Queer the Pitch

This is the ninth episode of Survivor: The Cursed Idol.

Previously On Survivor...
On Day 4, Belinda secretly found the Hidden Immunity Idol. Eighteen days later, she decided it held too much power for her to bear and may put a target on her back. So after winning the Reward Challenge with Adrianna and Brock, she made a bold move by giving her idol to Adrianna, and plotted to oust her with the idol in her back pocket. After Serena won her second straight immunity, Belinda secretly campaigned to vote Adrianna out, but unknown to her, Adrianna was plotting against her as well.

Adrianna pulled Serena aside and made her the unofficial fifth member of their cross-tribe alliance. In the end, Serena sided with Adrianna; and with no idol to save her, Belinda was blindsided. With two immunity idols in her possesson, will these secure Adrianna's spot at the Final Tribal Council? Eight are left, who will be voted out tonight?

Challenges
Reward Challenge: Moving House Divided into two competing teams of four, tribe members must transport a Nipa hut, with detachable pieces across an 200-yard course with obstacles. First team to rebuild their hut at the designated place wins. Reward: An overnight spa experience with finger foods to boot. The winners will return in time for the next Immunity Challenge. Winners: Alanna, Wes, Brock, April

Immunity Challenge: Survivor Smorgasbord On a spinning wheel are various exotic Filipino delicacies (balut, woodworm, mole crickets, ant caviar, fried frogs, soup number 5 and papaitan). Wherever the wheel stops, the players eat. In a tournament-style competition, players will have to eat the delicacy. Last person standing wins immunity. Winner: Brock

Night of Day 24
After a hair-raising Tribal Council, where Adrianna essentially stole Belinda's idol before the latter got blindsided, Adrianna approached Serena before going to sleep, asking her to stay in the alliance. Though Serena was happy she was accpeted to a strong alliance, she had reservations for it.

After Serena had fallen asleep, Adrianna went to her alliance to talk about Serena. Adriana proposed to give Belinda's idol to Serena to fully gain her trust, and if Serena was about to do something, she would happy voting her out. While the alliance was yielding the plan, they agreed.

Day 25
As day 25 began, the eight remaining members of the Salamat tribe were increasingly bored, but Adrianna found a way to alleviate boredom -- an island fashion show! Using whatever piece of clothing they have, the survivors dressed up and walked to their make-believe runway and strutted their stuff. Mimicking a model on ridiculously high heels, April "tripped" on the runway, sending the tribe in stitches.

Day 26
The Salamat tribe met Jeff Probst for their next Reward Challenge. After drawing stones, the teams were: Team 1: Alanna, Wes, Brock and April Team 2: Adrianna, Serena, Curtis and Carly

At the challenge, Team 2 was visibly mismatched from the start, with only one (let alone, sick) male teammate, Curtis. While Curtis fell thrice, Adrianna called the shots for her team. Though the challenge still ended a close battle, when Team 1 struggled rebuilding their hut, they still prevailed first, winning themselves a spa reward.

Back at Salamat camp, while Curtis is asleep, Adrianna and Serena contemplated about Curtis health. While Serena proposed to keep Curtis, because pulling himself from the game was still his prerogative, Adrianna felt that voting him out is the right thing to do. Serena then demanded assurance of her position in the game. Given she had won two consecutive Immunity Challenges, plus her transgender story a potentially strong case at the Final Tribal Council, Serena knew she was in a precarious situation if she gets left alone at the final five. Adrianna promised to report any plots against her, and finally her Belinda's Hidden Immunity Idol. Adrianna instructed Serena to not use it for a while, until she gets enough information about any plans of voting her out.

At the spa reward, Brock, Wes, April and Alanna were enjoying their massage, until April talked strategy to Brock. With the cross-tribal alliance finally in the open, April asked Brock where he stood in the alliance. Brock did not reply and acted asleep. When Brock actually fell asleep, April turned her sights to Wes, asking him if there are any cracks in the alliance. Wes safely replied that they were solid since the tribe switch.

After a short dinner, both men called it a night. On the other hand, Alanna and April remained awake and made a cross-tribe alliance of their own. Alanna suggested to bring Curtis and Serena in order to take down the fearsome foursome alliance.

Day 27
The reward winners reunited with the tribe for their next Immunity Challenge. Much to Curtis' chagrin, it was a tournament style food challenge based on exotic local dishes.

Round winners are in bold: First Round Alanna vs. Adrianna (ant caviar) Brock vs. Curtis (balut) Wes vs. Carly (woodworm) Serena vs. April (soup #5)

Second round Adrianna vs. Serena (fried frogs) Brock vs. Serena (papaitan)

Final Round Serena vs. Brock (wheel will be rotated three times, because they will eat three selected dishes on wheel -- Mole cricket, woordworm and fried frogs) -- Brock wins immunity

Back at camp, a terrble storm forced the entire tribe to huddle in the shelter, unable to strategize. Adrianna, who was beside Serena murmured to Serena to vote for Curtis, whose medical condition worries them. When the rain subsided, Brock, Adrianna, Wes and Carly stayed in the shelter, while Serena approached April and Alanna, telling them she had an idol, and she would be willing to join forces with them to overthrow the other alliance. Serena leaked information on the alliance voting for Curtis. After Serena left the conversation, Alanna and April weighed their options, with Alanna stating that this might be the perfect time to oust Serena as well, branding her as a serious threat. April on the other said they need all the help they can get with Serena, and they can just eliminate her in the future. Meanwhile, Adrianna informed her alliance she gave the second idol to Serena, stating it was the only way to keep Serena's trust and their numbers.

At Tribal Council, Serena was on hot water when her threat status was brought up, plus the fact that she does not have immunity this time. Curtis' sickness became controversial once again. When asked about strategies, Serena bragged about her Immunity Idol, to Adrianna's dismay (over at the jury bench, Belinda was not happy either seeing her idol being possessed by someone else). This gesture sparked a cat-fight between Adrianna and Serena, with the latter saying that she is not the former's puppet anymore. The tribe started to vote, but Serena (who was sitting in the middle) made a last-minute whisper to April, Curtis and Alanna (who are yet to vote) to vote for Carly. Catching her red-handed, Adrianna secretly handed the other immunity idol to Carly, whispering to her that she has to play it. Knowing Serena had the idol, they continued their plan of voting Curtis out, but to everyone's surprise, Serena drew the idol and told Jeff she would let Curtis play it, stating that nobody can dictate their standing in the game but the player itself. But, not backing down, Carly stood up and gave the scond idol. Now, aside from Brock, Curtis and Carly were also immune from the vote. It turned out to be a stalemate, with all five of Curtis' votes (including the Cursed Idol vote from Belinda) and four of Carly's votes were nullified. Jeff instructed the players to vote once again, but told them they cannot vote for Curtis nor Carly anymore.

At the revote, the vote appeared to be a blindside, with Serena receiving all seven votes of the tribe, sending her to the jury. Furious of how the vote turned against her favor, she quietly handed the Cursed Idol to Adrianna. The transgendered castaway walked away from Tribal Council in tears. Jeff remarked that the said Tribal Council was a first, and told them when Serena returns as a juror, she will break all hell loose.

Tribal Council
Since Brock had immunity and Curtis and Carly used Hidden Immunity Idols

Next Time On Survivor...

 * Three Survivor Auction items may change the game, and Alanna and Adrianna might finally settle their outstanding rivalry.

Author's Notes

 * Soup number five is a soup made from a bull's genitals. It was said to have aphrodisiac properties.
 * Papaitan is a dish of goat innards in bile sauce (which gives a bitter taste or pait in Filipino)
 * Yes, balut is also eaten in the Philippines, not only in Palau and China. Pateros, the only municipality in the Metro Manila (Metro Manila is a collective term pertaining the city of Manila and its surrounding cities, including my hometown, Quezon City -- the most populous city in the country) area, is best known for its lucrative duck-raising industry.
 * For the record, I don't eat exotic food :)