Survivor Insider: Wake Up and Smell the Redemption Island Coffee

While tonight's Immunity Challenge winners get high on caffeine and sugar, the losing tribe is jolted out of its complacency

By Drusilla Moorhouse Mar 17, 2011 3:30 AMTags

As if Phillip's "pink panties" weren't enough to jolt anyone awake on Survivor: Redemption Island, tonight's Immunity Challenge winners also received coffee, tea and pastries.

Coffee beans weren't the only thing being spilled tonight: At the Sprint™ Redemption Island Arena, Awesome Rob got an earful...of Zapatera secrets. But what about the wrath of Matt?

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Wascally Wabbit: At last, the long-awaited confrontation between Matt and the architect of his blindside, Rob. Cue the dramatic music, because Matt is going to...call Rob a "rascal"? Really, buddy, that's the best you can do? Maybe Matt's actions will speak more loudly than his words, because if he keeps vanquishing his Redemption Island rivals, he might be sharing chocolate doughnuts with Rob—and Andrea—at the Ometepe Café.

Camp Harmony: It's beginning to look a lot like Krist-mas at Redemption Island, where—thanks to his victory and Zapatera's Tribal Council vote—Krista replaced Kristina as Matt's bunkmate. The question is, can the blond babe and "the light and strength" within her charm him like Andrea? We'd happily Rochambeau for a Katniss and Peeta Hunger Games-style duel at Redemption Island.

Yellow Fever: How could the Zapatera Brady Bunch send its "two neglected stepchildren" to conspire with the enemy tribe at the Sprint™ Redemption Island Arena? Ometepe's selection process wasn't televised, but (unlike the giddy Zapatera girls), Rob didn't look happy to have a ticket to the show. His wabbit ears sure perked up though when Stephanie and Krista announced themselves as two more fangirls in Rob's Bikini Club. He responded with a thumb up—the Zapatera code for "throw the challenge." So maybe Stephanie was only following Rob's orders when she choked so terribly on the puzzle? (Kidding!)

"There's No I in Team": A lot of sports metaphors were thrown around tonight—not surprisingly when the Castaways include two former NFL players. But Rob is the only coach (Fun fact: Boston University's inline hockey team won their first league championship when Rob served as head coach for his alma mater's team), and he perfectly directed his team in tonight's challenge. Not only that, but he made sure his star player—himself—got the ball (i.e., solved the puzzle). But Rob is not a team player—he's out to win the title of Sole Survivor, and a lot of that depends on his Hidden Immunity Idol. His clue-swap "hustle" (fueled by coffee fumes) was more than entertaining—it was brilliant.

My Sweet Lord: "The king is a dictator and I'm a lord." While Rob is entertaining himself with his Hidden Immunity Idol hijinks, Phillip is entertaining us—so we hope Rob's liege continues to be spared. And Rob's right: Keeping someone around who is "completely off his rocker in his pink panties" will remove the target from Rob's back. (Right now that target's apparently written in invisible ink, but we're confident Ometepe will find their decoder glasses eventually—maybe with the help of a special agent?!—and see him as their greatest threat.) While we are actively rooting for Awesome Rob, it was fun to see Phillip's "synergy" with "An-DRAY-ah" (whose name he must also mispronounce because of his dry-mouth "condition"). Still, Rob must know he has to oust Lady Andrea before knight-errant Matt returns to the tribe.

Deadliest Catch: "Those girls me remind me of crabs," Phillip grumbled about Rob's Bikini Babes. Here's hoping he doesn't go crazy (um, crazier) and try to spear them to death. (At least when Phillip hunts, the odds favor his prey.)