Episode 12 opens on the night of Day 30 as the remaining 6 return from voting James out. Todd’s relief is indeed great, as had the plan failed he would be facing a very large, pumped, angry man. PG tells the camera that she’s still a survivor because of the fault lines in the old Fei Long. To a certain extent, she’s right; but the fact that old Zhan Hu members have won 3 of the 4 immunity challenges since the merge has something to do with it, too.

So here’s where we are: PG and Erik on one side, Courtney, Todd, Amanda and Denise on the other. PG and Erik need to get one person to switch sides to even things up – and you know they are going to work on Denise because she admitted to them in episode 11 that she feels she is the bottom person in her alliance.

Day 31:

At 6 minutes of air-time in, a Survivor speed record for getting to the challenge is set. This is the family re-union episode: Erik and his mom, Amanda and her sister, PG and her dad, Todd and his sister, Denise and her husband and Courtney and her dad pair up to complete a maze while blindfolded. Denise is the only one of the remaining tribe members who’s married. It’s almost Real World. Oh yeah, when Todd greets his sister he asks about a pregnant sister still at home and is told that she miscarried.

Denise wins and gets to select 2 other pairs to accompany her and her husband on a boat cruise. After the cruise the family members will spend the night. She stiffs PG, who took her to the Shao Lin temple last episode, and takes alliance honchos Todd and Amanda.

While the winners stuff themselves on chicken and ribs, with strawberries and chocolate cake for desert, Courtney is back at camp ridiculing Todd, trying to convince Erik and PG that the miscarriage is a Johnny Fairplay ploy. Quick vote: is Courtney a lot more perceptive than I am, or is she simply the distasteful anorexic she appears to be?

Todd, Amanda, Denise and their family members return to camp. PG is understandably pissed at Denise for her slight, Todd expresses his hope that the others don’t think the intimate family info that his sister shared with him (it was Jeff who felt the news should be announced to the world) was a sympathy ploy, Todd and Amanda confess to their family members that they will vote out Denise once they are down to 4 because they stand a better chance of winning the grand prize if they are in the final 2 against Courtney - which is just another way of each telling the other they are out when it gets to the final 3, isn’t it?

Day 32.

Tearful good-byes and we're back to who can screw who. Denise goes to PG and apologizes for not picking her, telling PG she was afraid Todd and Amanda would have turned on her if she hadn’t taken them. And just like that we are onto the immunity challenge.

They are attached to a rope and have to work their way through an obstacle strewn swamp to 3 boxes containing 2 keys each and a question on Chinese inventions (The Chinese invented barbed wire or gunpowder?). Pick an answer, take the corresponding key and work your way back to the 3 locks at the start of the course. First survivor to get all 3 locks opened wins. Todd and Amanda take an early lead, but tire quickly. PG passes Amanda. Todd gets back with the third key first, but he has taken the wrong one. PG wins individual immunity for the second time in the past 3 challenges.

Erik and PG pressure Denise to vote for Todd. It’s their best bet. Denise is torn. But, right or wrong, she decides to stay with the devil she knows. Erik is voted off by a vote of 3 to 2. If PG can scratch out another immunity win, the Fei Long alliance is history. Even if she doesn’t, we get a hint in the next week preview that Amanda may be picking her spot to turn on Todd. Interesting that gay Todd is the only male in the final 5.