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Jaclyn’s face speaks volumes. She is shocked by how blatantly Josh has just disregarded them as potential threats. Gullible Jon is all, “Yeah, Josh is great.” Seriously, dude. Put a ring on it.

Now is the moment on Survivor when the possible future Mrs. John Rocker implodes John Rocker style. Food has been a huge issue this season, particularly for the people who had to beg Probst for food. Well, when the tribes merged, a giant bowl of trail mix was pilfered. Julie, who has been especially irritated by the hearty appetites of some of her opponents, snuck off with the food, which she is now keeping hidden in her belongings.

Ordinarily on Survivor, stealing shoes is a hilarious event that turns a mediocre, tie-dye clad player into a fan favorite or a bald troll into a villain. The other players are none the wiser when the action unfolds, though. Julie is not that fortunate. Moments after she gloats about sharing her ill-gotten gains with her allies, the other players grow obsessed with the missing food stash, and they decide to investigate her bag.

Jon, doing his best Special Agent Johnny Utah impersonation, finds the stolen goods. Wes relays that other players are pissed and planned to take the food from her bag then eat it. Julie will be extremely lucky if that is all that happens. On day one of the merge, she has exposed herself as an untrustworthy player.

“At home, okay, you take trail mix, okay, no big deal. It’s trail mix. Who cares? Here, we don’t have anything to eat. She’s selfish and she’s awful, and I can’t trust somebody in my alliance who is stealing people’s food. It’s ridiculous.” – Jon, presumably speaking for 11 starving people

As ridiculous as the statement sounds, the entire season of Survivor may have just had its outcome altered by the theft of trail mix. Jon and Jaclyn are the big swing votes tonight. If Julie has alienated them, Team Jeremy will wither and die due to no fault of its leader. He’s not the one who committed a misdemeanor simply for the vicarious thrill of shoplifting.

Moments later, Julie returns to camp. She quickly realizes that her position in the game has changed. She takes note of the open bag, and she comments to the camera that her tribe mates are unhappy with her. “I feel like I’ve got a fire under my butt,” is her quote. For what it’s worth, that would be a great way to punish thieves on Survivor.

Probst sighting! The longstanding host of the game does not appear until the 31 minute mark of the episode, which may be a record. If we’re signing his paychecks, we are only paying him for a half-day. Anyway, the game is now about individual rather than team immunity. The immunity challenge involves the balancing of a ball on a disc by using two extended pieces of rope.

Probst notes that even a moment of lost focus will lead to elimination. Jeremy quickly reinforces this by losing his ball almost immediately. At the nine minute mark, a minute prior to a break, Missy and Julie lose balance. In round two, Reed is eliminated quickly and then a gust of wind wipes out Reed, Baylor, Alec and Jaclyn. At this point, the wind really picks up, and Natalie is caught in the breeze.

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