Rory Rejected

Sexual Tension And Combat As The Uber-Tribe Alinka Is Born

(CBS)  Rory was pumped up about the merger Thursday night on "Survivor," reports The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen, but it didn't work out the way he had planned.

The all-important merger caused a serious split between the men and women. And in the end, Rory Freeman paid the price at tribal council.

"I'm upset in that I obviously don't win the million dollars," he told Chen. "But…having lived with the women over in Yasur, I had a real idea of how the women were going to be voting… When I came back to Lopevi, I'm waiting for Chris and Sarge and Chad to welcome me back in completely, and they apparently thought I was in Club Med with the ladies of Yasur."

On Thursday night, it came down to the men versus the women. All of the men voted to get Ami out, and Ami and the rest of the women voted to get Rory out. Did he get the boot because he's a man?

"Partially," said Rory. "But I think part of that also has to do with the fact that I was suddenly becoming a threat in the physical challenges... I find it hard to believe that I'm the big threat in the physical challenges."

So it's kind of flattering, right?

"Oh, it's absolutely flattering," he acknowledged, "but I still wish I was playing the game."

What are his thoughts on Ami? Rory and Ami did not get along at all. Is she the reason Rory got the boot? Was she the one behind her undoing?

"I wouldn't really say that Ami is the reason behind my undoing," Rory replied. "But I think that no one really recognizes how strong of an influence Ami has on absolutely all of the women…because she plays a very low-key game, you know? She's always, 'Have a good positive attitude, smile and play the game.' But the fact of the matter is, Ami is ruthless."

Chen pointed out that Rory thinks it was a bad move for the guys to vote John Kenney off the previous week.

"I think that the worst move of the game, by far, was them voting John Kenney off the game last week, because everybody knew going into the merge, you want it to be five men, five women," Rory said. "And I was astounded that they would choose to keep Twila and Julie and vote John Kenney off,(giving) the strength-in-numbers factor to the women."

Rory missed being on the jury by one week. How bitter is he about that?

"I'm pretty bitter about that and the fact that I'm out of the game," he concluded, "but the fact of the matter is, I'm blessed" with a wife and child.

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Like the tribe itself after the merge, the Lopevi alliance is no more. It's guys versus girls -- again. Children in a sandbox stabbing each other in the back, making secret, insincere deals and betraying what words were spoke.

In the end, Rory the housing case manager from Des Moines, Iowa, was kicked off the island. The men were dismayed at their recent tribeswomen, Twila and Julie, who chose gender over kinship. The war of the sexes is nigh.

This week's episode began with some eye candy, as Julie did some bun-sunning on the sand -- even convincing Sarge to bare his white posterior. It was a sight Chris will never forget, and not in a good way. As Julie put it, if the men want to keep her around for visual stimulation, she's got it in the bag.

Rory, tired of his female compatriots in Yasur, let it be known -- to the viewers, anyway.

"What a worthless crew," he lamented. "Stupid people irritate the living hell out of me." Rory, who taught Eliza how to build a fire, was astonished that she struggled with boiling water.

In the water bucket chuck challenge, a seawater filled can was tossed from member to member until they had enough and could ignite their tower. Though dentists might have cringed at the fructose feast of chocolate cake, cookies and milk that awaited them, the teammates in Lopevi squealed like under-sweetened school children and invited cavities to Vanuatu Island.

After the challenge, the tribes were merged. Hugs and smiles abounded, but only for fleeting moments. Soon after, Rory reported to the men that the women, regardless of what has been said, have no intention of letting handshakes and promises get in the way of a femme-filled final tribe. He also campaigned against Ami, who had earned his ire during his days with the Yasur tribe.

The first challenge for the newly-joined tribe was for individual immunity. Each island dweller had to swim out to sea, grab three flags and return them to shore before the others. It was "Survivor"'s version of natural selection. Sarge won and found himself in the enviable position as the only member of the new uber-tribe who could not be voted off the island.

A new tribe name was chosen: Alinta. Immediately drawn to each other, the women spent long hours picking each others' eyebrows and painting each others' bodies. That made it clear to Sarge that the gender war was unstoppable.

The women saw their moment to dominate with their overwhelming estrogen powers -- and their 6-4 majority over the men. While smattering themselves with fake tattoos, they began the plan to annihilate the men. Ami stepped into the role of the primary woman warrior, whose sole goal seems to be the eradication of any and all guys in her general vicinity.

Rory was the unfortunate victim of the master plan. After being voted off the island, he lamented: "I am the victim of a gender war. The women, they have got the men bamboozled into thinking they had an opportunity."

"I may not be a million dollars richer, but I will never forget the island of fire," added Rory.

Unaired insider video and a "Survivor" fantasy league are featured on the official "Survivor" Web site.