Guts And Glory Episode 10: Building On Shifting Sands

Micah called off the plan to give away immunity at tribal once it was clear Rene was going home, and it turned out to be the right move. Nicola is pissed that the eye candy is gone, but is not gonna let this hurt her alliance with Katie. Katie shrugs off Rene calling her a balloon, and talks about how she wants to work with Matt.

When Alex tells Evan he's thinking of flip-flopping again, Evan tries to talk him out of it. He's focused on trying to get Nicola out next, and then Alex the vote after that. Winning this vote is crucial for Evan, and he calculates that doing so would guarantee him final 4. We'll see.

The immunity challenge is to answer survey questions and then guess the majority answer. They're told there's a new idol in play and they're playing for a clue to that too. Evan is voted the biggest challenge threat. Matt and Katie are voted the most likeable (both picking themselves). Alex is voted least likeable. Shannon picks up most attractive, and Alex is deemed the person who thinks they're running the show. Mollie is told she needs a mute button - ouch! It's Alex and Evan in the lead at this point, with 5 each.

Lots of people pick Evan as the person most likely to make FTC, but they're all wrong and it's Micah, Katie and Shannon. Mollie is voted the person who wouldn't survive on an island. Allan and Kate are given most true to their word, whilst Alex is given biggest backstabber. Only Shannon correctly guesses Micah as the dark horse, allowing her to stay in it...barely. Evan then gets least deserving player wrong, guessing Allan instead of Mollie, and is now tied again with Alex. They both get Evan being the most deserving right, which eliminates Shannon and sends them to a tiebreaker.

Micah accidentally sees an idol clue whilst sneezing (ok, that's hilarious) and snatches it up mid-challenge. Evan and Alex guess the number of votes cast for the tiebreaker, but when the correct answer ends up in the middle of both their guesses, they end up needing another tiebreaker. Guessing the number of days this time, it's Alex that gets his second win. Maybe he should've been voted biggest challenge whore. Alex gets to give the clue to Katie, and Shannon is annoyed as that could've been hers.

An advantage that's nothing to sneeze at

Micah quickly recruits Shannon's help in looking for the idol as they both race to the location the clue tells them. They spend the next few minutes pulling up heavy stones until Micah gets it. All thanks to Micah's allergies! Evan arrives on scene just in time to congratulate them, and they're all hoping they can get Alex out now.

Nicola is feeling the stress of the game a lot more now, particularly after learning she is the other side's target. Katie and Alex can't agree on what to tell Evan the plan is but Alex opts for the truth since he can't afford to burn more trust. Knowing that the target is either Allan or Shannon, the trio debates playing both idols...but that would give them a tie next week. Shannon tries to work on Matt in the hopes of getting her name off the table, but it's still coming up. Katie wants to go for Shannon, but the problem is she knows she's in danger. Alex even throws out Evan's name for if they need another plan.

At tribal council, Shannon says the numbers have shifted since the last vote and not everyone who voted with them before is still with them. Nicola says she's done what she can to secure her spot, whilst Evan says the lines are pretty firm now. Mollie denies being a floater. Nicola says she hates idols, but Micah thinks they make the game more fun. Of course, there are certain biases influencing those opinions.

Shannon has a Parvati moment

After the votes are cast, Shannon pulls an idol from her pocket and plays it on herself. She then sits back down, but she's not done - she has another idol for Allan too! The other side's 5 Allan votes are wiped out, and Nicola ends up leaving the exact same way as her buddy Brandon. I'm pretty sad about this one...Nicola was not only a smart player, but hilarious too, so to see it end this way for her is a real shame.

So Shannon makes a bold move and it really pays off. But with no more idols to help them out, what is gonna be their plan for breaking the deadlock next time? We could have a rock draw on our hands, people!