Compared with last week's episode, which included a rum-guzzling party and the elimination of his biggest rival, last night's episode of Survivor: Palau was filled with disappointments for Penn State graduate Ian Rosenberger.

First, after the eight-person tribe was split randomly into two groups, Ian's gang lost the reward challenge to the other four, led by Tom, the swarthy middle-aged firefighter. Ian channeled any resulting frustration into the immunity challenge, a battle of wills to see which survivor, all of whom were already neck up in ice-cold water, could hold out the longest against the rising tide. Ian persevered to the very end, but ultimately, after only his nose remained above water, he submitted to Tom and lost his chance at immunity.

This challenge also sent Janu, the quickest submitter, to a deserted island for a night, a suitable living metaphor since the moody exotic dancer was already very much the black sheep of the remaining eight survivors anyway. Although Janu was clearly not pulling her weight and had no friends among the tribe, it appeared that Steph, the plucky refugee from the rival Ulong tribe, was on the chopping block at that evening's tribal council.

"She's the biggest threat," reasoned the scheming Gregg in a private conference he was in with Ian and Tom.

Although Gregg was adamant, both Tom and Ian seemed hesitant to dump Steph, with whom they had made a pact at the beginning of the game.

"I love her to death," Ian said. "I'm really gonna miss her."

But both Ian and Tom seemed to stoically accept that it was Steph's turn to go, although Ian wouldn't confirm as much when the suspicious Steph asked him point-blank.

Then, at the invasive "family therapy" session that host Jeff Probst regularly conducts before each tribal council, things took a strange turn. Janu, when asked by Probst, said she could come up with "no reason" the tribe should keep her and expressed ambivalence about whether or not she got voted out.

Ian, in response, reminded her: "If you feel like you don't want to continue, you have the ability and power to set your torch down at any time." Janu, after some sobby pleading from Steph, did just that and excused herself from the million-dollar contest, leaving Steph still surviving and, if next week's teaser is any indication, angry as hell about being nearly disposed of.

Ian might have felt a small parcel of relief that his friend was going to remain, but if so, it ought to have been mixed with trepidation that his friend might have just become his enemy.