Episode Ten

[Wes Anderson]

Previously, on Survivor... Royal Tenenbaum gifted Richie a set of Team Zissou rings.  Madame D. was targeted by a longstanding Ivanhoe alliance, but weathered a tie vote, and Young Writer was voted out, becoming the third member of the jury.

With the loss of Young Writer, Richie Tenenbaum's unbreakable Team Zissou connection was severed, but he remained in possession of a second Team Zissou ring set, thanks to a gift from Royal. 


Richie Tenenbaum: I've reconsidered the rings and I think they may be useful to try to play.  Yes I could just be exposed but my position is already quite bad so the benefits I could reap are far greater than the potential to fall a little further into the pits.

The recently widowed Richie found himself on an island as one of just two surviving players to vote against Madame D. on both the tie vote and revote, and chose to build a bridge to Madame D. herself by offering her the ring.





Madame D.: Right now, I am concerned about my ability to get to the end of the game. I have become more high-profile than I am used to and that necessitates a less cautious approach... I have been impressed by Richie's ability to manipulate and deceive. He is a dangerous player and I want that on my side, especially if it can boost my own chances of getting to the final five and beyond.

The challenge was snout fever serum themed, and things were broken into threes: Teams of three would split up three separate tasks, and the winning team of three would all be immune at Tribal Council.  Margot Tenenbaum's streak of immunities would continue, as Margot, Oracle, and Duke won the challenge and all held immunity.

With Margot immune, despite having just voted to save Madame D., Suzy Bishop called in the favor she earned by flipping with Oracle in the tie to bring Oracle with her against Madame. It began to look like Madame D.'s time was finally up.  The plan was for 5vanhoe -- all remaining Ivanhoes except Richie -- to vote out Madame.


M. Gustave: strike what i said about voting herman, the more i think about it the more stupid it seems. suzy has suggested madame, and i'm down for it. then our 5 can run the rest of the game, and herman can't even meaningfully flip on us unless he really just wants to rock and roll. this weakens margot and can still flush an idol from richie if he has one.


Herman Blume: The bottom feeders have apparently joined forces.
Me, Duke, Gustave, Suzy, Oracle are voting as a block (unless someone is lying) and we hope to dodge HIIs.

Madame D., for her part, was focused on Herman Blume. 


Madame D.: I think it is VERY important that I get Herman out here. The only vote that would be just as good or better would be Suzy, but that wouldn't be possible right now. Herman is the sort of person that will not be working with me ever and is a number for other people who are less likely to work with me. He needs to go!

The plan to dodge idols was paramount, because while players did not know Madame D. held the Fox's Tail idol, they suspected both Margot and Richie of holding idols.  With votes beginning to land on Madame D., Suzy Bishop's fondness for #1 ally Richie Tenenbaum lingered, and she fed the info to Richie.


Duke: Soooo... Suzy just completely blew up the game by leaking everything to Royal and Richie? So much is going down right now I don't really even have the time to write this

As word of the plan against Madame D. spread, would players hold firm to the vote, or would they scatter?  Would Madame D. play her idol?  Find out at Tribal Council.

Spoiler

Herman Blume voted out 7-0, with two votes against Madame D. cancelled by her idol play.

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