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Remember back when Stephen thought it was a bad idea to tell JT about the hidden Immunity Idol? Yeah, that's come right back to bite him in the ass. He goes to Eddie George's wife and tells her that yes, he thinks they should share the news with JT. Of course, it all might be too little, too late. JT seems pretty savvy and is also good at hiding his brains behind his Southern accent. He's definitely going to complicate matters for Taj, Stephen, Brendan and Sierra (even if he doesn't know he's changing the game for two members of Timbira).

Oh, wait. Did we say that we thought JT seemed savvy? Strike that. He claims that he thinks Taj trusts him and believes that she will honor a promise to give him the idol if he is in danger of being voted out. So now, by our count, Taj is in an alliance with Stephen (semi-secret), JT (semi-secret), Brendan (super-secret) and Sierra (super-secret). It's enough to give both of us migraines.

Also of concern is the fact that JT doesn't catch the fact that Taj says, "We're together to the merge!" Stephen quickly corrects her, saying, "To the merge? We're together to the end!" It's not even very subtle, but JT is so happy to have some good buddies that he misses the implication. Okay, he's so pretty. Kim will play female Joe for a moment.

Speaking of pretty, here's Jeff Probst! Today's Immunity Challenge is a combination slingshot competition and puzzle-solving contest. Each team must destroy three tiles in succession in order to have bags of puzzle pieces be released. Basically, JT and Tyson are the lone slingshot dudes, even though the rules allow the teams to swap players out. It's a close competition until JT manages to hit a tile in just such a way that he leaves himself with a tiny target. This allows Tyson to pass him up, and Timbira breaks away pretty easily. Hmmm. Is it possible that Eddie George's wife's promise to give JT the idol could be tested as soon as tonight's Tribal Council? That would be something.

It's possible, but if we look at things realistically, smart money has to be on Sydney. Jalapao is down to five players, and if JT, Taj and Stephen are in a true alliance, Sydney is the next logical choice. Of course, the alarming infection on Joe's leg might cause the tribe to vote him out due to fears about his health, but that seems pretty unlikely.

Joe is completely lacking in subtlety as he says he's going to go off for a walk, and he quickly discovers the fake hidden Immunity Idol. People just never seem to learn.

Despite the fact that Joe and Sydney seem to think that Taj is the one to vote out, JT and Stephen are all about sticking with Taj...until the budding bromance crew realizes that Stephen actually has the Immunity Idol and it would be safe to vote her out. We're sure this is just editing for suspense, but the two friends do have a point. Get rid of Taj and they have an idol all to themselves. Also, that gets rid of the awkward third wheel.

And, our suspicions that it's the editing trying to mislead us are absolutely correct. Even though JT appears to waffle some, there was really no doubting that he'd stick with Taj if Stephen had anything to say about it. There's no reason for Stephen to burn bridges with his super-secret post-merge alliance, and since he has some sway over JT, he's able to convince him to vote for Sydney. Poor Joe. He's quickly running out of pretty girls to "strategize" with.

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