Day 4
At the Ink tribe, they still had no fire and were living only off of coconuts. They desperately wanted a reward challenge that would likely give flint to the winning tribe.
Shylock was sitting in the shelter, thinking.
Shylock (IC): The factions in this tribe were clear as day last night before tribal. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth talked privately, as did Desdemona and Duncan, and Mercutio, Cassio, and Romeo were a group of three. That left me, Bianca, and Roderigo on the outs. Bianca took the hit last night, but I think they'll be voting for me next. But, I'm going to convince them to keep me over Roderigo. Roderigo's already annoying everyone, so all I have to do is lay low and show them my worth in the challenges, and I should be okay.
At the Paper Tribe, Portia and Bassanio were rightfully worried.
Portia (IC): I must have come off way too strong the first three days, and put a target on my alliance's back. But if these guys think they can get rid of me easily, they've got another think coming.
Portia and Bassanio were in the shelter alone.
Portia: We need some leverage on the others. If we can find out for sure that Hamlet has the idol, maybe that will be enough to sway some people to our side.
Bassanio: But how would we find that out?
Portia: His bag is right here…
Bassanio: Are you crazy!? We can't go through people's stuff.
Portia: If we want to survive the next vote, we need to. Don't worry, you don't need to do a thing. It shouldn't take me long. Can you let me know if someone's coming?
Bassanio: Fine.
A few moments later, Portia was holding a small wooden feather.
Portia: He has it! He actually has it!
Bassanio: What?
Portia showed him the idol.
Bassanio: Are you sure this is an idol?
Portia: Yep, there's a note in here too. "You have found the hidden immunity idol!" This is the real thing.
Bassanio: Wow… I never really thought he had it. I didn't think he was really playing the game at all… he seems so innocent.
Portia: He's a good actor, then. And he has this idol. That makes for a very dangerous player to be keeping around.
Bassanio: Let's hope the others see it that way.
Meanwhile, Iago was off in the jungle hiding his idol underground next to a tree, every detail of which he had put to his memory.
Iago: I can't have anyone finding this with my stuff. No one can know I have it.
Elsewhere, Othello was confused.
Othello (IC): Iago told me last night that Portia had been planning to vote me out… but her alliance ended up voting for Hamlet. Iago says there must've been a last minute change in plans, but I'm not so sure…
Later, Iago was working near the fire and Macduff was glancing at him suspiciously when he thought Iago wasn't looking.
Macduff (IC): I can't put my finger on what it is, but there's something about Iago that's making me feel like I can't trust him. He's been nothing but nice to me, but it's like he's almost too nice. It's hard for me to believe that there's not something else going on behind all his outward kindness.
Iago (IC): Macduff keeps giving me these questioning looks, and they have me worried that he's losing faith in me. I could very well lose Othello as an ally after last night's vote didn't go exactly how I told him it would, and I can't lose Macduff too.
Iago approached Macduff.
Iago: I feel like we both really know what we're doing, and could go far in this game together easily. I trust you more than anyone else on the tribe. What do you say to a deal? We take each other to the end of this game?
Macduff: It's a deal.
Iago: Great! I give you my word that I will never write your name down.
Macduff: And you have my word as well.
Macduff (IC): I don't know what it is about Iago, but somehow I couldn't help but promise him that I would take him to the end. I still don't trust him… But I wanted to get through this game without ever breaking my word, and this is going to make that difficult.
Portia (IC): I have a new plan to stay keep myself and Bassanio safe, and it starts with Othello and Witch.
Portia approached Othello first.
Portia: So what happened last night? I thought we had a good thing going.
Othello: I was told that you were planning to vote me out…
Portia: What!? Really!? I swear to god I never said that! Who told you?
Othello: …
Portia: Come on! Obviously it's not true, you saw our votes for Hamlet! Someone could be trying to use you!
Othello: I just don't know who to trust right now…
Iago saw Othello go off with Portia.
Iago (IC): Othello could be exposing me as a liar right now… and this early in the game, if people know that I'm a manipulator, I'm toast. The easiest solution would be to vote Othello out before he has a chance to do any damage… but I can't bring myself to eliminate such an easily controlled player. I'll just have to convince Othello that I was telling the truth all along. He must be going crazy not knowing who to trust, so he should grasp onto any explanation I can give him for why Portia voted for Hamlet.
Portia (IC): Othello wasn't telling me anything else, so I gave up on him for now. And petitioning to Witch will have to wait, too, because someone is playing the game real hard, and it has to be someone in the other alliance, who would have needed Othello's vote. Either Iago, or Macduff, or Hamlet. I want to find out who it is.
Later, Iago insisted to Othello that he hadn't lied. He told Othello that maybe Portia had seen the five of the alliance get back together and realized that she didn't have the majority vote, so she switched her vote to Hamlet to try to make it seem like he'd been lied to.
Othello (IC): I need to believe someone or I'm gonna go crazy. Portia is really sneaky and I know she is playing for herself, to win. Iago seems like a much more kind-hearted guy. So I'll have to believe him for now.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully.
Day 5
Both tribes woke up and found they had tree mail. They went to the reward challenge and got their first look at who had been voted off of the other tribe. To win the challenge, there was a grid of 9 targets per tribe. Each member of the tribe had to break a target to win. The reward was fishing gear and, for the Ink tribe, flint.
One at a time, everybody took their first shot. On the Ink tribe, only Shylock and Duncan scored. For Paper, Iago, Macduff, Bassanio, Othello, and Portia all scored. In the second round, only Hamlet scored for Paper while Mercutio, Roderigo, Romeo, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth scored for Ink. In round three, Witch and Lady Capulet scored for paper, and Desdemona scored for Ink, leaving it down to just Juliet for Paper, and Cassio for Ink. In round 4 Cassio missed again. He wasn't even getting close. Juliet missed too. In round 5, Cassio took advice from his teammates on how to aim and scored. Juliet missed again and Ink won the fishing gear and flint.
The Ink tribe returned to camp and celebrated their victory. Duncan used the Hawaiian sling they had won and caught four large fish in a single hour. The tribe was delighted to see that they'd be eating a full dinner that night, because while Duncan had fished, Macbeth and Mercutio had managed to get the fire going. Nearly all of the tribe members excessively praised Duncan while they ate.
Mercutio (IC): Duncan is a great tribe leader. He guides us, provides for us, and boosts our spirits. Literally everyone here LOVES him… which is why he's going to need to go home, sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, Shylock was happy with his challenge performance.
Shylock(IC): I'm one of only two people who scored for my tribe in the first round. My plan to be better than Roderigo in the challenges is going smoothly!
At the Paper tribe, Portia was getting desperate.
Portia (IC: I can see that Othello still doesn't fully trust me, and if he's not with me I need to get someone else.
She approached Lady Capulet and Juliet to try to sway them to her side.
Portia: Obviously my back's up against the wall at this point. If I don't get some allies, I'm out of this game next.
Lady Capulet: True.
Portia: So here's my offer. I've got Bassanio. If you two join us, that's four. Then we only need one more and we have a majority. Maybe Witch. I know nobody likes her but she's good to take with us because she's completely non-threatening, and she's the only one without any ties with other people, so she should be pretty loyal to us.
Lady Capulet shook her head
Lady Capulet: Uh-uh. I can't work with that lunatic. And besides, we're in a good place right now. We don't need to align with you.
Portia: Just think about it. Please. We could take this to the final 5, and Witch has no chance of winning so you'd have a 1 in 4 shot at the title. Plus, I'm the one person you know you can trust because I no longer have any power on this tribe. I can't afford to lie.
Lady Capulet considered.
Juliet: She has a point…
Lady Capulet: I agree. I'm not willing to commit to anything but I'll think about it.
Portia: Thanks!
Portia then set to work on getting Witch on her side.
Witch(IC): It's about time somebody made an alliance with me! I was afraid I'd be gone, number three!
Portia(IC): Witch seems very eager to work with me. Hopefully Lady Capulet and Juliet side with me too, and I make a comeback! You can't count me out until the moment Shakespeare snuffs my torch.
That night a huge storm came in. Rain pelted both camps as the castaways huddled in their shelters. At the Ink tribe, Desdemona was not doing well in the cold, wet, miserable weather.
Desdemona (IC): This weather is really eating at me. I feel like my body is just going to shut down from the cold. I don't know how much longer I can take this.
She wasn't the only one.
Lady Macbeth (IC): I'm looking around, I see Desdemona, who looks like a corpse, Roderigo shivering like a little girl, even the bigger men are barely keeping it together! Only Macbeth and I weren't bothered by it. It's just rain! These people need to suck it up, and tough it out!
At the Paper Tribe, Witch was irked that she didn't have much room in the shelter. Othello wasn't leaving her much space.
Witch: Let me sit, you giant twit!
Othello: I'm giving you all of the room I can!
Witch: Shut up and move over there!
Othello: I CAN'T!
Witch: Are you dumb? Are you blind? Right there, room to spare!
Othello: Would you stop with the stupid rhymes!? There is no room! If you're a mighty witch, what'll a little rain hurt you?
Macduff: Guys, just calm down. I have some room over on this side, Witch.
Witch: I am not a guy, but thanks! Next time, Othello, it's you she shanks!
Othello: What?
Witch didn't answer.
Othello (IC): I can't stand that Witch! I just want to pummel her brains out every time I hear her voice. She needs to go, and soon!
Day 6
The rain had stopped and Portia, who hadn't been able to sleep at all, was up very early. She scoured the land for dry wood and started up a fire. She also looked for the idol.
Portia (IC): Someone probably found the hidden idol from our tribe's camp already, but I can't be sure, so I'm not going to pass up any opportunity to look for it. I've had no luck, though.
At Ink Tribe, Mercutio was going to check treemail with Roderigo.
Mercutio (IC): You can never be too safe in this game, so it can't hurt to try to make a deal with Roderigo.
Mercutio: Hey Roderigo, what would you think about an agreement to stick together in the game?
Roderigo: We're on the same tribe, of course we will stick together!
Mercutio: But I mean if we lose a challenge…
Roderigo: …
Mercutio: We'd have to vote out someone from our tribe…
Roderigo: Right…
Mercutio: So… I won't vote you out if you won't vote me out.
Roderigo: Oh! That's what you meant! Sure, I'll do that.
Mercutio: Great! I have Cassio and Romeo too, so we should be pretty safe.
Roderigo: Huh?
Mercutio: Come on, man! Do you even understand that we're playing a game!?
Roderigo looked hurt.
Roderigo: Obviously I do—
Mercutio: It doesn't seem like it. Get your head in the game, Roderigo! Geez!
Roderigo frowned and stayed silent.
Mercutio: Look… Just stick with me and you don't need to worry. I've got your back, alright? I'm your friend, and I can guide you in the game when you're not sure what to do.
He patted Roderigo on the back.
Roderigo (IC): Mercutio has my back, so I know I won't be voted out any time soon!
Mercutio (IC): Strategizing with Roderigo was like strategizing with a rock… No, nevermind, that's not fair to the rock.
Later that morning was the Immunity Challenge. Shakespeare explained the rules. One by one, 6 tribe members had to go across a balance beam until they reached a bag of puzzle pieces. They'd untie the bag, and bring it back to the starting mat. If at any point they fell off the beam, they had to go back and start over. Each bag was further along the beam than the one before it. Once all the bags were retrieved, the remaining 3 tribe members would put together the puzzle. First tribe to complete the puzzle wins the immunity idol, which had an inkwell as a base with a long quill rising out of it.
Paper had Othello, Macduff, and Bassanio on the puzzle and the rest on the beam. Ink had Shylock, Duncan and Romeo on the puzzle and the rest on the beam.
Paper took an early lead. Their balance beam walkers were 4 females and the 2 smallest men- Iago and Hamlet. They all had good balance and collected the puzzle pieces quickly. Everybody on Ink was doing well too, except when it got to Roderigo's turn. He kept falling off the balance beam. Because of this, Paper got a head start on the puzzle. When Roderigo finally got his puzzle pieces and Ink had collected all of their bags, Paper was already about a third of the way through the puzzle. Things quickly began to change, however, as Shylock led the Ink puzzle team expertly, and completed the puzzle in no time.
Shakespeare: Ink wins immunity! Tribal council tonight for the Paper Tribe.
When they returned to camp, Portia knew she had to act fast.
Portia (IC): If I don't change things up, I'm going home tonight. Iago and MacDuff's alliance most likely still sees me as the biggest threat. Fortunately, I have a plan. Now that I've almost got Lady Capulet and Juliet on my side, I can use the information about Hamlet's idol to completely gain their trust, and hopefully take Hamlet and his idol out of this game.
Portia talked privately with Lady Capulet and Juliet.
Portia: Hamlet has an idol. If we blindside him now, we can take that out of the game and none of us have to worry about it.
Juliet: Wait! How do you know he has it?
Portia: Bassanio and I searched his bag. He had a wooden feather thing and the note that said it was the idol.
Lady Capulet: Wow…
Lady Capulet (IC): I'm in shock that Hamlet was hiding an idol. I thought he was just a nice, honest kid, but he's been pulling the wool over our eyes!
Juliet: I want proof. Which bags are his?
Portia: I'll show you.
The men were off in the forest, so Portia could search through Hamlet's bag easily and show the others the idol.
Lady Capulet: That's an idol alright… Well then, we need to take him out! You have my vote and Juliet's.
Portia: Good, I'll make sure Bassanio and Witch are on board.
And she did. Bassanio was thrilled that they had a chance to get someone else voted out. Witch, however, was not on board.
Witch: I'm voting for Othello.
Portia: But Hamlet has an idol! He's a huge threat!
Witch: I'm voting for Othello, and you are too. Or else I'll vote Portia, and you'll be through.
Portia: What do you mean?
Witch: If I don't get your word that you and the rest of your alliance will vote Othello, I'll vote for you and you'll be gone 5-4.
Portia was speechless for a minute. Then she sighed.
Portia: Well then, you have my word…
Witch (IC): There is one person in this game who I hate, who I will do what I can to eliminate, and I must do it fast before I am late, for I know that my game is written by fate.
Portia returned to break the news to Lady Capulet, Juliet, and Bassanio.
Portia: Witch will only vote Othello. I had to give her my word that we would too or else she'd vote for me.
Juliet groaned.
Lady Capulet: That damn monster! Why can't we just vote for her!?
Portia: If we did it would be 4 votes Witch, 4 for me, and 1 for Othello. Then when Witch saw that we didn't vote with her she'd take me out on the tiebreaker revote. Same thing if the four of us voted for Hamlet. We don't have a choice. We have to vote Othello.
Juliet turned to Lady Capulet
Juliet: Portia's right.
Lady Capulet: We have options though. I'm sorry, Portia, but it might be our best bet to stick with our old alliance.
Portia: And risk being betrayed if we lose a couple more challenges? You know you can trust Bassanio and I! How could you pass that up?
Bassanio: If I may add… If we vote out Othello now and appease Witch, we can do whatever we want at the next tribal council. Either get the others to join us in eliminating Witch, or Witch join us in eliminating Hamlet.
Juliet: We can't trust Witch to listen to us. She'll do whatever she wants.
Bassanio: We'll vote her out if she doesn't cooperate.
Juliet: What about Hamlet?
Bassanio: There's still a lot of game left to play, and plenty of time to vote him out after Othello and even after Witch if she must go first.
Lady Capulet: …
Portia: Please, stick with us. We can rule this game.
Lady Capulet: … We'll see.
About an hour before Tribal Council, Iago, Macduff, Hamlet, Othello, Lady Capulet, and Juliet gathered to confirm their plan to vote out Portia.
Lady Capulet: She's been trying to flip Juliet and I all day.
Juliet: We're not dumb enough to fall for her lies though. She's out of here.
Iago: Good. That girl's power over the young men is frightening. We'd be fools to let her stay here another day.
Othello: Agreed. I can't think straight with her around. She keeps messing with my head.
Hamlet: So it's settled then. Portia goes home.
Soon after, the tribe headed to Tribal Council.
Shakespeare: Welcome, Paper Tribe. Portia, what was your reaction to Banquo being voted out?
Portia: I was shocked. I thought I was in a good place, but apparently not. He was one of my closest friends out here. And I feel horrible about him leaving because I feel like he was only voted out to weaken me. I think I came off a little too strong the first couple of days and I paid the price.
Shakespeare: So it sounds like you could be the one going home tonight?
Portia: I wouldn't be surprised. I've been trying to gain some allies but I definitely don't feel safe.
Shakespeare: Othello, has everyone been getting along well? Does your tribe feel like a team?
Othello: For the most part, yes. But there have been a few arguments involving one person in particular.
Shakespeare: Who?
Othello: … Witch.
Witch snarled.
Shakespeare: What's your take on this, Witch?
Witch: There are stupid people on this tribe. Next to nobody gives me the credit I deserve. I'm smart and they'd do well to listen to me. Othello in particular. His brain's the size of a flea. He'll see what happens when you mess with me.
Shakespeare: With that, it's time to vote. Witch, you're up first.
Voting Confessionals
Witch: Othello, you'll have a rude awakening tonight, when you realize that I'm always right.
Portia: Othello, I really didn't want to do this but I've been left with no choice. Sorry.
Iago: Portia, you are probably the only person who has a chance of outplaying me. That earns my respect… and my vote.
Othello: Portia, I can't afford to let you mess with my head any longer.
Shakespeare: I'll go tally the votes… If anybody has a hidden immunity idol and wants to play it, now would be the time to do so.
Hamlet and Iago stayed seated.
Shakespeare: Once the votes are read the decision is final, the person voted out will be asked to leave the tribal council area immediately. I'll read the votes.
First vote, Othello
Othello
Othello
Portia
Portia
Portia
Portia
Othello. We're tied, 4 votes Portia, 4 votes Othello, 1 vote left… 3rd person voted out of Shakespeare Survivor... Othello. You need to bring me your torch.
Shocked, Othello approached Shakespeare with his torch. He looked back at the tribe. Witch was smiling triumphantly.
Shakespeare: The tribe has spoken.
Othello's torch was snuffed and he walked out, shaking his head in bewilderment.
Next time on Shakespeare Survivor: Iago tries to break up a strong alliance at the reward challenge, and one alliance gets caught in the middle of the Ink Tribe.