Thank goodness, this season of Survivor is almost over. Before I get into the review, a quick note: I’ll be traveling for work next week, so I won’t be watching the Survivor finale until later. I know! Good thing I barely care about this season. And, my work trip is in The Bahamas so, you know, I can’t really complain. I know, I know, you must all really pity me. OK, click through if you watched this week’s episode – spoilers ahead! This week’s episode began with Dan saying that he thinks his alliance is pretty solid, and Carolyn saying that she doesn’t trust him. Foreshadowing alert! Carolyn told Mike about Dan’s special second vote. Still though, it seemed like almost everyone – even Carolyn – felt like Mike had to go. The guy is such a threat to win at this point, if he can make it into the final three. All The Fixin’s The definition of “reward” is “something given or received in return or recompense for service, merit, hardship, etc.”  I guess, under that definition, Rodney is expecting a reward for the hardships he’s endured as a complete and utter loser. The guy can’t win a challenge, and just hopes someone will take pity on him and give him their hard-earned prize. What a guy! The Reward Challenge was an obstacle course and puzzle, and everyone competed on teams. But, hilariously, no one could solve the puzzle. It took over an hour and some VERY blatant hints from Jeff Probst before, finally, someone got it. (Sierra had suggested the word “fixings”, earlier on, but Dan had dismissed the idea.) Carolyn, Mike and Will won. Would Carolyn give her reward to Rodney? She debated it, out loud, and then decided not to. Ha! That was weird. I mean, take your reward – you earned it. But keep your mouth shut. It made it so much worse, to act as though it was an option. Rodney, of course, was pissed. What a baby! You’re hungry? WIN SOME FOOD. The winning three got a cool helicopter ride and a surf ‘n turf dinner. Will brushed off Mike’s suggestion that they should be the final three, telling him “you’re public enemy number one.” (At least he’s honest.) So, Mike changed his tactic to trashing Rodney a bit, and saying how he needed to at least outlast him. It was a clever move, because you never know what people might fall for. The “I’m more deserving” argument has worked in the past. Ballers The Immunity Challenge required players to grab three bags with grappling hooks, then maneuver one ball through a table maze. Let’s get this out of the way first. DID YOU GUYS SEE RODNEY DURING THIS CHALLENGE? Was he even trying? He never made it to the puzzle stage, and his grappling hooks were all over the place. What the hell? This guy sucks. A sandwich could beat Rodney in a Survivor challenge. The challenge came down to Mike and Sierra, and it was VERY tense. No joke, I was on the edge of my seat. Mike won! That guy is really something. I don’t necessarily like him, but I’m absolutely rooting for him to win. He’s played hard. Shot Callers Back at camp, Dan and Carolyn were gunning for each other. It was an interesting situation, because each person had an advantage that they could play, but neither was sure whether they should. Trust and timing were huge here. Mike tried to tell Dan that his alliance was gunning for him, and Dan reacted in a way that Mike accurately described as “uppity”. In fact, “uppity” can pretty much sum up Dan. The guy is painfully arrogant and condescending. I was briefly very, very concerned that we were going to end up with Dan, Will and Rodney in the final three. That would have been the worst final three in the history of the show. At Tribal Council, Dan played his advantage and cast a second vote. Then, Carolyn played her Hidden Immunity Idol – no one really knew she had it, so it was a beautiful surprise. Dan using his advantage was definitely a tip-off for her to play it, but I was still very relieved that she did. It seriously threw off Dan and Rodney, which made me so happy. Carolyn was outrageously happy as her name was read over and over again. Can she win? If she isn’t sitting next to Mike, yes. I think people like Shirin and Hali will respect her gameplay, especially compared to the alternatives. What if neither Mike nor Carolyn makes the finals? Sierra, Will and Rodney is a pretty weak final three. In that situation, I’d root for Sierra to win. But I truly have no idea who’d get the votes. Mike is facing an uphill battle now. Can he win his way back into the game? Will one more Hidden Immunity Idol become available since Carolyn played hers? Will my hotel in The Bahamas have DVR? So many questions! See you next week.