Idol Speculation: “Survivor Edge of Extinction” Episode 8: Inside Voices

Well, this was certainly an unusual night for “Survivor”. Oh, not because of the crazy Tribal Council, no, no. This episode we got a sneak preview for the next season, including its theme! Usually these are saved for the finale, but I guess CBS has given up on this season already, and just decided to promise us bigger and better things to come. With that in mind, who’s excited for “Survivor: Kindergarten”? Yes, what “Survivor” needs more than anything is drama, and what group of humans is more melodramatic than kindergarteners? Not to mention loud! Yes, no more mystery, just drama, as our new contestants scream their strategy at the top of their lungs! What’s that? You say kindergarteners are way too young to be on “Survivor”? Screw you! We’re CBS! We do what we want, and we’ve got stage moms to exploit!

Getting into our episode proper, we find that evidently CBS DOES read this blog, as our “Previously On…” segment is back once again in its full glory. I don’t have much to say about the segment itself; it’s pretty much just your standard “Previously On…” segment. However, if CBS really is listening and taking my advice, this is an opportunity not to be missed. Here are some ideas for you, CBS: Change up locations every other season, rather than just sticking in Fiji all the time. A De-Merge in the middle of a merge. Hide Hidden Immunity Idols at Tribal Council. Put the full intro into the episodes with original theme music. And, most importantly, put me on the next season! I’ll just wait outside for you to come get me while you implement the rest of my brilliant ideas.

Dammit.

Ok, well, if I’m not going on the show I can at least blog about it. Our first order of the day is consoling the blindsided people. Specifically Ron, in this case, which may come back to bite people later, as we’ll see. As the main person pulling for the move to oust Eric, Gavin is the one called upon to justify himself. Surprisingly, it’s actually Ron who instigates the conversation. He holds up pretty well initially, listening to Gavin’s arguments, but his body language betrays him, and he quickly falls apart.

Now, Gavin so far has handled the whole “betrayal” thing pretty well. Not spectacularly, but he hasn’t done anything to truly alienate anyone yet. All he needs to do to cement his position is make sure he doesn’t tie himself too much to one side. Being the swing vote plays to his strengths, and keeps him in power in shat is now a fairly chaotic group. Naturally, Gavin’s next move is to swear undying loyalty to Kelley and company. Because, you know, moving from an enviable swing-vote position to being on the bottom of the most solid group left in the game makes PERFECT sense!

Gavin’s not the only one with repairs to do. David, happy he dodged a proverbial bullet, now can only complain about the schism between himself and Rick. David states that the split would be a lot easier if there weren’t a custody battle of the half-idol he shares with Rick. Luckilly, divorce lawyer Aurora is here to help!

No, no, that doesn’t happen. Would have been a nice, natural career tie-in though. Instead, Rick and David patch things up, making that whole conflict from last episode pretty much pointless. David does declare that his was the right side as well, and yeah, despite my equivocating last episode, if you had put a gun to my head and forced me to declare one player over another, I’d have said that David had the better plan. I still say both sides had points, though.

Our mandatory Edge of Extinction check-in exists to inform us that yes, it sucks for Eric as well. But, with no advantage to look for this week, it’s not enough to just briefly mention this and move on. No, we have to dwell on the same shit we’ve heard from EVERYONE who’s come to Edge of Extinction! Yes, they do a lot better at balancing the time between Edge of Extinction and NOT Edge of Extinction this time around, but this only highlights another problem of the twist: repetitiveness. With not a lot to do out there, you’re going to hear the same confessionals over and over and over again. It’s got the point where it just feels like a waste of time. To add insult to injury, we actually DO get a new and interesting confessional during Eric’s. We see Reem talking to Aubry and Eric about how different it is coming to Edge of Extinction when no one else is there, and how hard it is. That’s an interesting new dynamic that hasn’t been explored yet, so of COURSE we don’t dwell on it and go back to Eric having a rough time here. Look, I get what they’re trying to do. With Eric talking about the temptation of leaving, they’re building up that he may quit. The trouble is that it’s fairly obvious EVERYONE goes through this debate when they first get there, and so we can pretty much know (even if you didn’t see the episode preview where Eric is present at Tribal Council) that it’ll come to nothing. It just makes the whole thing seem like a waste of time, even when it’s only one short scene. Chris does catch a stingray, though. Yay.

Back with strategy we actually care about, we get a fascinating look into how the strategy dynamics are shaking out after that blindside. Julie in particular is more than a little on edge, which is understandable when you think about the circumstances. This has been a game of ups for Julie overall. No Tribal Council until the merge, and when she does go, it’s with a supermajority that she has a position of some power in. This last vote is the first time something goes wrong for her. It’s understandable that she’d be a bit upset, and right of her to show concern. She WILL go too far later in the episode, but that’s for later. For now, she can be content that she has some options. David and Rick, not willing to simply roll over and let Kelley run the game, decide they want some power for themselves, and so discuss with Ron and Julie the possibility of a tight core foursome. Gotta admit, that would be a pretty cool alliance. The funny people and the older people banding together. Could be a good counter to what’s now being called the “Lesu Three”, being Kelley, Lauren, and Wardog. Of course, this group can do math, and realize that they need two more people to gain a majority. Aurora is thrown out as a possibility, but Julie is skeptical. Understandable, since Aurora mainly had beef with Ron and Eric, and so is less likely to join an alliance with Ron. In fact, the group would have to work hard to find someone LESS likely to join than Aurora.

Wardog is then thrown out as a possibility. I stand corrected.

Meanwhile, of course, the Lesu Three can also do math, and recognize the need for others. Gavin’s already on board, so they work on securing Julia and Victoria, wanting to target either Ron or David first. The Lesu Three naturally prefer to keep David over Ron, as the former is a potential number for them should things go sideways. Gavin, however, masterfully maneuvers them into a position where they can’t really deny David as a better target. Rather than play on loyalties, which could give his game away, Gavin argues that David is a challenge threat. Yes, really. Pointing out that your proposed target has done well in all individual challenges so far is a good way to put a target on someone without seeming like you have ulterior motives. The Lesu Three clearly aren’t happy about it, but have no choice but to go along with it for now.

So we come to our immunity challenge. Yes, really. Only a quarter of the way into the episode, and we’e got immunity. No, this is not two episodes crammed into one. This is just how weird this episode will get. Not our immunity challenge, though. This is “Bow-Diddly”, first seen on “Survivor South Pacific”, though with David Wright on this season, Probst of course likens it to “Survivor Millennials vs. Gen-X”. This is the challenge balancing a ball on a bow while on a balance beam while baking brownies in the shape of bowling balls in the black forest. Not exciting, another endurance challenge, you know how it goes. Hell, they even cut out the first section of balance beam, since evidently no one fell on those.

After some intense competition, it comes down to a duel between Gavin, a man who was in no way targeted tonight, and David, a man who was often talked about as a potential target. Naturally, Gavin wins. To his credit, though, he EARNED that win, having several near misses with his ball throughout the challenge. He recovers well, is what I’m saying. His prowess ends when he leads us to commercial, talking about how David needed to be beaten, and is certainly going home tonight, ensuring that David will last at least past this episode.

Tribe dynamics were still very much up in the air prior to the challenge, and little changes due to the outcome, though we do start to see where the shift comes. Having wisely abandoned the “Wardog” plan, Rick sets about sweet-talking Julia, Gavin, and Victoria. They’re willing to lend an ear, but also talk things over with the Lesu Three. As Lauren points out, David winning immunity makes Ron a harder pitch for them. Still, they try, pointing out how many connections Ron has by virtue of being an original Kama. Not a bad pitch, but as mentioned, these people aren’t stupid. Julia sees right through the pitch, and so now feels it imperative that the Lesu three be broken up. She gathers the old Kama, sans Gavin, and discusses the merits of getting rid of Kelley versus getting rid of David, the other target. Victoria, however, sums up the debate the best, saying that a group of three is more dangerous than a group of two, and thus Kelley needs to go. Sound logic. Now if only everyone can get on board. Ron is skittish, with Julie right there with him, forcing a lot of hand-holding and comforting in the plan. Now if only it were as solid as they though. Gavin, as mentioned, was not included in the decision making, and is naturally upset about this. In confessional, he states that he would rather go with the Lesu Three, since he’s bonded well with them. We see nothing about him upsetting their plans, though, presumably because Gavin is smart enough no to push for something the majority doesn’t want, but it’s a fracture nonetheless, which will become very important tonight.

Remember how sly these people were? How good they were at pulling the wool over Aubry’s eyes to vote her out? Yeah, evidently they must have used up all their subtlety on that vote. Kelley notes that she’s getting the silent treatment, as well as funny looks from Julia, indicating that she’s possibly a target. And she’s not the only one. David says that his Spider-Sense is tingling once again. You’re getting lazy, David. Reusing metaphors. Up your game. In any case, Rick gets the same vibe, and so it seems like the idol use is in the offing, as we head off to Tribal Council.

Now we come to Tribal Council. Our main selling point. The thing that takes up just about half of the episode. For all this buildup, it’s… ok.

Things start out normal enough. Some good banter. David tries out a cliche metaphor about sharks and minnows that everyone will try to hitch to at some point. But our first crack towards chaos starts with Julie, once again harping on about being left out of the vote last time. No, no. She’s still within the bounds of reason at this point. The full blow-up is yet to come. For now, Ron does damage control, more diplomatically stating their shared position. Aurora is the next to make a slip-up, pointing out that the Lesu group is united, and therefore a threat. Wardog counters that they’re a fractured bunch, and therefore not a threat. Kelley looks to Julia for reassurance, and Julia, giggling, swears that things are ok. Probst latches onto this, claiming Julia giggled at Aurora, which Julia denies. Sensing an opening, Rick preys on Julie’s mistrust of the old Kama, pointing out that there are fractures in Kama, and them coming with Lesu could make seven. Aurora rightly calls out that a minute ago they were saying they were divided. And thus begins the whispering. Wardog, Ron, Julie, and Lauren talk about getting rid of Aurora for some reason. Kelley once again looks to Julie for reassurance before talking to David. Victoria wanders over to Wardog’s group to see what’s going on. This also begins the reactions from the jury. Now, at first, these seem to be overreactions. After all, we’ve had chaotic Tribal Councils before. But it seems this is no mere posturing, nor even a frank, secretive, exchange of ideas. No, this is a real conflict of interest, as soon the whispering is thrown out the window for full outdoor voices to hear. Definitely something different than we usually see. Do I think the reactions of the jury were played up? Yes. Do I think the excitement of this Tribal Council was oversold? Absolutely. But it’s still a great moment of tv nonetheless.

Things culminate with Julie stating that she’s “out”, declaring herself a free agent, and going to sit with most of the rest of the Lesu group. Here’s where my sympathy for Julie’s position ends. It’s right to be suspicious when you’re on the wrong side of the vote. It’s another thing to completely throw your game away for it. Let me repeat: this is the FIRST thing that hasn’t gone Julie’s way this entire game, and she’s basically thrown away her entire game for it, agreeing to whatever out of sheer paranoia. One should listen to fear on “Survivor”, but shouldn’t let it control their game. Right now, Julie is letting it control her game, and I see it costing her dearly.

What really makes this scene interesting for me, though, is how it highlights how good or bad people are at interacting with others. In high-stress situations like this, there’s no pretense. Some people are just naturally calm and collected, others show their true colors as jerks. Two who come off well here are Ron and Wardog, particularly the latter. Ron does a good job remaining diplomatic throughout. Wardog, despite how bombastic he can be, calmly suggests ideas to others, and presents himself, somehow, as a calm port of stability in a sea of chaos. Coming off less well is Julia, who dismisses multiple people throughout the course of the chaos. She claims Rick is a “passenger” in the game, and bluntly tells Wardog to shut up when he suggests voting. Not the best look for her.

After all that chaos, I’d be surprised if we didn’t see at least one idol play just for safety’s sake. Rick obliges, playing his idol for David. Seems even when new players do get an idol, they still end up using it on returnees anyway. David does get a vote, as does Kelley, but as always on “Survivor” things come down to who do people get along with. As we saw, Julia is not easy to get along with in such situations, and goes home. I can’t say I’m too sorry. She seems like a nice enough person, but was boring tv, and up until recently, really did nothing to earn her spot. Still, she’ll get another shot on Edge of Extinction.

This season continues to move in the right direction, pulling out another pretty good episode. Despite how rushed it felt at times, we got a good look at shifting dynamics, before those dynamics were brutally ripped apart at Tribal Council. Maybe a bit overhyped, but a good episode nonetheless.

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.