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Will, Dan, Carolyn and Tyler are on their catamaran-burger reward, and they all lie about how the game is on pause while Dan trashes Mike and tries to fit in. In interview, Dan says that when Mike loses immunity, “smell you later.”

The four start eating burgers, and Dan is still blabbing on about how Mike is convinced that those three plus Rodney turned on him to get rid of him at nine. Oh, Survivor editors, it’s as though you put that in because you knew it would make Dan look stupid. Tyler lies that Mike was right about one thing, “he is a threat.” In interview, Tyler gloats about how Mike was right and how he loves that “Dan cannot see beyond top six.” Back on the boat, Dan talks about how Mike is Teflon, and no matter how many times he screwed up, he would always find a way out. Foreshadowing!

Probst sighting! You all know the spiel. “COIG! YGRTGTTIC? FTF. Mike, ITBTIN. OAIIBUFG!” It’s the old “grip onto a rope handle that is holding up 25% of your body weight, until you can’t hang on any more and you drop a big bucket of water over yourself” challenge. There will be two immunities today, one for a man and one for a woman, so only six people will be in danger tonight.

I saw a bit of talk about this challenge and how it was unfair that there are five men and only three women in the game, which makes it advantageous to be a woman. Of course, there are so many facets of Survivor that are disadvantageous to women, like lots of immunity challenges based on physical strength and the resulting dynamic we see every season to vote out women before men “because men are needed in challenges” or the difficulties women players have if they take a leadership position in a group, that I wonder why those people single out this example (and also the “use your tiny feet to stay on top of a pole” challenge) as being “unfair.”

Anyway, after 15 minutes, everyone is still in it, including Will (!). Sierra is first out, followed by Tyler (before Will!), then Will, then Dan. So now it’s the tense part of the challenge with Mike vs Rodney and Carolyn vs Shir… who are we kidding, Carolyn wins the female immunity necklace. Everyone starts cheering for Rodney, calling him Hot Rod and the like. Dan tries to motivate Rodney by talking to him the same way I imagine Dan talks to cheeseburgers (sample: “you got it baby, oh you got it”) but it is not enough. With a look of defeat because he knows he can’t give any more, Rodney slips his rope and Mike wins immunity.

The tribe returns to camp, and they all agree the vote tonight is for Shirin, and there will be no splitting because that would give away who is on the bottom. Shirin gets a side conversation with Dan for her “I’m not a threat in this game, so you’d be stupid to vote me out” pitch. Dan empties all the dirt out of his shoe and then takes a swig of water and spits it out. “I agree with you! I agree with every single thing you’re saying!” he Dans.

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