In the fifth week of Survivor: Micronesia, the hits just kept on coming.  During last night’s episode we saw hits that affected alliances, strategies, bodies and overall team morale.

Not surprisingly, there was a wide mix of emotions at Airai’s camp after Mikey B’s surprise elimination last week.  Chet – a bit cocky because he had somehow managed to live another day – was now setting his sights on Jason.  Meanwhile, the gymnastics instructor was still reeling from his team’s idiotic decision.  With the beefy writer now gone, Jason was in a tribe he no longer wanted to be a part of.

Day 12 at Malakal was a little more upbeat; they had chickens they could eat.  (Food always makes people happy.)  Of course, Ozzy, had his own reason to be smiling:  he was now the owner of the Hidden Immunity Idol.  Although he said he didn’t initially want to show anyone his new trinket, he went ahead and told the people he could trust - a.k.a. Amanda, Parvati and James.  (Uhhh – wouldn’t telling people be the same thing as showing them?  Just a thought.)  Amanda was so excited about her honey’s discovery.  “Our little four-clique is like the little powerhouse right now.”

Later, the teams gathered for their next Reward Challenge.  But before they could begin, Jeff Probst had a little surprise for them:  it was time for them to switch up the tribes.  The lines were now longer going to be drawn between Fans and Favorites.  After a random stone selection process, Ozzy and Natalie became the captains of the new groups.  They could pick from either sex, as long as they started choosing from the other team first.  Once all the selections were made, here is how the new tribes looked:

AIRAI (former Fans):  Natalie, James, Alexis, Jonathan, Jason, Parvati, Kathy, Eliza
MALAKAL (former Favorites): Ozzy, Joel, Amanda, Erik, Ami, Tracy, Cirie, Chet

The final results proved to be quite interesting.  Not only did Malakal now have more men than Airai, but James/Parvati were now working against Ozzy/Amanda.  (I wonder if Ozzy now regrets revealing his secret too soon.)

With the teams now in place, it was time to move on to the actual challenge.  Each group was divided up into pairs with the couples harnessed together.  The object of the game was for one pair to chase after the other opposing pair in an attempt to capture their attached flag.  (The teams would alternate being chaser/chasee.) If the tribe wasn’t successful in under a minute, the other group would score a point.  The first team to three would win.

Navigating an obstacle course while trying to pursue someone quickly proved to be physically demanding for the teams.  The first four attempts went back and forth; the chasers were always able to snag their flags.  Then it came down to Chet/Joel on the Malakal side vs. Parvati/Eliza for Airai.  Since the teams were now tied up 2-to-2, this last race was for the win.

Unfortunately for Joel, his ability to reach the other team was hampered by the whole show’s weakest link.  Chet spent more time being dragged on the ground by his harness than he did standing upright.  Although Joel came very close to snagging his flag at the last second, the girls managed to make a clean break.  Airai not only won the challenge but a ‘Getting to Know You’ BBQ feast.  (There was no Exile Island this week.)

Later, Chet told Joel that he hit his head to which the firefighter responded, “I don’t care.”  Others injured during the game included Jonathan (busted up knee), Ami (twisted knee) and Parvati (fat lip).

Although Malakal was bummed about not getting food, the tribe members felt like they were in a better position in the end; they had the better camp (with all the amenities) to return to.  Meanwhile, Airai was struggling to even get their food cooked.  The poorly set up camp allowed the tide to wash away their fire.  The frustrated veterans (James, Eliza, Parvati and Jonathan) were eventually forced to help rebuild a new shelter for the pathetic newcomers.

That night, medics came out to check on the still-injured Jonathan.  Apparently the stick he somehow ran into really did a number on his muscle.  After being jabbed with a very long needle several times, the vet was sutured up with three stitches.  It was now just a waiting game to see if any infection had already settled in.  (Question:  why didn’t the Survivor medics appropriately evaluate everyone immediately after the challenge?  Wouldn’t that be considered a little irresponsible?)

On Day 13, Ozzy spent a little time on the water with new members Joel and Erik.  The veteran said they could have a very strong tribe if they got rid of Chet (‘a sack of potatoes’) first, then either Cirie or Tracy.  Joel, self-appointing himself the broker of his half of the team, said he would easily give up Chet if Ozzy agreed to vote Cirie off first.  (I was unclear if he meant Cirie before Chet or Cirie before Tracy.) 

For their next Immunity Challenge, the teams had to break more tiles to solve yet another puzzle.  A group of four from each tribe had to first throw stones to make bundles of hanging tiles fall to the ground.  Once the bundles were retrieved, three other competitors had to assemble the pieces in a certain color order.  One team member sitting above would help to guide them.

Ozzy and the rest of Malakal had a good start on Airai.  Although James and Jonathan were able to make contact with their tiles, they couldn’t seem to hit them hard enough to make them completely drop.  After hearing the two men moan and groan, Probst told them “You need to stop bitching and start throwing.”  Well put!

Although Malakal had a nice lead heading into the assembly phase, horrible leadership and communication tripped them up.  While Chet was trying to give them direction from above, a distrusting Joel was providing his own instructions from below.  This lack of teamwork allowed Airai to come from behind and steal the victory.

Frustrated by his umpteenth loss in a row, Joel finally decided that it was now time to get rid of Chet (‘the wet rag’, the ‘ball of goo’).  Everyone appeared to be on the same page until Cirie opened up her mouth.  Realizing that she was considered one of the ‘weaker’ players, she knew she had to make some moves now.  So she approached Ozzy and Amanda and told them that Joel was a far more dangerous person than Chet.  (Tracy and Chet would, of course, agree to this.)  Although Ozzy and Amanda seemed apprehensive, they had to agree with her on one point:  Chet had the potential to be a pawn, Joel didn’t.  But could they really afford to weaken their own team right now?

This all lead up to the fifth surprising Tribal Council in a row.  Although they still had James to face against in future challenges, the tribe members chose dead weight over strength.  LOSER:  Joel.

(In his post-elimination interview, blindsided Joel seemed confused by the recent events.  “The tribe chose Chet over me.”  Uhh – I believe that’s called ‘karma biting you in the ass.’)

(You can review last week’s episode here.)