Sometimes the show just hands you a gift. Drops the title right in your lap. Sure, I could come up with something clever, but why bother? Nothing is going to top that line, and frankly, it’s a CRIME that that wasn’t the official episode title. Sure, it’s a bit long, but I would remind you that the first episode of Cook Islands was called “I Can Forgive Her But I Don’t Have To Because She Screwed Up My Chickens”. Long, and still one of the all-time great episode titles. You could have used it here.
Besides, given what’s about to happen to Matt, you could at least have thrown him a bone by letting him name the episode.
We start off this episode on familiar ground: Yam Yam doing a poor job recovering from a Tribal Council that did not go his way. Ok, ok, to be fair, he does a good job injecting humor into the thing, and everyone’s laughing with him by the end. And of course, Yam Yam shouldn’t be happy about seeing his name come up multiple times. But to dwell on it with barely concealed annoyance? Not a good look.
Luckily for Yam Yam, talk soon turns away from strategy, and to what to name the newly merged tribe. A rare scene in this day and age, but ok. Yam Yam himself ends up naming the tribe, noting that “Va” means “Four” in Fijian, and thus the tribe is named “Va Va”, for “Survivor 44”. Somewhat clever, appropriate to the season, and is at least not a combination of the old tribe names. That said, I still can’t endorse the name, because of my ironclad “Good tribe names are at least five letters long” rule, though I must admit, the show seems hell-bent on never giving us longer names again, so it’s hard to be too mad at the players following suit.
But not all were present for this naming! Our resident lovebirds, Matt and Frannie, are off doing their lovebird thing. Nothing much new comes of this, so let us move on to the strategy talk. It quickly becomes clear that, with the former Tika no longer considered a threat, it is now a war between the former Soka and the former Ratu. We see things from Soka’s perspective, and they target Lauren. Fair enough. Kane’s no threat, Brandon has a bond with Danny, and Jaime has some Soka bonds, while Lauren has an extra vote that is presumably public knowledge. Makes her a threat, and with no obvious ties to anyone on another tribe (save one journey early in the season), she’s the easy vote.
Not to say that Soka won’t talk to any former Ratu, though. Brandon, in keeping with his inability to keep his mouth shut, starts talking about the birdcage idol. He describes it quite well, and mentions the detail that there were two idols, one real and one fake, in the birdcage. And most notably, he mentions this in the presence of Matt, who is in possession of the Soka fake idol.
Now, I’ve been hard on Matt this season. It’s hard seeing someone who shares your first name be portrayed as nothing but a lovestruck dummy whose every move seems cursed with bad luck. Frankly, the jokes just write themselves. But I will give him credit: He is not a moron. On hearing that Brandon’s birdcage had two idols, he concludes that his should have had the same, and the fact that it did not makes his idol a likely fake. Further, he realizes in retrospect that Danny was a bit TOO eager to have him look in the roots of trees, and thus correctly realizes that Danny was the one with the real Soka idol. This sets Matt against Danny, though notably not immediately. He states that it’s ok for Danny to think he’s in charge for now, and contents himself with letting others know about Danny’s idol. Thus, despite what happens tonight, this information may come back to bite Danny.
Wait, it’s challenge time? Five minutes in? Goddammit, there’s going to be some stupid twist that merits a lot of explanation time, isn’t there? Yep, not content with a split Tribal Council last episode, now we have to have another one! Because heaven forbid we actually let the tribe have a normal vote-off without any sort of production shake-up!
Unwillingness to let the status quo be aside, I actually don’t hate this twist. It’s basically the split Tribal that’s now standard at the final 10, with an extra twist. While the remaining people on teams of 5 compete to win reward for their team, in this case a picnic feast including peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, they’re also competing for safety without power. Basically, only one team of five is going to Tribal Council tonight. The others will be there, watching, but not be allowed to vote. Is it a necessary shakeup? No. But at least it’s different, and not too overpowered. You can win immunity for the team, but at the cost of having no say at Tribal Council. Decently balanced, and spares us the confines of a double-Tribal.
One person on the losing team getting immunity also gives us our look at the individual immunity idol for the season, and like the merge tribe name, it’s not the worst, but definitely disappointing to say the least. A necklace somewhat reminiscent of plate mail, with a big gold disk in the center with dragons on it. It could have been worse, but with how strong the theming was this season, I was hoping for something more epic. A standard, a piece of armor, SOMETHING! Think of how different the scabbard on “Survivor Pearl Islands” was as an idol. They could easily have done something similar here. Again, not the worst, but definitely missed potential instead of doing another somewhat generic necklace.
An odd number of people means one person is not randomly assigned a team, and that one person is Carson. As such, he gets to choose a team to be a part of, even if he doesn’t participate. Probably the fairest thing to do, but it does feel a bit wrong that he randomly gets no say in his fate beyond guessing what team will win out. Carson sides with the orange team of Carolyn, Heidi, Frannie, Kane, and Danny, which given that this is a balance challenge involving holding a ball on a horizontal pole over one’s head, seems like a wise choice. These sorts of challenges favor those with low centers of gravity. Shorter women, in other words. True, purple does have Jaime and Lauren, but consider that they also have Matt, Yam Yam, and freaking BRANDON, the tallest guy out here? Yeah, I’d say Carson bet his money safely.
Surprisingly, though, the purple team does a good job defying the body-type odds. Only Jaime goes down before almost all of the orange team, leaving it as Frannie against four. The inspirational music tells us she’ll succeed, but lost mystery aside, it’s impressive nonetheless. More impressive to me, though, is who lasts longest on the purple team. As I foreshadowed, it’s somehow the giant Brandon who wins here. Kudos to him! If you had asked me to bet on someone who would NOT win this challenge under any circumstances, I probably would have bet on Brandon. Tall guy, top heavy. This challenge would not seem his forte, so good on him proving me wrong.
Our losers are sent to the old Soka camp, a problem for Matt since he doesn’t have his bag with him. I initially planned to ask why this was such a big deal when Matt himself had said his idol was a fake, but Matt will later mention his Shot in the Dark die is in there, thus preventing him from even having that chance, which makes sense. After crying out in the vain hope Frannie will hear him, and after giving us a needless love montage between Matt and Frannie, Matt sets to work.
Jaime is, despite her earlier declarations, considered to still be Ratu, and so both Matt and Yam Yam realize they are the targets. They’re nice enough about it to one another, and agree that if they can sway someone, they’ll work together, but both admit they plan to vote one another at this time. Matt makes a pitch to Brandon and Jaime to keep him since he thinks they can work well together. Brandon in particular is on board, noting that as he voted Yam Yam at the last Tribal Council (a fact he later stupidly admits to Yam Yam, but again, it’s pretty clear at this point that Brandon’s major game flaw is an inability to keep his mouth shut). Yam Yam, meanwhile, works on Lauren, bringing up the solid point that Matt is well-liked, and has the relationships, and therefore other options, that Yam Yam doesn’t.
The old Ratu compare notes and agree to go for Matt, which does make sense. Yam Yam is the equivalent of Romeo from “Survivor 42”. The person who’s always the safety vote, who can be gotten rid of at any time, and therefore not perceived as a threat. Of course, Romeo got to the end, but with no shot at winning, so unless you’re concerned about a seat getting eaten up at this stage, Yam Yam is not a threat. Matt, by contrast, is well-liked and has more ties, thereby making him a larger threat. Plus, if there is a Soka/Ratu war, getting out an original Soka member can only help things. They agree to split their votes, despite Matt telling them his idol is a fake. Believing he might have it on him without his bag I’ll let slide, but really? You think this guy is capable of planning that far ahead for a twist he couldn’t see coming? Plus, if he DOES have an idol, what good is splitting the vote anyway? It would be 2-2-1, but if the idol is played correctly, Matt and Yam Yam’s two votes would win out. Granted, this assumes Matt and Yam Yam vote together, but I’d hardly call that a remote possibility. Now, it WOULD defend against a successful shot in the dark, but even then, overly paranoid, says I.
Our winners have come to pretty much the same conclusion over their PB&J. Most would prefer that Yam Yam go (Carolyn being the only real dissenter), but feel they have no real way to make it happen. Frannie laments that she should, perhaps, have thrown the challenge to save Matt, but I personally disagree. His loss is no guarantee of his eviction, especially as Yam Yam seems the obvious target based on last Tribal Council, and there is the chance Jaime could be persuaded to vote for Lauren, given how all-in she appears with Soka (categorizing her as Ratu this episode notwithstanding). That being said, even in a worst-case scenario… Well, I hate to sound heartless, but it might actually be good for Frannie if Matt goes.
Now hear me out on this: The two are definitely close, and even if their attraction does not blossom into love outside the game, losing a close ally is never fun. But the fact is that of Soka, their pairing is the most obvious target. The clear rallying cry against your alliance as a whole. It makes both of you the major targets moving forward. But if one of those targets is gone, the other is much less of a threat, and therefore stands a much better chance long-term. Plus, this gets out Matt without Frannie dirtying her hands, thus guaranteeing her a jury vote should she make it to the end. Hardly a bad deal for her, from that perspective.
Of course, we can’t have a reward without ANOTHER production twist throw in. A note has been sitting there all feast, and Frannie finally opens it. The note says that the birdcage has been re-locked with a new advantage inside. Keys are hidden in the open throughout the island. The catch is that only one key is real, and you can only come back with one key at a time. First to open the cage gets the advantage. Look, I know production can’t help themselves, but even by their standards, this “drama” feels forced. Yes, the moment of hesitation before everyone bolts is fun, and they do have some good cinematography on the race to find the keys, but ultimately, this is not interesting. Basically just a roulette wheel determine who gets an advantage.
Heidi is our eventual winner, revealing publicly (as Frannie saw her open the cage) that she got the “Control a Vote” advantage, which is not as powerful as it sounds. As the name would imply, at this Tribal Council, and only this Tribal Council, she can dictate how exactly one player votes. When Jeff says “It’s time to vote” she names a player whose vote she wants to control, tells them how to vote, and they must do so. It’s basically no different from a “Steal a Vote” advantage, though minus the “Joe is voting for Joe” hilarious possibility. On the other hand, it does allow a bit more influence from the peanut gallery on how things go, which is nice. I wish it wasn’t handed out randomly, but still nice.
But how shall Heidi use this power? The obvious answer is to save Matt, and try and get the vote on Lauren. Steal Jaime’s or Brandon’s vote, have them do Lauren, and hope that Matt and Yam Yam get the message. Gets out a Ratu, saves a close ally and a potential ally, and gives you the feather of “Controlled a vote you weren’t even technically present for” at the end. True, Lauren’s extra vote could just make everything a tie again, but in that case, you can say you tried, but could do nothing in the end. No way to overcome the math on that one. Granted, the person whose vote you control is going to be pissed, but that comes with the territory of using the advantage. In that regard, the only winning move is not to play.
Despite the obvious benefits of this plan, Heidi has second thoughts. She doesn’t want to risk Yam Yam going out, seeing him as a potential ally (fair), while Matt is closer with Frannie than anyone. The latter point is also fair, though I would note that Matt is a more likely ally for you than either Brandon, Lauren, or even Jaime, and thus, targeting one of them would likely be easier. She explains her reservations to Frannie, who is not buying it. The confessional where she exasperatedly says Heidi DOES have the power to save Matt is nothing short of hilarious, and a highlight of the episode.
We head off to Tribal Council with the mystery being less on who will go, and more on how Heidi will play her advantage. Not to say that Tribal Council gives us nothing, though. Matt asks if someone brought his bag with all the subtlety of a brick, only to find that he is let down in this regard. As such, he offers Probst a papaya, leading to one of the all-time great random “Survivor” Quotes. Then comes the strategizing. Matt gives an excellent pitch, pointing out how he has worked with, or at least bonded with, the three Ratu with him. Yam Yam, for his part, does a good job turning this against Matt, pointing out how good a salesman he is. Then come the waterworks from both Yam Yam and Matt about their situation. Not the best emotional moment I’ve seen on the show, but I can’t deny I felt at least a little something.
Now comes the time for Heidi to use her advantage, and she decides to split the difference. She does try to save Matt, probably to help keep Frannie happy, but evidently does not think targeting a former Ratu will work. As such, she orders Lauren to vote for Yam Yam. If Lauren’s banked vote was not common knowledge before, it is now. Lauren asks for clarification on whether Heidi controls one or both of her votes. While potentially bad for Lauren’s game if it wasn’t already known, it does make us rules lawyers very happy to get a definitive answer. Sure enough, Probst clarifies that just one vote is controlled, meaning Matt’s fate is sealed. He goes home, and I’m mixed. Yam Yam is the more exciting character, and this is a bigger strategic shake-up hopefully leading to more excitement down the road. That said, Matt was finally starting to come into his own in the game, and it’s a shame to see his time cut short, especially when he couldn’t even use his shot in the dark. Plus, he and Frannie WERE cute together, I can’t deny. At least he made the jury.
While not reaching the heights of most of the rest of the season, this is an improvement over last episode. The pathos was real, and I can’t say I was bored. That said, production REALLY needs to slow down on the twists. They’re muddling a game that’s jam-packed as it is. Will they slow down? Probably not, but I can dream.
-Matt
Title Credit to Jean Storrs.
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