Survivor: The Plot Thickens

Analysis of "Survivor: Palau" Episode 12, by CBSNews.com's Ellen Crean.

Of course, in Episode 12, they also totally outwitted and outplayed the other
Survivors. But part of what made it such a terrific episode were the quotes they came up with.

Here are just a few:

Tom, on Caryn's state of mind: "She's more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs at this point."

Ian, after returning to camp with Tom and Caryn after losing the reward challenge: "Well, it's a good thing I didn't come to spend the night on a yacht." Tom's response: "That's the icing on the cake. We didn't come for the icing. We came for the cake."

Ian to camera, about pulling the switcheroo on Gregg: "It's a delicate operation that needs to be handled with the utmost of care. This is kind of like taking a bag of potato chips from a fat man. You can do it, but you'd better do it quick. Otherwise, he's gonna turn around and sit on you."

Tom to camera, after Katie, Gregg and Jenn returned from the reward challenge: "Today my worst nightmare came true. Only three family members got to spend time with their loved ones, and the other three are left on the beach to hear the stories. This one cuts and twists, and it's tough."

Tom to camera: "Now it's time to get control of the game again and focus on the coming six days and what needs to be accomplished. It has been a good run, but it's about to get a little rough. That little trip that they took may cost them big."

Tom to camera after he failed to win immunity: "That darn gun, man. That is my Achilles heel. It's very fortunate I became a fireman rather than a cop, because it would just be dangerous for everybody."

Ian, as he voted to boot Gregg: "Gregg, you're the dark horse, and it's time for the dark horse to ride into the sunset."

But even more expressive than the words were some of the expressions on the players' faces. Gregg (rightly so) had pure worry on his mug a number of times. For instance, there was the moment after he told Ian and Tom, after choosing Jenn and Katie to share his reward: "So sorry. We'll pay you back." Tom's reply: "Oh, no. We'll pay you back."

And no viewer is soon going to forget Jenn's face as she realized that her "special friend" Gregg had been voted off the island. It went from "What?" to "No!" to "Why?" to "Who?" in a matter of seconds.And who could ignore Coby, sitting on the jury, wearing a shirt with every color of the rainbow? As he witnessed the unfolding of events at Tribal Council, he slapped his hand over his mouth, rolled his eyes, jumped around in his seat, and turned, with undisguised glee, to fellow jury members Janu and Stephenie.

Coby's antics probably mirrored those of many viewers, though, because this was an especially hot episode. The game was bound to turn more interesting once the mighty Korors were forced to start eliminating its "power" members. This time, "Survivor" more than lived up to its promise.

As the episode started, the morning after the Tribal Council during which Stephenie was voted out, Tom was saying he was relieved it had not been him, adding that he knows he had a target on his back: : "I don't blame them. If I was playing against me, I'd want me out of here, too."

Caryn once again repeated her opinion that Gregg and Jenn needed to be split up, but she also said she knew she was the next in line for the boot. "I'm just hoping and praying that something happens," she told the camera. "Otherwise, I'm going home."

She had no idea just how effectively her hopes would be fulfilled.

The game started to turn at the reward challenge. It was a quiz on island knowledge, and every time players answered the question correctly, they were allowed to drop a tribe member's torch closer to the water. After three hits, the torch hit the water and the player was out.

The prize at stake was a night on a luxury yacht, complete with a shower, a massage, and a feast. In previous versions of "Survivor," the winner was allowed to take another person with him, so there was that expectation as well.

This particular challenge, though, had the added entertainment value of watching people get ticked off at each other. Caryn was the first one out, followed by Tom and then Ian, whose final shot came from Katie, of all people.

Gregg appealed to Katie not to hit him at one point, promising to return the favor. But when the time came for him to keep his promise, he was faced with a choice between Katie and Jenn. To his everlasting embarrassment, Gregg asked Jenn if it would be "horrible" if he hit her torch.

Host Jeff Probst interjected: "Wait, Gregg! Did you just ask permission?"

Chimed in Tom: "Yes, he did!" and then mockingly, to Gregg, "Is it OK, dear?"

Well, of course, Jenn did not grant permission, Gregg hit Katie, and Katie grimly proclaimed, "You suck, Gregg."But, as it turned out, Gregg did not suck that much, because after winning the challenge and picking Jenn to share the reward with him, he was given the chance to select a third person, and he went with Katie.

Of course, this was the best thing that could have happened to Caryn. Tom and Ian were pretty sure that Katie was ready to betray them at that point.

As Ian put it, "Today at the challenge, Katie chose to throw me into the water rather than Gregg, and I said, 'Wow. That's interesting.' If Katie is willing to sell me out for a night on a yacht, there's no way she's going to hold onto me for a million dollars."

And Tom told the camera, "Caryn warned me that Katie was looking to get rid of me, but I still wasn't willing to take her word over Katie's at that point. Now Ian says...she's now become the shady lady Katie, looking to dump us and go into the final with Gregg and Jenn."

As it turned out, Tom's instincts were right on target. On the yacht, after finding out that they each had a visit from a loved one (Gregg's best friend, Jenn's sister, and Katie's brother-in-law), they went swimming with dolphins and then gathered around the dinner table for a planning session.

The upshot: After getting rid of Caryn at the next Tribal Council, Katie agreed to vote with Gregg and Jenn to topple Tom. And furthermore, if Caryn managed to win immunity, they would get rid of Tom even sooner.

Katie, rather shamelessly, revealed, "My strategy is to stick with those people that make the decisions until those people no longer have any power, and then jump to the next person that makes the decisions."

That would have been a pretty clever strategy, too, except that she was being outmaneuvered by Tom and Ian, who, back on the beach, had decided to risk a tie vote in order to try to oust Gregg. Caryn was more than happy to be enlisted; her role was mainly to act "down and dour" so Katie, Gregg and Jenn would continue to think that she was without hope.

She turned out to be a great actress; as Ian said, "Caryn is winning an Academy Award right now."

The immunity challenge was a combination of previous challenges: a net maze (goodbye, Caryn), a land version of the sea star puzzle (adios, Katie), eating balut (sayonara, Gregg), untying knots to free a flag from a wooden box (so long, Jenn), and finally, shooting to knock out three targets (ta-ta, Tom).

The biggest reward for the viewers came when, just before Tribal Council, Ian revealed to Katie that he, Tom and Caryn were going to be voting for Gregg. Katie made an attempt to object, but she knew right then that it was in her best interest to join them. If she did not, she would risk a tie and possibly picking a rock, at random, that would send her home.

So it was at Tribal Council Gregg got the surprise of his life. He turned out to be a good sport, though, saying that his hat was off to his competitors.

A final quote, from Gregg: "They got me. They got me good."
By Ellen Crean