Blogging Survivor: Worlds Apart "It's just my old fat ass"

This week's episode of Survivor began with Mike, the only player who wasn't part of the dominant alliance, holding a Hidden Immunity Idol that the others all knew about.

"U Can't Do That" - By holding onto an Immunity Idol, Mike Holloway
all but assured that he couldn't be voted out this week.

That meant, in all likelihood, that the alliance would be forced to vote one of their own out this week, assuming that Mike played his Idol.

Knowing that either he, or someone in his alliance would be going home, Dan was paranoid after having received two votes at the previous Tribal Council, tipping him off that he was at the ass end of their totem pole.

And honestly, if I was designing a totem pole, I'd want this image of Dan Foley at the bottom of it. 

But before things got real, the Reward Challenge saw the players divide into two tribes and navigate a maze, and then launch the balls that they collected into a series of net targets on a slanted wooden platform.

The prize for the winning team was getting to deliver supplies to some local orphans, as well as having a BBQ feast with the local village that they were helping.

Ironically, Rodney forgot the grab the balls for the blue team, which was pretty much all you can assume a dude from Boston would be good at.

Rodney's gaff allowed Mike, Sierra and Carolyn to win the reward, although he still tried to guilt one of them into giving up their spot to him because it was his birthday and he was yet to win a Reward Challenge.

Unfortunately for Rodney, nobody was buying in on his sob story, which caused him to mope, "0-5 in Reward Challenges, and a bunch of scumbags who neglected me on my birthday."

Rodney's victim attitude caused Carolyn to comment, "When you think about it, this is not a horrible birthday, you're on Survivor for God's sake!"

While the winners were off getting their reward, Rodney came up with the plan to say he had
"checked out," and that he wanted to be voted out of the game as a ploy to lull Mike into not playing his Immunity Idol.

That caused Dan appease Rodney by saying, "I think it's pretty smart," before telling the camera, "I do not think for a second that it's going to work, and that's alright with me. Let him have his moment of explosion."

And when Rodney asked everyone else, "Why would he play it if I'm acting so good?",  Tyler deadpanned, "Because it's Survivor."

Sure enough, when Mike first heard Rodney try to sell his story, he didn't buy it.

"I see right through the plan. Try to make me feel like I'm safe so I don't play my Idol. That ain't happening brother. (I'm) not an idiot. Just because I talk slow, doesn't mean I think slow.

The much important Immunity Challenge had the competitors balance on a small ledge and lean back while hanging onto a rope, and then give the rope more slack while leaning back even farther as the challenge progressed.

Rodney tried to sell his sob story of why he was eliminated by saying he just wasn't into it when he let go, while Dan was a little more honest when he said, "It's just my old fat ass Jeff."

Carolyn ended up winning over Tyler, which left Dan as the obvious target in the event that Mike played his Idol.

However, Dan realized as much, and still had an extra vote in his pocket as his advantage from the auction.

At Tribal Council, Tyler seemed secure when Jeff asked him about the prospect of getting voted out. "Would I be surprised? Yes."

At least Tyler Fredrickson finally found something that would allow him to keep wearing a helmet after his playing days at Cal wound up. 

In the end, Dan voted to send Mike home, which could have sealed his own fate, but as it turned out, he must have known something, as Tyler was the one who was voted out in a major blindside.