Keep Your Friends Close

"Keep Your Friends Close"
Season	Survivor: Venezuela
Author	IAmNothing712
Episode Number	5/14
Episode Chronology
Previous	"A Freudian Slipper"
Next	"The Sacrifice"

This is the fifth episode of Survivor: Venezuela.

Challenges

Reward Challenge: Remembrance
Pairs of items are hidden inside an array of woven baskets. The survivors must take turns finding matching pairs in the field of baskets. The first tribe to find six pairs wins reward.
Reward: A 90-second tribe raid and letters from home.
Winner: Arawak

Immunity Challenge: Basket Brawl
Five members from each tribe will play a Survivor version of basketball. At a partially submerged court, players are to compete for a ball in an attempt to shoot it in their tribe's hoop, while members of the other tribe will try to intercept them from doing so as they attempt to score for themselves. First tribe to three points wins immunity.
Winner: Arawak

Story

Night 11

While still dejected after their third straight Immunity Challenge loss, the Arawak tribe goes back to camp and makes the most out of the evening by cracking up jokes. Bash apologizes to Maggie for making her feel uncomfortable, even insisting that they should leave strategy at the back burner and just focus on winning the remaining Immunity Challenges before the merge. Annoyed by Bash's gesture, Ellis skips through Arawak's merrymaking and goes to sleep instead.

“	I think it is very crucial at this point to win immunity. We are getting paltrier by the Immunity Challenge, and the merge is coming soon. If we continue losing, even Maggie's idol would be enough to save us. We all agreed that we have to start winning, leave the in-game politicking for a while and just be the best rendition of the Arawak tribe.	”
–Bash

“	Bash knows he is in the bottom, so he tries to appease us, I'm not buying it. He does have a point of focusing on winning though, so he can be safe for now.	”
–Katrina

“	So, Bash came up to Maggie and apologized to her for everything that has happened. I mean, he basically threw me under the bus. I'm now the outsider! I can't keep up with his BS and just went to sleep. It is very telling that people do desperate things to save themselves.	”
–Ellis

Day 12

At Mapoyo, Mai, who feels she is on the outs with the majority alliance once they accepted Louise back, asks Domino where she stands. Domino comforts her, saying that she does not need to worry because she is not the target, but Maeve. Later, Mark gathers five of the seven members of the alliance: Domino, Dahlia, Vince and Louise. Mark tells them that while Mapoyo is having an immunity streak, they should not feel complacent. As a measure, Mark proposes that the five of them should stick together till the end. Domino, who is alarmed about Mark's gesture, has other plans.

“	We are now getting closer to the merge by the day, and we have to line up our troops and make sure that we succeed taking down the other tribe. It is crucial to win one more Immunity Challenge against them so they enter the merge with less numbers. Dante is a liability for his loose lips, hence why he needs to go.	”
–Mark

“	Mark is now preparing for the endgame which scares me. Not only I'm not going to the end because of this mix of people, but my pet poodle Dante is not part of this five. I'm not going to the end as the one who doesn't get votes. They should start to be scared of me.	”
–Domino

Unbeknownst to them, Maeve is eavesdropping. After the conversation, Maeve pulls Domino aside, asking if she needs numbers to take Mark down. Domino is both elated and curious about Maeve.

“	If somoene like Maeve, who didn't really do much early in the game, comes up to you for game talk, you now start to wonder if this person is just putting off a show. I think I will have to listen when she brings to the table.	”
–Domino

Maeve says she heard the alliance talk about a final five deal, and asks Domino about her place in the alliance.

Where do you think you stand in your alliance?- Maeve

I'm in a very good spot, though honestly, Mark calling the shots scare me.- Domino

Why not change things around?- Maeve

I'm waiting for the right time to strike. Mark is a very influential person, and if I'm to take him down, the plan has to be elaborate.- Domino

“	I felt thee past 12 days I'm on slave labor. It's time to strike.	”
–Maeve

The tribes meet again for the Reward Challenge. Jeff reveals that the winning tribe gets a chance to raid the losing tribe's camp to improve their own. Arawak, who still lives in a comparative luxury by winning all the standalone Reward Challenges, unanimously agrees to take the only luxury the Mapoyo camp has to offer: the pillows, blankets and other creature comforts the Mapoyo tribe won from the Day 6 combined Reward/Immunity Challenge.

Dante is the first to play for Mapoyo, while Jaycee is the first to play for Arawak. Dante fails in his first guess while Jaycee scores the first point for Arawak by luckily finding two skulls. Both Mai and Maggie flop are next, and both flop. Edward extends Arawak's lead by finding the partner of the item Maggie picked (a coconut). Vince finally scores for Arawak after finding two arrows, one of which Mai already found earlier. Katrina furthers Arawak's lead for finding two Yanomami statuettes. Katrina coaches her tribemates on where the other items are hidden. In the end, Katrina's memory pays off, winning Arawak the challenge. Arawak kidnaps Louise while Arawak kidnaps Jaycee, after learning his relationship with Maggie from Bash. Katrina volunteers to perform the raid for Arawak.

Jeff, Katrina and Jaycee are welcomed by Mapoyo to their camp. Just before Jeff starts timing her, Katrina insists to not time her anymore because Arawak is only interested in one thing: the sleeping items Mapoyo won during the Day 6 combined Reward/Immunity Challenge (pillows, blankets, mosquito nets and lamp) except the tarp since they already have one. Allowing Jeff to forgo the 90 second time limit, Katrina takes away Mapoyo's only reward win. Not liking having their only creature comfort away from them, none of the Mapoyo tribe members even help Katrina carrying the items. Katrina deliberately declares their men ungentlemanly and unsportsmanlike. Pissed off, Katrina gives her goodbyes to Jaycee, who was kidnapped by Mapoyo.

“	The Mapoyo men are nothing but butthurt d***heads. They didn't even help me carry the stuff.	”
–Katrina

The loss of Mapoyo's creature comforts takes a toll on Mapoyo. With their food supply nearly depleted, the tribe winces in hunger. Annoyed by the Mapoyo tribe's tantrums, Jaycee walks around camp and stumbles upon the camp's Tree Mail. Turns out, it contains an envelope with Jaycee's letter from his parents, siblings and his longtime girlfriend. At Arawak camp, the tribe also receives letters from home. A note comes with the letters, saying that as part of their challenge win, the Arawak tribe also won letters from their loved ones. Maggie receives letter from her siblings, parents and sisters in the convent, Katrina's is from her younger sister Leigh, Ellis is from his best friend A.J., Bash gets a letter from his wife, Ingrid, and Edward's is from his parents. While tears of joy flood the Arawak camp, Jaycee drops tears of sadness. While he received words of encouragement from his parents, his girlfriend, Melissa sends him a "dear john" letter instead. The letter reads that she has grown cold of their relationship and she does not want to hurt him further, and the failure of their relation is entirely her fault. Melissa closes the letter by apologizing to him and wishes him good luck at winning the game and getting a girlfriend more deserving of him. Humiliated, Jaycee cries uncontrollably. The Mapoyo tribe attempts to console Jaycee, but Jaycee insists to be alone, even asking Mark if he can borrow their canoe to be alone. With Mapoyo agreeing, Jaycee paddles away from everyone, crying in the middle of the river.

“	I'm not mainly sad she broke up with me, it's the way she delivered it. Not only she wasn't tough enough to tell it to my face, but she also broke up with me on live television. I was planning to propose to her the minute I get home, and it went down the drain.	”
–Jaycee

“	I don't know what's up with Jaycee and why he ran away from camp the way he did. I never saw a man sobbing like that before.	”
–Domino

It is already sundown when Jaycee returns to camp after his emotional breakdown. Jaycee explains that as a surprise part of the reward win, his tribe won letters from home, and one of the letters he received was a breakup letter from his girlfriend. Dante, Vince and Mark feel gutted by the move, telling him that a woman like her does not deserve a man in her life, and deserves to be single for the rest of her life. A still-traumatized Jaycee states he contemplates quitting, and while the rival tribe encourages him to stay (with Domino even telling that the girlfriend will be at a loss if his ex wins the game). However in a confessional, Vince wants Jaycee to quit.

“	Quite frankly, if Jaycee wants to quit, then let him! He should be allowed to do that. If he quits, not only we have one less person to deal with, Arawak will be losing another member, which is a positive on our end. In my head, I want my tribe to convince Jaycee to quit so we won't have to worry about the other tribe once we merge.	”
–Vince

Day 13

Jaycee wakes up early with an unusually bouncy mood. He collects firewood, and greets the enemy with a good morning.

“	I slept it over, and I decided to move on. I want to win now with a different perspective. I won't do this for to please others, I am playing this game for me. If I win, Melissa's loss because she just dumped a future millionaire.	”
–Jaycee

“	Jaycee is unusually upbeat this morning compared to his very sad disposition yesterday. Is he bipolar or something?	”
–Vince

At Arawak, Bash pulls Maggie aside, confessing to her what really happened during his time at Mapoyo camp. Bash explains that he ratted her possession of the idols out of spite. Maggie easily forgives Bash, saying that Mapoyo already knew she put the idol in Louise's bag and currently has the Arawak Hidden Immunity Idol. The two hug in reconciliation.

“	I will not make a fuss out of Bash's legendary temper. Both camps knew I'm this season's idol maiden. In this stage of the game, you really need to keep your friends close, though Bash is not a friend, but in the eyes of the game, we have to be.	”
–Maggie

At Mapoyo, Mark talks strategy with Vince, who insists that Maeve is next to go because she is weak at challenges. Mark and Vince seal a final three deal with a handshake, which is caught by Maeve. Though she was not able to hear their conversation from afar, Maeve tries to individually convince Domino, Mai and Dante to vote Mark out because of his underhanded moves. With Domino being her closest friend who is in the majority alliance, Maeve works on her the most. Maeve fabricates a lie about Mark and Vince would try take Domino as a scapegoat at Final Tribal Council, something that neither Mark or Vince brought up in their conversation. Not caring if what Maeve says is true or not, Maeve's recent politicking finally disturbs Domino.

“	I can no longer ignore Maeve's strategizing. I could go either way: follow Maeve's plan of voting out Mark, which totally makes sense, but at the same time, she is playing more subtler than I could've liked to do myself, and her being weak in challenges will benefit her greatly after the merge because no one would think of her as a threat. To me that all the more MAKES her a threat, and that's why she needs to go soon.	”
–Domino

“	I'm trying my best to convince people especially Domino that Vince and Mark cannot be trusted, and I had to stretch the truth by flat out lying to Domino's face by saying Vince and Mark are taking her to the end as their goat. When Louise comes back, I'll have to work on her too.	”
–Maeve

Day 14

After receiving Tree Mail, the tribes meet again for the Immunity Challenge. To even up the numbers, Arawak has to sit out one male (Edward), while Arawak benches three women (Domino, Maeve and Mai).

Round 1: Ellis reaches the ball first, but Dante pins him down. Bash is able to pin Dante as well and tosses the ball to the free Maggie. Maggie attempts to shoot the ball, but Dahlia intercepts her and steals the ball. Bash retaliates by grabbing Dahlia's arms. Maggie steals the ball and shoots it before Vince catches her. First point is for Arawak.

Round 2: Dante catches the ball first and attempts to shoot it. Bash comes to steal the ball from him, ensuing a clash of the giants. Dante fakes Bash and passes the ball to Mark, but Jaycee intercepts. Dahlia attempts to pin Jaycee but Maggie shoves her. Louise tries to block Jaycee but still fails. Jaycee wins Arawak's second point.

Round 3: Instead of catching the ball, Dante goes after Bash and wrestles him. Maggie and Dahlia go at each other while Vince and Jaycee try to steal the ball from each other. Bash slams Dante and runs after Jaycee and Vince. Bash carries Vince on his shoulder (as Jeff puts it, "like a caveman"), while Jaycee tries to shoot the ball albeit fails. Dahlia tries to intercept, but Jaycee fakes her and shoots Arawak's third and winning score. With a 3-0 blowout victory, the Arawak tribe finally breaks their losing streak and wins the challenge, sending the Mapoyo tribe to Tribal Council.

Back at camp, Dante laments their back to back loss, saying it is very disheartening. Not only they lost the only form of comfort they have, they also have to vote for someone out. The checks their food supply, and much to their sadness, they are down to their last few cups of rice.

“	Losing today's challenge si very disheartening. Not only we didn't score, but we returned to camp and found out that we are now very short on rice. We need food, badly. We're going to starve to death come the merge.	”
–Dante

Dahlia, who is usually a tough-as-nails type of woman, cries to Louise, saying that their recent losses are taking a toll on her. While most of the tribe is busy lamenting their loss, Domino has one thing in mind: strategy.

“	I don't mind the loss actually. I mean, we're going to lose at some point. Right now, I have to start thinking who are the best people I can work with come the merge. As this point, Mark and Maeve are both on my hit list, and Dante is definitely under my wing no matter what. Mark and Maeve are targeting each other, and it's up to me to decide who goes from the two of them.	”
–Domino

Mark, Louise, Dante, Vince and Dahlia are lounging in the shelter, discussing the vote. Mark has no doubt in his mind that Maeve should be next to go because she is weak in challenges. Louise reacts, saying that while Mark has a fair point, Maeve's weakness barely lost them a challenge, and she sat out at the Immunity Challenge, so the blame shouldn't be put on her head. Dante joins in the talk, which Domino does not mind.

Meanwhile, Mai approaches Domino as to what the plan is. Since Louise was brought back in the alliance, no one has talked strategy with her. Domino says she is mulling over Mark or Maeve.

Anything new yet?- Mai

To be honest, it's a tossup between Mark or Maeve for me. Mark wants Maeve out, and Maeve wants Mark out.- Domino

Why Mark though?- Mai

Maeve caught Mark talking strategy with Vince.- Domino

Big deal.- Mai

No wait. Maeve told me they were sealing a final three deal.- Domino

Who's the third person?- Mai

She didn't say, but the thing is, as much as I'm not banking on Maeve's words 100%, it makes sense. Mark, Vince and Dahlia are inseparable, especially Mark and Vince. I am not sure if they will bring Dahlia to the end, but I doubt it.- Domino

Right now, manpower-wise we need Maeve to leave.- Mai

Maeve shows up after taking a bathroom break. She reminds Domino and Mai to turn this game around for the underdogs.

Maeve approaches Louise last, telling her the same lie she told Domino, saying that Mark is just using her and her idol for numbers. Louise seems to believe her.

“	If what Maeve says is true, it does make sense. Mark and Vince seem to have a thing going. They walk around camp together. It's scary almost.	”
–Louise

Minutes before Tribal Council, Domino individually approaches Dante, Mai and Louise who she is voting for. She has pros and cons.

“	I think this is a better move for me in the long run.	”
–Domino

At Tribal Council, Mark tells Jeff they ran out of rice, and the tribe raid lowered the tribe's morale, and even further after losing the Immunity Challenge. Maeve interjects, saying that everything has to be done Mark's way. The two then go after each other. While the two are angrily converse, Domino and Mai feed off their conversation, nodding at each other agreeing who to vote for. Maeve ends her tirade by outing Mark as a decent threat in the game. In the end, despite knowing Mark is a more obvious threat, the fact that Maeve is playing underhandedly is too obvious to ignore for Domino, and while the rest of the tribe cite her weak physique as reason for her elimination, Maeve is unanimously voted out by the tribe, 7-1.

Tribal Council

Tribal Council 5: Mapoyo
Voted Against	Voter
Maeve (7 votes)	Dahlia, Dante, Domino, Louise, Mai, Mark, & Vince
Mark (1 vote)	Maeve
VOTED OFF: Maeve Ensley

Voting Confessionals

“	It would've worked if you kept your mouth shut.	”
–Mai

“	Sorry, but I find you more threatening than Mark.	”
–Domino

“	Domino is so smart to keep you. However, the whole tribe will still vote for you anyway, so it doesn't matter.	”
–Dante

“	Loose lips, sink ships!	”
–Mark

“	Sorry lady. You kicked serious butt out there, and that's what scares me: You have to kick mine too at some point for you to win.	”
–Louise

Next Time on Survivor

• Upon learning Maeve's lie is actually becoming true, Domino starts to take a stand against Mark.
• With one more episode before the merge, will Arawak's winning streak continue, or will they enter the merge with bad numbers?
• Dante's bumbling continues.
• With Mapoyo hungry and weak, Jeff Probst offers to help them, but this "help" comes with a sacrifice.

Author's Notes

• Having been at the Mapoyo camp long enough, Maggie is convinced that the Mapoyo tribe has little to no luxury, so she insists to take only the pillows, blankets and mosquito nets.
• A "Dear John" letter is a letter written by a partner, informing his/her boy/girlfriend that their relationship is over.