Episode 4: We begin the show at camp Moron-U, having just returned from voting off the amazing Hunter. Gina is beside herself, in more ways than one. She can't believe her fellow tribesmen got rid of their best player.  Gina had suspected that she would've been voted off. Afterall, Hunter was the strongest individual on the tribe. He was also the smartest, considering his extensive knowledge of survival skills. But there are no limits to stupidity, especially with Rob and Sean. Gina decides that they orchestrated Hunter's exit to seize control of the tribe. She also knows that there is now little hope for herself, so she confronts her teammates.

Probably the best quote for demonstrating the depth of stupidity came from Sarah. When Gina repeated questioned the group as to why they voted Hunter off, Sarah, having no clue herself, quiped, "I don't have time to explain to my vote." Oh really? Babe, you have NOTHING BUT FRIGGIN' TIME!!! You are on an island for 39 days with little to do but scratch yourself. The bottomline is, after losing every single challenge thus far, Moron-U is headed for a complete disaster.

Meanwhile, back at Camp Rotu, we are once again reminded how much they all love each other, and care for each other, and ..., well, you get the picture. Gabe is just all thrilled by the society that they've built, and he thinks it's just great! If it wasn't for all those challenges, Rotu might have time to do something really useful, like end poverty or bring about world peace. They look like they can go all the way to the merge without losing. Unfortunately, Gabe never read the Mark
Burnett playbook. Chapter 6 says, "When one tribe hopelessly outclasses the other, mix up the teams."

Tree-mail to both tribes reveals something to do with standing on a disc which may result in being spun around and so forth. Nobody has a clue as to what is in store for them. Mind you, according to well-informed sources, the last bit of television this season's cast saw before being stranded on Nuka Hiva, was the 'Switch Episode' of Survivor: Africa. At Moron-U, Sean exclaims, "Here is when the
game gets interesting." Um, Sean, the game is interesting every single day, YOU BOZO! Just where DO they find these people? I used to complain about the casting for Big Brother, but the last two Survivor series are really irritating me.

Anyway, both tribes gather with Jeff Probst, who says that today is not a reward challenge, but an 'activity'. Judging from the grin on Gina's face, I suspect that she knows what's in store. Each contestant is to stand on a wooden disc without further explanation. That being done, Jeff then asks Zoe to turn over her disc.  She does and finds a blue Rotu 'buff' underneath the disc. Jeff tells her to put the
buff on and take her place on the Rotu mat. Zoe gives Jeff a very strange smirk, sort of, "If this means what I think it means, I'm gonna kick your ass, Jeff." Right you are, Zoe. As each contestant does the same, we find that the tribes have had a personnel change.

NEW ROTU now consists of five of it's original members: Gabe, John, Robert, Zoe, and Tammy, plus three from Moron-U: Rob, Sean, and Vecepia. NEW MARAAMU keeps Gina and Sarah, then adds Kathy, Neleh, and Paschal. Jeff tells them that these are the new tribes, and also that the switch was planned long before they arrived on the island. Yeah..., rrrrrright! Had both tribes showed some parity and split the challenges, I doubt if Mark Burnett would've done this.

New Maraamu arrives at their camp and the ex-Rotu are pleased. They have fresh fruit! A beautiful white, sandy beach. And from what Gina tells them, most of the lazy bums are now with Rotu. Chatting over grapefruit, Sarah tries to fit in the new tribe as she describes their morning show. "I was the beauty.", she says. Not, "I was the beauty consultant", or "I was the fashion critic." This gal is a lot dumber than even I have given her credit for. Gina almost chokes on her grapefruit when Sarah tells the ex-Rotu that four people decided to vote off Hunter. The ex-Rotu can't believe he's gone. They had figured on him making it to the merge.

Kathy was disappointed at first, but is pretty happy with the fruit, and her new gal-pal, Gina. It seems they are both taking similar courses in college on ecology. Neleh was also sad to leave Rotu, but loves the beach here at Maraamu. She wishes they had been there all along. Paschal has some doubts, but the fruit is helping make the switch easier. All this changes when they see their water hole.

The braintrust of Moron-U arrives at Camp Rotu without the same excitement. For them, the bubble has just burst. The workaholic Rotu are too much to handle.  Even Vecepia is dumbfounded. When treated to the Rotu delight of toasted coconut, she exclaims, "We never even used our frying pan. We just sliced, slurp, and toss." Rob is also bumming that his power play at Maraamu has been all for
naught. He's not sure how he'll overcome the number advantage of the five original Rotu.

Rob goes on to describe his new tribemates. "Gabe is a brainiac. Probably thinks he's a lot smarter than he really is." "John is a queer. I won't be sleeping next to him tonight." "Robert is a big guy and makes sure everybody knows it. He's probably got a little
sausage." "Tammy's engaged, so there's not much hope there." "Zoe, (chuckle), she's the toughest guy on the island." Such analysis will get you into real trouble.

The Maraamu decide to go on a hike, and Kathy leads the way. Then gets them lost. But fear not, as Kathy has that remarkable talent for finding food. They stumble on a bubbling stream, teeming with large shrimp. Everybody starts catching shrimp, everybody except Sarah. Catching food just sounds too much like work to her, and as we all know, she didn't come to the island to do any work. So she sits for a bit, scratching all her No-No bites, until her attention span is depleted. She announces that she's going back to the camp to hack off her legs. The others barely notice her leaving. Sarah was barely 50 to 75 feet away when she got lost. This girl is just too stupid! I now
speculate that she had somebody fill out the application to get on the show for her. As Sarah returns to the stream, following Gina's voice, she remarks, "I guess I'm not going anywhere." OH, HOW WRONG YOU ARE, SUNSHINE!!!

Back at Rotu, we are again treated with images of what Rotu does best, WORK. But this time, they have three Moron-U's with them. Rob describes the situation as being "About three degrees shy of Hell." Sean is even more offended by the forced labor. "Slavery ended years ago. The master is watching. I can hear the "ROOTS" theme." So can we, thanks to Mark Burnett.  Rob and Sean chat about their new tribe. "The women at the old tribe were better. They had bigger boobs." "We got eight guys here. Well, eight guys and one girl - John." (They obviously forgot the 8 + 1 = 9) Tammy stops by and gives them some food, which sparks the boys up. "Tammy's okay, as long as she keeps serving us. After that, she's outta here." Rob and Sean then plot on how to skip work tomorrow.

Which leads us to another irrational outburst from Sean. This guy just doesn't get it.  You're game show that's all about trying to survive, which means working to acquire food, water, and shelter. You're not going to win the prize by sitting on a beach all day!
Which is about what Sean tells Gabe. "You're a bunch of Clydesdales", and then tries to mimick 'white-speak' about let's go do some work. "I'm a grown man.", Sean explains to a befuddled Gabe. Sean is going to rest when he wants to, chill when he wants to, etc. A
lot of folks seriously question Burnett's consistant casting of black men. Even Nick Brown, aspiring law student and future Navy JAG from Survivor: Outback, was accused by some of his teammates as being lazy. (With all due respect, Nick didn't poop out until post-merge when it was obvious that his days were numbered.) When confronted, Burnett always falls back on his usual excuse - they acted differently during casting. Anyway, the short of it is, Sean ain't gonna bust his back for The Man no mor'.

Tree mail brings forth news of the immunity challenge, which has something to do with weaving. Kathy is ecstatic, since she is a master of weaving. Unfortunately, it really involves unravelling a woven puzzle image of a Tiki. Kathy is fixated on one certain eye of
the Tiki, and leads her tribe nowhere fast. Gabe and company work as a team, as usual, and win, as usual. It helps when the Moron-U's sit out the challenge on the sidelines. Jeff shakes his head as he tells Maraamu they have a date with him tonight at Tribal Council.

Clueless Sarah thinks she's getting along great with her new tribe. Gina thinks otherwise, but doesn't rule out the possibility that the ex-Rotu may vote her off. Kathy is also very confident she's staying, but knows the others may be tired of her. As they meet up with Jeff, he asks them each for their take on the switch. Gina is delighted. It's her best day on the island so far! She has no doubts she'd be leaving tonight if the switch didn't happen.  Kathy is still disappointed, but is trying to adjust. Paschal is also disappointed, but likes the fruit (and being the only man on the beach). Neleh misses Rotu. Sarah says what she always says, everything is just great. She's getting along with everyone. Dumb, very dumb. Like the deer in the headlights, she thinks the sun is rising her way. The vote is four for Sarah, who votes for Kathy. The tribe has spoken. Jeff remarks that Maraamu
is now a real tribe. Sarah's last words are so stupid, I won't even bother relaying them.  Okay, I will. She had a great time and hopes that the other seven members of the original Maraamu will go far, especially Gina. Umm, sweatheart, you helped vote off 3 of the 7,
remember?

SPOILERS: Next week's show has a new reward challenge, a tribal raid. And conflict arises at Rotu between John and Gabe. Be there, Aloha.