BunkoSquad

Light dawns over Marblehead, and Aras starts to openly wonder if hitching his wagon to the star of a bipolar junkie and a tempestuous fire-dancer was really his wisest decision.

But Bruce's skill wears off on Casaya, and they march into the Reward Challenge confident and proud. So proud, in fact, that they announce to Jeff (and La Mina) that Bruce has been the best thing that's ever happened to them. Sort of the Survivor equivalent of announcing that you're invincible...as long as you're not wounded in the heel. But no matter. The Reward Challenge, in which some Survivors fling balls into the sea and other Survivors try to catch them, goes La Mina's way. They win a tarp, a rope, some jugs, etc.

They also get to pick which of the Casayas goes off to Exile Island. Showing the savvy and short-term memory that's made them Vegas' 29:28 favorite to win out, they choose Bruce. Off he goes again for three days of Shane-and-Courtney-free relaxation.

'Cause Shane and Courtney are, if you'll pardon the expression, crazy as ####. Bruce is probably relieved to be out of their hair. Shane declares a stump to be "Shane's Thinking Chair" and has a twelve-minute full-force nicotine fit when someone asks him why it's his stump.

There's a little foreshadowing at La Mina. The two pretty boys (Austin and Nick) are still in an Alliance Tug-of-War between the Macho Men and the Girls. Ruth-Marie continues to emulate Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Film, while Misty bravely fights off some kind of pox to give Austin a backrub. Clearly, the Boys will have a tough decision to make if La Mina ever loses an Immunity Challenge.

Speaking of Immunity Challenges...the tribes have to dig up bags out of the sand and get them to home base. But Jeff wisely gives the Survivors a chance to release some aggression; they get to beat the hell out of each other while trying to retrieve the bags. First up is a little girl-girl fight. Three chicks in bikinis (and Cirie in a pink jumpsuit-esque ensemble) go at it, which of course reminds everyone of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine asks why guys like cat fights so much, and Jerry says, "Because there's a chance they might kiss at the end?". There's hair-pulling, there's bra-snapping, Cirie sits on someone, and Casaya improbably comes out with the first bag.

Then the guys race for the second bag (better tackling than seen at the Meadowlands any time this season) and then various combinations of men and women scramble for the last points. I think Shane almost starts biting Dan at one point. When the dust settles, Casaya improbably comes out on top. La Mina is off to Tribal Council.

Jeff tries to find some dissension or conflict in La Mina, but they're a united front. Even pockmarked Misty and Ruth-Marie, the two most likely sacrificial lambs, nod grimly when Jeff asks if they're still all on the same page. The most telling thing is when Austin refuses to name names (Sally) when Jeff asks what happened to their fishing spear.

It's hard to tell exactly who voted for who. It seemed like Ruth-Marie might be the odd one out (no one can actually remember her being on the island), but it turns out Misty is voted out. She waves a jaunty farewell to the rest of the La Minas, then races back to base camp for some topical cream.

And Shane just rolled and smoked Cirie's pink jumpsuit.