Survivor Samoa Episode Eight Review

(To get my predictions for Episode 10 click here! , To read my review for Episode 9 click here! )

(Note: For those who haven’t seen last week’s episode then this whole article is a spoiler, read on with caution)

Finally the merge rears its ugly head once again. Like most seasons past the merge is met with a great feast and new tribe name/flag ritual. What better name to pick then Aiga, which means “extended family” in Samoan terms. That is exactly what happens during the merge, two tribes that come together as one family living on the same beach. Not that any of you needed an explanation, more of an example on what a good choice Aiga is for this game.

Once the “family” is finished its feast, Russell is on the prowl again. Showing his “hidden immunity idol” (or HII) to whomever wanted to see it. You might think that I don’t like Russell, but it’s the other way around. He has quickly become my favorite Survivor character of all time. Sorry Boston Rob you got bumped.

Showing his HII was obviously done for him to gain trust in the opposing tribe and therefore a better position in the game. It may have backfired as talk of flushing the idol out went through that camp faster than Shambo losing the chicken.

So going into the Immunity challenge Russell’s plan is to eliminate Laura, but before we begin to talk about the vote, let’s have a look at the Immunity challenge. This was basically a game of Tee-ball in which Survivors had to hit a ball into various zones that had different point values. As an added bonus, Jeff revealed that there were two Immunity necklaces being played for, one for the women and one for the men.

First up are the men. Danger Dave is up first who claims that making love is his sport. He hits the ball and it lands in the 3 point zone. DD is now in the lead with 3 points. Jaison is up next who then proceeds to hit the ball of course, is he really this bad or is this part of his strategy? Who knows, DD is still in the lead. Russell comes up to bat and cranks the ball into the 4 point zone taking the lead. Brett knocks the ball of course and Mick hits a crappy shot landing in the 2 point zone. Erik also hits the ball out of the course. John then hits the ball into the 5 point zone winning one of the Individual Immunity (II) necklaces.

Next we move on to the women. Up first is sweet and cute Natalie whom proceeds to knock the ball off the course. Maybe next time Natalie. Monica takes the lead by scoring 2 points. Kelly then cranks it into the 3 point zone. Shambo steps up and makes a very crappy shot not even making it to the course. Laura is the last to swing for the women and lands her ball in the 4 point zone. Winning the II necklace and changing Russell’s plan on the spot.

Let the scrambling start again. Russell immediately tries to target Monica only to be shut down by Shambo. Laura reveals to Erik that Russell has the HII and they decide to flush his HII out of the game by saying they’re voting for Russ, but actually voting for Jaison. Erik and John converse and John thinks Monica should go tonight by using Foa Foa members. Dave thinks that Foa Foa should lose a member and essentially loses his trust in Erik. Erik approaches Foa Foa minus Russell and tells them to help flush the idol, and vote for Monica without telling Russell. Jaison doesn’t like the plan and Foa Foa scrambles to put the target on Erik. Natalie talks with Laura and Kelly and suggests that voting Erik out would be a better plan because Erik wants to get rid of Monica. The girls seem to agree with Natalie and the plan to oust Erik begins to unfold. Kelly informs Monica, they inform Dave, John scrambles, and Russell panics as he loses control of the game.

We then make it into Tribal Council with lots of possible angles flying around. Trust is one of the major topics that Probst choose to talk about. Erik bashes Foa Foa some more, Russell continues to be confident and Jaison makes another speech. John and Laura keep immunity and everyone else is fair game.

When the voting is complete Probst is just about to read the votes as Russell plays the HII while saying “everybody knows I have it, I might as well play it.” Jeff confirms that Russell has used a HII and any votes for Russ will not count.

First vote is for Jaison.

Second for Jaison.

Then one Erik

A second vote for Erik

Jaison 2 Erik 2

A third and fourth vote for Erik

A fifth vote for Erik, and Erik looks on very confused, as well as Shambo

A sixth and seventh vote is read for Erik knocking him out of the game with a final vote of Jaison 2, Erik 7.

Erik leaves the game in shock and joins the jury while Foa Foa laughs at his misfortune. We are now left waiting for the next episode and the preview leaves us with a feeling that Russell has become the new target. The next part of my article will give highlights of this episode and predictions for the next episode.

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Star Survivor: Natalie

Star of the Challenge: John

Best Quote: “Making love is my sport” – Danger Dave

Best Move: Natalie changing the vote to Erik

Worst Move: Russell playing the HII

Predictions for Episode 9:

Immunity Winner: Russell

Star Survivor: Russell

New Jury Member: Laura

Other predictions: I strongly feel that Russell either wins immunity or finds the HII that left when Erik was voted out. Laura and Shambo go at it once again determining the next Survivor to join the jury.

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I haven’t read the spoilers and don’t intend to and would appreciate the comments to be a spoiler-free discussion. You might think that this is contradictory to my prior statement made at the beginning of the article, but past episodes aren’t considered a spoiler, and I posted fair warning. Anyways play fair. Later!