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Episode 5 - "I'm a pretty good motivational speaker"

Taking the Night Off

Returning to camp, everyone is quiet and they learn that the fire has gone out in their absence. Kelly rubs Mick's shoulder and apologizes for the vote and he responds by telling her that it's all part of the game. Mick expresses sadness "I went into tribal council thinking worst case scenario: Ben goes home. Lo and behold, Natalie's name comes up and now I've lost my closest ally. It's a big blow to my game for sure."

Ben strikes the machete against the tribe flint several times before starting a fire and glaring over at Liz in the darkness with a look of pure hatred on his face. Liz, meanwhile, talks happily with Monica and Yasmin and thanks them for sticking with her at tribal council. Ben gets up and climbs into the shelter, offering a brief "I'm goin' to bed" before lying down. Ben sighs "It was a long tribal council and I just didn't want to have to deal Liz's bull*censored*. I know I've gotta get back in the game, but it can wait 'til tomorrow."

Seperation Anxiety

The sun rises and John sits alone on the beach, his buff pulled up around his ears to keep his head warm. He talks about the night "I haven't been sleeping very well since I moved over here to Foa Foa. It could be the beach, it could be the shelter, but I dunno, man. I think I just miss having Momo to keep me warm at night." John throws a few stones into the ocean and Erik walks over, rubbing his eyes before sitting down beside John. He asks if John didn't sleep well and John says he didn't. He asks Erik who he thinks Galu voted out. Erik says he doesn't know and John hopes that Monica made it through okay. Erik agrees, but he thinks differently "John was all concerned about whether Monica got voted out or not. It's like 'Dude, you're a rocket scientist. Use the big brain, not the little one.' Christ." Erik throws a large rock than the pebbles John has been throwing, and tells him that Monica's going to be fine.

Working to Survive

Early in the morning, Ben is out in the jungle, chopping at a mango tree. He gathers a bundle of mangos and carries them in a sling made out of his shirt. As he walks, he talks to the camera "I'm not out of this game yet, and I am gonna bust my ass showing these people just how valuable I can be. I've got six mangos here. One for everyone who deserves one. The old Galus're just playin' the game. I got nothin' against them. Liz wants to eat though? I ain't feedin' her."

Ben returns to camp and walks around to everyone with a smile on his face. He heads to the shelter and hands a mango to Yasmin and Kelly each. Both girls thank him and he heads off, completely ignoring Liz, who sits in the shelter with them. Liz gets pissed off and complains about it to the others in the shelter, saying Ben is an ass and she wants him gone next. The girls nod in agreement, but Kelly has other thoughts "There's some definite tension between Ben and Liz at camp, and one of them DOES have to go home. I AM aligned with Liz right now, but Ben works really hard around camp, you know? Plus, Liz isn't bringing me breakfast in bed, heh."

Meeting of the Minds

Russell H. and Erik meet and walk down the beach and away from camp. Russell tells Erik that his actions since the swap have proven himself a worthy ally. Russell says that he wants to work with Erik and John and have a new alliance, getting rid of the old tribal lines. Russell H. explains "The merge is still a ways off, and I've gotta keep my options open and Erik is someone I think I can trust. Besides, I can't have Ashley or Jaison getting' the jump on me, can I?" Erik says he's seen Russell working hard around camp and he thinks an alliance would be in both of their best interests. He says he'll talk about it with John, and Russell says he'll get Betsy on-board. Erik likes the idea "I wasn't in a great spot on Galu, but now I've got a chance to better my place in this game. And I'm gonna take it."

The pair continues to talk and Russell brings up the fact that he's willing to sacrifice Ashley to prove his commitment to the alliance. Erik thinks that's great, and he offers a similar deal, saying he would get rid of Shambo in a heartbeat. The two shake hands and laugh about the deal, saying that the two women have long outstayed their welcome in the game. Russell H. even goes so far as to say he would be willing to boot Ashley first if that's what it takes. He laughs "Ashley has no part in my game. She's not my ally. She's just my tribemate. Getting rid of her ain't a big deal to me."

The Ring Leader

Kelly lies on the beach, tanning beside Monica while the two girls chat. Meanwhile, Mick looks out at them from in the water with Ben. He makes an observation "I've noticed something about Kelly since the swap. She's basically in charge of this entire tribe. I mean, Russell's the figurehead, but who's his right hand? Kelly. Who's Yasmin's best friend? Kelly. Monica's? Kelly." Mick tells Ben what he thinks and says that Kelly is the key to their survival. Ben asks him about Monica and Mick responds by saying that Monica doesn't seem to have any real power. Ben asks him if he's sure about Kelly and Mick says he is. Ben is excited about the news "Right now, I've got some hope. I need to beat Liz, and all I've gotta do is get on Kelly's good side. I guess if I've gotta kiss someone's ass, there's worse out there than Kelly's, ha."

A short while later, Ben sits on the beach between Kelly and Monica, running his palm over Kelly's lower back. Kelly instructs him to move a little to the left and laughs when he does so. She talks about the experience "Ben's not a very good masseuse, but the price is right, heh. I dunno. I kinda know he's, like, trying to suck up because his butt's on the line, but hey, I don't really mind that much. It's kinda working." Ben asks if Monica wants a massage too and she shakes her head no, so he focuses his attention entirely on Kelly. Monica smiles to herself "Yeah, Ben's a bit desperate right now…playing the pimp card. I guess he's running out of options. I mean, Kelly may act like a ditz, but I think she's more than just a little bit smarter than Ben."

A Pep Talk

With the challenge coming up, Shambo once again decides to give a pep talk to the tribe. She explains why "Before every challenge, I like to just give everyone a little reality check to make sure we're all working our hardest to win. It seems to work, too, 'cause I'm a pretty good motivational speaker." Shambo addresses the tribe and says that they won the last challenge, but they can't slack off. She says she knows her guys are tough, and Russell and Jaison pull their weight, so she wants to make sure Ashley and Betsy are ready to go. Betsy is shocked at the statement "I'm forty-seven years old. I'm a cop. And you're gonna tell me I need to work harder? I can't BELIEVE her attitude sometimes. Last I checked, I've won more challenges than Shambo." Erik rolls his eyes at the speech and gives his own opinion "Do I even need to say anything? Seriously, do I? Every *censored*in' day, it's the same thing with that guy. We GET it. You like to be in charge. Get OVER yourself."

Reward/Immunity Challenge 5 - Stairway to Heaven

Foa Foa enters the challenge arena first and takes their spot before Jeff welcomes in Galu and reveals that Natalie was voted off. The reaction on Foa Foa is mixed, as Betsy is shocked, Jaison nods approvingly, and Russell H. seems annoyed. John smiles and winks at Monica, and she returns the gesture. Jeff asks Jaison about his reaction to Natalie's boot and he responds "It's tough to see someone from Foa Foa go home, but it's a game. Could've been anyone, and honestly? There's a few people I'm happy are still around over there."

With that, Jeff explains the challenge. One player from each tribe will be situated atop a relatively tall staircase with a bamboo pole across their shoulders. When the challenge begins, a second player, at the bottom of the staircase, will grab two twenty-pound weights and carry them from the starting mat to the stairs. They will hand them up to a player on the first step, who will hand them to a player on the next step, etc, until one the top step, the last player will place one weight on each end of the opposing tribe's pole. Also, as they go up the steps, the height of each individual step will increase, making it more and more difficult to hoist the weights. The winning tribe is the last one to have their weight-bearer drop out, making it a test of speed and endurance. The reward is revealed to be a cage carrying three, egg-laying chickens, along with spices in the event that eggs just aren't enough. With one extra member, Russell H. quickly volunteers Betsy to sit out, and Shambo agrees.

After determining positions, Russell H. will be carrying weight for Foa Foa and Russell S. will be carrying the weight for Galu. The challenge begins and both Ashley and Monica get off to a good start for their tribes, passing the weight along easily, although Galu quickly falls behind as Kelly, Liz and Yasmin struggle compared to the male-dominated Foa Foa tribe. Russell S., however, easily shoulders the weight, quickly taking on 100 compared to Russell H.'s 60. Foa Foa falters a bit as Ashley starts to grow fatigued, having to resort to carrying one bag at a time to Jaison on the first step. Shambo yells at her to speed it up while Betsy encourages her from the sidelines. Meanwhile, in on the second to last step, Ben grunts with each lift as he passes his weights up to Mick, who strains even more to get them up to Russell H.'s pole.

The challenge continues and Russell S. holds 180 pounds while Russell H. only holds 120. Russell H. looks over and sees his opponent breathing a bit heavier and sweating as both men gain another twenty pounds to their burden. Russell S. bites his lip and closes his eyes, the weight being bumped up to 220. He starts to wobble as another twenty are added to Russell H.'s load. After a few moments, however, Russell H. lets out a "Shoot!" and his pole slips off of his shoulders. The Galu girls erupt in cheers and Russell S. finally drops his pole, slumping forward and rubbing his shoulders. Ashley pants, exhausted, on the bottom step of the challenge while Dave ruffles her hair comfortingly, and Jeff announces Galu as the official winners. He tells Foa Foa that they're going to tribal council, and sends both tribes off to return to their respective camps.

Who's to Blame?

Foa Foa returns to camp and Russell H. immediately starts apologizing for dropping the weight. He says he lost his concentration for one second and it just slipped. Privately though, he tells otherwise "When I saw Natalie was gone, I knew right then and there we couldn't win that challenge. One more loss and Ben or Mick could go home, and that cuts down on my options. So I waited to make it look realistic, and then I dropped the weights." Shambo tells Russell he did a good job and that he has nothing to be ashamed of. She does express disappointment, however "Russell, my Russell, looked like he was gonna die. We were going SO fast and we were SO close. A few more seconds and we would've had it, and I think what cost us that challenge was Ashley. She just, like, she gave up halfway through the challenge. Period. That attitude doesn't win Survivor. It doesn't cut it."

Shambo then states aloud that she thinks the tribe needs strength to survive, and Ashley's performance in the challenge didn't cut it. Ashley tells her that she tried her best. Shambo shoots back that her best wasn't good enough, and she's gonna write Ashley's name down at tribal council, for sure. Ashley is upset with Shambo's assessment of her performance "I don't know WHAT Shambo's problem is, but I think she's had it out for me from the first day she stepped onto this beach. I did my best. I could've sat out like Betsy, or stood at the top, just putting weights on like Dave, but I didn't. That's not my fault." Russell H., however, couldn't be happier "I think the funniest thing about me throwing the challenge is that I look like a hero. Shambo's so wrapped up in blaming Ashley, when Ashley didn't do anything wrong, hah!"

Chicken Soup for the Soul

The Galu men carry the chicken cage back to camp triumphantly and Russell S. is proud of his team "I think that yeah, Foa Foa kinda outmatches us in strength, but we've got a ton more heart than those guys. I wasn't gonna throw THIS challenge. No way. We needed this win after all that conflict last round." Russell S. then congratulates the tribe on the win and pats Mick on the back. Yasmin looks into the cage and taunts the chickens a little, telling them "cluck all you want, but one of you is dinner tonight." She laughs "Gonna have chicken for dinner, eggs for breakfast, chicken for lunch, and maybe some leftovers after that, haha!" Russell plucks one of the chickens from the coop while Ben gets the machete and the ensuing slaughter is left solely to imagination.

Moving Target

Ashley talks with Betsy by the fire, telling her that she wants Shambo gone. Betsy expresses frustration with Shambo's attitude around camp and agrees with Ashley's assessment. She continues "The way Shambo acted when we got back to camp was disgraceful. I mean, she's supposed to be a marine, but she's got no honor or tact. She probably woulda been gunning for me if I'd been in the challenge instead of Ash." Jaison joins the pair and asks what they're talking about. Ashley tells him and he agrees that one of the Galus needs to go, and Shambo's the best option. Jaison explains "Right now, we've got a four-four split. Our four is kinda sticking together for now out of necessity, so we've gotta find that weak link on Galu and just attack it. And Shambo is that weak link."

Dave asks Shambo if she's positive that Ashley is the way to go, and Shambo tells him she's concrete on her vote: Ashley. Dave agrees and asks if he thinks they can swing one of the Foa Foas against Ashley as well. Shambo says that if they're smart, they'll take out the weak link and keep the tribe strong. Dave comments "Working with Shambo can be a bit…difficult. She gets into this mindset and has her blinders on and she doesn't see the big picture. I mean, Ashley's the right choice, for sure. But Sham's not gunning for her because it's a smart move. It's because that's what Shambo wants."

Russell H. meets secretly with John and Erik. Erik asks if Russell is still down with voting out Ashley. Russell responds by saying that Shambo has been rubbing a lot of people the wrong way and that she's the bigger threat. Erik says he can't stand Shambo, and as long as she and Ashley are the next two gone, he's happy. John isn't so sure "I don't like Shambo. She's obnoxious. But right now, she's gunning hardcore for Ashley and Foa Foa. That'd give us the numbers, and THEN we could work with Russ if we have to. I don't think playing personal is smart right now, but I'm just not sure what we should do." John tells Russell he's not sure if booting Shambo is the best move, given Ashley's challenge performance. Russell H. tells him they can beat Galu in any challenge because they're just weak. He goes on to think "I would RATHER Shambo go home, because that gives me some options…but I'm not about to go into tribal council and force a tie. I ain't picking a rock while Ashley AND Shambo are both safe."

Before tribal council, John goes to Shambo and tells her that Russell is onboard with taking out Ashley. Shambo is pleased with this news "I knew Russell would be a someone I could count on. I don't think he likes Ashley very much, and with her gone, we're going to be a much stronger tribe." Meanwhile, Russell talks to Betsy, Ashley and Jaison, telling them that Erik and John are onboard with the plan to take out Shambo. Ashley cheers quietly and high-fives Russell for working the boys over. She is relieved "Knowing that Russell had my back really makes me feel a lot more confident about him as an ally. I think because we both need each other, the bond is just THAT much stronger. And it's a good feeling, knowing that Shambo is going home tonight."

Tribal Council #6 - Foa Foa Tribe

Jeff welcomes the players into the tribal council area and starts by asking Jaison what he feels has been the hardest part about the swap. He responds by saying that one of his best friends in the game is over on the other tribe and that it's hard to plan for someone's safety when you're got no control over their fate. John nods and Jeff asks him the same question, to which he answers that the swap definitely broke up some alliances and made a few people more vulnerable than they were originally, but it also made a few players stronger. Jeff then asks Betsy how she felt about Natalie being voted out, and Betsy says her boot didn't make much sense, and she wonders if it had something to do with a tie and Natalie picked the purple rock. Jeff follows up by asking her how much of a concern picking rocks is, and Betsy says she'd hate to go out that way, but sometimes, if you get lucky, it can help a lot.

Jeff moves on to talking about the challenge, where he mentions how little it took to get Russell H. to drop out. He defends himself by saying that he moved the wrong way for just a second and the pole slipped by accident. Jeff asks if that's the kind of accident that would get you voted out of the game and Shambo responds, saying that the whole tribe knows Russell did his best. Jeff asks who she blames, and Shambo names Ashley, for struggling so much with the weights. Ashley looks downcast and Jeff brings this up, saying that she did have some difficulty. Ashley brings up the fact that she and Monica were doing the same task and Foa Foa had a 60 pound lead on Galu, so she couldn't have been that bad. Jeff asks how being called out for weakness makes her feel, and Ashley says that she doesn't think she's weak, just underestimated.

Moving on, Jeff asks Shambo if Ashley is her target tonight, so which Shambo replies "Well, I don't see anyone else here who deserves to go. Ashley knows I'm voting for her, I just don't want to start a fight at tribal council." Jeff then asks if Ashley is returning the favor, which she says she is, because she doesn't see any other option, since Shambo is leading the charge against her. Moving on to a non-target, Jeff asks John what he thinks about the vote. John responds "There's basically two options tonight and the vote really has to depend on who you feel you can trust MORE at this point in the game, and who you think will benefit you later on." Jeff asks if whoever is going home is going to see it coming and Russell H. answers "Nope. It's gonna be a complete blindside. The person getting' voted out has no idea." Jeff says that it's time to vote and sends Erik up first.

Erik votes and then Dave approaches the confessional and writes down Ashley's name, saying "You're a really sweet girl, but it's just your time to go." Shambo votes next, writing down Ashley as well and saying "The strong survive, and the weak go home." Russell votes, but is hidden, and then Ashley takes turn, where she writes down Shambo's name and says "I hope it's you, not me, that's getting blindsided tonight." John takes his turn, then Betsy, and finally, Jaison enters the booth and casts another vote for Shambo, saying "If you kept your head down, maybe it wouldn't be getting chopped off." He returns to his seat and Jeff goes to gather the votes. He returns and begins reading the votes:

ASHLEY

SHAMBO

ASH

SHAMBO

There's a brief pause before the next vote:

SHAMBO

Shambo seems shocked, but the surprise continues:

SHAMBO

And finally:

SHAMBO

With five votes, Jeff says that's enough and asks Shambo to bring up her torch. She walks over to him while Dave still seems to be in shock, albeit not upset with the result. As Jeff snuffs her torch, Shannon "Shambo" Waters officially becomes the sixth person voted out of Survivor: Samoa. Jeff tells the remaining seven Shambo didn't see her boot coming at all, which means that the threat of a blindside can strike at any time. He then sends the tribe back to camp.

Shambo's Final Words

Shambo is irritated and expresses her anger "I can't believe how many *censored*in' liars there are in this game. People, like, smiled to my face and stabbed me in the back." She says that Foa Foa made a mistake and that they're going to regret her contribution to the tribe sooner, rather than later. She then goes on to say that the only people she really likes and trusts in the game are Dave and Russell S., and she hopes that they stay strong and win it for her.

Episode 6 - "We've just gotta suck harder than them"

On Foa Foa, down in numbers, Dave scrambles to protect himself after being blindsided at tribal council while Erik and John look to collect on their deal with Russell.

On Galu, the feud continues between Liz and Ben, while other players start to get caught in the crossfire.

And following Shambo's boot, both tribes go all-out to try and control their fates in the immunity challenge.