Secret Scene: Sydney
Tension arises between the Jalapao women, Sydney and Taj
(Day 18; Taj and Sydney are sitting in the shelter)
Taj: Whoever put those palm fronds over the fire, they caught on fire.
Sydney: I did that.
Taj: Oh, you did it?
(Taj goes near the fire)
Sydney (solo): It's kind of weird between [Taj] and I. She's the woman who is, she's the other woman in the tribe. She's my ocmpetition. I don't want to come off as a shallow person, so it's hard to think Taj might be jealous of me, if you will. Yes I might have some kind of alliance with Joe, but she could be working her magic with the guys like JT and Stephen.
(Sydney watches Taj baby Stephen)
Sydney (solo): I don't feel close to Taj. I don't necessarily trust her. I've never felt this amount of paranoia in my life, ever. One day you're feeling so secure and high on your game, then the next day you feel like everyone's against you. Right now I wouldn't put anything past her.
(Sydney walks off)
Tribal Council Voting
Watch as the Jalapao members cast their votes
Joe (Taj): This is not an easy decision. It's been great. Good luck.
JT (Sydney): Sorry, darlin'.
Sydney (Taj with a smiley face): From the moment I met you I knew I was gonna like you a lot. I hope you have a great time in Tennessee and I'll see you soon.
Taj (Sydney, with some word I can't see): Love you girl.
Stephen ("Sid"): You're a ray of sunshine around camp, but I know there are stormy skies ahead. I'm really sorry. I'm gonna miss you.
Sydney's Final Words
Sydney expresses her initial feelings after being voted out of the game
"Many thoughts not really coming to me right now. It was a great experience. I'd do it again in a heartbeat and try to go further this time. Met some cool people, and met some really lame people. I wouldn't change it."
(cut)
"I made my alliances in the beginning with Joe and Spencer and I shot myself in the foot when we voted Spencer off. We let JT do that, make the decision."
(cut)
"I'm kinda pissed, yeah. Of course I'm pissed. I was voted off."
(cut)
"Jalapao's in trouble if there's a merge, for sure. They're down in the numbers. I don't really see anyone from Timbira switching over, but lo and behold, Taj might try to do something, she might be able to pull some strings. We'll see. But I think Jalapao's going down."
(cut)
"I think they made a mistake voting me out tonight, because I think I could have maybe persuaded something going on between timbiria, found their weakness in Timbira. If not I would have made them laugh and smile a little bit longer before we all got voted off."
(cut)
"For myself, I've learned to kind of maybe follow my gut instincts from now on. I've learned I'm not a very good first impressionalist. I can't really judge people from their first impression. Sandy K was a good example for me. I judged her and thought she was gonna be someone completely different than she was. She turned out to be crazy as I thought she was gonna be, but definitely a lot more humble and kind. So yeah, judging people and maybe how much I really do care about my family and friends back home and how much I miss 'em even after only 18 days. So...I learned a lot about myself."
(cut)
"I'll definitely take home the beautiful sunsets that Brazil had to offer, the annoying bird sounds, and just the experience alone, being able to look back on it and say I got to do that is just a blessing in itself. I feel very lucky, that's for sure."
Sydney the Day After
Sydney reflects on her time spent in the game
"I definitely learned just from thinking about it last night, my first night voted off, how I could have done things differently. I have a lot of regrets about jumping into an alliance too soon, not really feeling around about the people I was with, I just jumped into something. Thinking too quickly is something I realized I definitely probably do. That was kind of weird. Also judging people, I notice. I judge people way too harshly on first impressions. Mama K is a good example of that."
(cut)
"Even someone like Joe, who was like my best friend out here, even though he was my protector and someone I really got along with really well, almost like a Survivor boyfriend, him alone made me realize how much I miss my own boyfriend, and how much I want to spend the rest of my life with my own boyfriend. This guy is so great, Joe is so great, but I didn't want him as my own. It's kind of interesting how Joe helped me discover that for myself."
(cut)
"I think my favorite memory actually was yesterday. Joe came back from Exile and he was sitting in the hammock, I was just sitting underneath this tree, it was so cool, the wind blowing, and we were just talking, buddy to buddy, it was so relaxing to have a friend back you could make good conversation with. He'd been gone for so long, 2 days at least. That's a long time in Survivor mode. It was good to have that companionship back, when all I'd really had was Taj. She offered a lot for me, she offered a sense of feamlistic bonding. We got to talk about each other's loved ones. It was cool to sit there under the cool, cool trees, and chat with Joe. That was probably one of the better moments anyway."
(cut)
"I think coming out here, I didn't realize how harsh the environment was gonna be. Even watching it on TV, you watch these episodes where it's an hour long, you get an hour version of Survivor. It's definitely fun and good to watch, but it's a harsh environment out here. We're living off basically nothing. Rice, beans, which were both given to us, and the plant life that was out in Brazil, which was actually pretty bountiful, but finding it in springtime when it's not blooming, that was hard too. Do you drink the water, do you not drink the water from the spring, how do you know it's not contaminated. It was such a risky thing to kind of survive against. I'm proud of myself for coming out here and being as naturistic as possible. It's something I guess people wouldn't understand unless they were actually out here for 18 days."
(cut)
"While I was in the game, definitely I was a different person, there were a lot of different sides of me that came out. I planned on showing different sides of me, being deceitful if I needed to, malicious if I needed to, which I don't think I got too involved with, I think that comes later in the game. I was planning on having these sides come out. I told my friends and family you might see a different side of me you don't like or you've never seen before, but just remember we're playing a game."
(cut)
"I'm walking away from the game with so much respect for anyone who has ever played this game, for myself for even doing it, even though I was voted off sixth, and overall just feeling good about life right now. Putting one step forward and going into reality now is gonna be strange. I feel like I maybe will look at things differently, especially beds, because the palm fronds sucked to sleep on. I did it for 18 days, and I survived. I definitely feel really positive about the game and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'm proud of myself, for sure."
The Future of Jalapao
Sydney worries that Jalapao will fall quickly if the tribes merge while Jalapao has fewer members
"That feeling when you found out you lost and Timbira is handed the immunity idol, it's like I'm another 50 feet from a million dollars. It's been Timbira and Jalapao fighting over this money and now it's kind of like Jalapao just let go and Timbira's taking it and running with it, the money. What Coach said today, cocky as it was, he's right. They are able to rest another 10 days. If there's a merge and their tribe is strong enough, they stay together, they have another 10 days not to even worry about who they're voting off in their tribe. It's a power struggle and now I feel like it's over. Jalapao doesn't really have a chance to do anything if Timbira is as strong as we think they are."
Counting Down the Days
Taj, Sydney and JT share the difficulties of making it halfway through the game
Taj: Day 16. Almost over.
Sydney: That's right. Halfway almost. It's crazy we're not even halfway.
Taj: Maybe once we merge it'll move by faster.
JT: Day 17 tomorrow. We're almost halfway.
Taj: Yes, thank God. I don't know if my body can stand up to 8 more days after 39.
JT: 39 would be close to my max.
Taj: 39 is my max. I'm really screaming at 38, and I just gotta wake up to 39.
JT: 39 days is a long time.
Taj: It is. It doesn't seem like that long, but when you really think about it, it's weeks.
JT: It's a full 6 weeks.
Coach's Relationship With Sierra
Coach reveals all in telling his love/hate relationship with Sierra
"My relationship with Sierra seems to change all the time. In the beginning, I know she told me I'm the kind of person who interests her."
(cut)
"She's too young for me. Yes I joked around with her in the beginning, but when I realized how young she was and what kind of person she was, I thought obviously friendship is all there's gonna be with this. Then I started being pretty critical of her. Then I thought for a while I'm gonna try to be like her coach. I'm gonna help her blossom into what she...she's out here on a life experience like we all are, but I think for her it's more defining. She can either be dependent and coddled, or she can be independent and strong. I think I see both sides of it all the time. I see her being strong and independent, coming back from Exile and doing great in the challenge, and then on the other side, I see something like this, which is so trivial to let her blood boil."
(cut)
"I've tried to talk to Sierra about honesty and integrity and how I'm playing this game. Hopefully some of that stuff will rub off on her. I've tried to talk to her about the things she says now including herself ramifications. Anything when you say stuff, you can damage yourself or another individual. She's gotta be a little less flippant with her tongue."
(cut)
"Brendan made the comment, 'Why don't you just kiss right now?' That's funny, because there's something between us, I think on her end, like sexual tension. She's such a kid to me. I look at her now and see somebody who is like 18 years old. There's not sexual tension from me, but it's almost like that. Maybe it's coming from her, deep down inside, I'm not sure. Maybe it's coming from her needing a father figure that will love her. She said her father will just put his arm around and go like this around her. Maybe she needs to have some fatherly love out here. Physical fatherly affection from somebody, and I'm the closest person who can give it to her. I don't know. There is some type of tension between us and it's been there for a long time. I don't know what our relationship is though. I'd like to think I'm like a mentor to her. I'd like to, I think she's got a lot of great qualities that can come out, but they're not gonna surface as long as she has all this baggage she's dealing with. Like I told her, 'Put the beans to rest, the truth shall set you FREEEE!!' (raises his arms in the air) I said today. 'Let it set you free! Let it out on me if you need to.' You can see the pattern. I study female and male, but especially female psychology with my sport, and it's like she can't get over that day when I said could you please not cook the beans, and ask Debbie beside you to have somebody with you. It all stems back from that. She's still holding onto that and it's warping her perspective today."
(cut)
"I'm just like, you've gotta get rid of the past baggage if you ever want to do anything with the present. If you do something with the present that will determine your future. I'd like to be there to mentor Sierra."
Debbie on the Reward
Debbie reveals her cheerleading background as she enjoys performing summersaults and back-handsprings at the waterfall reward
"I was a gymnast for a very long time. I can still tumble and do back handsprings and all those fun things. Then I was a college cheerleader for 4 years in college. I've just kept it up. It's hilarious. My friends would have kids over and they'd be trying to do cartwheels in the yard, and I'd be doing back handspring back tucks. At my age it's pretty amazing I can still do all that. Interestingly enough I have not told anyone on this tribe how old I am. They have no idea. I don't plan on telling anybody how old I am. I think age is just kind of a sense of mind. I think my Mom messed up my birth certificate. I don't think I'm as old as it says I am. I've been wanting to get in and do all this stuff. I'm just having a great time, a great time with these kids."
(cut)
"I'm going to be really sad to leave, because you make connections with these people. It's going to be really hard. Tyson and I were just talking about a minute ago and he said he likes to loiter at 7-11 in Utah. Everyone was away from the table and he said, 'You're the first one I'm coming to see.' I think several of us will stay pretty close, even through this. We've even talked, at some point, unless you're the final 2 somebody's gonna get voted out. It's a game. I really think a lot of us, especially on this tribe, will stay in close touch. I really do. I care about these people."
Erinn's White Lie
After returning from Exile, Erinn lies to her tribe about what happened between her and Joe
"Coming back into camp today was a funny little walk for me. I really had to scramble and say what am I gonna tell these people, because I certainly can't tell them what actually happened. There's no way. I had to really dig deep and come up with kind of lies that weren't really lies, but maybe kinda sorta. Go through all those, I have to remember everything I say cause it can't be too outlandish. Just try and figure out what on earth am I gonna say, so no one on earth will ever know we talked alliance. No one's picked up on the fact that there's two idols. There's gotta be two idols. Even if we could have one, that would be great. If we could have both, awesome, but one would be super fantastic. Even if not one, we have a pretty good idea of who has them, and that is helpful too. Definitely had all these things running through my mind, going back in, and people were so expectant and so ready to hear what I had to say. It was kind of just a little fun. I was kind of playing with them a little bit."
Joe on JT Falling Short
Joe discusses JT's shortcomings during the immunity challenge
"JT fell short today, and he knows it, we all know it, and we aren't faulting him too much, because of his past performances in other challenges. JT has been like literally flying around with a red cape on up to now. You win 5, you lose 1, you're still ahead. No one's gonna penalize JT for sticking his head out, as he did, and coming up short. It was very un-JT today for him to keep struggling with hitting the tiles. I was waiting every second for him to knock all the rest out and then we'd be on our way. It didn't happen. He'll bounce back."
(cut)
"It's good to see JT become human in front of your eyes, because you do start putting more pressure on yourself to outperform JT to keep everybody at camp thinking you're the boss. It is nice to see somebody struggle a little bit in that regard. Overall I would have loved JT to have hit all of them then we don't have to vote anybody off tonight. It's bittersweet for me, the way that challenge played out. As long as JT can recover from it, no harm no foul, but JT's really hard on himself. My hope is this doesn't let him take this down. The other thing about him outperforming me, so to speak, in the challenges, is from Timbiria, they're looking at him as the strongest guy. If they have that perception, or if that's the truth, then I buy extra time in this game. Now I feel like I have a great shot at making moves with extra time."
More Coach Issues
Brendan explains how Sierra is justified in her defense against Coach's selfish actions
"After the whole bean incident between Coach and Sierra, Coach went away for a little bit, and Sierra was just talking with Debbie and I. Sierra said, 'You know what, if I had complained as much as Coach has about all the little issues, about not being able to sleep, about not being able to get beans, about all these different things, I would have been voted out. But Coach gets a free ride. Why does Coach get a free ride? If any other person had complained that much they'd be gone, but Coach is allowed to.' She's like, 'That's not right. I've been dealing with this for a couple weeks now.' I guess Coach takes Sierra aside and gives her pep talks, like a coach would to a 15 year old girl on a soccer team, saying, 'Athletically you need to do this, this, and this, to be a better competitor to this team.' I think it all kind of built up for Sierra, and she finally let it go. While she didn't say it in the nicest possible way, what she said was pretty factual, I thought."
Living Off the Land
Sydney shares a moment of gathering berries and jatoba
"We are kind of just exploring the land around us, trying to find some large pusa berries, some jatoba, just things we can eat from the ground. We're ready for a different taste. (laughs)"
(cut)
"So far it's been beans, and beans, and some rice, and some fish when the boys are able to catch some fish, but the beans have definitely been on the menu for a while now. It's nice to have something sweet, like the jatoba is a completely different flavor than I've ever tasted. It's something different."
(cut)
"The best thing to find that is out here is oranges. I don't know if they're in season, but we've seen the trees, and we know they're here, we just haven't seen them blooming yet. That would be the most amazing thing. A juicy orange. Oh. (looks happy)"
(cut)
"These little pusa berries, the little ones and the big ones kind of taste the same. They're pretty sweet. They have a seed inside you can kind of chew on a little bit and get the pulp off and get stuck in your teeth. It's a nice little treat when you're walking down the path or something. It's sweet. It's the only sugar we've had in the last couple of days, since our last reward anyway, so it's nice to have something sweet."
(cut)
"Ugh. (spits the berry out) That was a gross one."
Restless Sleep
Coach makes his sleeping difficulties known to his tribe until it wears on them
(Night 15; Coach tosses and turns)
Debra (solo): Coach has a real difficult time sleeping, and when Coach doesn't sleep well or is uncomfortable, we all pretty much know it. But no one's comfortable out here.
(Coach leaves the shelter; the next morning, everyone is exhausted)
Brendan: Morning, Coach. (Coach ignores him)
Debra: Gosh. Cause he couldn't sleep, I couldn't sleep, and Tyson couldn't sleep. You probably heard him too, pitchin' his fits down there at the end. He'd even start smacking (makes hitting pillow motions)
Brendan: ...every night. Does he think any of us are comfortable? I'll trade you my spot, Coach, see how that is.
Debra: Say it tonight. You just need to say it.
Brendan (solo): I think everybody's going through the same thing. We all have our own different ailments, but Coach likes to let everyone know about his. Maybe it's his old age, maybe he wants some attention, I don't know. But while he does do some irritating things, I totally accept it, because he's a predictable player. Predictable in this game is great.
The Nudist
Tyson shares his thoughts on baring it all at camp
"Before challenges, lately I've been going as naked as possible, and just showing up in camp like, 'Look at me everybody, I'm so crazy.' I did the loin cloth at first, then I did it with this string, and today I was like I'm just gonna wrap my buff around my crotch, my nether regions."
(cut)
"It seemed to go over well. I think everybody had a good laugh, some people liked it more than others, probably. Some people might have been disgusted. All in all it got a rise, and I think it's good to kind of give people that before we go into competition. Takes their mind off it for a little bit, lightens the mood, makes everybody happy. We're going in happy and strong and hopefully we can pull off the victory."
Tension arises between the Jalapao women, Sydney and Taj
(Day 18; Taj and Sydney are sitting in the shelter)
Taj: Whoever put those palm fronds over the fire, they caught on fire.
Sydney: I did that.
Taj: Oh, you did it?
(Taj goes near the fire)
Sydney (solo): It's kind of weird between [Taj] and I. She's the woman who is, she's the other woman in the tribe. She's my ocmpetition. I don't want to come off as a shallow person, so it's hard to think Taj might be jealous of me, if you will. Yes I might have some kind of alliance with Joe, but she could be working her magic with the guys like JT and Stephen.
(Sydney watches Taj baby Stephen)
Sydney (solo): I don't feel close to Taj. I don't necessarily trust her. I've never felt this amount of paranoia in my life, ever. One day you're feeling so secure and high on your game, then the next day you feel like everyone's against you. Right now I wouldn't put anything past her.
(Sydney walks off)
Tribal Council Voting
Watch as the Jalapao members cast their votes
Joe (Taj): This is not an easy decision. It's been great. Good luck.
JT (Sydney): Sorry, darlin'.
Sydney (Taj with a smiley face): From the moment I met you I knew I was gonna like you a lot. I hope you have a great time in Tennessee and I'll see you soon.
Taj (Sydney, with some word I can't see): Love you girl.
Stephen ("Sid"): You're a ray of sunshine around camp, but I know there are stormy skies ahead. I'm really sorry. I'm gonna miss you.
Sydney's Final Words
Sydney expresses her initial feelings after being voted out of the game
"Many thoughts not really coming to me right now. It was a great experience. I'd do it again in a heartbeat and try to go further this time. Met some cool people, and met some really lame people. I wouldn't change it."
(cut)
"I made my alliances in the beginning with Joe and Spencer and I shot myself in the foot when we voted Spencer off. We let JT do that, make the decision."
(cut)
"I'm kinda pissed, yeah. Of course I'm pissed. I was voted off."
(cut)
"Jalapao's in trouble if there's a merge, for sure. They're down in the numbers. I don't really see anyone from Timbira switching over, but lo and behold, Taj might try to do something, she might be able to pull some strings. We'll see. But I think Jalapao's going down."
(cut)
"I think they made a mistake voting me out tonight, because I think I could have maybe persuaded something going on between timbiria, found their weakness in Timbira. If not I would have made them laugh and smile a little bit longer before we all got voted off."
(cut)
"For myself, I've learned to kind of maybe follow my gut instincts from now on. I've learned I'm not a very good first impressionalist. I can't really judge people from their first impression. Sandy K was a good example for me. I judged her and thought she was gonna be someone completely different than she was. She turned out to be crazy as I thought she was gonna be, but definitely a lot more humble and kind. So yeah, judging people and maybe how much I really do care about my family and friends back home and how much I miss 'em even after only 18 days. So...I learned a lot about myself."
(cut)
"I'll definitely take home the beautiful sunsets that Brazil had to offer, the annoying bird sounds, and just the experience alone, being able to look back on it and say I got to do that is just a blessing in itself. I feel very lucky, that's for sure."
Sydney the Day After
Sydney reflects on her time spent in the game
"I definitely learned just from thinking about it last night, my first night voted off, how I could have done things differently. I have a lot of regrets about jumping into an alliance too soon, not really feeling around about the people I was with, I just jumped into something. Thinking too quickly is something I realized I definitely probably do. That was kind of weird. Also judging people, I notice. I judge people way too harshly on first impressions. Mama K is a good example of that."
(cut)
"Even someone like Joe, who was like my best friend out here, even though he was my protector and someone I really got along with really well, almost like a Survivor boyfriend, him alone made me realize how much I miss my own boyfriend, and how much I want to spend the rest of my life with my own boyfriend. This guy is so great, Joe is so great, but I didn't want him as my own. It's kind of interesting how Joe helped me discover that for myself."
(cut)
"I think my favorite memory actually was yesterday. Joe came back from Exile and he was sitting in the hammock, I was just sitting underneath this tree, it was so cool, the wind blowing, and we were just talking, buddy to buddy, it was so relaxing to have a friend back you could make good conversation with. He'd been gone for so long, 2 days at least. That's a long time in Survivor mode. It was good to have that companionship back, when all I'd really had was Taj. She offered a lot for me, she offered a sense of feamlistic bonding. We got to talk about each other's loved ones. It was cool to sit there under the cool, cool trees, and chat with Joe. That was probably one of the better moments anyway."
(cut)
"I think coming out here, I didn't realize how harsh the environment was gonna be. Even watching it on TV, you watch these episodes where it's an hour long, you get an hour version of Survivor. It's definitely fun and good to watch, but it's a harsh environment out here. We're living off basically nothing. Rice, beans, which were both given to us, and the plant life that was out in Brazil, which was actually pretty bountiful, but finding it in springtime when it's not blooming, that was hard too. Do you drink the water, do you not drink the water from the spring, how do you know it's not contaminated. It was such a risky thing to kind of survive against. I'm proud of myself for coming out here and being as naturistic as possible. It's something I guess people wouldn't understand unless they were actually out here for 18 days."
(cut)
"While I was in the game, definitely I was a different person, there were a lot of different sides of me that came out. I planned on showing different sides of me, being deceitful if I needed to, malicious if I needed to, which I don't think I got too involved with, I think that comes later in the game. I was planning on having these sides come out. I told my friends and family you might see a different side of me you don't like or you've never seen before, but just remember we're playing a game."
(cut)
"I'm walking away from the game with so much respect for anyone who has ever played this game, for myself for even doing it, even though I was voted off sixth, and overall just feeling good about life right now. Putting one step forward and going into reality now is gonna be strange. I feel like I maybe will look at things differently, especially beds, because the palm fronds sucked to sleep on. I did it for 18 days, and I survived. I definitely feel really positive about the game and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'm proud of myself, for sure."
The Future of Jalapao
Sydney worries that Jalapao will fall quickly if the tribes merge while Jalapao has fewer members
"That feeling when you found out you lost and Timbira is handed the immunity idol, it's like I'm another 50 feet from a million dollars. It's been Timbira and Jalapao fighting over this money and now it's kind of like Jalapao just let go and Timbira's taking it and running with it, the money. What Coach said today, cocky as it was, he's right. They are able to rest another 10 days. If there's a merge and their tribe is strong enough, they stay together, they have another 10 days not to even worry about who they're voting off in their tribe. It's a power struggle and now I feel like it's over. Jalapao doesn't really have a chance to do anything if Timbira is as strong as we think they are."
Counting Down the Days
Taj, Sydney and JT share the difficulties of making it halfway through the game
Taj: Day 16. Almost over.
Sydney: That's right. Halfway almost. It's crazy we're not even halfway.
Taj: Maybe once we merge it'll move by faster.
JT: Day 17 tomorrow. We're almost halfway.
Taj: Yes, thank God. I don't know if my body can stand up to 8 more days after 39.
JT: 39 would be close to my max.
Taj: 39 is my max. I'm really screaming at 38, and I just gotta wake up to 39.
JT: 39 days is a long time.
Taj: It is. It doesn't seem like that long, but when you really think about it, it's weeks.
JT: It's a full 6 weeks.
Coach's Relationship With Sierra
Coach reveals all in telling his love/hate relationship with Sierra
"My relationship with Sierra seems to change all the time. In the beginning, I know she told me I'm the kind of person who interests her."
(cut)
"She's too young for me. Yes I joked around with her in the beginning, but when I realized how young she was and what kind of person she was, I thought obviously friendship is all there's gonna be with this. Then I started being pretty critical of her. Then I thought for a while I'm gonna try to be like her coach. I'm gonna help her blossom into what she...she's out here on a life experience like we all are, but I think for her it's more defining. She can either be dependent and coddled, or she can be independent and strong. I think I see both sides of it all the time. I see her being strong and independent, coming back from Exile and doing great in the challenge, and then on the other side, I see something like this, which is so trivial to let her blood boil."
(cut)
"I've tried to talk to Sierra about honesty and integrity and how I'm playing this game. Hopefully some of that stuff will rub off on her. I've tried to talk to her about the things she says now including herself ramifications. Anything when you say stuff, you can damage yourself or another individual. She's gotta be a little less flippant with her tongue."
(cut)
"Brendan made the comment, 'Why don't you just kiss right now?' That's funny, because there's something between us, I think on her end, like sexual tension. She's such a kid to me. I look at her now and see somebody who is like 18 years old. There's not sexual tension from me, but it's almost like that. Maybe it's coming from her, deep down inside, I'm not sure. Maybe it's coming from her needing a father figure that will love her. She said her father will just put his arm around and go like this around her. Maybe she needs to have some fatherly love out here. Physical fatherly affection from somebody, and I'm the closest person who can give it to her. I don't know. There is some type of tension between us and it's been there for a long time. I don't know what our relationship is though. I'd like to think I'm like a mentor to her. I'd like to, I think she's got a lot of great qualities that can come out, but they're not gonna surface as long as she has all this baggage she's dealing with. Like I told her, 'Put the beans to rest, the truth shall set you FREEEE!!' (raises his arms in the air) I said today. 'Let it set you free! Let it out on me if you need to.' You can see the pattern. I study female and male, but especially female psychology with my sport, and it's like she can't get over that day when I said could you please not cook the beans, and ask Debbie beside you to have somebody with you. It all stems back from that. She's still holding onto that and it's warping her perspective today."
(cut)
"I'm just like, you've gotta get rid of the past baggage if you ever want to do anything with the present. If you do something with the present that will determine your future. I'd like to be there to mentor Sierra."
Debbie on the Reward
Debbie reveals her cheerleading background as she enjoys performing summersaults and back-handsprings at the waterfall reward
"I was a gymnast for a very long time. I can still tumble and do back handsprings and all those fun things. Then I was a college cheerleader for 4 years in college. I've just kept it up. It's hilarious. My friends would have kids over and they'd be trying to do cartwheels in the yard, and I'd be doing back handspring back tucks. At my age it's pretty amazing I can still do all that. Interestingly enough I have not told anyone on this tribe how old I am. They have no idea. I don't plan on telling anybody how old I am. I think age is just kind of a sense of mind. I think my Mom messed up my birth certificate. I don't think I'm as old as it says I am. I've been wanting to get in and do all this stuff. I'm just having a great time, a great time with these kids."
(cut)
"I'm going to be really sad to leave, because you make connections with these people. It's going to be really hard. Tyson and I were just talking about a minute ago and he said he likes to loiter at 7-11 in Utah. Everyone was away from the table and he said, 'You're the first one I'm coming to see.' I think several of us will stay pretty close, even through this. We've even talked, at some point, unless you're the final 2 somebody's gonna get voted out. It's a game. I really think a lot of us, especially on this tribe, will stay in close touch. I really do. I care about these people."
Erinn's White Lie
After returning from Exile, Erinn lies to her tribe about what happened between her and Joe
"Coming back into camp today was a funny little walk for me. I really had to scramble and say what am I gonna tell these people, because I certainly can't tell them what actually happened. There's no way. I had to really dig deep and come up with kind of lies that weren't really lies, but maybe kinda sorta. Go through all those, I have to remember everything I say cause it can't be too outlandish. Just try and figure out what on earth am I gonna say, so no one on earth will ever know we talked alliance. No one's picked up on the fact that there's two idols. There's gotta be two idols. Even if we could have one, that would be great. If we could have both, awesome, but one would be super fantastic. Even if not one, we have a pretty good idea of who has them, and that is helpful too. Definitely had all these things running through my mind, going back in, and people were so expectant and so ready to hear what I had to say. It was kind of just a little fun. I was kind of playing with them a little bit."
Joe on JT Falling Short
Joe discusses JT's shortcomings during the immunity challenge
"JT fell short today, and he knows it, we all know it, and we aren't faulting him too much, because of his past performances in other challenges. JT has been like literally flying around with a red cape on up to now. You win 5, you lose 1, you're still ahead. No one's gonna penalize JT for sticking his head out, as he did, and coming up short. It was very un-JT today for him to keep struggling with hitting the tiles. I was waiting every second for him to knock all the rest out and then we'd be on our way. It didn't happen. He'll bounce back."
(cut)
"It's good to see JT become human in front of your eyes, because you do start putting more pressure on yourself to outperform JT to keep everybody at camp thinking you're the boss. It is nice to see somebody struggle a little bit in that regard. Overall I would have loved JT to have hit all of them then we don't have to vote anybody off tonight. It's bittersweet for me, the way that challenge played out. As long as JT can recover from it, no harm no foul, but JT's really hard on himself. My hope is this doesn't let him take this down. The other thing about him outperforming me, so to speak, in the challenges, is from Timbiria, they're looking at him as the strongest guy. If they have that perception, or if that's the truth, then I buy extra time in this game. Now I feel like I have a great shot at making moves with extra time."
More Coach Issues
Brendan explains how Sierra is justified in her defense against Coach's selfish actions
"After the whole bean incident between Coach and Sierra, Coach went away for a little bit, and Sierra was just talking with Debbie and I. Sierra said, 'You know what, if I had complained as much as Coach has about all the little issues, about not being able to sleep, about not being able to get beans, about all these different things, I would have been voted out. But Coach gets a free ride. Why does Coach get a free ride? If any other person had complained that much they'd be gone, but Coach is allowed to.' She's like, 'That's not right. I've been dealing with this for a couple weeks now.' I guess Coach takes Sierra aside and gives her pep talks, like a coach would to a 15 year old girl on a soccer team, saying, 'Athletically you need to do this, this, and this, to be a better competitor to this team.' I think it all kind of built up for Sierra, and she finally let it go. While she didn't say it in the nicest possible way, what she said was pretty factual, I thought."
Living Off the Land
Sydney shares a moment of gathering berries and jatoba
"We are kind of just exploring the land around us, trying to find some large pusa berries, some jatoba, just things we can eat from the ground. We're ready for a different taste. (laughs)"
(cut)
"So far it's been beans, and beans, and some rice, and some fish when the boys are able to catch some fish, but the beans have definitely been on the menu for a while now. It's nice to have something sweet, like the jatoba is a completely different flavor than I've ever tasted. It's something different."
(cut)
"The best thing to find that is out here is oranges. I don't know if they're in season, but we've seen the trees, and we know they're here, we just haven't seen them blooming yet. That would be the most amazing thing. A juicy orange. Oh. (looks happy)"
(cut)
"These little pusa berries, the little ones and the big ones kind of taste the same. They're pretty sweet. They have a seed inside you can kind of chew on a little bit and get the pulp off and get stuck in your teeth. It's a nice little treat when you're walking down the path or something. It's sweet. It's the only sugar we've had in the last couple of days, since our last reward anyway, so it's nice to have something sweet."
(cut)
"Ugh. (spits the berry out) That was a gross one."
Restless Sleep
Coach makes his sleeping difficulties known to his tribe until it wears on them
(Night 15; Coach tosses and turns)
Debra (solo): Coach has a real difficult time sleeping, and when Coach doesn't sleep well or is uncomfortable, we all pretty much know it. But no one's comfortable out here.
(Coach leaves the shelter; the next morning, everyone is exhausted)
Brendan: Morning, Coach. (Coach ignores him)
Debra: Gosh. Cause he couldn't sleep, I couldn't sleep, and Tyson couldn't sleep. You probably heard him too, pitchin' his fits down there at the end. He'd even start smacking (makes hitting pillow motions)
Brendan: ...every night. Does he think any of us are comfortable? I'll trade you my spot, Coach, see how that is.
Debra: Say it tonight. You just need to say it.
Brendan (solo): I think everybody's going through the same thing. We all have our own different ailments, but Coach likes to let everyone know about his. Maybe it's his old age, maybe he wants some attention, I don't know. But while he does do some irritating things, I totally accept it, because he's a predictable player. Predictable in this game is great.
The Nudist
Tyson shares his thoughts on baring it all at camp
"Before challenges, lately I've been going as naked as possible, and just showing up in camp like, 'Look at me everybody, I'm so crazy.' I did the loin cloth at first, then I did it with this string, and today I was like I'm just gonna wrap my buff around my crotch, my nether regions."
(cut)
"It seemed to go over well. I think everybody had a good laugh, some people liked it more than others, probably. Some people might have been disgusted. All in all it got a rise, and I think it's good to kind of give people that before we go into competition. Takes their mind off it for a little bit, lightens the mood, makes everybody happy. We're going in happy and strong and hopefully we can pull off the victory."
