Survivor Branford: Episode 9

With Larry’s removal from the game, Steve felt that he had lost his closest ally. Yes he and Josh had been working together for quite a while, but he thought he could trust Larry just a little bit more. And yes Larry had betrayed Steve at the last tribal council by voting for him, but upon reflection Steve appreciated the strategic move that he played. It seemed to be a tall order to break Angela and Meredith apart at this time. But Steve knew that had it not been for a well-timed hidden immunity idol, Josh would have been voted out at the last tribal council. He felt slightly more cheerful at the fact that the girls might want to try this again now that Josh had used the last of his defenses. The final three might just include Steve after all! And since he thought that Angela and Meredith had the same story to tell to the jury, he could be a popular alternative option to vote for in the end.

One of the final three?

Meredith and Angela felt pretty comfortable in the game. Their final three deal before the merge looked to be as strong as ever. Neither felt that the other was a huge jury threat and therefore didn’t consider turning on the other. They knew that as a twosome it would be very hard to be broken up. That would require Steve and Josh working together and not blinking as the vote went to a tie and possible tiebreaker challenge. But Angela pointed out that Steve was with them last time to vote Josh out. Unless Josh worked his magic, they felt ok assuming that Steve would side with them again. As long as they stuck together they had a very good shot at making it to the final three. Not only that but an inside track to decide who joined them.

Meredith and Angela walk and talk

Josh knew that he was in a tight spot but was giving himself options. He felt that Steve owed him a favor for saving him at the first vote after the merge. He also thought that Angela and Meredith could sometimes vote with emotion and he began thinking of ways to get Steve on their bad side. Josh believed himself to be the biggest threat left in the game and knew that many times the best player was voted out right before the final tribal council. He thought it was still possible to still finagle his way into the final three. But realistically he knew that winning the final immunity challenge was the sure thing.

Josh knows what he has to do

Sangria arrived at their final immunity challenge to find four mallets and four piles of coins. The challenge was called “Balancing Point” and was very simple. Each castaway would hold the mallet behind the white line with one of their hands. Then, with the other hand they would stack the coins on the end of the mallet one at a time when prompted. After 10 minutes, each castaway would move their hand back behind the blue line making it harder to balance the tower of coins. Once any of the coins fell off the mallet, the player would be out of the challenge. The last castaway left holding their mallet and coins would win the challenge and be guaranteed a spot at the final tribal council with the opportunity to plead their case to the jury!

The castaways took their positions and the challenge was on. Steve tried to make a joke but was ignored by the rest of the tribe. Everyone knew how important this challenge was. The fate of the game could be decided in the next few minutes.

The final immunity challenge gets underway!

After four coins were placed, Angela had a near miss as her mallet began to wobble. Digging deep, she regained her focus and restored her equilibrium. The wind began taunting the castaways with short bursts that swayed their arms from side to side. Still, no one blinked. As the castaways were told to place their next coin, no one took their eyes off their mallet. Each would slowly and meticulously grab a coin with their free hand and gingerly place it upon their coin stack. When it was time to place the ninth coin, the sound of coins hitting the ground pierced the air. With a defeated look, Meredith was out of the challenge! She could no longer bank on a spot in the final three by securing immunity. She sat down nearby and began to stretch out the cramps in her arm.

The agony of defeat

The challenge was down to three. Just a few coins later, the challenge had its next casualty. As he went to place a coin, Josh’s stack practically disintegrated in front of him. He was disappointed in his performance. Noting the stacks of Angela and Steve, he called shenanigans on them as they had been straightening them after placing each new coin. Unfortunately for Josh, this was never made illegal in the rules of the challenge and they were within their rights to do this. Now knowing that he had his work cut out to make the final three, he sat down with his back to the challenge and began to run the scenarios through his head.

Disappointment etched on his face

Angela and Steve were left to show down for immunity and a guaranteed spot in the final three. They each managed to place a couple more coins without a problem. At this time, both Steve and Angela would be required to make the difficult transition in moving their hand down the pole of the mallet. They would be allowed to use their other hand to assist. Very slowly they steadied themselves and inched down towards the blue line on the pole. Out of nowhere, Steve dropped his stack! But Angela was not in the clear yet. She would be required to complete the transition to win the challenge. She slowly continued to move her hand toward the end of the pole. But she too could not complete the transition! As her coins dropped, Steve exhaled knowing that he would get a second chance to win this one.

Angela tries to make the transition

The challenge was reset to the point where the castaways were before dropping their coins. Both managed to get their grip on the end of the pole which made balancing the coins much harder. After just a few more were placed, Angela couldn’t hold it anymore and her coins clattered to the ground. Steve held his position to ensure the win and even after he was announced as the winner kept holding the mallet as if to make a statement that he could do this all day. With that victory, Steve would be guaranteed a spot in the final three!

You want a piece of this?

Now that he knew he was safe, Steve turned his full attention to who would be joining him in the final three. Though he didn’t like it, he knew that it would be best to vote out Josh who was probably the biggest jury threat left in the game. Given that everyone was on board with this at the last tribal council, Steve thought that just a quick chat with Meredith and Angela would be enough to set things up. After that, Steve looked forward to a relaxing afternoon.

Without having won immunity, Josh knew that he would need to do something in order to avoid being the 4^th place finisher. His only options were to vote for Angela or Meredith. He was leaning towards voting Angela as she was likable and was seemingly leading Meredith through the game. The problem was that he knew he’d never get the girls to turn on each other. His best bet was to go to Steve and convince him to force a tie. Steve had nothing to worry about having secured his spot in the final three. Josh was confident in his abilities to beat either Angela or Meredith in a tiebreaker challenge. In fact, he thought he’d be able to beat both of them at once if necessary.

They're plotting against each other

Meredith and Angela quickly got on the same page. Their plan was to vote out Josh of course. When asked, Steve accepted this plan. The three of them wondered if this was too easy. They knew what Josh was capable of but were unable to think of any way that he could foil this plan.

Steve and Angela observe a moment of silence for Josh

A little while later, Josh was finally able to catch up with Steve. He asked Steve how it felt to be going to the final three. Steve pretty much couldn’t believe it. Josh then cut to the chase. He knew it would be a hard argument to sell but he stumped for Steve to vote Angela out of the game. He reminded Steve of how dirty a game Survivor is and the fact that the jury could be bitter. In this case there was a good chance they’d just vote for the person they liked best…Angela. He also reminded Steve that he had never steered him wrong and that he rescued him in the first vote after the merge. Steve couldn’t deny these thoughts but still carried a funny feeling with him to tribal council.

Can Josh get Steve back on his side?

At tribal council, Josh quickly said that he was 100% the target. But he was not ready to give up. He thought that he had made a very compelling case to Steve. The USC alum confirmed that Josh was convincing in his argument. Seeing as he was safe, if it benefitted his game he could afford to force a tie and not suffer any consequences. Angela who was now a little less comfortable tried to force Steve to see reason and bluntly told him that if Josh gets to the final three, he wins. Meredith echoed this and added that her focus was just getting to the final three and not being as concerned as to with whom. Beggars couldn’t be choosers after all. Angela became even less comfortable that perhaps this was an indication that her closest ally was about to turn on her. As the paranoia reached a boiling point, it was time to vote.

A tense tribal council

With no hidden immunity idols left to play, the castaways could do nothing but sit back and hear their fate. The first vote was revealed to be for Josh. If he was concerned, he didn’t show it. Angela then received a vote. The third vote was for Josh. And after a torturously long pause, the final vote was shown to be for…Angela! We had a 2-2 tie! Josh couldn’t contain his excitement as he drummed on the arms of his seat. Steve and Meredith shot daggers at each other with their eyes.

Meredith and Steve size each other up

The castaways agreed to partake in a tiebreaker vote before going to a sudden death challenge between Josh and Angela. Steve and Meredith quickly cast their votes and returned to their seats.

The first of the two votes was for Josh. And in a dramatic reversal, the second vote was also for Josh! With that, he became the 9^th person voted out of Survivor: Branford and the final member of the jury. With a “you guys are the worst” he left the tribal council area. The final three was nothing but smiles and disbelief. They had made it this far! But now who would be able to convince the jury to name them the winner of Survivor: Branford?