Its All About the Idols on NEW Survivor Tocantins

After two weeks of no new Survivor it's time to get back in the game as Survivor Tocantins returns! Following Tribal Council where Spencer went, JT was adamant that the next loss would be a hard one. The next morning, Joe disagreed with that statement as he told Sydney that she had a "free pass" to the merge. It seems we have a few sub-alliances going on on Jalapao and we are FINALLY getting the chance to see it. So far there are JT/Stephen, Stephen/Taj, Joe/Sydney and Joe/JT/Stephen. Who will get the boot if they lose tonight? I'm not really sure, all I know is Stephen isn't going anywhere with that hidden idol Taj gave to him! Over on Timberia things weren't as cheery. Rain was on its way as the beans were cooking and of course they weren't done enough for Coach. He then complained that they should keep them on longer, which they did, and it began to pour. Nobody was happy that Coach didn't take care of the beans during the rain as both Debbie and Brendan voiced their opinions. It turned out that the beans burned onto the pot, making them inedible and forcing Sierra to comment. The Coach/Sierra quarrel was officially on as he didn't realize he would have gone psycho if someone did that to him.

It was all about the idol back at Jalapao as Stephen and Taj talked about possibly bringing JT into the alliance, just to get to the merge. Taj has NO clue that JT/Stephen are together, even though it's rather obvious. Stephen didn't agree with telling JT about the idol as he wanted to remain the communication between the two, which is smart but if they realized he was playing them both he may not be in such a great position. With that it was time for the reward challenge where the tribes began creating a barrier for the other tribe. They then had 10 minutes to throw ceramic pigs through the barriers. The tribe with the most through would win the reward of a BBQ at a waterfall. Both tribes started throwing horrible as they broke several pigs, but Timberia picked up an early lead. They started breaking a few though, allowing Jalapao to catch up. Both tribes went back and forth several times on being in first place but it came down to the last second when Timberia scored the tie breaking point, gaining the reward win. Along with the win they got to send someone to exile and for a change they sent Joe. He then chose Erinn to try and sway her with his "charm".

Thanks to their win, Timberia got to spend time eating burgers and jumping into an amazing nature pool. It seems like a rehash of the reward Jalapao got last time, minus the letters from home. They spent their time having fun and basically forgetting about the game, something not happened on Exile. There the two Exile newbies got to choose an urn where Erinn got the clue. At first she didn't want to give Joe the clues, but she did in the end. Maybe it was his "charm" that pulled it out of her? They both realized it was back at camp and knew exactly where to look. Joe then said an alliance with Erinn could prove stronger then any back at his camp, but didn't realize it was already happening times two. Back at Jalapao it was also, yet again, all about the idol. Taj and Stephen knew that Joe would be able to find the hidden idol and knew they had to put a fake one in. Taj took the real one to see what it was like and created the first fake idol of the season. After hiding it, JT found the real one in her bag and Stephen realized then and there he had to pull both Taj and JT together. He told her that he found the idol so Taj pulled it out and the new Taj/Stephen/JT alliance is born. JT doesn't seem mad like I thought he would be, could this be the new power alliance?

For immunity the tribes had to first break three tiles to release sand an puzzle pieces. Once all pieces were retrieved, they could begin the puzzle for the win. JT and Tyson were shooting the entire time with Tyson getting the first hit and puzzle piece. JT followed some time after but quickly got the second hit and puzzle. Tyson then rebounded by getting both second and third bags letting Brendan and Erinn get to the puzzle. With JT missing shot after shot, Timberia had plenty of time on the puzzle but he finally got a hit and put Jalapao in the race. Timberia was just too far ahead though as they finished the puzzle, sending Jalapao to Tribal Council for the third time in a row. Nobody was happy but it was obvious who to blame: JT. It didn't seem like they did though as there was no talk of sending him home for sucking in the challenge while that is the main reason Spencer went.

Back at camp Joe said he had no clue where the idol was but ran straight for it. Taj knew where he was going and had to hold back a laugh, along with Stephen. Joe thought it was the real thing and went back to camp to discuss sending Taj home. Everyone agreed but down at the lake the guys told Joe that Sydney could be going. Of course they didn't say WHY they want to send her home but alas, he didn't like it. He couldn't agree to doing it which made JT wonder if they should just send Taj home. Help for that idea came when Stephen revealed that HE technically has the idol since Taj gave it to him. That gave JT the out to vote out Taj, but he wasn't sure if he could break his word. At Tribal Council Jeff pulled out the "Taj being aligned with the other tribe" card again and she did not look happy. She turned it around though, saying she could sway them to their side but we all know, and so does she, that won't happen. It then went to Sydney to plead her case and she showed herself to be the opposite of Taj. Someone who had no connections and would be 100% loyal to Jalapao at the merge. Jeff ALWAYS makes them believe no merge is coming, but it's obvious it is and from the previews we know the merge is next week! In the end Sydney went home with a vote of 3 to 2. With Jalapao going into the merge with lesser numbers there is no clue what will happen, but thank God Survivor is back again!