Put Your Faith In a Rock, Not a Person

Put Your Faith in a Rock, Not a Person is the eighth episode of Survivor: Thailand.

Day 21 (Night)
The Chuay Gahn four sit in the cave, having stayed up all night in order to see who returns from Sook Jai's tribal council after the fake merge.

The Sook Jai five return to camp, somewhat monotonously saying hello to their rivals who have positioned themselves around the fire. Ricardo and Karen both seem eager to celebrate the result, but out of respect for the others at camp they keep their happiness hidden, simply greeting the others and sitting down besides them.

Phillip and Estan don't talk, and stand over the fire going over the events of the evening in their heads. Estan tells Aaron that they'll discuss things tomorrow, before joining the rest of the tribe in settling down for the evening.

Day 22
In the early afternoon of Day 22, the three women left in the game sit together to clean and boil the chicken that the group opted to kill in order to feed themselves, leaving just one chicken left for the remainder of the game. The women look over at Aaron, Estan and Phillip, who are laying down on the beach.

Over in the "lethargic" group, Aaron, Estan and Phillip lay on the beach discussing the events of the previous tribal council, initially having agreed to vote together in a merge situation to get Ricardo out of the game.

Out on Chuay Gahn's boat, the other three men relax whilst also fishing at the same time. They joke about their easy role for the day, glad to have the others back at camp to provide the food for them. Ricardo begins to talk about the game, wanting to continue to strengthen relationships with Chuay Gahn members, believing them to be vital for success once the tribes merge.

The rain begins to pour down over the camp, leaving the fishing trio no choice but to abandon their task and paddle back to shore, eventually taking shelter under the caves with the others. As the rain shows no signs of stopping, the final nine remain inside the caves for the remainder of the day, enjoying the meal prepared for by the three girls.

Day 23
Kanda, Ricardo and Julius lay down be the fire together, feeling tired and wanting to rest before the upcoming challenge. They speculate whether or not it will be immunity or a reward, and whether a merge will be announced or if the game will remain in its tribal phase.

Salma and Karen head off together to collect tree mail, eager to find out what they'll be playing for, and what phase the game will be in for the next challenge. The girls get the tree mail, slowly opening it to read for themselves. Much to their disappointment, the tree mail reveals that it will once again be a tribal immunity challenge, meaning that only one group will go to tribal council to vote out the individual that will become the first member of the jury.

Back at camp, Phillip and Aaron stretch together on the beach, having found sleeping in the cave to be rough sleeping the past few nights. Phillip helps Aaron get a knot in his back, also asking him about Estan's proposal of throwing the challenge that was pitched the previous day.

Salma and Karen return to the caves, calling everyone over to read the tree mail. As the mail is read, a sigh somewhat looms over the camp as they realise tribal immunity remains in the game, and that a merge is still nowhere in sight. The group gather their things to head to the challenge, with some feeling secretly elated at the prospect that tribal challenges remain, believing it to be a sign that they will survive the next tribal council regardless of the challenge outcome.

Immunity
Challenge: Breathing Space

Using eight individual bamboo snorkels, four for each tribe, the castaways had to submerge themselves underwater and breathe through the snorkel. Once a tribe member came up for air, their time was stopped. The tribe with the longest cumulative running time under water would win.

Winner: Chuay Gahn

Information: For Chuay Gahn, Aaron, Julius and Vince stay underwater for a good amount of time, whilst Salma somewhat struggles, getting an okay time for her tribe. For Sook Jai, Kanda, Karen and Ricardo all score good times, with Estan performing badly by quitting after a matter of seconds, blaming his failure on accidentally drinking salt water. Ultimately, Chuay Gahn scores a higher consecutive time, giving them the win. The total times are as follows:

Chuay Gahn: Aaron (1 minute 42 seconds), Julius (1 minute 3 seconds), Salma (34 seconds), Vince (1 minute 24 seconds). Total: 283 seconds

Sook Jai: Kanda (1 minute 4 seconds), Karen (58 seconds), Ricardo (1 minute 50 seconds), Estan (3 seconds). Total: 235 seconds

Combined Camp
The final nine return to camp, with Chuay Gahn having earned themselves immunity once again from tribal council, leaving Sook Jai to vote out another member, bringing their total members equal to that of their rivals. Ricardo, Kanda and Salma place their things down in the corner of the shelter.

Laying down in the tribes seating area; Karen and the three men from Chuay Gahn discuss the awkward situation of two tribes returning to the same camp with totally different feelings over the result.

Down the beach, Phillip and Estan sit on a rock together discussing the result of the challenge, knowing the likelihood is that one of them will be ousted from the game the following evening.

Estan rolls his eyes once Phillip walks off, clearly irritated by their conversation. He heads over to the water, wanting to cool off alone after the events of the day, needing to refresh his mind in time for the campaigning that will take place the following morning.

The sun quickly sets over the camp, with most of the members heading to bed, tired from travelling back and forth to the challenge. Aaron asks Estan to speak with him, but the latter rejects the proposal, stating he'd rather leave any conversations until the morning.

Day 24
On the morning of Day 24, the three women and Julius remain asleep, feeling relaxed about the day ahead. Aaron and Estan head off in order to finally have their conversation regarding the events of the challenge. Meanwhile, Vince, Phillip and Ricardo sit by the fire, boiling a fish that Ricardo found in the net an hour earlier.

Having their much needed discussion, Aaron and Estan sit in the shallow water. There remains tension between them, as Estan remains annoyed at Aaron's failure to throw the challenge, unaware that by doing so he likely would've sealed his own exit from the game.

Aaron apologises once again to Estan, ending the talk with a limp handshake before they head back to camp.

Ricardo and the girls sit eating their food together, quietly talking about the vote, knowing they will be the ones to decide who goes home. Kanda and Karen unsurprisingly state that they'd like to vote out Phillip, feeling he's their weakest overall player, and someone who causes irritation amongst the others. Ricardo gives his arguments for voting out Estan, concentrating on him being more of a threat, noting Phillip having a lower chance of swaying people against them later on.

As time passes, Ricardo eventually agrees to the girls plea to speak with Estan, going to a private meeting with him arranged by Kanda. At first the meeting seems awkward, as both men seem unwilling to fully commit. However, the need for strategic progression takes over, leading Estan to work hard to convince Ricardo that Phillip needs to be voted out of the game.

At sundown, Sook Jai grab their things and begin to say goodbye to the rival Chuay Gahn tribe, all being wished luck for the vote, knowing that one of them will not be returning to the camp later that night.

At tribal council the Sook Jai tribe discusses its disappointment in losing the last two immunity challenges, giving away the numbers advantage they had over Chuay Gahn. Estan points out that no such advantage really existed, as Sook Jai had been "two tribes of three" by the final ten. After a short discussion on tribe performance and life with Chuay Gahn, the group openly admit the vote coming down to Phillip and Estan, giving both the opportunity to make final pleas as to why they should be saved. Phillip talks about Estan losing the tribe the challenge, as well as being someone who strategically will be hard to beat at a merge. Estan uses the same argument he had given to Ricardo, concentrating on what he can do to benefit the group at a merge, whereas Phillip will not have the same connections. Phillip responds by suggesting that Estan himself will flip to Chuay Gahn at a merge, outing his deals with Aaron, also suggesting he has deals with Julius and Vince, and that he had set up a group to take out Ricardo should the merge have taken place at the final ten. Estan denies the accusation, being the final words of the tribal before the group get to the vote. As the five wait for the results, Estan and Phillip are both seen looking uncomfortable, knowing that one of them will likely regret not going to the rock draw at the previous tribal council.

Already on his feet, having calculated he was leaving after his name came up a second time, Estan walks over to Jeff, shaking his head and laughing at what he believes is an idiotic decision by his tribe. Estan takes one last look at his tribe, smirking before leaving the tribal council area. Phillip wipes sweat from his face, nervously thanking the other three members of his tribe, who fail to acknowledge his thanks. The final four head back to camp, now knowing they are equal in numbers to their rivals, and that with under two weeks left, things are certainly about to change within the game.