Survivor: China - Episode 6 Recap

Say what you will about the lame special effects and questionable moves made by the producers (I surely have), but you or I would be hard-pressed to complain that this has been a boring season of Survivor. Generally, the show holds your interest for the first two shows as you're trying to get to know who the hell these 16 (or 18 or 20) people are, but it slows down to a snail's pace up until about the time the jury is formed. In that limbo period, you kind of already know who you do or don't like, but the alliances have yet to be formed and not much wildly shocking happens.

And that hasn't necessarily happened this time, either. But I guess having such a high number of strong personalities can indeed make the show better (who'da thunk it?). That's not to say that I like them all, just that they've been hard to ignore. Whether it's been DJ Jesus (Sister Christian Leslie) ingratiating herself to everyone in the first five minutes, or Jean-Robert slowly destroying the wills of his tribe mates and the audience with his snoring and self-congratulatory speeches, or Courtney's innate ability to piss off the world with her upturned nose, a number of contestants are hard to miss (Lunchlady Land obviously excluded).

As for tonight's episode, we start off where we left off last week, with John Coffey (James) stuck in hell (aka Zhan Hu) with PG, Jamie and Erik, just waiting for them to throw another challenge and knock him out as well. But then...

At the reward challenge, the aforementioned Three Amigos of Zhan Hu got a frosty reception (horrible pun intended) from Sherrea and Frosti. Whilst running in and out of huts trying to find some knick-knacks that would help them solve a puzzle, PG attempted to sneak in some words to Sherrea, only to be met with some icy silence. Meanwhile, Frosti apparently "refused to make eye contact" with the lot of them. After losing the challenge (and seeing James kidnapped by Fei Long), the three were left back at their own camp worried about their status in the game. Their conclusion? "We MUST win this challenge!" I guess people have a short memory - throwing the challenge would still get rid of James and lessen the number of Fei Longers in the game. But that would probably make too much sense.

The reward itself looked great for the contestants (go to tea house, get fed, take showers and/or baths, look at James' ass, etc), but was wildly uneventful for us viewers. All we learned was that (!) Sad Stick Figure hates Jean-Robert. Yawn.

Upon returning from the reward, Todd was "like totally psyched" about finding the hidden immunity idol once and for all. First item of business: tell Am(Anne)da Hathaway that he has clues but like totally can't find it. Brilliant move [/sarcasm]. Next move: tell the kidnapped yet former Fei Longer James to give him the clue so they can find it and get it to James in case the Three Amigos threw another challenge. Finally, in the worst show of secrecy and slyness in the history of the game, Todd and Am(Anne)da took to the structure where it's "hidden," only to be flabbergasted when Frosti came over to help, unaware of what was hiding nearby. Long story short, they awkwardly get the idol, tell yet another person what's up (Frosti), give the idol to James, then proceed to tell Courtney and Denise what just went down. So much for being hidden. Meanwhile, James starts off the Immunity Challenge back at Zhan Hu with a weapon in his pocket. Oh, and Todd, James and the gang came to the conclusion that James should do his best to throw the challenge so that Zhan Hu goes to Tribal and James can play the idol, thus breaking up Jamie and Erik. But then...

...they got the worst of the worst Immunity Challenge. That's right - time to eat local delicacies, also known as "The Nasty Sh*t Challenge." And boy, did they outdo themselves this time. They start off nice and innocent, with some chicken hearts, followed by some eels. So far, so good, right? Not so fast - next up? Baby turtles, complete with the shell! But that's nothing compared to what James and Lunchlady Land (who I've decided is a dead ringer for Alan Ruck's sister that he never knew about) were lucky enough to eat. Their delicacy? Chicken fetuses (feti?)! Never before have dung beetles or tarantulas sounded so appetizing. Suffice it to say that the Lunchlady couldn't stomach the beaks and feathers, and James, who wanted to throw the challenge, was all but forced to finish her off, giving his team the third of four points needed. They quickly put away Fei Long.

This, somehow, left everyone upset. James, who had the immunity idol, was upset that his team won and thus, still, wouldn't be going home. Todd and gang, who were never in danger of going home, were upset that they would now have to vote off either Sherrea or Frosti. And, of course, Courtney was upset and hates Jean-Robert. Like I said - not boring. Even better yet, Sherrea and her obnoxious attitude got voted off, leaving JR there and Courtney left pouting.

I can't wait until next week.

Survivor: China homepage at CBS.com