Keep Your Friends Close

This is the fifth episode of Survivor: Venezuela.

Challenges
Reward Challenge: Remembrance Pairs of items are hidden inside an array of woven baskets. The survivors must take turns finding matching pairs in the field of baskets. The first tribe to find six pairs wins reward. Reward: A 90-second tribe raid and letters from home. Winner: Arawak

Immunity Challenge: Basket Brawl Five members from each tribe will play a Survivor version of basketball. At a partially submerged court, players are to compete for a ball in an attempt to shoot it in their tribe's hoop, while members of the other tribe will try to intercept them from doing so as they attempt to score for themselves. First tribe to three points wins immunity. Winner: TBA

Night 11
While still dejected after their third straight Immunity Challenge loss, the Arawak tribe goes back to camp and makes the most out of the evening by cracking up jokes. Bash apologizes to Maggie for making her feel uncomfortable, even insisting that they should leave strategy at the back burner and just focus on winning the remaining Immunity Challenges before the merge. Annoyed by Bash's gesture, Ellis skips through Arawak's merrymaking and goes to sleep instead. "arawak"

- I think it is very crucial at this point to win immunity. We are getting paltrier by the Immunity Challenge, and the merge is coming soon. If we continue losing, even Maggie's idol would be enough to save us. We all agreed that we have to start winning, leave the in-game politicking for a while and just be the best rendition of the Arawak tribe. "arawak"

- Bash knows he is in the bottom, so he tries to appease us, I'm not buying it. He does have a point of focusing on winning though, so he can be safe for now. "arawak"

- So, Bash came up to Maggie and apologized to her for everything that has happened. I mean, he basically threw me under the bus. I'm now the outsider! I can't keep up with his BS and just went to sleep. It is very telling that people do desperate things to save their own selves.

Day 12
At Mapoyo, Mai, who feels she is on the outs with the majority alliance once they accepted Louise back, asks Domino where she stands. Domino comforts her, saying that she does not need to worry because she is not the target, but Maeve. Later, Mark gathers five of the seven members of the alliance: Domino, Dahlia, Vince and Louise. Mark tells them that while Mapoyo is having an immunity streak, they should not feel complacent. As a measure, Mark proposes that the five of them should stick together till the end. Domino, who is alarmed about Mark's gesture, has other plans. Unbeknownst to them, Maeve is eavesdropping. After the conversation, Maeve pulls Domino aside, asking if she needs numbers to take Mark down. Domino is both elated and curious about Maeve. Maeve says she heard the alliance talk about a final five deal, and asks Domino about her place in the alliance.

The tribes meet again for the Reward Challenge. Jeff reveals that the winning tribe gets a chance to raid the losing tribe's camp to improve their own. Arawak, who still lives in a comparative luxury by winning all the standalone Reward Challenges, unanimously agrees to take the only luxury the Mapoyo camp has to offer: the pillows, blankets and other creature comforts the Mapoyo tribe won from the Day 6 combined Reward/Immunity Challenge.

Dante is the first to play for Mapoyo, while Jaycee is the first to play for Arawak. Dante fails in his first guess while Jaycee scores the first point for Arawak by luckily finding two skulls. Both Mai and Maggie flop are next, and both flop. Edward extends Arawak's lead by finding the partner of the item Maggie picked (a coconut). Vince finally scores for Arawak after finding two arrows, one of which Mai already found earlier. Katrina furthers Arawak's lead for finding two Yanomami statuettes. Katrina coaches her tribemates on where the other items are hidden. In the end, Katrina's memory pays off, winning Arawak the challenge. Arawak kidnaps Louise while Arawak kidnaps Jaycee, after learning his relationship with Maggie from Bash. Katrina volunteers to perform the raid for Arawak.

Author's Notes

 * Having been at the Mapoyo camp long enough, Maggie is convinced that the Mapoyo tribe has little to no luxury, so she insists to take only the pillows, blankets and mosquito nets.