Survivor: Micronesia week in review

In a huge blindside, Ozzy was shockingly sent packing.

WOW!

We all saw it coming and knew it would be soon. Ozzy just had too much confidence in his team to try and protect himself.
I give much credit to Cirie, Parvati, Natalie, Jason and Alexis for keeping their plan a secret. Even with a little uneasiness from Ozzy, it just wasn’t enough convince him to use the Hidden Immunity Idol (HII). I’ve always been told, “Go with Your Gut Feeling.” That makes two seasons in a row that the strongest player felt too confident to use the HII. Last season it was James who had two HII’s and this season Ozzy.

All I can say is, “Karma” Ozzy. You laughed at Eliza being embarrassed last week when she played the fake idol. And now this week, as the first member of the Jury, Eliza watched you get stunned. What a turn of events.

The week that was

Arriving back to camp after Eliza tried to save herself by playing the fake idol, Parvati and the tribe asked Jason if he’d really given the idol to Eliza. Feeling bad for Eliza, Jason was just happy that he wasn’t the one embarrassed by playing the fake idol. Wondering how life would have been if Ozzy had been voted out, Cirie stated, “That would not have been a bad thing.”

For the first Reward Challenge of the newly formed Duba tribe, the members were informed that they would be compete in teams of four to traverse a water maze, memorize as much of a pyramid puzzle, race back and try to remember how the items were placed. One by one each member would race through the maze. The first team to get the puzzle in correct order would win a plane ride to a Micronesian village, eat, dance and be merry. With only nine members left in the game, the member not chosen would head to Exile Island alone for two days. Unfortunately, Cirie was the odd woman out and she was banished to Exile Island.

A final four? Not so fast

In the end, it was the team of Ozzy, Jason, Erik and Amanda who won the challenge and the trip.

Arriving to their reward, Amanda, Jason, Erik and Ozzy were welcomed by the friendly Micronesian villagers. Erik stated, “I’ve seen more breasts here than I’ve ever seen.” Enjoying their time, Amanda had an opportunity to snuggle once again with Ozzy while Jason got a little drunk and high off the organic native spirits.

As the rains fell Cirie sat alone on Exile Island contemplating her plan to oust Ozzy and get rid of the Hidden Immunity Idol.

The next morning, while Parvati, Natalie and Alexis slept, James took it upon himself to do some daily chores around camp. But his generosity came with a bunch of loud noise that irritated and disrupted the girls sleep. Parvati politely asked James to keep it quiet. A frustrated James walked away and stated, “The actual gall to get up and tell somebody something and then lay your ass back down, that’s some nerve.”

Eventually coming back from their trip, Ozzy excitedly talked about the feast they ate. Trying to be discrete about it, it was obvious that hearing about the food was a bit annoying to the others. Later, James informed Amanda about Parvati and her sudden change in attitude. Amanda worried about Ozzy and his time on the island. Also concerned about their chances, Jason and Erik discussed ways to possibly change the outcome of the next Tribal Council.

A dousing challenge

Arriving at Challenge Beach for the Immunity Challenge, Jeff informed the tribe that they would be holding their arms up in the air while attached to a chain that was attached to a bucket of water. Once their hand fell down, the bucket of water would tilt pouring water all over them and they would be out of the game. The last member standing would win Immunity.

As the challenged progressed, Cirie and Erik baled out of the challenge for a bowl of candy, Alexi dropped by default, Natalie got dizzy, Ozzy douses himself for milk and three donuts and Amanda drops her hand to use the bathroom. After six hours of holding their hands up Jason and Parvati were the last two standing. Suddenly Jeff brought out a platter of items (a large pizza, candy, peanut butter, cookies, donuts, two chocolate bars and beers). The other part of the bribe was that who ever opted for the food could share it with the other members. Parvati enticed Jason to drop his hand. He requested a guarantee from the team they would not vote him out if he dropped down. All promised not to vote for him. But Alexis and Cirie crossed their fingers behind him. Jason prayed he didn’t make a mistake as he dropped his hand giving Parvati Immunity.

Back at camp, Cirie put her plan in motion to oust Ozzy. Because everyone thought that Jason made the silliest mistake ever, their intentions were to go against their promise and vote him out. Cirie approached Parvati, Natalie and Alexis to discuss her plan. They chose to also tell Jason. Unfortunately, they decided to keep James, Amanda and Erik out of the loop.

Still feeling a little unsure about Parvati, James and Ozzy toyed with the idea of playing the Hidden Immunity Idol at Tribal Council. Ozzy stated, “In the last moment, I might just stuff the Idol in my bag. We’ll see what happens at Tribal. I might end up playing it just to be safe.”

Ozzy’s on the crazy train outta here

At Tribal Council, Eliza, the first member of the Jury, took her place to hear what occurred in the last few days. When it was time to vote, Ozzy, James, Amanda and Erik knew that Jason was going home. Receiving four votes, it only took one more and he was gone. But the momentum shifted. Suddenly Ozzy’s name appeared five times in a row making him the second member on the Jury. Not only was Amanda, James, Erik and Ozzy surprised, but Eliza almost jumped out of her seat when the votes were being red. The words, “KARMA, KARMA, KARMA” flashed across Eliza’s forehead as to say to Ozzy…”Got Cha!” As Cirie smiled over the success of her plan, Parvati looked worried.

In Ozzy’s closing statements, he said that he trusted people too much, but that he was truly pissed with the outcome.

Conclusion…

It would make me wonder if all of Parvati’s work will backfire eventually. If she makes it to the end, will they award her the million or be resentful of her success. I hope that Cirie gets lots of credit for what we’re seeing because she’s doing a remarkable job of staying under the radar yet making some key strategic moves. Erik, Alexis and Natalie are only good for three votes. I haven’t seen any strategic play from them at all. Perhaps they will blossom as this game progress.

Only time will tell.

Photo courtesy of CBS