Just Don't Eat the Apple

Just Don't Eat the Apple is the ninth episode of .
==Story==
===Day 25===
James Clement woke early to tend to the fishing nets and prepare breakfast, but internally, he was still shaken by his close call at the previous Tribal Council, where he was only one vote shy of going home. He woke the rest of the sleeping Hae Da Fung tribe with a loud song: "Good morning, good morning! I've come to say good morning! Good morning, good morning to you!" The tribe stirred reluctantly, but Courtney Yates woke joyfully, exclaiming that it was "Christmas" since Jean-Robert Bellande had been voted out. However, not all was rosy in camp as Denise Martin, a member of the Fei Long Alliance, had not been informed about the change of plan to vote out Jean-Robert instead of Peih-Gee Law. Courtney and Amanda Kimmel noticed Denise shooting them daggers with her eyes, and feared that she might switch her allegiance.
Denise was indeed frustrated with her alliance's betrayal of her trust, and approached James later in the morning. He apologised and lied that the plan had changed at the last minute, but she was supposed to have been informed about it (when in actuality, James had advocated keeping Denise in the dark). Denise voiced her frustration, saying she felt "like an idiot" being the only person to vote for Peih-Gee, and asked if this meant that she was the next one on the block. However, James tried to assure her that she was safe.
===Day 26===
The next day, Peih-Gee complained to James as they cooked up some fish, lamenting that she was on the outs with the tribe. Todd Herzog watched on in amusement as Peih-Gee began to backseat-drive the food preparation, irritating James. Todd also observed Courtney and Frosti Zernow cuddled up by the fire, flirting as they awaited a meal, making him question Courtney's long-term allegiance. However, Amanda and Peih-Gee soon returned from Tree Mail, bearing a small drum. Although the tribe was excited about the challenge and enjoyed the new toy at camp, Peih-Gee was hungry for a win to break her losing streak.
At the Reward Challenge, Jeff Probst outlined the challenge: Drum Roll. Divided into two team of four, each contestant would take control of a differently-sized drum and work as a team to bounce a small ball up along a course comprising a series of wooden fences and two gates. If the team dropped the ball, they would either return to the starting mat or to the gate they'd most recently crossed. At the end of the course, the team would have to bounce the ball into an upright pot. The first team to get three balls into the pot would win an overnight cruise on the Li River, including a nice dinner.
The team were chosen by Schoolyard Pick, with Erik Huffman and Peih-Gee randomly selected as the team leaders. For the Red Team, Peih-Gee won the first pick and without hesitating, chose James. For the Yellow Team, Erik selected Frosti. James then chose Todd and Frosti picked Amanda. Faced with the last choice, Todd chose Denise to round out the Red Team, leaving Courtney as the last member of the Yellow Team.
Todd and Erik maneuvered the ball up to the first obstacle, but the Yellow Team gained the lead as Erik successfully passed the ball to Frosti, but James fumbled the pass for Red, sending them back to the start. Yellow managed to make it up through the first two gates and get their first ball into the bin before Red had even crossed the first fence. Peih-Gee took over receiving the ball for Red, but still dropped it, sending Red back to the start as Yellow started steady work on their second ball.
Both teams made it across the first fence and through the first gate side-by-side, but once again, Red lost control of their ball, allowing Yellow to extend their lead. Yellow had a few close calls, but managed to keep their ball alive and made it through to land their second ball in the pot. Red made up some ground, with Todd saving a wild bounce and allowing the team to make it up to their end pot, but they lost the ball at the last minute, sending them back to their gate. Panicking, Red fumbled once more at the end pot as Yellow slowly advanced through the course with their final ball, strolling up to their pot to score their winning point. With that, Amanda, Courtney, Erik and Frosti won the challenge 3-0, and left the challenge site directly to enjoy their reward, whilst the rest of Hae Da Fung returned solemnly to camp.
Back at camp, Peih-Gee was furious that they had lost the Reward Challenge and accused James of letting the team down, sarcastically saying, "I did not see your ass strolling back to the mat every time we dropped the ball." James casually told her to go away, but Peih-Gee continued to argue, stating her disbelief that he'd accused her of giving up in challenges. James quietly returned the accusations, calling her a "loser" because she was "quick to blame." The argument continued, with James warning Peih-Gee that no matter what she said, he'd "blast [her] back and make [her] look quite silly," while she continued to berate him for his poor effort in the challenge. Eventually, Peih-Gee walked away from the argument and went for a swim in the lake.
Todd and Denise watched the whole confrontation from afar, and soon after, Denise joined James in the shelter, and he recounted his side of the story. The two agreed that they did not like Peih-Gee's attitude, noting that everybody had dropped the ball at the challenge. The two confirmed that the Fei Long Alliance was on track to succeed, but James raised a concern that Courtney's flirtatious relationship with Frosti could result in her flipping to Zhan Hu, which would devastate their game. Meanwhile, Todd kept to himself, brooding over his frustration at being stuck at camp with paranoid players and jealous of his friends' reward trip.
Meanwhile, cruising down the Li River, Amanda, Courtney, Erik, and Frosti toasted to their success in the challenge. They speculated about what might be happening back at camp, and although Erik tried to advocate Peih-Gee's good nature when she was relaxed, Amanda and Courtney argued that she was "too intense right now" and her frustration at losing was due simply to "a series of bad decisions." 
As the boat continued down the river, the four relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. Courtney and Frosti continued to flirt, and they both discussed the tentative nature of their relationship in confessionals. As the cruise drifted past a pair of goats on the shore, Erik showed off his goat impression, sending his tribemates into fits of laughter. Erik believed that he was ingratiating himself into Amanda and Courtney's good graces, which could save him in the game, and Amanda confirmed her softened opinion of him in her confessional. However, Frosti was wary of Erik's social game, noting that he was worried he might be replaced in the Fei Long Alliance. As the sun set, the foursome settled in to a delicious dinner of chicken and mashed potatoes.
===Day 27===
A speedboat returned the reward-winners back to camp in the morning and were greeted by the remainder of the tribe, who demanded to hear the "juicy details." Amanda lied, saying they had only gotten to eat Chinese food (in the same vein as previous challenges) in a bid to avoid jealousy, and the rest of the group downplayed the experience as much as possible.
The four then went down to the lake to swim and Todd joined them, filling them in on the events of camp – particularly the James/Peih-Gee fight. He re-enacted the verbal sparring for them (including an impression of James), entertaining the crowd. Frosti noted that it seemed like Peih-Gee's fight-picking was a "Jean-Robert move," to which Todd agreed. In a confessional, Erik noted that this was particularly good news as it made Peih-Gee more of a target at the next Tribal Council, assuming she didn't win the Immunity Challenge.
Hae Da Fung later arrived at their Immunity Challenge: Chinese Zodiac Symbols. The castaways would be given a list of zodiac animals, and would then use a knife to stab cards showing the animals, ensuring they selected the animals in the right order. As an instant death challenge, if a castaway ever gave the incorrect answer, they would be eliminated from the challenge. The last person standing would win immunity. Jeff then revealed an additional twist: players could opt to sit out the challenge and gorge on a feast of cheeseburgers, French fries, cold drinks and "all the fixin's" for the duration of the challenge. The tribe was excited by the food choices, but were torn about the decision. Jeff handed each contestant a black coin and a white coin, and were instructed to reveal one to indicate their decision (black to eat, white to compete). Courtney, Denise, James, and Todd opted to eat, leaving Amanda, Erik, Frosti, and Peih-Gee to fight for immunity.
In the first round, the order was "Tiger, Rabbit, Rat, Monkey, Dog." Erik misplaced the rat and was eliminated from the challenge, but claimed he wasn't bitter about missing out on the food, "I'll just sit here and smell it!" The second round's order was "Rat, Ram, Dragon, Rooster, Ram." Frosti struggled to remember the order and was cheered from the sideline by Courtney. However, he scraped through, but Amanda was eliminated after substituting a Rat for the Rooster.
In the final round, Frosti and Peih-Gee squared off with the order: "Snake, Rat, Rabbit, Tiger, Rooster, Ram." As before, Peih-Gee acted quickly but Frosti was more uncertain about his answer. However, Peih-Gee's confidence fell as Jeff began to read through her answer, but her doubts were misplaced as she correctly recalled the order. Frosti's order, meanwhile, was incorrect (having misplaced the Rabbit). With that, Peih-Gee won immunity.
Back at camp, the four who sat out the challenge were quizzed about their meal, but Frosti sat alone in the shelter, frustrated by those who sat out, but confident that he was still safe at the vote. Erik approached him to congratulate him on his efforts, and the two Zhan Hu men commiserated over their precarious situation in the game, saying, "If I'm voted out tonight, good luck to you!"
Frosti and Todd met up later in the forest, and Frosti tried to persuade him to take out Erik, by pointing out his "smooth" ways with the girls as being threatening. Todd agreed that he played the "good ol' country boy from Tennessee" who would easily win the million dollars. However, Todd was also concerned about Frosti given his challenge ability and he later discussed the vote with Denise and James, who agreed that either Frosti or Erik had to go. Todd said he was confident that Courtney would vote with them even if they targeted Frosti, but Denise didn't think they could trust her, given the growing bond between Courtney and Frosti. When James agreed, Todd bluntly returned that if Courtney wouldn't work with them, "then maybe she's the next to go."
Later in the day, Courtney and Todd went to the well, and Todd let her in on the plan to get rid of either Erik or Frosti. He told her that Denise and James were scared that she wouldn't vote against her "Survivor boyfriend" Frosti and asked her, point-blank, if she would. However, she appeared reticent, though in a confessional later admitted that if she went against the group, it could have a significant effect on her own game. As night fell, Todd continued to entertain the notion of voting out an unreliable Courtney.
At Tribal Council, the jury, consisting of Jaime Dugan and Jean-Robert, entered. Jeff began the proceedings by targeting James and his surprising decision to sit out the Immunity Challenge for food. When asked what his initial response was upon seeing the opportunity for food, James answered, "Attack!" and noted that he had eaten seven of the twelve cheeseburgers, arguing that although he would have competed in the challenge with his whole heart, he couldn't turn down the chance to eat meat. Todd agreed that despite his best intentions not to give in to such temptations, and despite the effects that the decision could have, he couldn't ignore "the fat kid inside of Todd." On the other hand, Frosti said that he had chosen to compete because whilst some people had felt safe enough to risk their game (even when blindsides were not an uncommon occurrence), he wanted to make sure that he gave everything he had, so that if he did get voted out, he wouldn't regret his decisions. Erik added that there was a "firm distinction" between those who had competed and those who had eaten, pointing out that he knew he had to fight for immunity due his position "very far near the bottom" of the tribe. He added that he wouldn't be surprised if it was his time that night.
Jeff then turned the conversation to the two competing relationships at this point in the game: strategic relationships and those that might extend beyond the thirty-nine days. Amanda said that it was "a hard thing to juggle" as the two forms of friendship didn't always lead down the same path. Asked about the link between friendship and loyalty, Denise said that while she hoped that the two would come hand-in-hand, she knew that "down-to-the-bottom trust" did not exist in a game like Survivor.
Frosti continued by stating that it was his relationship-building that had kept him in the game until this point (despite the targeted kidnapping at the Tribe Switch), but said that although everybody knew it was a game, people could still get hurt. Asked about the personal nature of the game, Erik said that he had also worked very hard to form relational bonds with a select few, and added that working the relationships could also be detrimental if it became threatening. He concluded that he had "very few options at this point."
Peih-Gee elected to keep the Immunity Necklace, and the voting then commenced with Todd and Denise. Frosti cast a reluctant vote for Erik. James and Peih-Gee voted next, followed by Erik who cast a similar defensive vote for Frosti. Courtney followed, and Amanda cast her vote for an "amazing person" (although her vote was not revealed).
Jeff tallied the votes. Erik received a single vote, but the decision was unanimous, and Frosti became the ninth person voted out of and the third member of the jury. He hugged Courtney and Amanda goodbye, and as Jeff snuffed his torch with the usual "the tribe has spoken," Frosti interjected, "With cheeseburger still on their breath!" Jeff noted that the next twelve days would test the remaining contestants' adaptability and shocked them when he revealed that the test would begin immediately: they would not be returning to camp for there was more business to attend to at Tribal Council.
==Challenges==
<tabber>
Reward=
Challenge: Drum Roll Each member of a four-person team holds a different-sized drum, and they attempt to bounce a ball between them down a course and to the team's finishing barrel, heading over several waist-high hurdles, and returning to the last of two gates they passed through (or to the start) if they drop it. First to get three balls into their barrel wins. Reward: Overnight cruise on the Li River, including dinner. Winners: (, , , and )
|-|Immunity=Challenge: Chinese Zodiac Symbols The contestants must listen to a list of animals in the Chinese zodiac called out by Probst, then use a knife to stab into the corresponding symbols on a solving board in the right order. Get it wrong and they're out. Last one left wins. The contestants were also given the option to sit out of the challenge and eat cheeseburgers if they wanted to. Winner: </tabber>
==Tribal Council==
colspan="2" 	
Voted Against	Voter
 	
 	
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===Voting Confessionals===
Erik's confessional and an edited version of Frosti's confessional were shown in the episode. Amanda's vote was not shown during an edited version of her confessional.
===Final Words===
===Still in the Running===
							
							
==Trivia==
* This episode contains the only post-merge Tribal Council in which Peih-Gee voted with the majority.
* This is the last time Todd Herzog does not receive a vote at Tribal Council.
* This is the third episode to end on a cliffhanger, following and .
** This is the first cliffhanger to be directly followed by a recap episode]].
* Amanda is the only member of the original Fei Long to participate in the Immunity Challenge.
* After Frosti's elimination, Erik is the last male from Zhan Hu left in the game.
* This episode was nominated for Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming at the 60th .http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2008/outstanding-cinematography-for-reality-programming
* The episode title was an excerpt from a James Clement confessional in which he discussed the temptation for members of Fei Long Alliance to flip to the Zhan Hu Alliance:
==References==
Category:Episodes
Category:China Episodes
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor (U.S.) Episodes
Category:Survivor: China