Season 2: Episode 7

After a wild tribal council, the Cantwell tribe was ready to call it a night.  Mark and Josh took up residence on the plush grass listening to the tide as they tried to get some sleep.  Dennis, Angela, and Jim talked for quite a while not so much about game but about mutual friends and fun memories.  Autumn went straight to bed with it weighing on her mind that she may have been the biggest reason why her alliance imploded.  Everyone would at some point before the morning give thought to their place in the game and what they could do to strengthen it.

Josh bundles up against the Branford elements

The Cantwell tribe rose the next morning and slowly made their way back into the game.  The biggest topic of conversation was tribal council the previous night.  Angela reminisced on her idol play and subsequent blindside of Amanda.  Everyone was 99% sure of who voted for whom except for where the vote for Mark came from.  It only made sense that Autumn had decided to go rogue and throw a vote at him.  At least, this is what the group concluded.  In reality, Mark had voted for himself!  He knew he wasn’t in danger and didn’t want to take a side.  Though this is against the rules of Survivor, Jeff must have fallen asleep when Mark made his vote!  Luckily, for the integrity of the game this vote didn’t affect the outcome in an adverse way.  Nonetheless, Mark surely got some entertainment value out of watching the rest of his tribe speculate on what had happened.

Not cheating if you don't get caught!

Cantwell made their way to the next challenge site.  The outcome of the challenge would potentially set the tone for the rest of the game.  The challenge was called “Scrambled Eggs“.  Each castaway would have to run around the island looking for eggs which each contained a single letter.  Once an egg was found, the castaway would open it up, memorize the letter, and place the egg back.  The first castaway to find all six eggs and unscramble the word that their letters would provide wins immunity!

Scrambled eggs for breakfast for the Cantwell tribe

With everyone stretched out and ready, Jeff called go.  The group scattered in search of eggs.  Dennis immediately went to the area where Jim had found the immunity idol and found an egg perched on the ledge.  He opened it up to see a “G” tile.  At the other end of the island, Josh found an egg in the center of the Cantwell camp.  He cracked it open to see the letter “Y.”  Mark had gone down to the beach and found an egg sitting on a bench near the water.  Inside contained an “H.”  Jim had immediately ran out to the rocks where the first challenge took place.  He could see Autumn a few paces behind him.  He opened up the egg to reveal an “N.”  He resealed the egg not wanting to give Autumn any freebees.  Angela was very observant and noticed an egg located very close to the starting line of the challenge.  She memorized the “R” that was inside.

Morning jog or immunity challenge?

As the challenge went on, the castaways had to balance several things.  First was fatigue from running all around the island under the hot sun.  Also was trying to locate the eggs in the first place.  They were only found at significant locations but this was not as easy as it sounded.  Several times castaways crossed paths asking how many eggs they had found.  Whether or not these questions were answered truthfully, it provided everyone with the motivation to finish first.  Of course, the hardest task was remembering what the letters were and trying to mentally unscramble them.  If a castaway forgot a letter, they would have to unfortunately go back and find that particular egg again.

Don't let the picture fool you...Mark is fast!

After 10 minutes had elapsed, a few castaways found themselves with a bit of a lead.  Dennis was searching for his sixth and final egg while Angela and Josh were close behind at four each.  Mark and Autumn had found three eggs while Jim brought up the rear with only two eggs.  The motivation to be protected at the next tribal council fueled everyone to keep running and searching.  Jim did have the immunity idol still but would love to have the necklace on top of it.

Jim mugs for the camera

Shortly after, Josh found the “R” egg and was only one letter away from the win.  He suspected what the answer was but could not provide it until he had found the final egg.  Angela was not making any progress while Jim found his third egg.  Dennis continued running and passed a nearby flower bed.  He knew that this was no time to stop and smell the roses.  But, yes it was!  Nestled within the flora was the sixth egg!  He opened it and saw the letter “U.”  Dennis knew exactly what the answer was and shot off down the path back to Jeff.  Hoping he wouldn’t arrive too late, Dennis was relieved to see Jeff still waiting to be given the answer.  Dennis caught his breath and told Jeff that the answer was “HUNGRY.”  Jeff responded by throwing his arms up into the air and declared that Dennis had won immunity!  The rest of the Cantwell tribe gathered back at the start and compared notes on where all of the eggs were.

Flaunt it Dennis!

Before Cantwell got out of earshot, Jeff announced that with Angela’s idol play at the previous tribal council, a new idol and new idol clue had been planted!  Just when the tribe was ready to relax, most of them took off running back to camp in hopes of getting a head start on looking for the clue.

Autumn finds extra energy to run back to camp

Because of the fervor in which the tribe searched for the clue, the hunt was short.  Josh quickly found the clue and hustled away to read it.  He wouldn’t have it so easy though as nearly all of his tribemates followed him and tried to steal a glance at the information.  Josh was able to quickly read it and memorize the clue.  He then took great pleasure tearing it up in front of everyone.  Josh knew that he would be under surveillance from this point forward and with time short, he had to focus more on strategizing for the next vote.  The idol search could happen a little bit later.

Tearin' and not sharin'

Putting aside what happened at the previous vote, the two remaining pairs got together and noted that Autumn and Mark were now both partnerless.  Either of them could be taken out pretty easily at this point.  One of the biggest things to consider was who to bring to final five.  Everyone involved in this conversation knew that whether it was Autumn or Mark that survived the vote, they were clearly positioned as a swing vote at final five.  Each pair had to look out for their own interests and influence the vote away from the person that would be most likely to swing their way at the upcoming vote.  Mark and Autumn were both hard to figure.  Mark was a complete wild card who seemed to have no allegiance and was just crazy enough to vote for himself.  Could a person like this be trusted?  Autumn had stayed in Amanda’s shadow for the entire game so she was an unknown quantity herself.  The group still didn’t have a great handle on what her capabilities were.  Angela, Josh, Dennis, and Jim made an agreement on who to vote out and then broke apart to make sure they had everything else taken care of before tribal.

Mark or Autumn?

Mark knew he had a strong social game and put it to good use in connecting with Autumn.  He let her know that he would be loyal because they needed each other.  He was able to come off as genuine to her in his pitch.  Autumn was willing to work with Mark in order to get themselves further.  The two tried to figure out who to target.  They thought about which other pair was the tightest and determined it was the best course of action to break them up.  Autumn pointed out that Jim and Dennis fit this description and Mark followed up by noting that those two had caused nothing but trouble since arriving at the merge.  With Dennis wearing the immunity necklace, Jim was who they set their sights on.

 

Autumn and Mark look to counter

Mark and Autumn told Josh and Angela their plan to vote out Jim.  Josh and Angela had to consider how this would impact the game going forward.  If Jim were voted out, they would remain the only pair left in the game.  One on hand, they knew that if they could get just one person on their side, they would have a final five majority and a core two in the alliance of three.  On the other hand, a spurned Dennis could come together with Mark and Autumn and finish the job of breaking up the final pair left in the game.  Angela also privately knew that her secret alliance with Dennis was something she wanted to preserve.  Having to weigh the good and the bad Josh and Angela talked about how they would adjust to the swing vote position they now found themselves in.

Josh and Angela's decision will impact the rest of the game

Moments before tribal council, Jim was talking to Dennis alone.  Jim felt confident that he was not the target and that he, Dennis, Josh, and Angela would be voting the same way.  Dennis confirmed to Jim that he believed this too.  Jim then decided to get a bit creative.  He knew that his idol was only good through final five, meaning he would have to play it either this time or at the next tribal council.  He was willing to gamble on not playing it now in order to assure him of a spot in the final four.  But, in case he was blindsided at the upcoming vote, he didn’t want the idol to leave the game with him.  He decided to give the idol to Dennis to hold at tribal council with the promise that Dennis would give it back if Jim made it through!  Jim’s thought process was that this act would resolidify his pact with Dennis.  If Dennis ended up on the jury, Jim could use this show of friendship to garner a vote from Dennis.  He would also point out this move to the rest of the jury noting that it demonstrated his loyalty in the game to his true alliance and that he was willing to protect those that he gave his word to.  Jim quickly handed the idol to Dennis (almost being seen by Mark!) and the two made final preparations for tribal council.

Jim explains his idea to Dennis

The final six players in the game gathered at tribal council.  Dennis opened things up by saying that immunity felt awesome and that he was also glad to be assured to make it to the top five; something he felt short of the previous year.  Josh commented that it wasn’t too early to start looking ahead to the final three and weighed the options of getting there with people he felt he could beat vs just getting there period.  Autumn said that she had new hope after developing a bond with Mark.  Mark confirmed this and said that they had become fast friends and wouldn’t be writing each other’s names down.  Jim said that he felt the more unsure about this tribal council than any of the other six he had already attended.  He had to put his faith in those he thought were on his side.  Angela closed things out by remarking again how much crazier Survivor Branford: Second Chance was and that it was making her victory last year look easy by comparison.

The final six!

Cantwell made their way to the voting area one by one and soon after, Jeff was tallying the votes.  Jeff returned and asked if anyone wished to play the immunity idol.  Dennis could only imagine Jim’s reaction if he decided to play it on someone else right now.  With no idols presented, Jeff began to read the votes.  The first was for Jim.  Autumn was the recipient of the second vote.  Jim then received a second vote.  He had never gotten more than one vote at tribal council in this game so far but didn’t appear worried.  Another vote revealed for Autumn brought it back to a tie.   

Only one of them will survive this tribal council!

Things would become very clear with the fifth vote.  It was for Autumn!  No tie was to be had as the sixth and final vote was also for Autumn!  With that, the 17 year old student became the seventh member of the jury!  She quietly made her way out of tribal council but knew that she would have a very loud say as to who would be named sole survivor!

Two votes for Jim...

...but four votes for Autumn

 

Autumn's fall is complete

Next time on Survivor:

-       Will Dennis keep his word and return Jim’s immunity idol?

-       Can Josh find the time to search for and locate his own immunity idol?

-       An intense challenge devolves into a guessing game!

Season 2: Episode 6

The previous tribal council had fully initiated the former Saltonstall members into the game. Some more harshly than others. Mark felt like he had only himself to play for at this point. He had formed a tight bond with Rob from the beginning and watched as the professional skateboarder was voted out minutes ago. Mark assessed the situation and knew that there were three pairs and then there was him. Assuming that two pairs were working together, his individual vote would not help to provide a majority. Without any major selling points Mark thought that he needed to stir things up. He respected the chaos that Jim and Dennis had introduced with the merge. He hoped to take a page out of their book and change up the dynamics of the game yet again.

Mark comes up with devious ideas

Cantwell came together for the next immunity challenge. The challenge would be the infamous “Shell Game.” Each member of the tribe would take a survey in private. After the results are tallied, the questions would be asked again. This time, the members of the tribe would attempt to pick the most popular answer among the group. If correct, that person would get to cut one of someone’s three shells hanging from a pole. The last person left standing would win immunity. 

Angela shows off her cards

There was hope for Mark. In the previous year, this challenge took place with Dennis and Diana clearly in the minority against a solid fivesome. However, due to lack of strategy or too many overemotional castaways, the final two in that challenge turned out to be none other than Dennis and Diana. Dennis thought back on this happy memory and hoped to win the challenge once again. If not, he would settle for the tribe’s platitudes and hoped not to be the answer to any embarrassing questions.

FLASHBACK: Diana and Dennis fight it out in the original Survivor Branford Shell Game

Once each survey was filled out and tallied, the challenge got underway!

The first question was “Who belongs on the Bachelor instead of Survivor?”  The castaways mulled over their answers and held their cards at the ready.  Jeff revealed that Angela was the correct answer!  Dennis and Autumn were the only two to get that right.  Dennis cut down one of Mark’s shells while Autumn gave Josh a hit.

Cantwell ponders the first question

After 1 round:

Amanda, Angela, Autumn, Dennis, Jim:  3 shells

Josh, Mark:  2 shells

Question #2 asked “Who is the biggest challenge threat?”  The correct answer was Josh despite his protests that he had been horrible in challenges up to this point.  Dennis, Autumn, Jim, and Josh were correct (Josh disagreed but felt the tribe would say him).  Dennis once again took out one of Mark’s shells.  Autumn once again took out one of Josh’s shells drawing a reaction from Josh and Angela.  Jim took Mark out of the challenge very early.  Finally, Josh defended his honor and paid Autumn back.

Mark never had a chance

After 2 rounds:

Amanda, Angela, Dennis, Jim:  3 shells

Autumn:  2 shells

Josh:  1 shell

Mark:  OUT

Question #3 was “Who would you most want to be stranded on a deserted island with?”  Angela remembered how she was the correct answer to this question in the past and wanted to defend this title almost as much as her sole survivor title.  Jeff revealed that the correct answer was indeed Angela!  Dennis, Angela, and Amanda were correct this time.  Dennis eliminated Josh from the game while Angela introduced Jim into the game.  Amanda picked up where Angela left off and also cut down one of Jim’s shells.

Angela knows the correct answer

After 3 rounds:

Amanda, Angela, Dennis:  3 shells

Autumn:  2 shells

Jim:  1 shell

Josh, Mark:  OUT

Question #4 was “Who is the most deceptive?”  There were laughs as everyone answered correctly.  Josh was felt to be the most deceptive.  Autumn led things off and turned her attention to Angela now that Josh was out.  Jim paid Amanda back from the last round, while Angela paid Autumn back for her vendetta against her and Josh.  Amanda noticed that Dennis had not yet taken a hit and knocked one of his shells out.  Dennis turned the tables and repaid Amanda.

Amanda makes a cut

After 4 rounds:

Angela, Dennis:  2 shells

Amanda, Autumn, Jim:  1 shell

Josh, Mark:  OUT

Question #5 asked “Who is mistakenly in control of this game?”  The answer was Amanda as she moaned how she didn’t want to be the answer to that one.  Jim, Angela, and Autumn all answered correctly.  Jim eliminated Amanda from the game while Angela brought Dennis down to one shell.  Autumn instantly cut another of Angela’s shells.

Autumn is not holding anything back

After 5 rounds:

Angela, Autumn, Dennis, Jim:  1 shell

Amanda, Josh, Mark:  OUT

Questions #6 and #7 did not advance the game any further.  When asked “Who is too cool for school?” none of the castaways picked Josh who was the correct answer.  Conversely, when asked “Who is easiest to beat at the final tribal council?” everyone answered correctly:  Mark.

Josh:  Too cool for school

Question #8 was “Who do you trust with your life?”  The correct answer was Dennis.  Angela, Autumn, and Jim were correct while Dennis was upset that he went against his instinct and did not answer himself.  With everyone only with one shell, Angela had to plan her next move carefully.  She decided to eliminate Dennis from the game.  Autumn now could either eliminate Jim or Angela.  If she eliminated Jim, it would leave him with essentially the choice of which girl he would give immunity to.  If she eliminated Angela, Jim would only have one move in eliminating Autumn and winning immunity.  Shockingly, Autumn forewent her chance of winning immunity just to make sure that Angela wouldn’t!  There was shock in the air as Jim took his gift and won immunity!  He would now be assured of a spot in the final six!

Jim celebrates his win

Autumn’s actions at the challenge would not come without consequence. Amanda could not understand her closest ally’s thoughts at the challenge. Rather than take out more understandable people like Mark, Jim, or Dennis, Autumn went right for Josh and Angela who she and Amanda were supposed to be tightly aligned with. Autumn still thought they were aligned but didn’t quite trust them and certainly didn’t want either to have immunity. Amanda understood this but strongly disagreed with the lack of subtlety that Autumn employed. Amanda felt that she needed to take the temperature of the tribe quickly and figure out if a radical shift to the plan would be in order.

"What was that all about?"

During this time, Angela was busy seething to Josh. She came right out and said that she didn’t trust Autumn anymore. Knowing that Amanda was leading Autumn, Angela wondered if this whole thing was Amanda’s idea. Last year’s winner felt that she was done with both of them. Josh felt much of the same but was a whole lot less expressive about it. Josh calmly thought out that Jim and Dennis would definitely listen to what he had to say. He also knew that Mark would do anything to get the heat off of him. Josh felt that the recent events were perfectly timed as no one was thinking any more about who the third person to vote for Dennis at the previous tribal council was. 

They're done with Amanda and Autumn

Mark floated around between the pairs and was able to determine that there was a civil war brewing between his former Saltonstall tribe. He felt that rather than get caught up in the turmoil, he would talk to Dennis and Jim who were neutral parties. In talking with them, Mark knew three things. First was that Dennis and Jim were aware of the clear division forming. Second was that Dennis and Jim were not sure of which way they wanted to go. Finally, Mark knew that he was going to be safe at the upcoming vote. He thanked Jeff and the Survivor gods and kept reminding himself to keep his nose clean in the lead-up to tribal.

 

Through what she had overheard and from the reconnaissance she had Autumn do, Amanda knew it was time to fully commit to going after Josh and Angela because they were coming after her. The foursome she had been a part of from the beginning had clearly dissolved. Amanda figured that Jim, Dennis, and Mark would be swing votes tonight. Sensing that Mark was more of a wild card and likely to not want to work with her, Amanda made her sell to Dennis and Jim. She knew that they were both strategic players and spoke her language. She painted Josh and Angela out to be huge threats and embellished or even made up incriminating stories about them from earlier in the game. Jim and Dennis listened closely and said that they were on her side. Jim asked Amanda if either Josh or Angela had a hidden immunity idol. She said that she didn’t know but if she had to guess, Josh was more likely. Not being able to count on the support of the split vote, the target was set as Angela.

Amanda makes a preemptive strike

As darkness set in, Angela reconnected with Dennis. The seeds to their alliance had been planted before and Angela was looking to water those seeds by letting Dennis in on a big secret. Dennis told her truthfully that Amanda was targeting her and wouldn’t rest until she had the numbers to get her way. This was music to Angela’s ears. She then blew Dennis away by telling him that she had a hidden immunity idol and she insisted that she be the target at tribal so that Amanda would be sent home once the idol was played. Dennis believed Angela when she told him that and also knew that he had a decision to make. Would he betray Angela’s trust and blow her cover or would he use this information to manipulate the vote onto Angela so that she could make an effective idol play?

Angela can't hold back the excitement

Dennis talked to Jim one last time before tribal council. After first expressing their happiness at walking into such a dysfunctional group, they recapped what they felt sure was true. Angela and Josh were voting for Amanda. Amanda and Autumn were voting for Angela. Mark was doing what Mark wanted. The two former Mattabessets were clearly positioned as swing votes. Dennis knew that he had a couple of options. First was to settle with Jim on voting for Angela, thus condemning Amanda to be voted out once the idol play happened. Dennis knew that he could save face and vote for Angela. He’d take out a big threat in Amanda and really stay in everyone’s good graces. Or he could tell Jim about Angela’s idol and start a plan to get the vote onto Josh. Though he might lose Angela as an ally, he could put himself in a clear final four and have an idol out of the game. After their conversation, Dennis felt confident that he and Jim had reached a decision as a pair and that he had not had to lay all of his cards out on the table.

One last convo

At tribal council, the challenge was the hot topic. Autumn apologized to Josh and Angela and said that she didn’t want to cut anyone’s shells down. Jim remarked that he was never the answer to any questions at the challenge. Though he acted disappointed by this he knew that by staying in the middle and not sticking out in any way, his chances in the game were strong. His immunity win was proof enough of that. As usual, Josh kept most of his thoughts private but noted that he couldn’t wait to get some sleep and hoped to still be in the game while doing so. Mark still acted like he was going home. He was continuing to be very mindful of not wanting to insert himself into the conflict that had enveloped the tribe. Amanda was anxious for the vote to be over because at that point she would have a much clearer idea of where she and everyone else stood. Angela said that she was feeling nervous. True or not, she knew she said that at every tribal council so she was giving nothing away. Finally, Dennis said that he thought he had found a spot in the Cantwell tribe for him but wouldn’t be surprised to be blindsided. With that, it was time to vote!

Cantwell's second tribal council

Jeff returned with the votes and asked if anyone with a hidden immunity idol wished to play it. After a pause, Angela stood up! Noting that she would rather waste the idol than be voted out with it, she handed it over to Jeff. Her idol was validated and Angela was all smiles. A general wave of surprise washed over most of the tribe!

Angela plays her idol!

Jeff revealed the first vote and showed that it was for Angela! So too was the next vote! And the next! When the fourth vote was read for Angela, she couldn’t hide her happiness for the brilliant play she made. Josh also let out an audible sigh of relief knowing that he would not be a casualty of a split vote. With no votes for anyone yet, the fifth vote was shown to be for Mark?! The sixth vote read Amanda. That was one vote for Mark and one for Amanda. Jeff kept the final vote turned toward him as he said that the sixth person voted out of Survivor Branford: Second Chance was….Amanda! Amanda could not hold back her frustration! She and Angela knew that they had each turned on the other but this did not prevent a raised voice exchange as Amanda got her torch! Yes, she had improved on her game during this second chance, but Amanda was far from satisfied. She would have to wait at least another year for her third chance!

Poor Dennis is caught in the crossfire!

Next time on Survivor:

·        - A single rogue vote at the previous tribal council throws everyone for a loop!

·        - Who’s the most hungry for immunity?

·        - One castaway’s pre-tribal gambit is the game’s latest big move!

Season 2: Episode 5

Right after tribal council had ended and before Rachel’s snuffed torch stopped smoking, Dennis and Jim were off.  They knew that they had one last chance to find the hidden immunity idol before the merge.  They were working against the clock as the merge feast was set to take place in less than an hour.  The two of them quickly made their way across the island to the location that they believed the hidden immunity idol to be.

And they're off!

Once there, both Dennis and Jim explored separate areas in hopes of finding the treasure.  The search was long.  Jim began looking at areas that Dennis had already been just to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.  Dennis did the same.  At this point they were bonded as a pretty tight twosome and felt that having the idol was crucial to their long term prospects in the game.  Yes, it would be great to find the idol but both were hoping that the other didn’t find it first.

Dennis hopes there's an idol back there

After quite a bit of time and with maybe only 15 minutes until the merge was set to take place, Jim was combing through the area in which Angela had found Saltonstall’s idol.  The Mattabesset idol would not be able to be seen from any kind of a distance due to Josh’s contributions.  On a whim, Jim peered into a couple of cracks and was hit with a rush.  He had found the deeply buried Mattabesset idol!  Sensing that there was no good in hiding this information from Dennis, Jim told his partner that he had the idol.

Jim holds out his find

The two now felt a sense of game on and excitedly made their way back to camp to gather their things before the merge.

Rejuvination

Jim and Dennis headed over to the Saltonstall camp to find that two seats were graciously left open for them.  After exchanging pleasantries and settling in, the merge feast was told to be only minutes away.  During the brief period of rest and true to their intentions, Rob and Mark were the first to talk to Dennis and Jim.  The former Saltonstall tribe members pretty much laid it all out there that clear pairs had formed and that two of them were working together.  Jim and Dennis were conditioned to say yes to any offers they received and asked Rob and Mark if they thought they could get one more person to give them a majority.  With perfect timing, Josh joined the conversation.  Jim noticed that this could be an easy sell as a guys alliance against the three girls.  Handshakes went around but no one new if they could be taken to the bank.

Those on the bottom look to make a move

After everyone gathered back at camp, the merge feast was presented to the new tribe!  It consisted of chicken, salad, watermelon, green beans, asparagus, and drinks both alcoholic and non.  Mark found the bag with the new merge buffs and handed them out to the group.  The buffs were a sharp red.  The tribe then talked about what the new name of the group would be.  After some deliberation, the group picked the name “Cantwell” in a fitting tribute to the man behind the camera.

A new tribe is born!

With that, the first individual immunity challenge was ready to get underway.  The challenge was called “Change Game” and would be run in two parts.  In part one, all eight castaways would dig through the sand looking for one of three coins.  The first three to find a coin would move on to the final round.  In the final round, those three people would be asked a difficult math question.  To answer, each of the three would have to sort through a bag of change they would be given and lay out the correct amount of coins (in value) that corresponded to the answer of the math question.  The first to be correct would win individual immunity!

The big dig

Jeff called go and sand was flying through the air immediately.  Rob especially attacked the sand as if there was no tomorrow.  Josh threw his sand into places where others were digging.  Jim was most concerned with not letting the imprint of the idol show through his shorts as he was digging.  While many would have thought that round one would be over quickly, the search proved quite hard.  Angela asked if bigger coins could have been used for this part of the challenge.  Just as the energy of the group began to wane, Mark let out a joyful cry as he found the first of the three coins.  He was through to the final round of the challenge!  Now knowing that this was not an impossible task after all, the group dug with renewed vigor.  Dennis systematically made his way up and down the search area in rows.  Autumn was content to dig a hole as deep as humanly possible.  Just then, Rob let the group know that he had found the second coin and went to stand next to Mark!  Only one coin remained!  Amanda, always a fierce challenge competitor, was not to be denied as she found the third coin and took her place in the final round of the challenge!

Rob is $0.25 richer

While the five eliminated Cantwell members watched, Mark, Rob, and Amanda readied themselves for another race.  With a bag full of coins, the three were ready to do some quick mental math and take home the immunity necklace.  Once the long and complicated question was asked, the sound of coins hitting pavement filled the air.  Amanda talked to herself to try to figure out the answer while Mark wrote on the ground with his finger.  Rob seemed unsettled on his answer as he was constantly shifting his coins from one pile to another.  Finally, Amanda said that she had the answer.  Mark and Rob were required to stop while Jeff verified that Amanda had laid out the proper amount of change.  Jeff announced that Amanda was wrong!  The challenge was back on!  After just a minute, Amanda called time again.  Again she was wrong!

The finalists count out their coins

With the tension building, Mark now called time.  Jeff walked over to Mark and counted out how much change Mark had put forward.  Jeff announced that Mark was right!  The opera singer had won the first individual immunity challenge and now had a 1 in 7 chance to win the $1,000,000 (minus $999,880) prize!

Wear it proudly Mark

Amanda was disgusted that she hadn’t won the challenge.  On top of it, Mark had!  The person she wanted to take out most!  She originally wanted to keep her former tribe together but the sneakiness of Mark and Rob was really getting to her.  Knowing that Jim and Dennis were expendable at any time, she had set her eyes on knocking out the Rob/Mark pair.  Her top choice was Mark, so now Rob was her target.  Her closest ally Autumn was on board with this plan.  Amanda then went to Josh and Angela and asked if they were fine going after Rob.  They were but Angela questioned why not take out Jim or Dennis.  Amanda felt that those guys were desperate and could be trusted while Mark and Rob were sketchier.  Also, Mark and Rob had been with them since the beginning and knew the tribe dynamics better.  With those two gone, the secret of how tight a foursome Amanda, Autumn, Angela, and Josh would be better guarded.

Amanda sees where Josh and Angela are at

Right after this conversation, Josh met up with Rob and Mark.  Josh told them that he didn’t know what was going on.  Mark asked Josh if he was interested in sticking with the guys and targeting one of the girls.  That was not in Josh’s best interest and told them that things had changed and that everyone was on board with staying Saltonstall strong.  Josh promised Rob that he would not vote for him and that their best chance was to put Dennis’ name down.  Once Josh left, Rob and Mark felt they had no chance but to remain loyal to their original tribe.  Without the numbers to target one of their own, they felt that it was Dennis that was bound to be sent home.

Josh in his spy shack

Only a little while later, everyone not named Rob or Mark found themselves in a circle.  Amanda reiterated to everyone that she wanted Mark out but since he was immune, it would have to be Rob.  Jim was ready to go along with this since it spared him at tribal and also put Mark in the positon of being in the most trouble at the next tribal council.  He thought that either he could ride this wave and last two tribals or attempt to pick up Mark’s vote after he lost his tightest ally.  It sounded win win for him.  After making sure that he and Dennis were on the same page, Jim wanted to see if talking to Rob or Mark one more time would yield anything.

A quartet of power players

Once Dennis had some free time, he located Angela.  The two had developed a close bond in a short time and were interested in looking out for each other.  Dennis was already well set up with Jim but wanted to have options in case something unexpected happened later on.  Angela thought it was inevitable that she and Josh could not coexist with Amanda and Autumn for the rest of the game.  Knowing that she would need others in that event, she made Dennis an offer to join her and Josh in an alliance.  Dennis gave Angela his word that they were solid.  As the conversation ended, both were feeling pretty good about their secret alliance.

No one else knows about this conversation!

Rob had bad vibes and was able to fit in one last conversation with Amanda before tribal council.  He wanted to corroborate Josh’s story that Saltonstall was sticking together.  She told him that this was the plan and that Dennis was the target.  Though this matched Josh’s story, it did not ease Rob’s worries at all.  Amanda knew that she had control over Autumn’s vote and that she had enough sway to get the vote off of Rob and onto Dennis.  She did think back to earlier in the game when she toyed with the idea of working with Rob and Mark instead of Josh and Angela.  It did make sense in some ways!  And even if she couldn’t make up her mind now, voting out Dennis would provide more time to figure the situation out without rocking the boat too much.  She looked for a place to do some thinking alone in the last few minutes before tribal council.

Rob's scramble face

It was a packed house at tribal council tonight.  General sentiments were that everyone had a sense of what was going on but were just confused enough to still feel a little nervous.  Mark was happy to have immunity and said that he was lucky because the last challenge really played to his strengths.  Dennis told Jeff that he didn’t feel good after going into the merge down numbers.  He knew that voting for him or Jim was an easy sell to the former Saltonstall members.  Jim felt a bit of the same but liked having a bigger group.  After having survived tribal councils of only three and four people, he felt his odds here were good.  Angela was at her first tribal council since she was crowned the sole survivor the previous year.  She already could tell that this year the game was so much more dynamic and unpredictable.  Going all the way this time would be a much bigger accomplishment she thought.  Josh didn’t say a lot but was thinking plenty.  He was going to stick to his promise to Rob and not vote for him.  He knew that it was possible that this could land him on the wrong side of the numbers but thought that the points he would earn with Rob were worth the risk.  With that, it was time to vote!

Are a couple of people missing from tribal council?

Found them, nevermind

Voting took more time than usual as there were eight votes cast and several mulled their decisions over at the voting table.  Once done, Jeff returned with the votes and offered anyone with an immunity idol the chance to play it.  Neither Angela nor Jim thought this was a necessary action this time.  That time having come and gone, Jeff opened the urn.  He unfolded the first piece of parchment and showed the Cantwell tribe one vote for Dennis.  The second vote was for Rob.  The two traded votes again leaving two votes for Dennis and two for Rob.  Dennis was not any bit relived yet as his recognized Jim’s handwriting as well as his own on the votes for Rob.  The fifth vote added another to Dennis’ tally.  The sixth vote leveled things again, Rob with three votes and Dennis with three votes.  Jeff waited an extra beat before revealing the seventh vote.  It was for Rob!  The decisive final vote was shown to be for Rob as well!  By a 5-3 vote, Rob became the first Saltonstall member voted out and the fifth member of the jury!  With that, the Cantwell tribe had removed quite possibly the biggest challenge threat left in the game.  Mark saw his closest ally’s torch snuffed and wondered if it was symbolic of his own game.

Autumn is on the right side of the numbers

Rob is set to drink his sorrows away

Next time on Survivor:
-       One castaway plants a spy in a rival alliance!
-       Someone does not hold back their true feelings for their supposed allies!
-       Fireworks go off after tribal council!