Episode 7- "Tubby Lunchbox"

Bikal returns from Tribal Council feeling bad that they had to vote off Matt. Michael, who had been working with Matt from day one, pretends to be okay and understanding about it, but only to earn the faves trust a little more. Meanwhile, Phillip discusses the idea of voting off Corinne with Cochran because she has become too close with Michael. After Bikal receives their tree mail the next morning, most of them are worried that it mentions strength being involved. Phillip however inflates his ego even more by saying he's strong enough to pull out a win. To further show off, he even challenges Cochran to an arm wrestling match.

At the reward challenge, the tribes competed for a trip to a coffee bar with loads of snacks. Each tribe starts on opposite sides of an oval track in the shallow water. Each member is required to carry a twenty pound sandbag, while trying to catch the other tribe. Phillip decides he doesn't want to waste energy and refuses to run. Gota pulls out an easy win.

Gota goes to the coffee bar in very high spirits. They become even more unified in this experience. For the fans in the tribe, this is the first reward they've ever won. Malcolm keeps a level head by remembering that no matter how much they win, it's still a game, and he still needs to plan for the future.

Bikal returns to camp, where Phillip is immediately discussed as the reason for the loss. Meanwhile, Cochran speaks the obvious by saying that Julia is a non-entity in the game. Julia is then showing her biggest move of the game by deciding to blindly follow Phillip.

When Gota gets back from the coffee bar, Malcolm approaches Reynold about an alpha male alliance with Eddie and Erik. They both know that they are going to be huge targets at the merge because of how physically threatening they are. Reynold decides to trust him and tells him about his idol as a showing of good faith. In my opinion, this gives Malcolm all the power being that he is the only castaway that knows the location of both immunity idols.

Back at Bikal, Julia asks Dawn for advice on whether it's a good idea to work with Phillip, which Phillip forbid her to talk about. Dawn immediately goes back to Phillip with the information, causing Phillip to decide she's target number one.

At the immunity challenge, the tribes retrieve a statue from underwater, and once it's positioned at the base of the tower, they use grappling hooks to grab keys that unlock the platform it rests on so that they can pull it to the top of the tower. The boat race out to the statue is very close between the two tribes. It's when Reynold and Phillip face off with the grappling hooks that made the difference in the challenge. Gota pulls way ahead for another win.

Bikal automatically blames Phillip for the loss. He pulls Cochran off to the side and gives him the excuse that he threw the challenge so that they could eliminate another fan. Cochran isn't sure whether to fully buy this reasoning or not. The faves discuss splitting the vote between Michael and Julia to eliminate any idol they may have. Corinne is very reluctant about it because she has been working with Michael. This stirs up drama between her and Phillip that could blow up to Brandon-sized proportions later on.

At Tribal Council, Michael immediately talks about the low morale at camp, between the fans that have never won a reward challenge, and the faves that went from being on top to being on the bottom of the totem pole. Talk turns to the new Corinne versus Phillip drama that has surfaced shortly before talking about the two fans being the outside targets in the tribe. Finally, the votes are cast, and things go to Phillip's plan when the vote is split down the middle between the Michael and Julia. However in the re-vote, Julia ends up being voted out 4 votes to 0. This is quite an inconsequential end to the episode, and I doubt it will make any difference in the coming episodes.

At this point, Michael is screwed without immunity or a merge. In the event of a merge, his best hope is to create an alliance with the alpha males, rather than going back to Sherri. This would be most beneficial for the alpha males as well. Corinne will trust Malcolm and Michael, so that's automatically an advantage because that's half of the tribe working together. Meanwhile, Phillip, Cochran, and Dawn only have a three person alliance. And it's the same situation with Sherri, Brenda, and Andrea.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my views? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below. I would like to start discussing your ideas each week. Also, don't forget to take part in the weekly poll on the right hand side of the page. Until next week, the tribe has outspoken!