EPISODE SIXWho would have thunk that Aguila’s fierce loathing for each other could have done the full circle of evil and turned into such allied lurve? As things unfolded I didn’t for a moment think everyone would side with Nico until it actually happened and I was thrilled.
Danielle’s needed a slap off the island since the very start and Nico’s such an utter arsehole it would suck if he weren’t around to terrorize everyone as much as possible and also, I’m intrigued by the weirdy, unspoken final-two alliance he and Mzi don’t even know they have.
Nicotine’s salvation arrived at the start of the episode as Danielle awkwardly stumbled her loser self into Aguila and broke the ice by perving Brigitte who hugged and kissed her sexily. Mzi, Vanessa and Nico took much longer to be happy to see her and once their greetings were over everyone got on with enjoying their fight with Nico about how to best re-build their shelter.
Over at Rana there were the usual commitee meetings that dealt with whether or not Danielle would stay loyal to them at Aguila and in between Zayn proved he’s as thick as he is wide while Gareth gave pathetic mutterings about being sorry they’d voted Danielle out. Puhlease.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - if they really felt so bad they’d refuse to for vote anyone and not be in the show. So what if everyone thinks they’re a total Pig who enjoys making sure someone else's million buck dreams are destroyed? What’s the big deal if people think you're a backstabber?
It highlights one of the reasons Survivor’s as excellent as it is ‘cos time and again it proves just how impossible it is to please all of the people all of the time and how yawny and predictable it is when you try to.
Bathed in the self-loathing and rigour at the prospect of seeing Danielle, Rana headed off to the Reward Challenge where they met up with Aguila accompanied by music that suddenly changed from the slow, overly-sentimental elevator drone that’s been all over the place so far.
The new music completely changed the mood and was perfectly suited to what was the most kickbutt and exciting challenge of the series so far. Every moment of it was super with my specific faves being Zayn’s speedo crack-flash and a slow-mo on Lezel at the end where she looked as if she was two breaths away from death.
The only thing I didn’t agree with was Mark praising both tribes ‘cos Rana were rubbish and I didn’t like them leaving thinking they weren’t. As for that Reward of lentils?? I love them and have them at least three times a week but still, they’re a very acquired meal that taste like nothing if you don’t have other veggies to add to them. The idea of the coffee was a smidgen better until it ended up looking as disgusting as Spur coffee tastes.
While Aguila ransacked their disappointing winnings Gareth went on and on about the rest of Rana not having his competitive spirit, which he was right to do - except he should have whined to them and not us. Still, he put his unbrushed teeth where his mouth is when they hit their Immunity Challenge shortly after as he hit the water for Rana first and helped establish the firm lead that took them to their win.
Having a water challenge that involved them diving underwater like that was fab. I just know I’d panic and gasp if it were me which always makes such challenges brilliant to see - both when someone almost drowns and when they don’t. Afterwards Vanessa, who’d sat out of it, said that a reason for Aguila’s loss was that they weren’t prepared because of being overly confident and I believed her right up until they ended up voting Danielle off when I decided they lost deliberately.
What I want to know is what the current situation is between her and Brigitte. That conversation they had was intense espesh when Vanessa said she would kill Brigitte if she didn’t stick with their final two alliance. Now that they’ve changed their vote to getting rid of Danielle, does this still count? Personally I hope so and that we get to see some of the killer action Vanessa’s promised.
What’s also crazy is how confident Mzi is that he’s literally sacrificed a vote for himself to save Nicotine of all people. On one hand it could be a problematic move in the future in a vote-off situation between him and someone else but on another it’s master stroke of cunning.
It’s the sort of brave thing a jury will look respectfully on when they’re in deliberations, it puts Nico firmly on his side - whether he needs him as an ally or in the jury - plus it keeps Brigitte and Vanessa firmly close where he needs them.
Of course I also want to know when it was that they all changed their minds and came to the understanding they did. Everything we saw to get rid of Nico was so set in stone amongst the girls that there must have been one heart-to-heart conversation that changed it. They defs did the right thing for all of them, particularly with the prospect of a merge hovering so soonly.
The moment Danielle hooked up with Jacinda again she would have betrayed them so this way they know they’re a tight united front which they need when they join up with the Rana crowd who are thick as thieves.
From now Rana will also be stronger - they’ve got an important win sorted, they’ve got full tummies - that creepy fish was impressive - and as from next week they’ll no longer have the Pigtailed ghostly memory of their sins staring madly at them from across a challenge.
Speaking of next week, that bird Mzigyver was flinging around ...it was
skinned. It looks like Aguila are gonna do that themselves. Soo gross.