Tonight's episode of Survivor started with Marissa slowly making her way to Redemption Island. She's pissed, and rightly so. She knows that her Uncle Gervase is to blame for her being there at all. I did get a smile out of Candice telling her she was probably voted off because she called Culpepper out when he made the remark about wanting to make sure his wife had a tarp if she needed it. Not really, Candice. She was voted off because she is a girl in a world of testosterone over at Tadhana. Girls are not long for that tribe, but more on that later.
At Tadhana, on Day 4, Culpepper feels great! He's fishing and swimming and is really content knowing that the males outnumber the females, so he's not going anywhere for a while. John is conflicted and feeling some regret that he didn't switch places with Candice. He briefly feels bad but then starts flexing and the feeling goes away.
The women of Tadhana leave something to be desired and not in a good way. They just can't seem to see any further than their own noses. Their dwindling number doesn't phase them at all. They happily believe that the menfolk are being honest with them and they are some how aligned with the men. Especially Rachel who is following John around like a puppy. She does express some insight when she mentions that she thinks the others are strategizing but that thought quickly leaves her and she doesn't think about it again! One of the other women mentions, in passing, that Rachel might have an alliance with John but she forgets about that just as quickly. I tell ya, not a full brain among them!
As they all came together on Redemption Island, Marissa, still a wee bit angry, lets Gervase have it! Her Uncle is unimpressed and won't switch places with her before the challenge but, instead, tells her to “mind your business”. Her business being using a long fork to weave spools through a wire maze and then stack them on top.
Rupert, Candice and Marissa get down to that business with a vengeance. Probst spends a lot of time cajoling, cheering on and shaming both Candice (the first to win) and Rupert (a bull in a china shop). He can't hold it together and Marissa sneaks in with the second win, which subsequently sends Rupert packing and keeps Marissa in the game.
I have to say, I like this Marissa chick. She has chutzpa and she came to play. Prediction—if she can hold on and get herself back to the real game, she will do well! The winner of the challenge, Candace, gets to give anyone she wants a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol. Of course, she gives it to her hubby, John. No big surprise there.
When they return to camp, the men start talking about Tyson being the strongest player on the other team. Now, I'm not sure how that happened because I remember Tyson as being pretty much a follower and not a leader at all. I don't remember him winning a lot of stuff and I do recall him making some crazy mistakes. Still, they decide if they lose the Immunity Challenge they will vote off Rachel, his girlfriend. They think he'll switch places with her leaving a hole in the Galang tribe. It is an interesting idea.
At the Immunity Challenge, where they are also playing for some cool fishing gear, there will be three people bound together who roll a barrel carrying another person to four stations where they untie a bag of balls. Then, when they get the last bag, they play a glorified version of Baggo. The first tribe that gets all 6 balls in the holes wins.
Clearly, both tribes want to win and they are literally neck and neck throughout this race. Then, just near the end, Tadhana gets a slight lead! Hayden starts tossing the balls and is making really good progress but over at Galang, Gervase is right on him! So very close, but Gervase is slow and steady and gets the win! He's also an ass and starts yelling, “That's for you, Marissa baby!!” Really? I mean…NOW he wants to honor her? Jerk…
Back at camp, no one can really be too down. Tadhana played hard and it was a clean win on Galang's part. The men start talking and the women are still not getting the fact that they are being picked off one by one. Ciera gets a shady clue when John tells her they're all voting for Rachel but he's telling Rachel to vote for Ciera. She doesn't like that her name is being played with and convinces Kate to write down John's name. Vytas is worried that John is too worried about saving Candice at Redemption Island than he is about going forward in the game with his own tribe.
At Tribal, Jeff Probst does not pull any punches. He's a master at getting right to the quick. He points out that the women are outnumbered and questions whether or not that worries them. Not surprisingly, they acknowledge they see the dwindling numbers but don't seem all that worried! They are the most sheep-like players ever! Probst also points out that John might be a target now since he has the clue for the Immunity Idol. He didn't seem to realize he had a target but looked a bit worried when he heard that! He also looked perplexed when his name got written down twice during the voting which seemed to be merely a symbolic effort on the women's part because, in the end, Rachel got voted off!
It's going to be interesting to watch these newbies. They all think they have some idea how this game is played because they've heard their loved ones talk about it but, from what I've seen so far, they are still very green and have much to learn!
Vag’s Evaluation
Okay, beginning this week, in true Survivor style, Mary Beth and I have decided to throw a twist of our own. She has probably already explained that she will be concentrating on the Tadhana (Loved Ones) Tribe, while I handle the Galang (Returning Players) Tribe. We thought it would be fun to try something new. Man, I got screwed right out of the box! Before I explain why I feel that way, let me give you my initial observations of this second episode of Survivor: Blood vs. Water.
As the show opened, the Galang Tribe was in some funky massage ritual disguised as some sort of conga line. Well, at least it was boy—girl—boy—girl. Unfortunately, that left Colton out. This would set the tone for the rest of the show, at least from the Galang perspective. Plain and simple, that boy doesn’t fit in because he doesn’t want to fit in.
My other early observation was much more positive. There is a fourth Wizard of Oz munchkin still living! That’s right, although it was believed that only Ruth Robinson Duccini, Jerry Maren and Margaret Williams Pellegrini were the only “little people” left from the 1939 classic, another has been discovered. It’s none other than Tina from the Galang tribe! Did you see her talking to Kat and Monica? She’s lucky if she’s 3-feet tall. Seriously, that woman wasn’t that diminutive when she won Survivor: Australian Outback.
Okay, with that out of the way, I had better explain why I feel that I was screwed right out of the box tonight. Initially, I was perfectly satisfied with covering the Galang Tribe. That was until the duel at Redemption Island took place.
With both tribes in attendance, Candice, Marissa and Rupert competed to see who would be the first castaway eliminated in season 27. They had to stack 10 spools using a long metal fork that had to be guided through a maze thing. The first two finishers remained on Redemption Island and the third place finisher was sent packing. As an added bonus, the winner got to choose who received a Hidden Immunity Idol clue.
Candice and Rupert jumped out to an early lead. Regrettably, the big, burly pirate’s pile toppled when he attempted to place the tenth spool on his pile. This gave Candice an easy first-place finish and allowed Marissa to hang on to see another day. Just like that, one of my all-time favorites was gone, the first to be knocked out of the game.
But at least he stayed classy to the end. When Jeff Probst asked Rupert if he now regretted having switched places with his wife Laura, he shook his head and replied, “This is a great game and I love Survivor, but I love my wife more.” That, my friends, is a real man.
The same cannot be said for Colton. What a jerk. He has not changed a lick. He is easily one of the most unlikeable competitors that I have ever witnessed on Survivor. Tired of his petulant, beeeotch-like antics, Aras declared, “Colton is a gay Russell Hantz.” I don’t know who should be more upset with that statement, gays or Russell Hantz.
The Immunity Challenge also featured a reward—fishing gear. The challenge was basically a combo of barrel rolling and skee-ball. Laura was the lady in the barrel for Galang and did an excellent job of untying the knots and grabbing the bags of balls. Once they had all the balls, Gervase dominated the skee-ball portion of the challenge. As pathetic as he was last week, he was that outstanding this week. once again, Galang was immune from going to Tribal Council.
Because Tadhana went to Tribal Council, I’m sure that Mary Beth covered those events. However, before closing, I need to pose my question of the week to all my Fellow Survivor Geeks. Why did Tyson have his arms wrapped around Aras while he was sitting behind him at the campfire? Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
Until next time…from the booth.
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