Survivor: "Ready To Bite The Apple" (plus Amazing Race)

So did anybody else watch the recap show last week? Even though I didn't blog it, I'm a sucker for unaired footage, so I plowed through the whole hour, thoough all I really learned was that the survivors have eaten some weird crap, and that Courtney's impressions of her tribemates reinforce that she's a terrible, terrible person. And then, at the end, a reminder of the previous week's cliffhanger….
Since the last "next time on Survivor" showed pretty much all the castaways, it was obvious that the cliffhanger wasn't going to involve another vote-off. Instead it was a surprise reward challenge, offering the winner a chance to visit the Shaolin temple, where they would be forced to work their way arduously through all 35 chambers.
Okay, I made up that last part. Instead they get to watch a kung fu demonstration and enjoy a vegetarian feast. (Because all these people do is eat.)
Meanwhile, back at a rain-soaked, muddy camp, James, Todd, Courtney and Amanda marvel that their planned final four are all still together. Or are they? Amanda, showing an unexpectedly Todd-like propensity for scheming, crunches the numbers and realizes that with two immunity idols, James is bound not just for the Top 4 but the Top 3. And given how much work he's done around camp, and how well-liked he is, James is almost guaranteed to win the million. James, meanwhile, brings back the "apple" metaphor, stressing once again that Adam and Eve would be "frolicking naked in heaven" right now if they hadn't been convinced that they knew more than God.
In the end, Amanda does play God, and engineers James' ouster before he can put either of his idols in play. In theory, this is the right move, but it's not exactly a safe one. If Peih-Gee's smart, she'll be the anti-Amanda, and point out to Denise that while she may be in line to make the final four, there's no way that the clique-y Todd, Amanda and Courtney will let her make the final three. If there's going to be another power-play, it pretty much has to happen next week. Which makes me worry that next week might be the last interesting episode of the season until the finale.
And given how high-school-ish everyone has acted thus far, that finale should be amusingly contentious.
Grade: B+