...
Episode 10
Will You Shut Up, Man?
Previously on… Survivor…
Ais, Mine, Erina, Utena, and Chiyo formed an alliance known as the "Mine Five" …
"We'll all follow Mine's lead!" Chiyo exclaims. "We're no longer ACME, now that Utena has joined us. We're the Mine Five!"
But Chiyo and Utena secretly planned to break away from the Mine Five…
"Which is why I think we need to…" Utena says.
"…leave the Mine Five!" Chiyo exclaims.
"Exactly," Utena says. "Mine, Ais, and Erina are not thinking rationally or strategically. If we follow their lead, one of us two is going to get blindsided."
So they joined up with the Four Lights alliance, planning to blindside Mine or Ais.
"How about two names?" Chiyo says.
"Two?"
"Yeah, we'll split the votes. Hestia, you vote with Utena and me. Aqua and Darkness, you vote with Tomo."
In the end, though, Chiyo and Utena remained loyal to the Mine Five, voting for Tomo. Their votes proved meaningless, as Hestia pulled out the Superidol to use on Tomo. As a result, Ais went home. Eight are left. Who will be voted out tonight?
Day 28
Covid Tribe
(Aqua, Chiyo, Darkness, Erina, Hestia, Mine, Tomo, Utena)
Hestia is furious with Utena and Chiyo that morning. She pulls them aside for a private talk.
"You two, you lied!" she says. "You said we were splitting the votes. Then what the $*#% was that? Why did you go back to that Mine Five?"
Utena shook her head. "We didn't lie," she says. "We were simply…"
"Don't apologize, Utena," Chiyo says. "We were playing the game. By voting for Tomo, we flushed out the Superidol. This is what strategic gameplay works. We just made a big move."
"Oh, of course!" Hestia exclaims. "Because this game is all about BIG MOVES these days! That's what Probst wants, BIG MOVE after BIG MOVE. Seriously, do you realize how much you screwed yourselves? Not only are the Four Lights mad at you, but so is what's left of your alliance. You're finished!"
Chiyo looks on in amazement as Hestia storms away.
"I don't understand why Hestia is so upset," Chiyo says. "We simply were playing the game. We managed to flush out that Superidol while losing the most likable member of the Mine Five. We played that Tribal Council perfectly."
"Honestly, that Tribal Council couldn't have gone any better," Utena says. "But understandably, Hestia is upset because she had to use her Superidol. Actually, she didn't have to use it; she could have just let Tomo go home. But now we've got to figure out what we're going to do at this next vote, because it's shaping up to be a four-on-four battle."
"I have a hard time believing what Utena and Chiyo-chan did last night," Hestia says. "They had the chance to pull off a giant blindside, and they chose not to. Now, we did win that vote, but only after I had to use the Superidol. And now that I've used the Superidol, I can't get another one. A golden opportunity has gone by the wayside, and it's all because Utena and Chiyo-chan re-flipped at the last moment."
Meanwhile, Aqua is guzzling away a bottle of wine, causing Darkness and Tomo some concern.
"Hey, you keep drinking that, you're going to become an alcoholic," Tomo says.
"I hate to agree with Tomo, but she's right," Darkness says. "Be careful with your intake of that stuff."
"Are you kidding?" Aqua says. "The worst thing that could possibly happen to me is that I vomit, and I have a bit of stomach pain. That's not too bad!"
Darkness blushes. "Did you say 'pain'?"
"Just let me drink in peace!" Aqua complains.
Mine is off sitting in the jungle by herself, feeling terrible over the previous night's result.
"I can't believe it!" she says. "I made a promise to myself – I was not going to make any friends out here. But not only did I make a friend, I – I – I fell in love! I – I can't understand myself! And now that she's gone, I feel like I can't go on. I've got to pull myself together so I can still win this game."
Erina makes the rice for the other players, in a grumpy mood over what happened last night.
"Like, what the heck is going on out here?" she says. "All these Superidols and idols and crap. This is like a big meal with a whole bunch of empty calories being baked into the recipe. There shouldn't be this many gimmicks!"
Later that day, the four remaining characters from the former Mine Five meet together to talk about where to go from here.
"It's four against four now," Utena says. "And all four of them have idols."
"How do you know that?" Erina asks.
"Remember, I'm in good with Aqua and Darkness," Utena says. "And I believe they are the key to our situation."
"Right!" Chiyo says. "Get Aqua and Darkness with us, and we'll be fine."
"But what about those idols?" Mine wonders. "Ais and I didn't use ours, and look what happened. Now I'm going to use my idol no matter what."
"Maybe they'll all use their idols at once," Erina offers.
"They aren't that smart," Mine says. "Look at Aqua over there. She's passed out, drunk, hung over. She doesn't have a clue as to when to use her idol."
"Then we put our votes on her?" Erina wonders.
"No," Utena says. "The key is to keep Aqua and Darkness friendly with us. Our target should be Tomo or Hestia."
"Well, that's easy!" Mine says. "Tomo is a waste of space. Get her out now."
"I don't think that's the right decision," Chiyo says.
"Why not, Chiyo-chan?" Erina asks.
"Because Tomo is not a threat to any of us. If we keep her around to the end, you know she's getting zero jury votes. She is the perfect goat."
"No, Tom Brady is the GOAT," Mine says. "Aaron Rodgers is not the GOAT."
"You know what I mean!"
"We need to go after Hestia," Chiyo says. "She is our biggest threat from the four that are left in the Four Lights alliance. But Utena and I are keeping our options open. It is possible that once we get out Hestia, we flip to the three who are remaining. Once there are Three Lights, we can then take out Mine and Erina. The possibilities are endless, but the most important thing will be figuring out the idol situation."
"I'm not so sure Chiyo-chan knows what she's talking about," Erina says. "Tomo has been our nemesis for weeks now. I'd like to just send her $#* to the house as fast as I can. Hestia, she's not really like a threat. She's just a girl with big boobs, but not as big as mine."
Reward Challenge
(Covid)
"Come on in, girls!"
The eight remaining players waltz into the immunity challenge area. Tomo is even literally doing a waltz as she walks in.
"You guys ready to get to today's reward challenge?"
"Yeah!" Tomo shouts.
"First things first, Hestia, you ARE Best Girl from Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon, and you will receive an extra $10,000 as a result."
"All right!" Hestia says.
"Now, how would you like it if you had… a little love."
Everyone gasps and begins celebrating.
"Hey, hey!" Jet says. "No getting close now. Social distancing, remember? Keep those buffs over your faces!"
"Why don't you do the same?" Erina says, pointing to Jet's mask that is hanging around his neck.
"Ahem," Jet says. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be like Fraudci being a hypocrite and not wearing a mask while telling the rest of the nation to do so. Anyway, let's bring in our first loved one. Hestia, here is Bell Cranel."
"Bell!" Hestia screams, as she rushes over to him, about to hug him. He then puts out his hands to signal for her to stay distant. She then gives him an air high-five.
"It is so good to see you!" she says. "And do you realize how long I've been out here? You should be proud of me!"
"I am proud of you," Bell says. "You made it far, far longer than I did. That's quite an accomplishment."
"All right," Jet says. "You two, take a spot on the bench and have a chat. For now, here is the next loved one. Utena, here is Miki Kaoru."
Miki comes running in, and he elbow-bumps Utena.
"Nice to see you," Utena says.
"I'm glad to be here," Miki says. He then leans in closer and whispers to her. "How's the game going?"
"I'm going to win," Utena whispers back. "Unless that little girl over there beats me."
Miki looks over at Chiyo, then nods his head. "I get it."
"Okay," Jet says. "You two, go take a spot on the bench. We'll bring in our next loved one. Chiyo-chan, this is an easy one. Of course it's going to be-"
"Osaka!" Chiyo shouts, as she sees her friend Ayumu Kasaga walk in.
"Nice island," Ayumu says. "Seems like the kind of place that you'd see in Antarctica."
Chiyo chuckles. "No, not Antarctica," she says.
"Russia, then?"
"Let's just skip it," Chiyo says, as she walks with Ayumu over to the bench.
"Oh, oh, Austria, that's it!"
"Next up, from the same classroom, Koyomi Mizuhara!"
Koyomi comes walking in, but she is greeted by no one.
"Whose loved one is that?" Tomo asks.
Koyomi facepalms, and Jet laughs. "Don't pretend you don't know her!" he says.
Tomo then jogs on over to Koyomi. "I see you've lost a lot of weight," Koyomi says.
"And I see you've put on a lot of weight," Tomo responds.
"Have not!" Koyomi exclaims.
"Have too! Why in the heck would you think otherwise?"
"Just zip it before I break your hip," Koyomi says, as the two trudge on over to the bench.
"Okay, next, for Mine, is her friend Akame!"
Akame jogs in, then pretends to give a hug to Mine. Mine obliges with a hug of her own, and a laugh. Akame then looks closer at Mine.
"What is it?"
"Ask me again sometime," Mine replies, as the two walk over to the bench.
"All right, next up, for Darkness, it's Wiz!"
Wiz walks out, and Darkness goes over to greet her.
"Good to see you," Wiz says.
"I am honored to see you as well," Darkness says.
"It hasn't been too painful for you, has it?" Wiz says.
Darkness blushes. "Nothing is possibly too painful!"
"All right, you two, over to the bench," Jet says. "Aqua, you're up next. Here is Kazuma Satou!"
Kazuma comes out, waving, before stopping in his tracks.
"What's the matter, Kazuma?" Jet asks.
"Where's Megumin?" Kazuma asks.
"What are you talking about?" Aqua says.
"Well, I was supposed to be her loved one," Kazuma says.
"Too bad!" Aqua says. "She got voted out literally a year ago!"
"So I'm stuck with you?" Kazuma says. "Man, this sucks."
"It's even worse for me!" Aqua exclaims. "I'm stuck with you! And what is this crap about Megumin? Do you love her or something?"
"Are you jealous?" Kazuma asks.
"Not one bit!"
"Okay, okay, you two," Jet says. "Head on over to the bench."
Aqua sticks her tongue out at Kazuma as the two walk over to the bench.
"Last and least," Jet says, "we have Erina Nakiri."
"Finally," Erina says. "Wait a minute – like, what did you just call me? Least?"
Jet chuckles. "Erina, here's your loved one, Soma."
"Like, what?!" Erina shouts. "It was supposed to be my aunt!"
"She died, dude," Soma says.
"Shut up," Erina replies. "Tell me the truth."
"Hey, eat enough bad food, and eventually you're going to get sick and die," Soma says. "Anyway, nice to see-"
Erina slaps Soma across the face. "You moron," she says. "I don't know how to feel right now, but one thing's for sure: you are dead once I get off this island!"
"Okay, okay, I was only joking," Soma said. "Your aunt is fine."
Erina breathes a sigh of relief. "You know that I didn't believe you for a second."
"All right, you two lovebirds," Jet says. "Get over there to the bench."
"Lovebirds?!" Erina shouts. "Put a fork in it, Jet!"
Erina trudges over to the bench and sits all the way on the other side of Soma, so the two of them have fourteen people in between them.
"Okay, you guys ready to get to today's reward challenge?"
"YEAH!" most of the players and loved ones yell in unison.
"For today's challenge, you and your loved one will push a bar around in circles to unscrew it from the ground. You'll then do that two more times until you have all three of your bars. You'll then hook up those bars to create scoring areas for your bolas. You will then throw bolas until you've connected with three bolas. Both of you on your team must score at least one of the bolas. First pair to finish, wins reward. Wanna know what you're playing for?"
"Of course!" Tomo shouts.
"Winning team, gets taken away by helicopter to their own private island, where they get to eat potato chips until they get sick, as well as many other foods. You'll then spend a night in a small village where you'll get to sleep in beds. In addition, the winning player gets two Fire Tokens. I know it's worth playing for. One more thing."
Jet tosses a bag to Erina, who opens it up to find a bunch of surgical masks.
"But we're already wearing masks!" she exclaims.
"Sorry, by the order of Dr. Fraudci and King Newsom, you now have to wear two masks. Go ahead and pass those out. I'll give you a minute to strategize, then we'll get started."
The players and their loved ones discuss the challenge together, then they line up at the starting point.
"For reward! Survivors ready? Go!"
All eight teams race over to their first bar. Most of the teams begin spinning around counterclockwise, but not Aqua and Kazuma. Instead, Aqua is pushing the bar clockwise while Kazuma tries going counterclockwise.
"What are you doing?" Aqua yells at Kazuma.
"I think you're the one who has it screwed up!" Kazuma yells back.
Tomo and Osaka are also hurting Koyomi and Chiyo, respectively.
"Let's go!" Tomo exclaims. "Push harder, Yomi!"
"You know, you're going the wrong way," Koyomi says. "You're just making the work harder!"
"Oh, you can stand to lose a few pounds!" Tomo shouts.
Koyomi simply shakes her head at Tomo.
"Come on, Osaka, wrong way!" Chiyo shouts.
"Are you sure?" Osaka replies.
"I'm sure! Let's go!"
Out in the lead are Erina and Soma, who are working together well despite the fact that Erina is scowling at Soma the whole time. They finish their first bar and go to work on their second bar. Darkness and Wiz are right behind them, with Mine and Akame in third place.
"Remember," Jet says, "you've got to get all three bars unscrewed and connected to your target."
Erina and Soma get their second bar out, with Mine and Akame right behind them. Darkness and Wiz begin to have some trouble on their second bar. That gives Hestia and Bell a chance to get back in it, and Utena and Miki begin to make somewhat of a comeback.
"Erina and Soma are the first to have two bars out!" Jet shouts. "Gotta get one more!"
"Hey, we really do work well as a team!" Soma says to Erina.
"Like, shut up!" Erina replies, as the two push their next bar out.
Hestia and Bell make quick work of their second bar and move into a tie for second place with Mine and Akame. Darkness and Wiz are a few seconds behind, while Utena and Miki are about ten seconds behind. The other three groups are so far behind due to one player's stupidity that they haven't even finished the first bar yet.
"Erina and Soma get their third bar in! Hestia and Bell right behind them, and now there's Mine and Akame! Start tossing those bolas!"
Erina tosses her bola, and she lands it on her first attempt. Hestia overshoots her target, while Mine connects on her first try.
"Remember: both players on your team must score at least one bola!"
Bell fires away, and he connects with the target. Soma throws his bola, and he nails it for the second one for his team.
"Soma and Erina just one bola away from winning!"
But then Erina and Soma start having trouble. They take turns trying to hit their final target, but they keep missing and having to go running after their bola to pick it up. That gives the other teams a chance to come back.
"Akame hits her target! Her team is just one bola away!"
Hestia fires and misses, while Darkness and Wiz start tossing their bolas. Darkness hits a target, but Wiz misses. Utena and Miki get into it, and they both fire a bola at once.
"Utena and Miki both hit on their first shot!" Jet shouts. "Suddenly they're one bola away!"
Aqua is finally through, and she fires a bola as far as she can, but it goes far over the target. Kazuma then throws one which nearly hits Jet in the head.
"Terrible targeting right now by Aqua's team!"
But then Soma, Akame, and Miki all toss a bola at the same time, with one of them connecting to win the challenge.
"Soma…"
…
…
…
"…misses! As for Miki, he…"
…
…
…
"…misses! Akame connects! And that's it! Akame and Mine win reward!"
Akame goes over to celebrate with Mine, but Mine shakes her head, reminding her about the social distancing rules. The two of them then give thumbs up to each other, before everyone heads back to the bench.
"Congratulations, Mine, these are for you."
Jet tosses two Fire Tokens over to Mine.
"Now, you have a decision to make."
Everyone looks on tensely.
"Choose a pair of people to go with you to the private island."
The other players plead with their eyes for Mine to pick them, save for Erina, who looks grumpy and has her arms crossed. Chiyo holds back tears while hoping for Mine to pick her.
"I choose… Erina."
Erina looks up in confusion, while Soma pumps his fist. The other characters look on in amazement.
"Okay, Erina, you and your crush Soma…"
"He's not my crush!" Erina shouts.
Jet chuckles. "Sorry. You and Soma get to go with Mine and Akame on this trip. But you know what? Why not take one more pair with you?"
Mine looks around at all the players, before pointing to Chiyo.
"Chiyo-chan, I choose you," Mine says.
Chiyo leaps into the air in celebration, and Osaka starts dancing. The two of them rush over to Mine and give her air hugs.
"Okay," Jet says. "You know what, I'm feeling generous, so I'm going to let you pick one more pair to go with you."
Everyone looks on at Mine again, hoping that she will pick them. Mine then points to Utena.
"Utena really helped me out," Mine says. "I've got to repay the favor."
Utena claps her hands, and she and Miki rush over to Mine to thank her.
"Okay, the rest of you, I got nothing for you," Jet says. "Give your loved one an air hug goodbye."
The other players say so long to their loved ones, and Wiz, Kazuma, Koyomi, and Bell walk on out.
"You four can head on out."
Darkness, Aqua, Tomo, and Hestia head on back to camp. Shortly after they leave, a helicopter lands nearby.
"Congratulations," Jet says. "The eight of you get to go on this very fun trip. Don't forget to eat a ton of potato chips!"
The players climb into the helicopter, all giving thumbs up to Jet as they enter it.
Reward
(Chiyo, Erina, Mine, Utena + loved ones Osaka, Soma, Akame, and Miki)
The contestants sit around a picnic table, which is full of food and drinks, plus a bunch of potato chips. Osaka stuffs her face with a bunch of the potato chips, remembering to put back on her two masks in between bites.
"Like, who would ever want to eat those?" Erina says. "Those are so disgusting!"
In the middle of the meal, Soma interrupts everyone to talk about the game.
"You're going to win, aren't you?" he tells Erina.
"Huh? Why are you trying to put a target on my back?" Erina replies.
"Well, I just thought, with you having these three friends here, it should be easy," Soma says.
"It is going to be easy," Mine says. "We are going to stick together, even after what happened last night. The four of us are going to go up against the four of them."
"And we have a secret weapon," Chiyo says.
"What's that?" asks Miki.
"My Idol Nullifier," Chiyo replies. "This object that I'm holding here allows me to cancel out someone's idol. Problem is, we have to figure out the right person to use it against. If we just use it blindly, we waste it."
"Why even worry about wasting it?" Soma says. "The way I understand the game, all you four need is to get past one vote. Vote out one of those four… what's their nickname, again?"
"The Four Lights," Erina states.
"Right, the Four Lights," Soma says. "As long as there are not Five Lights, you guys just need to survive the 4-4 vote. Use that Idol Nullifier on whoever you want."
"Yeah, that makes sense!" Akame chimes in. "And if they don't use an idol, so what? Your votes against them still count."
"There's one problem with that," Utena says.
"And what's that?" Osaka asks.
"A 4-4 tie is actually a worst-case scenario," Utena says. "Let's say we put four votes on Tomo, and we use the Idol Nullifier on her. She doesn't pull out an idol, but one or more of the other Four Lights does. Then we have to pick rocks. It is entirely possible that it could be four of us picking a rock against only one of them – or maybe even none, if Darkness wins yet another immunity."
"So she's a YUGE threat?" Soma says.
"That's right," Chiyo says. "She is the biggest threat to win immunity. We'd love to get her out, but if she wins immunity, there's nothing we can do. There's no Immunity Beads of Subjugation Nullifier."
"Don't worry," Soma says. "Probst probably already has that one out on the table. I'm sure Season 41 of the American show will have some ridiculous twist like that."
"In any case," Utena says, "we have to figure out who we want to put votes on, and who we want to pick rocks. Only one of us has an idol, and that's Mine. I'm pretty sure the Four Lights have figured out that she has one by now."
"Really?" Mine says.
"It's a poorly-kept secret," Chiyo says. "We've heard them talking about it. They have a hunch that you have one. So there's no way they're voting for you. They'll probably vote for Utena or Erina."
"Right," Utena says. "Because the two of us pose a bigger threat to win immunity than Chiyo-chan does."
"Are you sure?" Mine says. "What if it's a balancing challenge, like pretty much every single challenge on American Survivor these days? That would make Chiyo-chan the biggest threat to win."
"Oh, she's not that good at balancing," Osaka says. "She'd probably fall flat on her face."
"Hey!" Chiyo exclaims, with everyone having a good laugh.
"Anyway," Utena says, "we've got to come to a decision soon as to who to vote out. I'd like to ask for the opinions of you four who are joining us on this reward."
Soma smiles. "Hey, I trust the judgment of Erina!" he says. "Whatever she says will probably be best. I've never seen her get flustered in a sticky situation!"
Erina blushes. "Will you shut up, man?" she says.
"I say you vote for whoever's closest to the moon," Osaka says.
"The moon?" an angry Mine says.
"You know, the one that's in the sky."
"And how do we determine that, egghead?"
"Beats me," Osaka says.
"Okay, thank you for your advice," Chiyo tells Osaka, trying to calm Mine down. "How about you?" She points to Miki.
"Well, based on what I know, I would say that the lewd-looking girl with really big boobs is someone I'd be concerned about."
"You mean Erina?" Soma says.
Erina slaps him across the face, while Miki shakes his head. "No, the one wearing white."
"Oh, Hestia," Utena says. "Well, she certainly is a threat. I'm not sure, though, whether we should vote for her, or leave her for potential elimination in a rock pick."
"I think you guys should just vote for whoever you don't like the most," Akame says. "There's always the chance that, by voting for them, you could send them home if one of the Four Lights flips."
"There's no way one of them flips," Mine says.
"Oh, I think there's a chance," Utena says. "Aqua and Darkness are possibilities. I can work on them."
"You should try to," Akame says. "The best way to win a 4-4 tie – make sure it isn't a tie!"
"Akame is giving great advice," Utena says. "However, she may not realize it, but she's possibly pushing me toward the Four Lights. Chiyo-chan and I are free agents. We aren't tied to the hip with what's left of the Mine Five. If we flip on Mine and Erina, it could serve us well in getting to the Final Three."
"I'm not sure which way Utena and I are going to go," Chiyo says. "We kicked the can down the road last night by voting with the Mine Five. This time, though, we could flip to the Four Lights. We've gotten Erina and Mine to reveal a lot of information to us, and that's going to be helpful if we do indeed choose to flip."
Day 29
Reward
(Chiyo, Erina, Mine, Utena + loved ones Osaka, Soma, Akame, and Miki)
The players are now saying goodbye to their loved ones, while receiving some last-minute advice.
"Don't be afraid to take a wild chance," Miki tells Utena. "You're strong. You just need to make sure to know when to gamble."
"Thank you," Utena says. "I want to make sure I make the biggest move at the right time."
"You'll do it," Miki says. "I have faith in you."
"I'll say hi to Tatsumi for you," Akame says.
"Yeah, about that…" Mine says.
"What is it?" Akame asks.
"I kind of, well, I…" Mine says. "Okay, I'll say it. I kissed a girl."
"Really?" Akame says. "One of these other girls out here?"
"Her name's Ais," Mine says. "She got sent home last Tribal Council. She makes me feel different from everyone else. Including Tatsumi. But don't tell him yet!"
Akame chuckles. "Don't worry, I've got your back, Mine."
"Now, Erina," Soma says. "Eat a little bit while you're out here, even if you don't like the food."
"Like, what?" Erina responds. "Are you telling me what to do?"
"Hey, I just don't want you to starve!" Soma says. "Megumi and I will be cheering for you!"
"Wait… Megumi?" Erina says. "You and that girl are going to be together… well, not like, I care or anything! Just shut up and get out of here!"
"Chiyo-chan, have a good time," Osaka tells her. "Don't forget to breathe from time to time… if necessary."
"Thanks, Osaka," Chiyo says.
"Oh, and I want half of your million dollars when you come back," Osaka says. "Split right down the middle, 2 percent, okay?"
"Got it," Chiyo says, trying not to laugh.
The players wave goodbye to their loved ones, then take the helicopter back to camp.
Covid Tribe
(Aqua, Chiyo, Darkness, Erina, Hestia, Mine, Tomo, Utena)
After coming back from the reward, Utena and Chiyo begin their infiltration of the Four Lights.
"I know we didn't vote with you last time, Hestia," Utena says. "But we may do it this time."
"Agreed," Chiyo says. "We aren't too keen on picking rocks."
"And why should I believe you?" Hestia says.
"Because this is your only choice if you want to get past Mine and Erina," Utena says. "If it isn't for us, then it's possible that you get Pagonged."
"It's also possible that we Pagong you if one of you picks a purple rock," Hestia says.
"The odds are better that we join you for a 6-2 vote than for you to get lucky with the rock picking," Chiyo says.
"I suppose you have a point there," Hestia says.
"I don't trust Utena and Chiyo-chan one bit," Hestia says. "I think they're just trying to push me to find out if I have an idol. Well, guess what, I do, and I'm not going to let them know. I figure all they're trying to do is figure out which of the Four Lights has an idol. They'd be shocked to know that all four of us do. And if we choose to all play them at once, they're doomed."
Meanwhile, Mine has gathered her 15 Fire Tokens together and is ready to make a purchase.
"I'm trading in fifteen Tokens for a Superidol. And I'm not handing it to anyone else no matter how much they want it."
She hands her Fire Tokens to a producer, who exchanges Keroberos to her.
"Now I'm safe," she says. "If I face elimination, I'm going to just pull this out and shock the world. It's too bad for everyone else that I've got this, because now that I do, I'm going to take revenge on everyone who took out Ais."
That afternoon, Tomo decides to take her leave.
"Okay, guys, I'm headed on out!" she shouts, waving to everyone.
"Hey, you have to stay here!" Mine says. "It's the rules!"
"No right, no wrong, no rules for me, I'm free!" Tomo replies. "See ya!"
Mine is about to chase down Tomo, but Utena grabs her on the shoulder. "Let it go," she says.
"#*$% it," Mine says. "You're too much like Ais."
"I can't stand that Tomo," Mine says. "I'd love to put all our votes on her. But nobody needs to know that I've got this Superidol. I'm going to make sure that there isn't a single person who even speculates that I have it. Then, I'll pull it out and use it when the going gets tough. Because… it will."
Later, Utena is talking with Aqua and Darkness, hoping to align with them.
"You know, Chiyo-chan and I are undecided," Utena says to them. "We don't know if we're going with the Four Lights or the Mine Five. Right now we're on the fence."
"Then come vote with us!" Aqua replies. "I promise you, we're not super uptight like Mine and Erina are. We're Team Fun!"
"Team Fun?" Darkness says. "What kind of fun?"
"Whatever type you'd like," Aqua says.
"Ooh, I can think of some fun stuff…" Darkness says.
"I'm trying to figure out whether I should vote with the Four Lights or the Mine Five," Utena says. "Or, 'Team Fun,' as Aqua now calls herself and Darkness. Who knows, maybe Chiyo-chan and I should vote with Aqua and Darkness and go against Tomo and Hestia. There are a lot of possibilities here."
So, Utena later talks it over with Chiyo.
"We now have three options," Utena says.
"Three?" Chiyo wonders.
"That's right," Utena says. "There is a new voting bloc split off from the Four Lights. It's called 'Team Fun.' It's Aqua and Darkness."
"Shouldn't any team called 'Fun' include Tomo?"
"Maybe, but she's not around, so there's no way of knowing. Basically, here's what we've got to decide. Do we stick with the Mine Five, go to a 4-4 vote, and hope like heck our opponent doesn't have an idol? Do we instead go with the Four Lights, make it a 6-2 vote, and then make ourselves the targets once Erina and Mine are both gone? Or, do we join this new 'Team Fun,' vote separately from the Four Lights, and cause a 4-2-2 vote that ends up idol proof while keeping us in the majority?"
Chiyo smiles. "You're brilliant, Utena!" she says. "Team Fun is the way to go! But how do we get free of Hestia? And what do we do about a problem like Tomo?"
"Simple," Utena replies. "We tell Hestia who we're voting for – except we're not voting for them. Then she presumably tells Tomo that, and Tomo goes along with her and they get two votes on one of the Mine Five. Then we, as Team Fun, meet up with Aqua and Darkness and come up with our own vote. It could be for any of the other four players left. Once we've survived this vote, then there are only three left, and they're split already. There will be little chance of them banding together against us."
Chiyo looks excited. "I love it!" she exclaims. "This is our best bet yet of getting to the Final Three! You and I and someone else. Maybe Aqua?"
"Maybe," Utena says. "For now, let's try to keep this a secret from everybody else."
"Utena has come up with a crazy plan that just might work," Chiyo says. "If we join up with Team Fun, then we've got our own alliance of four, and all we've got to do is get through this vote. Once we do, we're home free to the Final Four. And even then, our alliance mates will be two people who aren't exactly the sharpest pencils. That's when I'll have to bail on Utena. If I go to the Final Three with Aqua and Darkness, I win for sure! Utena may not realize it, but she's handing me this game."
"Team Fun has provided us with a third option that we can go with should the Mine Five and Four Lights not work out," Utena says. "This is a new feature to Survivor: voting blocs. We pick and choose who we're voting with, when, where, and why. All the way, I've got to be careful of Chiyo-chan. That little girl is a bona fide genius. She's surely got a backup plan on how to cut me loose before the Final Three. I've still got to be very careful with her the rest of the way."
Day 30
Covid Tribe
(Aqua, Chiyo, Darkness, Erina, Hestia, Mine, Utena)
Hestia is flustered the next morning with Tomo missing.
"Something's not right," she says. "I don't trust Chiyo-chan and Utena by any means. But Darkness and Aqua seem to be acting stranger than usual."
She looks down at the beach where Darkness and Aqua are carrying on a conversation.
"The one I trust most, and it's sad to say, is Tomo," Hestia says. "And she's off partying with the producers again. I feel like I'm all alone out here. At least I've got this idol. I may have to use it no matter what."
Meanwhile, Aqua and Darkness are discussing the new "Team Fun."
"We've made this 'Team Fun' deal with Chiyo-chan and Utena," Aqua says. "But who are we going to vote out?"
"I'm not sure," Darkness says. "One person I have no problem with is Tomo, she can stay."
"Agreed," Aqua says. "But Hestia's tried to boss us around. Maybe we should go after her."
"Maybe," Darkness says. "Although I kind of like being bossed around…"
"And that Erina is so stuck up, oh, I'd like to punch her in the nose!" Aqua says. "And Mine's a #$*%&. There's really no bad choice."
"We just have to make sure we're on the same page as Chiyo-chan and Utena," Darkness says. "Because if we go it alone, we are in for a world of hurt… which I wouldn't mind, but…"
"We are Team Fun," Aqua says. "The question is, whose fun do we ruin first? Should we go after the easy targets like Mine or Erina? Or should we shock Hestia when she's not expecting it? Man, all this stuff is making my head spin, and I haven't even drank anything! Kazuma, this is all your fault!"
Like Hestia, Erina and Mine are getting suspicious.
"You know what I think?" Mine says, while Erina cooks some rice.
"What?" Erina asks.
"I think that Chiyo-chan and Utena are planning to turn on us," Mine says.
"Well, like, yeah," Erina says. "They can't stay with us forever. Only one person wins this game, you know."
"But what I mean is that they might do it sooner than later."
"If they do, so what?" Erina says. "The only thing we can do is go out and try to win immunity."
"I guess you're right."
"Winning immunity is going to be crucial today," Mine says. "I'm going all out to win it, no matter what it takes. I know that I'm in trouble, and that if things go sour, I'm going to have to use my Superidol. But I swear, it's only going to be used on me. Not anyone else, now that Ais is gone."
Immunity Challenge
(Covid)
"Come on in, girls!" Tomo shouts.
The seven other players enter the immunity challenge, recognizing Tomo's voice calling them in.
"What the *%$& are you doing again?" Mine asks.
"Hey, I'm still here," Jet says. "I just was obliging Tomo to join in."
Mine simply shakes her head.
"Now, you guys ready to get to today's immunity challenge?" Jet says.
"Yeah!" Tomo shouts, raising a fist in the air. The other players cheer as well.
"First things first, I will take it back. Sit!"
Darkness goes flopping to the ground, and everyone laughs as Jet snatches the beads off her neck.
"Oh, come on, is that all you've got?" Darkness says.
Jet chuckles. "Once again, immunity is back up for grabs. Let's get to today's challenge. For this challenge, you'll dive underwater underneath a crate. You'll hang on to that crate and hold your breath as long as possible. If you come up for air, you're out of the challenge. Last four to come up for air move on to round 2. In round 2, you'll stay underwater as long as you can, and the last two to come up move on to the final round, which is sudden death. And I do mean death – you may have to die by drowning if you're going to win this challenge. Last player to come up for air wins immunity, guaranteed 1-in-7 shot at winning this game, if you're still alive, that is. Losers, Tribal Council, where there's lots of fresh air, but also where one of you will become the 11th person voted out of this game. We'll draw for spots, then get started."
The players all take their spots in the water.
"For immunity! Survivors ready? Go!"
The contestants dive underwater, holding onto the cages above them. About 10 seconds in, Chiyo and Tomo already come up for air.
"That's quick! Two players out of this already!"
About a minute later, Aqua can't take anymore, and she comes up for air.
"Aqua's out! She obviously can't handle her own name!"
"Thunderation!" Aqua shouts, gasping for air.
One minute later, the fourth and final eliminated player comes up.
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"Utena comes up for air, and she is out! The rest of you four, you can come on up and catch your breath!"
The other four players climb up and start gasping for air.
"Next round, two of you move on, and the other two are out. I'll give you a five-minute break to get ready."
The four players take their time getting air, then they prepare for the second round.
"Survivors ready? Go!"
The players all dive underwater, and they hold onto the cages as they hold their breath. About one minute in, Erina comes up for air.
"Erina is up, and she is now out of this challenge!"
Erina shakes her head angrily. The round lasts two more minutes, until a second person comes up.
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"Hestia is up! And she is out of this challenge! Darkness and Mine, you can come up for air now!"
Darkness and Mine emerge from the water and gasp for air.
"The final round is sudden death!" Jet says. "And I do mean death. But I'll first give you another five minutes to relax."
After five minutes, Jet motions for the two of them to get their positions.
"The winner gets immunity! Survivors ready? Go!"
Mine and Darkness go underwater, holding their breaths as long as possible.
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"You've been down there five minutes! Can you survive?"
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Two minutes later, one of the girls comes up for air.
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"Darkness…"
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"…stays underwater! Mine comes up for air! And that's it! Darkness… wins immunity!"
Everyone notices that Darkness isn't coming up immediately from the water.
"Darkness, you can come up now," Jet states.
Darkness finally emerges from the water. "What?" she says. "I was enjoying that pain!"
"Get over here," Jet says.
Darkness climbs out of the water, then goes over to get her necklace.
"Once again, you will be safe at Tribal Council," Jet states. "Darkness, this is your fourth immunity necklace. One more win, and you will tie Queen Cynthia for the most immunity wins in a single season in Survivor history."
"Anything for a little more fun," Darkness says.
"As for the rest of you, I got nothing for you. After thirty long, hard, grueling days, one of you will be the eleventh person voted out and become the fifth member of our jury. You've got tonight to figure out who that's gonna be. I'll see you tonight for Tribal. Head on out."
The players trudge back to camp.
"I really wanted immunity today," Mine says. "Now it's possible that I may have to use my Superidol. I hope it doesn't come down to that, but it might, and if it does, I'll have to do so."
Covid Tribe
(Aqua, Chiyo, Darkness, Erina, Hestia, Mine, Tomo, Utena)
Immediately everyone goes into scrambling mode when they get back to camp.
"Tomo, you've got to vote with me," Hestia says. "I want Mine out. She's the biggest threat to us."
"Hey, you're not going to get any argument from me!" Tomo says. "I just don't want to go home. I want to stay until the end! Then the producers can just give me a million dollars!"
Hestia shakes her head. "You've got to be serious about this!"
"I don't trust Tomo one bit," Hestia says. "Nevertheless, I've got to roll with her, and Darkness and Aqua as well. I've got to make sure they're with me."
But before Hestia can get to Darkness and Aqua, it is Utena and Chiyo confiding with "Team Fun."
"Who are we going after?" Chiyo asks.
"I say Hestia," Aqua says. "She's been bossing us around for a long time now. We've got to get her out now."
"No, I say Mine," Darkness says. "Eliminating Mine will unglue the Mine Five. You two agree with me on that, right?"
"Or maybe we should vote out Erina," Chiyo said. "That would be a giant blindside!"
"Let's make a decision at Tribal," Utena states.
"I'm not sure whether it makes a lot of sense to keep Hestia around," Aqua says. "She's been ordering us around and trying to control this game. But if everyone else wants to keep her, then I don't really have a choice. It's going to be a tough decision either way."
"Mine is a huge threat to me," Darkness says. "She almost beat me today, and I know that if she stays in this game, there's a good shot that she could beat me out at a crucial time. I'd like to get her out now."
Meanwhile, Mine and Erina feel all alone.
"I feel like we've been abandoned," Mine says. "I get the feeling Utena and Chiyo-chan are gone."
"Like, who cares?" Erina replies. "We've got to figure out how we're going to move forward one way or another. Remember, this game is called 'Survivor.' The only thing important is surviving, not making friends or being part of a team."
"But if we're in the minority, one of us is going home!" Mine says.
"Not necessarily…" Erina responds.
"Mine is panicking, but this is not the time to panic," Erina says. "We are still okay. I think Chiyo-chan and Erina will vote with us, and we'll have a 4-4 tie. The two of us will be just fine."
Tribal Council
(Covid)
The eight remaining players walk into the Tribal Council area, torches ablaze. They put their torches down in their spots, then take their seats.
"We now bring in the members of our jury," Jet states. "100 Senators, of which 67 must vote for conviction. Then all we'd need is a simple majority to prevent another run for office."
"Huh?" Utena says.
"Oh, sorry, wrong script," Jet says. "I'll get back to my impeachment proceedings tomorrow. For now, let's bring in the real members of our jury. Anthy, Mio, Alice, and voted out last Tribal Council, Ais."
Anthy, Mio, Alice, and Ais march into the Tribal Council area, with Ais blowing a kiss to Mine.
"Big reward this time," Jet says. "You got to see your loved ones for the first time in four weeks. How did that feel, Hestia?"
"Oh, it was wonderful!" Hestia replies. "I'm so glad I got to see Bell, even if it was for a short amount of time."
"How about you, Mine?"
"Yeah, I'm glad I got to see Akame," Mine says. "But I'm concerned about what's happened since."
"And what is that?" Jet asks.
"It appears to me that our alliance – once known as the Mine Five – has disintegrated."
"Disintegrated?"
"Specifically, I don't think Chiyo-chan and Erina are with us anymore."
Chiyo shakes her head. "I don't know what Mine is talking about. Of course we're still with her! We agreed at the reward that we would be the Final Four. Why wouldn't we vote with her!"
"Answering like that makes me suspicious," Erina states.
"There's nothing to be suspicious about," Utena says. "Just because Chiyo-chan and I have talked to other people doesn't mean we're planning on turning on you guys."
"Yeah, there's nothing to be concerned about," Chiyo says.
"Hestia, if they're saying that they're on Mine's side, doesn't that concern you?" Jet asks.
"Somewhat," Hestia says. "But this is Survivor. People lie. That's part of the game. I wouldn't want someone to win if they didn't lie a bunch."
"Utena, is lying a good thing in Survivor?"
Utena chuckles. "Lying is never good…. unless it's good for you."
"How about you, Darkness? Tell any lies out here?"
Darkness puts her hand over her heart. "As a knight, my pledge is to always tell the truth. I shall never tell a lie out here no matter the circumstances."
"Oh, shut up," Aqua says. "You're such a prude."
"Let's talk about the Superidol," Jet says. "It has been used in each of the last two Tribal Councils. That means that you know it could be back in the game, and if it is, it renders the entire vote moot."
"Not entirely," Chiyo says. "For example, an alliance could split the votes in such a way that they get the person they wanted out of the game because using the Superidol would mean suicide. You use the Superidol on that person, you go home yourself. So in reality, there's nothing moot about it."
"Fair enough," Jet says. "I suppose I shouldn't have tried slipping one by the child genius."
"I prefer the term 'prodigy,'" Chiyo replies.
"Anyway, Erina, are you concerned about this Superidol?"
"Like, no," Erina says. "If there is another one out there, it could belong to anyone. All I care about is continuing to make it through Tribal Councils."
"But couldn't the Superidol put you at risk by making you the person with the second-most votes?"
"I don't think I'm going to get any votes, thank you very much," says Erina.
"How about the normal idols?" Jet says. "Hestia, it's got to have come up at some point. There are idols floating around, and no one knows who has one."
"Or, maybe it's that everyone has one," Hestia replies. "No one really knows. There's probably been more secrecy about idols this season than there has been in any past season. No one's saying a word about whether she has an idol."
"If that's the case, could we see a vote where all votes get cancelled out?"
"It's possible," Aqua says. "I don't want to find out, though."
Darkness then whispers something over to Aqua. Aqua in turn whispers over to Utena.
"Uh-oh, it's happening again," Mine says.
Utena whispers to Chiyo, who then whispers to Hestia.
"This is insane," Erina says.
"Would you let me in on this?" Tomo asks.
But everyone ignores Tomo. Instead, Utena whispers to Mine, while Erina whispers to Chiyo. Aqua goes over to talk to Hestia, and Darkness joins her.
"What the heck is going on here, and why am I left in the dark?" Tomo wonders.
Mine goes over to whisper to Chiyo, and Utena talks to Darkness. Tomo shakes her head in disgust.
"Getting a little frustrated over there, Tomo?" Jet asks.
"Hey, if I'm a CBS plant, I deserve to be treated a lot better than this!" Tomo says.
Hestia decides to whisper a name in Tomo's ear, and she grins. "All right! Can't wait to vote her out!"
"Shut up!" Hestia exclaims. "Come on, Jet, let's just vote."
"Are you ready to vote, Erina?" Jet asks.
"Like, as well as I'll ever be," Erina says.
"How about you, Utena?"
"Sure."
"Chiyo-chan?"
"I believe so."
"Mine?"
"Why even ask? It doesn't matter."
"Darkness?"
"Yes."
"Aqua?"
"Of course."
"And Tomo?"
"Nope!"
Everyone glares over at Tomo, including the jury members.
"Just kidding!" Tomo says. "Let's vote!"
"Okay, then, it is… time to vote. You cannot vote for Darkness, as she has the Immunity Beads of Subjugation. Aqua, you're up first."
The Tribal Council theme "Tally the Vote" plays as Aqua gets up from her seat.
Aqua goes to vote.
Chiyo goes to vote.
Darkness goes to vote.
Erina goes to vote.
Hestia goes to vote.
Mine goes to vote.
Tomo goes to vote.
Utena goes to vote.
"I'll go tally the votes."
Jet walks over to the voting booth, opens up the urn, mixes up the votes a little, then grabs the urn and returns to his podium.
"If anyone has a hidden immunity idol, and you would like to play it, now would be the time to do so."
All the girls look around, but no one makes a move.
"Wow, really?" Jet says. "After all that, and no one wants to use an idol? Okay then. Once the votes are read, the decision is final, and the person voted out will be asked to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I'll read the votes."
Jet pulls out the first vote.
"First vote… Hestia."
Hestia crosses her arms angrily upon seeing her name.
"Hestia. That's two votes Hestia."
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"Erina."
Erina shakes her head.
"Erina. We're tied, two votes Hestia, two votes Erina."
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"Erina. That's three votes Erina, two votes Hestia."
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"Erina. That's four votes Erina, two votes Hestia."
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"Eleventh person voted out of Survivor: Best Girl, and the fifth member of our jury, the great Erina Nakiri. That's five, that's enough, there's no need to reveal the final vote, it will remain a mystery."
"Even though we know it's for Erina," Tomo remarks.
Erina shakes her head again, before getting up from her seat. She walks over to her torch, when suddenly Mine speaks up.
"I said I wasn't going to do this…"
Everyone, especially Hestia, gasps as Mine gets up from her seat and walks over to Jet. She then pulls out Keroberos.
"This is the Superidol," Mine says. "And even though I said I wouldn't, I'm going to do it. Play it on Erina."
Erina looks shocked, and Hestia grimaces.
"Very well then, this is the Superidol," Jet says. "All votes cast against Erina will not count. The rules of Survivor state that if the Superidol is played, the person with the second-highest number of votes is eliminated. And that would be you, Hestia."
"Crap!" Hestia exclaims, getting up from her seat. She walks over and grabs her torch, then brings it over to Jet.
"Man, this sucks," she says. "I had a regular idol, too."
"Hestia," Jet says, "the tribe has spoken."
He snuffs out her torch.
"It's time for you to go."
"I'll remember this, Mine!" Hestia yells as she walks out of Tribal Council. Since she has no Fire Tokens left, the camera does not follow her, but rather stays at Tribal Council.
"Three consecutive votes, three consecutive Superidols played, and three consecutive times it was played on somebody else instead of the person holding it," Jet says. "You guys are pulling out the BIG MOVES left and right, and that's what I love to see. Moreover, that's what Probst loves to see. Grab your torches, head back to camp, good night."
Erina mouths the words "thank you" to Mine, as the seven remaining players get up to take their torches back to camp.
"I can't believe it!" Hestia says. "I should have saved my own Superidol for myself! Or I should have at least used the idol I had! Instead I made a stupid decision, I didn't look after me first! From now on, that's what I'm doing. I'm looking after number one, instead of trying to help out others. Man, this sucks!"
Who voted for whom:
Aqua – Erina
Chiyo – Erina
Darkness – Erina
Erina – Hestia
Hestia – Erina
Mine – Hestia
Tomo – Erina
Utena – Erina
Fire Token Count: (* denotes player with idol)
5 – Tomo*, Erina
2 – Darkness*
0 – Aqua*, Chiyo, Mine*, Utena
Scenes from our next episode:
There is a huge fallout amongst the members of the former Mine Five:
"Screw you two!" Mine shouts. "I didn't save Erina for your sake, I saved her for mine! I don't want anything to do with you two anymore!"
While Chiyo looks to take over the game:
"This is my big chance!" Chiyo says. "Make the move here that wins me the million dollars, six days early."
And Erina looks to make a BIG MOVE of her own:
"I'm using these Fire Tokens," Erina says. "They'll go to waste if I don't use them now. And then I'm going to shock the world."
