New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Timbira breaks out to an early lead with five piggies. Is that the one that went to market, or the one that cried wee wee wee all the way home? We're not sure. JT's of Jalapao starts to adapt to the challenge, though, and they're soon tied, especially since Tyson begins to struggle a bit. However, JT's efforts are for naught. It's an exciting match, but Timbira pulls it off. This means that they get to choose a member of Jalapao to send to Exile Island. Since the super-secret post-merge alliance is already solidly in place, Brendan selects Joe. When Probst asks Joe which member of Timbira he wants to take with him, he chooses Erinn, for "strategy" reasons. We're pretty sure his "strategy" of wanting to hang out with her is the same as his "strategy" for wanting to keep Sydney around on Jalapao. He thinks they're hot.

We get to see some nice moments as Team Timbira gets to enjoy their reward. They totally dive into the food (so much so that they'll probably feel sick later) and have a generally wonderful time together. Even Coach says that (since Erinn is on Exile Island), these are exactly the people he would have wanted to share this experience with. None of his tribemates reciprocate his sentiment, of course.

With Joe and Erinn at Exile Island, we might have the makings of a second super-secret post-merge alliance! If there are enough of these before the merge, we won't be able to keep up with all the permutations. It's like Clue with the multiple endings!

Since they're starting at the very beginning, just like Taj and Brendan way back in the day, Joe and Erinn are each told to choose an urn. Only one urn contains a clue about the hidden Immunity Idol, and Erinn is the recipient. She quickly susses out that the idol is back at camp, and that there is probably more than one. Ultimately, she decides to share this information with Joe, whom she deems trustworthy. We think that in her case, "trustworthy" actually means "trustworthy", rather than cute.

We wonder about the hidden Immunity Idol here. If Joe and Erinn learn that both of them have been discovered, there's a chance that they might uncover the original super-secret post-merge alliance. They'd almost have to know that Brendan and Eddie George's wife have been working together.

But wait. Eddie George's wife and Stephen are back at Jalapao, and they discuss the possibility of creating a fake hidden Immunity Idol and putting it in the secret hiding place. If they can make one as convincing as the Creations By Bob in Survivor's previous season, this is a pretty sound strategy. It really is fascinating how Eddie George's wife and Brendan do seem to be thinking a good ways ahead. If their super-secret post-merge alliance does make it to the merge, they're going to be truly formidable.

Lo and behold, Taj's false idol does look pretty good...not as good as Bob's, but still okay. Of course, she goes and hides the real idol in a bag, and JT immediately discovers it. Whoops. JT goes to Stephen and asks him about it, and he is flummoxed. So...

Continued:       1       2       3