Day 55

Tension mounted higher than ever before on Rosetta Island for the remaining six Stevivors. After one more members was voted off of the island, the remaining five would merge into one tribe and then continue to vote others off together until one person remained as the ultimate Stevivor.

What made it particularly challenging was that both tribes had three members a piece: the Murtagh tribe had Carl, Waldo, and Stefan, and the Shimata tribe had Rachel, Laura, and Maxine. Whoever gained immunity in the upcoming challenge would have a 3-2 advantage when the tribes merge, a very crucial deciding point in future votes.

One person who was definitely sitting pretty was Maxine, who has caused more than her fair share of trouble... for other Stevivors. "It's amazing how much of an impact I am having on this trip," says Maxine. "It seems the longer I stay, the more it hurts other Stevivors."

It all started when Maxine was challenged to a tie-breaker vote with Eddie. Through the process, she gained alliances with both tribes and provided a tip that Eddie was smuggling food into the island for himself. Then, her nasty tricks continued when she agreed with Rachel and Laura that she would help throw the last immunity challenge so they could all vote off Harriette.

She has just did it once again, when the Murtagh tribe failed to name as many child stars as the Shimata tribe in the immunity challenge and would be destined to vote another member off. In a secret meeting with Carl, Maxine gave this special message to him: "Stefan is the mole."

"I didn't understand what she was talking about at first," says Carl, "but after a while, it really started to make sense. Stefan has been playing some dirty pool."

Some of that dirty pool included getting the whole tribe against Eddie after he got everyone, except for Stefan, to vote off Richie. He was also involved in catching Eddie in the act of smuggling in food, only because he was having a secret affair with competing tribe member Laura.

"I've always liked Stefan," says Laura. "It's been very difficult not to be romantic with him when I'm supposed to be competing with him."

"Laura likes Stefan, just as much as Harriette likes Carl and I like Waldo," says Maxine, "but we couldn't let relationships get in the way of Steviving. Harriette and I understood this. Rachel understood this with her son, Richie. Laura didn't get the idea."

The idea also didn't go over too well with Carl and Waldo, who gained an alliance with each other to vote off Stefan. Stefan was afraid of this after they lost the immunity challenge. "Carl and Waldo had been working hand-in-hand for pretty much the entire run of Stevivor," says Stefan. "Carl and I have definitely had their differences of opinion on a number of things. Carl's going to want to keep someone with him that will follow his rules."

As predicted, Carl and Waldo voted against Stefan. Stefan voted against Carl, but it had no clout at this point. The tribe has spoken. Stefan has been voted off of the island. Afterwards, Rachel, Laura, and Maxine joined Carl and Waldo to merge into one tribe.

As the five finalists from two different tribes, allainces are going to prove to be more crucial than ever. Here's a quick run-through:

• Carl has been a determined leader throughout the entire match. Unlike Harriette, the unoffical leader of the Shimata tribe, he has had no problems with mutiny. But, it will be difficult for him to lead now that most of the new tribe is from the Shimata tribe.
• Waldo has been by Carl's side since the beginning. If Carl can get power over the tribe, expect Waldo to easily be second-in-command and safe... unless the other tribe members get rid of him first.
• Rachel's future is quite unfuzzy. Except for being the initiator of the Harriette mutiny, she has really not formed many alliances. It would be in her best interest to start that now.
• Laura had an alliance with Maxine, but is not too pleased at her recent backstabbing exposing what she and Stefan were doing. There could be problems mounting in their on-again, off-again alliance.
• Maxine looks very promising. She has formed an alliance with basically everyone still around. But it could be such a strong alliance that could make her think she is too safe.

Stefan's Final Comments
"My tribe voted against me. I saw it coming. But, I'm Stefan. I'm cool, I don't let these things bother me. The only thing I worry about now is Maxine. She seems to be working on everyone's good side at the right moments to put others in hot water and keep her out of the voting process. Let's hope the others notice that and get rid of her. The thing I'll miss most, precious Laura."