
Pearl Islands Episode 3: United We Stand, Divided We…?
This episode opens up with yet another shot of a demoralized Morgan tribe. They look like they’re experiencing PTSD from all the losing. Savage says in a confessional that the tribe needs a win in a bad way. Lillian is really crying for the first, but certainly not last, time this season. She prays for God to give them strength and also starts her campaign against Darrah. She points out that Darrah is kind of useless in terms of camp life and Lill does actually contribute a lot for that.
There is also some more exploration into the psyche of Osten Taylor. Sean may be the world’s biggest puss according to Krista but Osten is certainly giving him some competition. OT is still down and out and the Morgans are trying to cheer him up. Savage says Osten can’t leave because he’s too strong and it would hurt the tribe. I mean, sure Osten is strong but how much winning have you been doing with him there Savage?
While I am talking about the Morgans, allow me to point out something that stood out to me on this re-watch. The next time you’re watching Pearl Islands, really pay attention to Ryno and the sound of his voice. I swear that if you close your eyes, you might think that Tyson Apostol is somehow on Pearl Islands. Try it out, I swear I’m not lying.


Back at the Drake camp, they are talking about the hidden treasure and what it may be. Rupert hits us with a fantastic quote hoping that it would be filled with “good, good goodies and a big bottle of rum”. Just classic Rupert. The hidden treasure feels to me like the precursor to the hidden immunity idol. They are getting clues to where it is buried that comes in the form of a riddle and a vague map. They have to dig at or near their camp to eventually find it. It’s like the producers wanted to start hiding something but hadn’t quite yet figured out the best thing to bury. The answer certainly isn’t a treasure chest.
This is also the time for our very first Jonny Fairplay vs Sandra argument. For this particular argument, Jon and Sandra debate who the better swimmer is between the two of them. Sandra makes fun of Jonny for being slower than him on the swim to shore. Jon fires back that he was swimming with only his arms because he was carrying Michelle’s glasses in his socks. Like every Jon and Sandra argument, it’s totally rational and calm. Jon starts raising his voice which irritates Sandra and causes her to drop one of her now classic quotes,
I CAN GET LOUD TOO WHAT THE FUCK!
The argument ends when Jon walks away from it. He exasperatedly tells Sandra that she always need to have the last word in. Never one to take shit, Sandra quickly fires back to Jon, “so then be quiet so I can finish”. She then caps it off with a confessional, “screw Jon because he’s an ass”. After which the camera cuts to a shot of Sandra shadow boxing which is just fantastic.

It’s also here that Jon ever so nicely drops Sandra’s winner quote for her. I think it might be the first and possibly only time we get a winner’s quote from a second person view but it works very nicely. This isn’t nearly as good if Jonny doesn’t sell his attitude with so much hubris but he does and it’s a quote that stands the test of time.
Her days are numbered we have bigger threats to get rid of first but she’s not one of the final four. And I got a mill that says she won’t be the final one.

With the advantage of time on our side, we now know for sure that Jon would be down two million. It’s incredibly funny to me that Jonny is saying this about the only person to ever win the game twice. It’s almost serendipitous.
Another thing as we get to the reward challenge here; Jeff looks weird this season. I don’t know if it’s just because it’s an earlier season and he is younger (though technically, like a vampire he doesn’t age) but there’s something going on with his look. Just look at this picture and tell me there isn’t something off.

Anyways, the reward challenge is a water bailing boat competition. Drake absolutely destroys Morgan because Osten is leading one of the boats and just floats away from the action leaving Savage’s boat to be mercilessly tag teamed to death. Once again, why are people keeping Osten around if he’s out of the game mentally and still sucks at challenges? Just Morgan things.
We follow Morgan back at camp after their loss. Lill says it wasn’t that bad of a loss because she is annoyingly optimistic about everything. She once again drops that they just need to fish some more and that will fix everything. She decides to just go out on her own and try to catch some fish for the tribe. Predictably it goes terribly and she loses one of their few fishing hooks.

Like Rupert was trying to hold himself back from murdering Shawn for losing the spear, Ryno and especially Savage look like they are about to go into convulsions from trying to push their anger at Lill deep down. Lill tries to defend herself by saying she had tied a good knot but Savage isn’t having any of it. Especially because she is a scout master and scouts are usually decent at knots.



Drake sends out Krista to do their looting this time around. Savage shows his poor interrogation skills when she comes over. I don’t know how this dude is a lawyer in real life. He very transparently is trying to get information out of Krista in terms of who is next for Drake and how likes each other. Krista may be flighty but she isn’t stupid and gives him nothing of value.
We do get a great quote from Osten calling Krista a “Big Bird type personality” which is actually bang on in terms of comparison. It’s a shame Osten had to be such a bad Survivor player because he’s a very entertaining narrator and kind of a funny guy. He’s built and acts like a more comprehensible James Clement without any of the toughness James had.
The immunity challenge is based purely on physical strength. The tribe has to hold up a member of their team that is tied by a rope above water. After a set amount of time, one person drops off until there is only one person left on each side and they go at it one against one. Morgan appoints Osten to be their strongest person and Drake unsurprisingly chooses Rupert. A few interesting thing about Drake’s choices here. In a challenge that is purely strength, they sit out Burton who could have definitely allowed Rupert some free time before it got to just him. Also, Jon is above Sandra in the order which means that his tribe deemed him weaker than her. I guess we know who ended up winning that swimming argument.

Predictably it comes down to Osten and Rupert. There has been a lot said about Osten and his will power over the years. He isn’t exactly Mr. Persistence. Credit needs to be given to him here because Osten puts in one hell of a fight against a literal caveman. He goes for two hours holding up Darrah before his body finally gives in. Rupert was not much further behind him and this came down to a few seconds and Rupert just having a bit more fuel in his body from eating 17 fish per day.
I have to say, Rupert had to be extremely annoying to compete against. Not only is he super extra when he wins with the loud screaming and primal roaring but up to this point, he’s winning a lot. Not only is Rupert winning, he is usually the primary reason Morgan is losing. Rupert is kicking Drake’s ass over and over and celebrating each time like he won the World Series. I think I might be prompted to punch him had I been a member of Morgan.
For Morgan, it’s going to come down to Darrah or Lill. The case for Lill: she works hard at camp and is resourceful The case for Darrah: she isn’t Lill. Savage, Osten, Tijuana and Ryno have an implicit alliance. As much as Savage wants to talk about keeping OT around for his strength, it’s really because he was in the core of Savage’s alliance and Savage does not want to lose a number just like that. It’s also funny that Darrah and Lill are the ones facing the axe. Considering how the season plays out, they end up both outlasting every other member of Morgan.
Before tribal, Savage makes a mistake that will end up completely sinking his game. He goes to Lill and promises to let her know if she is the one going home tonight. Little does she know that she is already the one going home tonight but Savage isn’t going to tell her. It’s a bad lie that is also unnecessary and it becomes a deathknell once Lill returns as an Outcast.
At tribal council, Jeff tells Morgan that they may be in the process of setting a record that “won’t be broken for losing”. Oh little baby Jeff, just wait another three seasons when you’re in Palau and trying to understand why Ulong keeps getting blasted by a middle aged man and a dolphin trainer. Savage is indignant about this and makes a Mark Messier like promise that they are going to win the next challenge (spoiler alert: they won’t but he’s not far off).
Morgan talks a bit about Lill’s assets to the tribe. Darrah mentions that making fire is Lill’s job and she does it very well. Lill answers that by giving a little scout hand motion that is basically a microcosm for why Lillian is an aggravating person.

It’s good to note that Darrah is not doing herself any favors by bolstering up Lill here, you’re not supposed to be complimenting the person on the chopping block next to you. It’s probably a good thing for her Lill is so brutal to live or she might have flipped the vote on herself.
As they go to vote, Lill has a funny voting confessional for Darrah. She basically tells Darrah that she is useless but that it’s no hard feelings. I am pretty sure calling somebody useless is going to elicit some hard feelings from someone but Lill is gonna Lill I suppose. Besides, her vote won’t matter as Lill is the 3rd person voted off her tribe and totally gone forever.

It’s pretty telling that when Jeff tries to snuff Lill’s torch, it doesn’t go out on the first try but for now, we are done with Lill and moving on to episode four where Morgan finally shows some signs of life.
As I wrap this up, it’s interesting that this episode does not have all that much Rupert focus. He is part of the treasure hunting crew and gives some confessionals there and of course he’s a big part of the challenges, but otherwise a fairly quiet episode for Rupe. There aren’t a lot of those during his run in this season.
Rupert line of the episode: It has to be the “good, good goodies and a big bottle of rum!” if only for his delivery of the line being so perfectly Rupert-esque.
Episode MVP: Nobody pops off to me unlike episodes 1 and 2 but I will give it to Savage. He does a lot of narrating for Morgan and his investigation of Krista is good stuff. So is his stoic leader act he likes to do at tribal council.

