Donny Ketchum

They just keep getting really, really, really shrieky. But I appreciate them staying calm enough when they were behind and playing catchup with the other teams at the Detour. And Te Jay cleaned up nicely at the Roadblock. Fifth place was well-earned.

Good leg, girls! Knocked Parking Space out of the park, keeping a close eye on the details, and Maya kept her cool as well as she could to clear that Roadblock! But I wonder what the hell happened to them? They left that Roadblock in second! How'd they end up in fourth? The editors really should've shown what happened there.

Good leg by them. They didn't panic upon having to switch Detours, they paid careful attention to detail at the Parking Space Detour, Whitney killed the Roadblock, and they made it in third place.

They finally ran a good leg without needing someone's help (at least not another team's). But Brooke still whined quite a bit at the Detour. Robbie did a good enough job at the Roadblock, though. I'm a bit confused at them finishing second, though, when they really got out of that Roadblock in third.

Except for forgetting their receipt near their bike and Kym's memory problems, I think these girls just killed this leg! A fantastically-run leg with all the right beats hit! From just going straight to the airport for an earlier flight to acing the fuel challenge to breezing through the Detour to carefully handling the Roadblock, they were firing on all cylinders! I believe they're now only the fifteenth women's team, in twenty-five seasons, to win a leg, adding to Pat & Brenda, Mary & Peach, Tian & Jaree, Debbie & Bianca, the Godlewski Family, Dustin & Kandice, Charla & Mirna, Christie & Jodi, Kisha & Jen, Jaime & Cara, Brook & Claire, Nat & Kat, Natalie & Nadiya, and Pam & Winnie! (This only counts our version, as I know other women's teams have won legs in foreign versions, too.) They really might be contenders in this race! Great job, girls!

Fantastic leg! Good to see a Detour again, and I like that it was attention to detail vs. navigation, patience, physicality, and balance. And a challenging Roadblock on top of it all! If I didn't know any better, I'd say the race planners actually took a step back and really thought about this course as they put it together! And the efficient fuel challenge with a punishment for those who didn't use it correctly was a clever little touch! But on to the teams. Kym & Alli: Except for forgetting their receipt near their bike and Kym's memory problems, I think these girls just killed this leg! A fantastically-run leg with all the right beats hit! From just going straight to the airport for an earlier flight to acing the fuel challenge to breezing through the Detour to carefully handling the Roadblock, they were firing on all cylinders! They really might be contenders in this race! Great job, girls! Brooke & Robbie: The wrestlers finally ran a good leg without needing someone's help (at least not another team's). But Brooke still whined quite a bit at the Detour. Robbie did a good enough job at the Roadblock, though. I'm a bit confused at them finishing second, though, when they really got out of that Roadblock in third. Keith & Whitney: Good leg by them. They didn't panic upon having to switch Detours, they paid careful attention to detail at the Parking Space Detour, Whitney killed the Roadblock, and they made it in third place. Amy & Maya: Good leg, girls! Knocked Parking Space out of the park, and Maya kept her cool as well as she could to clear that Roadblock! But I wonder what the hell happened to them? They left that Roadblock in second! How'd they end up in fourth? The editors really should've shown what happened there. Tim & Te Jay: They just keep getting really, really, really shrieky. But I appreciate them staying calm enough when they were behind and playing catchup with the other teams at the Detour. And Te Jay cleaned up nicely at the Roadblock. Fifth place was well-earned. Shelley & Nici: This team also did a good job to recover, especially after arriving in last after getting a delayed flight. I was surprised they saved their fuel despite the tension of being in last. I admire how they stayed calm enough to pay attention to detail at the Detour, and good on Nici for clearing that Roadblock in one try. But then . . . Nici proceeds to lose me, likely for good, right on the mat. Seriously. Shelley's not just your teammate, lady. She's your mother. Respect your mother. She was right in what she said. I feel for Shelley and agree that the sooner they lose, the better it might be for Nici. Though at the same time, Shelley shouldn't have nearly screwed them over by not telling Nici about seeing Phil on the mat just because Nici smarted off to her or whatever. Both are right and both are wrong, and if they don't shape up, they'll be gone sooner rather than later. Adam & Bethany: Wow. Quite the drop for them. But they suffered from failing the fuel challenge, switching the Detours, Adam's memory problems at the Roadblock (Bethany, that was one you could've done easily), and navigation. It was relieving to see them finish seventh after all of that, but hopefully, they can recover on the next leg. Still, for one leg, it was good to see them and the team below not be the top two. Misti & Jim: After a leg that was really harsh to the teams, we end with some leniency that, frankly, leaves me cold. After losing the fuel challenge, biffing both Detours, and Misti needing nine tries (more than any other person!) to complete that Roadblock, they should've had to give that Save up. That Phil gave it back just because it was an NEL was B.S. They should've given it up and lost it after finding out they'd wasted it. That said, let's hope this gives Jim some humble pie. If they win another leg, though, we'll see if it does. Great episode, though. Probably the best of the season!

Yes. That was I, and that was Garrett from the Brains. He found the idol on the very first day, but when the Brains went to the second Tribal Council of that season, he was blindsided and voted out with it in his pocket, and it wasn't rehidden. That boot was also similar to Drew's, save for having an idol. Garrett, like Drew, thought that he was running the game on his tribe. But like Drew, the women realized where they'd stand if Garrett wasn't taken care of, so Kass, Tasha, and J'Tia rose up against Garrett and Spencer to overthrow the former. Again, one of the best boots in the history of Survivor.

Eric and Eve were clearly a chemistry test. Wouldn't mind if they went forward with them.

I'm not. Unlike the men, the women actually do judge on performance, not on personal vendettas or witch hunts. They knew Sterling didn't tank their service and that Ashley did. Roe, as well, though to a far lesser extent. So they went based on the service. It's why I like the women this season far more than I like the men.

Wait. I knew about what Jean did on the blinds. But what did Griffin do?

I think that was real, unfortunately. I will eat crow if he does admit he's covering, but that looks like anger over being bested to me.

Jon shows his true colors next week, apparently. He's going off on the women hard for voting Drew out and basically being outplayed. He even throws in a curse word at them. So much for the "good attitude" PaperTree mentioned. It was definitely a good episode. I, too, liked that Josh had no confessionals at all, and only Baylor, Jaclyn, Alec, and Dale did for Coyopa. Seems like everyone but Missy and Reed had one on Hunahpu tonight. The Reward and Immunity Challenges both looked fun! Too bad Drew had to throw the latter one. I'd have loved getting a piece of that one! In the Baylor/Alec dust-up, I easily side with Baylor. Alec's as juvenile, misogynistic, and entitled as his jerk brother. What Baylor said and did sounded and looked innocent enough to me. Good for the women of Hunahpu! That's what women need to do in this game! Take notes, Baylor! Drew never saw it coming, and he still doesn't see the real reason he was blindsided! Fantastic episode! Really, as long as a man went, I'd have been fine with it! :)

You know what the big irony of this is? For all of their bluster of the three of them being the strongest and best chefs on their team, they're actually proving to be the weakest and the worst of the men, what with all of their fuck-ups. For all they've thought about Bryant, Frank, Fernando, and even Sterling, they're all gradually proving to be a lot better and stronger than they showed at the outset. And that tickles me greatly. :)

Right. Just last season, Garrett went out with one in his pocket, as well (another one of the most satisfying boots of a douchebag with an overinflated ego ever!), and they never replaced it in the Brains' camp.

So just as I thought. Sterling moves to the women's team and annoys them now. But he makes no major screwups during service, showing that he really is one of the more competent chefs this season. I don't get Ramsay tonight. The women and Sterling messed up on one order at one table and get kicked out of the kitchen when everything else was going so smoothly. Meanwhile, the men fuck up left and right and are still allowed to finish their service? I just . . . don't get it. Why does Ramsay keep ousting the women? I thought he typically likes to keep the gender balance close to even. Ashley, while clearly the new weak link on the women's team, messed up on one dish. Not like she was Steve or Aaron, both of whom messed up repeatedly. Then again, she wasn't interesting TV, so it makes sense to toss her now. But Ramsay? LET'S TOSS SOME GUYS OUT NEXT, OKAY?! The women are down to a good, core group. So it's time for the men to lose some weak links, already!

Wasn't Alessandra montaged through the blinds? If so, I'm surprised she beat Joe, whose audition got a full segment.

Wait. Ginnifer and Josh are together in real life? And they have a kid together? Am I reading that right?

I'm not surprised by this. Blake seems to have the biggest affinity for kids on this show. More than any judge. No way in hell Jake should've even tasted the live shows last season. But because of Blake's unexplained designs on teens, he did.

While I do think a male could take it all, we haven't really gotten to see a lot of the females yet. These two Battle Round episodes have been greatly man-heavy. Maybe next week will start showing more of the women.

This. Sterling does annoy me, but not even half as much as Santos does.

These four are very clearly inferior to the top five. But I unfortunately think that Michael's fanbase (he has the Nascar voting bloc plus Bill's voting bloc from two seasons ago) will carry him past at least one of the top five (Alfonso, Sadie, Lea, Bethany, and Janel). Which sucks, because he's so terrible. Like I said, Jonathan's probably gone next week. If not he, then Antonio or Tommy.

I'm a bit shocked by the sentiments that Jonathan's being screwed by Allison and has thus gotten his low scores because of her. I think getting a low score with Peta, as well, just shows to me that he's really not very good. I imagine he's out in the next few weeks.

And even then, didn't they realize it would've been two hours? A regular task is just a two-hour penalty.

It wasn't just a personality thing regarding Jean. She was arrogant. When Gwen and Blake turned around for her, she demanded they do a dance-off to fight for her. Both declined, bringing about an awkward silence to the whole studio. It's why Gwen didn't look too happy when Jean chose her. I still think she was just looking for the first chance to dump Jean that she possibly could, despite her clearly being better than Sugar. While it's a surprise to me that she was stolen after that audition, it's no surprise to me that the two coaches who fought to steal her were the two to whom she didn't make the dance-off demand.

Lake's justification to Michelle was weak, too: "Well, he's fatter than me!"