The challenge will be played in rounds.  Each member of the tribes will have one person sitting on a spinning chair while another member of the team runs with a rope spinning the team member.  Then the dizzy person must walk across a balance beam.  Each person that gets across counts as 1 point.

Round 1: Tyson gets 1 point over Taj
Round 2: Spencer gets 1 point over Erinn
Round 3: JT gets 1 point over Sierra
Round 4: Sydney gets 1 point over Debra AND WINS REWARD

Jalapao wins reward and chooses Brendan, Brendan then chooses Stephen.  This choice then makes the Timbira tribe curious to what Brendan is up to.  Jalapao then goes to the Charmin Cafe where they will get all the coffee and pastries they want…along with a toilet that flushes!  The cafe also has soap, toilet paper and a place to wash up.  Taj feels happy that she gets to connect with her team, but Joe doesn’t feel the same way.

Then JT finds envelopes with letters from their families.  All of them start crying. On the Timbira tribe Tyson, Coach and Debra talk about how they should vote Brendan off because he is starting to build relations with the other team.  Which means when the two merge he will have a huge advantage.  Coach talks about how a storm will just pass their island…5 minutes later it starts to pour.

Stephen and Brendan get to Exile Island.  They start talking about everything, about how they both have immunity idols.  Stephen realizes that Brendan is a really strategic strong player and is happy to be in the alliance but isn’t going to put all his eggs in that basket.  He can’t completely trust someone who he has just met.

Jalapao Tribe:  Sydney starts talking to Spencer about her dream that she had the previous night.  Spencer then tells in private just the viewers that he is gay, none of his teammates know.  He recognizes the fact that he should keep it quiet because he is afraid some of his team members will hold it against him and vote him off.

Challenge:

Two members of each tribe will alternate launching balls to the remaining members.  The members catching the balls can catch the other teams balls as well.  As long as you catch a ball it counts.  The winner gets Immunity and gets out of elimating someone.

JT gets 1 point (Jalapao)
JT gets 1 point (Jalapao)
Brendan gets 1 point (Timbira)
Brendan gets 1 point (Timbira)
JT gets 1 point (Jalapao) – Loses a tooth and throws it.  Jeff goes over and keeps his tooth for him
JT gets 1 point (Jalapao)
Tyson gets 1 point (Timbira)
Tyson gets 1 point (Timbira)
Tyson gets 1 point (Timbira)

Timbira wins immunity, no tribal consel, no one goes home.

Jalapao has the afternoon to figure out who will be going home.

Taj thinks that she is a target because her game was below par, but nearly as poor as Spencer’s.  Taj freaks out when she is talking to Joe, JT and Stephen — then she questions if Joe trusts her. Joe says “She’s Next”  Stephen doesn’t know what to do, should he not tell her that she is going home so he can keep the idol or should he tell her?

Spencer confronts JT about his poor performance.  And JT tells him that his thoughts about voting tonight are between Taj or Spencer.  At Tribal Counsel Taj’s outburst was brought up.  Jeff was continuously asking Taj and Spencer questions — it was definitely drawing attention to both of them.  Joe mentioned that he never heard Taj say that she did not have the idol.  So she said “I do not have the idol.”

Jeff asks if anyone has the immunity idol they can play it now.

Votes:
Spencer: 4 votes
Taj: 1 vote

Spencer was voted off March 12, 2009

Jalapao wakes up, and the tribe is concerned about how Taj is coping with her continual trips to Exile Island with Brendan.  Taj mentions to Stephen that she would like a moment alone with him.  She confesses her alliance with him (Brendan, Sierra, Stephen & Taj).

Reward Challenge:
3 members of each tribe will have a pole across their shoulders and weight will be placed on the pole.  Last person left standing will win for their tribe.  They will win a camp raid!!  Each tribe will sit a member out (5 each).

Timbira: Joe, Taj & JT
Jalapao: Debra, Brendan & Tyson

Each bag of weight is 10 pounds each (2 at a time)

-Brendan is the first to drop out at 220 pounds resting on his shoulders
-Tyson drops out at 140 pounds resting on his shoulders
-JT drops out at 220 pounds resting on his shoulders
-Joe drops out at 180 pounds resting on his shoulders

It comes down to both women both at an equal amount of weight.  Debra drops out and Jalapao wins the challenge.  Jalapao’s fourth straight win.  Jalapao chooses Sierra to go to Exile Island and she then picks Taj (thank goodness that she luckily chose Taj for their alliance).  Later Jalapao will be choosing two members to go and raid the losing team’s camp.  They are allowed to take two items.

When Timbira gets back to camp they try and think about what items the winning team members could possibly take.  Joe and JT come over to raid the camp.  Joe and JT take a bag of beans and their water.  Sandy (old lady) is getting on everyone’s nerves.  She recognizes that Sydney is working the boys, by wearing the boys boxers, flirting…etc.

Sierra and Taj arrive at Exile Island.  Taj informs Sierra about the secret alliance.  With another clue Taj figures out where the idol is hidden. Erinn is the loner of Timbira and doesn’t talk to anyone and no one includes her in anything.

Taj and Sierra return from Exile Island to perform in the challenge. Jalapao must sit out one member, they choose Taj.

Challenge:

A member of each tribe races the maze to retrieve a puzzle piece.  Once all puzzle pieces are collected the team must discover what the puzzle says.  The losing tribe will go to Tribal Counsel.  Timbira’s puzzle says, “Escape the vote Timbira wins immunity.”  Timbira wins immunity, Jalapao must vote someone off.  After tonight’s vote both tribes will be even 6 on 6.

Taj, Stephen, Sandy and JT talk about who they want to vote off.  Sydney’s name comes up.  The dilemma is between Sydney and Sandy.  Sydney asks everyone what they like about the game.  They say meeting new people, she says she likes the “sneakiness” of the game.

Tribal
Sandy announces to the host (Joe) about Sydney’s flirtatious behavior.  Who gets voted off March 5, 2009?

Votes:
Sandy: 4 votes
Sydney: 1 vote
Joe: 1 vote

Sandy K is voted off Survivor.

• African-American Tribe
• Asian-American Tribe
• Hispanic Tribe
• White Tribe

Did the controversy of this particular season of Survivor make an example for other reality tv programs in regards to ethnicity?  My opinion is No having the show divided into races seemed to be trying to hard to make an impression and didn’t seem natural.  I found the season still intriguing to watch because of the challenges and overall drama from the show, but if this had been another show that was divided into race it wouldn’t have been as interesting.

What was your take on Survivor, “Among the Races”?

On Jalapao’s tribe they were using their fishing equipment that they had previously won from the last challenge.  The boys ended up catching everyone fish.  All ate very well prior to the challenge.  The challenge for the day consisted of having 6 members blind-folded and the other member would act as a guide.  The reward would be blankets, umbrella, tarps, pillows, etc.  For the Timbira tribe Debra was the Guide, for Jalapao Joe was the Guide.  Jalapao was the first tribe to fill their bucket with enough water and started filling their bucket with corn way before Timbira.  As Timbira struggled, Jalapao found themselves walking away with the all the rewards!  As always the winning team must send a member of the losing team to Exile Island and then that person must choose a member from the winning team to go along.

Jalapao yet again chose Brendan and he again chose Taj.

Timbira walks back to camp humilated and highly frustrated about their loss.  Coach and Tyson go off on their own to discuss their feelings about the tribe as a whole.  Coach refers to Tyson as his “assistent-coach”.  Back at Jalapao’s camp the morale is high and they spend their time setting up their camp with the rewards they received (i.e. putting the tarp over their roof).  At Exile Island Taj and Brendan both picked an urn and this time Taj’s urn had the second clue.  She then shared the details with Brendan.  While at Exile Island they discussed who they would tell about their alliance in case the two of them would not be chosen to go back to Exile Island again.  Brendan said he would convince his team to send Sierra and Taj would convince her team to send Stephen.  That way their 4- way alliance would be a shock to everyone.

Day 9- The morning of Day 9 Jalapao realizes that because of the rain all night it was the coldest night thus far, BUT for them their rewards kept them sleeping like babies.  Taj and Brendan return back to camp for the challenge.  The challenge was for members of two to roll crates back and forth.

Group 1:

Jalapao: JT & Taj Timbira: Brendan & Debra

Group 2:

Jalapao: Stephen & Sydney Timbira: Tyson & Sierra

Group 3:

Timbira: Coach & Erinn, Jalapao: Joe & Sandy

Group 4:

Timbira: Jerry & Brenda, Jalapao: JT & Spencer

Group 5:

Timbira: Tyson & Coach, Jalapao: Spencer & Taj

The tribes both start building steps to spell their name. Jalapao wins immunity making it 3 straight wins!  Tribal counsel tonight for Timbira.  The entire Timbira tribe has a meeting without Jerry.  At this point when Erinn realizes that the tribe wants to vote off Jerry she gets very excited with a surprised grin on her face that Coach happens to notice.  Coach would rather see Erinn go home, but because of Jerry’s weakness the tribe insists on Jerry going home.

At tribal counsel Jerry is asked who he thinks the leader of their tribe is he replies by saying, “Brendan.”  Coach is then asked and he says that he is.  Erinn chimes in and says that Coach tries to be but in the end Brendan is the better leader.  Conflict comes to everyone’s attention when the evident tension arises between Coach and Erinn.

Vote Breakdown:

Erinn: 1 vote

Jerry: 4 votes

Jerry is the third person voted off Survivor Season 8.

The Jalapao tribe was so deprived of food that they were eating from a huge mound of termites. Some of the termites seemed awfully huge.

While Jalapao was eating, Timbira’s Brendan and Sierra go off on their own to look for the hidden immunity idol (Sierra confided in Brendan because he was the only one who did not vote for Sierra). As they were digging a massive hole, Debbie walked in on the two of them – Sierra quickly told her they were building a fire pit for the tribe….which managed to trick everyone.

After commercial Candace and Coach find themselve in an arguement over cooking rice and beans, on whether it will be over-cooked or undercooked. Taj tells the entire tribe that Eddie George is her husband, which is freakin awesome!! Stephen sits there with complete confusion because he has no clue who Eddie George is haha.

Today’s challenge 3 members of each tribe will make through the water to get a ball then the first tribe to score 3 baskets wins immunity and fishing gear. In addition, the winning tribe will send one member of the losing tribe to Exile island for the night.

First Round
Taj, Stephen, Sydney
Tyson, Sierra, Candace –Wins

Second Round
JT, Joe, Sandy
Erinn, Brendan, Tyson –Wins

Third Round
Candace, Sierra, Erinn
Taj, Sydney, Sandy –Wins

Fourth Round
J.T, Joe, Spenser
Brendan, Coach, Jerry

Fifth Round
Stephen, Sydney, Taj –Wins
Sierra, Tyson, Candace

Jalapao Wins and sends Brendan to Exile Island and must chose a member of the winning tribe to Exile with him. Timbira now has to think about who they want to vote off since they will be going to Tribal Counsel.

Once Taj and Brendan got to Exile Island they discovered that there are two hidden immunities one on each tribe. The note also told Brendan that he could switch tribes if he chose, but he decided that would not happen! While Coach is away from the camp Candace is bad mouthing him convincing the tribe how he should go.

The plan was to take out Sierra, but now the plan is to take out the “bad apple”…who is Candace.  The tribe is scrambling to find out who is getting voted off…

Tribal Counsel Results:

Candace 5  Votes

Sierra 1 Vote

With 5 Votes Candace is voted off the tribe and will be returning home.

Spencer
Sydney
Joe
Stephen
Sandy
J.T
Taj

Timbira Tribe
Debbie
Jerry
Sierra
Coach
Tyson
Erinn
Brendan
Candace