"This is 'Survivor' history," Colby said as JT prepared to give Russell — a member of the opposite tribe — a hidden immunity idol. Yes, historical stupidity, although the exact consequences won't really be known or felt until the tribes merge next week.
There was more history on "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" tonight, too: On the day of the reward challenge, Amanda became the first player in the history of the game to play for 100 days. On the first day of next week’s episode, Parvati will join her in that club, thanks to the fact that this is the third season for both women.
But that's not a game-changer, and JT's move just may be. The Heroes are convinced that Parvati is leading an all-female alliance and getting rid of strong men, but don't realize the men have played key roles in those votes. The Heroes' sexist assumption also is ignorant of the fact that Russell is the king of Samoa, which they don't know because this season was filmed before "Survivor: Samoa" aired. They also apparently missed the skywriting plane Russell hired to have the news broadcast to the South Pacific.
Only Amanda had some sense, telling us that "it's really crazy to give Russell the idol" because "we don't know" what's going on, and Russell "could be in with the girls." I'm not sure why Amanda never gets any credit, because she's smart and usually on top of the game play.
JT also wrote what seemed like a note a fifth-grader would pass to someone he has a crush on, a note that demanded Russell "destroy this right when you finish reading!" It included the Heroes' hidden immunity idol and a request that Russell vote out Parvati.
During the immunity challenge, Colby told Russell all of this, and instructed him to see JT to acquire the secret package after the challenge ended.
The exchange went down, and back at the Heroes camp, Rupert told us, "Russell is probably having trouble containing himself right now."
Indeed he was, but it's because the Heroes acted so recklessly.
At the Villains camp, Parvati read JT's letter out loud and mocked it. The hilarious letter was written in messy handwriting and said things such as, "Russell, this is a huge turning point in this game. This is not fake," "I feel like I can trust you" and "you will be completely safe with us."
Although Parvati laughed with Russell and is playing alongside him, she isn't exactly his buddy: After the Villains won reward, she and Danielle found yet another hidden immunity idol — they fall from the sky in Samoa, apparently — thanks to a clue that was in Parvati's napkin at their reward feast.
Now Parvati and Russell have idols, and next week the tribes merge. It'll be an even five-five split, and loyalties will likely shift. Obviously, Russell will have to pretend that he played the idol to save himself if the Villains want to keep the Heroes thinking that there's a women's alliance, though exactly how he'll explain why Courtney is gone and Parvati is still around isn't clear. (He could argue that the women split their votes just in case someone had an idol.)
Courtney's elimination wasn't a surprise, since her challenge performance was awful and her alliance mates have all been voted out. She now joins Coach on the jury, if she can find room for herself on the bench next to his flowing robes.
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