Episode #1503 Recap - Days 7, 8, and 9

Night Crawlers -
Sleep is hard to achieve for the women of Fei Long as they desperately try to avoid the nightly snuggle by the cold and cuddly Jean-Robert, who is looking for warmth. "Like I’m going to keep anyone warm! I weigh seven pounds…I can’t even keep myself warm! Get off of me!" explains Courtney. As Leslie distances herself from Jean-Robert in the shelter, she confesses, "I don’t think Jean-Robert gets the social game of Survivor. If we ever have to go to Tribal Council, at least we don’t have to worry about who it’ll be first because it’ll be him."

Crabby Tribe -
On Day 7, the simple task of preparing breakfast turns into a squabble at Fei Long. "I want the whole crab, nice and crispy in my mouth," argues Aaron, adamant about cooking their one and only crab on a stick over the fire. James disagrees with this approach. He wants to boil the crab to create a stew, and thus stretch their meager catch into a meal for eight. "We only have one crab! Damn!" exclaims the aggravated James. He eventually wins this battle with Aaron. James says, "It’s frustrating with this team because they have a slow learning curve. I’m the only one that actually went and read a survival handbook… Four hours of Barnes and Noble, I feel like Crocodile Dundee out here!"

Lesson Learned? -
While the Zhan Hu tribe slowly crawls out of bed, Dave, who already admitted to losing the previous challenge due to burn-out, obsesses over the chores around camp. He washes the tribe boat, scrubs a muddy ladder and prepares breakfast. As Peih-Gee’s pleas of rest and conserving energy for the challenges fall on deaf ears, Dave describes aggravations of his own. "It is a balance. Camp doesn’t sort itself out. If you don’t sort out camp, challenges will tank. It’s not rocket science!" Continuing to irk his tribe, Dave’s condescending leadership causes Frosti to rethink his previous vote. Frosti complains, "Dave’s pushing a whole lot of people and he needs to chill out….We were looking at him and Ashley last night and today of all days should be the day when he should just be happy that he’s here."

Reward Challenge: "Clear the Deck" -
The tribes meet again for their Reward Challenge, where Jeff Probst explains the rules. Alternating rounds, women on women then men on men, tribes will engage in hand-to-hand combat. The goal: throw the opposing tribe off the deck of a boat and into the water. First tribe to clear the entire opposing tribe off the boat’s platform scores a point. The first tribe to get three points wins kerosene, a lantern, rope, pillows, blankets and a tarp, and earns the right to kidnap one member of the losing tribe.

In the first round, as Zhan Hu’s Sherea marches across the gang plank looking for a fight, Fei Long’s Denise comes from behind, taking on Jaime and Peih-Gee. Denise is knocked off balance and tossed in the water. Amanda and Leslie of Fei Long are then quickly wrestled into the water, as the three Zhan Hu women remain dry atop the boat, scoring a point. For the men’s first round, Dave strips naked for battle, but the distraction doesn’t help Zhan Hu as Fei Long’s Aaron takes him into the water. James and Jean-Robert toss Frosti and Erik overboard, scoring a point for Fei Long. With the score tied 1-1, the Zhan Hu women strike again, clobbering Leslie and crushing Amanda’s head into the floor before pushing them both over. They then push off the lone Denise, scoring the second point for Zhan Hu and putting them in the lead, 2-1. The men go at it again, and it quickly turns into a melee of tangled bodies thrown into the water. James flexes his muscle once again and is the last man standing for Fei Long. The score is tied 2-2. As the women battle for the third time, Sherea uses her lower body strength to scoot Amanda and Leslie into the water, leaving Denise fighting off the three Zhan Hu women. The Zhan Hu women roll her into the water, scoring the winning point. Ecstatic over winning their first challenge, Zhan Hu then kidnaps Leslie from Fei Long. She is presented with a bamboo tube with instructions to be opened in private.

Common Ground -
Although she is from a rival tribe, Leslie is welcomed graciously into the Zhan Hu camp. "I was so excited to win the Reward Challenge," giggles Jaime. "Not only did we get pillows, blankets and a tarp, we were also able to kidnap Leslie to our tribe." Immediately impressed by the positive morale of the tribe, Leslie learns she shares the same religious faith and background as Jaime, Erik and Sherea. "I’m here to love people and to show them the love of Christ and I can see that they appreciate that here," explains a grateful Leslie. Feeling at ease with her new friends, Leslie reveals a seemingly harmless insight about Fei Long’s tribal dynamic, pointing Aaron out as their leader. Soaking in the information, Peih-Gee explains, "We got quite a bit of good information from Leslie but it was more in a kind of fun girls gossiping. You can get the same results but you can do them in a happy, nice way."

Trash Talking -
While collecting firewood at Fei Long, Courtney and Todd eavesdrop on Jean-Robert and James strategizing in the water. Labeling Courtney as the weakest link, Jean-Robert teases James, suggesting that he only wants to keep Courtney around because he’s got a crush on her. While Todd and Courtney’s jaws hit the jungle ground in amazement, they hear Jean-Robert say, "The only thing better than a million dollars is a million dollars and some ass!" Fed up with their crude behavior, Todd decides it’s time to take James and Jean-Robert out. "As far as I’m concerned, James and Jean-Robert are the trash," declares Todd. "Trash gets stinky. They gotta go."

Return the Favor -
Having previously received a clue from Jaime when she was kidnapped at Fei Long, Leslie is eager to repay Jaime’s kindness and secretly gives Jaime the clues to the Hidden Immunity Idol. "I trust Leslie more than anyone on the other team so it’s really good to get her over here, and she gave me the clue for the hidden Immunity Idol. So altogether it worked out really well for me," explains Jaime, who is thrilled yet stumped as to the whereabouts of the Hidden Immunity Idol. "We have two clues and I can’t figure them out quite yet. I don’t know, I think it’s probably right in front of my face."

Immunity Challenge: "Blade Runner" -
Survivors reconvene for the Immunity Challenge, where Jeff explains the rules. Four players from each tribe will take turns at four stations, where they must chop a series of ropes concealed in wood to retrieve a bundle of large wooden puzzle coins. Once the tribes have retrieved all four bundles of coins, the two remaining tribe members will stack those coins on a puzzle pole atop a heavy stone base. Once stacked correctly, those two members will drag their completed puzzle and stone base across the finish line. First tribe across the finish line wins Immunity.


Jaime rushes out to her station for Zhan Hu, hacking away at the wood as Courtney starts on the first Fei Long station. A horrified Fei Long watches as a weak Courtney is unable to chop through the ropes, giving Jaime, Peih-Gee, Frosti and finally Erik all time to retrieve their bundles. Zhan Hu thus gains a massive lead. As Dave and Sherea begin working on Zhan Hu’s puzzle, the exhausted Courtney resorts to sawing through the ropes at her station. Finally through her ropes, the remainder of the Fei Long tribe scramble to make up for lost time. As James runs back to the start with the last bundle of the Fei Long coins, Todd and Jean-Robert furiously hurry to solve the puzzle and beat Zhan Hu. But Dave and Sherea calmly work together, stacking their coins to solve the puzzle. As they tug the heavy stone base across the finish line, Zhan Hu wins their first Immunity Challenge.

The Weak Must Go? -
Facing Tribal Council for the first time, Jean-Robert contemplates the vote and ponders ousting either Courtney or Leslie, who he sees as the tribe’s weakest players. "Losing today’s challenge just kind of reaffirms the fact that we need strength, we need brawn on our team," states Jean-Robert. "So I think common sense will prevail and we’ll be getting rid of one of the two weakest women on the squad." Meanwhile, upset with the social dynamic in the tribe, Courtney and Leslie make a play to oust Jean-Robert in hopes of a more peaceful camp life. But as Leslie admits both to revealing tribal dynamics to the opposing tribe and to forming bonds with those of a common faith on Zhan Hu, she becomes a target as well. "What scares me is that once the merge happens, what kind of bonds is Leslie going to be involved with?" explains Aaron. "We can’t really trust her." Unwilling to take his chances with Leslie in the future, Aaron is adamant she should go. With the votes split between the annoying Jean-Robert and the overly-honest Leslie, Todd struggles with the decision that could drastically change the game. "Right now it would be between Leslie and Jean-Robert. Further down the line, I don’t want to be competing against these huge guys. This game is not just physical right now. I’m trying to think strategically as well. I want to get rid of Jean-Robert, but at the same time, as far as challenges go, I want to keep Jean-Robert. But who knows?"

Tribal Council -
At Tribal Council, Jean-Robert’s concerns of being ousted from the game prompt him to call out both Courtney and Leslie as the weak links in the tribe. In her defense, Leslie argues that drive and heart helped the Zhan Hu tribe win the Challenge. In the end, Jean-Robert is spared when the tribe’s trust in Leslie is shattered. Leslie is blindsided with six votes to two, becoming the third person voted out of Survivor: China.

Leslie leaves us her final words. "I am so proud of myself. I had this dream. I chased the dream, and I would have liked to have been here longer, of course, but I always knew going into this game I would be here as long as God wanted me to be here. Apparently he’s ready for me to go home. I don’t understand why they voted me out but I really hope that my tribe made the right decision. It had to have been a tough one for them but I had a great time. I would do it again in a heartbeat."