Seems that we now can’t even have ONE episode to let the status quo be status quo. No, now we have to have a twist EVERY SINGLE EPISODE! And I’m not talking about the blindside, I’m talking about the producer-implemented twist. An extra vote just wasn’t enough for you, huh? You HAD to go and add the vote steal. You’re just bound and determined for someone to play it correctly, right?
Ah, I kid, I kid. True, this episode was not the stuff of “Survivor” legend, but especially compared to the borefest that was the last double-length episode, it did a decent job. Let’s take a look and see what went right, as well as what went wrong.
Gloating is the order of the night back at the new Maku Maku camp, which I’ve since come to realize IS in fact a combination name of “Mana” and “Nuku”, but since the doubling of the term was enough to fool me, I shall spare it the ire of other combination names. Debbie, naturally is a big offender, stating to confessional that the majority six of herself, Tai, Sarah, Troyzan, Brad, and Sierra will stick together, confirming for us that there is not a line in the sand, but, as we get for the episode title, “A Line in the Concrete”. Now, this episode title led many, including myself, to believe that we were in for a predictable episode of the majority alliance sticking together, but of course this was not the case. And the fact that the quote, as it turned out, came from Debbie should have clued everyone into that fact. I’m not saying that Debbie is out of touch with reality, but hyperbole on “Survivor” should be taken with a grain of salt, and in Debbie’s case, it should be taken with an entire saltshaker.
Our past two episodes with someone on the outs (Hali’s vote-off having gotten no after-Tribal breakdown) gave us arguably two of the best handlings of post-Tribal blindsides from Aubry and Varner. Will Andrea continue this trend, or will she ask Zeke to explain himself, only then to interrupt his explanations and get annoyed with him? Given the specificity, you can guess which way it goes. Zeke, understandably, says that while he didn’t vote with the majority himself, he’s ok to go with them to save his own skin, and because he no longer trusts Andrea. A wise move. While it was foolish for him to mistrust Andrea in the first place, now that ship has pretty much sailed, and Zeke has little choice but to jump on the winning train.
Remember Debbie’s concrete line? Yeah, it seems Sarah is an alchemist, and has transmuted that concrete into sand, stating to both herself and Zeke that while now might not be the right time, she’s not bonded to that majority alliance, and will flip if she feels it necessary. I hope you enjoyed that confessional, because you’re going to be hearing about it at regular intervals throughout the episode!
Today’s reward challenge is boring, reused, boring, basic, boring, a team challenge, and did I mention it’s boring? As such, we will not talk about it, but we will talk about several things around it. First and foremost, that location! I’m normally not one to gush at pretty nature shots on “Survivor”, but every once in a while, they hit you with a good one. That arial shot of the challenge, wherein we saw it nestled between bits of coral reef, was breathtaking, at least for me. Coherence be damned, I’d have liked it if the entire challenge had been filmed from that angle. Second, Michaela. With 11 people left, and our contestants divided into teams of five, one person must sit out with no shot at reward, and that person ends up being Michaela. Demonstrating the social poise and grace she is known for, Michaela explains that she understands where people are coming from, and quietly cheers for Cirie. Of course not, she lets everyone within a 50-mile radius know that they did a stupid again. As Michaela says, I’m sure everyone has figured out that the teams were picked based on alliances, rather than challenge ability, but I do have to ask, why HAVEN’T people been commenting on Michaela’s challenge ability? It’s not like she’s been quiet about it. Admittedly, her boasting could be seen as just that, since she hasn’t had those spectacular victories we saw from her on “Survivor Millennials vs. Gen-X”, but she’s had some moments this season as well, and we’ve SEEN Zeke confirming her challenge prowess. Clearly, someone should be recognizing her ability. Oh, and we also see a tube labeled “secret advantage” tied to one of the legs of her bench. In case you didn’t see it, don’t worry, we’ll cut back to it about five or six times before the challenge is over. I’m sure people will give Michaela a hard time for not noticing it, but I would remind you that she’s sitting on the bench itself, and generally disinclined to look at its legs. Maybe if she’d seen it from far away, but even with my HDtv, I could barely make it out in the long shots. If you didn’t KNOW it was there, it would be easy to pass over it by mistake. Prost will also make a big deal out of the fact that Michaela still cheers for some people despite her not getting picked for a team, which he makes out to be a real shock. Gee, I don’t know, Probst, maybe it just means that Michaela is a DECENT HUMAN BEING?! EVER CONSIDER THAT?
It seems this challenge was specifically designed to show how the remaining few who could be described as “fan favorites” such at challenges. Once again, the balance beam is our culprit. Several people have trouble with it, but it’s Zeke and Aubry who most openly suck initially, each losing the lead for their team. Tai also had difficulty, but at least Tai made it across in one go, whereas both Zeke and Aubry take multiple tries. But, of course, our real story is Cirie, who can’t even make it up onto the platform to cross the beam unaided. I’m sure many would be inclined to say that this is a real mark against Cirie, but like with Michaela and the secret advantage, I can’t be too hard on her. This isn’t like some pool lip that’s an inch or two above the water, this was clearly at least a 6-inch jump one had to make, and I doubt Cirie could touch the bottom to give her a lift. Still, while Cirie may have slimmed down and toned up prior to this season, she’s not a challenge force, meaning her side loses. But wait! Probst can make a forced moment out of this, providing unnecessary commentary for Cirie crossing the beam, just to prove she could, with everybody on her team (and even, in the end, some from the other teams) coming to help her up. For all my snark, it is actually a really sweet moment, mainly because you can tell from the look on Cirie’s face that this is something she needed to prove, and would have done without Probst’s gloating. It’s also nice how everyone came together in support of Cirie. In a game that can be really cutthroat, it’s nice to see some genuine tenderness. That being said, there are other moments this season with a similar impact, and the fact that Probst felt the need to narrate the moment, PLUS his seeming goading of Cirie to do so, makes the moment feel at least somewhat manufactured. The good parts of it shine through, but this is one situation where the host with the most should have been the host with the least. At least he has the decency to call in a boat rather than force everyone to swim back.
Evidently Sarah has better eyesight than I do, as she spots the secret advantage, citing her cop observance skills as the basis for this. I’m not one to go for forced confessionals on how one’s occupation relates to the game, but this one actually seems apt. It’s an area where being a cop might actually be an advantage. Point being, it doesn’t surprise me very much at all that Sarah noticed it. What DOES surprise me is no one NOTICING Sarah untying the advantage. I mean, this isn’t even like finding an idol at a challenge, where subtlety is the order of the day, she had to swim out of her way to get there, was obviously doing something for several seconds while on there. And don’t tell me she was helping Michaela. Michaela was CLEARLY off the platform by the time Sarah got there. Maybe this season really IS full of idiots.
After our standard comforting of Cirie, Sarah unwraps her advantage, finding out that it’s a vote steal. As I’ve already discussed both my thoughts on the implementing of this advantage (to recap: it reeks of desperation, but isn’t all that bad all things considered) and of the standard “Sarah is tied to no alliance” confessional, I see no need to dwell on this. Therefore, we head on over to our reward picnic via sea plane, where everyone pigs out on a variety of foods, including the meme-worthy coleslaw for Aubry, as Brad expounds in confessional on what everyone already knew: that he picked his team specifically so as to include part of, but not all of, his alliance, so that he had eyes and ears on both teams. Actually a good strategy, but I must point out the folly of not taking Sarah with you, Brad. It’s obvious from last episode that everyone in your alliance knows that Sarah is on the outs, so you wanted her to be on a team with either yourself or Sierra such that one of the leaders could keep her in the fold. Troyzan and Tai may be loyal to the alliance, but persuasive they ain’t. Can’t fault the concept, though.
Talk turns to the Andrea/Zeke feud, with Andrea once again getting over-the-top angry with Zeke. Look, Andrea, I completely get the emotion, but as someone with more than a basic understanding of strategy, you should know that wearing your heart on your sleeve is a bad idea. Sierra takes this time to mock Andrea in particular, and the minority in general, over their lack of cohesiveness. Fair enough for her to do, if a bit mean spirited. But then Sierra goes on to demonstrate her LACK of knowledge of how “Survivor” works, by stating in confessional that this makes her alliance invincible. Anyone with half a brain should realize that a blindside for them is now planned.
Off to our immunity challenge, which is also reused, but not as bad. Hailing originally from “Survivor Blood vs. Water”, this particular version of the challenge comes courtesy of “Survivor Kaoh Rong”. Players will take letters, spelling “Immunity”, and place them on a wobbly board, while they back away, balancing the board with a rope. First person to spell “Immunity” and get back to the start, wins. As with most reused challenges, it cannot get my seal of approval, but at least it wasn’t an overdone one, and fairly difficult. Sadly, this is also possibly the leas-exciting version of this challenge. A lot of the appeal comes from the back-and-forth this challenge can bring. Do not forget Cydney’s come from behind victory on “Survivor Kaoh Rong”.
We also, sadly, have no Joe Del Campo (“Survivor Kaoh Rong”) to hilariously misspell “Immunity”, though Tai tries valiantly to take his place, being unable to even spell the word on his starting barrel. Actually, I thought Tai was just trying to stack his letters backwards first, making them easier to grab when doing the rest of the challenge, but no, seems he just had difficulty spelling the word. As I said, we have our two frontrunners who rule the challenge, these being Andrea and Troyzan. The former winning would send plans into chaos, making for an exciting pre-Tribal experience. The latter winning would have no impact whatsover. Guess who wins?
Plans are quickly set in place for Andrea’s ouster, with Debbie, Brad, and Sierra coming together to talk about who to vote out. It seems Michaela cannot escape the “annoying” stigma, even with Cirie’s help, as she is once again put up as a target. Debbie suggests her, as she can’t stand her any longer, but Brad correctly points out that Andrea is the biggest threat. I suppose I could see her as being the biggest threat based on a combination of both smarts and challenge performance, but I’d argue that Aubry or Cirie is a bigger threat. Still, I’d imagine peace at camp is also a factor, and I can’t argue with Debbie’s response. Deferring to Brad’s argument, she agrees to go along with what the camp wants. Can’t say I fault that move. It might even lead some to believe that Debbie has actually LEARNED from her experience on “Survivor Kaoh Rong”. As we’ll see in a few scenes, you would be sorely mistaken.
For now, the rest of the alliance convenes to go over the plan. Sarah, however, is miffed that she was the last one to know about all this, and correctly points out that it probably indicates that she’s on the bottom of the alliance. Again, good observation skills and reasoning! After that abysmal performance at the merge on “Survivor Cagayan”, I’m not sure I will ever be fully on board the Sarah-train, but she’s trying her hardest this episode. Of course, she also mistakenly says her error on “Survivor Cagayan” was taking the easy path, when it was actually her being stubborn and unwilling to compromise that did her in, but hey, desire for change is at least something.
Put out by the alliance’s treatment of her, Sarah talks first to Zeke and then Andrea about making a move. Zeke salivates at the thought, and Andrea seems on board as well. Both are wary about working with the other, as one would expect, but say they’re willing to temporarily trust one another for the sake of getting further, which is how it should be. I, however, don’t buy this flip for one moment. They’ve been building it up too much, and it seems like misdirection. On top of that, while the current majority alliance has a clear target in Andrea, we haven’t heard of a target from the other side. We’ve heard whispers of Sierra’s name, but nothing concrete, and if we don’t have that, I don’t buy a flip.
It’s tough to say whether or not Sarah should flip, since there’s no target yet given within the majority, and therefore no obvious upsides or downsides to the targeting. I agree with Sarah’s assessment that she’s on the outs with the majority alliance, and therefore her playing the swing vote would probably be her smartest game. This would imply that flipping, regardless of target, is a good idea, since the numbers say that if she doesn’t do it now, it would be difficult to stop the Pagonging. However, with just over half the people left, plus her steal-a-vote advantage, Sarah can wait at least one more Tribal Council before making her move, and flipping can make you a target. Plus, there’s always the “gather the disgruntled from the majority alliance plus those on the outside” gambit, and so I think Sarah sticking with her side is probably the right move.
After a conversation with Sierra, in which Sierra promises Sarah final three with herself and Debbie, Sarah seems to be reconsidering it as well. The promise seemed kind of half-assed to me, but it is another factor to think about.
Remember all that goodwill about Debbie seeming to learn from her game the last time? Yeah, take that all away. Cockiness has once again gotten the better of Debbie, and she has flown too close to the sun. And by “the sun”, I of course mean our beloved fan-favorite Aubry. Yes, of all the pre-game relationships that seemed the most interesting, and most cringe-worthy, the Debbie/Aubry relationship topped the bunch. This is mostly due to the fact that this was the only relationship that seemed to have open tension, though even then, the tension was mostly one-sided. Debbie was understandably still somewhat upset about Aubry blindsiding her, while Aubry seemed indifferent to Debbie, stating only that she could easily tell when Debbie was lying to her. Debbie, though she said she might try and play nice with Aubry, had no intention of seriously working with her. And for all Debbie’s protestations that she doesn’t trust Aubry, given that she wanted to use Aubry as a number down the road, that doesn’t seem likely to me. I find it more likely that Debbie, having done a good job of manipulating pretty much everyone else, decides to try in on her perceived greatest foe not named Brad Culpepper. To Debbie’s credit, she actually comes up with a pretty good lie. She feeds Aubry the party line of Michaela as the decoy vote, but also feeds her a bit about how Sarah doesn’t trust her. If it works, this last bit is particularly useful, since Sarah is the swing vote here, and getting the alliance to mistrust her would be a stroke of genius.
Of course, this assumes that it works. Given that our next scene is Aubry telling everyone in her alliance about how much of a liar Debbie is, going so far as to flip the bird in double for her (not cool, Aubry!), I think it’s safe to say that Aubry’s claim of being able to easily tell when Debbie’s lying holds more water. Now, had Aubry confined herself to talking to her alliance, Debbie might still have been safe, but Aubry also confides this to Sarah, who is now back to saying she wants to flip. Seriously, this woman changes whichever way the wind blows. One thing makes it seem like she’s on the outs? Flipping on the alliance! One conversation indicating she’s in the final three? Back with the alliance!
Debbie does emerge as a coherent target, though, and up against Andrea, I still say that sticking with the majority is right for Sarah. True, Debbie is fairly smart, and hides it easier than Andrea, but Andrea is overall the bigger threat. Moreover, if you’re going to move against the alliance, you want to take out one of the main power players. Were the target Sierra or Brad, I could get behind a Sarah flip. While Debbie is clearly one of the decision makers, what she doesn’t have that Sierra and Brad do is connections. This alliance runs across a few tribal lines, and it’s clear that what’s holding it together is Sierra and Brad. Debbie helps make the decisions, but no one’s staying in the alliance because of Debbie. Take one of the other two out, and they crumble. Fail to do so, and you’ve still got a strong foursome with three idols between them. Granted, Sarah doesn’t know about that, but on “Survivor” it’s probably safe to assume they have at least one idol. Better to stick with the surefire thing, especially with the steal a vote advantage to help you out.
While I can’t say that tonight’s Tribal Council is bad, I can say that it’s forgettable. Not that every Tribal needs a standout moment, but they help. This one just felt like a lot of grandstanding, with the odd ironic quip from Debbie to lighten the mood.
From my perspective, we don’t even have that great of misdirection. I just can’t see anyone in their right mind keeping Andrea over Debbie.
I always suspected Sarah was crazy. Debbie goes home, and I’m an odd combination of both sorry and not sorry. Debbie is definitely a fun character, but like sugar, too much of it can kill you. In that sense, I’m happy. We got just the right amount of Debbie, both good and bad. That being said, our alternate target was Andrea, and while she’s an ok strategist, she’s just BORING. Compared to who we could have gotten rid of, this is a loss. And, as I hope I’ve articulated, the wrong strategic move.
That being said, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy this episode. Much like the Tribal Council, very little stood out, and at times it reeked of desperation, but it was mostly a fun experience, with some good strategizing to go along with it. “Survivor” bread and butter if ever there was some. Let us hope that next episode can build on this solid foundation.
-Matt
Title Credit to Jean Storrs.
idolspeculation 
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