Episode #1509 Recap - Days 25, 26, and 27

Happy Holidays? -
Attempting to sleep off the hangover from the previous night’s Tribal Council, where Jean-Robert was voted out of the game, the tribe is awoken by the boisterous James as he belts out in song, “Good morning, good morning to you!”

While the castaways brush the sleep from their eyes, Courtney basks in glory after she realizes that last night’s Tribal Council wasn’t a nightmare after all: “Everyone, it’s Christmas! There’s no Jean-Robert in the bed!”

However, not everyone at camp is as joyous as Courtney. Denise worries about her position in the game after being kept in the dark on the Jean-Robert vote: “I had an opportunity to switch over to the Zhan Hu and I decided to stick with the group that I’m close to and I still get backstabbed.”

Todd’s Observations -
James’ frustration grows as he cooks fish in the wok while Peih-Gee stands over him, instructing him on how to prepare the meal. Observing Peih-Gee’s antics, Todd explains, “Oh my gosh! Jean-Robert was annoying but now he is gone and all of a sudden Peih-Gee decided to step in and take his place!” Not everyone is butting heads in the tribe, though, as Todd observes Courtney and Frosti snuggling up and realizes, “Courtney is tight with Frosti and she is flirting with him. It’s scary because you never know if she is going to want to twist or turn, and it worries me.”

Reward Challenge: Drum Roll -
Arriving at the Reward Challenge, Jeff Probst explains the rules. After a schoolyard pick, the Survivors are divided into two teams of four. Using four different-sized drums, they must keep a ball in the air by bouncing it from one drum to another as they navigate through a series of obstacles. If they drop the ball, they must return to the starting gate. At the end of the course is the finishing bin. The first team to bounce three balls into the bin wins Reward--an overnight cruise and dinner on China’s Lee River.

The teams are chosen: Todd, Denise, Peih-Gee and James on the red team against Amanda, Frosti, Courtney and Erik on the yellow team. The game begins as both teams slowly bounce their ball along the course. Frosti passes the ball to Erik as the yellow team takes an early lead. The red team’s James struggles and drops the ball, sending them back the start and allowing yellow to get ahead by scoring its first point. The red team continues to stumble as James drops the ball multiple times, allowing the yellow team of Erik, Frosti, Amanda and Courtney to take a commanding lead. That was all the yellow team needed as they work together, bouncing their second and third balls into the finishing bin to win Reward.

The Blame Game -
Returning to camp after losing the challenge, a frustrated Peih-Gee approaches James and blames him for the team’s loss. “I can’t believe you ever accused me of giving up at challenges. I saw your ass strolling back to the mat every time we dropped the ball,” Peih-Gee claims. James vehemently responds, “You have some nerve for a loser! Shut up! That’s why you lose, you are quick to blame!” As the insults continue, Peih-Gee storms out of camp and jumps in the water to cool off. “I’m probably pissed off that we lost the challenge and taking it out on James, but I’m the only person who hasn’t won any Reward Challenges. I don’t have a single ally here. I don’t have anybody,” worries Peih-Gee.

Lee River Reward -
Aboard a riverboat, Courtney, Amanda, Erik and Frosti toast in celebration of winning the challenge. While Courtney, Amanda and Frosti bash Peih-Gee, Erik notices a glimmer of hope in the game and explains his position: “As much as I am still on Peih-Gee’s side, I don’t mind her being talked about negatively because as long as she is being talked about, I’m not!”

As the boat cruises down river, Courtney finds comfort in not only the awe-inspiring view, but also from a back massage from Frosti. “I like Courtney a lot, and I think both of us feel that. She’s a real attractive girl. She’s smart and way out of my league, but having someone to be comfortable around is really nice,” explains a smitten Frosti.

Later, Erik entertains his tribe as he mimics goats they see along the bank of the river, an act which Amanda finds cute. Erik hopes to solidify a new bond with Amanda and Courtney during this Reward. As night falls, the winners devour a huge serving of fried chicken and mashed potatoes and enjoy their time away from camp.

Return to Camp -
On day 27, Courtney, Amanda, Frosti and Erik return to camp from the Reward and are greeted with a barrage of questions from Todd and Peih-Gee about what foods were served. Not wanting to add insult to injury, Amanda and Courtney lie about the food, telling them it was merely Chinese food they’ve eaten on Reward before. “If they found out we had fried chicken and mashed potatoes, they would hate us,” Amanda explains. Later in the water, Todd informs Amanda, Courtney, Frosti and Erik about Peih-Gee’s earlier outburst with James, placing a bigger target on her back.

Immunity Challenge -
The tribe greets Jeff Probst at the Immunity challenge where he explains the rules. This challenge will test the Survivors’ memory, as they each have a series of Chinese zodiac symbols on a table in front of them. In each round, Jeff Probst will call out a specific sequence of symbols. The Survivors must place their symbols in the correct order as stated. If they get it correct, they stay in the game. Answer incorrectly and they are out. The last person remaining wins.

Before the game begins, Jeff Probst shocks the tribe as they are presented a huge dilemma. They can either participate in the challenge in hopes of winning Immunity, or opt out and gorge on cheeseburgers and french fries. Feeling comfortable with their position in the game, James, Denise, Todd and Courtney elect to eat in lieu of competing, while Peih-Gee, Erik, Amanda and Frosti decide to play.

The challenge begins, as does the eating. Erik is quickly eliminated after answering the first question incorrectly. After the second question, Amanda is next to go, as Peih-Gee and Frosti remain in the game. In the end, Peih-Gee's memory which serves her best, as Frosti answers incorrectly. Peih-Gee is awarded the victory and the much-need Immunity Necklace, keeping her safe from the night’s vote.

What Will Courtney Do? -
The tribe returns to camp after Peih-Gee’s Immunity win. Frosti expresses his disappointment in his fellow tribemates for not competing in the challenge and opting to eat. He and Erik assume either one of them will most likely be voted out. “Not winning Immunity today and having Peih-Gee win means you can’t vote her out. I think Erik kind of already knows he is on the chopping block,” explains Frosti.

Frosti then approaches Todd in hopes of saving himself and campaigns to vote out Erik, claiming he is too dangerous to keep around because everyone loves him, especially the girls. “He’s a great guy and good to have around, but you have to be careful,” explains Frosti. After listening to Frosti’s plan, Todd voices his opinion in private: “Tonight’s vote is killing me! If Erik makes it to the end, hands down he's guaranteed the million dollars. But Frosti is a big threat in the challenges and that kind of worries me, so I don’t know what I am going to do.”

Concerned that Courtney’s relationship with Frosti threatens Todd’s future in the game, Todd approaches Denise and James to vote out Frosti since doing so will break up Frosti and Courtney’s bond. “If [Courtney] is not okay with that, we should turn it around and get rid of her,” suggests Todd to the group.

Putting his plan into action, Todd approaches Courtney at the water well and suggests she and the others vote out Frosti. He explains, “James and Denise are scared to death that you won’t be able to vote out Frosti.” Courtney replies, “Why? Because he is kind of like my Survivor boyfriend?” Todd confirms and asks Courtney if she will vote Frosti out. “We’ll see how it goes,” Courtney responds. As the tribe prepares for Tribal Council, the paranoia and doubt thickens. “I literally don’t know what to expect and she could take a sharp turn at any moment! You know, I may have to vote for her!” laments a concerned Todd.

Tribal Council -
At Tribal Council, loyalties are tested as Jeff Probst questions the Survivors about trust in the game. “There is no loyalty in a game like this. There is no real, down to the bottom trust. I mean, it’s a game and you hope that the friendships you make will last to the end,” explains Denise. As Courtney sits quietly, contemplating her vote, Frosti stresses the importance of friendship and reminds the group, “I do believe that forming the relationships with the whole tribe really did help me get this far. But it is a game and everyone understands that and sometimes in games, people get hurt.”

But in the end, Frosti is the one hurt when Courtney turns against him and helps vote him out of the tribe. Frosti becomes the ninth person voted out of Survivor: China and the third member of the jury that will eventually determine who will be the Sole Survivor.

Frosti leaves us his final words. “I expected some people to kind of backstab, but I didn’t expect it right now. I got beat by the tiny flight attendant, the sassy New York waitress and the lady with the mullet. I wanted to prove that somebody who is younger and smaller could come out here and do the same job that anyone else can do. And I have proved that.”