Tjo! Keeping track of the rabid strategising on Thursday's Survivor was much more difficult than Anesu's memory challenge at Immunity Island.
The production obviously felt they needed an elimination on each tribe because of Vuna's multi-episode dominance and it was true, they did. Another loss by Zamba would have been a yawn-fest and it's too early for a merge.
But when the cameras shifted back to Vuna once again, I realised that the reality TV editing of the past two episodes was extremely poor.
We weren't given a proper perspective on what's been happening at Vuna and it was a problem in this episode.
What it looks like to me
I became hyper aware of the editing and what we haven't seen of Vuna's social dynamics. Aware that I don't want to jump to conclusions about what's going on because of what's been left out.
That said, all I can do is draw a conclusion based on what we saw and this is what it looks like to me: Marisha and Nicole are mean girls who targeted the girl they perceive as the outsider.
It was painful and very disturbing to watch them target Thoriso so aggressively with no explanation. They went on and on about how she had to go and yet they never once mentioned why.
Yes, they discussed the lack of trust between them back in Episode 2 when they had that indaba with carrots, but even then it wasn't clear why Thoriso was at the bottom of the tribe.
Renier said it all with his diary:
I would still like the six of us to stick together, honestly.
We've heard Thoriso's name come up so, so many times and luckily she does have an idol, which she shared with me confidentially, so the vote needs to go somewhere outside the six.
I'm just not sure how to convince the others.
Thoriso was one of the Old Zamba Six with them so why vote her out before Tyson or Kiran who are both extreme threats from the other tribe? It makes no sense.
They're both athletic and good socially - you don't want to get to the end with them if they're not your alliance.
Yet this kind of strategic thinking didn't enter Marisha and Nicole's arguments - or rather, distinct lack thereof. The only explanation is that they had a personal agenda against her.
Also, they were so nasty at Tribal Council, Marisha especially with how she spoke to Thoriso about the letter she didn't want to show them. It smacked of aggression and disrespect, when it could have been said very differently.
Yes, Thoriso messed up when she betrayed Tyson but by that point she was scrambling and understandably so.
And now Renier, Dino and sulky Qieän are screwed because Nicole and Marisha have all the power in the tribe. They're ruthlessly calling the shots, they're winning the challenges and they're allies.
The others need to axe them if they hope to succeed.
What Carla did and didn't see
Over at Zamba, Carla's demise was as predictable as a dripping tap. As she herself admitted, she "played too hard" when she chose to give-up-and-go at Immunity Island last week, with her subsequent exposed lie.
What she failed to include in her confessional was that she was too clingy. First to Mike and then to Wardah. Gripping hands, the only ones she truly smiled at. She would have fared a lot better without that.
Boerie rolls bru!
This was the highlight of the episode. Now that's what I'm talking about when it comes to prizes. No sponsors forced down everyone's throats but rather good, old fashioned nosh. Fantasy food with all the fixin's.
They didn't stuff their faces though did they? I think it had to do with bad editing too because one minute they started eating and the next it was gone without any real feasting footage.
Still, it made me happy because it's exactly what Survivor's supposed to be.