Hall Of Fame Moment: Changing the Balance of Power in the Marquesas

In Survivor: Pearl Islands, Burton said you can hate somebody's guts and still be in an alliance with them if you have the same goals. Never was this more evident than in Survivor: Marquesas, when five people destined for the chopping block managed to put their differences aside, systematically overthrow what was previously the controlling alliance, and pull off the biggest power shift in Survivor history. For waking up and smelling the pecking order, Paschal, Neleh, Sean, Vee, and most definitely Kathy have earned a Hall of Fame moment.

It all started when Kathy and Rob were selected as merge ambassadors for their respective tribes: Kathy, for the reformed Maraamu, and Rob for reformed Rotu. Rob told Kathy how Zoe had confided in him that Kathy would be a target. Kathy, not knowing how devious Rob could be, took him at his word.

Once the merge occurred, she tried to reason with Paschal and tell him he and Neleh were being played. But the judge was intent on re-aligning with the Rotu-core. Later, Rob asked Zoe if Kathy was being targeted, right in front of Kathy. In one of the most transparent lies of all time, Zoe paused, then unconvincingly denied the Robfather's allegations. But the damage was done, and Kathy knew she needed to win immunity to stay in the game. Lo and behold, that's exactly what she did, keeping her balance on a platform longer than the other nine. In her place went Rob, who'd caused all the trouble in the first place.

After tribal council, Kathy asked Zoe to clarify what exactly was going on. Changing her story, Zoe said telling Rob that Kathy was a target was just a ploy to keep him off-guard, but Kathy wasn't buying what Zoe was selling this time, either. Later, during the next reward challenge, the real estate agent tried to convince Paschal and Neleh to vote with her, but they were still set on voting with the original Rotu four, unaware that they'd be the targets once the game was down to six. In one of the greatest moments of foreshadowing in Survivor history, Kathy stated that they needed to experience the turmoil, and see how people act, and then they might commit.

While Kathy was no longer the target at this point, she still knew her days would be numbered if she didn't do something soon. She found an unlikely ally in Sean, who was now targeted for the first jury spot, and everyone knew it – including Sean. Again, she worked on Neleh and Paschal, and had about as much luck as she did before In fact, Paschal said there way no way he would align with Sean and Vee, claiming he'd be embarrassed if Sean made the finals.

Then came the challenge, which consisted of answering questions about the islands, with each player being given a three bundles of coconuts. For each question someone answered right, they got to chop one of someone else's bundles, with the winner being the last person to still have bundles remaining.

Predictably, Sean was the first one out, despite answering the first two questions correctly. Next out, not surprisingly, was Vee, followed by Kathy. Next came Paschal and Neleh, with the challenge eventually being won by Tammy. If the order didn't open the eyes of "Pappy" and "Sweet Pea," the behavior of the Rotu core most certainly did, as they were way too obvious in congratulating each other on working together – indeed, they found themselves with a “Moment” of their own, a Reality TV Hall of Shame Moment, that is.

At this point, it was as if Neleh and Paschal had been bonked on the head by one of the bundles of coconuts, and they now saw the game in a different light. Knowing where they stood with the "Core Four," they aligned themselves with Kathy, Vee, and Sean, and ousted John, the self-proclaimed leader who'd once boasted that Neleh and Paschal were openly rooting for his success in the game, and it was like having two free passes.

In changing allegiances, Paschal went back on the proclamation that he'd never align with Sean, and in doing so, showed how to put game play over emotions.

After tribal council, Neleh commented on how her new alliance had beaten the Rotu core at their own game. Tammy and Robert, who'd previously been in the driver's seat, got a chance to see how the other half lives, finding themselves on the outside looking in for the first time since the game started.