The lack of hustle Alexis Shubin displayed during last night's Pirate Master Expedition competition cost her crew a shot at the booty, and as a result, the 26-year-old fashion publicist from Laguna Beach, CA became the third buccaneer wannabe cut adrift from the CBS reality competition series.

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Pirate Master's third episode began with Louie Frase, a 43-year-old marina owner from Fishing Creek, MD, already planning to exact revenge for the elimination of his "brother" Christian Okoye, who was the second contestant cut adrift from the competition.  Louie conspired with Kendra Guffey, a 38-year-old dive master from Los Angeles, CA, to mutiny against the Picton Castle's captain Joe Don "J.D." Norton, a 36-year-old smoke jumper from Ft. Wainwright, AK.

"Joe Don's got to go.  I can't wait to cut him loose," said Louie, as Kendra agreed.  "Yeah, we've got to get rid of him," she replied.  However Cheryl Kosewicz, a 35-year-old district attorney from Sparks, NV who was also one of J.D.'s officers, said she was aware of Louie's feelings of mutiny and alerted her captain about it.  "We've been given positions of authority and we're not here to goof around," said Cheryl.

The next morning, J.D. gave the orders to set sail in search of the next Expedition before he received an update from his bosun -- aka informer or chief mate -- Jay Hatkow, a 37-year-old automotive-parts salesman from Detroit, MI.  Jay referred to J.D.'s situation with the crew as a "twisted web."

"Joe Don thinks I'm his No. 1 man, and I will be his No. 1 man as long as it's lucrative for me," said Jay.

With the Picton Castle on course for the next Expedition spirits were high among the crew, except with Alexis, who continued her complaining about the amount of work she had to perform. "I'm like, sore and tired," she said.  "I feel like a log and it's not fun."

The Picton Castle dropped anchor and Pirate Master host Cameron Daddo informed the crew $85,000 had already been discovered and it was time for the 14 remaining buccaneer wannabes to open the third compartment in the Chest of Zanzibar, which yielded two scrolls and a letter written by fictitious Captain Henry Steel.  Reading the letter to the crew, Cameron revealed this particular treasure was hidden by the ship's Quarter Master, who "was a bloodthirsty pirate" who wrote secret codes in blood that was "rarely his own."

As was the case during the previous expedition, captain J.D. and his two officers -- Cheryl and Ben Fagan, a 23-year-old student/musician from Boston, MA -- would lead the Black Crew. The rest of the shipmates were randomly divided to either follow the captain on the Black Crew or oppose him on the Red Crew.  If the Black Crew wins, the captain remains in power.  However if the Red Crew wins, they elect a new captain. Everyone proceeded to pick either a black or a red shot to determine which crew they would join.

The Black Crew consisted of J.D.; Ben; Cheryl; Alexis; Jocelyn "Joy" McElveen, a 21-year-old receptionist from West Columbia, SC; Laurel Schmidt, a 21-year-old glass blower from Los Angeles, CA; and Sean Twomey, a 27-year-old bartender from Venice, CA.  The Red Crew consisted of Louie; Jay; Kendra; Nessa Nemir, a 29-year-old make-up artist from Berkeley, CA; Elicia "Jupiter" Mendoza, a 30-year-old bartender from Los Angeles, CA; Azmyth Kaminski, a 26-year-old music producer from Los Angeles, CA; and Christa DeAngelo, a 29-year former member of the military from Tamaqua, PA.

"I am way happy to be on the opposite team as the captain because I wanna crush him and I'm gonna write a letter to his momma in his blood," said Louie, followed by his patented pirate laugh. "I'm ready to take the reign of Joe Don down."  Jay was also optimistic about the Red Crew's chances.  "We've got Azmyth," explained Jay, "he's the fiercest competitor we've got right now.  He's running circles around us, he's intelligent, he's a leader."

Pirate Master's third Expedition began as both longboats headed for shore. On the first leg of the Expedition, the crews had to paddle ashore and follow their maps up a treacherous trail, where they would eventually see a sword and skull along the way.  The leading crew could then Sabotage the crew behind them and slow them down.

With the two crews neck-and-neck heading to shore, the Red Crew took a slight lead when Azmyth realized pulling the boat ashore wouldn't work due to the strong current, so they got back in and rowed all the way to land.  It took the Black Crew a bit longer to figure this out, and even once they did, Alexis wandered and waded in the water instead of helping to row, something that did not go unnoticed by J.D. and Sean.  As Azmyth led the Red Crew up the trail, most members of the Black Crew were able to catch-up, except for Alexis who had to basically be pushed along the way by J.D..

Sean and Azmyth both reached the Sabotage -- a bamboo trap that looked incredibly difficult to climb over once set -- and tried to rally the rest of their respective crews to hurry.  With the entire Red Crew through, Azmyth set the Sabotage with only J.D. and Alexis on the wrong side of it.  However Sean quickly realized the mechanics of the Sabotage and prevented it from hurting his crew's chances.

"At the bamboo Sabotage, most of it was held-up by one main bamboo frame.  I didn't really want to do it, but I got myself in there and just held the bamboo up," explained Sean, allowing the rest of his Black Crew to get through.  "We got our team to just kind of scuttle past.  I thought we had caught-up on a lot of time.  I thought we were neck-and-neck again."

At the end of the trail, both crews had to cross a raging river and locate a headless skeleton above a Blood Rock -- leading them to the head of the skeleton -- which contained the key to the treasure. Both crews arrived at the edge of the river and jumped in, treading rushing waters as they crossed to the other side where they foundnd the Blood Rock containing the next clue.  Kendra and Christa did some quick decoding for the Red Crew and realized they were searching for a skull hidden underwater that contained the key to the treasure. 

With both crews searching for their skulls, Louie was the first to find it and put the Red Crew in the lead.  Jay smashed the skull open, grabbed the key, and the Red Crew headed for a nearby waterfall, which contained the hidden treasure. Nessa located the treasure for Red, Louie pulled the chest out from behind the waterfall and Jupiter raised the crew's flag in victory.  As Nessa fired the Blunderbuss, J.D. knew his time as captain had come to an end.  With the Black Crew back on the Picton Castle, J.D. was aware how much trouble he could be in.

"I'm a little nervous about how it's going to unfold [with me] losing the ship," said J.D..  "I've got a target.  I've got a target on me.  I'm worried a little bit."  With the Red Crew boarding the ship with their treasure chest in hand, Louie noticed J.D.'s "puppy-dog face" as Cameron relieved the former captain and his two officers of their command and ordered them to turn in their outfits and rejoin the rest of the crew below deck.

"It was a said day for J.D., and he's got many more sad days to come!" said Louie.

The Red Crew counted their booty and learned it totaled $35,000.  However before it could be divided, the Red Crew had to select a new captain, and unanimously chose Azmyth because of the leadership qualities he displayed during the last two Expeditions.  He then chose Jupiter and Jay to be his officers.  As captain, Azmyth got half of the treasure -- $17,500 -- while Jay and Jupiter split a quarter of it, $4,375 each.  The other four members of the Red Crew each received $2,187.  However once in the captain's quarters with Jay and Jupiter, Azmyth outlined his first decision as head of the Picton Castle.

"Everybody else won this money just as well as we did in our crew today,," said Azmyth, sporting a British accent that wasn't there before.  "So I would really like to suggest more moneys for the rest of the crew."  In addition to not being totally on-board with Azmyth's plan, Jay was a bit confused about his captain's new accent.

"I thought I could read Azmyth until we got in the captain's quarters and he starts speaking in this accent like somebody gave him an English pill or something," said Jay.  "I find it utterly ridiculous, and I don't understand where he's coming from with that... I would like to have gotten a better cut for myself, but Azmyth wants this utopian society where everybody's equal.  Basically, he took the treasure and we split it up even-steven across the board."  With the $35,000 booty distributed evenly among the Red Crew, each of its seven members received $5,000.

"It's 180 degrees different with Azmyth in charge," said Nessa.  Added Christa, "Azmyth is Mr. Positivity.  He's trying to show that a nice guy can be a pirate.  But ugh, that accent is so on my nerves."  Louie agreed with both of Christa's points.  "Spread the wealth.  Azmyth is pretty generous.  I don't really care who's captain as long as they're a nice captain.  And even Azmyth, he put on that cap and he started walking around funny. I think there's some kind of dope in that cap that goes straight into your brain as soon as you put it on your head."

With the booty evenly divided, Azmyth, Jay and Jupiter then discussed which three members of the crew would be receiving a Black Spot and face possible elimination at the next Pirates' Court.  It was a unanimous choice to have Alexis receive a Black Spot due to her poor attitude.  Azmyth refered to her as an "easy out" before Jay chimed in with his own idea.

"Now this one's kind of from left field, but it's someone who really hasn't stood-out one way or another, and that would be Laurel," he said.  Azmyth said it would be "interesting" having Laurel defend herself at Pirates' Court, allowing her to show her true colors.  With two Black Spot recipients taken care of, Azmyth immediately set his sights on the former captain, J.D..  However Jay didn't agree.

"I can't Black Spot Joe Don, because I told Joe Don I would protect him," explained Jay to the cameras, not Jupiter and Azmyth.  "Joe Don knows he keeps me happy financially, I'll take care of him.  As long as that continues, I will take care of him.  That's the truth."  Instead Jay suggested Cheryl, which seemed to appease Azmyth and Jupiter. 

"I think those are fair picks," said Jay.

Jupiter handed out the letters and those crew members who received the Black Spot all took the news differently.  Alexis was "not surprised" and added she was "'somewhat expecting it" because of her personality.  Laurel was "shocked" and pondered what her case would be at Pirates' Court.  Cheryl assured viewers she wasn't "hurt" about receiving the Black Spot, and as an attorney, she knew she'd be able to defend herself well.  Needless to say, J.D. was surprised.

"Before the Black Spots came out I thought there was a shot I was going to get one, primarily based on the fact that I was a captain before," said J.D..  "What a relief."

With Pirates' Court approaching, the crew began to discuss how the vote would go.  Jay explained to Louie how he was tired of Cheryl "looking down her nose at me," and Louie agreed, although he added he would have much rather have seen J.D. receive a Black Spot. 

"If I can't take the head of the snake, I'll take the tail," he explained. "She's just guilty by association."

With Nessa and Christa on-board with Kendra and Louie to cut Cheryl adrift, Jay realized only one more vote was needed to have majority and assure that it happened.  However because the two officers and captain can't vote, he also knew that fifth vote must come from the crew.  It wasn't going to come from Ben or J.D..

"When you start trying to pick off people that are my people, I gotta bust it up, man," said J.D.. "My best case scenario will be that Alexis goes tonight."

Jay decided to target Sean as the fifth vote against Cheryl, but understood it might be tough to sway him since he sees Alexis as a "liability" on Expeditions.  "Sean feels that Cheryl is very strong physically and mentally.  He needed to be convinced that Cheryl had to go home," said Jay, who paid Sean $1,000 to vote for Cheryl.  "I find myself between a rock and a hard stone right now," explained Sean.  "I don't want to vote for Cheryl.  She's a strong female competitor.  But I already told them I would, and I don't want to come-off as a liar.  I am the swing vote, so if I do lie, they'll know.  I've got a lot on my mind right now. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do just yet." With Sean unsure, Jay told Louie he was confident they had Sean in their back pocket.

"He's golden or he's out in the cold, so it's up to him," Jay told Louie.

The crew then gathered on the Picton Castles' deck for Pirates' Court -- where Cameron explained the format once again -- with the crew casting ballots and having to choose which of the three marked pirates is cut adrift, adding they could also unanimously "rise as one" and mutiny against the captain. 

"Things are much lighter now, spirits are higher and we now have a new hierarchy in power," said Azmyth in his British accent.  Cameron, a native of Australia, noticed the accent and inquired as to where it came from.  "It came on with the hat and coat," explained Azmyth, "and if you ask the crew, they seem to be enjoying themselves."  Azmyth then reiterated the reasoning as to why the Black Spot was given to Alexis, Laurel and Cheryl.  But Jay also decided to pipe in as to why Cheryl had to defend herself.

"Cheryl, when you were in this position, out of all the officers or the captain, you separated yourself from the crew the most," explained Jay.  "I kind of felt as though you looked down upon us and that was the reason that I actually helped make sure that you got the Black Spot."

Alexis defended herself by claiming she hasn't "put up any fronts or any facade" and that the crew should know what they're getting with her, not necessarily the right comments considering the problem people had with her was her lack of hustle and enthusiasm.  Like several of the pirates before her who received a Black Spot, Laurel tried to use her easy-going, likeable nature to win over the crew.  "I would pretty much do anything for you guys. I don't have a problem working on the boat, I love going to the expeditions," she said.  Cheryl then had her chance to defend herself -- and while she never told any of her crew mates she's a district attorney -- they probably could have picked up on it by the way she addressed them.

"Teamwork... I hear everyday over and over again. That's what this is all about.  Do I fit into that team?" said Cheryl, describing her time as an officer as a "whirlwind," simply following the captain's orders because it was her role.  "It was almost a negative for me because I didn't get to create those bonds that the crew got to create initially.  Anybody whose been on an Expedition with me knows my physical capabilities."  J.D. then felt the need to come to Cheryl's aid.

"I feel partially responsible for not allowing my officers to intermingle with the crew as much.  I wanted to keep them close," he said.  "That's the way I liked to run my show at the time.  Cheryl really picked-up on that... she's positive."  Alexis took exception to J.D.'s remarks.  "That's interesting coming from you. You just came down from your post where you stood for several days with no interaction with the crew. I mean, I appreciate your opinion, but I really don't think it's fair," she said.

Cameron informed the crew -- excluding those three who received Black Spots, Azmyth and his officers -- that it was time to vote, and one by one, the pirates placed their ballots atop the blade of a dagger. Cameron revealed there were no mutiny ballots cast against Azmyth, and added Laurel also didn't receive any votes to be cut adrift.  However Sean apparently went back on his promise to Jay, as the eight votes were split evenly among Alexis and Cheryl.

Since this was the first tie experienced at Pirates' Court, Cameron informed Azmyth that in the event of a tie, the captain must choose which will be cut adrift.  Azmyth took a moment, and looked like he was pondering the decision very intently before choosing.

"I have to take into consideration the next Expedition that we're going to be going on," said Azmyth.  "I have to take in the consensus of the crew... I'll have to choose Alexis to be set adrift."  Jay and Louie looked upset as the words left Azmyth's mouth, but J.D. was pleased.  "You're a good man," he whispered to Azmyth, as the new captain cut Alexis adrift.

"I thought I was going in-front of the firing squad," said Alexis when she was cut adrift.  "I was surprised that I didn't take more hits then I did.  I think I earned some respect on that ship, and I think that proved itself to be true in that final vote.  It is what it is, and you've got to keep rolling."

Pirate Master will air its fourth episode on Thursday, June 21 at 8PM ET/PT on CBS.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

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