Survivor Guatemala: week 8

By the end of this week's episode I almost – but not quite – felt sorry for Jamie. It must be tough having Bobby Jon tell you you've got no class, and even worse having Judd tell you to keep your mouth shut. Nah, he completely brought it on himself and it was very good TV.

Jamie's ostracism started when the remaining members of Yaxhá arrived at Nakúm's camp having just voted out Amy at Tribal Council. Nukum were already tucked up in bed and far away in the land of Nod, so it must have been a horrible surprise having the opposition turn up. Rafe is such a sweetie his first startled words were, "Oh my gosh!" Jamie's first words were, "Well there's no room in the shelter for y'all, so I hope y'all don't mind sleeping outside". Hmm, charming.

Of course, Bobby Jon appears to have attended the same charm school. In his piece to camera he told us that he can't be around Jamie for more than five minutes without wanting to knock him out. OK, those two have a 'history'. But he also said that he can't be around Stephanie without wanting to vomit. He then spent much of the episode spitting on the ground in front of himself at inappropriate times. At least he appears to have left the snot rockets in Palau.

Tree mail interrupted Nakúm's frantic efforts to ingratiate themselves with their new tribemates by collecting firewood and playing slaves. Comic relief Lydia took charge of the instructions to come up with a new tribe name and decorate a banner accordingly. The result – Xhakúm – is functional if not the least bit original.

And yes, we'll need to keep referring to them by their old tribe names because there is none of the usual bonhomie that accompanies a merge. That might be because there was none of the usual food and liquor generously put on by the producers to encourage merriment at the merge moment. Stephanie complained about that, too. I had really hoped that a few wins would snap her out of her misery, but apparently not.

There was no formal reward challenge this week, but there is a challenge out there in the jungle just waiting to be found: a 15cm tall Individual Immunity Idol which can be used up until the final four by whomever finds it. It was made clear you only had to declare your possession of it immediately prior to the vote if you wanted to claim immunity that week, but not how many times the idol can be used.

The Great Individual Immunity Idol Search was funny. Rafe is apparently a wilderness guide, but still stuck his hand in a hornet's nest and had to run away slapping his head. Bobby Jon wandered through the forest a lot, and in a lovely piece of editing we had a subtle jump cut that suggested he was standing right near it, but who knows. After eleven series we all know not to trust editing.

The immunity challenge was the classic "Who can stand on the spot longest?" In this iteration the Survivors had to stand on a small cube and balance a clay pot on their head. The producers have learnt from the debacle of the Palau final three challenge, and sensibly imposed a one hour time limit with a tie breaker if necessary after that time.

They've also learnt that some very interesting conversations happen during this type of challenge between those already out and those still in it and trying to stand still. To get that tension happening early they gave everyone the choice between participating in the challenge, or enjoying what could have been the merge feast. In a fascinating result, the four Survivors who started in Yaxhá and ended up in Nakúm all chose to eat: Stephanie, Jamie, Rafe and Lydia are obviously feeling pretty safe at this stage in the game, because everyone else tried for immunity and tried not to watch the others stuffing their faces.

It's meant to be his job, but Jeff clearly gets a kick out of asking pointed questions about how safe people feel. Jamie, being the short-fused loudmouth he is, was happy to tell everyone that Brandon and Bobby Jon would be picked off first since they'd be strongest in the individual challenges and therefore the biggest threat. It was only a question of who was going to crack first and smash a pot over his head, with even his own tribemates cringing with embarrassment and Rafe almost in tears at the incivility of it all.

The tie breaker was a simple race up the steps of a convenient world heritage site, again with pots on heads, which Gary won. He was at bottom of the eviction order determined by Yaxhá and was the one in least danger, so I thought he might have chose to give his immunity to Brandon to throw the vote into confusion at the last minute, but he didn't. Bobby Jon managed to fight back the nausea long enough to beg Stephanie to let him be on the jury, effectively sealing Brandon's fate.

By this time both Cindy and Rafe/Woody Allen were having deep moral dilemmas about their part in the 'axis of evil' that was about to vote out a solid guy like Brandon over a [insert favourite cuss word here] like Jamie. Judd was so upset about Jamie's behaviour that he called him 'man' at least seven times in three "sentences". It was enough to give Brandon some hope for a few hours, and even more motivation to look for the idol. It also made for some fantastically tense moments at Tribal Council and one of the closest votes all season. Bobby Jon formed the most profound and articulate sentence he's ever uttered as he voted for Jamie: "You talk about havin' Southern Pride. Well part of Southern Pride is bein' a Southern Gentlemen. And no, you don't have any class, at all."

Sadly, numbers count for more in Survivor than class or heart, and Brandon misses out on the jury while Jamie makes it through for at least one more week. Maybe the sight of Brandon quietly sharpening a knife on a rock was scarier than either Jamie or Judd's verbal bluster. I just hope there's a really good reason for it.