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Previously on Survivor, the men whipped the women. Again. We are talking physical, mental and emotional domination. Thus far, the female tribe, Salani, has been a hot mess of instability. There is a core alliance that contains terrible players (Kat and Alicia) and people who cannot stand them. Yes, the danger of a day one alliance has never been more apparent than this season as five people made an oath. Three of them despise the other two and for good reason. Alicia is a problem child while Kat has turtled. There is very little upside to keeping either player around yet due to their allegiances, each appears safe in the short term.

The only trouble for the men’s tribe comes in the form of Colton, an in-bred hick with a need for attention that would make various Kardashians shake their heads with pity. Colton was given an immunity idol by the members of Salani. After gaining possession of the game’s most powerful weapon, Colton formed an alliance of his own. He sought out the weaker members of the men’s tribe, Manono. Pointing out that they were not included in the walking American Apparel ad that is the power alliance, he secured the votes of Troyzan, Tarzan, Leif and Jonas. With only nine men in the group, this means that the “Misfits Alliance” is currently in control, whether too-impressed-with-himself Matt accepts this or not.

Night 5 at Salani begins with Alicia and Kat hugging while Chelsea, a woman who definitely hates to lose, laments, well, everything. Chelsea believes that if the women could get any momentum whatsoever, it could sustain them for a while. Colton and Jonas interrupt these thoughts by offering the safety of their dwelling to the women. A storm is in the offing. Forced to choose between heavy rain and Colton’s companionship, the ladies choose wisely. They suffer through the inclement weather.

A night without the protection of tarp leaves a few of the women desperate for the comfort of dry dwellings. They ask a few men if they can visit the Manono (doesn’t that sound like a boy band name?) encampment. Several of them are allowed to do so. This infuriates Matt. His empathy meter needs a re-charge.

Probst sighting!

Today’s reward challenge wherein the men humiliate the women (doesn’t this seem inevitable?) is a memory test. Six items from the island are placed behind a curtain. For a few seconds, the curtain is lifted. The contestants must memorize the items before the curtain drops once more then replicate them in front of our dimpled host. Since the women have failed completely in physical challenges, this is far and away their best hope for victory thus far. The prize is a fishing supply kit plus a canoe, one of the best group rewards ever offered this early in the game.

There is a race element to this challenge in that the players are required to look behind the curtain only as long as they need to memorize the order. This comes into play initially when Sabrina and Matt compete during the first heat. Sabrina runs back to replicate the items, which forces Matt to rush. He beats Sabrina to the mat that designates the player is ready to have their work reviewed…but he makes a mistake. Sabrina on the other hand gets her order correct, which gives the women a 1-0 lead.

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