That's Love, Baby! It Makes You Strong! is the sixth episode of Survivor: China.
Story[]
Day 16[]
As dawn broke over Zhan Hu, James Clement rises early to take care of the chores before his tribemates stir. He hopes that his work ethic might be able to work in his favor, but Peih-Gee Law, as evidenced in a confessional, is still determined to throw the next Immunity Challenge and vote him out, the same way they had gotten rid of Aaron Reisberger the night before.
Peih-Gee |
“ | I definitely feel confident about throwing the challenge and getting Aaron off the game. He was one of the most powerful players, and suddenly we had full control of him and we still have that over James. If we throw the next Immunity Challenge, James is gonna be gone. Best possible scenario: we merge at that point. And if that happens, we'll still be able to reconnect with Frosti and Sherea if they're still on the same page as us. | ” |
James |
“ | Aaron's gone, and I'm sittin' at their mercy right now. The best thing I can do is keep them rested so in competition, there's no excuse for anybody bein' tired. If it makes me look good in the long run, they gonna keep me around. So I'm tryin' to deal with it, make it work, 'cause if they throw another challenge, I'm gone. | ” |
Day 17[]
The next day, at Fei Long, Todd Herzog pulls his ally Amanda Kimmel aside and lets her in on the secret of the Hidden Immunity Idol. He tells her that he was not planning on telling her until he had found it, but despite having all the available clues, he had yet to discover it, and needs some extra help. Todd reveals that the clues were given to him by Dave Cruser (when he was kidnapped) and by Leslie Nease (who had received a clue from the kidnapped Jaime Dugan). In a later confessional, Todd reveals a plan to kidnap James at the next challenge in order to get his hands on the next clue.
Amanda |
“ | Todd approached me and he told me that he had three clues to the Immunity Idol. Um, which I was kind of shocked because I didn't know about any Hidden Immunity Idol. So we're gonna do everything we can to find that Idol today. We have to. | ” |
Todd |
“ | If we win reward today, we are bringing over Aaron or James – whoever is left – because they're going to give us the clue to where the Hidden Immunity Idol is and Amanda and I will have control in this game. | ” |
At the Reward Challenge, Fei Long are granted their first look at the new Zhan Hu, minus Aaron. Amanda rolls her eyes in disgust, and Todd opens his mouth with surprise. Host Jeff Probst then reveals the challenge: Search and Decode. Four members from each tribe would race out into the abandoned Chinese village, looking for puzzle boards strung up in and around the houses. They would untie the piece and race back to their mat, allowing the next person to begin. Once all eight pieces of the puzzle have been recovered, they would solve a word puzzle to find a well-known Chinese proverb. The first tribe to solve the puzzle would win reward: a trip to a local tea house for tea and light snacks, as well as a bath, soap, and access to Western toilets. In addition, they would kidnap a member of the losing tribe to join them on the reward, and remain at their camp until the next Immunity Challenge.
Due to uneven numbers, Fei Long sits out Amanda, Courtney Yates, and Denise Martin. The remaining contestants begin the race. Jean-Robert Bellande manages to gain an early lead for Fei Long, which they are able to maintain throughout the race. At one point, Peih-Gee trails Sherea Lloyd and as the two women untie their puzzle boards, Peih-Gee tries to tell Sherea that they are still willing to work with her and Frosti, and were trying to keep them safe. However, Sherea does not acknowledge Peih-Gee at all. Although neck-and-neck throughout the race, Fei Long get all their puzzle pieces first, and are able to maintain their lead, solving the Confucius saying: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Fei Long wins the reward, and chooses to kidnap James.
Fei Long are ecstatic as they are greeted at the Charmin tea house. They eagerly dig into the snacks, and then climb into the bathtubs set up on the patios as tea and watermelon are served. However, Jean-Robert's obnoxious chauvinistic comments about Amanda and Courtney, who were sharing a bathtub, irritate both of them. Meanwhile, James strips down to his birthday suit to take a shower, providing quite the show from behind for the others.
Jean-Robert |
“ | When Jeff announced what the reward was at the challenge, there was excitement on the team We're gonna go to a tea house, and some refreshment. That's what he said: "tea house, some refreshment, and showers." But we got to this place. It was like a little sweet spot in the middle of nowhere. The view was amazing. I mean, everybody on the tribe was just so happy. | ” |
Todd |
“ | They sit us down, and they give us tea, and then they bring out little snacks, and we're all so happy to be there. Oh! It was so good! | ” |
Courtney |
“ | I tried my best to be as far away from Jean-Robert in the bathtub as could possibly happen in that place. He had the one on the far end. I took the one on the other far end. He's kinda gross. Every single part of me wants to see Jean-Robert go. I just don't like him. He's a horrible person. | ” |
Amanda |
“ | James has such a nice butt! (laughs) He was just in the shower, lathering up, stripping down. And none of us cared – he has a nice butt. I mean, might as well show it off! | ” |
Meanwhile, back at the Zhan Hu camp, depression was beginning to set in. Erik Huffman says that he is simply sick of losing, and Jaime Dugan points out that Frosti Zernow would not make eye contact at the challenge. Peih-Gee then reveals that Sherea did not respond when she tried to communicate with her. Further unsure of what information might be going through the kidnapped James, the Zhan Hu Alliance agree that they need to win immunity.
Jaime |
“ | We're so into keeping Sherea, Frosti, Peih-Gee, Erik, and I together. We thought we would do anything to save them. Throw a challenge to save them! But we did it, y'know. But Frosti won't make eye contact with us. We don't know if he's changed his mind, switched over with them. Y'know, everything's just unknown. It's just really hard to deal with, especially when there's only three of us here and there's so many over there. | ” |
Back at the tea house, Todd pulls James aside and tells him to give him "what's inside the tube" and in return, he would save James through a plan he would reveal once James came through. James later snuck away from the tea house to open the tube, and upon discovering that a clue to Fei Long's idol was within, he decides to gamble on Todd's promise, stating "I hope this works. I need somethin' to save me."
Todd |
“ | Y'know, sometimes throughout this game, I feel like I am the only one playing. So I knew right away when we kidnapped James that I would approach him. | ” |
James |
“ | I'm in a bad spot right now. Todd's gone storm all the alliances on this tribe, so I'm gonna roll the die. Roll those dice, and maybe it'll come up right. If not, I'm pretty much goin' anyway, so I have to do it. | ” |
Day 18[]
At Fei Long the next morning, James gives Todd the next clue to the idol: There are four that surround it / and four match the same. / The one etched finer / could salvage the game. Todd immediately recognizes what that the idol is the panel on the archway leading into camp, saying, "It's the stupid bats above the freakin' thing!" He shares the information with Amanda, who goes over to the archway and begins loosening the shingles to create a distraction whilst Todd could get the idol. However, Frosti approaches and climbs up into the archway to knock the shingles down by hand, despite pleas from Amanda and Todd. Frosti nonchalantly replies that he had not "gotten to do anything cool since I've been here." However, Todd panics and pries the panel loose, handing it to Amanda, who stands on it. However, Frosti notices and tries to get a look at it, whilst James, watching from a distance, buried his face in his hands.
Amanda |
“ | I went over where we thought the idol would be, and I was just hitting off shingles so people wouldn't know what I was doing. And then Todd comes over. He gets up there and starts pulling on the thing. | ” |
Todd |
“ | All of a sudden, Frosti comes running over, climbs up. So, I go into panic mode of, "Oh! He's gonna find out! He's gonna see it!" And Amanda's like, "Get down, Frosti, get down Frosti!" 'cause she knows about it. I'm tellin' him to get down and I start panicking. All I could think was: "Frosti! Frosti! NO!" | ” |
Todd leads Amanda and Frosti down to the river, where he reluctantly shares the secret with Frosti. However, he makes it clear that Frosti has to keep it under wraps, to which he agrees. Once Frosti leaves, James comes down and Todd hands him the idol, telling him to throw the challenge for Zhan Hu and play the idol to vote off Jaime. He also suggests taking the Zhan Hu idol, which James is more than willing to do, slapping Todd hard on the back. When Todd almost falls over ("I nearly died!"), James answers with a gleeful, "That's love, baby! Makes you strong!"
Amanda |
“ | This has to be the worst way in history of getting a Hidden Immunity Idol. Like, honestly. In front of everybody, Todd's yelling. He's so impatient. I knew something like that was going to happen. | ” |
Frosti |
“ | Being there when they got the idol cements my place in their little group. I'm there, for sure. Frosti's in! In! | ” |
Todd |
“ | James came down, I gave him the idol, and I told him what needs to happen. So if James takes that idol, loses immunity, they vote for him, but he uses the idol to get rid of Jaime. We sever the tie between her and Erik. Hopefully, at ten, we'll merge and we'll still have our numbers to go strong into the merge. | ” |
James |
“ | Well, I cannot stop smilin'. It's all good because I'm not goin' anywhere. I have the Immunity Idol! It's all good, baby! I'm the only one with real access to the other Immunity Idol at the other tribe, so now I gotta do is stay focused, keep my head in the game, lose the Immunity Challenge, get the other idol and now I have both of them. I mean, it's gonna be wonderful! I'm havin' a great time! | ” |
Todd then informs Courtney and Denise to let them in on the secret of the Hidden Immunity Idol. He tells his surprised allies that James now has the idol and is going to try to throw the challenge on behalf of Zhan Hu to get rid of Jaime. He ensures their knowledge of this information to motivate them to help Fei Long win immunity for the plan to work, and the tribe departs for the challenge.
Denise |
“ | I can't believe it. Here it was, sitting right in front of us, right in camp, the whole time. So I will be doing my best, as I always give a hundred and ten percent, because that's the only way I know how to go. | ” |
Todd |
“ | Me telling Courtney and Denise about the Hidden Immunity Idol will help them realize they have to try harder for immunity today. Especially if they're fighting to lose, which we don't even know is the case. | ” |
James |
“ | Over at Zhan Hu, I'm pretty much a dead man walking. But now I have the upper hand. They think they're safe? Wrong! I'll be able to get 'em. | ” |
At the Immunity Challenge, James first rejoins Zhan Hu. Jeff takes back the Immunity Idol from Fei Long and announces the challenge: Survivor Smorgasbord. Squaring off one on one, the first person to finish devouring a Chinese delicacy would score a point for their tribe, with the first to four winning immunity. To even the numbers, Jean-Robert, Sherea, and Todd sit out for Fei Long. In the first round, Frosti squares off against Peih-Gee eating ten chicken hearts. Frosti easily wins the round, licking the plate for emphasis, giving Fei Long a 1-0 lead. In the next round, Courtney and Jaime are each given three whole eels. Despite a tight race, Jaime edges out to win a point for Zhan Hu, evening the score. Next, Amanda and Erik tackle three whole baby turtles. Erik narrowly beats Amanda to give Zhan Hu the lead. In the fourth round, Denise and James square off on two balut (chicken fetus). Denise shouts and attacks the balut in a fury, but despite her best efforts – and James' deliberate slow consumption to throw the challenge – she cannot do it, forcing James to score a third point for Zhan Hu. In the fifth round, Frosti and Erik compete to down a thousand-year-old egg. Erik beats Frosti by a fraction of a second, scoring the fourth and final point for Zhan Hu, winning them immunity.
As Fei Long returns to camp, the tribe consoles Denise, but she remains disappointed in her performance. However, the Fei Long Alliance is determined to make the decision based on numbers, rather than challenge performance. Amanda, Denise, and Todd go to the well to discuss the plan: the three of them, plus Courtney, were solid, and Amanda is certain that James is on their side (given his effort to throw the challenge), whilst Todd thinks it is prudent to gain Frosti's trust, putting the target on Sherea. When Courtney joins the trio at the well, she agrees with the plan. However, upon processing the plan, she later comes to realize that she trusts Sherea more than Jean-Robert. Courtney then sits down with Sherea at the campfire, and tells her that the alliance is targeting Sherea, but that she is planning to vote for Jean-Robert, claiming she is not going to "vote for anyone who likes me more than him."
Denise |
“ | I let myself down today. James tried to eat that balut as slow as he possibly could so I could keep up with him, but unfortunately, I just could not get that down my throat. So we ended up on the losing end. | ” |
Todd |
“ | Perfect plan. Genius idea. Smashed. So we're trying to look and the positive side and say: hey, we lost, but we can still get rid of one of the old Zhan Hu and we still have our numbers. | ” |
Courtney |
“ | So after Todd and Amanda's plans went awry, they're like, "Okay, no question about it, we're voting off Sherea. Okay? Sherea, Sherea, Sherea." And I'm like, "Yeah, okay, whatever." But then, after thinking about it for a little while, I actually like Sherea. And if it came down to it, of who I thought would vote me out quicker, I definitely think she would keep me around longer than Jean-Robert. | ” |
Sherea |
“ | Well, right now, the people at Fei Long want me to go home. But what they don't understand is that they need to be scared of the people in their tribe too, y'know, as far as Jean-Robert. He'll vote any of them out. So the same time they're looking at me, they need to be scared of each other. | ” |
Later, at the river, as Amanda, Courtney, and Todd, let Frosti in on the plan, he gives a better-her-than-me agreement to the plan. However, Courtney suggests getting rid of Jean-Robert. The option is met with reluctance from Amanda, who feels that it would be safer to stick with their own tribe for the time being, but Courtney returns that their plans had not worked earlier that day, with them still losing the challenge and James "having an immunity thing for no reason."
Jean-Robert is beginning to feel uncertain about his position in the game, despite assurance that Fei Long is united against Sherea, and he voices his concern in a confessional.
Jean-Robert |
“ | I like to trust my gut and my vibe, and, uh, so far, I've really felt comfortable about my position in the game. All of a sudden, something doesn't feel a hundred percent to me. The plan was either Sherea or Frosti, most likely Sherea, but I gotta tell ya, I'm uneasy right now. | ” |
Meanwhile, Todd is giving serious thought to Courtney's suggestion, pulling Amanda aside to suggest that they do vote out Jean-Robert. Amanda remains hesitant, and whilst admitting that Jean-Robert needed to go, she does not think that the time is right. Todd is worried that he would turn on them, and that Sherea was less likely to, and also points out that if they did not start doing "what people want", then the two of them could become targets. The two debate their options, only agreeing that would it come down to who they could trust at this point in the game.
At Tribal Council, Jeff opens by pointing out how winning or losing can affect the tribal dynamic. He asks Sherea what her feelings were coming out of the immunity loss, and she answers that she saw a lot of "shadiness" and scrambling. Jean-Robert is then asked about how he adapts to an ever-changing game, and he claims he is a "changed man," having become more helpful around camp. Sherea, however, interrupts him by saying that he was not answering the question, and he was just "running his mouth, story after story." Jean-Robert tries to back down, admitting, "What do you say to that?" Sherea persists, revealing that he did not speak to her because he knew she would talk back, and stating that nobody else liked him.
Jean-Robert then responds by saying that he was not surprised that people did not like him, given that he was "a bad boy," but that he was still proud of his game. Courtney, rolling her eyes, mocks Jean-Robert's use of the phrase "bad boy," baffled by his self-perception, and laughing, "Do you have a Harley I don't know about?" When asked how she would describe him, she said that he was loud, judgmental, and "just a crappy person."
Courtney goes on to say that she feels like the "outsider" of the tribe, despite having former Zhan Hu members in their midst. Todd takes offense, saying that he loves Courtney "since, like, Day 3 - because Day 1 and 2, I didn't really like you!" Although they both affirm that they like each other, Courtney feels that the tribe is "clique-y," but Todd says that he felt he "clicked" with Courtney. Jean-Robert steers the conversation back to tribe unity, stating that despite the in-fighting, the tribe performs well together in challenges and that he is happy with where they are in the game.
Denise is then called up to cast her vote, followed by Courtney. Jean-Robert then votes for Sherea ("Cherya"). Frosti and Amanda then cast their votes, followed by Sherea who returned the favor, voting for Jean-Robert ("J.R."). Todd is the last to cast his vote.
Jeff then reads the votes: two for Jean-Robert, followed by two for Sherea to even the score. However, the remaining votes all come up for Sherea, eliminating her as the sixth castaway voted out of Survivor: China.
Challenges[]
Challenge: Search & Decode
One at a time, the tribes must enter an abandoned village, grab a color-coded plank, and return. Once all eight have been found, they must slide them into a grid to form an eleven-word phrase made famous by Confucius.
Reward: Teahouse visit, a bath and shower, and the right to kidnap a member from the other tribe.
Winner: Fei Long (kidnapped James Clement)
Challenge: Survivor Smorgasbord
Competing head-to-head, castaways would race to eat traditional Chinese dishes. The first person to finish their dish and show an empty mouth scores a point for their tribe. The first tribe to four points wins immunity.
Winner: Zhan Hu
Tribal Council[]
Tribal Council 6: Fei Long | |
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Voted Against |
Voter |
Sherea (5 votes) |
Amanda, Denise, Frosti, Jean-Robert, Todd |
Jean-Robert (2 votes) |
Courtney, Sherea |
VOTED OUT: Sherea Lloyd |
Voting Confessionals[]
Sherea's confessional and an edited version of Jean-Robert's confessional were shown in the episode.
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Final Words[]
Sherea |
“ | The fact that the Fei Long people decided to stick together because of numbers, you know, it just says that they're getting played. They'll realize it sooner or later, and I hope half of them get screwed, since some of them screwed me. But, you know, they knew they couldn't beat me in the challanges. I was the strong one, they were the weak ones. So of course they're going to take out the threat. | ” |
Still in the Running[]
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Trivia[]
- This is the only episode of China in which both tribes win a challenge.
- The episode title is said by James Clement. After he gets the Hidden Immunity Idol from Todd Herzog, he slaps Todd on the shoulder and thanks him. Todd jokes that James could have killed him just then and James replies, "That's love baby! It makes you strong!"
References[]
Survivor: China Episodes |
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"A Chicken's a Little Bit Smarter" · "My Mom Is Going to Kill Me!" · "I Lost Two Hands and Possibly a Shoulder" · "Ride the Workhorse Till the Tail Falls Off" · "Love Is in the Air" · "That's Love, Baby! It Makes You Strong!" · "I'm Not as Dumb as I Look" · "High School Friend Contest" · "Just Don't Eat the Apple" · "It's Been Real and It's Been Fun" · "Ready to Bite the Apple" · "Going for the Oscar" · "Hello, I'm Still a Person" · "A Slippery Little Sucker" · "Reunion" |