Wow. I really thought Sash would give Brenda the idol, didn’t you? The move to oust Brenda was the biggest power play so far this season, but I can’t say I’m happy about it. Three weeks in a row, three smart players have been eliminated – Alina, Marty and Brenda. What’s left are a bunch of bumbling idiots who hate each other one second and are BFF the next. Who am I going to root for now? 

Hey, you know what’s not a good idea? Surrounding your campfire with wooden boxes before leaving for a reward challenge. Yep, the geniuses on the Libertad tribe protected their fire using kindling. That contained all their food and tools. Real smart. 

The tribe was split up into two teams for the reward challenge, which required teams to make their way across the beach using wooden barrels and planks. One team (including NaOnka, Kelly, Fabio, Dan and Chase) dominated the other and quickly won a pretty cool reward – volcano surfing (which was actually sledding) and a picnic. (Probst was kind of hilarious in how much he made fun of the other team for sucking so much.)

But while the winners were sliding down a mountain of ash, the losers were staring at some back at camp. Because the fire had gotten out of control (shocker!) and burned most of their possessions and food. Benry put it best with “This is a day from hell”. Meanwhile, things were kind of awkward over at the volcano picnic. NaOnka pulled Fabio aside to chat about strategy – yep, you read correctly. NaOnka and Fabio, who were previously mortal enemies – while Chase observed to Kelly that “You never talk, really,” and she replied “I know, it’s kind of funny.” What? That was so weird! It’s not her edit, she literally never speaks. During Tribal Council later, we found out why.

From the beginning of the episode, everyone was talking about getting rid of Brenda. When she and Sash chose to vote out Marty, they drew a line in the sand that everyone could see. What shocked me was that the people who were most vocal about wanting to eliminate her were the people she’d chosen to align with. Holly, NaOnka and Jane. The hold out, of course, was Chase. Because he loooooooves her. Or as Benry put it, “”He’s been playing with his heart and his emotions since day two.” (But on the first day, he was totally ruthless?) Jane phrased it more bluntly, saying Chase wanted to get in Brenda’s pants. NaOnka told Chase the entire plan, and he ran and told Brenda. NaOnka also told Sash about the plan, which was surprising. Wouldn’t NaOnka have had enough votes against Brenda without jeopardizing the scheme by cluing them in?

Brenda’s reaction to the news that she was getting voted out was surprising. She played it cool. She didn’t want to scramble and assumed her people would take care of her. It was a bold move, but it ended up being a mistake. 

The immunity challenge was pretty cool, and I was shocked – shocked! – at the order in which people fell. Each player had to stand on a slanted wooden platform while holding onto a long piece of rope. It required a lot of upper arm strength and stamina. Shockingly, Sash fell first. What?! I had my money on Dan, followed by Kelly. She did fall second, followed by Holly, Brenda, Dan and then Fabio. Fabio! That was pathetic! I had him pegged as a possible winner! Then NaOnka fell, leaving Benry, Chase and Jane to battle it out. If I didn’t find Jane’s arrogance so irritating, I would have been super impressed by her. I mean, I am impressed that she won, but I was really hoping she wouldn’t. That ego does not need to be fed. 

Benry fell right before his head was about to explode, and Jane declared she was going to give up because Chase wasn’t falling any time soon. Then Jeff Probst did the unthinkable. He said “Don’t you dare give up on this challenge!” and so Jane didn’t quit. And then she won. 

Um, really, Probst? Since when do you convince people not to quit? I seem to remember a time when you actually bribed people to quit with chocolate and peanut butter. If Jane wanted to quit, you should have let her quit! You stole that challenge from Chase!

Tribal Council was one of the best this season, I think. Sure, it’s kind of fun to watch NaOnka prove just how crazy she is. But this was the first Tribal Council where I felt like at least a few people sitting there were actually trying to play. It was also one of the few Tribal Councils this season where I had no idea who would go home. Benry? Brenda? NaOnka? 

Once Brenda knew for sure that her old BFF NaOnka had turned on her, she devised a plan to get Na out. Sash would give her the idol and they’d vote NaOnka. The thing was, NaOnka talked to Sash about voting off Brenda, so he had to make a decision. Personally, I thought he’d give Brenda the idol. I think he was stronger with her than without her because no one will ever trust him. 

At Tribal Council Probst gave Brenda a lot of crap for saying that she didn’t want to scramble to stay in the game because she thought it looked weak and was beneath her. Obviously in hindsight Brenda should have scrambled, but I understood her argument. She thought she was going to play an idol, so she didn’t want to be seen scrambling and be thought of as weak. She was trying to hold on to her power. 

Meanwhile, Probst asked Kelly to give everyone 20 years worth of wisdom, and she delivered the verbal equivalent of a giggling unicorn. So that’s why she never speaks. She doesn’t know how! 

I felt kind of bad for Brenda when she looked at Sash and he looked away, not giving her the idol. Everyone had voted for her except for poor, stupid Kelly who didn’t even vote NaOnka. She voted Benry. In fact, I kind of think she might have been trying to vote Brenda and just misspelled it. 20 years of wisdom hasn’t gotten her much. 

I’m sad to see Brenda go. I thought she was playing the best game out there, and I think Sash made the wrong move in crossing her. Who to root for now? Fabio? At this point, I’m starting to worry that Jane will slip through to the finals and win the whole thing. Ugh.

What did you think of the episode? Were you impressed by the power play? Did you laugh when NaOnka said “He pissed me off to the highest point of pisstivity”? And what can NaOnka possibly do next week that will be worse than everything she’s already said and done? 

PS – Yes, I have read that the scenes from next week spoil who wins immunity. I didn’t notice and I don’t want to know, so be nice and don’t reveal it in the comments.