| Episode
5 |
| "Pick-up
Sticks" |
Filmed Nov. 16-18,
2002.
Airs March 13, 2003.
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Episode
descriptions
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| CBS:
Just when the tribes start to get comfortable, a surprise tempts
them with the opportunity of some new dynamics. |
| Accusations
fly at the women's camp when Jeanne secretly overhears a conversation,
which leads her to declare a new attitude. |
| Just
as the men become confident that they have mastered their environment,
Alex is suddenly hit with an injury. |
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| REWARD
CHALLENGE or MERGE/SWITCH - Looks like there's no switch |
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Option
1: The fake merge. CBS's post-Episode 4 preview had footage
of Dave and Jenna on a "date," reminiscent of previous
merge-preceding ambassador's meetings (such as Rob and Kathy's
in Marquesas). Most likely, this was meant to suggest a merge
was imminent, both to the players and the viewing audience. Except
it's not. As Wezzie
of SurvivorMaps found before the first episode aired, for the
final 20 days, the contestants moved to a new camp in the Forest
of Life - suggesting a traditional merge and move to a new camp
(as in Australia) occurs then. And that's still two episodes beyond
this one.
But it doesn't rule out the possibility of another fake merge,
as in Thailand. Perhaps the women could shack up in the men's
camp for the next two episodes. Clearly, Dave neither gets merged
into a single (red-buffed) tribe, nor switched to Jaburu, because
we see him the next day in his confessional, talking happily about
seeing Jenna shower, and he's still wearing his blue buff on his
wrist (see below, also other vidcaps). In support of the fake
merge idea, ChillOne's source claimed an early merge occurred.
Given the vagueness of the data in general though, that same statement
could also be used in support of:
Option 2: A player swap. We're now leaning towards this
being the case. BostonGuy
on EZ's spoiler board swears that a switch occurs, and that Rob
teams up with Heidi and/or Jenna to oust Alex, with Alex departing
in either Ep5 or Ep6. Logistically, with 12 people still in the
game, swapping players seems much more feasible than having an
additional four people trying to cram into one of the two camps'
huts. If it's a swap, and Dave and Jenna get to pick the players
moving, it would make sense that they have to trade three players
each: otherwise, the new arrivals would be easy pickings. See
the discussion below for how we think this might turn out. How
does this reconcile with ChillOne's early merge "intel"?
As others have noted, the locals may have simply seen men and
women living together, and concluded that both tribes had merged
into one. Snewser's revelation that Jeanne goes, however, argues
for no switch, and this is all just window dressing.
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| IMMUNITY
CHALLENGE/ A water challenge - Tambaqui wins |
One sequence
in the promos shows a split screen with Deena and Dave rowing in
separate, color-coded boats. Dave's clothes and buff position do
not match previous challenges in which boats have been used, nor
arrival, nor does it match his trip to see Jenna (buff on his head
here, on his wrist for that trip). So it appears to be novel footage,
and both appear to be putting a lot of effort into their rowing.
Perhaps some sort of rowing-based race? If so, there must be some
puzzle component, since the men would be heavily favored. Unless,
of course, there's been a switch. Assuming no RC, due to the "merge,"
this may be the IC.
Interestingly, there is someone partially obscured in the boat behind
Deena, visible only in a couple of frames. This person has dark
hair and facial features (eye plus forehead) that look a lot like
Matthew's. But we can't rule out that it's simply Jeanne, who could
have her hair pulled back in a pony tail. In the first of the rowing
shots below, this person's hand is visible above Deena's shoulder.
It looks bigger than Deena's. Also, the person in the rear appears
to be wearing a yellow buff on his/her left wrist. Jeanne prefers
to wear her buff on her head during challenges, and in all the cases
we've seen with her buff on her wrist, it has been on her right
one, whereas Matthew seems to preferentially use his left one. Together,
it seems more likely that Matthew is on Jaburu with Deena.
(See also IceCat's
excellent Matthew-morphing movie at SurvivorBlows). Unless, of course,
it's actually Jeanne. Who knows?
So if Jeanne goes, it's unlikely she switches, so Tambaqui wins
IC, and the Barbies plus Deena and Christy oust the remaining
person not allied with them.
After his date, Dave is still wearing a blue buff, so he neither
merges nor switches. |
Which makes sense, since he in a blue boat (with a blue flag),
wearing a blue buff, holding a blue-banded oar here. And Deena's
in the yellow one. IC? |
The big questions here, however, is: Who is that in the boat
behind Deena? It looks like Matthew. |
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| BOOT/
Jeanne |
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Lots of seemingly
infallible tips rolling in today, all contradictory. Who goes?
Shawna? Alex? Roger? Dave? Nope.
Snewser
sez it's Jeanne.
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