This may be the most I’ve ever stretched for a blog title, and for me, that’s saying something. But so help me, Deshawn’s “seed” confessional was about the only title-fodder I had to work with, and this seemed more appropriate than my alternate, “Little Deshawn of Horrors”, only because the latter implied Deshawn did something horrible. He may make some less-than-optimal moves tonight, to be sure, but “horrible” would be far too strong a word for tonight.
Speaking of tonight, for once we have a decent episode, so I don’t have to recoil in horror at the thought of recapping it tonight. Besides, our players choose to focus on the GOOD parts of last episode, so I will as well. Deshawn and Danny are naturally unhappy at the way things went down last episode, a feeling hyped up by how emotional things were. Deshawn does a better job recapping the emotional beats than I do, but suffice to say, they’re still just as effective, even a week later.
When they DO get back to the “We’re in the minority now” problem, however, they handle that pretty well as well. Deshawn, being a bit more expressive, saves his rantings for Danny, which won’t really affect his standing in the tribe. Danny, being more of the diplomat, is the one to reach out to those who voted with the majority. Specifically, he reaches out to Xander (the person he feels most betrayed by, since he and Deshawn had a sense that Erika and Heather were not with them), and discusses the decision with him. Xander continues his “shield” argument in confessional, and I maintain Rob Cesternino’s “You have to use your shield at some point” rebuttal, and we move on. While trust has been lost, all agree that Ricard should be the next to go. Xander says that the only way Ricard survives is by winning immunity, thereby ensuring that Ricard will do just that.
The morning light brings a horrible travesty to light. Something we all should have known, but did not until now. THEY NEVER GOT RID OF THE “LUVU” SIGN ON THE TRIBE LOGO! Seriously, go back and look! There’s some clothes hanging off of it, but beneath the “Viakana” sign you can clearly see “Luvu”. Does that make the tribe name officially “Viakana Luvu”? What next, dogs and cats living together? Mass hysteria, I say!
Ok, ok, the real headline next morning is a continuation of the tribal conversation surrounding race, and specifically just how much Heather still has to learn. She and Deshawn talk about it, and Heather again reaffirms just how little she’s thought about it, and how far she still has to go to even try to understand. Good on her for being willing to admit that, and even better for her starting to educate herself. As she says, she still has a long way to go, and it’s kind of a late start, but hey, every step of progress deserves to be celebrated, IMO. And I can’t even complain about the show forcing a white perspective on an issue for people of color this time. This isn’t Probst taking a race conversation and directing it toward the white people. This is the people out there having a conversation, and that does deserve to be highlighted. Kudos on learning, show.
It also helps that we actually get ERIKA’S perspective on the matter. About damn time. That said, Erika doesn’t add much to the conversation that we wouldn’t have expected, but it’s still nice to hear. Plus, we learn that Erika is clairvoyant, as she reads the comments section on any “Survivor” forum from several months after filming, talking about how a woman needs to win after such a long dry spell. The conversation as a whole does seem to reaffirm the bond between Erika and Deshawn, and definitely gets Erika back on the “Oust Ricard” train, though Deshawn privately admits that he doesn’t fully trust Erika. Reasonable, but for now, as they say, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”.
We head to our reward challenge which, disappointingly, is yet another team challenge post-merge. Even worse, we have a REUSED team challenge, as “Octopus’ Garden” from “Survivor Cagayan” makes a return. Look, show, I like The Beatles as much as the next guy, but this challenge just isn’t that exciting. If you don’t have a tribe trying and failing to throw a challenge, you just don’t have a lot going on.
Our randomly divided teams, consisting of Xander, Deshawn, and Erika versus Ricard, Danny, and Heather, are playing for the choice of two rewards: Either grilled chicken and veggies or cookies and cake. After a decently tense match, all things considered, it turns out that even the combined might of Danny and Ricard cannot overcome the challenge sink that is Heather. Since no one on the other team is Angie from “Survivor Philippines”, they pick the sensible option of the chicken and veggies. Xander and Deshawn talk about how this is fuel for them, and the three, once again, bond over a mutual need to get Ricard out.
Back at camp, the three left behind discuss getting food, though Danny quickly goes off to hunt for an idol. And hunt he does, being gone so long that Heather and Ricard take notice. In a smart move, the show does not actually REVEAL as yet whether or not Danny has an idol. You might think the chyron might give it away, but once again, the show does a clever move. When we next hear Danny talk, his chyron lists “Immunity Idol?”, reminiscent of “Former Federal Agent?” from “Survivor Redemption Island”, aka “The One Fun Thing About ‘Survivor Redemption Island’”. Funny, and it keeps the mystery going. I maintain that needing to list idols and advantages in the chyron is a sign that you have too many idols and advantages, but even I must admit, it might have been worth it just for this joke.
Still, the presence of a possible Danny idol means alternate plans must be made. For Ricard and Heather, who are ostensibly aligned, they just need to split the vote, but this puts Deshawn in danger. Therefore, he leans on his relationship with Erika, getting her to talk about her need to have her game be seen as separate from Heather’s. She talks about needing to make a move for herself, which might need to be voting Heather out. Any fool can tell you this is a bad idea. With how much Erika is talked up as a threat, she, over Heather, would probably be seen as the one making moves between the two, and voting out such a close ally/likely jury goat would only be to her detriment. Still, Erika explicitly never goes so far as to say she SHOULD oust Heather, but Deshawn is pacified with her entertaining the possibility for now. Deshawn then goes down several notches in my book by saying he’s planted a seed in her mind, bringing him far too close to my least-favorite player, Russell Hantz (“Survivor Samoa”) for my liking.
Off to our immunity challenge, it is, say it with me now, a combo challenge where contestants go through an obstacle course then solve a puzzle, the first to do so winning immunity. Standard fare by now, but I like that it draws from some more obscure, underappreciated seasons. In particular, I liked the “Untying Puzzle Pieces on the Balance Beam” aspect, as it reminds me fondly of what I consider my first season, “Survivor Guatemala”. Sadly, as much as I like the challenge, Ricard wins. A few people, Deshawn in particular, come close on the puzzle, but in the end, the guy obviously foreshadowed to win immunity won immunity. Who would have guessed?
After privately getting their “I told you so’s” on, Danny and Deshawn then proceed to do their best to suck all the remaining tension out of the episode. You see, the stuff about getting out Heather would have been good misdirection. See if perhaps the alliance implodes on itself, particularly after Ricard talks about seeing the pair of Heather and Erika as a big threat. But no, it quickly becomes apparent that either Deshawn or Danny will be going home tonight. Quick though the tension was sucked out, I can’t fault the episode for at least trying. What I CAN fault them for is eliminating the tension generated by Danny’s idol hunt. It’s now revealed that, despite the show highlighting him coming close, Danny found jack squat. His demeanor after his hunt was a bluff, akin to Rupert’s “Rock in the Pocket” from “Survivor Heroes vs. Villains”. Fair enough, it’s a good play, but why reveal it now? The one bit of organic tension you have, and you up and reveal it now? Save it for Tribal Council! Keep that going until the very last minute! It would be a brilliant editing ploy that fits organically with the events of the game, and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats! Where is the downside here?
At least we get a good heartwarming moment, with Danny coming clean to Deshawn about his NFL past. Good on him for keeping it hidden this long, and good on the show for not repeating the same story we see with every pro sports player on “Survivor”.
Deshawn will not let “the feels” stop him from saving his butt, though. He wagers that he’s made better connections with the likes of Erika , and so tries to talk them into letting him stay. And really, he is the better choice to keep over Danny. Deshawn may have been more of the strategic head of their alliance, but Danny, as the last few episodes have demonstrated, is a charmer, and thus much more of a jury threat. It’s in pretty much everyone’s best interests to get out Danny over Deshawn, with only Ricard slightly dissenting, given how close Deshawn was to him on the puzzle. Why no one talks about Xander possibly beating out Ricard in a challenge is beyond me. Even more beyond me WHY IS STILL NO ONE TRYING TO FLUSH THE IDOL THEY ALL KNOW XANDER HAS?
Sigh. Our Tribal Council, being devoid of tension, starts off somberly. Not bad, but not exciting. Initially, the most noteworthy thing is that Ricard sits to Xander’s left. Then, Deshawn decides to try an 11th hour play, fabricating his conversation with Erika into Erika full-on wanting Heather out. The man’s on the ropes, and I can understand his plan. Try and sew dissent in the ranks of the majority in the hopes that you seem a stabler option. The flaw in the plan is that Deshawn executes it poorly. His performance is decent enough, but it comes so out-of-left-field that it looks like what it is: A ploy to get the majority to turn on one another. Say what you will about this cast, but they’re not idiots, and so see through the ploy, putting Deshawn in perhaps more trouble, as Xander’s vote for him is one of the few we see. It’s also one of the few voting confessionals we here, where Xander gives the “Truth Kamikaze” line that gives the episode its proper title. As a side note, it’s weird that we’ve gotten very few voting confessionals this season. Is it the show trying to create tension, or is this another sacrifice to the God of 8 Zillion Advantages?
In the end, even Deshawn and Danny didn’t believe Deshawn’s ploy, as the pair ended up voting for each other. The majority wisely split the vote, leading to the smart play of Danny going on the revote. While it may be the smart play, I am sorry to see Danny go home. A few episodes ago, not so much, as the man was just kind of “there”, but now? Late though it was, the show did a good job humanizing him, and highlighting his diplomatic skills. They will be missed.
And our remaining players will miss their creature comforts, as Probst tells them they’re going to a new camp and starting over with minimal supplies. Whoopee.
Even when taking into account the low bar set by last episode, this was a good one. A mix of heart and strategy, with some funny editing jokes to lighten the mood this close to the end. Yes, a couple of things could have been done better, but “sub-optimal” does not mean “bad”, and this did get my hyped for the finale, as well it should. Speaking of the finale, it’s time for my seasonal ranking of who’s most likely to win in a Final Tribal Council. As a reminder, this just takes into account who has the best shot of WINNING at the end, not who’s most likely to MAKE it to the end. So, without further ado:
RICARD-I do think about these rankings pre-episode, and I usually have a general idea at least of my top and bottom picks prior to the show. That said, this season was tough, as I wasn’t sure whether to put Xander or Ricard in this spot. This episode solidified it as Ricard. Apart from Shan’s narrative benefiting him vote-wise should he reach the end, the dude just keeps winning and prevailing against high odds, and I don’t see him losing to basically anyone he goes up against. That said, like most in this position, his issue is him getting to the end, since pretty much everyone can see it, and will try to stop him. Better hope for that immunity tear, dude.
XANDER-Perhaps the only person who can give Ricard a run for his money. I’ll admit, I underestimated Xander. Dude has more strategic chops than I thought, and guts of titanium for having held onto a very public idol this long. Assuming that gets him through final five, he’s got a decent shot to win final four firemaking, if not the challenge beforehand, and in either case, without Ricard, he waltzes to an easy victory. A smart underdog who should not have survived this long. If people lose to him, it’s their own fault at this point.
ERIKA-She may not be as flashy as our top two contenders, but I do think Erika has a decent shot. She’s helped by the fact that everyone has wanted her out, and views her as a threat. While players were clearly upset about the “Time Travel Twist”, it was more at production than at Erika. She may not have a “BIG MOVE” to her name, but she did squirrel her way into a majority, and survived despite an oddly large target. Well-liked and well-spoken, if she can get out the obvious threats, she probably wins easily.
DESHAWN-While low on this list, Deshawn is not entirely out of the running, in my opinion. The key for him is going to be a jury that cares more about gameplay than it does about social bonds. Deshawn has clearly rubbed people the wrong way, and has an uphill battle against most everyone left, but if he can somehow parlay his game moves to his advantage, he might have a shot. That will be tougher after tonight, as I think no one took kindly to his attempt to create a live Tribal, but hey, you never know.
HEATHER-As there must always be someone all but guaranteed to win in the end, so there must always be someone all but guaranteed to lose at the end. While not disliked, Heather has just been seen as a follower in this game. Against a truly hated combination of finalists, she might do well, but I would say Deshawn is the only person she even has a chance against. She’s persevered, it’s true, but that’s just not going to be enough for her this season.
Well, I’m hyped, are you? On to the finale!
-Matt
Title Credit to Jean Storrs.
idolspeculation 