comments on how the women are running the show. Russell gives a little sad, puppy dog face to the heroes just to sell them on it a little more. Seriously, the fact that no one has seen Russell play this game just continues to work in his favor. I must sound like a broken record by now.

So... the reward challenge. It's one we saw in Survivor: Tocantins, where JT won and Coach collapsed on the ground. Players must position themselves two walls and place their feet on narrow wooden pegs. They'll have to different pegs along the way, that will get smaller and smaller. However, different than in Tocantins, heroes will be pitted against villains in 1-on-1 matches. If one person falls or steps down, their opponent will get a point. Both tribes were asked to rank their players strongest to weakest to determine the matchups but both tribes used a lot of strategy in making that decision.

 

The matchups were: Danielle vs. Candice, Courtney vs. Amanda, Parvati vs. JT, Jerri vs. Colby, and Sandra vs. Rupert. The winners would receive a feast from Outback steakhouse, including steak, shrimp on the barbie, loaded baked potatoes, and salad. What?! No Bloomin' Onion?! Continuing to prove that his Superman outfit may just be a fat suit, Colby goes out first. Rupert sweats like no man I've ever seen before and drops second. Amanda is out third and the heroes lose a challenge, after winning four in a row. Side note: Props to Courtney and Sandra for not only competing, but competing well. Don't count them out in endurance challenges - ever.

 

During the Outback feast, everyone was so busy stuffing their faces that no one noticed a clue to the hidden immunity idol fall out of Parvati's napkin, which she quickly stuffed into her underwear. Ew. She excuses herself to go to the bathroom and is joined by Danielle, with whom she shares the news. They agree to keep it between them and look for it together. Without much effort, they uncover the idol back at camp later that day and decide to keep it from Russell.

Back at Camp Hero, the tribe members decide that they're going to slip Russell their idol at the immunity challenge (provided they win) along with a note, instructing him to use it and get rid of Parvati. They can't be serious, can they?

Oh no, they are!

 

At the immunity challenge, teams must maneuver a puzzle bag through a series of obstacles in the water to the beach. Once all five bags have been brought to the mat, they must use the pieces to assemble a totem pole. Surprisingly, Sandra sits out - she's usually solid at puzzles and was always Boston Rob's right hand (wo)man. The heroes get off to a lead and never look back, winning the challenge without much of a problem.

 

As Colby and Russell stood out on the platforms in the water, the last to go for their respective tribes, Colby told him to find JT on the beach afterwards, because he had something for him. Russell did indeed find JT and got that idol. I don't know who was more shocked that the heroes handed their idol right to the enemy - me or the villains!

 

Parvati and Russell read the note from JT together back at camp, laughing hysterically at the 7th grade style and comments such as: "Read in total privacy!" and "Destroy this after reading!" Parvati is most certainly not going anywhere. This tribal council is going to come down to Sandra or Courtney, just as we all expected.

 

At tribal, trust comes up again and Sandra and Danielle exchange heated words over their gameplay. The thing is, Sandra has a point. They're playing the exact same game. Sandra worked with Boston Rob, Danielle works with Parvati. Rob and Parvati called the shots, while Sandra and Danielle did their bidding.

 

There weren't a whole lot of fireworks other than that, since the outcome of the votes were everything you saw coming. Coutney becomes the second member of the jury. I have to admit that I'll miss her comments and impressions of her fellow Survivors.

 

Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains airs Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS.

 

(Image courtesy of CBS)

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

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