First off I have to say what the heck got into Natalie? She’s gone from a mute to a crazy woman and is really making herself out to be one of the craziest and most insane survivors I’ve seen in a LONG time. So before I can get into crazy Natalie we must go back to the beginning. It all began directly after Ozzy’s departure where Amanda and James weren’t too happy. They realized Parvati screwed them over and are no liking it. James and Amanda therefore created a strong pact, which was not seen in China, which I feel will continue throughout this game. Overall both said its finally time for them to start playing the game and that they did.

Back at camp Erik was sucking up to everyone, telling them that it was the “right move” to not tell him Ozzy was going as he would have told Ozzy. Erik agreed that it was good to get Ozzy out but I have a feeling deep down he misses his “zoo keeper”. Everyone then realized Amanda and James weren’t happy and it seems as if they were kind of avoiding everyone back at camp. Parvati took the most head from the two and spoke to each separately. As she talked to Amanda it seemed as if things were ok between the two. Amanda then told us in private that she has to make Parvati believe she isn’t angry since she is running the show right now. That’s a good move for Amanda to make considering it seems the game has shifted in favor of the ladies.

Parvati then spoke with James who reprised his famous “don’t bite the apply quote” but this time referring to Parvati voting Ozzy out. He told her to her face that things weren’t good between them anymore and let her know things will be akward. He also pulled the quote out as they spoke giving Parvati a shocked look on her face. I don’t understand why she feels that James wouldn’t be mad. Ozzy was his number one ally in the game and she, someone he used to be able to trust, just betrayed him and his friends.

At the reward challenge a familiar favorite was played, the Survivor auction. This time around there was a slight twist as players could not share money or food like in previous seasons. Food was won most of the time as Cirie won a hot dog and fries, Erik won some nachos, Amanda won a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and James won some bats. Technically Natalie won the bats but James ate them for free since she didn’t want them. Next up was a prize that would change the game dramatically. Natalie, who began her crazy streak right here, won a “note in a bottle” to send someone to Exile Island. Jeff also said that the hidden idol was re-hidden with new clues since it went out the door with Ozzy last round. Natalie quickly sent Jason to exile and also received all of his money. She then won a cake in the next auction where she quickly chose Cirie, Parvati and Alexis to share it with. She went somewhat crazy here saying she didn’t have any food so they couldn’t “hog the cake”. Another catch was they only had a minute to eat which led to a very interesting chow down of chocolate cake ending in Erik licking the rest off of Cirie’s fingers.

Back at camp it seemed as if the rush of sugar caused Natalie to go all bi-polar and become a psycho woman. How can we never see this girl on the show and then BOOM she becomes the star. All the girls were in a pow-wow and knew that Jason would find the idol on exile island, which he did end up doing. They then came up with a plan for Natalie to speak to Jason at the next immunity challenge to tell him to let anyone else but himself win. Natalie would then tell Jason that she and the other ladies are voting James out of the game, making Jason think that he is safe in in a result not play the hidden idol. I must admit it is a genius plan but Natalie’s reactions to her new found craziness was priceless. She had to call Jason “that bitch” about 20 times in two seconds and discussed how she will get all the guys “at the jugular” then floss her teeth with their jugular vein. She then simulated this and the thought seriously makes me wonder how this girl passed the psych test.

At the immunity challenge all went to plan as Natalie got a chance to tell Jason not to win. They didn’t want James to win since that was their second choice to go and they all wanted Erik to stay since it was his birthday. The challenge was a rehash of past challenges they had. The first four to break a clay dish and drop puzzle pieces would move to the next round. James, Jason, Erik and Amanda moved on where they had to dig up a key, unlock more pieces. They then had to put together a puzzle wheel and lower two planks. The first two to do this were James and Erik and both moved to the last round. The first of the two to get across a rope bridge using the two planks would win immunity. It was tight up until the last second where Erik beat James by mere seconds. The girls on the sidelines had some nice reactions as they knew if James won their plan wouldn’t go down as planned.

Back at camp the girls were jumping for joy as their plan could go into action. When Jason went to catch some fish Natalie sprung into action and searched through Jason’s back for the idol. She did indeed found it and then went to Jason to tell him James would be leaving. Of course she knew James wouldn’t be leaving but had to make Jason think that he was so he wouldn’t use the idol. James, thanks to the girls, did think he was in fact the one going that night but Amanda told him otherwise. She didn’t really tell him the plan but told him enough that he probably understood what was going to happen. In the end the blindside took place once again with a deja vu moment. Just like last week Jason and the idol were sent packing thanks to the girls. Next week it seems we may have another medical emergency as foreshadowed by earlier in this episode. James’ finger is pretty bad and even Cirie, who is a nurse, acknowledged it wasn’t getting any better. Will another favorite been sent home thanks to an injury? We’ll have to wait and see.

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CBS is continuing their Ponderosa series with three new clips from the ‘jury house’. The first clip gives us a glimpse at Ozzy’s reaction right after being voted off. It seems as if he didn’t even bring the idol with him to Tribal Council and he wasn’t too happy about that. The 2nd gives a short “day in the life of” a jury member and shows what happens when Survivors are voted out. In the last video both Eliza and Ozzy give us their predictions about the upcoming Tribal Council and how it all works for them. For more clips you can check out Ponderosa on CBS.com

-Jury Member #2 Arrives-

-Life At Ponderosa-

-Ready for Tribal-

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Wow I can’t believe how crazy tonight’s episode was! Not only did the idol get washed out of the game but one of the biggest players as well! It all started off as the newly merged tribe returned from their first, and also crazy, Tribal Council. Jason let everyone know that he in fact gave Eliza the idol and everyone said how stupid of a move it was. They don’t realize it was actually pretty smart, since it revealed that Ozzy did in fact have the idol. He let us know that it was a play from Yau-Man that actually worked this time around.

It was then time for an early reward. They were first divided into two teams of 4, meaning one person had to sit out. Cirie ended up being chosen last and was sent to Exile while the others were told they would be playing for a trip to a remote island for dinner and a sleep over. It was hard to know how close the teams were since they had to first swim to an answer board and then return to fill in the puzzle. The first tribe to correctly resemble the puzzle would win. The Orange Team consisted of Jason, Ozzy, Amanda and Erik while the Purple Team consisted of Natalie, James, Parvati and Alexis. Both teams were fairly close when it came to swimming out and back in but only one correctly assembled the puzzle on four trips. The Orange Team ended up winning thanks to a last minute switch by Amanda and were quickly off to feast in the country of Yap.

When the group arrived in Yap they were greeted by an older tribesman and a few children. After being guided through a trek through the jungle a small town was opened up to them and they were amazed how the tribe lived. Amanda and Ozzy quickly got to work on the food while Erik was just stunned by the town and the people themselves. The tribal woman don’t wear tops and since he probably never saw the History or Discovery channel, Erik was shocked by this. After eating, drinking and chewing on tobacco the four spent in Yap nice and dry. The same couldn’t be said for Cirie on Exile.

Although this wasn’t her first time on Exile Cirie wasn’t prepared for this stay. With no Idol there she knew nothing could be gained by her stay. It rained both days that she was there and it seemed very miserable. In the time she spent there she realized that it was the best time to get Ozzy out of the game. He has the idol so Ozzy going takes the hidden idol out as well. Cirie is really upping her game this season and I’m really liking her all over again.

Back at the Dabu camp James wasn’t too excited to be stuck there with the three other girls. As he split some wood and sharpened his knife the three girls Natalie, Parvati and Alexis slept. Parvati woke up long enough to basically tell James to shut up and that didn’t sit to well with him. It seems that Parvati and James aren’t going along as great as we thought and that could be thanks to her new “girl power” alliance. When the four from Yap returned it was time to let everyone know exactly what they ate. Ozzy decided it would be best to brag about exactly how much food he stuffed into his mouth and the girls + James did NOT look happy. Parvati said he was a little brat and the other two minions seemed to agree.

At the immunity challenge a rehash from the first All Stars was played. Each survivor had t hold up their arm, which was attached to a big bucket of water, as long as they could. When there arm dropped low enough the bucket, which looked more like a bucket of slime, would dump on them. They would then be out of the challenge. Some welcomed “goodies” were also used to tempt people out of the challenge. First up was a bowl of gummy worms and other candies. Cirie and Erik went out and decided to split the treat. Next up was a single cookie and a glass of milk. Alexis dropped out before Jeff announced the reward and therefore couldn’t received it. She wasn’t too happy about that but was soon joined by both Natalie and James who also missed out on the cookie. With only Amanda, Jason, Ozzy and Parvati left three chocolate glazed donuts were brought out by Jeff. Ozzy was the only one to take it leaving the two girls to beat out Jason. Amanda ended up going out soon after for a “pee break” and that left Parvati vs Jason. The last reward was a group reward and would only be won if one of the two dropped out. Natalie spoke up first (she’s still there?) and said Jason would be safe if he dropped down and got them the food. Everyone slowly agreed, with their fingers crossed, and Jason bought into it. Jason ended up agreeing, even though they were all lieing, and gave Parvati her first individual immunity win.

Back at camp everyone was laughing over the fact that Jason actually thought they were going to not vote him out. Ozzy and James, who are becoming more cocky then Jason, laughed about saying Jason was just “outwitted” by the oldest game in the book. What they didn’t realize was Cirie was about to make the biggest play in Survivor history by swaying the vote for Ozzy. It was the best time to take him out since he thought everyone was voting for Jason still. Cirie knew Parvati was the only one who may not go along with it but told her anyway. Being that she was in two alliances Parvati had to decide which one she wanted to go with the end game with and the whole thing rode on her.

At Tribal Council it came out that Jason would be getting some votes by those who agreed to not vote him out. James was the one to break the news while everyone agreed. Ozzy seemed confident as ever though even though he said the Idol did put a target on his back. I really had no idea who would be getting the votes and just assumed it would be Jason going. Things changed though when the votes started to be read. Jeff read all of Jason’s votes first plus one of Ozzy’s. Then he slowly brought out the other three votes for Ozzy and finally the last blow. It was amazing how quickly the mood changed as Ozzy’s, Amanda’s, James’, Erik’s and even Eliza’s mouths dropped. It was a great moment when Ozzy’s name was pulled out as the last vote and he, and the idol, were sent packing. Everything now changes with the biggest player out of the game. Will the girls continue to dominate or will everything just fall apart now? All I know is this season will probably just keep getting crazier and crazier!

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With a merge approaching it was time to return to Micronesia. We first returned to Malakal beach where Ami was just voted out. Erik was sure happy about it, as he should have been, and hoped a merge was approaching. That really is the only thing I think that would keep him in the game since well, he would surely have been the next voted out. The next morning Cirie announced to the foursome that it was time for a merge. They were told to quickly pack their belongings and head out to a new location. Erik was obviously excited as was Amanda. She was dieing to see Parvati and reunite the ‘love square’.

Over at Arai they all thought Erik would surely be the one out. I mean he WAS the sole fan left on the tribe so it was 99% clear that he would go. Eliza was the only one they showed commenting on the other sides tribal and she wanted Ami to stay. I don’t think she had any clue that Ami would go and was planning on joining back up with her and the fans come merge. She had no idea that her worst nightmare was about to hit her as the two invisible girls, Natalie and Alexis, announced the merge to the rest.

When the two tribes met at their “new location” they quickly reconnected. Parvati and Amanda clung to each other while the fans flocked to Erik. Eliza and Jason kind of just stood around and it was obvious they were on the outs. With Ami not there Eliza wasn’t to happy. She had no clue why she went and let us know she was basically screwed. Her plan was not going to work, since her main friend and alliance was gone, and Eliza knew she had little time left in the game.

As the tribes started to feast they quickly learned they wouldn’t be staying at their current location. They had decide which beach to go to and everyone decided Malakal would be the spot. The fans tribe was crap, not sure why they put them there to begin with, so Malakal was the obvious choice. A few interesting things went down at the feast. One was James eating a bat. Seriously, why? I mean there is no reason to even try them when you have so much great stuff there to choose from. Of course it was James so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The other thing was Erik’s tribe name. He told everyone that in Micronesia good translates to “Dabu”. They all believed the kid so I guess that shows how smart the others are as well.

When everyone got back to the beach everything seemed to switch to the girls. Eliza tried to get out of Parvati what was going on with the Favorites alliance and she told her that it was longer happening it seems. Eliza didn’t like that too much but Parvati had other news to break. She’s been making deals dealing with Amanda for awhile now. She finally told Amanda what of a mess “they” are in and Amanda didn’t like that to much. She can’t seem to stand Alexis, since she’s stealing Ozzy away, and wants her gone. Too bad though since Parvati has put her in an alliance with Alexis who oddly has found her time on the show. Jason, on the other hand, continues to dominate the screen for some reason. Maybe it’s his cockiness but for some reason I liked him this episode since he wanted to help Eliza. He promised her he’d give her the hidden stick if he won the individual immunity. Little did she know it was just a hidden stick and not a hidden idol.

The immunity challenge was a copy from the first Palau but at least it was a good one. I was wondering when they’d be doing this one again and was glad to see it back! What they had to do was stand under a great which was in the water. As the tide rose it became harder and harder as they had to keep trying to breath through the great. All the girls dropped out first and then Erik. James was next to go after a long wait and it was then down to the two fish boys: Ozzy and Jason. Both had a similar strategy, to breath through their hands. Ozzy, who was my bet to win, struggled towards the end and gave the win to Jason. Of course he had to ruin it by saying he “dominated the entire challenge”. It wasn’t a challenge anyone COULD  dominate in but I was happy that he beat the once unbeatable Ozzy. Hopefully it knocks him down a bit and I’ll forgive the fact, this time, it was at the cost of listening to Jason say he ‘dominated’ for about the millionth time.

Back at camp things were not looking good for Eliza. Parvati basically turned everyone against her so it was pretty much set she would go. But wait! We have the hidden stick! Jason quickly whipped it out and gave it to Eliza, making one of the BEST moment of Survivor in a long time. She let him have it, telling him it wasn’t an idol and nothing but a stick. Of course he didn’t believe it and she decided to play it anyway. I guess she had nothing to lose. Amanda, on the other hand, made a move to get Alexis out for stealing her man away. Cirie went with it and I think her and Amanda will be very tight from here on out.

At Tribal Council things went a little insane. Alexis out shined everyone by giving Jeff fodder for further questions. Alexis answer to what makes someone a threat basically explained herself and allowed Cirie to call her the “triple threat”. It’s obvious Alexis and Amanda will have it out sometime and hopefully sooner then later. Eliza was the next to be attacked by the one and only Parvati. She told Eliza that everyone basically hates her and that she has played a horrible game. Eliza seemed to agree but then again she thought she had the idol. When the votes were all in Eliza decided to hand Jeff the stick. He let them know the rules of the idol and in the end confirmed what we knew, it was only a stick. Eliza then took the opportunity to let everyone know it was Jason who found it and that Ozzy hid it, meaning he has the original. Ozzy then finally fessed up to it, making Eliza’s departure to have some meaning. She was in fact then voted out, with only Jason and herself voting for Ozzy. Next week it seems Cirie turns the pot again by suggesting Ozzy and the idol get the boot. Will it happen? I’ll believe it when I see it.

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FINALLY we are back in Survivor land. We start off two weeks ago when Tracy was voted out of Malakal. If you can remember that far, she let Ozzy have it during Tribal Council and basically called him out as the ultimate leader of the tribe. When they got back to the beach, Ozzy seemed pretty upset that she called him out like that and I think he finally realized that he isn’t as safe as he thought. He is a pretty big player in the game and he won’t be able to slip through as easily as he thought.

In the morning Cirie and Ami went for a stroll and I think it was to show the others that they could live without Ozzy there. They tracked down, through a morning jungle scene, eight HUGE crabs which seemed to excite Amanda. Ozzy was still on his “OMG I’m a leader” trip and seemed worried that Ami had something up her sleeve. He continued to pout that he was seen as the leader but seriously he’s an idiot if he didn’t realize it before.

Things were a little more interesting over at Arai where James and Parvati seem to be in power. Before all that went down though Jason caught a rat. It wasn’t that big of a deal but, since he’s so cocky, he had to make it one. By calling it the “first time anyone has eaten a rat since the first season” Jason proves he may be a fan, but seriously it’s not that big of a deal. Back to the actual stars of Arai. Parvati seems to be the brains, did I just say that, of the James/Parvati alliance. She realizes that she can’t win against James or Ozzy in the finals so she took actions into her own hands. By aligning with Natalie and Alexis, it shows she’s playing and not just flirting. An all girl final four has never happened and with those four, minus Natalie, things would be very interesting.

A twist was then introduced with the immunity. Each tribe had to choose someone from the opposing tribe to receive individual immunity for that round only and also had to go to Exile Island. The two who were chosen could not play in the immunity challenge and therefore their tribe would, in thought, be hurt. Arai played it smart and took out Ozzy, even though it gave him immunity. Malakal was kind of smart in taking out Alexis, but when has she proven to be good at balancing? I really don’t know as we’ve seen really little of her on the show.

The immunity was about balancing, but only two people had to do it. It was a obstacle course with two from each tribe running it and two others throwing sand bags at those running. The first tribe to get 5 flags from the other side of the course would win immunity plus pizza and beer for their tribe. Both were once again very even until the end, which seems to happen each week. When it came to the last flag, Erik took a really hard hit when trying to jump across the floating pads while Amanda slipped off time and time again. Arai took him their millionth win and we once again will see a Malakal going home. Unfortunately Ozzy has immunity I’m sure we won’t be seeing anymore worry of him being the leader, at least this round.

I kind of feel happy for Arai at this point as they have had it hard lately with both Jonathan and Kathy leaving. Their pizza and beer win was needed for the down and out tribe, even though they aren’t that down and out in challenges. It’s weird how the tribe who has a sucky camp life continues to win the challenges, but it always seems to happen that way. The only one I have a problem with on that tribe right now is Jason. The kid thinks he’s awesome and it really annoys me. He was NOT the MVP of that challenge, Erik did just as good as he did. I mean he is basically saying that Eliza did nothing. She didn’t do much but she DID win something. But then again I guess I shouldn’t think any less from the kid with the hidden immunity stick.

When we get to see Malakal it’s obvious they are hurting badly. Erik took a hard hit in the challenge but seemed fine back at the beach. Although it seemed like he would go for sure, Erik changed things up. He saw Cirie and Amanda alone and decided to tell them how Ami was trying to vote out Ozzy for the past few rounds. She overheard the conversation and let the two know that although it may be true, Erik would say anything to stay. She never said that she did or didn’t try to get Ozzy out but the two girls seemed to buy it.

Thanks to the ’sit out selection’, both Alexis and Ozzy were sent to Exile Island. Ozzy has been there a few times so he basically told Alexis the last clue so he could go up and see if anyone took his false veto bait. Alexis just followed along and didn’t get the clue that where he basically told her was where the hidden idol was. He lifted up the rock and of course it was gone. If Ozzy was smart he would connect Jason’s stupid “Ozzy has the idol” statement to him having the fake. We all know Ozzy isn’t the smartest in the book but I mean it is pretty obvious isn’t it?

With the two girls not buying into Erik’s try for votes, he turned to Ozzy when he returned. He basically pounced on him when he got off the boat and told him how Ami was trying to vote him out with the fans. Ozzy took the bait and went straight to Amanda to make her vote his way. He’s done it before, changed her mind on the vote, so I assume he’d do it again. She’s scared to against him it seems and she’s falling for the same trap she fell into in China. She clings to a stronger player and then cries how she didn’t play her own game in the end. When it came to Tribal Council it really wasn’t clear who would go. It seemed to lean more towards Erik going as Ami cried and cried, but her tears didn’t help. Ozzy controlled the votes again and kept his bud Erik in over traitor Ami. It is sad to see Ami go as she was adding a lot to the game. But next week looks exciting at least!

Next week we finally get to the merge where things go crazy. Alexis is finally in the spotlight and seems to be walking on Amanda territory by flirting with Ozzy. The best moment, which I REALLY can’t wait for, is Eliza telling Jason that his immunity idol is in fact a stick! I really hope he doesn’t believe her and they go into a debate how he’s an idiot and she’s a genius. But then again actually seeing him play it might be even better.

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Starting off on the newly back from Tribal Council Malakal beach, we seem to have some tension. Ozzy and Tracy don’t seem to be getting along as Ozzy is taking the leadership role a little to far it seems. She says he does everything around camp and basically tells them what and how to do things and well Tracy doesn’t like to take orders! There seemed to be an argument about the chickens apparently and when to kill them. Both didn’t seem to want to kill them yet so I was kind of confused on that one. I guess all they wanted us to figure out was Ozzy was a threat (who didn’t see that one coming) and Tracy can’t stand him.

Over at Arai things looked really bad. They were all shivering in their cave and all the girls were complaining. James didn’t like that too much as he hates complaining and basically told them to shut up and just ’survive’. Kathy was taking it the worst and let us know that she doesn’t really want to be there. They said it’s the worst decision she made, to go on Survivor, and tried to blink herself off the island ala ‘I Dream of Gene’.

The rain clouds seemed to steer clear over at Malakal as they had sunny weather and were frolicking on the beach. Erik and Ozzy bounded over climbing coconut trees and Cirie had a few good one liners describing their budding bond. She also had a few choice words about Ozzy’s demands as he forced her to help row out to deep water. We all know Cirie isn’t the best in the water and apparently this little move to make her go out further then she liked could change up the game as she re-evaluates who really is on her side and not.

The reward challenge was a very interesting one. The tribes were pretty neck and neck throughout the entire thing until the puzzle. Cirie really controlled her tribe well, except for the opposite directions a few times, and quickly got Malakal through the course. Eliza didn’t have much trouble getting them to move the wheel where she wanted, she just went a little slower. In the end Malakal FINALLY won a challenge as a new tribe. They won shampoo and a day with food and a hot shower. Ozzy basically said Tracy was going to Exile and screwed her over as she didn’t get to go to the reward. I guess that’s what she gets for wanting to kill the chicken.

At the reward Malakal pigged out and it seemed Erik and Ozzy’s bond is more then just friendship but could lead to an alliance. Ozzy seems to be taking Erik under is wing and doesn’t seem to be all about just the favorites anymore. Nothing too exciting happened at the reward, other then Ami and Amanda’s naked shower. Ok maybe something did happen after all.

Arai wasn’t having any fun it seems as depression set in. Kathy was having it harder then ever as the tribe didn’t sleep for a few days straight and were confined to their cave. In there we saw a few bugs and bats, the always unwelcome house guests. The next morning was sunny for once on the Malakal beach, but Kathy had enough. She was missing her family and couldn’t feel ‘vibrations’ from them. Jeff made a very rare appearance to their beach to catch up on what was going on and most likely take Kathy back with him. He tried to tell her how well she’s done, even though she’s had it rougher then most; but he couldn’t talk her out of it. Arai lost another tribemate thanks to a non-tribal council and was now even with Malakal.

Before we could get to the immunity we had a short view of Malakal post-reward. It seems Cirie was worried about Ozzy’s arrogance, similar to Tracy, and talked to Amanda about it. She seemed to agree, but I’m sure she doesn’t. They basically discussed how Ozzy would never vote for Erik to go, and would therefore be controlling one more thing in the vote. It was interesting, to say the least, to see the power shift in that tribe. At first it was Cirie holding on the cards but now it seems Ozzy holds the power to decide who leaves.

The immunity challenge was VERY interesting and very fun to watch. It was a new one for the show and had the survivors swimming out for puzzle pieces, then being drug back to shore by riding on the pieces. Ozzy went out for most of Malakal and they once again had a very early lead. It all came down to the puzzle and this is where Arai caught up. Eliza and Jason laid out the puzzle and studied it before actually putting it together. This was a smart move and once again Arai caught up just in time to pull out another immunity win.

Malakal was once again all crazy with their voting. Ami had things thought out, kind of confusing though, and wanted herself,  Erik and Tracy to vote for Ozzy. Ami and Cirie would then vote for Erik to leave with Ozzy and voting for Tracy to leave. That would give Ozzy the big boot, but alas his new friendship with Ozzy wouldn allow that. It then came down to Erik and Tracy. Ozzy wanted Tracy gone and it all came down if Amanda would betray him or not and in the end she didn’t and went with her lover instead. Although Tracy put up a great fight at Tribal Council, she was voted out with all the votes but her own. She was a great player, being a fan, and will be missed.

Next week it seems Cirie and Ami go on a hunt for something. They didn’t really show what it was be apparently it’s food! The girls over at Arai seem to be on a hunt of their own, for a new alliance that is. Ami pulls Natalie aside and promises her F4 with the two to of them with Alexis and Amanda. Could an all girl alliance finally make it to the end?

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