Peih-Gee Law the twelfth castaway eliminated from 'Survivor: China'

Peih-Gee Law wouldn't go down without a fight.


But the 29-year-old jeweler from Marina Del Rey, CA and last remaining original Zhan Hum member could only do so much -- which wasn't enough -- as she became the twelfth castaway eliminated from Survivor: China during last night's penultimate broadcast of the long-running CBS reality competition series.

"I am glad that I played to my utmost," said Peih-Gee following her ouster.  "I pushed myself physically, mentally, strategically and ultimately everybody was scared to death to go against me in the Final 3.  So I am not going to be a millionaire, but I still feel like I will walk away way richer than I was before I came in this game."

Survivor: China's penultimate episode began with the five remaining castaways returning to the merged Hae Da Fung camp following the previous Tribal Council, where Erik Huffman was given the boot.  Denise Martin, a 40-year-old school lunch lady from Douglas, MA, was approached by Peih-Gee and Erik before the Tribal Council and asked about forming a three-person alliance with them.

"I kind of decided to play it safe," said Denise in hindsight.  "This could have been one of the biggest mistakes I have made in the game so far."


The next morning, Peih-Gee opined about how hard it was to know she was an outsider at the merged camp since she was the only remaining Zhan Hu member.  The castaways then met for their next Reward Challenge, and host Jeff Probst explained the rules.

The castaways would fire arrows using a replica of an ancient Chinese crossbow at a target wall that had their names randomly written on it. Each time an arrow hit a name, that person would score a point regardless of who shot it. To make it more interesting, the castaways would be given five arrows to secretly distribute to give someone more attempts. The person whose target was hit the most wins. The Reward was an overnight trip to the Great Wall of China, where they'd enjoy a large meal and camp overnight.

Peih-Gee received only one arrow -- which she said she "expected" -- and missed the target with it.  Denise received two arrows, and she missed the target on her first shot but scored a point for herself on her second shot.  Amanda Kimmel, a 23-year-old hiking guide and Miss Montana USA 2005 from Los Angeles, CA, had four arrows.  She missed the target twice and inadvertently scored two points for Denise with her other two shots.

Todd Herzog, a 22-year-old flight attendant from Pleasant Grove, UT, was impressive with the ancient Chinese crossbow, scoring a point for himself with each of his first five shots.  He missed the target with his sixth and final shot.

Courtney Yates, a 26-year-old waitress from New York, NY, received the most arrows with 12, and missed the target only three times.  She scored one point for herself; one point for Amanda; two points for Todd; and five points for Denise. 


Thanks to Courtney's aim, Denise won Reward and -- not surprisingly -- chose to take Courtney.  Denise got to pick one more person, and Peih-Gee pleaded to be taken since she shared a previous Reward she won with Denise. 

"I don't want Peih-Gee to go because I don't want her to get stronger," Denise told Courtney before choosing to take Todd.

"I took Denise on a great Reward," said Peih-Gee.  "I gave her the Shaolin Monks. I have been friendly with her from the very beginning and she just doesn't care. It’s tough to be left out of everything."

Back at camp, Peih-Gee was still pretty pissed.  While she realized she "said some things" she "probably shouldn't have," she was sick of being treated like an outcast.

"It's like, hello!" said Peih-Gee.  "I'm still a person!"


Despite being part of an alliance with the other three remaining Fei Long members, Amanda also started to hit an emotional wall, upset she wasn't chosen for the Reward.  Trying to make the best of a bad situation, the two hashed out their differences and collected fruit together.

As Courtney, Denise and Todd took a private jet to the Great Wall, Todd said he supported Denise's decision to not take Peih-Gee and he also assured Denise that Amanda would "understand" why she wasn't chosen.

"Plus what is she going to do?" said an arrogant Todd. "Align with Peih-Gee in a bush right now?"

The three ate dinner -- which was a complicated process that saw complaining from Todd and Courtney -- before relaxing for the night.  Courtney was glad Denise chose to take Todd over Amanda, and had a simple reason for it.

"An angry Todd is a bad Todd," she said.


Back at camp, Peih-Gee and Amanda did some fishing and hauled in a bountiful catch.  They had a good time at camp talking and frying up fish, deciding to use a large portion of rice because the others were enjoying a larger meal while on Reward.  Amanda described Denise as a "puppet" for ousted Zhan Hu members Jean-Robert Bellande and James Clement, and added she was now serving as a "puppet" for Todd.

"Would you be willing to do Todd or Denise yet if we could swing it?" asked Peih-Gee, sensing her opportunity.

Amanda answered with a pretty non-committal response that she's "open" for anything, however Peih-Gee said it gave her a "little bit of hope."  As the group at the Great Wall turned in for the night, Todd asked what would happen if Peih-Gee won Individual Immunity and they were required to vote for one of their own, suggesting they take out Amanda.  All the comment did was make Denise scared.

"This is a critical time right now," said Denise.  "Someone is going to be left out of our group and I don’t want it to be me."

Courtney, Denise and Todd returned to camp the next morning and -- instead of pissing off Peih-Gee and Amanda by gushing about the food they ate -- they pissed Peih-Gee and Amanda off by actually complaining about the food.  To make matters worse, Denise told Amanda and Peih-Gee that they had made sandwiches to bring back to camp, but Todd ate them on the plane.


"Todd and Courtney still find things to complain about when they win a Reward, and it just blows my mind.  Some people are just so ungrateful. Honestly it just made me mad," said Amanda, adding she thought Denise was at least showing some "compassion."  "If Todd doesn't win the next Immunity Challenge, I may have to think about getting rid of Todd."

Hae Da Fung then gathered for Survivor: China's next Immunity Challenge, and Jeff explained the rules.  The castaways would compete in a four-round race, revisiting some of the previous Survivor: China challenges.

The first round was a Chinese throwing star contest, in which the four highest scores would move on to the next round, where they were then required to eat one balut. The first three to eat the balut would move on to the next round, in which they had to bounce a ball on a drum while racing through a series of obstacles. The first two to bounce their ball in the finishing bin would move on to the final round. For the final round, they'd use a sword to cut through ropes that release wooden puzzle disks. Using the disks they had to complete a puzzle. First one to finish the puzzle won Immunity.

In the first round, Denise scored six points; Amanda scored three; Peih-Gee and Courtney each scored two; and Todd only scored one, as he was eliminated from the challenge.  In the second round -- similar to the way the challenge went the first time it happened -- Denise gave-up and refused to eat the balut, allowed Amanda., Courtney and Peih-Gee to advance.  Amanda was the first to deposit her ball in the third round's bin, followed by Peih-Gee.

In the final round, Amanda was the first to cut through the ropes and start to carry her puzzle discs.  Peih-Gee was right behind her -- and while Amanda had some minor problems with the puzzle -- she claimed Individual Immunity, assuring her a spot in Survivor: China's Final 4.

Back at camp, Peih-Gee was frustrated since she had come "so close" to winning Immunity for the second week in a row.  She was aware she was the next person on the chopping block, and realized Amanda was her "best hope for a reprieve."  Amanda wasn't stupid and knew that winning Immunity put her in a powerful position, and while she may have been reluctant to test the waters at first, Todd started to dig himself a grave by complaining about Amanda and Peih-Gee eating too much rice the previous day.


"I just kind of looked at him like, 'I don’t even want to hear it,'" explained Amanda.  "It took everything I had not to like flip out... I have been dancing around the idea of getting rid of Todd for a while now, because he's a threat -- he's a strategist -- like he could go behind my back at any point in the game and take me out.  Me and Peih-Gee have definitely bonded on a personal level, so I'm beginning to think maybe I'll have a better chance to get to the Final 3 right now with Denise and Peih-Gee."

Peih-Gee lobbied hard with Denise and Amanda to try to save her skin, however Denise correctly stated that Todd's "made a lot of enemies on the jury" so it may be worth keeping him around.  Todd and Courtney thought it was a little strange that they hadn't heard any lobbying from Peih-Gee.

"Watch me get blind-sided tonight," said Todd, before expressing confidence in his alliance.

"I had a little paranoia when I saw my name read twice at the last Tribal Council," explained Todd.  "But I still feel kind of comfortable.  It's just really, really, really worked out for me, that my alliance was the right one.  Peih-Gee was coming off as a fighter, and that's why she has to go so badly.  If she somehow convinces those other girls to vote me off, I will be pissed off if I go home... livid!  But big ups to them for figuring a way to get rid of me."

Survivor: China's twelfth Tribal Council commenced, and Erik, James, Michael "Frosti" Zernow, Jean-Robert and Jaime Dugan entered as the first five members of the jury.   Peih-Gee gave everyone a good laugh when she described herself as a "positive person," but Amanda stood-up for her new friend.

"I got to learn a lot about Peih-Gee and I really respect how she's made it this far -- and she is still strong and fighting -- and I really respect her for that," said Amanda.


Todd stated he had "pissed the most people off" on the jury and thus was a good castaway to keep around.   Peih-Gee made one final attempt to save her butt by explaining who deserved to remain in the game.

"For me, most deserving means somebody who fought hard every single chance they had... really came out here and challenged themselves," she said.  "I think someone who came out here and managed to get to the same position -- and did it honorably -- I think they deserve to be here more than somebody who go to the same position and did it by cheating, lying and backstabbing, all of that."

However Peih-Gee's plea fell of deaf ears, as she was unanimously ousted by a 4-1 margin, becoming the sixth member of the jury.

Survivor: China's two-hour finale is scheduled to air Sunday, December 16 at 8PM ET/PT on CBS and will be immediately followed by a live one-hour reunion show.  Despite last night's "three Tribal Councils" promo, CBS has confirmed to Reality TV World that Survivor: China will actually end with three castaways attempting to convince the game's jury to award them the show's $1,000,000 grand prize (the third "Tribal Council" will reveal the results of a home viewers vote that will award $100,000 to one of the season's castaways).

(Photo credit Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS)






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio