Leaving no doubt that "Big Tom" was a "Big Dope" when it came to Survivor gameplay, Tom Buchanan fell victim to Rob Mariano's "manipulation" (although outsmarting a bowl of rice might have been a bigger challenge for Rob) and became the fourteenth contestant to be voted out of Survior: All-Stars.
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While cracking some coconuts on the edge of camp, Jenna began telling Rupert how, assuming Rob failed to win the next immunity challenge, the duo must target him at the next Tribal Council. Then, after making the statement, Rupert glanced behind him and saw Rob, their alliance mate and would-be target, standing right behind him. Clearly, surveillance is not Jenna's strong suit. Looking to recover, the two quickly explained to Rob that they were talking about how they clearly need to vote Tom out next, because after all, they have an alliance with Rob and Amber Brkich. Rob, to his credit, played along with their cover story, but quickly told Amber of their allies' conversation immediately upon returning to camp. Hearing that Jenna and Rupert were talking of targeting Rob and not her, Amber appeared remarkably unconcerned about their plans.
At the reward challenge, the castaways discovered they'd be competing for Survivor's requisite vehicle giveaway. This season's General Motors giveaway was a Chevy Colorado truck -- just the type of ride a construction guy such as Rob would find especially handy. But wait, warned host Jeff Probst before beginning the challenge -- don't forget about Survivor's Curse Of The Car Prize, a phenomenon in which the winner of the show's previous seven car prizes has NEVER gone on to win the $1,000,000 prize (what, foreshadowing you say? ...from Mark Burnett? ...the hell you say!)
Predictably, Rupert, Tom and Jenna quickly dropped out of the four-round challenge, leaving Survivor's calendar pin-up couple of Rob and Amber to compete in the final round. Rob apparently decided that "ladies first" didn't apply to Survivor challenges and that all's fair in love, war, and truck giveaways, and roundly smoked Amber's smokin' ass in the last round sprint, winning the vehicle for himself. Jeff then announced that Rob could also select a companion to join him at the challenge's additional drive-in movie prize, and Rob quickly selected Amber. where upon attending the "Lord Of The Flies" movie screening, the two not only enjoy their "first date" but all discovered that, as Rob's selected guest, Amber had also won a Chevy Malibu.
The duo returned to camp to envious eyes, and further incited frustration among the remaining threesome by not only dividing the candy that they returned with into five equal piles, but by also revealing that Amber had also received a car. Sensing that the resentment might boil over into a successful plot to oust him, Rob manipulated Tom into instigating a verbal confrontation between himself and Rupert, with the goal of destroying any nascent alliance that might be developing between the two.
After the Immunity Challenge, it turned out Rob's scheming wouldn't be required to protect himself after all, as Rob easily won immunity at the word scramble challenge. Meanwhile, Amber and Rob continued to string Tom along, telling him that they were targeting Jenna -- and a lapdog-like Tom reciprocated, telling the two that "what you tell me, that's what I'm putting on that card."
Unfortunately for Tom, while he kept his promise to Amber and Rob, they didn't do the same (Rob not keep a promise? We're shocked!) and Tom was ousted from the game in a unanimous 4-1 vote, setting up the incredulous possibility of another Survivor: Marquesas-like "purple rock" Final Four Tribal Council session.
Episode 14's correct bootee prediction lifts our Survivor All-Stars prediction record to 13-0-1. In Spoiler Island fantasy game action, the aptly named "Outfrontgirl" remains atop the leaderboard, but with over half a dozen other players within 1000 points of her and a possible 4000 points still to be awarded based on Sunday's Survivor finale, it's still anyone's game to win, so make sure to get your finale picks in before Sunday's 2 PM ET deadline!
So what happens in Sunday's finale? Will we see another "purple rock" showdown? Or will Jenna or Rupert betray the other and opt to go to the Final 3 with Amber and Rob? Or will something even more surprising happen -- like Amber or Rob betraying each other? And who will finally emerge as Survivor All-Stars' ultimate winner?!?!?! Check out our Survivor spoilers forum for the latest details on these and many other hot topics!
