Mad Treasure Hunt

Mad Treasure Hunt is the eighth episode of.

Day 19
Solarrion returned to camp after Sarah Lacina’s blindside, where an angered Spencer Bledsoe chewed out Kass McQuillen for flipping to the Aparri alliance. She batted away the criticism by saying she’d gone with her gut, and then asked the Aparri alliance to cover her. Trish Hegarty and Woo Hwang emphatically agreed to protect her. As Kass hoped her old tribe would understand her decision with time, Morgan McLeod interrupted her, asking what they’d ever done to her. Kass returned that Morgan had never talked to her, before Tony Vlachos interjected that Sarah had been trying to get rid of Kass. Kass and Spencer then had an argument in which Kass warned him that he’d have to eventually make an unpopular move too, but he dismissed her strategy talk as laughable. "solarrion"

- Tribal was insane. We voted for Jefra. She should have gone home. We dodged these Idols. It’s all for nothing because Kass flipped and we’re screwed. Kass will fly in the face of strategy just because of how she feels. She’ll go, basically, wherever her estrogen takes her, not where her brain takes her.

"solarrion"

- The alliance of six let me go to the bottom and the number one rule of Survivor isn’t to cater to the person on top; it’s wonder about the person on the bottom. It’s like I pulled off a hat-trick on Survivor. I got rid of the girl I wanted to get rid of and two big lugs played their Idols unnecessarily. Triple win, right? I knew they were going to be mad. So I pissed off five people, but I gained five friends. The pissed-off people are going to get over it, so I don’t have an alliance. I am a free agent and everybody’s mad I messed up their game ‘cause I’m playing my game.

Day 20
The next morning, as the tribe went about their chores, Kass suggested that Morgan could be the person to do the water run since she was just “in her usual spot” lying in the shelter. When asked to get water, she returned that Kass being rude about it wasn’t an encouragement, but Kass countered that Morgan had been rude to her too. As LJ McKanas celebrated the dispute in the background, the two women continued to bicker. "solarrion"

- I’m fairly certain that Morgan is in a constant state of center of the universe. She’s like an old dog. Y’know, like you have a fourteen-year-old dog that you’re just keeping alive because you love it. You don’t mind that it pees on the floor and you have to go feed it, but all it really does is sit there. That’s Morgan.

"solarrion"

- Kass, she said that I’m, y’know, being really mean to her. I don’t think I’m being mean to her. I’m ignoring her. Maybe that’s mean, but I think she’s been, y’know, ignored and made fun of all her life and she should be used to this. With Kass, I feel like she’s just a bitter, ugly old lady and this sounds really conceited, but I think she hates me because I’m cuter than her and I’ve always been cuter than her. Kass is stupid. She needs to go. I’m gonna make sure of it.

At the Reward Challenge, Jeff Probst welcomed the tribe and revealed the challenge: Rise and Shrine. The castaways would be divided into two groups of five, and would first traverse a series of obstacles in the water (comprising a large teeter-totter and a series of balance beams) to retrieve a chest on the shore. They would then drag the chest to the base of a tall structure. One by one, the contestants were to climb the structure and then work together to pull the heavy chest to the top. Then, two members of the team would use pieces inside the chest to assemble a shrine puzzle. The first team to finish would win reward in the form of an Outback Steakhouse dinner away from camp.

The teams were randomly determined: Jefra Bland, Jeremiah Wood, LJ, Morgan and Spencer for the Orange Team and Kass, Tasha Fox, Tony, Trish and Woo for the Purple Team. The Orange Team were first over the teeter-totter, but Purple was close behind. Neck-and-neck, the two tribes easily crossed the balance beams, although Woo slipped and cost the Purple Team the lead. The two teams were soon untying the knots to their treasure chests, with Orange maintaining a marginal lead.

Woo and Spencer then began climbing the structure, with Woo pulling out ahead to give Purple the lead. Trish and Morgan followed, with Tasha and LJ (not using the provided rope) climbed next. Purple extended their lead as Kass and Tony both beat Jefra to the top, and Purple worked together to pull their chest up to the platform as Jeremiah brought up the rear for Orange.

Kass and Woo began work on Purple’s puzzle, quickly finding the first piece. However, Orange was close behind with LJ and Spencer on the puzzle, who also quickly assembled the first three pieces to retake the lead as Purple found their second piece. LJ and Spencer continued to extend the lead with the next five pieces as Kass and Woo only managed to find their third and fourth pieces. However, Orange had already gained the momentum, placing their last two pieces, and capping off the puzzle with the shrine locked in the chest. With that, Orange won Reward and departed for their Outback Steakhouse whilst the Purple Team returned to camp.

At camp, the losing Purple Team prepared a hearty meal to make up for their challenge loss. Kass asked the Solana alliance if they were more concerned about Jeremiah or Spencer, and all agreed that Spencer was the bigger threat. However, Trish offered to let Kass decide the vote, but Kass resisted having the final say as she didn’t see herself as being locked into the Solana alliance. Meanwhile, in a confessional, Tony noted the difficulty in reading Kass, but believed she was going to be loyal to them. Even so, Tony was determined to find the Hidden Immunity Idol near camp, and went hunting for it after alerting Woo. "solarrion"

- I am so pissed off that we didn’t win that challenge today where we could’ve went and eaten a nice juicy steak. But you know what they say? It’s better to be pissed off than to be ____ed on.

"solarrion"

- I’m not even in an alliance. I’m still a free agent. No one has said, “Kass, you’re in.” But there’s an assumption that I’m in and already Tony and Trish said, “Well, who would you want gone next?”  I said, “I don’t care, as long as it’s not me.”  And I want to reinforce that so that there’s a comfort level when I’m ready to come in for the kill.

"solarrion"

- Kass is telling me how she’s gonna be solid with us. She seems sincere, but she’s really hard to read because she doesn’t have any facial expressions. She’s just like a stone face. I can’t tell if she’s lying to me or not, and I’m a police officer. So I’m hoping she stays with us, but again, you always gotta prepare for the worst. Last night at Tribal, LJ and I played Idols. But there’s a Hidden Immunity Idol with special powers around camp. That’s a needle in a haystack. But there’s nothing but time on this Island, so I went out there and I started looking in tree holes, climbing trees. I’m doing all kinds of stuff ‘cause I need to find that Idol! It’s a security blanket that I would love to cover myself with.

At the Outback Steakhouse, the winning Orange Team enjoyed their feast comprising Pineapple-Ritas, salad, steak, baked potatoes, smores and milkshakes. Towards the end of the meal, Spencer opened his napking to discover a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol. He slipped the clue into his pocket to read later. "solarrion"

- When we first arrived at Outback, we were greeted by the Grilled Pineapple-Rita which had bacon in it and we’ve been talking about bacon this whole time, so that was amazing. We started off with a salad and it was honestly the best salad I’ve ever had. We went on to, like, a fully-loaded baked potato and then the steak was just amazing.

"solarrion"

- The steak was the best thing I’ve tasted – probably ever. Out here, I’m not concerned with manners and so I just said: forget the napkin, I’m eating! And it takes until about the end of the meal for me to finally realise my hands are gross and wipe them off. I open my napkin and out falls a piece of paper. I wonder what that could be. So I put it in my pocket ‘cause I think it’s going to be some kind of clue to an Idol and I need a game-changer right now and this could be it.

When the Reward-winners returned to camp, a rainstorm was raging and the group quickly huddled into the shelter. However, Spencer was desperate to find the Idol and stepped out of camp to read the clue. The clue indicated that the Idol was buried (but not down) in a place where a river once ran. Recognising that the location could be a wall of a riverbank nearby, Spencer continued out in the rain, looking for the Idol, taking off his shoes and pants and leaving them on the riverbank, along with the clue folded into his pants. Once the rain began to let up, Woo noticed Spencer’s absence and tracked him down using his “ninja stealth mode,” where he managed to observe Spencer digging through the bank wall. Spencer began walking towards Woo, and Woo played it off as “going for a walk.” The two passed each other and Woo picked up Spencer’s pants to find the Idol clue inside. Woo picked up the clue, put it in his pocket and bolted back to camp. "solarrion"

- I get to camp and all of a sudden, a downpour comes on, so I’m just trying to keep this thing dry. Tribal Council isn’t that far away, so time is money right now.

"solarrion"

- I am a big fan of Survivor and I know that when there’s a reward like the Outback shack, there’s usually a clue to the Immunity Idol. And all of a sudden, y’know, Spencer takes off, so what do I do? I start to follow Spencer. I’m gonna pull out something out of my arsenal which is my ninja stealth mode. You better believe I’m going to be lurking from the shadows. Boom! I spot him. He’s digging through the side of a wall and automatically, I’m assuming he’s looking for the Immunity Idol. I go to pick up his pants and as soon as I do – boom – out pops the clue to the Idol. Who’s gonna take that clue and hand it back to him? No way. I hightail it – boom! – Sonic the Hedgehog style. I’m cruising through the paths. There’s no way he’s catching me.

"solarrion"

- Woo holds the clue and that guy can run. I knew that pandemonium was about to ensue.

Back at camp, Woo told everyone that Spencer had found a clue to the Idol, and gave the clue to LJ to enlist others to find the Idol. Meanwhile, Spencer finally caught up and told the group that Woo had thrown his pants in the water to steal the clue and recruited his own alliance to search for the Idol. LJ passed the clue onto Tony and soon, the entire tribe was out at the riverbank, searching for the Idol. "solarrion"

- I knew that it isn’t going to be easy finding the Immunity Idol by myself, so immediately I run to camp like, “Yo, LJ, you gotta follow me, man.” And then from there, the search party is on.

"solarrion"

- When Woo ran to camp, I knew that it was time for me to get my troops in line as soon as possible. It’s a race to see who can get it first.

"solarrion"

- It’s a mad treasure hunt for this Idol and you know me: I love action. So I was like, you know what? I’m in. Count me in! Which way is this? You have two different alliances just looking for an Idol at the same time. You know it’s bad when Morgan – the girl that you can’t tell if she’s a pillow or a person ‘cause she doesn’t do anything – you know it’s serious when she’s up on her ass and she’s looking for this Idol.

A petulant Spencer continued his search whilst kicking and throwing rocks around until Kass was assigned to keep an eye on him. He struck up a conversation with her about how the game had “devolved into this,” but she countered that it was “karma for [his] behaviour” the previous night. Spencer offered an apology, but continued digging – having found the Idol – until Kass’ attention lapsed long enough for him to hide the Idol in his pants and make a getaway. He managed to get away without her noticing his discovery and revelled in his success. "solarrion"

- I would say stress is at a peak right now. I’m in a bad position. We have everyone looking for this Idol and it’s likely that whoever finds it will find it right in front of everyone. After this whole fiasco with Woo stealing my clue and everyone going to look for the Idol at once, I’m digging and I’m right by Kass and right in front of me is the Idol. And Kass is watching me like a hawk. So I keep digging and acting like I haven’t found it. I wait until she’s not looking, stuff it in my pants, walk the other way. Today was complete euphoria. I’m still shocked that I found it. It could not have worked out better. My position in the game is just on the brink of ecstasy and devastation all the time, but it’s a whole new game as far as I’m concerned and I bought myself a lot of time, potentially.

Day 22
Two days later, at the Immunity Challenge, Jeff first took the Immunity Necklace back from Woo. He then revealed the challenge: Keep On Your Toes. Each contestant would balance on their toes on a narrow platform, wedging a block between their head and a frame above them. If the block dropped, that person would be eliminated. The last person standing would win Immunity.

Almost immediately after the challenge began, Kass dropped out. Although she made a recovery, Trish dropped out moments after Jeremiah. Tony dropped out moments after them, leaving six people still in the challenge. After 25 minutes had passed, flies were buzzing about the castaways, but they resisted the distraction. Spencer had a close call, but recovered. Morgan was not so lucky, losing her balance and falling out of the challenge. Cringing in pain, she tried to stretch out her legs. A slight wobble turned into a loss of balance for Woo, and he too fell out of the challenge, leaving four.

After one hour had elapsed, the pain was evident in Jefra’s face, and her block dropped, eliminating her from the challenge. She hobbled down from her platform as LJ, Spencer and Tasha – side-by-side – fought it out. Tasha shifted on her feet but easily recovered her balance. Rather, it was LJ who lost his balance and dropped out, to leave two former Brains fighting for the title. After 1 hour and 30 minutes, the two were still fighting. Tasha remained frozen in place as Spencer gawked awkwardly as he kept his balance. Spencer’s block began to rock, but he was able to recover his balance and stay in the challenge. Suddenly, without warning, Tasha’s block fell, eliminating her from the challenge. A relieved Spencer eagerly walked to Jeff to receive the Immunity Necklace that he “dreamed about... for a long time,” and Solarrion then headed back to camp.

At the beach, Spencer was congratulated for his win, before the majority alliance met to decide who to target. Tony asked Kass if she thought anyone had an Idol, but she didn’t think they did. LJ suggested targeting the easy vote in Morgan, but Trish wanted to take out challenge threat Tasha. Tony agreed that, to protect against an Idol, they should go for the simplest vote in Morgan since no one would play an Idol for her. The group agreed that it would also get rid of “dead weight” around camp. The group established that the Plan B, in case something unexpected happened at Tribal, was to take out Tasha. "solarrion"

- Spencer was very desperate to win and he won. He pulled it off. That’s the will that you need out here, y’know, to survive. Tasha’s definitely a physical threat and a social threat. But Morgan does not deserve to be here. People that work hard, that bust their ass around camp, deserve to be here. People like Morgan, that don’t do anything – they don’t deserve to be here. As far as numbers, my alliance is in the power position right now. It’s six of us against four of them. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. The problem with tonight’s Tribal Council is going to be that if Spencer found that Idol, it’s going to be very tricky who we vote for. If they have an Idol and we vote for the person that used the Idol, one of us six is going home. If they don’t have an Idol and Kass flips back with them, there’ll be a tie: 5-5. We draw rocks. One of us goes home. So I’m hoping she stays with us because if she doesn’t, it’s gonna cause some trouble.

Meanwhile, the minority Aparri alliance discussed their target. Morgan wanted to vote for Kass, but Spencer argued that she was the only person who might flip to their side. He suggested Tony, hoping that he might make a stupid mistake at Tribal that would spook Kass. Hoping to pull Kass back to their side, Spencer approached Kass and proposed that if she came back to her original alliance, she might regain the Jury votes she’d lost with her flip against Sarah. Kass told him that she was a free agent, and would consider the proposal. Spencer told her that their target was Tony, and the tribe packed their bags and headed to Tribal. "solarrion"

- It’s kind’ve ridiculous, but our option now is Kass. The person who just screwed us over is the one person who might be crazy enough to help us. I am safe because I won Immunity, so I know that the Idol could help, but it would only work if I had someone who would flip with it. Someone who’s willing to flip could tell us who they’re going to vote for, help me use my Idol successfully and change the dynamic of the game.

"solarrion"

- I knew this would happen. Just the human in you wants to forgive someone and be friends again. So I was banking on that when I made my move – that the five people I allegedly betrayed would get over it, ‘cause there’ll be many more betrayals. In my opinion, Spencer had some pretty good arguments. I would not want to sit next to Tony. I think he’s too charming and everybody likes him. Morgan is annoying and she’s a bitch, but she’s gonna stay that way, so she’s not really a threat. Y’know, she’s just extra luggage we’re carrying around here. At this point, people know I am willing to play this game. They’ve brought me their gameplan and I can either go with it or change people’s lives. And that’s how I am in the courtroom, too. I do trial by ambush. It’s not a recommended strategy by any legal authority. It’s probably not a recommended strategy by any Survivor authority, but I love the ambush and I love the blindside.

At Tribal Council, Jeff first welcomed in Sarah, the first member of the Jury. He then asked Tony about the massive power shift at the last Tribal. Tony said that “the wind changed directions,” and Kass interjected, admitting that she was “the wind that blew through.” Asked about the fallout at camp, she said that she’d gotten chewed out and ignored by the Aparri alliance. Spencer countered that, whilst he respected big moves, he’d felt betrayed and had gotten out of hand with Kass. He added that he was glad to have Immunity, but said that he would “rather risk going out now for a shot at winning than extend [his] stay in the game.”

Asked about the consideration for the vote, Tony said they were considering physical, strategic and social threats, and confirmed that the alliance had come to a unified decision. Asked where she fit in, Morgan argued that she wasn’t a physical threat and that she wasn’t liked by the tribe, so wouldn’t earn any Jury votes. Trish agreed with the assessment, adding that Morgan was also unhelpful around camp, and that she could continue to add to the list. Morgan replied that LJ and Jeremiah had pampered the girls at the original Beauty tribe, and she’d grown accustomed to the treatment. Jeff asked if she was used to being treated well off the Island, and Morgan agreed, continuing that she was used to not having to work too hard based on her looks, adding, “If any person in the world could decide to be ugly or cute, most would pick cute.” As her tribe shook their heads and rolled their eyes, Morgan told them she would work harder around camp if she stayed in the game.

Jefra was then asked about Kass’ position in the alliance. She denied that Kass was automatically at the bottom of the alliance, comparing the group to a chain: “Everybody’s a different link on the chain, and I think that we’re all even.” Jeff asked if that was ever truly the case, and Jefra referred back to the previous Tribal Council, where the Brains tribe had indicated their balanced alliance, though Spencer interjected that Tony had called them out on it. Tony countered that the Aparri alliance was “put together by default,” but that his own alliance “hand-picked each other.” Spencer argued that someone was always on the bottom, and Jefra commented that there might be a lower rung in the future, but there was presently a strong alliance.

Tony added that Kass was in a comfortable place and had no reason to flip. Jeff countered that Kass could be unpredictable, and Tony acknowledged that she could be setting them up. Asked if she was concerned with Kass, Trish said there was a worry that she might flip back to her original tribe, but they’d been including her in the group and treating her like they treated everyone in the alliance. Asked about her dilemma, and whether she believed she was truly a part of the alliance, Kass smirked, “We’re all on the chain, remember?” She added that she’d made a decision at the last Tribal, but she hadn’t made any deal with the Solana alliance. She concluded by comparing the game to a trip to Las Vegas: “When I sit down at the table with a friend, I don’t mind beating them.”

Jeff then called the vote. Trish cast her vote first, followed by Woo, Jefra and Morgan. Tasha and Jeremiah voted next, with Spencer, LJ, Tony and finally Kass rounding out the proceedings. Jeff tallied the votes.

When Spencer chose not to play his Idol, Jeff read the votes. The first cast was for Tony, followed by another three votes for him. The next vote was for Morgan, followed by another three for “Queen Morgan” (complete with illustrations of a sleeping stick figure), to even the score 4-4. This was followed by a fifth vote for Morgan, and a final sixth vote for Morgan. She wished Tasha luck before collecting her torch. It was snuffed by Jeff and she became the ninth person eliminated from and the second member of the Jury. On her way out, she wished the tribe luck once more, and Jeff sent the tribe back to camp, commenting that trust was unpredictable which always meant that just because someone was on the bottom, it didn’t mean they were out. "solarrion"

- I just wanted to say how proud I am of myself. It was a great experience. They can say whatever they want at Tribal – that I was spiteful or that I was lazy – but I could care less what they said. I mean, Kass is a child and if she was upset with me, whatever. Grow up. You’re forty. Get over it.

Reward
Challenge: Rise and Shrine

The Castaways were divided into two teams. The tribes would have to go through a series of obstacles to retrieve a wooden chest. After hauling it up a tall slope, They must then assemble a ten piece puzzle. The first team to solve the puzzle and place the topper in the chest on top wins reward.

Reward: Trip to an Outback Steakhouse

Winner: Jefra Bland, Jeremiah Wood, LJ McKanas, Morgan McLeod and Spencer Bledsoe

Immunity
Challenge: Keep On Your Toes

The Survivors would each stand on a small wooden perch in an a-frame. They would brace a wooden block on their head and keep it in place using the wooden board above them. The structure would force the contestants to stand on their toes slightly, increasing the difficulty. The last person left with their wooden block intact wins immunity.

Winner: Spencer Bledsoe

Other

 * No footage from Day 21 was shown.
 * This was the fifth episode of the season to skip a day, following Hot Girl With a Grudge (Part 1) (Day 2), Hot Girl With a Grudge (Part 2) (Day 5), Our Time to Shine (Day 10) and Odd One Out (Day 13).
 * Spencer Bledsoe had the most confessionals this episode, with seven.
 * Jefra Bland, Jeremiah Wood, LJ McKanas, Tasha Fox and Trish Hegarty did not give a confessional this episode.
 * This was the second episode of the season in which LJ and Trish did not have a confessional, following Hot Girl With a Grudge (Part 2) and Our Time to Shine, respectively.
 * This was the third episode of the season in which Jefra and Jeremiah did not have a confessional, following Hot Girl With a Grudge (Part 2) and Our Time to Shine, and Hot Girl With a Grudge (Part 2) and Odd One Out, respectively.
 * Only five out of ten contestants gave confessionals in this episode - the lowest ratio of the season, as of this episode.
 * For the first time in the season, following Morgan's elimination, the men outnumbered the women 5 to 4.
 * This episode saw the first player that was not listed first through third alphabetically from their original tribes eliminated from the game.
 * During the Reward Challenge, the Orange Team had all the remaining original Solana members (with Spencer Bledsoe), while the Purple Team had all the remaining original Aparri members (with Kass McQuillen and Tasha Fox).
 * Morgan McLeod became the 4th female in a row to be eliminated.
 * At the end of the episode, all original tribes had 3 members left in the game.
 * This episode marked the first time that the first two people eliminated following the Merge were female.
 * Woo compared himself to Sonic the Hedgehog, a 1991 video game character known for his supersonic speed.
 * As of Morgan's elimination, Jefra Bland is the only remaining female who has received votes.

Episode Title

 * The title of the episode was said by Tony Vlachos about the search for the idol.