Idol Speculation: “Survivor 42” Finale: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations

Normally the top of the blog is where I joke around a bit before getting into the nitty gritty of the recap/analysis, but I’d like to be sincere for a moment: Were he alive today, I truly believe Gene Roddenberry would love “Survivor”, and particularly this season.  Say what you will about some of the new changes to the show, but one thing that has been consistently good is taking people from different walks of life, and showing them not just getting along and working together, but learning from each other and moving forward with new respect.  Given the man’s vision of the future, I can’t help but feel that he would enjoy it.  

Then again, there’s not much sex on “Survivor”.  Might be a deal-breaker for him.  

We start off our episode proper with Probst talking to the audience, and for once, I’m not really mad about it.  Probably because this is just an in-person replacement for the Probst narration of the now-extinct season recap, and honestly this is less cringe-worthy, since Probst doesn’t have to justify why some of the finalists that we the audience know can’t win could win.  Really, my only gripe about this proceeding is that they keep playing snippets of “Ancient Voices”, the theme song, over various clips, something they’ve been doing sporadically all season.  Much as I love the song, it just makes me long for its return.  GIVE US BACK OUR AWESOME INTRO, DAMMIT!

Our players proper start out happy that they have ousted the biggest jury threat left in the game, but also a little bummed at their new digs.  It’s a bit hard to blame them, given that they now have to start over from scratch, but they do, I think, oversell how hard it is a bit.  Yeah, it’s not a fun or pleasant experience, but for how little time you have left, not the end of the world.  

But, of course, fallout from Tribal Council must occur with a non-unanimous vote.  Now, people over these past couple seasons have been good about handling being on the wrong side of a vote at least semi-competently.  This season in particular I would say has had people playing this off well.  Yet it seems, every so often, someone must completely lose it.  Lindsay does not really acquit herself well here.  While she’s happy to have survived, she asks why exactly they couldn’t let her in on the Omar vote.  She’s particularly upset at Jonathan, since they were supposed to be “allied”.  Jonathan brings up the perfectly valid point that Lindsay drew first blood, and was working against him.  Lindsay accuses him of talking down to her, in confessional, and while that’s been true in the past, Jonathan’s actually pretty reasonable here.  Stonewalling, yes, but being pretty chill about the whole thing in general.  Saying that Lindsay was “aggressive” is maybe a step too far (seriously, is every woman who raises their voice at all to Jonathan “aggressive” in his mind), but at least somewhat more justified than with Drea, given that Lindsay was clearly frustrated.  

With the morning comes our misdirection.  Lindsay seems to be dead in the water, with Jonathan and Mike taking time out of their day to talk about how she needs to be the next to go.  How do we give Lindsay a chance?  Immunity aside, we have two plays that could be questionable at best.  Starting with the more unambiguously bad one, Mike, in an attempt to curry favor, suggests he might give Lindsay his idol, if he wins immunity.  Decent coddling, and certainly more believable than saying he’d give it to her no strings attached, but the flaws here are twofold.  One, after voting out Lindsay’s closest ally, it’s a tough sell even with Mike’s acting skills.  Two, Mike also promised Maryanne his idol LAST episode, so congratulations, you’ve lied to someone!  At least one of those people is likely to be on the jury, poisoning it against you!  Hope you like having to fight that battle at the end, Mike!  

Our other bit of strategy comes courtesy of Maryanne, who says that she doesn’t want Lindsay to go, since Lindsay is part of her endgame plan.  At first, my gut reaction was to dismiss this as Maryanne being cocky over her Omar boot last night.  Thinking she’s unbeatable now.  Maryanne is the favorite after Lindsay, but Lindsay still most likely beats her in the end.  Why, after all, would you want that person around?  But the more I thought about it, the more there is an argument for Maryanne wanting to keep Lindsay close.  

Consider that Mike and Jonathan are incredibly tight at this point.  Probably the tightest pair left in the game.  Also, if Lindsay’s out, the most likely to win challenges, assuming they don’t involve a complex puzzle or endurance (as final immunity challenges sadly rarely do these days).  Thus, with Lindsay gone, unless Maryanne herself wins final immunity, or Romeo, she’s likely going into fire making, something she may not be good at.  Conversely, as she’s the only person left Lindsay’s tight with, if Lindsay is in at four and wins immunity, she probably takes Maryanne to the end.  On the whole, I’d still say better to want Lindsay out, since again, she’s the only person left ahead of Maryanne in the “winner potential” at this point, but there is an argument to be made for Maryanne’s thought here.  

Still, immunity is probably the best chance that Lindsay has of making it past this vote.  Lucky for her, the challenge advantage found after the word scramble is back once again, and Lindsay is evidently good at word scrambles.  She gets it decently quickly and then runs around trying to find the thing.  No one else even finishes the scramble, though this is partly due to Maryanne sandbagging Jonathan and Mike’s attempts.  The clue ultimately says the advantage is in the sleeping giant’s toes, which, putting two and two together, Lindsay concludes is in the roots of a fallen tree.  Pretty standard deductive reasoning for “Survivor”.  But, PLOT TWIST, the advantage is NOT in a tree this time!  What spore of madness is this?!

Admittedly, said challenge advantage is CLOSE to a tree, but is hidden in a foot-shaped rock formation with a tree leaning against it.  As it seemed to be on the rocks rather than a tree, I’m going to say it was not related to a significant looking tree at this point.  

Oh, and Romeo tells us he made a fake idol.  Not that he really needs it, since everyone wants him in the end anyway, but it’s a decent effort.  His second-grade teacher must be proud.  

The challenge that Lindsay specifically got the advantage for is your standard “Ropes course to collect puzzle pieces”, with the puzzle this time giving us one last look at the ouroboros motif of the season.  Standard enough challenge for this point of the game, and it’s been a while since we’ve seen this challenge in particular, so I won’t fault it for being a repeat.  I WILL, however, fault it for being a LAME version of this challenge.  Usually, with a challenge like this, one goes to and from the bags of puzzle pieces via the ropes course.  This can lead to collisions and tie-ups, which help make for a fun, tense physical challenge.  Here, you only use the ropes going back, and run around the perimeter of the course to get to the puzzle pieces. Much less exciting!  Boo!

Fortunately, our players make up for this lack of excitement by bringing their own.  Like last season, Lindsay’s advantage is substantial, only having to untie one knot per bag instead of six.  Jonathan has a lead in spite of this, but this challenge involves a puzzle.  We already know he’s not winning.  Lindsay, however, falls off the plank bridge halfway through, and this costs her time that could have had her win.  See, with a challenge like this, it usually comes down to the puzzle, and this is no exception.  Even Romeo and Maryanne, easily the two slowest players left, make it to the puzzle.  Granted, Romeo does terribly at that to but he is, technically, “in it”.  Our top two are Mike and Lindsay, who are always one or two pieces apart from each other.  Fortunately for our entertainment, Mike wins, thus making things more exciting post-challenge, and proving that, on occasion, the physical part of a challenge ending in a puzzle CAN make a difference.  

Mike also gets to take someone to a pasta a cake reward.  He unsurprisingly chooses Jonathan, which given how close the two are, I can’t blame him for.  Best to keep your ally close and strong at this point, so that they don’t turn on you at Final Four Firemaking.  No, Mike’s dumb move is an entirely DIFFERENT one!  See, Jonathan realizes that he’s the logical target for Lindsay to pitch, and so, with Mike now immune, asks Mike for the idol, which Mike agrees to do.  Now, don’t misunderstand.  If Mike is to use his immunity on someone else, Jonathan is the PERFECT person to do so.  Someone loyal to him, so keeps him safe down the road, and cuts out from under Jonathan the narrative that he got there on his own.  No, the flaw in this is that YOU ALREADY PROMISSED LINDSAY AND MARYANNE YOUR IDOL!  If you weren’t keeping count, that’s now everyone EXCEPT Romeo he’s made that promise to.  Odds are, at least one of them will be on the jury, and VERY pissed at you as a result.  

Lindsay recognizes that she’s likely doomed, but gives it her level best, guilt-tripping Mike about his promise from earlier.  Mike seems genuinely hurt by it, but waffles on actually giving it to her.  A worthy effort by Lindsay, though she laid it on a little thick.  On the whole, honestly, I don’t buy it.  If Bob didn’t give up immunity to Kenny on “Survivor Gabon”, then Mike, someone strategically leagues ahead of Bob, is not going to give up his idol here, immunity or no.  

Far better for misdirection is Maryanne, who is a much better actor than Lindsay, and has more pull with Mike, more subtly guilt-tripping him into playing his idol for her.  This, then, would free up her idol to be played on Lindsay.  This scenario seems more plausible, but I still don’t buy it, especially when Maryanne considers whether or not she should save Lindsay.  It’s basically the same debate I laid out a few paragraphs ago, so I won’t re-tread it here, but it’s a reasonable debate.  Still, not buying that anyone but Lindsay is going overall.  This is a more plausible move for Mike, but overall he’s usually made the best move for his game (moral pontificating aside), and right now, his best move is to make Jonathan immune.  

Sadly, all the misdirection goes out the window when we get to Tribal Council.  Lindsay is going, and even she seems to know it, seeming kind of downtrodden throughout the proceedings.  When Romeo dubs Tribal Council “The Fire”, and talking about someone who has fought hard every single time, yeah, we know she’s going.  I’m mixed on the outcome, to be honest.  I think she played the most consistently good game of all those left, and on that level I’m sorry she didn’t get the chance to prove it in front of the jury.  That said, if Lindsay WAS our winner, I’d be a bit upset about her edit, since we saw little of her compared to everyone else left.  Not invisible by any means, but on the heals of Erika’s win on “Survivor 41”, having two under-edited female winners in a row would be a big problem.  

Now the one with the biggest problem is Maryanne.  She’s set herself up well to win in pretty much any final three combination, but now it’s a matter of getting there.  She’d better hope that Mike or Jonathan are feeling particularly strategically poor today…

Or our final immunity challenge could be “Simmotion”, the challenge with no clearly defined skill set where pretty much anyone can win, that works too.  Look, I have no problem with “Simmotion” as a challenge in and of itself.  Wide open in terms of winner possibilities, and decently fun to watch.  But it doesn’t have the grandeur, the FINALITY that a final immunity challenge should bring, in my opinion.  Much as I complain about endurance challenges due to how ubiquitous they’ve become post-merge, this is the one place that should ALWAYS be a straight endurance challenge.  Give me “Hand on a Hard Idol” any day.  This, for me, falls into the same category as the “Build a House of Cards” challenge.  Fine enough as a challenge, but should not be the last one of the season.  

For all my complaints, this one actually has a few good moments.  Probst takes the time to let everyone left talk about what this challenge means to them, as well as to make it this far in the game.  Everyone gives good answers, and tugs at the old heartstrings.  Second, and this may be a cruel bit of schadenfreude, but I love Mike going out when there was only one ball.  Pretty sure that’s a “Survivor First” and surprised Probst didn’t take the time to call it out as such.  Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, Romeo wins!  Told you this challenge had no obvious skill set.  Still, good for him, and a very solid performance.  Also means we get an epic “shocked” face from Hai.  Guess Maryanne doesn’t have to worry about being sent to fire.  

Or perhaps she does!  Mike talks with Romeo first, and does not try to fight that he’s being sent to fire.  Instead, he pitches that Maryanne is the biggest jury threat, and so should send her to fire making, rather than giving Jonathan one last victory.  A decent pitch overall, and Maryanne does practice her fire making skills.  We the audience, of course, know that Romeo is a dead man walking, and is pretty much just a kingmaker in this scenario.  He’s a less crazy Noura from “Island of the Idols”.  That said, even from Romeo’s perspective, I would still pit Jonathan against Mike.  Apart from Mike having the angle of an easier fight in the end, at least by taking Maryanne, Romeo takes away some of her power, and shows that he was not just dragged along by the bros, but had some say in their fate.  

All practice fire, and we see that Jonathan is pretty good, while Mike and Maryanne struggle.  I’m sure this is not setting up any ironic twist at all!

Tribal Council is played pretty close to the chest, yet it’s still obvious what’s going to happen.  With no outstanding moments to discuss, we cut right to Romeo announcing, smartly, that he’s taking Maryanne to the end.  This has all but guaranteed Maryanne victory, but we’ll play out the rest of the episode anyway.  Jonathan and Mike have a very close duel, with both building respectable fires.  Maybe not as close as the one last season, but still a decent watch.  Still, call me a masochist, but I prefer the ones where players epically fail.  Give me the train wreck that was the Becky/Sundra duel from “Survivor Cook Islands” any day.  

In one of those moments that will doubtless make people think “Survivor” is scripted, the underdog wins.  Mike edges out Jonathan, who gets to say farewell to “Mr. Jeff”.  As you can guess, not sorry at this outcome.  Jonathan was not the WORST of the “dude bro” archetype I’ve ever seen on the show, but it’s just not one I’m fond of, and his words at the split Tribal Council this season just really soured me on him as a winner.  It’s ok that he came, but I’m glad he didn’t win.  Also, had he made Final Tribal and lost, we would have had an even less-justified “Xander Situation” from last season on our hands, and I just couldn’t take that right now.  

Also, fun fact, this marks the first time each starting tribe has been represented in a “Final Three” (with three starting tribes), since “Survivor Worlds Apart”. Not unique, but fun to see nonetheless.

We get our usual “Here’s why each finalist can win” narrative over our breakfast, but in a different and clever way.  We here a BIT from the finalists themselves, but in a clever move, particularly given the lack of “Ponderosa” videos this season, we hear the jurors themselves talk about each finalist, both their strengths and what we need to see.  It’s a fascinating insight into the jury, and I would welcome more dives like this in future seasons.  Even if some of the justifications are a bit weak.  Both Mike and Maryanne get a “here’s what we want to see from them” bit (owning up to playing duplicitously while pretending to be honorable and owning/fighting for their game, respectively), but Romeo gets a somewhat lackluster “He’s not completely out of it.” justification from a couple of people.  Don’t get me wrong, they do their best, but clearly the jury doesn’t have a lot to work with here.  

Also, not buying the “Anyone can win” montage at the end.  Yes, I know pretty much all the jury says they were open-minded at the reunion show, and this jury may have had more wiggle room than some other seasons, but no jury is THAT open minded.  I don’t buy at least half these people not having their votes locked in.  

For all that Romeo is drawing dead at this point, I will credit him, he does a pretty good job at Final Tribal Council.  He owns the moves he did make, talks about his growth, owns up to his mistakes but talks about how they relate to his game journey.  He even gets in a bit of pandering to Hai, reminding him of their in-game bond.  Really, the only misstep I can think of for Romeo is that when he gets called “Paranoid” by Tori he stumbles over his explanation of why he wasn’t, and even that’s a minor thing.  He did his level best, but his fate was already sealed at this point.  

Contrast with Mike.  You remember how the jury wanted him to own up to betraying people despite talking about wanting to play with “honor”?  Yeah, that wasn’t put in there for no reason.  Mike all but directly gets asked about that several times, with the jury making it abundantly clear they want him to own his betrayals.  Despite this, Mike does not take the hint multiple times, and insists the only time he broke his word was with Rocksroy.  You hear that, Mike?  That’s the sound of your million, fluttering out the window.  

Maryanne, while not overall the most performance-heavy Final Tribal, does her job well.  She fields her questions in an articulate manner, gives the jury what they want to hear.  It’s not going to rock the history books, but it does what it needs to.  She even points out that her moves gave her more options to be taken to the end rather than make fire (with Mike using his idol for her at final five, and all left wanting to take her to the end at four), thereby destroying my theory regarding why she would want Lindsay around. The stand out moment, that clinches her win, is of course her reveal of the merge idol she found, the “One secret that was kept all season”.  The jury clearly eats it up, and if you doubted Maryanne’s winner potential, doubt no more.  

Yes, we have two female Canadian winners of color in a row!  Huzzah!  Happy for them, but feeling uneasy about Canadians in particular being targeted in future seasons.  Still, good for Maryanne.  Very happy to see her win, and definitely a fun character to have as a winner.

Our reunion show is, as per the norm, nothing to write home about.  I’m still mixed on whether I prefer the old format or this new one.  I do enjoy the intimacy of the new format, and the lack of audience gimmicks/old players being called back for an interview.  That said, the lack of pre-jury, while understandable given the winner reveal, bothers me, and I do think it’s good to give people a chance to reflect on their games before interviewing them about said games.  This particular reunion did few favors in terms of turning me on to the new format.  Probst seemed to be schilling for the new twists half the time, which I suppose is his job, but still, not what I come to the reunion for.  There were a few funny highlights, though.  Rocksroy owning that he was clueless about the idol activation phrases.  Mike being delivered multiple pizzas in a row.  Probst actually talking back to Jonathan when he tries to give Omar a suggestion when asked to name an animal Mike is like.  All comedy gold.  

Before we wrap up my overall thoughts on the season, it’s time for the traditional look back at my pre-season cast assessment, and see how badly I failed in my predictions.  

Jonathan-His personality I had pretty much pegged (no surprise there, he’s not exactly subtle about it), but he did last longer than I would have thought.  

Marya-Slightly overestimated her time in the game, but overall pretty much right.  

Romeo-Wrong.  For all my snark, particularly this episode, he played a pretty good game, and made it deservedly deep as a result.  

Tori-Wrong.  Lasted longer than I thought, and less irritating on the show than I would have thought.  Still don’t care for her in real life, though.  

Jackson-Wrong, though in fairness, I had no way to predict he’d hide medical information from production.  

Chanelle-Her time was slightly shorter than I thought, but out in the merge area and not that memorable.  Overall, I’d say I was right with her.  

Omar-Slight overestimation, since I said he’d be out at five or four, but within the margin of error, so I think I can give myself the win on this one.  

Swati-I was right in regards to about how much time she would have in the game, but I gave her too much credit on game-savviness.  

Hai-Pretty much right, though the guy was more ruthless than I gave him credit for, and thus his reason for leaving was different.  

Lindsay-Wrong.  More game-savvy, and longer-lasting than I anticipated, and I am here for it!

Mike-Wrong.  He’s not setting the world on fire with his gameplay, but there’s more of it there than I gave him credit for, and he lasted much longer than I thought he would as a result.  

Lydia-Pretty much right.  Her humor shows more in her twitter than on the show, though.  

Rocksroy-Wrong.  Sometimes being hard to find just means you’re anti-social.  Not good in a winner pick.  

Jenny Kim-Mixed on this one.  She went out pretty much exactly where I thought she would, and she DID have shades of the bossiness I thought would do her in.  But she hid them well, and would have done much better if not for fluke twists.  Kind of right, kind of wrong, in pretty much all ways.  

Daniel-Wrong.  Worse player than I thought, and out earlier as a result.  

Zach-Wrong.  Much less smart than I though, and consequently out much earlier.  

Drea-Pretty much right, though again, I think I underestimated her smarts.  

Maryanne-TWO FOR TWO ON THE WINNER PICKS IN THE NEW ERA, BABY!  LET’S GO!

In case I haven’t already made it clear, I LOVE this season to death.  This is, unquestionably for me, a top-tier season, the first to get that honor since “Survivor David vs Goliath”, and probably the one I’ve been most excited to put there since “Survivor Cambodia” (I have a lot of respect for “David vs Goliath” as a season, but between enjoying “Ghost Island” more than most and thinking the theming is incredibly dumb, I’m not as jazzed about it as most are.  I acknowledge it’s overall technical perfection as a season, but it just does not have the “umph” to bring it to true love that I have for seasons above it).  Really, the cast is what make this work.  We really connect with this cast, who are by and large fun characters and decent strategists.  Yes, we may not have gotten truly innovative gameplay this season, but not every season needs that.  Standard gameplay, done well, can serve as well, and we get that in spades this season.  Every week told a fun, coherent story with characters we loved to watch, and really, what more could you ask for from a season?  

That said, this season is not without a couple of flaws.  The positives outweigh them, but they are there.  Predominantly, like “Survivor 41”, this season just had too many twists, too much stuff to keep track of.  Being a carbon copy of the format between seasons was KIND OF a cool experiment, but it meant the worst excesses of the previous season were not corrected.  Secondarily, and admittedly very nit-picky, I would say the tail end of the season (last 2-3 episodes) did not have good misdirection.  You could pretty much tell the order of the last few boots at the start of their episodes.  Granted, the show made up for this by giving us great “downfall” narratives each time, but as someone who goes out of his way to praise the misdirection, it is, technically, a flaw.  

While not affecting my ranking in and of itself, I also want to note that “Survivor 41” was kind of hard-done-by, in comparison to this season.  Most of the positives for this season could be said of “Survivor 41”, and that season definitely had more innovations in strategy than this season.  The problem is that, with “Survivor 41” having to introduce SO MANY new twists and advantages that time needed to be spend explaining them, it took away from time that could be spend bonding with the cast.  As such, while I think both are great, I connect more with this current cast, just because half of each episode didn’t need to be eaten up with rules explanations.  That said, that’s purely a factor of order.  Flip them around, with “Survivor 42” introducing all the new stuff first somehow, and I probably have the exact opposite feelings about these seasons.  Again, not a factor in my ranking overall, but wanted to acknowledge that “Survivor 41” got a raw deal due to factors outside its control.  

We did get a short preview for “Survivor 43”… Despite the fact that it’s still filming.  Eh, whatever.  It was so devoid of overall content that I can’t comment too much on it, but I do have a couple of random thoughts.  The cast seems decent.  I already like the attitude of the tattooed woman in blue.  The buffs are nice and colorful.  And the logo is an excellent design, save for the stupid giant number at the top.  I guess I have to accept that it’s going to be a “thing” moving forward, but I still think it looks dumb.  Make it smaller, and either integrate it better into the logo, or put it BENEATH the name where it belongs!

Anyway, I am tired, but don’t think this is the last of the blogs for now!  There will be a brief hiatus, but we will return to our off-season content.  Still deciding what I feel like working on, but at the very least, look out for the return of “‘Survivor’ What-Ifs?”

-Matt 

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.  

Idol Speculation: “Survivor 42” Episode 11: Canadian Civil War

You know, they’ve talked about this coming for a while now.  Sensationalist news headlines everywhere, portending the end of all things.  Even some semi-compelling evidence for it.  I must admit, though, that even if I DID subscribe to the idea, I did not expect it to be coming this far north.  

I also did not expect to be doing one of these right now, yet here we are.  Yes, a mere one episode before the finale, it’s time for another edition of…

MATT’S MESS-UP!

This one really hurts.  Some of these “Mess-Ups” are slightly more jokey, but I legitimately feel bad about this one.  Last episode, when talking up the brilliance of this group unintentionally repeating “Survivor 41”, and outwitting the “Knowledge is Power” by having someone else hold the idol that was to be stolen.  However, I made it out to be purely Omar’s move.  In some ways, understandable.  Omar was the narrator for the whole thing, and he WAS the one who happened to get the information out of Drea.  But his move alone?  No.  He discussed the move with Lindsay, and together they came up with the move.  I’ve seen some people say Lindsay suggested the move, and thus should get all the credit.  They may be right; I can’t remember the exact order of the conversation, but I don’t usually go back and rewatch episodes to get these sort of facts straight, and I’m not going to start now.  Even in the most generous interpretation for Omar, though, Lindsay deserves at least equal credit, and I did not give it.  As such, I correct that here.  Lindsay is also an architect of this move, and deserves at least equal praise to what I gave Omar last episode.  

In some ways, it’s kind of fortuitous that I made this mess-up, as this move directly leads into our post-Tribal Council discussion for the episode.  Lindsay and Omar are both high off the outcome, as it went exactly as they had planned.  I will dock Lindsay a point for calling it a “Perfect” Tribal Council, since to my mind, such a title would belong only to a Tribal Council WITHOUT a “Do or Die”, or at least one where I wasn’t the one vulnerable to said “Do or Die”, but hey, she’s here.  Can’t fault her for being happy about that.  

In the middle of this euphoria comes the issue of Mike’s idol.  Omar gives it back because really, what choice did he have?  Yeah, keeping it keeps you safe for a round, but also invokes the wrath of Mike, a wrath well worth being afraid of.  And Omar should know; he weaponized it against Hai two episodes ago.  Mike does make a good show of saying how the idol is for the both of them, but in private, Mike admits that he “knows” Omar is coming for him, and so plans to turn on Omar.  Fair enough, since Omar is the biggest threat out there to win, and therefore someone Mike needs to take out at some point for him to have a shot at winning, but I find the justification oddly amusing.  With the other people Mike had a vendetta against, there was at least SOME slight, real or imagined, that put him on the warpath against them.  Chanelle with the “Shot in the Dark” safety vote, Hai with the supposed “puppet” comment.  But no one really egged Mike to turn on Omar.  So what does Mike do?  Does he say “Omar’s a threat and needs to go?”  No, Mike just HAS to turn it into some drama, specifically that Omar will come for him, despite Omar NEVER saying that in this episode (though he did discuss it in episodes previous, if we’re being completely fair).  Again, perfectly fine decision by Mike.  No complaints strategically.  Just funny to me that it can’t just be a strategy thing.  Someone HAS to be against him, or have slighted him, for Mike to justify mobilizing against them.  

Mike pitches this move to Maryanne, who admittedly does see the value in it.  She frames it as “Omar is a threat and needs to go.”, which again, can’t argue with.  So loyal is she to Mike, that she… Talks about how uncomfortable he’s feeling the next morning.  Way to keep that alliance under wraps, Maryanne.  

Ok, ok, she doesn’t mention the “Targeting Omar” part, but even that felt like a bit more disclosure than necessary.  Maryanne will have to wait, however, as Jonathan speaks, and per the edict of Probst, when Jonathan speaks, everyone else shuts up.  Specifically, Jonathan has now taken on the persona of “Captain Obvious”, telling us things that we already knew were blindingly true.  Specifically that Lindsay and Omar are a pair working against him, and this is the breakup of the Taku 4.  Wow, wonder where the hell you got that idea, Jonathan?  

This, however, is the excuse Mike needs to bring in Jonathan on the “Get Omar” plan.  Omar DOES catch them talking, but not before the deal is sealed, and so everything seems to be in motion.  

Speaking of motion, our reward challenge features a lot of it.  Contestants spin themselves around really fast to unspool rope from themselves.  Having done so, they cross a rope bridge and then a balance beam, on which they must untie keys to unlock puzzle pieces.  This, of course, means a puzzle at the end, with the solver winning reward for themselves.  

Now, contrary to how generic a descriptor that is, I actually quite like this challenge.  There are specifically two things about it that hit the mark for me.  One is the puzzle.  If you’re familiar at all with “Survivor” History, you will realize this is no ordinary puzzle.  This is what I call “The Kass Puzzle”.  More specifically, the puzzle that Kass solved on “Survivor Cagayan” to win her immunity in what is, in my opinion, the best challenge comeback in the history of the show.  A good puzzle on its own, but allowing me to relive this challenge brings me joy.  

The other reason is Maryanne.  Say what you will about her, the woman is making the MOST of this experience, and loving every minute of it.  Everyone else just kind does their spin as quickly and clinically as possible, but Maryanne goes all over the place, laughing all the way.  She even gets in some “Opposite Direction Spins” to try and cure the dizziness.  Doesn’t work, naturally, but the pleasure’s in the trying.  I hope, dear reader, that you at some point experience even 1/4 the joy that Maryanne felt doing that challenge.  You will truly be happy at that time.  

As this challenge involves a puzzle, Jonathan does not have much chance to win it, despite his decent lead from the physical portion.  Most everyone here has something of a chance to win it, but it’s Omar that ultimately takes the thing…

SMACK!

Sorry, a pig just flew into my window.  It’s not enough for Omar to enjoy his win, however.  We need to talk about how much it means to him as a fan, and what it will mean to his niece, whom he just cares SO MUCH about!  Subtle, show.  Very subtle.  While you’re at it, why don’t you photoshop in a sign that says “Dead Man Walking” around his neck? 

Because it would cover the awesome Emu Shirt, that’s why.  

Anyway, like last season, Omar has a choice between a healthier meal of chicken and veggies, or sugary foods like cake and cookies.  With no Deshawn to try and bargain for letters from home, Omar is instead left with the wrinkle of taking the former reward and two people with him, or the latter and three.  Correctly recognizing that the boost from food is going to be fleeting, Omar chooses the latter, and takes everyone but Lindsay and Jonathan.  Assuming that he and Lindsay had discussed this earlier, this move makes perfect sense.  No sense in giving Jonathan even fleeting strength, and you nullify the risk of people strategizing against you, since the two aren’t talking strategy at this point anyway.  

Case in point, both make a show of wanting to target Mike back at camp, though neither are particularly good liars, and it’s clear to everyone watching that they don’t trust each other.  Kind of hilarious, actually.  We get better strategizing once everyone gets back to camp.  We find out that Maryanne, despite that one earlier scene, is more on board with the “Boot Omar” plan than we thought, and she starts telling the few left who don’t know about her extra vote.  And yeah, given that this is still a semi-slim majority, this time it actually makes SENSE to tell people about your advantage.  Gives them more confidence in the plan, and makes defectors less likely.  Mike reciprocates by saying he can use his idol to protect them both, which makes Maryanne very happy since she has an idol ANYWAY, but now has an extra backup, effectively.  The only thing that can possibly go wrong is Lindsay or Omar winning immunity.  

Our immunity challenge is sadly not as good as the reward challenge.  Just your generic obstacle course with ladder puzzles, and a table maze at the end.  The one thing I think was pretty cool was getting a key up a ladder by moving its rungs back and forth.  That was clever.  

Not inherent to the challenge, but another thing that helps is the tension.  This challenge is surprisingly even overall, but it quickly becomes clear that Jonathan and Lindsay are our two table maze whizzes.  They go back and forth, and the music gives us some good fakeouts.  In the end, the more interesting choice of Lindsay wins.  Now, as Mike rightly notes, there is the possibility of Omar being immune by Lindsay’s talisman, now an idol, and so a backup plan must be put in place.  

Said backup plan is… Romeo.  Ok, I guess it makes sense.  Mike doesn’t want himself, Jonathan, or Maryanne gone, and with Lindsay and Omar potentially immune, only Romeo is left.  But if you’re talking about using him as a swing vote, maybe just let Jonathan go, and get one of Lindsay or Omar on the next round.  The “They’re taking up a seat at the end” argument is only for the likes of Cirie Fields (“Survivor Exile Island”) who win no matter who they’re up against.  Mike has by no means the LOWEST chance of winning of this group, but he’s not a certainty like Cirie would be in any Final Tribal Council.  

The Omar plan is not completely dead, however.  Lindsay, fearing that her talisman will be put back in play should she use it, discusses NOT using it at all.  Now, THIS is the one true misstep of the episode, strategically and editing wise.  From a strategy perspective, while I get the fear of “It comes back into the game”, this is contradicted by the text of the advantage itself saying it expires at the Final Six.  You know, where you are RIGHT NOW!  Unless they blatantly change the rules on the spot (something that is, admittedly, not out of the question given how the show has been these past couple seasons), it will be powerless.  Moreover, by NOT playing it, you deprive yourself of the opportunity to show off in front of the jury, not to mention save an ally YOU NEED going forward.  Omar is, for all intents and purposes, drawing fire away from Lindsay.  If she wants to not be targeted, and thus need to win every immunity moving forward, she NEEDS Omar around.  She’s also probably the one person left who might have a realistic chance of beating Omar in the finals, so even if he does stick around to the end, there’s no rush.  

From an editors perspective, however, this REALLY should have been the misdirection for the episode.  Put this closer to the end, right before they march off, throw in a sound byte of Lindsay saying maybe she will play it after all, and BAM!  A decent mystery heading into Tribal Council.  But no, it’s taken as a near-certainty that she won’t, which leads Maryanne to spearhead the Omar plan.  Getting Romeo fully on board, she plans to split the votes.  She, Romeo, and her extra vote go on Omar, thus giving him the majority at 3-2-2 (Jonathan and Mike voting for Romeo for safety, and Lindsay and Omar voting for Jonathan, obviously).  Then, even if Omar is made safe, it’s still a tie, rather than an automatic Jonathan eviction.  Only a moron would be against this plan.  

Ok, ok, I exaggerate.  Jonathan and Mike do object to it being too complicated, Mike in particular saying Maryanne is trying to play a “too advanced” version of “Survivor”.  See, this is the Mike I was afraid we’d get pre-season, the one who only understands the most basic of strategy and becomes hard-headed in the face of anything more advanced.  What Maryanne is suggesting is the smart move, guys, and not rocket science.  Hell, ROMEO is the only person who might have an objection, as he’s an alternate target in that scenario, and yet he’s the one fully on board!  That might be because Maryanne did a masterful job convincing him they were just going for Omar, but still!  

That said, for all that I joke, these two men are NOT, in fact, morons, and I have no doubt they’ll fall in line with Maryanne’s superior plan before Tribal Council.  That said, such a plan requires things being played close-to-the-chest, and all do it masterfully here.  Brilliant strategy, but leads to a Tribal Council with not a lot to talk about.  Save, that is, for Omar’s final nail in the coffin, when he talks about being “Survivor Confident”, where you can never know for certain, but think you’re good.  

Yeah, guess who gets the rug pulled out from under them.  Go on.  Guess.  

While I fully acknowledge it was the correct strategic move for everyone save Lindsay, I can’t deny that I will miss Omar.  He and his Emu Shirt were great strategists on this season, and overall just fun and likable.  When he wasn’t shoving animal metaphors down our throats, he was a joy to have on screen, and I look forward to seeing him on a future returnee season.  Hell, he even leaves with a lot of class, correctly giving Maryanne credit for the boot.  Or the ABOOT, if you will.  Ah, Canadian jokes.  It’s a shame to see two countrymen go after each other like this.  

One or two slip-ups aside, this was still a solid episode.  Not much misdirection, but several fun moments, and well-crafted narrative, and a great downfall arc.  More believable misdirection might have been helpful, but you can’t have everything.  You can, however, have the tradition “Idol Speculation” rankings heading into the finale, however.  To quickly recap, this is where I talk about who I think has the best chance of winning in the finals.  HOW LIKELY that person is to make the finals does not factor in; this is merely who I think has a shot versus no shot.  

1. Lindsay-As always, the top spot is reserved for the person about how I can say “If they get to the end, they win.”   With Omar out of the picture, that honor belongs to Lindsay.  There’s no one else left who can say they’ve played as strategically over the entire season, so she’s got that facet on lockdown, but she has good arguments in other areas as well.  You like someone who’s good at challenges?  Lindsay so far is the only one who can go toe-to-toe with Jonathan in that department.  You like someone who’s good socially.  Tell me who Lindsay has pissed off.  Who?  No one, that’s who.  No, like most people in this position, Lindsay’s issue is getting to the end.  Her only true ally is gone, and she’s the only person truly on the “wrong” side of the vote this episode.  Granted, she has a decent shot to immunity her way to the end, but still, uphill battle.  

2. Maryanne-Before tonight’s episode, Maryanne would have been lower on this list.  While she did a good job hanging on despite being targeted, and had the second-most “Stuff” after Drea, she hadn’t really done a lot with it, and I could see that plus her loose lips docking her points with the jury.  Tonight, however, she proved her worth.  She publicly got out what the jury perceived as the biggest strategic threat, and that retroactively gets you a lot of points.  Sort of a “The king is dead, long live the king” type thing.  Think what happened with David on “Survivor Millennials vs. Gen-X”.  He was the big strategic threat, but when he was eliminated, the person seen as eliminating him got all the strategic credit.  Granted that honor was placed incorrectly on Adam when it was Hannah who did the orchestrating in that scenario, but you take my point.  No one will misplace the glory of eliminating Omar after that performance.  Maryanne’s one true obstacle is her personality.  Multiple people have referred to her as “annoying”, and again, loose lips could come back to haunt her.  Unless she REALLY turned off the jury just by being herself, though, I think she’s in a decent spot to win, provided her strategic rival in Lindsay is voted off.  

3. Mike-Mike is in many ways the opposite of Maryanne.  People love his personality.  That’s part of how he’s stuck around so long.  He’s a straight-shooter, but likable and funny.  People just want to be around him.  That said, his strategic game is lacking.  Not bad, just not going to set the world on fire.  If the jury is heavily into that aspect of the game, Mike’s in trouble.  Still, he’s acquitted himself well enough to garner some votes, and even win so long as he’s not up against a stronger strategic player.  

4. Jonathan-It is how unusual having a player of Jonathan’s archetype this late in the game is that gives Jonathan any hope of winning.  The dude’s strongest argument is that he was a super-obvious target, particularly with how Probst was building him up pre-merge, yet still made it this far.  Can Jonathan articulate that?  Not from what we’ve seen, but you never know.  Sadly, between him not looking too good at the split-Tribal Council, and juries these days respecting the physical game less, I would say Jonathan is the most likely “Xander” of the season: Someone who gets to the end and SEEMS like they should win, but just don’t have what the jury wants.  

5. Romeo-It speaks to the quality of this season that someone like Romeo is the bottom contender of this group.  Romeo has done very well playing the decoy boot, and worming his way further and further despite nominally being on the bottom.  That may seem like weak strategy, but it’s basically what won Sandra the game twice.  Romeo also has some strategic chops to his name, very well running the Ika Tribe pre-merge.  Sadly, as we saw with Sherri on “Survivor Caramoan”, pre-merge actions often count for very little on the jury.  Moreover, while Romeo’s strategy can be a winning one, you need to be up against really unlikeable people to pull it off.  Romeo has no such people here, and thus is the least-likely to win.  Hardly a bad player, though.  

And there we go.  Let us see how the finale plays out next week!

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.  

Idol Speculation: “Survivor 42” Episode 10: A New Villain Arises

While I admit I haven’t seen this complaint so far, I could see some in the fan community having a gripe with this season.  Specifically after Tori’s exit, there’s no real “Villain” left in the game.  Everyone is at least some degree of likable (some more than others, but let’s not split hairs), and even if they have some rough edges, no one is a real “villain”.  Evidently the show heard this complaint through time, and set out to give us a new villain, and his name is Mike!  

What’s that?  You say that Mike did nothing particularly villainous this episode?  Oh ho, I beg to differ, dear reader.  He committed perhaps the most heinous crime known to man.  HE MISUSED SHAKESPEARE!  

You all heard him!  He made the inevitable “Wherefore art thou” reference that must happen when someone named “Romeo” is around, which is fine, except that he made the admittedly common mistake of using “wherefore” as if it were the modern “where”.  It’s NOT people.  It’s analogous to WHY in Modern English.  This is not a hard concept to work through!  At least the episode is over, and I don’t have to hear it again…

CRASH!

MIKE: Wherefore art thou, Matt?  In your home, obviously.  

ME: Why do I even bother?  Look, Mike, what are you doing here?  

MIKE: Our hill, over dale, over bush and briar, I do wonder everywhere.  And your house is a part of “Everywhere”

ME: Yeah, but see, that doesn’t work since that’s ACTUALLY an appropriate Shakespeare quote for the situation, albeit an abridged one.  

MIKE: Well I heard you were a Shakespeare fan, and thought I could regale you with some more of The Bard, ya’ know?  Show ya’ I actually know what I’m talking about.  

ME: You know what?  Fine.  I have better things to do than chase you off my property with my nice new Taku Buff.  Just try and keep it to a minimum, ok?

MIKE: The silence often of pure innocence persuades where speaking fails.  Ya’ know, shut up if you don’t want people to know about your advantages.  

ME: Woah, slow down there, man!  We’re not even at that part of the episode.  First we’ve got to get over you congratulating yourself on blindsiding Hai.  

MIKE: What can I say?  Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em!

Mike has no idea how appropriate that quote is to his situation right now.  In any case, there’s really no drama from that vote out since it was pretty unified.  Even morning doesn’t bring much drama, as we instead focus on camp life.  Drea evidently wants to be the next Richard Hatch (“Survivor Borneo”) or Tom Westman (“Survivor Palau”), and catch a shark, the mechanism for which she debates with her tribe.  This is soon interrupted by Maryanne’s oddly casual observation that her pinkie toenail has fallen off.  This casual nature is soon revealed to be because it’s a regular occurrence for Maryanne, something the tribe is oddly fascinated with.  Though I suppose if I had nothing but time, such a banal subject might get my attention as well.  

Strategy talk does eventually re-emerge, though, as our “Strong 5” go down to the beach, leaving Maryanne and Romeo behind.  The pair acknowledge that they’re on the bottom, but also recognize that that five are not going to stick together, and they can weasel their way further forward.  

Meanwhile, on the beach, the five are making a pact to stick together through Romeo and Maryanne’s boots, only to “duke it out” later.  A decent enough idea for all of them, under the patented Cirie Fields “Every goat left is a threat to my finals seat” logic, and Drea, at least, is heavily on board, very ready to throw Romeo under the bus.  They just haven’t been able to get on the same page.  And credit where it’s due, but this group has FINALLY figured out to send the right salesman to make such a pitch.  Mike, the guy who would seem most likely to propose such an alliance, is the one doing the talking, and he sells it hard.  Good job for him.  It’s certainly more believable than, say, Omar trying to go with this idea.  

The salesman language is intentional, though.  Once the group splits up, he confides to us and Omar that the whole thing was to make Drea comfortable, so she doesn’t play any potential idols or advantages.  Smart play, but unsurprising.  Just due to sheer amount of “stuff”, Drea is the biggest threat left for the end, and that’s not even including her surviving being a target multiple times, plus her heart-wrenching speech at the Tori boot.  

Yet, I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t believe this is who they would target until Mike told us so.  I thought he was being 100% serious.  Good job, Mike.  

MIKE:  What can I say, I’m a good actor.  

This player here,

But in a fiction, in a dream of passion

Could force his soul so to his own conceit

That from her working all his visage wann’d,

Tears in his eyes, distraction in’s aspect,

A broken voice, and his whole function suiting

With forms to his conceit?  And all for nothing!

Thanks for the good performance, it helps take some of the salt out of that “Wherefore” misusage.  Also salty is Jonathan, who continues to want to be the provider, yet finds himself very much weakened, both physically and in his resolve.  Drea is still on that shark-catching train, and so she and Lindsay go down to untangle a net to attempt to use it.  Jonathan, after some perceived effort, goes down and verbally directs them in their untangling efforts.  After this surprisingly doesn’t work as well, Drea makes an offhand, if somewhat snarky, comment that more hands would help, which Jonathan takes as a slight unto himself.  This blows up into far more of an argument than it needs to, save for the fact that it proves Jonathan will remain a target.  While I can see his side of it, I do think he was overreacting, and again, it’s that side of Jonathan that I don’t like to see.  

And so, we now come to the moment we all saw happening from the moment the preview for this episode showed up.  Yes, dear readers, it is time once again for the episode with the “Do or Die” twist.  Mike, any appropriate words for this situation?  

MIKE: It sucks, man?

ME: Well yes, but I meant more bardic words.  

MIKE: Hmm.  How about “What a sign it is of evil life…”

Good enough, thank you!  Now, I promised at the top of this season that I would not give the show flak for reusing twists, as they had no time to gather true feedback from the audience on how they played out.  And I will hold to that, even if the rub salt in the wound by having Probst talk to the audience like we’re kindergarteners while re-introducing the twist to us all.  So no, I will not complain about the presence of this particular twist here.  Much.  

That said, however, I do want to re-address something I talked about last season.  While this and a large number of twists implemented last season have received some degree of hate, I’ve noticed a number of people come around on this one, and say that it’s actually a decent twist, or at least not the worst last season had to offer.  And fair enough.  One is entitled to one’s opinion, and it’s not the WORST opinion one could hold regarding “Survivor”.  However, I would respectfully disagree, and I would like to take a minute to explain why.  

When I do see people talking about the worst twists from last season, usually the hourglass is top of the list.  And again, fair enough.  That is also a terrible twist for a variety of reasons.  But I still maintain that “Do or Die” is by far the worst.  Still, it seemed odd to me that this was so common an opinion that I took time between seasons to consider why, and have come to the conclusion that it is because we’re rating the relative merits of a twist based on different criteria.  

The most common criticism I see lobbed at the hourglass is that it’s “Unfair”, which it categorically is.  And if you’re rating at twist on fairness, I 100% agree with you.  Much as I may dislike the “Do or Die”, I cannot deny that it is “Fair”.  Contestants are told up-front what will happen, and are given the chance to avoid it.  No, it would be wrong to say the “Do or Die” is unfair.  

But fairness is not the issue for me.  For me, how well it fits into the spirit of the game is.  

In my view, there are only three ways a player should leave the game: They get voted out, they quit, or they are removed by production, either for medical reasons or some other violation of contract that necessitates production removal.  Anything else does not feel like “Survivor”.  The mechanism for implementing the twist is fine.  But the consequence is far too severe for my liking.  

NO ONE should ever leave the game based on what the show describes as “a game of chance”.  Even those screwed by the hourglass twist have a chance to socially maneuver to save themselves.  But this twist leaves open the possibility that someone leaves, not based on their own social maneuvering, willpower, or actions, but a bit of bad luck.  Luck may play a factor in many exits, but it should not be the ONLY factor, or even the PRIMARY factor.  You want to keep the “consequences” theme going?  Fine.  But make the consequences less severe.  Hey, you’re fond of taking away votes, and we saw what good drama that caused at Vati’s first Tribal Council this season.  Keep things the same, tell people about the twist beforehand and give them a chance to opt out, but say it’s a chance to not be able to vote.  I would even accept the vote being lost for two Tribal Council’s in a row if that’s what it took not to have this particular twist in the game!  And hey, if you want to push the “chance at reward” angle like you did this season, you can do that as well!  Survive the “Do or Die”, you get an extra vote!  It keeps the fairness of the twist, and creates a dilemma without the possibility of gutting the true drama and point of the show: The social maneuvering and the vote.

Boy, my fingers are sore from all that typing.  Mike, can you fill in for a second?

MIKE: Farewell, Immunity!  Thou art too dear for my possessing!

Another misquote?  You’re on thin ice, buddy.  But yes, most here do choose to sit out, and wisely so, given the potential consequences.  Mike and Maryanne have immunity via idols, so they see no need to risk themselves.  Drea has the ability to steal one of their idols with her “Knowledge is Power”, so she is also out.  Omar has somehow not had his name mentioned once for elimination yet, so he sits out, like a boss.  And Romeo sits out… Well, it’s not made super clear, but I guess he gets the accurate read that he’s not going to be a target tonight.  All understandable.  

Naturally, the two people competing are Jonathan, correctly surmising that his name is brought up, and Lindsay who… Ok, Lindsay’s not a target, but I admit it would be out of character for her not to complete.  Specifically, they will be competing in an endurance challenge where our players have to stand in a semi-crucified pose that makes them go numb.  You may remember this either as the challenge where Natalie Anderson accidentally spat on herself during “Survivor San Juan del Sur”, or more recently, the one where Christian blabbered everyone else into submission on “Survivor David vs. Goliath”.  Not a bad challenge, but again, I’m sick of nothing but endurance immunity challenges post merge.  Jonathan wins, somewhat surprisingly, meaning this twist could now screw over someone I actually really enjoy watching.  Way to keep ruining things, show!

To really hammer home just how terrible this is for Lindsay, we get HER flashbacks, specifically to playing football in high school.  She talks about her toughness and how she perseveres in spite of the odds.  On the one hand, I want to complain about how pointless this flashback is, given how it just tells us stuff the show already did a good job of conveying about Lindsay.  On the other hand, we get to see pictures of High School Lindsay, which is pretty cool, and discover that she has the same Fountain of Youth that Probst does.  She does not age either.  You doing ok, Mike?

MIKE: I am a kind of burr; I shall stick.  You ain’t getting rid of me that easily.  

Ooooookay then.  Angsting over, it’s time to get back to targeting  As discussed earlier, Drea is the main target due to all her “Stuff”, but Drea is not so easily got rid of.  Being no moron, she recognizes that when people are distant with her, that means her name is coming up.  Fortunately, she has a plan.  No one knows about that “Knowledge is Power” advantage, so she can steal Mike’s idol to keep herself safe.  All she has to do it keep quiet about it… Wait, why is she telling Omar about this plan?  

MIKE: She prattles something too wildly.

Precisely.  Look, props to Omar for getting in so good with everyone that he’s at the center of most every plan that comes up, and for somehow being the only person left who has NEVER been brought up as a target for elimination, but what the heck was Drea thinking here?  How does it in ANY WAY behoove her to let ANYONE know about this?  All it can do is derail her plans.  There is LITERALLY no need for Omar to know this, but she tells him anyway.  

About the best that can be said is that it leads to some decent misdirection here.  Omar acknowledges that he has power, and can eliminate Mike tonight.  He could even possibly get him to let Omar hold his idol, then still vote Mike out to take full possession.  The latter, at least, is a somewhat compelling argument, as Omar is one of the few people left with no idol or advantage to his name.  Still, this falls into the same category as “Now that everyone’s against Hai, maybe we should keep him.”  There’s no way this is real.  Yes, Mike is getting a big head about stuff.  GOOD!  Let him think he’s in charge, and he’s less likely to move against you.  Mike does not take being betrayed very well, as you may have noticed from literally all of his game so far.  You really want someone like that on the jury?  I think not.  Plus, Drea is probably the only person left who you realistically lose to in the end, so she should be target numero uno.  

The ethics of Lindsay’s risk are the main topic of discussion at Tribal tonight.  Not much comes of said discussion, but it is nice that people don’t take the mickey out of her too much.  Of course, when Lindsay goes up to pick a box with 10 minutes still left, and no cut to commercial, we know she’s safe.  Probst gives us the Monty Hall problem, the jury looks shocked, Rocksroy proves he doesn’t understand the Monty Hall problem, you know the drill.  Oddly, like Deshawn last season, Lindsay ignores the odds and refuses to switch.  Again, like Deshawn last season, it saves her.  I’m happy at the outcome, but this twist still needs to die.  

MIKE: My dancing soul doth celebrate!  Even though dancing isn’t a real sport.  Now we can get out Drea.  

Not without a hurdle, you won’t.  With the vote now on, Drea naturally plays her Knowledge is Power advantage, asking for Mike’s idol.  Continuing with his surprisingly good acting chops, Mike looks all dejected, only for us to discover that, indeed, Omar did the smart thing.  We flash back to Mike handing Omar his idol for safe keeping, and so Drea is out of luck, though we see she wisely spends her extra vote on the move as well.  See, THIS is good stuff!  The strategizing, good and bad.  The plays and counter-plays.  The dramatic reveal.  All stuff we would have missed had the show just had “luck” boot out Lindsay.  

I would also like to take this time to point out that the “Knowledge is Power”, a twist that’s actually got the potential to be GOOD on other seasons, has given us great dramatic moments, highlights of the season, twice now.  Why do people hate this one again?

The smart moves continue as bigger threat Drea goes.  I admit, I’m mixed on this one.  On the one hand, between Mike and Drea, I want to see more of Mike on my screen, particularly after he’s shown how good an actor he can be this episode.  That said, Drea was far from my least-favorite player on this tribe.  It’s just Jonathan was immune.  Drea leaving takes out one of the last remaining threats to Omar’s victory, which I would enjoy, and also removes more “Stuff” from the game, again a plus.  But it also takes out a great strategist, which means that the remaining episodes become more predictable, never a good thing.  Sorry to see her go, but not as sorry as if she stayed.  

Now, Mike got three votes this time, one more than expected.  Given Mike’s track record of handling surprises against him, he… Asks Drea for clarification, congratulates her on a move well-done, and hugs her goodbye.  Huh.  You really are full of surprises, man.  

MIKE: Men at some times are masters of their fates.  Not Lindsay, though.  

Most players content themselves with throwing one or two people under the bus as they leave.  Drea is not most players.  She compliments EVERYBODY in some way, whether it be Jonathan being below the radar, Lindsay being her close friend, Mike being likely to win in the end (doubtful), or giving Omar credit for foiling her Knowledge is Power (she does also say stuff to Maryanne and Romeo, but I missed it.  I assume it was in the same vein, though), she gives everyone a reason to target everyone else, which should help keep things interesting these last couple of episodes.  

Despite the show’s best efforts, this was a good one.  Once we didn’t have the worst outcome of “Do or Die” leading to “Die”, we had great misdirection, good use of flashbacks, and valid strategizing that led to a satisfying exit.  You’ve dodge the bullet twice, show, but don’t expect to do it a third time.  Next season better not have this particular twist.  

Anyway, thanks for the help Mike.  Want to take us out before I run you out of here with my nice new Taku buff?

MIKE: If this blogger has offended

Think but this, and all is mended:

That you have but slumbered here

While this blog post did appear.  

No more hatred, no more spite.  

Let it vanish in the night.  

If you seek a new recap,

Head to Dalton, that good chap,

For he is an honest man

Who seeks to tell us what he can

Of challenges and strategy

And he do hath no symmetry

With these harsh words of this here Matt

And that’s all I can say ‘bout that.  

Give me your hands, if we be friends,

And I’ll make sure everything’s right, ok?

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.  

Idol Speculation: “Survivor 42” Episode 9: Stromboli’s Puppet Show

It is a sad fact, but true, that oftentimes someone gets out of a rough situation, only to end up in another one right after.  Whether their fault or not, “Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire” is a cliche for a reason.  Such is, sadly, the case for Mike tonight, escaping being the “Puppet” of Hai, only to instead become the puppet of Omar.  At least it gives me the excuse to make another Disney reference.  

Mike’s path to removal of his strings, only to get new strings attached, begins immediately after Tribal Council.  While you’d think the humdrum Rocksroy boot would produce no drama, the fact is that there was SO much drama at the second Tribal Council that the players there are exhausted, and thus our remaining players have to pick up the drama slack.  As such, while Mike DID go along with the plan to boot Rocksroy to stay in the majority, it wasn’t his preference, and he wasn’t happy about doing it.  Hai tries to console him, and in the dark, it’s easy to believe that Mike was cool with the whole thing.  

Mike was, of course, not cool with the whole thing, and confides in Omar his feelings about what went down.  Omar, correctly reading the moment, effectively mimics Mike’s feelings back to him.  This is a ploy to get Mike to believe that Omar is on his side, despite the Rocksroy boot being largely Omar’s idea.  Omar plays it off well, and it seems Mike believes him.  This, while brilliantly executed by Omar, is getting very close to danger territory for Omar.  It speaks well of his game that he can so quickly bond with someone, and so accurately read the room and adjust accordingly, but stringing Mike along like this is a dangerous game.  Some people, as we’ll see later tonight, can take being burned in the game very well, and appreciate the artistry in your blindside.  But do you think Mike is one of those people?  It’s all well and good to be nice to Mike.  By no means should you antagonize him  But make him believe he’s at your inner circle, only to instead blindside him down the line?  I don’t see Mike handling that very well.  Thus, unless you intend to take Mike all the way to the end, you’re setting yourself up to have a VERY bitter juror working against you.  Now, Omar could just be planning to take Mike to the end, and he’s not the WORST option out there, but I could see people being impressed with him playing as well as he is at his (relatively) advanced age by “Survivor” standards, and I’m not sure that’s a risk I’d want to take.  

Mike isn’t the only one cozying up to Omar, however.  Lindsay, still rightly pissed at Jonathan’s bull-headedness last episode, updates Omar on what went down, and confides that she wants Jonathan gone.  For extra measure, she manages to let Hai know about this as well, WHILE EVERYONE IS STUCK IN THE SHELTER IN THE RAIN!  That thing that is said to be the killer of strategies, that prevents people from shaking up the game, and Lindsay just found a way around it.  You go, girl!  

Back to the conversation with Omar, though, I would just like to point out that this means Omar has had at least some degree of confidence with… Pretty much everybody left!  Ok, ok, he and Drea don’t seem super tight, but pretty much everyone else left has had a close confidence with Omar at some point, and it points to good gameplay.  Furthering this, after Omar and Lindsay’s strategizing, he rightly suggests the pair split up on the way back to camp.  The one downside is that this gives Lindsay time to look for a presumably re-hidden idol, noting that she needs a victory since she hasn’t had any at the challenges.  And that trend unfortunately continues, as Lindsay continues the tradition of “Being right beside the idol yet not finding it”, complete with light flash to indicate where it is on screen.  In Lindsay’s defense, the weather is kind of miserable for idol hunting, and while the idol itself is not particularly well-hidden, the paper does seem to be colored in such a way as to blend with the tree bark, and thus easy to miss on a cursory glance.  

Unfortunately for Lindsay, Maryanne has better luck.  She too sets out on a idol hunt, this time while gathering dry firewood (if such a thing can be found in a downpour of this caliber), and has more success.  This lands her a straight-up hidden immunity idol.  Yep.  No tricks, no gimmicks, no cost, just your regular hidden immunity idol.  Same as it’s been since “Survivor Fiji”.  Now, with my known… dislike… of the gimmicks they’ve added these past two seasons, you’d think I’d be happy to see a return to form.  The trouble is, now things are inconsistent.  So what, you find one idol, you lose your vote until some goofy phrases are said, but you find another one and everything’s fine?  That just seems… Imbalanced.  Having penalties for idols and advantages is not an inherently bad idea, even if I do find the specific mechanism weird.  Now, it certainly wouldn’t make sense to have the phrase/lost vote thing come back for an idol found post-merge, but if you’re going to have penalties for finding things on “Survivor”, then that needs to go for EVERYTHING!  Consistency is all I ask for.  Still, good for Maryanne.  

Lindsay will get to have her day as well, since she’ll be the winner to today’s reward challenge.  After going through a short obstacle course, our players must balance a sandbag on a platform on a pole, then toss that sandbag on another platform.  Standard post-merge fare, and honestly kind of dull, though the pole and platform becoming part of the finish table is a nice touch.  

What Lindsay specifically wins is a bunch of “Survivor” Pizza, and perhaps more importantly a night in a well-built hut.  Noteworthy since the rain is REALLY pouring down on these poor saps today, with most everyone visibly shivering.  In the tropics, mind you.  It’s by no means the worst weather the show has ever experienced, but this episode does a great job of really making you FEEL just how miserable this is for everyone.  

As is tradition, Lindsay gets to pick someone to go with her.  She picks Omar, which I can’t really fault.  She wants to talk strategy, and this is a good place to do so.  He was on her starting tribe, so no one will think it too weird, plus, as she says, he hasn’t had any rewards yet.  Under this same logic, when Probst predictably gives her a second pick, she picks Mike.  Not the WORST pick, but one that would raise a few eyebrows.  After all, Lindsay and Mike have not been particularly close up until this point, so unless you 100% believe her “taking people who haven’t had rewards” thing, the only reason to take Mike is strategy talk, and that should set everyone on edge.  In particular, you’d think Jonathan would be suspicious, given how close they’ve been up until now.  Then you remember Jonathan’s utter lack of social awareness last episode, and you realize Lindsay’s probably good.  

Cabana time has to wait, as the three won’t go until later in the evening.  For now, the main order of business is dealing with the unrelenting rain.  The shelter gets reinforced over a montage of everyone talking about just how much the weather sucks.  The one real dissenting opinion is Hai.  While he does concur with the suckage, he also notes it could be worse, noting his parent’s experiences in Vietnam and immigrating to a new country at age 3.  Yep, it’s another photo montage, not the last one we’ll see this episode, but it works pretty well.  We were already connected with Hai, but it’s good to get to see another side of him.  Plus, seeing baby Hai and teenage Hai was pretty cute.  

Our reward must eventually come, and so Lindsay, Omar, and Mike head to the cabana.  After Mike talks about Jersey boys enjoying pizza, we see that these three have gone mad.  We hear a voice-over talking about Lindsay, yet she reacts as though she can hear something inserted obviously later!  Break out the straight jackets, people!

No, she’s reacting because the sound is actually diabetic.  Yes, in addition to pizza and a good night’s sleep, it seems this is also our equivalent of the family reward for the season.  Due to COVID restrictions, a full family visit was of course not in the cards, but each contestant gets a photo montage and video message from home, lovingly projected on the shipwreckage on their island.  It’s kind of corny, but in that fun, “Survivor” way.  Plus, it must be fun for them to see their names in the “Survivor” font on the show proper.  

These warm fuzzies bond the three, thus completing Mike’s entrapment to Omar.  He says he’s fully on board with him, and ready to stop being Hai’s puppet, not realizing that he’s just traded one puppeteer for another.  Somewhat surprisingly, Lindsay is on board with the plan as well, despite having been hard core against Jonathan earlier.  Partly this is due to not wanting to rock the boat, partly due to recognizing Hai as a threat, and partly wanting to power up her amulet.  

Oh, did you forget about the amulet?  Don’t worry, Lindsay will remind you all by telling Omar and Mike all about it.  I have to ask… WHY?  Is it just the fate of everyone who gets an idol or advantage this season that they can’t stop blabbing about it?  But seriously, getting rid of Hai is great for Lindsay for the reasons she listed out.  But how does it benefit for Omar and Mike to know those reasons?  I think they’d be satisfied with “He’s a threat” as a reason to want him gone.  Then your amulet gets powered up with them none the wiser.  Win-win!

Our immunity challenge comes around, and it’s “Bow-Diddley”, first seen on “Survivor South Pacific”.  Yet another dull endurance challenge.  Much like last episode, it comes down to a duel between Jonathan and Lindsay.  Unfortunately for Jonathan, with a lack of strong winds, his size is no longer an asset, though credit where it’s due, he was REALLY good at recovering the ball when it seemed likely to fall.  After some good musical fake-outs, Lindsay wins, leaving our two main targets, Hai and Jonathan, available.  

Sadly, misdirection is not one of this episode’s strong points.  Hai has been playing, at a minimum, a solid game so far.  He may not be setting the world on fire with his innovative strategies, but his moves have been sensible, and he’s generally worked to position himself well.  But this last third of the episode was an off-day.  He starts by trying to get Mike on the “Vote Out Jonathan” train, but completely misreads the situation.  Mike, however, is not having it, and while he gives sweet words of agreement to Hai, his body language tells a different story.  Hai misses this completely, and we cut to a montage of everyone else being told to target Hai.  Jonathan and Maryanne are on board due to Taku loyalty, since Jonathan is clearly the alternate tonight.  Romeo is on board because he’s now tight with Omar.  And Drea is on board because her amulet would get powered up as well.  And of course, all rightly recognize Hai as a threat.  

So yeah, literally everyone except Hai wants Hai gone.  Not exactly a lot of room to maneuver there.  They do their level best by having Hai add some fuel to the fire.  Under the reasonable guise of wanting to avoid a Shot in the Dark play from Jonathan, Hai bluffs that he has an idol that he’ll play on Jonathan to get out Romeo.  A flimsy lie, and given that Omar has already told Jonathan everything, Jonathan doesn’t buy it.  No, instead, our attempted misdirection comes from Omar thinking about building Hai back up, since no one trusts him, thereby making him a reasonably loyal ally without any options.  

Yeah, sorry, not buying that.  Omar has spent too much time carefully crafting this plan to not follow through, and as we saw with Lydia, Hai is not guaranteed to be loyal if the votes aren’t there.  Add onto that the fact that Hai is one of the few people left who is intellectually capable of standing up to Omar.  If he goes, Drea is probably Omar’s only major remaining threat.  Not to say everyone left besides those two is a moron.  Pretty much everyone here is at least semi-competent, if not full on competent or above-average.  Omar’s just on another level right now, and that level says Hai is going tonight.  

With no mystery left, Tribal Council instead goes for humor.  Unfortunately, most of it is cringe humor relating to people making connections to their occupations.  Some work ok, but Mike literally talks about his being a Firefighter in relation to them needing to be WARM on the island.  Wow.  Never thought I’d see that forced a connection.  Now, if only John Kenny from “Survivor Vanuatu” was on this season.  I’d love to hear him try and connect being a Mechanical Bull Operator to the game somehow.  Maryanne at least varies it up, giving a decent metaphor comparing the game to Jenga, which is a new one, but she pretty well makes it work.  The real capstone here, though, is the brick joke, where Jonathan finally says he understands Maryanne’s ramblings after many episodes of not getting it.  Bravo, show.  

Unsurprisingly, Hai goes home, and while I’d say it was the smart move overall, given Hai’s threat level and amulet possession, I am sorry to see him go.  He was one of our last chances for a real shake-up in the pecking order this season, and just seemed like a nice guy to have around.  Not that Jonathan isn’t nice overall (I have more time for him than I do others of his archetype), but his behavior last episode really soured me, and while he’s not the worst, I’d rather Hai have stuck around than him.  Kudos to Hai for leaving in good spirits, though.  He congratulates everyone on a blindside well-executed, and is nice to them all, even by my standards.  I’m all for players not having too big a chip on their proverbial shoulder, but it’s ok to be at least a BIT salty at the loss.  

Despite the lack of mystery, this is still a great episode.  We got a deep dive into how the strategy came together, some more good bonding moments with the characters, and good moments of humor as well.  When the worst that I can say is that the challenges were lackluster, that’s a solid episode.  Sadly, it appears from the preview that next week may be the return of the “Do or Die” twist, so don’t expect that positivity to last.  

-Matt 

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.