Lies, lies and damned lies. All was exposed at tribal council the previous evening, but no one’s talking about it.
Danni feels sure she'll be the next to go. But I doubt it. She's been very good at not being noticed, and at being effective without being threatening. Lydia says she smelled sausage and eggs, first thing in the morning - and was awake and not dreaming. Judd says it was probably Stephenie farting. Always elegant, that guy. Stephenie says no, she was out of gas. Cindy is mercifully silent. Danni continues, to camera, to say she can't believe how everyone is pretending that they have forgotten the lies exposed last night at tribal council.
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Judd and Stephenie turn cart-wheels, for no apparent reason. Just frisky, I suppose. But they receive pathetically sycophantic applause. Then it's time for the traditional reward auction. They each get $500 with which to bid, and they're allowed to share a bid. Judd sniffs his wad of dollar notes like a connoisseur, as does Steff.
Jerky, mosquito nets and a steak sandwich
Danni's the only bidder on a plate of beef jerky (like biltong). Cindy beats Lydia to eat 3 chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. Curious religion these folks have - at the sight of chocolate chip cookies, they chant, "Oh, my God!” Then comes an individual mosquito net, for which there's fierce bidding, with Lydia getting it at $140. Everyone agrees she has a huge number of bites.
There's another fierce bidding war for a covered plate, which is won by Rafe and Danni, who find they have a huge Philadelphia steak sandwich with chips. Judd says it looks like "Paradise". The next item is a small envelope which Jeff insists will give a huge advantage at the next immunity challenge. Danni wins it at $200. As he gives her the envelope, he points out the large wax seal, as it must stay sealed until the challenge, to be valid. Danni has spent her money well - the auction will soon stop, and there'll be nothing more to bid on.
Next on offer is visiting friends and relatives. Everyone screams, as is traditional. Cindy's twin sister Mindy is there; Rafe's mom Lonny (he says "this is so Random!"); Danni's brother, Judd's wife; Lydia's brother, and Steph's boyfriend.
It’s all relative
The bidding is to have their loved one stay overnight with them, at the camp. They can pool funds to win, but only one of them gets a relative to stay. Rafe raises the bids to $300. Steph asks Lydia to lend her money, and Lydia, unwisely, agrees rapidly, for Steph would never raise a finger to help Lydia. Steph now has $750, but Judd, with Cindy's contribution, raises $880 and wins. His wife leaps into his arms. Ah, but he also won the right to invite two other relatives as well.
The three he does not pick for this privilege will go and spend the night alone at the old Yakkers’ camp. Rafe is weeping, as Judd picks Steph's boyfriend, and Cindy's Mindy. Cindy deserves it for having given him all her money. The Empress Steff is just being sucked up to, yet again, without being in the slightest degree more deserving than anyone else. Why do these people hold this terribly ordinary girl in such unmerited awe?
The winners head back to the Shazam camp. Judd's wife is amazed that he has learned any outdoor skills, and he says she thinks he's a "sexy camper". He tells her about his plan to go to the final two with Steph, who now owes him. He thinks he has a firm alliance of himself, Steff, Cindy and Rafe. Somehow, I don't think Rafe will feel so certain about that.
Losers plotting
The three losers plot. Danni says Gary told her to stick to Rafe and trust him (not that trusting him had greatly helped Gary himself) - and Rafe says Gary said the same to him, about Danni. He wants to catch Judd in another lie, to convince Steph that he's untrustworthy.
Judd's wife keeps saying she can't believe Judd can do this. Steph who has admired the brute for some time, assures her that he's wonderful at camping. Judd's thrilled that everything's going according to his plan - Cindy's too weak at challenges to get much help from the clue she got, and even if she wins immunity, they can push out Lydia instead.
The loved ones, of course, were the losers in the auction - they get howled at by the monkeys, and eaten by the mosquitoes. The guests now leave. Judd's happy to have been with his wife, who he says made him feel as full as "25 White Castle Cheeseburgers". Isn't that romantic? With or without ketchup, Judd? And he's certain he can win everything, now. Er-hmm, Judd. Ever heard of hubris?
The Nauseator greets the Rafenator
Judd cockily welcomes "Mr.Rafenator" on his return. The Nauseator greets the Rafenator? Lydia now, peculiarly, talks to Judd, and suggests a new plan, to get rid of the other threats. Danni had said she'd tell Rafe if Judd decided to go against him, to try to turn Stephenie by demonstrating that he was breaking their alliance. And here it comes.
Now Probsty says this immunity challenge needs "smarts". Judd looks disappointed, and Stephenie ought to be worried. It’s like a circular human game of chess or draughts. And we discover that Danni's card allows her, just once, to swop positions with any other player, at any time.
As brains are handy here, Lydia manages to trap and eliminate Cindy. Steph has been working herself into a good position - so Danni switches with her. Lydia's next out, then Danni knocks out Rafe. Then Judd's out, and Danni eliminates Steff and wins.
The serious plotting begins
Danni works on Stephenie rather cleverly. As they mash corn together, she says Judd told her he's still mad about losing Jamie, and Steffi gapes. Then she says he added : “Don’t think I don’t know who’s in control.”. She adds that Judd said they must now eliminate the strongest people. Steff looks unbelieving, but bothered. While all the plotting is going on, Judd sits, aloof, high on the pyramid.
Steffi comments that Judd will do anything to win, and has been caught in several lies, while Danni really hasn't lied at all. She talks with Rafe, who says it's a big thing to get rid of Judd, so they'd need to think about it. They go off with Danni for further discussion. Steff suggests dumping Judd now, then Lydia, and taking Cindy to the last four. Rafe's confident Lydia will join them to vote off Judd. They wonder whether to tell Cindy. Amazingly, Stephenie still feels sentimentally attached to Judd "after all they've been through", and she "loves" him, but fears he'll slit her throat. Doesn't that tell you a lot about her?
Lydia tells Judd she knows she's going, though he says nobody can feel safe in this game. Judd asks her and Rafe not to vote against him. As they head for tribal council, we hear him saying that he'll miss having Lydia around, singing and dancing. Probst leads the chat, on this and that. Mainly that. Judd talks about how he has no problem voting people out - anyone else goes, and it's better for him - and you just have to trust and love the one's you're with right now - - and Steff closes her eyes eloquently. She had said it was important to be able to explain your voting at the end.
Time to vote
And so to vote. Judd votes against Lydia, saying nastily that she sang and danced her way right out of the jungle. He can't even spell her name right. But when the votes are read, it's: Judd, Lydia, Lydia, Judd, The Juddinator, and Judd. Steff won't even look at him. He leaves with his characteristic charm, saying: “Thanks, guys. Hope you guys all get bit by a freaking crocodile. Scumbags!” And wanders off, muttering “Scumbags”. Classy to the last!
Probst always like to end with a pompous statement that tries to sound wise. He says that things have changed in a very big way. They haven’t really.
Cindy was not told of the plan and Rafe and Steff have some explaining and consoling to do. Judd, in parting, says he's pissed off and feels betrayed, and it sucks to have been lied to, as he never ever lied to anyone (really?). This guy doesn't just lie, he lies about lying. He feels this confirms how important he was as the biggest target.
Why Judd was on the chopping block
Why, then, did Judd eventually have to leave? He thought he had everything under control (always a risky belief): he thought he had a firm alliance for the final four, certain that he’d reach the last two with Steff, and, of course, that he would win. It never seems to have occurred to him that other people may have had different plans. He denounced them as 'scumbags" for wanting to win as much as he did.
He was a born-again hypocrite. He established himself in the minds of others as someone who schemed a bit too much, and was untrustworthy. He may have been more loyal to this alliance than they thought (though he dumped his first tribe without hesitation) but it's impressions that count.
They surely all remembered his horrible confrontation with Margaret, and though he calmed down a bit after that, he never pretended to be nice. Instead, he showed himself as tactless and inconsiderate. He was strong enough in challenges, but his main status as a threat came from being seen as someone who would easily turn on his allies whenever it suited him. Flexible early on, he then seemed to get stuck with his first main alliance, and to assume it would never change. That's never a wise assumption.
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