Tonight’s episode of “Survivor” is brought to you by Thanos, the Mad Titan. Admit it, you knew that if Thanos watched Earth television, he’d love “Survivor”. And no, this does not mean that half the cast is suddenly eliminated. That would be a lame twist to end all lame twists. No, I simply mean that, per the decree of Thanos, everything in this episode is perfectly balanced.
Well, the challenges kind of suck. But that’s par for the course at this point. I stand behind my balance metaphor.
Starting off this episode, we get into what will be a recurring theme tonight: “Gabby makes a smart play, but executes it poorly!” Yes, this is really Gabby’s episode in the limelight, and in some ways it shows both the best and the worst of her. Pretty much everything Gabby will do tonight, is, on paper, strategically sound, or at least has a logical basis. Yet, every time, she will execute it poorly. Not fatally poorly, but poorly. Case in point: her performance post-Tribal Council. This is the point for Gabby where she needs to start making everyone aware of her moves, so that she’s just just perceived as an emotional wreck at the end of the game who was dragged along as being easy to beat. Making everyone aware both that it was HER that spearheaded Carl’s exit, and the reasons for it, serves this purpose. Stating in a somewhat whiny voice that Carl didn’t include you does not accomplish this. In fact, it makes you seem like you play more based on emotion than logic, which is exactly the OPPOSITE of what you’re trying to achieve here.
Fortunately for Gabby, little comes of this. Primarily, she quickly corrects this tactic, calming down enough to again make the Carl/Godfather comparison, which seems to satisfy everyone. It also helps that Christian is taking a lot of heat, particularly from Nick. Understandably so, since the pair were supposed to be aligned. Nick states that he can’t trust Christian now, which is fair, though I don’t see that Nick has a whole lot of options at this point. There’s Mike, but he’s really not close with anyone else. In any case, Nick busts out his acting skills to try and throw Christian off the scent. Ehh… Don’t quit your day job, buddy.
Wasting no time, we head to our loved one’s challenge. What? Probst gave it no fanfare, so neither will I. Actually, this is a hard loved one’s challenge to comment on here, not because it’s bad or good, but because it really doesn’t give us much. Don’t get me wrong, it’s touching and heartwarming, but there’s no particularly over-the-top sob stories, and there’s no cringe-worthy moments. It’s just nice, loving people seeing each other after a month away in harsh conditions. Nice to see, terrible to write about.
Really, only two things jump out at me here, and both are things that are positive because of their absence. One is Nick’s reunion, which comes the closest to being over-the-top. Nick talks about how he really started to bond with his father, realizing the sacrifices the latter had made just to keep the family fed. It’s s nice scene that toes the line from overstaying its welcome to make it ok. What stands out to me, though, is that this would be the PERFECT moment for Probst to pull out a “David vs. Goliath” comparison, and yet he doesn’t. This shows good restraint, and prevents and already forced theme from becoming further strained. My compliments. The second is simple: I’m amazed that Mike got his son out there. Not that there’s anything wrong with his son, but what with the whole “The Amazing Race” connection, I thought for sure Mike would be forced to have his Dad, Mel, out there.
As mentioned before, our challenges such, though this is the better of the two. Pairs race through a water crawl-through, then dig up keys in a sand pit. Said keys unlock balls, which must be put atop an arch (one ball by each member) to win a barbecue feast with said loved one. It’s a combo challenge that just feels too small for the stakes, though I will say that pairs for the loved ones challenge feels like the right number of people, if you’re not going to do individuals competing. Three is just a touch too much for me.
I can only assume that pairs were randomly assigned, else why would Gabby and Christian be on a team together in a challenge with no puzzle? I give the edge to the pair of Nick and Angelina, and they do win, although they do a good job of fooling you. Angelina REALLY struggles on the initial portion, but the pair make up enough time on the others to still pull out a victory. They’re given a choice of two people (not necessarily from the same pair, but they do so anyway) to take with them on reward, and I would say both choices are strategically sound. They first choose Mike, and as the swing vote, he makes sense. Angelina and Nick are both on the outs after the last vote, and so need to start working those on the fringes of the majority alliance, and no one fits that description better than Mike. Their second choice, Davie, also makes sense, since Davie was the third person outside the majority. Plus, as Davie and Mike were the next-closest pair to winning, they can always hide behind that as an excuse.
On reward, after getting the pleasantries of seeing family out of the way, talk quickly turns to strategy, with Nick and Angelina in particular advocating for this foursome to be the final four. Mike agrees, stating in confessional that he’s up for anything. Evidently Mike is adopting the Sandra Diaz-Twine (“Survivor Pearl Islands”) strategy of saying “yes” to pretty much everything, which is not a bad strategy for him. Davie, however, remains skeptical for reasons that I still can’t figure out. Admittedly, Davie has the fewest connections out of that foursome, and would probably be targeted at that point, but it’s still better than being on the outs, which is where he currently is. Still, if there’s a secondary theme to tonight, it’s “Davie states that the plan that benefits him at least slightly, it’s no good.”
Strategizing is not alien to the losers either. You see, Christian had his girlfriend come for the loved ones visit, and comforted her much the same way he’s comforted Gabby throughout this game. This does not go unnoticed by Gabby, who decides that she needs to now go against Christian. Her reasoning is that if she doesn’t separate herself from Christian strategically, she won’t have a case to make at the end. This is perfectly sound reasoning. With how emotional Gabby has been, even votes where she clearly had input, Christian comes off as the mastermind, simply because his affect is more measured and logical. Thus, he gets credit for moves that Gabby helped make. Voting out Christian not only gives Gabby a counter-argument to this, but retroactively gives her more credit for their previous moves. No, I cannot find fault with Gabby’s desire to eliminate Christian. What I CAN find fault with is her timing. You see, Gabby needs more time, both to solidify herself with her allies and to lull Christian into a false sense of security. Right now, all she has firmly on her side are Alison and Kara. Going down 4-3, assuming the vote goes her way, is not strategically sound. Better to let things ride for a vote (Christian does target Alison for this vote, which could be problematic, though I think he could have been swayed towards Angelina or Nick or someone), build more bonds with Mike, then eliminate Christian at the final seven. Now, Gabby does make the argument that with Christian’s idol, you need to move on him before the obvious time. This is a sound argument, though I would counter that saving Christian until the next vote makes him less likely to use that idol. It can be used up through the final five, and he’ll want to save it as long as possible. He says as much tonight. By letting the vote go smoothly for one more round, Christian gets lulled into a false sense of security, and thus doesn’t feel as inclined to play his idol. Still, it cannot be denied that there is some logic to what Gabby is proposing here.
Speaking of proposals, Gabby starts floating her plan to Alison and Kara. Again, good people to start with, but in my opinion, Gabby gives a poor pitch here. She focusses on how getting Christian out will be good for HER game, and is very articulate on the matter. The trouble is that this gives no incentive for anyone ELSE to go along with the plan, as no evidence is given for how it would benefit THEIR game. Thankfully, Alison and Kara are both smart enough to realize the benefits of eliminating Christian on their own, and so don’t need persuading in this area, but still, close call.
Whereas the reward challenge was underdesigned, the immunity challenge is overdesigned. Hailing from “Survivor Africa” originally, the challenge where you hold up a bucket of water and stand for as long as you can needs no introduction. It also needs no improvement, as there is beauty in its simplicity. So, I ask, why add a stupid pole and ball mechanism to an already perfect challenge!
After whittling out the non-competitors, we end up with Davie, a person on the outs at the last vote, Christian, the likely target tonight, and Kara, who seems to be in no danger. Guess who wins?
As we leave, Alison gives us the commentary on Christian’s eviction. Recognizing that this means Christian will stay, she tries to negate it by hedging her bets on the outcome in confessional. Not a bad way to try and trick the “Survivor” Gods, but as we shall see, it comes to nothing.
Now it falls to Gabby to rally the troops to vote out Christian. Naturally, with a vote this tenuous, and a potential idol in the offing, she keeps it among as few people as possible, probably going to Mike since he’s been the swing vote. Or, you know, she could march right up to Nick and Davie and discuss the plan openly. That works too. Again, not a bad IDEA on Gabby’s part, as she does need more votes, but these are people you just blindsided. Probably not the best idea to be trusting the willy-nilly. Nick, of course, is all on board with any plan that involves eliminating Christian, and even gets Mike and Angelina in on the idea. Sensing a split-vote, and being aware of Christian’s idol, the pair take a page from the playbook of Rupert Boneham and Colby Donaldson, circa “Survivor Heroes vs. Villains” and decide to throw some votes on Gabby given the split nature of the vote, just in case Christian plays his idol. The one name not mentioned here is Davie, who of all of these people should be the MOST on board with Christian going home. He and Christian have never been particularly aligned, and voting him out keeps his options open. But no, Davie is worried about being seen as a threat, and thus wants Christian to say. Not the most illogical conclusion, but Davie, you’re doing such a good job of playing the everyman that I can’t see anyone targeting you anytime soon.
Christian, naturally, is skeptical of the guy he didn’t vote with last time saying that his closest ally is trying to vote him out. However, Christian is also not one to take chances. He could play his idol, but REALLY wants to save it, and so decides that making nice with Nick is his best play. Not a bad idea in theory, but Christian underestimates just how thoroughly Nick is pissed at him. Better to stick with the idol plan. Nick’s acting has improved since immediately after the past Tribal Council. Perhaps he found acting classes on the island? Even so, he’s no master, and Christian remains skeptical. He states that he’ll judge at Tribal Council, meaning it’s time once again to judge people’s acting abilities.
First up at Tribal Council is Nick, so you know this isn’t going to go well. Indeed, Nick has a hard time concealing his frustration. After getting Christian’s side of the story, he does say that they’ve made up, but it feels half-hearted. Faring little better is Gabby, who makes statements about playing her own game, and doesn’t even cry once, throwing up Christian’s skepticism still further. Alison probably carries it off the best, talking about her nervousness, having been a target the previous episode. Still, it’s not much of a surprise when Christian does play his idol, thus eliminating Gabby.
For all my snark, I really am sorry to see Gabby go, and her being my favorite pre-season has little to do with it. She was a good example of how emotional displays to do preclude strategic gameplay, and this episode in particular really saw her shine. True, she was lacking in execution in some areas, but that just comes with practice, and her ideas and desires were solid. This time they just didn’t work out, and that happens sometimes. She may not have won, but Gabby proved why she was a player, not just a number, in this game, and she went out swinging, and if you’re not going to win, that’s the way to go. Say what you will, but she did everything in her power to influence her fate, and that, above all, is what we want to see from a great “Survivor” player. Respect, Gabby.
Idol-nullifier episode included, I say this is the top episode of the season. It was tense. It was strategic. It gave us what we needed, but didn’t overstay its welcome. A carefully-crafted, flawlessly executed slice of the game we call “Survivor”. Perfectly balanced. As all things should be. What more could you ask for?
Well, we could ask for good challenges. Maybe next episode will provide.
-Matt
Title Credit to Jean Storrs.
idolspeculation 