Idol Speculation: “Survivor Ghost Island” Episode 6: Bradley and the Advantage Factory

Come with me/and you’ll be/in a world of idol saturation!
Living there/there won’t be/a straightforward vote…

Take note, all those people complaining about the lack of idols/advantages on this season: This is your fault! All this stuff now in the game? By proxy, that’s on you. True, it’s doubtful you were out on the island influencing production to plant these things, but you wished for this, you got it. Why is this a problem, though? After all, wasn’t this actually a pretty good episode that set up a lot of future intrigue? Well yes, yes it was. However, I’m willing to bet that at least SOME of you complaining about the lack of advantages this season ALSO complained about “Advantagegeddon” from “Survivor Game Changers”. And what did that involve? Three hidden immunity idols and a legacy advantage. And what do we have on this season? Three hidden immunity idols, a legacy advantage, AND a vote steal! In wishing for this to happen, you have invited in the possibility of that which you hate happening again. If we get another “Advantagegeddon”, I don’t want to hear ANY complaints! You wished for this, you live with the consequences!

Speaking of Ghost Island, and things related to it, it’s time once again for…

MATT’S MESS-UP!

Last episode, I neglected to mention something that wasn’t there: Ghost Island! Yes, in a remarkable show of restraint, the producers decided that the tribe shuffle was twist enough, and rather than screw somebody by forcing them out of new tribe dynamics, they just let things play out naturally. Despite the aforementioned complaints about the lack of Ghost Island on a season called “Ghost Island”, I’m actually ok with this. With three tribes, we now need all the time we can to adjust to the new dynamics. Ghost Island does nothing but distract from that. And again, I think it’s nice to see that the producers do have restraint, and aren’t just throwing a twist in every episode for the sake of drama.

“Previously on… ‘Survivor’! Malolo sucks!” Laugh if you will, but that’s hardly an exaggeration. Gone are the days of the (relatively) unbiased narrative.

Less sucky is Mike, who is taking the initiative to go idol hunting, as he is on the bottom of the tribe. Can’t really fault him on this score. After all, Angela, Desi, and Kellyn seem like a pretty tight group. You’ve shown some loyalty by voting with them, but in the event of another pre-merge Tribal Council, I doubt that’ll get you very far. Thus, idol hunting is the best bet. Now, it may seem wrong to berate players for repeating a mistake from a season they hadn’t seen, but Angela, Desi, and Kellyn all deserve berating. WHY DIDN’T YOU KEEP A TAIL ON MIKE? WHY? This is exactly what happened with Ben Driebergen (“Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers”), and you saw how that turned out! Well no, you didn’t, but we the audience did! And even then, it’s just common sense. Hell, it’s not like Mike was even sneaky about it. Desi even comments on it, yet you do NOTHING? Once again, a loss of respect points.

Mike is justly rewarded for his unhindered efforts by finding an idol. Specifically it’s the “F*cking Stick” from “Survivor Micronesia”. For one second, I think they’re playing with the poor boy’s emotions. “Ha ha, you get the idol that isn’t really an idol! Good luck fooling people with it!” or something similar. But no. Evidently idols work on Pokemon logic, as enough time and experience can evolve a fake idol into a real idol. Personally, I say that particular fake idol needed a LOT more time to work, but I suppose it’s good for humor’s sake.

Also, I don’t buy that this thing is “cursed”. To me, a “Survivor” object is cursed when it fails in what it’s supposed to do. Thus, things like James’ idol from “Survivor China” make sense, since they failed in their intended purpose. But the stick? It’s job was to throw people off the trail of the real idol, which it did. Ok, the point about how everyone who handled it (Eliza, Ozzy, and Jason) being voted out one after another is a good one, but not exactly the stuff of cursed legends.

Our second reference to last season is a much better one, coming in the form of a reward challenge. Teams of four must hold a ropes taught to support a platform, on which they must spell the word “Reward”. The first team to do this gets steaks, kebabs, a grill, spices, and the right to send anyone from the other two teams to Ghost Island. Second place gets kebabs, and third place jack diddly. I loved this challenge last season, and I love it now. It’s tricky, and leads to a good number of “come from behind victories”. This season, we are not disappointed, as each tribe falls out at some point, only to work their way back up.

Before we talk about the challenge proper, I have to take a moment to criticize Yanuna’s sit-out. Naiviti does the logical thing and sit out the top-heavy Domenick, but Yanuya? They go with Laurel. WHY? This challenge is designed for women (with their naturally lower center of gravity) to do well. Wendell and Chris are strong, don’t get me wrong, but they’re also incredibly top-heavy. They are, in some ways, a liability this time. I suppose I can’t argue with results, but still.

Naviti takes the top prize, despite Bradley’s barking orders clearly getting on some people’s nerves. They are the only tribe to figure out how to go fast, though, so it makes sense. Naiviti, being slow and steady (though not as slow as Malolo), takes second, under the leadership of Chris. I should mention, this is the first episode this season where we get not a single scene of Chris being a dick to somebody, or just being arrogant in general. This is partly due to seeing just about nothing of Chris. The most we get is him leading Yanuya in this challenge, and even that’s mostly just polite coaching, rather than barking orders. If Chris wants ANY chance at a comeback, this is the attitude he needs to adopt.

There’s also the matter of who to send to Ghost Island, and for once, we actually get consensus. Evidently using the argument of “Minimize the number of people who could possibly have advantages.”, Naviti agrees to send Kellyn back to Ghost Island. I get why that type of argument would sway people, but why not send Chris based on that logic? Domenick hates him, and so taking him out of the tribe dynamic (not to mention missing the reward, as I doubt meat keeps very well unrefrigerated in the tropics) would be a nice revenge, and the logic still works. Ah well, at least it’s nice to see that it’s not ALWAYS drawing rocks.

Kellyn’s second return is not as heart-wrenching, but that may be due to the fact that the producers have sweetened the pot, lest Kellyn be cautious again. Now there are three bamboo chutes, with two containing advantages, thus giving her a 2/3 chance of getting something good, rather than losing a vote. Unlike last time, where there was debate to be had about what’s best for Kellyn, this time the answer is clear: Go for it! Last time, Kellyn was in a precarious situation on her tribe, and every vote mattered. This time, she’s in a solid majority, and with Mike’s idol, what she does on the next vote doesn’t really matter. Kellyn is smart enough to realize this, plays, and is rewarded with an extra vote. Continuing the weird Pokemon evolutionary lines we’ve seen this episode, evidently vote steals (the advantage Kellyn actually won, specifically the one that ousted Michaela on “Survivor Game Changers”) evolve into extra votes, since, you know, they’re written on. Kellyn is obviously happy, and I’m happy to see smart playing rewarded.

Speaking of rewards, Naviti can’t seem to enjoy theirs for even five minutes. Bradley and Donathan had ended the challenge on slightly bad terms, with Bradley yelling at Donathan about how he was moving, and Donathan mentioning in confessional that he felt disrespected. Despite Donathan getting a happy confessional back at camp, and everyone doing the much deserved celebrating, Bradley is impatient, and starts snapping at people to get a fire going. Everyone’s a bit shocked to be snapped out of their reverie, but see his point and get to work. Does Bradley stop there? Of course not! When Domenick tries to help build a platform for their grill, Bradley says it’s already done, eager for his steaks. Ok, even speaking as someone who’s not the most socially aware, how can you think this is ok? Hangry is one thing, but you’re actively taking people out of feeling good for getting your meal a couple of minutes sooner. The best that can be said for Bradley is that he at least realizes that he’s impatient and can come off as a dick (his words) at times, but does he ever do anything about it? Of course not! And this is why his exit later, while a poor move, will be satisfying.

The wheels are set in motion as pretty much everybody takes the time to complain about Bradley. This gives Donathan and Libby hope, since any name that’s not them is a good name to hear. It also helps keep Domenick and Chelsea’s options open, which is always a good thing. Privately, though, Domenick admits that he’s not sure getting rid of Bradley is a good idea just yet. Keep that thought in mind, Domenick. It shows you’re playing right.

Despite their lack of steak, Yanuya still finds time to celebrate. Any food is good food on “Survivor” (save perhaps fafaru from “Survivor Marquesas”), and kebabs are pretty high up there. Lest any member of Yanuya not see this as cause to celebrate, Wendell decides to give them one. It seems he has a girlfriend named Nicole (sorry, ladies, but it seems Wendell is taken), and today happens to be her birthday. I’m assuming he means that particular day on the island, since Wendell knowing in advance what day an episode would air would make him some sort of God, and while he’s good, he’s not THAT good. Still, they sing her “Happy Birthday”, and it’s a sweet moment.

Here, though, Wendell proves that he’s not just social game. Wisely waiting until everyone else is asleep, Wendell goes idol hunting himself. Like with Mike, I can’t really fault Wendell for doing this, but for different reasons. Unlike Mike, we’ve no indication that Wendell is on the bottom of his tribe. He and Chris have made up, and should Wendell not want Chris around, well, who do you think Jenna and Laurel would like to target? Yeah, I see no way Wendell leaves on this tribe. However, having an idol is still not inherently a bad thing (I’d argue it’s also not inherently a good thing, as it can make you a target, but that’s a whole other blog in and of itself), and Wendell does two things here to make it ok. One, he waits until everyone is asleep, and thus he will not be missed. Secondly, Wendell waits until AFTER he’s established firm social bonds before going hunting, thus meaning he misses less. Put another way, the big negatives of hunting for the idol are the stigma it puts on you, and the loss of social bonding time. Wendell has eliminated the first problem by being sneaky, and since he CLEARLY has no trouble bonding with people, the second issue is eliminated.

Knowing as all superfans do that hidden immunity idols can be found in suspicious looking trees, Wendell of course beelines for a tree wrapped in a bunch of vines. He does find a note, but it seems that Wendell will have to put in a bit more work than some other people in order to get an idol. He finds a map to an idol, that he Buffy-speak describes as sucking, but eventually manages to dig up what he was looking for. Further confusing the idea of “Ghost Island” evolution, it seems that the Micronesia individual immunity idol (ie, the one Erik gave to Natalie) has now evolved into a hidden immunity idol. Ok, has the definition of the word “hidden” changed? James’ idol was bad enough, but I have no idea how you sneak something as big as an immunity necklace anywhere. Really, this whole thing was done just to add another tally to the “Humiliate Erik Reichenbach” counter, wasn’t it. There’s a drinking game for you: Take a drink every time that clip of Erik giving up immunity is played. Still, good for Wendell, finding an idol.

Malolo, as you might expect, is a bit down in the dumps due to losing so much. Desi states that Malolo is possibly the losingest tribe in “Survivor” history. This is how you separate the casuals from the superfans. Desi, I won’t deny that Malolo’s in a bad situation, but you are nowhere NEAR the losingest tribe ever. We at least get some entertainment value out of it, though. Buying into the “curse” idea, Desi gets Mike and Angela to help her burn the Malolo flag, hopefully ending the curse. While nonsensical, it is kind of fun to see people take the theme idea and run with it in their own quirky ways, which is what happens here. What I don’t get, though, is why Malolo cut the ropes to their flag. Untying knots is a thing, guys, and even if you hate the flag, you could still use the rope for something. I doubt the rope is cursed.

Today’s immunity challenge today is a sucky as the reward challenge was great. Not content with doing repeats from previous seasons, now we’re getting repeat challenges from the SAME season. Seriously, this is just “Octopus’ Garden” again, aka “That challenge where James sucked and Donathan was awesome” from the first episode. Sure, they’re not EXACTLY the same, but the idea is the same. Run out, retrieve objects to be thrown, and throw said objects onto a target to win immunity. Siting out balls and a basket for hoops and rungs does not a new challenge make.

To be fair, though, this challenge at least has some mystery. Granted, I doubt Yanuya loses, since we’ve seen no strategy from them, and physical challenges like this work in their favor, but the other two are a toss-up. Both have had a bit of “strategy” talk (I’m counting Mike’s idol hunt as strategy, since it would have a significant impact on the outcome of the episode), and seem at least somewhat likely to lose. Plus, the producers remembered to show us all preview scenes BEFORE the challenge. Sure enough, Yanuya gets an early lead, and to satisfy the storyline, Malolo’s flag burning helps them scrape out a narrow victory. For all my kvetching, this is actually a pretty fun outcome. Nice job, guys.

Giving Bradley some credit, he DOES seem to make an attempt to be more social following the immunity challenge. He makes the decision of who to go for a conversation between himself, Donathan, and Domenick. I guess Chelsea doesn’t rate even in bland strategy conversations. Of course, one good moment does not undo the bad. Domenick and Chelsea are still upset at how Bradley’s been acting, and seriously consider ousting him. Definitely a tempting option, but Domenick in particular still has to consider whether it’s too soon. And as mentioned before the answer is YES! YES IT IS TOO SOON! Look, I’m not saying Bradley is easy to live with. I get the temptation, particularly given how huge the majority of the original Naviti currently is. But the fact is, despite the majority, original Naviti is fractured, largely due to the Chris/Domenick feud. Thus, both sides need all the allies they can get, and for Domenick in particular, Bradley has seemed nothing but an ally. Libby? The one time you tried to work with her, she burned you bad. Plus, you’re much more of a threat than Libby, thus meaning that, in the event of a merge, you’re likely to go before her. Granted, you’re probably more of a threat than Bradley as well, but Bradley’s annoyance at least makes a good screen to your own annoyance, and might make him a target before you as a result. Or, you know, take him to the end and watch him get zero votes. Either way works. While Chelsea doesn’t have as many of these points, being a bit player in the Chris/Domenick feud at best, the fact remains that the split affects her, and so she needs to be careful here as well.

Tribal Council does have a good bit of mystery about it. The smart move says Libby will go, but the editing says probably Bradley, the talk, while generic, well balances original tribe loyalty with needing to placate new allies, and the epic vote out music is just epic. Who will the epicness curse?

Turns out it’s Bradley, who does not go quietly into the night. It’s not a rant, but you can tell he’s pissed, muttering sarcastically into the darkness. You already know what I think strategically of this, but what about as a viewer? Yeah, still not happy. Granted, Bradley got what he deserved, and I wasn’t going to be too cut up about either his or Libby’s exits, but in terms of viewership? I think Libby has untapped potential, as I mentioned after the first tribe swap, but apart from that, she hasn’t really brought anything to the table. For all his annoyances, Bradley at least brought out frustration in other people, meaning he was more invested as a part of this season, and thus better for us viewers. Not sure I’d ever want to see him on the show again, but I’m glad he brought us what he brought us.

On the plus side, another great episode. Perhaps a bit advantage-heavy, but fun nonetheless and we got to see more dynamics develop. Plus, with the impending merge, we may FINALLY conclude the Chris/Domenick feud and move onto other storylines. On the minus side, this swap didn’t feel like it really had the chance to develop, and that’s a shame. Sure, with the legacy advantage in play, the merge probably HAD to happen at 13, but it still feels too soon. Not enough to detract from this already good season, but something. That said, I’ve been proven wrong many a time this season, so perhaps the merge will increase the awesomeness!

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.