Tonight's episode is a two-hour double-header, so I'm going to be as brief as possible so this recap won't be eleventy-billion words long.
Quick rundown of last week: Reed had a brilliant plan to oust Jon, and also won Immunity in a spectacular way that ended in the splits. But Keith couldn't keep his mouth shut during Tribal Council, and Natalie had a well-timed word with Jon about using his Immunity Idol, causing it to all go sideways. Wes went home.
Back from Tribal Council, Jon realizes that he very narrowly dodged being voted out and leaving with an Idol in his pocket. Alec and Reed are justifiably pissed off with Keith for messing it up. Jon tries to act like he was going to play his Idol even before Natalie told him to, but I think he's bluffing.
He even tries telling Jaclyn to also act like he thought of it himself, to try and make him look better for the jury. That pisses Jaclyn off, because she was also telling him to play the Idol. Trouble in paradise, there.
Reward Challenge time! It's a quiz about their tribemates. If you get the answer right, you get to chop an opponent's rope. Three chops and your rock comes down on a skull, crushing it while fake blood oozes everywhere. Bit graphic, that. Reward is an afternoon horseback ride to a resort where you get a BBQ meal and brownies, and get to spend the night in comfort.
Reed is the first player eliminated, followed by Alec and Keith. Definitely the odd men out now. Everyone else is in the majority alliance, and they dither about who should go out next -- so much that Jeff calls a halt and asks who will win.
They choose Missy, and she sends Jon to Exile Island (do they think there's another Idol or something?). She also gets to choose two people to go with her, and she chooses Baylor and Natalie. Jaclyn doesn't look impressed.
Reed makes the mistake of playfully calling Baylor a brat, which brings out Missy's misplaced mom instincts (where was that when Baylor was growing up, huh?). Neither of them have a sense of humor about anything, and Reed is just so over it.
So now Reed, Alec and Keith have 24 hours to get through to Jaclyn that she's #5 in an alliance of five. But it looks like she's already figuring that out.
Jon gets to Exile Island, and sure enough, there's a new clue for a new Immunity Idol. Whatever, Jon, you bug me. And of course he finds it.
Horseback riding, blah, blah, blah. You really don't realize how dirty they are until you see them somewhere like a nice resort. Natalie, Missy and Baylor talk about how Jaclyn may make Jon jump ship, but at least they have an Idol. They also agree to go to the final three together.
Back at camp, Reed is totally getting to Jaclyn, and he's doing his best to make her happy. He gives her a huge portion of rice, and while she realizes that they totally have ulterior motives, she is enjoying it a bit, and seems to be seriously considering flipping. Again.
Missy, Baylor and Natalie return from the reward, and Missy is immediately going on damage control. Alec and Jaclyn seem to be bonding, and it's freaking the other girls out. Natalie and Baylor call it flirting, but inviting her and Jon out with him and Drew hardly seems inappropriate.
Immunity Challenge time! They have to balance an over-sized paddle on a stand, while rolling six balls down the handle to settle in rounded spots. Alec totally sucks at it, and Reed's not much better. Jon takes an early lead, but Keith catches up and wins.
This may help the odd guys out with Jaclyn and Jon. I don't think she would have had a problem with voting Keith out, but she likes both Reed and Alec.
Jon missed Jaclyn, but all she wants to do is tell him about what's been going on. He's rather abrupt with her, and now she's mad at him. Whatever. They're still going to vote together. It's not like she's going to vote for him.
Reed comes over to talk to them and gets the same dismissive treatment from Jon. But then he winks at Reed while telling him, in front of Natalie, that he doesn't trust him.
But Jon and Jaclyn continue fighting all day long, and Reed can see his game disintegrating in front of him.
Tribal Council time! Jeff starts stirring the pot right away, but Jon totally gives Jaclyn a mea culpa, and things seem to be alright between them now. I have no idea which way Jon and Jaclyn are going to move. Votes are cast, and no one uses an Immunity Idol.
Votes are for Reed and Missy, as expected...but it's Reed that's going home. I liked Reed, but he was definitely more of a threat than Alec or Keith. And I think Jon and Jaclyn just handed the game to Missy and Baylor.
Now, onto the next episode …
Jon and Jaclyn kiss and make up after Tribal Council. Alec is offended that people think he was flirting with Jaclyn, and feels like he has no one to talk to anymore.
The next morning, Alec flat-out asks Jon if he's going home next. Jon admits that he totally trusts his alliance. Good luck with that.
Reward Challenge time! It's an endurance challenge, balancing a ball against a piece of wood while standing on a very small block of wood. Reward is a night in a king-sized bed and a feast of spaghetti and chicken Parmesan. This is totally geared to Jon and Jaclyn -- hello, king-sized bed?
Alec is out first, followed a while after by Missy, Keith and Baylor. Jon struggles the whole time, and he's out next. It will either be Natalie or Jaclyn. Natalie is rock solid the whole time, and she wins.
Natalie sends Alec to Exile Island, and chooses Jaclyn to go with her (damage control from last week?). She also gets to choose another person, so she chooses Jon. Missy seems a little pissy that she doesn't get to go, even though she did the same thing in the last episode.
As a total surprise, Natalie reveals in a confessional that she has wanted to get rid of Jon since he blindsided Jeremy, and now that she's picked him for reward, he will totally trust her and never see it coming. If she pulls this off, I will love her forever. And I couldn't stand her when this started.
When they get back to camp, the bed is all set up. It's a little uncomfortable to be enjoying it while everybody else is standing there watching. The food looks really good, and I haven't even been starving for 30 days.
Jon keeps talking about how much he trusts everyone. That's usually a sign that he's going home. Please let it be true.
While Jon and Jaclyn relax in the king bed the next morning, Natalie works on Baylor, asking her not to tell Missy, which might not go so well. But then Baylor compares Missy's relationship with Jon to always putting a man first, so this may tie into Baylor's mommy issues.
That is, if Baylor and Natalie can keep the smug looks off of their faces. Even Jon is noticing. Jaclyn thinks that Keith is the problem, when it's really Natalie.
Immunity Challenge time! It's another balance challenge, this time with a tippy table where you have to stack blocks in a line along the center, while walking backwards holding the rope to retrieve pieces. They really love the balance challenges this season.
Keith takes an early lead; he is really consistently good at challenges. How has this gone unnoticed? But then he, along with Baylor and Alec, drop their table and have to start all over again.
Everyone drops their table a lot, except Jon, who goes super, super slow. It pays off for him, and he wins Immunity. Crap. So who is going home then?
Probably Keith. The rest of them have also noticed that he's good at challenges, so supposedly the plan is to get him out.
Now Natalie is talking about getting rid of Alec instead, saying it would be a big move. How? It doesn't change anything. Getting rid of Jaclyn, now that would be a move.
Tribal Council time! They all fully admit that someone is going home who is "good at challenges." So Keith, then. Natalie is saying a little too much, and Jon is looking worried, until a rat scurries through the area and totally gets everything off track. Alec offers to eat the rat.
Jon talks about his dad dying of cancer, and wanting to spend more time with him. Then why are you there instead of with him? The show's not going anywhere. Why now? Jeff, because he's dead inside like me, asks Keith if Jon's tragedy will affect Keith's game.
Voting time! We see Keith vote for Alec and Alec vote for Keith (which he spells wrong). I guess Natalie was all fired up and had to do something, anything, because Alec is going home.
Next week: Natalie wants Jon gone, but it looks like Missy might be pulled from the game.