Tonight, I give you a shocking revelation: I don’t like the theme of “Millennials vs. Gen-X”. It’s contrived, unnecessary, and shoehorned in, making potentially likable cast members nearly unbearable with all the “My generation is better!” talk. Hell, I can’t even find it within myself to type out the full title in my blogs. Bottom line, this theme leads to a lot of annoying confessionals about the relative merits of one’s generation that do not need to be there, and trust me, there’s plenty of those tonight. But, I will give the theme one bit of credit: Where it works is when it shows that these supposedly “disparate” groups are, in fact, not so different. Oh, I’m not talking about the coming out conversation between Zeke and Bret, although that was nice. No, I’m talking more about the first half of our forced 2-hour episode, wherein the “Gen-X Civil War” as it has been dubbed kicks in. Chris, Sunday, and Bret go against David, Jessica, and Ken. Why does this make for a similarity? Well, think for a second. It’s now been four solid votes of old Millennials going home. Figgy, Michaela, Michelle, and Taylor, one right after the other. At this point, for the first time in the game, the old Gen-X was in the majority. And they just couldn’t handle it. Too many episodes of not playing the game (relatively speaking, as there was gameplay, but not so much internal intrigue) made them eager to turn on their own. Pretty much exactly what happened to the Millennials come the swap. True, the Millennials had the Mari vote to help tide them over, but they were pretty clearly dominating at this point, and they couldn’t handle it. It’s an inevitable fact of “Survivor”, particularly modern “Survivor”, that a lack of patience can kill. A tribe that wins too much early on can doom themselves later on by not being able to keep infighting to a minimum. That’s what’s truly remarkable about the Koror Tribe from “Survivor Palau”. Winning the vast majority of the challenges is one thing, but that they were able to do so and still stay relatively united is the true master stroke.
But here I am, putting the big reveal before the buildup. In fact, I think we need a bit more of a buildup before the blog itself, so let’s have another rendition of…
MATT’S MESS-UP!
Much like tonight’s episode, we have a double-feature for you. First up is something I forgot to mention entirely last episode: Jay and the idol. Now, Jay ultimately doesn’t play his idol, but he did agonize about what to do with it. If he showed it off or played it, it might save him for a vote, but makes him vulnerable down the line. If he didn’t play it, he risked going home. Due to all the excitement at Tribal Council, I neglected this point, and it is really a tough decision. Really, Jay’s only move is to bring the idol to Tribal Council and play it by ear. I know I’m always the first to advocate for making decisions BEFORE Tribal Council, but as there’s a real chance Jay isn’t going home here, it really needs to be mulled over based on Tribal Council performance. Jay’s choice only becomes clear when Taylor makes such an ass of himself at Tribal Council that there’s no way Jay goes home. As such, the correct move is to not play the idol and hope for the best. Which is what Jay does. Kudos.
Out other point is actually a REAL mess-up, rather than just something I forgot entirely. I made a crack about the “eat or compete” twist being dropped after “Survivor Redemption Island”, but, in fact, it WAS used after that. “Survivor Blood vs. Water” was actually the most recent use of it before this season. My point about it being a while still stands, but it’s not quite as extreme as I made it out to be. Plus, it strengthens my point that a lot of “Survivor Blood vs. Water” blends together.
On to the episode proper, Adam starts out doing decent damage control, offering an apology for not telling people about his reward steal, and offering an explanation as to why. It seems heartfelt, and Adam doesn’t make a big deal out of it. Really, though, his saving grace is Bret, who turns the conversation back around to just how much of a jerk Taylor was for stealing food. I will give Adam this”: while I still think his overall chances of winning are shot, he has managed to mostly dig himself out of the hole he got into. No one really seems to be holding a grudge about his reward steal lie, or his being somewhat in on the food-stealing, and now that he’s not blatantly playing both sides, no one seems to be bothering him much. If Adam wants any chance at winning, this is the sort of break he needs. Adam also takes this time to talk about how badly he wants Jay gone, naturally ensuring that Jay is safe this episode.
Jay, meanwhile, is still not happy, big surprise. Despite Jay going all-in with Taylor on throwing Adam under the bus, Jay is now trying to rewrite history saying that he was against the idea, due to Taylor throwing him under the bus as well. Showing some more social adeptness, Jay leads people to the new food burial site, and what’s left is recovered. Hay’s still down, but he’s doing the right thing and keeping his head down, hoping the superpowers will eat themselves.
Sure enough, the next morning shows some real cracks here. It starts with Will finally realizing that allying himself with idiots MAY not be the best idea in the long run. I would use the “Rat from a sinking ship” metaphor here, but Will beats me to it. He full on partners up with Zeke, apologizing for voting Jay, pleading ignorance, and offering up information. Unfortunately for Jay, trusting Will with his idol is now backfiring, as that information is now leaking out. This does build trust between the pair, and as Jay is clearly not a power player anymore, I can’t really fault Will this move.
Will’s one caveat is that this information stay between himself and Zeke. Naturally, the very next scene is everyone else on the island finding out about Jay’s idol. While this does seem like a breach of trust, frankly, it’s the smart move. As Zeke points out, the more people know about an idol, the less powerful it becomes, due to it being easily countered. This also sets in motion the aforementioned “Gen-X Civil War”. Chris now wants to get Jessica out, due to her being a strategic threat. “But wait,” you ask, “Wasn’t that Sunday’s plan from last episode?”. Yes, but because Chris is suggesting it, now it will actually happen. Sad to say, but even though Sunday clearly has things going for her, she’s ultimately not the dominant power in the alliance. Sadly, that seems to be the case for MOST of the strategic women this season. Sunday, Jessica, Michelle, even Michaela to a certain extent. All have good ideas, some of which even get adopted, but ultimately, they’re at the mercy of the whims of the guys. Part of that has to do with the insanely lopsided guy-girl ratio at this point, but it’s still sad to see that we don’t get the rise of the awesome female strategist.
Morning also gives us more of a look into Hannah trying to be a better player, as she starts building more in-roads with her peripheral allies. Specifically, she enjoys watching a good sunrise with Ken, while enjoying idle chit-chat about beauty. And, if it was all strategic, I’d say Hannah was playing really well here, slowly building trust and relying on emotional bonds for later on. Unfortunately, Hannah has to go and ruin it by admitting that she has some romantic attraction to Ken. So instead, I can only say: “EWW!” I mean, Ken’s good looking and all, and certainly looks younger than he is, but the same could be said for Hannah. I mean, it looks like a guy in early middle age hooking up with a college freshman. I say again: “EWW!”
We come to our first of two reward challenges, as well as arguably the weakest challenge of the episode. Divided into teams of 5 (one person sitting out and having no shot at reward), players hop onto a boat that they pull across the water to a platform. Once there, tribe members head up one at a time to untie a key, slide down a pole, and put the key on a ring. Once all five have done this, the keys are used one at a time to unlock boxes, which must then be stacked four high so that they colored sides do not repeat a color on any given side. First tribe to do so wins a pizza yacht party right next to camp, because enough salt hasn’t been rubbed in people’s wounds. This isn’t a terrible challenge, with the pulling of the boat being cool, but it’s ultimately just another obstacle course, and as we see, the puzzle is complex enough that it’s really the only part of the challenge that matters.
Rocks will be drawn to determine who sits out, but before that, David volunteers as tribute. Water, after all, is not his forte, and he doesn’t want to drag either team down. In a rare nice moment on “Survivor”, everyone immediately tells David he’s not as pathetic as he’s shown himself to be, and tells him to buck up. David gets more than a little teary-eyed, and it’s a nice moment. Reminds me a lot of Coby Archa’s teary confessional on “Survivor Palau”, where he was happy to be on a winning team and showing that he could be good at challenges for once. In many ways, this one is even sweeter, with others affirming David’s worth, rather than himself. In a show in a genre where conflict is everything, a bit of over-the-top sentimentality is appreciated every now and again.
And in fairness to David, when the teams ultimately are drawn, I don’t see his presence being that much of a detriment. David ends up on a team with Chris, Will, Jessica, and Ken, while competing against Zeke, Bret, Adam, Hannah, and Sunday. David’s no more of a slouch in the challenge department than Hannah and Sunday are, and this is a challenge where, puzzle aside, big muscles will be key. All the big muscles (save Jay, who doesn’t have a shot at reward) are on David’s team. In fact, they even get out to a nice big lead, setting up David’s arc of proving that he has worth.
Lest anyone ever say that “Survivor” is faked, let this challenge stand in testament to the fact that it is not. You get a beautiful setup with David doubting himself, of COURSE you want him to win the challenge. But no, he and Chris choke on the puzzle, sending the other five on reward. David blames himself, but in the physical portion, he really neither hurt nor helped the tribe. Yeah, the puzzle choke is hard, but that’s at least as much Chris’ fault as David’s. My point is, don’t let yourself get down, man.
Our reward once again gives Bret the chance to get drunk as a skunk, accurately giving us the two sides of Bret. He’s either a fun loving goofball, or he’s an asshole. While the pizza yacht is actually decently far away from camp, Hannah points out that sound travels well over water, and that they ought to keep their celebrating to a minimum. Bret effectively says “screw that noise”, and continues to be somewhat obnoxiously cheery. Nobody really comments on this afterward, so I suppose it did no harm in the long run, but it’s still a mark against Bret.
Then again, everyone’s excitement becomes hard to contain when it turns out this was the secret “letters from home” reward as well, giving everyone a chance to be humanized a bit. We get some tender moments, like Zeke’s dad sending him his dog’s paw print with the letter, but, like Jenna Morasca (“Survivor The Amazon”) before him, the focus goes to Adam, due to the whole “family member with cancer” thing, which yeah, is pretty tragic. Though, strategist that I am, all I can think of is how this edit plays into Adam’s redemption arc. Since the merge, Adam’s been scum of the earth. If he’s not playing both sides, he’s keeping secrets. While it ultimately has very little impact within the game itself, from an editing perspective, Adam needs more scenes like this, and fewer neurotic scenes.
Back at camp, David is still upset, and may go for crying scene number two, especially after talking to Ken. To perk himself up, though, David dives into the “Gen-X Civil War” with a vengeance, reigniting his old feud with Chris, and wishing death upon him. Not really, but that sounds dramatic, doesn’t it? Not sure if David was tipped off beforehand that Chris, Bret, and Sunday were after Jessica, but he’s certainly returning the favor in kind. We see later that Adam is pretty firmly in his corner at this point, but that still only four people, so Hannah and Zeke will be needed to secure victory. As such, David makes it a point to talk to Zeke after the reward, putting Zeke firmly in the middle, as both Chris and David want him. Since Zeke is not Adam, he actually plays the part well, though he does show some preference for the David side by letting on that Jessica is being targeted. As to which side is better for himself and Hannah, it’s a tough call. Frankly, I’m not sure there’s a right or wrong answer here. Either way, you’re ensconcing yourself with one threesome, and pissing off another. Ultimately, the benefits are as follows: Sticking with David, Ken, and Jessica give you more options. True, both threesomes are fairly united, but between Adam’s link with Ken and Jessica and Zeke’s link with David, you’ve got more room to play. Even though Hannah shared a tribe with Bret and Sunday, they’ve never been shown to be particularly close, so the only real connection there is between Zeke and Chris. On the other hand, between David’s idol and the legacy advantage, there’s a lot more gameplay power between David, Ken, and Jessica, making them less desirable allies. Additionally, David, Ken, and Jessica would probably be more inclined to see being blindsided as a strategic move, whereas Chris, Sunday, and Bret would see it personally, given how much they talk about this upcoming Jessica vote as being partly fueled by revenge. As such, it might be better to put those who WON’T hold a personal grudge on the jury. On the whole, though, given the information that they have, I’d say the correct move for Zeke and Hannah is to vote out Chris. They don’t know about the legacy advantage, and they have at least SOME measure of control over when and how David plays his idol, making it less of a threat. Chris, if left unchecked, is a big threat to win the game, and since going against him offers more ways forward in the future, it’s the slightly better deal, though again, I wouldn’t fault either decision too much.
Off to our immunity challenge, which just barely misses out on the “Lamest Challenge of Episode” title only because the totems used look pretty cool. In another endurance challenge, our contestants stand on an increasingly narrow balance beam while using a bamboo pole to balance a totem on a thin board, last one still standing wins. Like I said, just another generic endurance challenge. Not much more to say than that.
Just in case you were worried that Disney was buying up everything you loved and held dear, fear not. “Survivor” is still alive and subverting Disney stereotypes. You see, Ken is one with nature. Being one with nature, he has animal friends. Ants, to be specific. But these animals friends are not so friendly. They cause Ken to lose the challenge, then claim the lives of Bret, Jay, and Adam. Alfred Hitchcock may own this show, but at least it’s not Disney.
Because they just couldn’t leave the underdog story alone, our battle comes down to Zeke and David, and though they do a good job showing both people struggling before David’s inevitable victory. For all my snark, I’ll once again admit that it’s nice to see David win, and that things would have been left dangling if David HADN’T had some sort of challenge victory. Plus, it’s nice to see some delayed gratification here.
Back at the camp, both sides agree to try and fake out Jay to get his idol played before once again gunning for each other. As this is a double-length episode, and we’re mostly hearing more debates about the sides I’ve covered previously, I won’t say too much about it here. Suffice to say that they do keep the mystery good, and this is where we see Adam being pretty firmly on board with David, Ken, and Jessica. Conversations about which side to go with are between Zeke and Hannah, and when approached, Adam goes along with the plan. He laments the target not being Jay, but also realizes that going too hard for Jay may lead to Jay being his proverbial white whale, and ultimately put a target on his back. Why, just look at what happened to Stephen Fishbach on “Survivor Cambodia”. He tried too hard to go for Joe Anglim (“Survivor Worlds Apart”), and he ended up going out because of it.
Apart from the mystery of the vote (which is done really well), the best way to describe this Tribal Council is “fun”. It’s very lighthearted in tone, belying the war and betrayal underneath. It’s actually fun to see this duplicity, and it’ll make a nice contrast for the second Tribal Council of the episode. Not to say that we don’t get any strategy talk. Hints of what’s to come are definitely there, what with talking about taking out big threats and cracks and divisions and all. But let me ask you this: What do you remember the most about this Tribal Council? Hannah coining the term “Trust Clusters” That is adorable, and while fun, the best Tribal Councils don’t get called “adorable”. It does, however, lend itself to easy humor, with the “Trust Clusterfuck” comment we’ll see at the next Tribal Council.
Really, the major misstep of this Tribal Council is that they do a horrible job of hiding that fact that Jay is safe. Talk quickly shifts to the fracturing of alliances, and while Adam’s paranoia and Zeke’s going full Keith Nale (“Survivor San Juan del Sur”) and suggesting sticking to the plan do bring the subject back around to Jay, it’s clear even to Jay that he’s safe. Hence, he does the smart thing and doesn’t play his idol.
As I said before, this votes DOES do a good job of being nice and tense, making for a fun outcome. The smart move is made, and Chris goes home. I must admit, I’m sorry to see him go. I hesitate to say that he was a real character, but I also hesitate to say that he wasn’t. He clearly had potential, but he got shunted to the sidelines in favor of even more colorful characters. He had strategic chops, as shown in confessionals, but he was such a threat that, apart from the Rachel boot, things never really went his way. It’s a shame to see such wasted potential, but at least we can tell there’s potential there. Chris will be missed, and he’s someone I wouldn’t mind seeing on a “Second Chances” ballot in the future.
Heading off to what SHOULD be its own separate episode, we find that, once again, Jay was on the wrong side of the ballot, with himself, Chris, Bret, and Sunday voting for Jessica, while all the others went for Chris. Jay makes a point of congratulating himself in private for not playing his idol while apologizing to Jessica for voting for her. Definitely the right play to make here, and Jessica forgives him, probably because he’s a moron.
More interestingly, Bret is quick to jump ship. He acknowledges that Chris was a threat, and probably needed to go, personal bonds aside. However, Bret is now less interested in a “Chris” thing, and more a “Anybody but David” thing, once again swearing vengeance. Zeke, who is REALLY proving himself to be a master social player this episode, sees opportunity. Put it this way: what we’ve been seeing throughout the last several episodes is that, subtly, Zeke is putting himself in the middle of everything. Everyone likes him, and everyone wants to use him for their plans. This puts Zeke in the kingpin position to win, with his only rival being David. With David’s group fast growing in numbers, Zeke needs to make a move soon, and now that Bret and Sunday have come to his side, he sees an opportunity to take out David. Which makes sense, at least to a certain degree. As I say, David is the only real threat to Zeke winning the game at this phase, but that also means he’s good cover for Zeke. While Zeke has been subtle about his takeover, as we’ll soon see, it’s not as though no one noticed at all. David is the only one REMOTELY taking the target off of Zeke, and as Zeke has no idol to help him regain control after a coup attempt, it’s somewhat in his best interest to keep David around, so he has someone to target other than himself. It’s the same logic as Jeremy keeping Joe around on “Survivor Cambodia” to make sure that the target wasn’t on him. Can’t really fault Zeke’s logic too much, though, and it still wouldn’t be a bad move for him.
Coincidentally, David has ALSO noticed that he’s a threat to Zeke, or at least that Zeke is a threat to him. He talks to Bret and Sunday that morning, and to both of their credits, they do a good job putting up a front, even though they’ve already decided to turn on David. David is willing to be a bit more patient than Zeke, hoping to take out Jay and Will first. I’d say taking out Will before Zeke is a mistake for David, but I’ll actually admit that it’s good that at least SOMEONE is focussed on Jay. The danger with someone like Jay, an athletic moron with an idol, is that, due to not being seen as a strategic threat, one can slip into a “We’ll get him next time.” mentality, and then, with a few timely challenge wins, guess who’s in the finals with nary an enemy to be seen? Jay. It’s sort of the same logic as voting out the young unassuming female: the fact that she isn’t a threat makes her a threat. And no, the irony of someone like Jay being unassuming is not lost on me.
Unfortunately for David, his bid to gain allies backfires a bit, as he reveals his idol secret to Bret, who of course relays that information to Zeke, who relays it to Adam and Hannah, hoping to firmly get them both on his side. Hannah is the one who reacts in this case, admitting that while she has worked with Zeke in the past, he is a threat, and she contemplates cutting him loose and going with David, Jessica, and Ken. Again, happy that Hannah is trying hard to make big moves, but this is one that’s REALLY not in her best interest. As she says, Zeke is her number one ally. Giving that up is a big move. She would go from being the number two in an alliance and controlling the vote to having virtually no control. And while Zeke is a threat, David is a threat as well, and David has an idol. Granted, there’s something to be said for building a resume, and for Hannah to win, Zeke needs to go at some point, but it needs to be when it’s advantageous to her. If she were to go with, presumably, David, Jessica, Ken, and Adam against Zeke, the only real connection she has is with Adam. True, she was building something with Ken earlier, but that’s still a late start for her, up against three other people who’ve had more time to build bonds with him. Conversely, if she sides with, presumably Zeke, Jay, Will, Bret, and Sunday, she’s got at least something of a bond with all of them. Maybe not Will, but Will’s not exactly a power player in that alliance. Bottom line, this is the most cut-and-dried obvious move, so naturally the opposite will happen.
Having evidently saved the leftover “Challenge Awesomeness” from the first half of the episode, we get things poured into this reward challenge that I love. It’s a simple relay race with a snake puzzle at the end, but what makes it cruel is that the contestants hands and feet are bound, so that they have to crawl along like snakes. THAT is what makes for a unique and difficult challenge. I don’t even care that it’s a team challenge post-merge, it’s still awesome! And the reward of a picnic far away via helicopter is nice too.
Evidently deciding they were too mean last episode, the show decides to give the one sit-out (David successfully volunteers as tribute this time) the reward automatically, which I have to roll my eyes at. I know I said some niceness on the show makes for a good change, but this is too much! Come on, guys, make the sit out suffer! Or at least have them bet on a team to win, like on “Survivor Nicaragua”. That was actually a FUN part of that season!
Once again, our physical powerhouses get out to an early lead, but it’s the puzzle-solving team of Bret, Sunday, and Zeke that takes it in the end. Challenge is still cool, but once again, the puzzle kind of breaks things. They go with David on reward, and Adam takes this time to remind us that he has a reward steal advantage. He doesn’t use it, but admits that David having not earned the victory made him want to, which is actually a good point. One inherent disadvantage of the reward steal is that it pisses off the person who won, and by extension, people who might think it’s a dick move. If you steal from someone who didn’t compete, though, a lot of that goes away (as a side note, this also confirms that Adam can’t steal for his team, only for himself individually, taking away some of the power of the advantage), so it might not be a bad place to ditch the advantage. I feel like the gain isn’t big enough, though, so I’m with Adam in not playing it.
On reward, we once again get Happy Bret, mostly because he’s got more beer. He and Zeke have a good bonding moment where Bret comes out to Zeke. It would be entirely sweet, were it not for the shoehorned in “generational values” talk. It doesn’t RUIN things, but it does take the edge off. When Sunday comes back the strategy talk resumes, which is basically just another round of “Get David.”
Once our reward winners arrive back at camp, though, things get more intriguing. Quite out of nowhere, Hannah makes a decision about who to side with, and as I alluded to earlier, it’s the wrong one. She spills the entire plot to David, who, rather than man up and do something about it, moans and groans. It’s HANNAH who has to point out that David’s still in a position to flip the script, and David comes clean about his idol with her. From a viewer’s perspective, I’m happy about this development, as it means we get more intrigue, but again, as a strategy, it’s bad for Hannah to flip on Zeke, for the reasons I outlined earlier.
Not content with merely having the reward challenge be awesome, we get a cool immunity challenge as well. Each person navigates a pole through a table maze, unlocking a door once they solve it. They must then solve a slide puzzle to win immunity. Sounds simple, right? Well, the kicker is that the maze is attached to the other side of the door, meaning that apart from feeling one’s way around, there’s no way to know which way to go beyond trial and error. Simple though it is, there’s something clever about that idea I just can’t help but love.
For once, doing well in the first part of the challenge helps, as Jay blows everyone out of the water. Frankly, he wasn’t going home, so nothing is lost, but I must draw attention to Probst’s commentary. While many decry it as a failing of modern “Survivor”, I find it entertaining more often than not. Still, I will concede where there are times when he goes overboard. Unable to fall back on his usual “Thus and so, in the lead! Thus and so, struggling!” banter, Probst talks about how HE HAS NOTHING TO TALK ABOUT! Very meta, but this is one time where more silence might have been better.
Our pre-Tribal Council intrigue for this half blows the first half out of the water. Hannah, it turns out, is about as adept at playing both sides as Adam, and Zeke is quickly clued into the fact that Hannah is no longer with him. We also see the first bit of rust on Zeke, as he slips into some arrogant banter here that doesn’t suit him. Given that David may play his idol, Zeke switches the vote onto Hannah for safekeeping. Hannah actually picks up on this, and begs David to play his idol for her, but David dismisses it as paranoia on her part. Meanwhile, Adam is also feeling lukewarm about siding with David, thinking that Zeke might be the better bet. The irony is that, in the cases of Adam and Hannah, their each thinking of voting the wrong way. Hannah is attracted to David’s alliance, when her best allies are with Zeke, and Adam is attracted to Zeke’s alliance, when all his best allies are with David. Its kind of funny, and it leads to a good misdirect at Tribal Council.
Speaking of which, we get a MUCH better Tribal Council this time around. And by that, I mean chaos. There’s virtually no pretense this time around, and the mood is really negative for some reason. Both sides snipe at each other, with Mean Bret returning once again, claiming that Ken hasn’t really been in the game, and David and Zeke getting into a verbal altercation against each other. The nastiness is a problem, but it does make for more drama, and the fact that everyone is pop corning against each other helps make the barbs less comprehensible. Having Adam and Hannah whispering throughout is hilarious too, and helps build the tension. After all, there’s evidence to suggest the exits of either Hannah or Zeke. Plus, the inevitable “Trust Clusterfuck” joke.
Our clue as to the likely outcome comes when David caves and plays his idol (given how the Tribal Council was going, I’d have played it as well). It seems like he’s playing it for himself, when Adam pipes in. Sadly, he does not say “Hold up, Bro”, but he does make a similar plea. Adam claims he overheard the other alliance switching the vote to Ken, and thus, David plays his idol on Ken. At this point, it’s pretty clear where the episode’s going. Between Adam talking about not being fully on board with voting for Zeke, and suggesting saving a person who we never saw as a target, it’s clear that Adam voted for Hannah, and is just making sure David doesn’t play his idol for her.
At least, that was the LOGICAL explanation I bought into. No, it turns out Adam just made a mistake, as on both this and the revote, he votes for Zeke. Granted, it’s the SMART move for him, but it makes me wonder why Adam basically hurt his own alliance. Bad info, I guess?
Given Adam’s blunder there, I’d expect him to be the one to watch on the revote, but somehow, Jessica is the one Hannah begs to save her. She does, and the pop corning starts all over again as the tribe tries to come to a consensus. Both sides hold firm, and Probst stops the debate before it gets violent, ordering them to go to rocks. I was under the impression that THEY decided when a consensus couldn’t be reached, but given how things were going, I can’t fault Probst’s call here. Incidentally, this is the first time in the history of rock draws (all three of them), where I have to say, I don’t agree with going to rocks. While Bret, Sunday, and Will (the three vulnerable ones from Zeke’s alliance) are allied with Zeke, it’s not the firmest of alliances, and Zeke is a threat. Certainly, they can’t have bonded enough to be worth risking a boot on a rock. On “Survivor Marquesas”, the numbers were low enough that there was little room, and with two immovable pairs, there wasn’t a lot that could be done, and on “Survivor Blood vs. Water”, with two threesomes vying for control, there was no other way to gain power than to take a chance. Here, when alliances are still very fluid? Seems like a stupid gamble.
Especially for a tearful Jessica, who is the victim of the rock. It’s really hard not to feel for her, especially as this is the most tears we’ve seen at an eviction since John Carroll (“Survivor Marquesas”) As a fan and strategist, I am sad to see her go. This season’s obsession with shunting female strategists aside, Jessica did have a lot of potential, much like Chris. At the very least, she deserves the dignity of a proper vote-out. She will be missed.
She also, unsurprisingly, wills her legacy advantage to Ken. Time will soon tell what it is.
One problem that can happen with shoving two episodes into one (and why I advocate for double Tribal Councils instead) is that they feel disjointed, and the first half can upstage the second half. If you’re going to do it, though, this episode is the way to do it. Both halves held their own, with things escalating both in intensity and in intrigue, and if you think about it, both episodes were really connected. We started with a debate of who should go: Chris or Jessica. In the end, both of them went, even though Jessica wasn’t a target the second time around. It still bookends nicely, and feels like a natural progression. Both votes, the side in power essentially got bored, and ate itself. Put simply, this was a GREAT episode. And man, if it doesn’t set up drama for next week.
-Matt
Title Credit to Jean Storrs.
idolspeculation 
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