'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - Ep. 10 -or- "A Pivotal Moment Instigated by a Dirty Whack Fruitcake"

Nine are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

Due to last week's double castoff (Rebecca and Jenny), the tribes are closely matched in numbers this week. Aitu is still the underdog with four members to Raro's five, but they're a solid powerhouse. Raro isn't organized and tends to not work towards a common goal.

And, I'm far from the only one who's picked up on Raro's mis-strategy in the game. Jonathan, their recent mutiny addition, seemed to be at wit's end with them in the opening of tonight's show (Day 25). As he fishes, they sleep in. Or, Adam smooches with Candice or snuggles with Parvati. Nate bristles whenever Jonathan tries to lead the tribe, though goodness knows they need some kind of boot in the butt to get their act together. Oh, woe is Jonathan. Although he's outlasted three of the Raro members, he knows he's not in with the in crowd. Yet, he keeps pushing the envelope and making Nate bristle so much that his hair goes wild.

Over at the Aitu tribe, although they're tight, they're suffering. Yul complained of his leg hurting, as well as feeling achy and a bit ill. Sundra showed Ozzy a huge scrape on her knee and they're all hurtin' puppies.

Ah, but the game switches up. Instead of going to a Rewards Challenge, Jeff announced they had paints, brushes, and new buffs. The merge is on! The tribes decided to live at the ex-Raro campsite as it lacks rats. They named the newly merged tribe Aitutonga (a mix of Aitu-whatever and Rarotonga). The castaways enjoyed a feast catered by the locals and a boat ride back to camp. A good time was had by all. Or was it?

Jonathan, in confessionals, once again complained that the "kids" were partying too much and not thinking of the game. Now, I know where he's coming from, but I think that he tends to be too intense and always playing even though he tends to make some bad decisions. What bad decisions? Well, the mutiny, for one. He's lucky to still be there. Another bad move is his tendency to lead and be bossy. Yes, he has a reason, but it still alienates some of the tribe members and makes that target on his back a bit bigger.

After settling in at camp, the others turned to thoughts of the game. It's obvious that the tribes will work along tribal lines for any voting. That puts Aitu at a disadvantage due to being one member less than Raro. Nate and the rest of Raro pledged to stick together as they can indeed count. So, the dilemma turned to the fact that Aitu has to flip a Raro to their side.

Yul approached Jonathan with a hypothetical "if I had the hidden Immunity Idol" scenario (like the "If I Did It" - yikes!). He pointed out that Raro would probably target him (Yul) and Aitu would probably target Jonathan. Then, if he used the idol to save himself, Jonathan would be voted out instead. Although he made it hypothetical to Jonathan, he told both Ozzy and Sundra that he has the idol. So, they'll vote whatever he says and they know someone must flip from Raro - Jonathan is their best bet.

The Immunity Challenge was one of endurance and actually easier for smaller folks (like women) than the larger folks like Adam, Nathan, and Yul. They had to hang onto a pole, not using the top, until they couldn't hang on any longer. There were bands of rope around the poles for foot and hand grips. As Yul said, "This is why elephants can't run up trees." The men, with the exception of Ozzy, did poorly. In the end, it was Candice who looked oh-so-cool-just-hanging-around for so long against Ozzy. Ozzy nailed it and won the first individual Immunity.

So, the scheming went into full force back at the camp. For not doing a heck of a lot of work, Adam sure thinks he can run the tribe. He pushed mightily for a Yul vote from the Raro members while telling us in confessional that Ozzy's too strong and must go soon, too.

Yul admitted to Jonathan that he has the hidden Immunity Idol, no hypotheticals involved. Although, in a way, it's blackmail, it's not an unfriendly blackmail. It leaves Jonathan the choice to vote with Aitu or be picked off as the runner-up against Yul. He was put in a quandary and there's only really one way out for him - Yul's offer. Jonathan hinted to Raro that Yul might have the idol without ever breaking Yul's secret. They didn't think so.

Aitu gave Jonathan a voice in deciding which Raro member to target so that the ex-Aitu vote would be unanimous. Despite me saying "Adam! Adam!," Jonathan felt Adam had protected him and that Nathan should be targeted.

And, so he was. At the Tribal Council, no votes were shown as they were made, but the votes went down tribal lines with a Jonathan flip back to Aitu. He really had no choice if he wanted to stay in the game. Although it puts him in a bad light with the ex-Raro, it all started with his decision to mutiny. Nathan was voted out 5 - 4 with Raro votes all for Yul to go. Yul played it right. He didn't have to use the hidden Immunity Ido. Jonathan played it right or, more like the only way he could play it and stay in the game.

Hey, remember Cao Boi wanted to force the Immunity Idol to put into play? He had a reason, y'know. Without even being put into play, tonight's episode showed the idol can be used for a power play to shake up the game.

How did Nathan take his plight? At Tribal Council, he looked dejected, rejected, and terribly sad. In the parting words during the credits, he was just mad: "That dirty stanky whack fruitcake sold me out!"