'Survivor: Fiji': A bitter pill

Pre-Credit Sequence. (Feb. 22 episode) Boston Rock and his Ravu shackmates are tired of being "the biggest group of losers since Survivor ever started," and thus devise the shocking strategy of speaking only one at time during challenges and working for the good of the team. Let's see if this works.

Burn, Baby, Burn. While Moto is marveling at how they're hardly struggling (Boo: "It's not even survival; it's 'thrival.'"), Ravu is just trying to stay alive, which means having drinkable water, which means trying to get fire. Michelle recites the following letter: "Dear Mr. Sun, Would you like to come out and play today? Please participate in my games. Sincerely, Michelle," and lo, and behold, he responds in kind, beaming through a pair of glasses and granting the beleaguered team fire as well as a morale boost.

Like My 6th Birthday. Jeff congratulates Ravu on achieving fire, which very few tribes have done without resources and then tosses them flint to keep it going. The reward challenge is basically a Slip 'N' Slide followed by a giant Skee ball set-up. Despite Ravu's raised spirits, Moto dominates and wins extra fishing gear, leaving Ravu to glance longingly at the abandoned fruit basket that was one of the other reward choices.

Take Two and Tree-Mail Me in the Morning. Bossy but underperforming Sylvia goes to Exile Island again and learns that the idol is buried below the highest point at the mouth of a cave. Over at Moto, Dreamz exhibits schadenfreude at how Papa Smurf (Gary) fell during the challenge. The laughter dies when it turns out Gary's not feeling so smurfy. His chest pains, disorientation and inability to breathe brings in the medics and causes Alex to unprofessionally diagnose the injury as a broken rib. In the end, Gary is given analgesics and told to sleep it off, big guy.

An Immovable Feast. The tribes must participate in an eating challenge in order to win immunity. For the hungry Ravu, they don't mind that it's typical Fiji fare like peanut worms, fish eyes and pig snout. Rocky and Mookie chomp down like champs, with Mookie even taunting Moto with his worm (peanut worm, that is), but in the end, they must swallow defeat after Moto has better luck choking down the delicacies. Even the ailing Papa Smurf trounces Anthony with the snout amuse bouche.

Annoying vs. Annoying. Sylvia didn't acquit herself well in either challenge and hopes that humility will help her case -- that and perhaps the Immunity Idol. By the way, there's really no surreptitious way to dig with a half-coconut while people are watching. The tribe conspires to vote Sylvia out, but to cover their undernourished bottoms, they decide Anthony will be their backup sacrificial lamb in case Sylvia has the idol. Mookie is spearheading this vote since he's pissed at Anthony's poor challenge performance. You. Must. Swallow.

Tribal Council. Jeff does his best to stir the emotionally disintegrating waters by making Mookie admit his Anthony-inspired animosity. Sylvia reveals that she doesn't have the idol and summarily gets the boot (after a 4-3-1 vote with Rita casting a private vote for Earl). Jeff claims that at least the Tribal Council brought out a little honesty. Yeah, whatever. Sylvia isn't bitter, oh no. She just can't wait to see when her teammates have "clawed each others' eyes out later on."

Are you tired of Ravu's bad luck? Ready for a twist? Does Jeff favor Gary by calling him Papa Smurf but not deigning to call Dre Dreamz?