Although Jean-Robert was narrowly sent home at the last Tribal Council, he felt confident about his future in Fei Long.  His ‘Start Lazy Then Improve’ strategy was going according to plan; his tribe members were starting to acknowledge his recent contributions around camp.

At Zhan Hu, Frosti made a moldy discovery about their valuable rice.  Hoping to salvage what they could, Sherea attempted to separate the contaminated portions.  Of course, her chosen method didn’t please Dave—and he made sure to tell her so.  Fed up with his bossiness, Sherea blew him off.  Later, Sherea starting disposing empty shells much to Dave dismay.  When he realized what she was doing, he begged her to stop (he wanted to take some home to his mother).  Unfortunately, Sherea really wasn’t interested in anything he had to say at that point.  When Dave tried to approach her, she became extremely testy and told him to back off.

The two tribes eventually reunited for a special nighttime Reward Challenge.  Surprisingly, there were no puzzles to be solved this time around.  Two competitors from each team would have to work together for one of three fiery rounds.  With large chopsticks, they had to carry a fireball across a long course.  Once at the other side, they would release the ball down a long chute to ignite a fireworks display.  The first team to light all three of their woks would win.  Todd and Denise took the early lead for Fei Long, but Peih-gee and Sherea did their best to keep the game close.  Unfortunately, Zhan Hu’s gap increasingly widened allowing James and Jean-Robert to easily seal their team’s victory. 

For their win, Fei Long was promised a special visit from a local fisherman and his family.  The guests, armed with spices and veggies, would teach the tribe how to catch their own meals.  Unfortunately for the Red Team, they had to bring another short-term guest back with them: a competitor from Zhan Hu.  Dave was glad to receive this week’s special invitation because he felt it was a win-win situation.  He could gain valuable information and food from the experience.  Once at their camp, Dave found a safe spot to read the now-not-so-secret scroll.  Although the clue provided a bit more information about the ‘hidden’ immunity idol, it was not enough to pinpoint its locale.  He later sized up the competition and decided to give Todd the other half of the clue; he felt Todd might someday return the favor.  (For those who’ve lost count, this is now Todd’s second clue.)

Not surprisingly, Sherea was a happy camper back at Zhan Hu.  A Dave-free camp was a peaceful one to her.  Unfortunately for her teammates, Sherea enjoyed her time a bit too much.  While they were busy picking up the slack during Dave’s absence, she unapologetically sat back and watched them do all the chores.  Sherea didn’t think it was worth wasting energy when they should be focusing on the challenges.  Meanwhile, Fei Long was focused on welcoming their new guests.  The natives proved to be a valuable asset; they provided information and tools essential for food preparation.  Surprisingly, Jean-Robert was a huge factor in Zhan Hu’s instruction.  Although he hadn’t used it in 20 years, his knowledge of Mandarin came in extremely handy.

Fei Long later arrived at the Immunity Challenge where they gladly passed annoying Dave back to Zhan Hu.  Much to everyone’s surprise, there wasn’t a puzzle to be found there either.  For this event, each competitor would have to wear traditional Chinese armor as a means of protection.  The teams would square off two-by-two for another three rounds and arm themselves with large bamboo sticks and ‘meteor hammers’.  The object was to destroy the other team’s vases by throwing the hammers (the bamboo sticks would be used for deflection).  The team that destroyed the most vases after three rounds would win.  It was a very tight battle up until the very last throw.  Sherea struck first for Zhan Hu but had her lead taken away by Fei Long in Round Two.  Jaime made an impressive move in Round Three tying up the score, but she was outdone by Amanda in the end.  Fei Long once again came away with the win.

Back at Zhan Hu, the tribe members wrestled with another difficult decision: Should they eliminate lazy Sherea (‘My Body Comes First’) or the extremely grating Dave?  At Tribal Council, it was unclear how things would unfold.  Sherea boldy (and stupidly) defended her lack of contribution again—though she also claimed her participation had recently increased.  Meanwhile, Erik openly complimented Dave’s leadership skills and acknowledged his contributions around camp.  In the end, it seemed the tribe really enjoyed the quiet spell they had while their kidnapped teammate was away.  LOSER: Dave.

(You can review last week’s episode here.)
(You can read next week’s episode here.)