Survivor: Tahitian Islands

Get Your Head in the Game

After Gordon's elimination, Dwayne was speechless. He knew he was the only castaway, other than Gordon himself, who didn't vote Gordon. Dwayne had thought for sure that either Lilly or John was going to be voted out. He also felt as though he had an advantage, because he is the only person who knows who the other John vote was, leaving the alliance of six confused on why they didn't vote Lilly. The fire was still soaked so the castaways find their way to the shelter in the dark and came together in a spooning position. It was a very cold night so the castaways have trouble falling asleep.
~
"Come on in guys!" called Jeff. "Taiarapu, getting your first look at the new Māhina tribe, Gordon voted out at the last tribal council." Taylor puts her hand up to her mouth as she gasps. "Who's ready for our second reward challenge?" Michael bites his lip and Liza smiles ear to ear. "Today's challenge is extremely simple. It's a simple game of tug-of-war. There is a rope with one pink side and one yellow side. Taiarapu holds the pink side and Māhina holds the yellow side. There is a ribbon in the center of the rope, dividing the two sides. Whichever team can pull their ribbon to touch their mat first wins reward. Want to know what you're playing for?" Lilly and Liza hold hands. Stef's mouth is watering for a food reward. Jeff pulls the cloth off the table. "This! You will be competing for coffee, sugar, cream, and milk. Taiarapu, you have one extra player, you'll have to sit somebody out. You can't sit out the same person in back to back challenges. Whoever sits out now will have to compete in the immunity challenge. Who's it going to be?" Taiarapu starts to discuss among themselves.
James raises his hand. "I'll pass on this one, Jeff," he says.
"James will be sitting out of this challenge."
"We got this guys," says Dwayne, "We need this more than ever."
The tribes get themselves ready on the rope, each tribe with the stronger castaways at the back of the rope. "Survivors ready, go!" Right from the start, Māhina is winning. With a castaway as strong as Dwayne on their tribe, they know that they can easily win the reward. With Dwayne at the back of the rope, Māhina is crushing Taiarapu. Within seconds, Beyoncé, who is in the front, pushes the ribbon down onto her tribe's mat.
"Māhina wins reward!" shouts Jeff.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" yells Dwayne, pumping his fist.
"Y'all did great. Teamwork!" says Beyoncé.
~
The Māhina tribe is extremely excited about their first win. However, the Taiarapu is pretty jealous that they had lost their first challenge. Taylor has her pink buff pulled over her eyes as she sits in the shelter, crying. James wants to cry, just looking at her. He walks over to her and takes a seat next to her. He places his hand on Taylor's sunburnt back. "Don't worry girl," he starts, "we've still got all that food from the first reward challenge." Rachel starts chewing on some sugarcane. "Plus, they just got rid of one of their best challenge competitors, so it will now be much much easier to win against them in the reward challenge."
Taylor lifts her buff to reveal her irritated red eyes. "Thanks James," she sniffles, giving him a hug.
Joey begins, "Staying on the topic of Gordon's elimination, what do you guys all think went down at that tribal?"
"I thought, for sure, that John would be going home after his performance in the immunity challenge," explains Michael.
"Yeah same," says Rachel, "I thought it would either be him or Beyoncé. It never even slightly crossed my mind that he would go."
~
The Māhina arrives back at their camp, to find a table, filled with two jars of each coffee, sugar, cream, and milk.
"Oh yeah, that looks just amazing," says David
"Should we have some now or would it be better to wait until right before the challenge?" asks Liza.
"I could kill for some of that at the moment," says Ashley, inhaling the beautiful fresh fragrance.
"It would be best if we saved it for before the challenge, because that immunity idol is way more valuable than anything else, even the food," suggests Brendon
"I've got to agree with Bread. Can I call you that?" asks John.
"Um, that's fine," he giggles in response.
The next day, before the immunity challenge, Māhina is binging all the food they can get inside of them, before feeling completely bloated. All that is left after their strengthening feast, is one jar, halfway full of cream.
~
"Come on in guys!" Jeff calls. The tribes walk in and set their bags down. "Who's ready to get to your second tribal immunity challenge? First thing's first, Taiarapu I'm taking it back."
Avril walks up to Jeff with the idol. "You might as well just give it back to us now," she giggles.
"Well, we'll see about that," he responds, "Once again, immunity is back up for grabs. For this challenge, you will need four castaways to run out to the large pit of mud. They will need to dig through the mud together, retrieving three crates for their tribe. Once they have all three of their crates out of the pit, one castaway will run the crates back to the other four, one at a time. Once all three crates reach back to your tribe mat, the next three castaways will begin untying the complicated knots of each crate. Then the last castaway will use the pieces inside the crates to solve a puzzle of a fish. First to finish win immunity. Taiarapu, you have one extra player, you'll have to sit somebody out. You can't sit out the same person in back to back challenges. James sat out in last challenge so he must compete in this challenge. Who's it going to be?" The castaway turn toward each other and strategize. They all agree to sit Taylor out of this one.
"Taylor's gonna sit out," says Michael.
"Taylor will be sitting out of this challenge," clarifies Jeff.
For Māhina, the castaways retrieving the crates are Ashley, Lilly, Brendon, and David. Taiarapu selects Tal, Rachel, Avril, and Amber for that job.
"Survivors ready, go!" The eight castaways start running out to the mudpit. Amber trips Ashley, and Ashley falls on her face, but gets right back up. They all arrive at the mudpit, Ashley a bit delayed. The eight leap into the pit and get the mud all over their bodies. First, Brendon feels a crate with his left foot. He sticks his whole body under the mud to grab the crate. He brings it to the surface and wipes his eyes, only to see that the crate is pink, not yellow. Avril sees the pink crate so she moves over to Brendon from behind and snatches the pink crate from him. She flips it out of the pit and as she does this, Lilly finds a crate. Lilly pushes her crate out of the pit so now, both of the tribes are tied, one to one. Next, Tal runs into one while trudging through the mud. While he is on his way, pushing the crate, he feels the other crate for his tribe. Once he flips them both out of the pit, Zac ran to the pit so he could push the crates back. By the time he is at the mudpit, Ashley and Brendon both push the final crates out at the same time. Zac has one crate at the Taiarapu mat. Dwayne runs to his first crate to pull it back, and then his second, and finally the third. Māhina was making a huge comeback and Zac was still pushing his third crate. Ellen, John, and Beyoncé start to each untie a knot. They finish just in time for Zac to get back with his final crate. Stef, James, and Joey slowly and carefully untie their knots as Liza starts the fish puzzle. Joey, Stef, and James finish with their knots, in that order, and Michael starts to construct the fish puzzle. Michael and Liza are now tied, neck and neck. Michael is starting with the outsides of the fish, while Liza is taking a different approach and solving it from the back forward. Michael's strategy is working well for him, as he is now winning. Michael pulls through and finishes the puzzle before Liza. "Taiarapu wins immunity!" Announces Jeff.
"Yes! We did it again!" cheers Tal.
"Aye, nice job!" says Taylor.
"I'm so so sorry, I couldn't do it," says Liza.
"No worries, Liza. It was a great effort by us all," replies Dwayne.
"Māhina, nothing for you but a date with me at tribal council." Jeff tosses the idol to Tal.
~
The Taiarapu tribe arrives at their camp. "You guys really pulled through today and I'm super proud. Especially you, Michael. Nice job pulling us ahead," says Taylor, high fiving Michael." exclaims Taylor. Michael pats Zac on the back. Stef, James, and Joey lie down in the bamboo shelter and whisper to each other. Stef starts.
"We are super close, but that doesn't make three people a majority," she says, "I can totally get Taylor and Avril on our side, that's five."
"Rachel is cool too," suggests Joey.
"Great!" exclaims James, "That's six, and majority."
"Come tribal, you all still thinking the same thing for the vote right?" asks Joey.
"Yep, Amber can go," says Stef. Stef goes to talk to Taylor and Avril down at the beach, while Joey and James recruit Rachel into their big alliance. Meanwhile, Michael, Zac, and Tal are at the well talking strategy.
"If we do ever lose a challenge," starts Zac, "challenge strength would be our best building block so we don't come back,"
Michael nods and asks, "So, Taylor would be our best target, or somebody else?"
Zac looks at Tal, and then Michael, "Well, yeah I think so," he responds.
"Radical," says Tal, "I'm definitely cool with that."
While all this is happening, Amber stays by the fire pit, eating some of the watermelon from the first challenge, and tries to hide it anytime somebody walks by. Luckily for her, nobody notices the melon that she stole from the tribe's supply.
~
"Well, we lost again," says Lilly, "but I do have a ton of faith we can pull through and win the next immunity."
"Definitely, we can send Taiarapu to tribal council so easily," says Ellen. Ashley nods.
Lilly and Liza walk off down toward the beach. Dwayne grabs his bag and follows the two, leaving the alliance of six back at the camp.
"Hey! So we've got another one of these tribals. We can either vote off Lilly, Dwayne, or Liza," explains John, "We could get rid of Lilly because she is a loose cannon when it comes to her temper, Dwayne because he is a huge challenge threat at the merge, or Liza because she caused us to lose today in the challenge."
"I don't think that it's time yet to worry about the merge, so I think we should keep Dwayne safe," suggests David.
Ashley stretches her back. "Lilly is pretty annoying and, as you said John, a loose cannon. I think we should keep her because her game will eventually blow up in her face."
"Brendon agrees. "Also, Liza seems to not really be trying. She pretty much just follows behind Lilly and doesn't have her heart all the way here in Tahiti."
Beyoncé raises her eyebrows, because she is concerned for Liza. Luckily for her, nobody sees. Beyoncé decides to sneak out of the conversation so she can talk to Liza, before the tribal council. "I'm sure that the three of them are plotting against us," she lies, "I'll go see where their heads are at for tonight's vote."
"Okay. Hit us up!" says Ashley.
"Great!" says Beyoncé, "I'll be right back, then." Beyoncé prances down to the water, where Lilly, Liza, and Dwayne are chilling and swims to them. "Liza!" says Beyoncé, "You're in trouble for tonight's vote!"
Liza gasps. "Does that mean I should be expecting votes?" she asks.
"Well, yes. Everybody but us has agreed to vote you. That's five against four. If we can get just one more person on our side, we'll be in control of the vote and any upcoming ones," mentions Beyoncé.
Dwayne starts, "I think Ellen would be our best bet. She seems like the easiest to get on our side. And also Beyoncé, we are voting David, because he is a mental and physical threat. He is really smart and good at the challenges. And, if we are in control, then we won't have to worry about losing another immunity. Is that okay with you?" he asks.
"Totally!" says Beyoncé, "I did actually feel the most disconnected from him out of the five of them. I felt the most connected with Ellen, so it would be easy to get her on our side, which means that Liza, you won't have to worry for tribal council." Liza sighs in relief.
"That's like music to my ears," smiles Lilly.
"Great! I'll go talk to Ellen and get her up with us," says Beyoncé. She walks back up to the five, smiling. She decides in her head to not lie about the three voting David, because she doesn't want the five to know it was her who flipped after the vote.
"So..." starts Ashley, "Spill the beans!"
"I didn't get much out of them, "but, I do know that they will be voting for you," says Beyoncé, gesturing to David. He nods. "But we don't have to worry! It's six verses three! Liza doesn't have an idol and I'm sure she can't find one before tribal council, so we shouldn't worry. We got this!"
"That's great!" says Brendon, "I will admit, I was worried about an idol being played, but we know now that they don't have one."
"Hey Ellen, Want to get water?" asks Beyoncé.
"I'd be happy to," she replies.
"Thanks girls!" says John. Ellen smiles back at him.
Beyoncé grabs the jug and walks off with Ellen.
Once they get to the well, Ellen lowers the jug. "I was thinking," says Beyoncé, "we have the opportunity to switch things around to go our way."
"What do you mean," asks Ellen, looking worried.
"Well, if we vote David, we could potentially send him home, if Liza, Lilly, and Dwayne are telling us the truth," answers Beyoncé.
"That is very true," states Ellen, "and I will admit, I do think that when it comes to it, we will be on the bottom of the alliance."
"Exactly!" smiles Beyoncé, "This could be a huge move to save us, and put us on top."
"I'll think about it," winks Ellen back at her. The two women walk back to camp with the jug of water and begin to boil it over the fire for tomorrow.
~
The castaways walk into tribal council and take a seat."Welcome to your second tribal council," says Jeff. Lilly, I'll start with you, how was the tension between you and your tribemates, when you got back at camp? Was it different from yesterday?"
Lilly starts, "It was a beautiful thing, really. We all came together and decided that this would be our last time coming here. I know we will win the next challenge," she states, "I just know."
"We really can, Jeff," says John.
"Ellen," starts Jeff, "is there any talk about idols or advantages?"
"Well, not much. I'm hoping that I can trust that my allies would let me know about anything major like an idol or an advantage. But up until now, at least I don't know."
"Brendon, last tribal council, you voted off a potential tribe leader. Has anybody came out and said they would like to be a tribe leader?"
"Not yet. I'm fine with just about anybody here being a leader," he answers
Ashley raises her hand. The castaways look at her. "I love being in charge, Jeff. I think that I'd make a great leader."
"Does anybody object?" questions Jeff. Nothing happens. "Well, Ashley, it seems like you are a tribe leader," he states.
"David, how is this vote based off for you?"
"Some people just don't have their heart completely in the game," says David.
Lilly wrinkles her eyebrows. "Who?" she asks, although she knows that it's Liza.
"Well, I'll be honest, I'm voting Liza, after her challenge performances and she doesn't have her heart in the game."
"What do you mean?" asks Liza
"Well, everytime Lilly does something, you follow. Everytime Lilly says something, you agree." Liza wipes a tear from her eyes. Her lip trembles.
"On that note, I'm curious to see who will go home tonight," begins Jeff. "Ashley, you're up." Ashley, Brendon, John, and David each vote Liza. Liza, Lilly, Dwayne, and Beyoncé each vote David. That leaves Ellen. Ellen is too stressed with being the swing vote, so she wastes her vote on Brendon, hoping there won't be a tie.
"I'll go tally the votes," announces Jeff, walking to the urn. "If anybody has a hidden immunity idol, and you would like to play it, now would be the time to do so." Ashley's confidence is showing in her big smile. "Okay. Once the votes are read, the decision is final. Person voted out will be asked to leave the tribal council area immediately. I'll read the votes. First vote, Liza." Lilly nods her head. "David." Dwayne can barely contain his excitement. "Liza. David." Lilly and Liza hold each other's hands. John rests his chin on his fist. "Brendon."
"What?" laughs Ashley. The castaways all laugh at that vote.
"Liza. David." David bites his lip. "Liza. Brendon grins. "David. We have a tie," finishes Jeff.
"Wow," says Ashley
"Who flipped?" asked David. Nobody answered. Ashley put her arm around David's shoulder.
"We will now have a revote," states Jeff, You may only vote for Liza or David. Liza, David, you will not vote. Ashley, you're up."
Ashley, Brendon, John, Lilly, Dwayne, and Beyoncé all vote the same. Ellen however has to make her own decision on who to vote out. She could stay loyal to her first alliance, or she could flip and follow Beyoncé to the original majority alliance. After a couple minutes, she decides on a vote.
"I'll go tally the votes," announces Jeff. He brings the urn back in front of the castaways. "I'll read the votes. First vote, Liza. David. Liza. David." John's face looks terrified. "Liza. David. Second person voted out of Survivor Tahitian Islands," Beyoncé wipes away a tear. "Liza. Liza, you need to bring me your torch." Liza stands up and grabs her torch from behind her.
"Good luck winning the next immunity challenge," Liza sincerely exclaims.
"Liza, the tribe has spoken," says Jeff, snuffing her torch. "It's time for you to go."
"It's been really fun out here. Bye!" waves Liza. Lilly waves back at her, crying and starts sobbing, devastated.
"Well, by the look on some faces, I can assume that this was a very emotional vote. Head back to camp, goodnight."
Liza decides to will her legacy advantage to Beyoncé.