Basic Human Responses

Basic Human Responses is the eleventh episode of Survivor: Thailand.

Day 30 (Night)
The final six arrive back at camp, with Karen now completely alone after the elimination of Kanda. Phillip seems in high spirits, clearly pleased to have almost completely eliminated his former tribe, feeling that his 'revenge' has been widely successful. "chuayjai"

- Seeing Kanda go just pained me. She was the last person on this tribe that I felt I could trust, and now I'm the last true Sook Jai left in this game, meaning I'm the next to go. Phillip is Chuay Gahn, and he has lost any right to call himself an old Sook Jai member, because he's the one who brought us to extinction in this game. The Chuay Gahn members will regret this... because they're either taking Phillip and I out next, and then two of them will have to go before the final... or Phillip is going to convince one of them to take him to the end, cheating three of them out in the process.

Karen looks in the direction of Salma, feeling as though she has made a bad decision in sticking with the boys, and that she will be amongst those cut before the final tribal council. Salma decides to look away from Karen, failing to give a response to her indirect insult. "chuayjai"

- My decision tonight is either going to prove to be the right call, or it'll be one of the last nails in my coffin. Siding with Karen and Kanda seemed illogical for my game, particularly as they both would win should they have successfully made it to the end, and in helping them I'd sever all ties I had with my previous tribe. It's all about timing, and ensuring that when you make big decisions that the consequences of that decision won't end in your own demise. The only person angry at me right now is Karen, and I don't see her legitimately trying to get me out... not when her only chance to stay in this game is to target either Phillip for obvious reasons, or Julius and Vince for being the ones "running the show".

Day 31
The group lay around the camp whilst Aaron and Phillip go off to collect tree mail. Julius rubs his hands across his lips, complaining that they are dry and cracked due to dehydration. Vince lifts his shift and looks at his torso, noting his ribs are on show more and more with each passing day. "chuayjai"

- After thirty one days on this beach you start to wonder how much more your body can take before someone dies. I'm not even joking... it is now a fear amongst us all that if we're here much longer someone is going to drop down dead. Every morning I see Salma laying there and I have an impulse to immediately perform CPR because I'm convinced she's dead...

Over by tree mail, Phillip and Aaron escape their sombre mood once they read the preview for the next challenge, assuming that the reward will involve luxury food, giving them a much needed moral boost. The pair rush back to camp, excited to share the information with the rest of the tribe. "chuayjai"

- Our food situation has been progressively getting worse, and even with occasional rewards... it's not enough to sustain ourselves. There's just over a week left in this game, and as someone who hasn't had a reward in so long... I think it's my time to experience it. After the last reward, Vince and Julius agreed that between the four guys... we'll rotate who goes on challenges, and make sure we can all have our fair share.

The boys return to camp, reading tree mail aloud to the rest of the tribe, giving everyone some sense of excitement in that they may be playing for a much needed meal. They all begin to gather their things, getting ready to head over to the reward challenge. "chuayjai"

- Today we're all ready to fight it out for whatever this reward is going to be, and if it's food I think we're going to find people pushing harder than they would for an immunity challenge. That's how important eating is to us all right now... Vince and I did say that because we went on the last reward that we'd offer this one to Aaron or Phillip should we win... but sometimes you promise things and circumstances change...

Reward
The final six reach the reward challenge, sitting down on two rows of benches with Jeff stood across from them. After a short update on their camp situation, Jeff then moves on to what the group will be playing for, bringing individuals out one by one.

Vince's dad runs out from the side, standing behind a small counter/bar area waving to his son, causing everyone to go into a small meltdown, bursting with excitement that they'll be playing for time with their loved ones. Jeff informs the contestants that they will not be allowed to embrace their loved ones, and only the winner will be allowed to do so.

Karen mouths "I love you" to her boyfriend, unable to speak due to her constant crying, with the mixture of sadness and happiness proving too much.

Ben waves to Aaron, who gives a short wave back, spending much of his time trying to wipe tears away from his face. Karen places her arm around Aaron, still crying herself over not being allowed to have physical contact with her boyfriend.

Salma covers her mouth and begins to sob as her daughter walks out, sobbing more after her daughter exclaims that her mum is "doing great". Julius sits and waits, knowing his loved one will be the next to walk out.

With all the loved ones lined up, Jeff tells the group that they will be taking part in an eating competition, in which they will consume bugs in order to win time with their loved one. All six contestants tell Jeff they are ready, only to be informed that their loved ones will be competing on their behalf, with the winning loved one earning the right to spend twenty-four hours at the Chuay Jai camp with their loved one. The first course is brought out, with the loved ones expected to each eat several dead fire ants.

All six loved ones shove the bowl of fire ants into their mouths, trying to get them down in bulk rather than one by one. Vince's dad Hinata and Aaron's brother Ben finish first, quickly followed by Julius' wife Toni and Phillip's brother Brian. Karen's boyfriend Ed finishes several seconds later, leaving Salma's daughter Cece struggling. After words of encouragement, Cece managed to swallow the ants, putting her through to the second round.

The six loved ones are then provided a single water bug each, once again being told to consume it without any time limit, with those able to do so moving onto the next round. The group begin eating, immediately gagging and heaving at the taste and consistency of the water bug. Hinata and Ben once again finish first, followed closely by Brian, who remains emotionless during the ordeal. The other three loved ones struggle, with Ed eventually gagging so much that the mushed up bug falls from his mouth onto the floor. Unable to consume what has now fallen, Ed is announced as being out of the challenge, with no chance to spend time with Karen. A teary Ed apologises to his girlfriend, who assures him that she's still glad to have seen him. Toni and Cece eventually manage to get their bugs down, placing them through to the next round.

After Ed leaves, the remaining five are then given three grubs each, informed that for the first time there is a limit to how many can get through to the next round, with only the first two to finish being permitted a spot in the final round. Toni announces to the group that she has a fear of grubs, and feels unable to go through with this round.

The round begins, with everyone but Toni shoving the grubs into their mouths. Cece immediately spits hers out, struggling once again to get through the eating. Ben finishes his grubs first, granting him the first of two spots in the final round. Hinata and Brian appear to be fighting for second place, with Hinata ultimately the one who gets through, leaving Brian and Cece eliminated from the challenge. Salma, Phillip and Julius say goodbye to their loved ones, still unable to physically hug them before they depart. Jeff informs the final two of Ben and Hinata that they must now consume a tarantula, showing them a live one, causing Ben to somewhat freak out, admitting he has a irrational fear of these insects.

After beginning, both Hinata and Ben shove the boiled spider into their mouth, trying their best to finish. Hinata remarkably finishes before the time limit is up, leaving it up to Ben to finish in time, or be eliminated from the challenge. After the time limit passes, Ben is forced to spit the chewed up spider from his mouth, having been unable to swallow it in time.

Ben leaves the challenge area, with Hinata proudly walking over to Jeff to receive his honorary Chuay Jai golden buff, before being given the first opportunity to hug his son. The final six and temporary member Hinata head back to camp, somewhat excited to greet their new tribe member, but also envious that it is not their loved one coming back with them. Challenge: Thai Menu

The loved ones will compete against each other in a bug-eating contest. If a loved one does not want to cooperate, they will be disqualified from the challenge, going home without any hugs from their survivor. The last loved one to finish their food is eliminated. Last one standing wins. The win will be counted as a victory for their survivor.

Reward: he winning loved one will stay at the Chuay Jai camp for 24 hours.

Winner: Vince (won by his father Hinata)

Chuay Jai
The group arrived back at the caves with Hinata in tow. They all give him a standard greeting, knowing that much of his time will be spent alone with Vince. The father and son duo head off down the beach onto the tribes canoe, going out into the water in order to fish and spend time together. Aaron and Salma go off to collect firewood, leaving the other three around camp. "chuayjai"

- After the challenge I think a few of us felt sore... seeing our loved ones and then having them stripped away just leaves you with an open wound. We thought that the biggest desire was food and nourishment... but love is the best nourishment of all. I just had to get away from camp because the more I saw Vince and his dad, the more I remembered it's not a reward for me.

"chuayjai"

- I'm mad. We had an agreement... between ourselves... that rewards would go in circulation. Instead what we're seeing is Vince once again getting the reward, and the rest of us failing to experience it... Julius is obviously going to support Vince, because the two of them are just out for themselves. If they wont honour the agreement... how can I expect them to honour anything in this game?

Julius walks away, not wanting to spend much time around Phillip whilst he's in a bad mood, leaving both ex-Sook Jai members alone around the fire. Phillip begins complaining about Vince winning another reward to Karen, who fails to respond, clearly not wanting to get in conversation with Phillip. However, after Phillip mentions his annoyance surrounding the boys "disloyalty", Karen decides to engage, seeing the potential to create a wedge between the dominant alliance.

"chuayjai"

- Phillip is unstable, and he's not someone I'd ever willingly want to work with. But I'm desperate. I can't turn down people at this stage of the game... so if he wants to pry open the cracks in their group so that I can find my way in... then I'm going to allow him, and I'm going to shake his hand and work with him to take Julius or Vince out. I'd even sit at the end of this game with Phillip by my side... because then I'm leaving with a million dollars.

Out on the boat, Vince and his father talk through the game together, having already spent time speaking about home and the toughness of living off the land.

"chuayjai"

- Having my dad out here is the best reward I could've won. You do miss your family more than anything, and my dad has always been someone I've had a huge amount of respect for since I was young. He's very traditional in his ways, and he grew up in Japan and came over with a lot of his values already ingrained in himself... but he's put a lot of those aside to accommodate his family. When it came time to tell him about my life and things about myself... he was so accepting and didn't make an issue of anything at all. Winning this game is as much for me as it is for my family... and to be able to give the money to my dad and help him out and repay him for all he's done ... it would mean the world to me.

Day 32
After a night of talking, the tribe wake up late, sitting around waiting for Hinata to depart as his twenty-four hour stay comes to an end. Vince and his dad sit on the beach, looking out for the boat to come and take Hinata away. "chuayjai"

- Twenty-four hours with my dad felt like more than enough. I was slightly relieved to see him go, because I don't want him to be here long enough so that he's suffering with the rest of us. I feel refreshed after his stay... and I'm ready now to get back in the game, and use his encouragement to get myself to the final two.

As time passes, the boat eventually arrives to pick Hinata up, giving him one final chance to say goodbye to his son and the rest of the tribe. Once the boat has left, Vince is comforted by everyone but Phillip, who continues to remain bitter at not being given the reward. "chuayjai"

- We're all there giving Vince some support after Hinata left, and want to make sure he knows that even though his dad has gone, that we're all still here to give him support and what not. You know, basic human responses to a situation such as thing. Unfortunately, basic human responses aren't Phillip's speciality. I don't know what he expected yesterday... that we were suppose to stand up and tell Toni and Hinta "hey you two, make sure you throw this challenge so that Phillip's brother can win"... it's ridiculous.

Vince sees Phillip sitting alone in the caves, refusing to come down and see his father off.

"chuayjai"

- Phillip is throwing a fit today like a child being told they're not allowed a toy. We did make a deal that he could have the next reward should we win, but he seems to not realise that when our family members are playing this deal can't come into play. The disrespect of not saying goodbye to my dad really rubbed me the wrong way... and if we were to be going tribal council right now I'd be writing his name down.

Later on in the day, Phillip remains in the caves, speaking to Aaron and Karen about his annoyance surrounding Julius and Vince. Phillip tells the other two that he thinks Julius and Vince have taken Salma off to collect water in order to form a final three deal.

"chuayjai"

- We're at the stage of the game where a move needs to be made, and it needs to be made at the next tribal council. Karen, Aaron and myself can come together and vote out Vince or Julius... and worst case scenario is it'll end in a tie. If we can convince Salma to jump on board, then we're in a good spot. The only issue is Salma joining us gets her fourth... and right now we're all convinced she's guaranteed at least third by sticking with the dynamic duo.

"chuayjai"

- Phillip is eager to take out either Julius or Vince tomorrow night, and as much as I understand the need to eliminate threats, I don't want to do it by drawing a rock. A rock draw is something I've avoided several times in this game, and Phillip himself admitted before he flipped so as to not go through with one... but now he's asking me to risk my game for it. I don't want to go home in sixth, fifth or fourth... and what happens tonight could determine if that is the case for my game.

Day 33
The final six prepare for their next immunity challenge, heading out into what they realise will be an important moment, with several individuals wanting to both ensure they win, and that certain individuals aren't safe come tribal council. "chuayjai"

- It's no secret that I'm on the bottom of this tribe, and if I don't win today then there's a good chance I'm going home. There has been talk that Julius or Vince will be leaving... but I'm not going to take that as a guarantee... all I care about is putting the necklace around my neck, and sitting comfortably at tribal council knowing that it'll be anyone but me.

"chuayjai"

- I'm not worried about the challenge today in the slightest. Karen winning would make things complicated, but because she's not my target it isn't too much of an issue. I'd like to be voting Vince out at tribal council tonight, but if he does win immunity then there's always Julius as a backup. Both of them can't be safe... so whatever happens one of them will be who we target at tribal council.

At the individual immunity challenge, Jeff asks the group how it felt to see their loved ones, only to have them leave so suddenly after. After almost every member mentions their sadness at seeing their loved ones leave, Jeff shocks them by announcing "they never left", resulting in all six loved ones running out to embrace the remaining contestants. Once things have calmed down, Jeff informs the tribe that they will be competing alongside their loved ones in the challenge, with the pair that wins getting immunity for their tribe member at the next tribal council. "chuayjai"

- Having my daughter run out and hug me, I didn't even care that we were about to play for immunity. Just to have her there alongside me was enough.

"chuayjai"

- Ed is strong, and he's much more physically active than I am. I thought to myself compared to other pairings... like Vince and his dad... Salma and her daughter... that I had a much better chance because of how strong Ed is.

Challenge: Cube Crisis

Tied with their loved one, the survivors had to gather their own misshapen pieces from a nearby pile and fit the assorted, oversized pieces in such a way that they construct a colored cube. The first person to have successfully constructed their colored cube wins Immunity.

Winner: Vince The final six return to camp, with Vince now immune with a guaranteed spot in the final five. He seems somewhat pleased, having initially worried due to Phillip's odd behaviour towards him since the previous reward challenge. "chuayjai"

- Winning my first immunity alongside my dad just topped all the happiness I was already feeling after the last reward. Being able to experience my first individual immunity win alongside him... it's just the perfect start to what will hopefully be one of many individual immunity wins. Also, it means that I no longer need to worry that tonight someone will try and vote me out... and by someone I mean Phillip. These last few days he's shown himself to be unstable when it comes to losing, and his behaviour around not being handed wins has rubbed me the wrong way. The plan right now is to keep things steady and vote Karen out... but if Phillip needs to go then I'm the first one agreeing to that change of plan.

With individuals separating to get their things ready for tribal council, Phillip begins to put in place his plan to oust Julius from the game, having already laid the foundations of the plan with Aaron and Karen the previous day.

"chuayjai"

- It's finally time to sever the pair who have been running this game since the merge, and I'm thrilled to be the person who has put it in motion. The vote will likely come down to a 3-3 tie between Karen and Julius... and the re-vote will then have to take place, which me and Aaron will make clear is us still voting Julius... this gives Salma one of two choices... She can either jump to our side, or draw a rock. Will Salma draw a rock for Julius and Vince? I don't think she will...

"chuayjai"

- When Phillip says "trust me" ... I want to faint. Trusting him has done me no favours in thirty three days, and I don't think tonight will be any different. But I'm out of moves, so I just have to hope Aaron can get Salma on board, and we'll be getting Julius out tonight.

Aaron agrees to what Phillip has said, before heading off to find Salma, wanting to go over the options with her before making his mind up, feeling uneasy about Phillip's logic in the upcoming vote. "chuayjai"

- Phillip's plan doesn't feel totally... sane... to me. He's putting a lot of faith into Salma switching sides, which I think is plausible, but it's such a risk... and it's a risk that could see he or I going home as the odds aren't in our favour. Salma and I do hold a lot of the power tonight in which way this vote will go, because we could both agree to go with Phillip and Karen, voting Julius out of this game... or we could agree to go with our original tribe, and take Karen out of the game... and stick with what we originally thought we'd be doing. I don't want to risk Salma and I voting on different sides so that rocks have to come out.

The Chuay Gahn four end up standing together down the beach, cementing what Julius and Vince believe should be an easy vote against Karen. However, Vince voices his concerns surrounding Phillip, asking if the others would be willing to vote him out first. Salma admits she'd rather Phillip go for personal reasons, but wonders if Karen staying would be a mistake. After some time, Aaron manages to get Salma on her own, filling her in on the side plans to take Julius out of the game.

"chuayjai"

- If we do vote Julius out tonight, there's a risk that Vince could get Karen and Phillip together to vote myself or Salma out next. But I do think that my relationship with Phillip is something that has been built for this exact moment... there's a lot of what ifs going around my head right now, and I don't know if my decision that I'm leaning towards is the right one.

The group arrive at tribal council, looking over at the entirely ex-Sook Jai jury, with Karen giving Ricardo and Kanda a half smile, realising that she is likely to join them soon. Rather than to wait to be questioned on tribal dynamics, Phillip begins by diverting off Jeff's question and bringing up Julius and Vince's control of the game, feeling that they are the most impressive players. He continues to highlight their threatening status even when they rebuke his claims, feeling that the control has been shared equally between the four Chuay Gahn members (and renegade Phillip). Salma and Aaron both agree that it is disconcerting to hear their own place in the game played down due to the perception others have of Vince and Julius, with Salma reminding the group that no one "controls" her vote, and that all her decisions are made to better her own game. When questions come to an end, Phillip commences the start of the votes, and is shown to be writing down Julius' name on the paper. Karen is seen doing the same, with the other votes remaining a mystery. Aaron seems the most hesitant with his vote, stopping momentarily to think through his decision, before placing his vote in the urn and returning to his seat. As Jeff collects the urn, Phillip looks over to the jury, winking at his former tribe mates in hope they'll appreciate what he believes is about to happen. Julius and Vince look at one another, then towards Aaron, who seems to be diverting his eye contact away from his former tribe mates.

Julius frowns, looking over at Phillip, expecting he is the second vote, shocked that he had the confidence to try and pull off such a move.

Karen gives a slight laugh and nods, standing to grab her torch. Phillip shakes his head in disappointment, offering a hug to his ex-tribe mate as she is leaving, which she refuses, telling him "don't waste your energy". Karen congratulates Julius and Vince, telling them they're both "impeccable players", before leaving the tribal council area. The final five then return to camp, leaving Phillip as the final ex-Sook Jai member, and now an obvious target after his failed move to get Julius out of the game.

Voting Confessionals
"chuayjai"

- Sorry K... but you're an underdog and helping you seems a bit pointless for my game.

"chuayjai"

- (says nothing, places vote in urn)

"chuayjai"

- I hope it's you and not me... if not then I guess you'll be winning.

"chuayjai"

- Julius, you're going to win this game if you don't go tonight. Thankfully, we wised up before you had a chance to make a run for it. Good game.

"chuayjai"

- Lovely girl who I think got a raw deal, but sadly I can't be the one to help you tonight. I can't jeopardise myself just yet.

"chuayjai"

- You're a cool lady, but this is just about clearing out your side. With you gone our goal is complete.

Final Words
"chuayjai"

- I lasted thirty-three long days in this game... and initially I thought I'd be one of the first ones gone. I was on one of the worst tribes I think I could've possibly ended up with, but at least I outlasted all of them... apart from Phillip... who doesn't really count because he decided to become a member of Chuay Gahn the second we merged. I want to apologise to my family for not winning, but hopefully you can all be proud of how far I got.