Idol Speculation: “Survivor David vs. Goliath” Episode 6: Well Well Well

Yeah, you know you’re stretching for a title when all you do is mention one element of a challenge three times over. No “This episode is deep like a well” comparison for us. That would imply this episode has anything to give us.

We kick things off at Jabeni, where it is confirmed that Angelina was in on the plan to oust Natalie, and only voted for Lyrsa in order to hopefully get Natalie’s jacket by staying on her good side, thus retroactively justifying Natalie’s jacket snub last episode. Still, this talk does not go unnoticed from a strategic perspective. Most note it warily, and Lyrsa in particular points out that if Angelina is willing to be that deceptive for a jacket, imagine what she’d do for higher stakes. Point Lyrsa.

Then we find out that Lyrsa has those toe socks. Two points Lyrsa.

Over at Tiva, it seems that it’s time for our daily physics lesson, as Christian hilariously describes how to turn potential energy into kinetic energy for the purpose of spearing a fish. While a funny diversion, this scene does little, other than to set up that Christian is not a good provider of food. Especially when compared to, say, this episode’s reward challenge, which offers the top two tribes varying amounts of kebabs. The challenge itself is little more than your generic obstacle course, with the caveat that one tribe member is attached to a bag of coconuts, which must be maneuvered with them and held up so that said tribe member can cross a balance beam. Not a bad way to shake things up, but it feels a bit simplistic. We’ve seen challenges where a tribe member must be maneuvered in some way (which this challenge resembles), and those were all more physical, and therefore more interesting. This concept can work, but it needs to be something like that team ropes course on “Survivor Vanuatu”, where the team member and what they’re attached to are thrown over, under, around and through obstacles.

There’s little reaction from Natalie’s eviction. The former Davids likely don’t care, and the former Goliaths can probably understand why she went home. Jonny Mundo seems to be the only dissenter, staring long and hard at Jabeni, though even then he doesn’t look particularly angry. Remember this stare, though. It will be important later.

Jabeni is favored to lose this challenge, mostly because Jabeni is favored to lose all challenges. For once, they seem to live up to that claim initially. Also, we finally see Lyrsa ACTUALLY be a detriment at a challenge, taking her time to go over a ladder, and then to go back and untangle herself. While we wait for her to do that, I have to question Tiva’s sit-out here a bit. Vuku does fine, sitting out Kara who would be in no way useful to the tribe, but Tiva? They sit out Alison. Now don’t get me wrong, I can see what they’re going for here. Save the sit out you really need for the immunity challenge. But given that there’s no puzzle in this challenge, chances are there’ll be a puzzle in the next challenge. With that in mind, why not sit out, say, Christian in this challenge, where he will be of no use, and save him for a probable puzzle? Given their results, I suppose I can’t fault them too much, but it seems an unnecessary risk. Even if your immunity challenge has no puzzle, you can still sit out Gabby and be none the worse for wear.

The end of this challenge is the great equalizer, being a ring toss. With no Malcolm Freberg (“Survivor Philippines”) on to guarantee a win, we’re left with these other people trying. This leads to Vuku bowing a decent-sized lead, giving Tiva victory and Jabenin the consolation prize. Even this is not enough to satisfy Mike, however. Formerly firmly int he “Vote out Angelina” camp, he too noticed Johnny Mundo’s stare, and is now thinking he may not want to rock the boat any more.

Tiva happily enjoys the reward, with the “Brochachos” (and you don’t know how much it pains me to have to write that alliance name) getting all flirty with each other. And no, that’s not me adding homoerotic subtext for the sake of “humor”. Christian literally hand-feeds Johnny Mundo as if the pair were dating. I am well within my rights to make that particular comparison. Dan laments his lack of Kara on this tribe (did you remember they were a thing? Neither did I!), and uses this as another example of how Gabby is on the outs. Gabby, however, has had enough of this, and finally, six episodes into the season, does something proactive about her position. Pulling Alison aside, she talks about how Dan’s a huge threat who needs to be taken out. True, she still gets emotional when talking strategy, but I think that can be forgiven here, partly because it’s minimal, partly because Gabby is in on the “emotional” jokes at this point (seriously, when your mom dresses up as “you” for Halloween, and paints teardrops under her eyes, you know you’re in on the joke), but mostly because it could be construed as good strategy. Alison, as she informs us, is an empathetic person, and so Gabby’s emotional appeal gets to her in a way that a purely intellectual one might not have. Plus, while at first it might seem like Alison aligning with Gabby against Dan would be detrimental, if you think about it, it’s actually a good move for Alison. Recall that Alsion was left out of the “Core six” of the original Goliath tribe, and while she probably wasn’t going to be an early target of theirs, she still has no reason to be loyal to them, and Dan is more of an overt threat, having at least one idol they know of. True, I’d argue Johnny Mundo is the greater threat, but part of what makes him threatening is how covert he is. Regardless, I still say this is a win on Alison’s part.

Vuku, meanwhile, finally does what I’m surprised so few other tribes have done on this show, and splits their bamboo in order to make for fewer lumps on the bed. Or at least, Elizabeth starts to. To hear her tell it, this is a project that’s been percolating for a while, but no one has pulled the trigger. Thus, she and Kara start splitting bamboo, though to my dismay they do not use the better method shown on “Survivor Vanuatu” (evidently this is just the blog where I reference “Survivor Vanuatu” at lot), but it should serve at least somewhat better than whole bamboo. Davie, however, is our voice of dissent, with Carl backing him up. Davie claims that this project is too big to take on this late in day, and so sets about removing said bamboo, pissing off Elizabeth to no end. I have to admit, my sympathies overall are with Elizabeth here, even if she is kind of inconsiderate, nearly pushing Carl in the fire when hauling back a large bamboo log. The activity might take a while, but I don’t see it as needing a whole lot of sunlight, and if it’s been around for that long to do, just do it! Elizabeth, however, has ulterior motives as well. She talks about having had back problems prior to the show, and as you can imagine, a bed of bamboo is not exactly conducive to a comfortable back. The tribe initially seems sympathetic, until Elizabeth has to go and pull the “It should be a group effort” card, as to why Davie shouldn’t have undone here work. Here, I have to side with Davie. Elizabeth, you yourself undertook a project without consulting the group. Don’t get mad just because people didn’t agree with your pet project. Kara, meanwhile, is just happy that there is now a crack she can exploit.

Today’s immunity challenge is better than our reward challenge, though not by much. Working together, tribes take a giant saucer to and from a water tower, with the idea being to dump said water into a well, eventually releasing puzzle pieces, which must then be solved inside the saucer. This challenge has enough scale to fit the epicness needed for an immunity challenge, and as I find it fun when multiple parts of a challenge fit together, I like using the saucer to solve the puzzle. It loses points, however, as it draws from “Survivor One World”. One should really not reference “Survivor One World”.

Jabeni is favored to lose this challenge, as Jabeni is favored to lose all challenges at this point. Can’t lie, there’s really no hope for them this time. The puzzle is not particularly complicated, so it’s less of an equalizer, and that saucer is HEAVY! Even the buff tribes have a tough time with it, so between Mike’s cramps and Angelina’s bleeding, we know there’s no way they can win, even though the episode has done a good job of keeping the losing tribe a mystery. That said, I will give them credit. Until it becomes an absolute certainty that they’ll lose, they keep on fighting. They push to the very end, making the most of their experience, as anything less would be an insult to the game all of them play and respect. It’s a really touching, emotional moment…

Too bad Probst has to ruin it! Look, I will defend Probst in a lot of things, and unlike some fans, his challenge narrations are one of them. I can understand the people who say that Probst’s commentary is condescending and detracts from the drama of a challenge, but in general, I find that’s being unfair. More often than not, Probst narration helps keep a confusing challenge coherent for the audience, and I’d even say he can get in a funny quip here or there. Some moments just stand better on their own, though, and this is one of them. We don’t need Probst to tell us how hard Jabeni is fighting, we can see it in their actions. While this may not be as forced an emotion moment as the Cirie/balance beam thing was on “Survivor Game Changers”, but what it lack is that area, it makes up for in quantity. If Probst had made one or two comments, it wouldn’t be that bad. But no, he just talks nonstop throughout this portion of the challenge. Probst, I love your work, but sometimes you need to step back and just let a moment be.

Following the challenge, Mike gets emotional about having to vote someone out. Thankfully this does not devolve into him quitting, as I would have lost a lot of respect for the guy had he done that. Instead, he talks about not wanting to end anyone’s dream, which is a human reaction I can respect. Talk then quickly turns to strategy, and while I have almost nothing but love for Lyrsa, I do have to point out that she handles this poorly. Mike and Angelina go up and ask her what she wants to do, blatantly opening up the strategy talks to her. Lyrsa, who has a golden opportunity here to ensure her safety, instead inflames tribal loyalties, and suggests that things will go to rocks. Look, I can understand Lyrsa’s confidence. From what we’re seeing, most everyone wants Angelina gone. Certainly you don’t want to talk strategy with Angelina. But you could let things down gently. Subtly hint you might talk strategy without outright saying “yes”. Plus, while Lyrsa and Nick did vote together at previous Tribal Councils, they aren’t going at the hip. Lyrsa has a chance to consolidate power around herself, and just throws it away. Not good, Lyrsa.

After conferring with Nick, and agreeing that Angelina should be the target, Lyrsa goes and makes nice with Mike, somewhat making up for her earlier gaffe. Nick, meanwhile, whispers what he terms “sweet nothings” to Angelina about voting out Lyrsa. Clearly the decision is coming down to Nick and Mike, with Mike in particular controlling who goes home. As such, the answer is obvious: vote out Angelina. Admittedly, it seems weird to say an answer is “obvious” on such a low-stakes vote, and yet it’s all I can think of. I get that Mike doesn’t want to burn more bridges with his original tribe, but even if the merge were to happen next episode (which it will, to my dismay), it’s not all that bad to be down in numbers at the merge. True, Pagongings are a thing for a reason, but as often as not, the tribe with fewer numbers has an advantage, especially is the majority is fractured, like the Davids obviously would be. Look at how Jalapao dismantled Timbira on “Survivor Tocantins”, or how Foa Foa dismantled Galu on “Survivor Samoa”. If Mike has in-roads with the former Davids, as he clearly does, this might be just the situation he wants. As to the idea of “Goliath Strong”, I say, what reason does Mike have to want that? This was a group that clearly put him on the bottom, and with no Natalie as a shield, Mike would be vulnerable to them. Might as well screw them over. True, keeping Angelina does have its advantages. In the event of no merge, it gives Mike, rather than Nick, the valuable swing vote position should Jabeni lose again, and makes it less likely they’ll lose, as while I still deny Lyrsa is a challenge sink, Angelina is still a better competitor. As this is such a low-stakes vote, I can’t fault Mike too much for whatever decision he makes, but keeping Lyrsa still seems like the clear choice.

This episode has decent misdirection, but the vote itself is just so low-stakes that I really can’t be invested. Add to that a by-the-numbers Tribal Council, and I see no reason not to just skip to the elimination. Mike does a dumb, and Lyrsa goes home. As I’ve made clear, I think this is the wrong decision for Mike, though again, I don’t think it’s a game-breaking one. I’m also sorry to see Lyrsa go. She was a great character throughout the show, and particularly those first few episodes. She had a certain amount of wit, a lot of grit, and a tenacity that made her a fun watch. Wish we could see how she handles the merge. To her credit, though, she handles her exit with grace, quipping about how the worst part will be sitting next to Natalie at the reunion show. Oh, you poor dear, Lyrsa! You think people are actually respected at the reunion show anymore! Now it’s just an excuse to preview the next season, tout Probst’s favorites, and plug other tv shows! Take comfort, at least, that you enter the annals of “Great Pre-Merge” characters. You join the likes of Travis “Bubba” Sampson (“Survivor Vanuatu”), and Cao Boi Bui (“Survivor Cook Islands”). Prestigious company, I assure you.

What’s interesting to me about this episode is that I find it similar to the previous few from this season: Not great, but still pretty standard stuff. However, I would say that this episode succeeds in the opposite way that the past couple have. Whereas the last couple had fairly exciting premises that weren’t fully capitalized on, this episode was boring and by-the-numbers, yet every bit of interest was eked out of it. Can’t fault the editors for trying, but given what they had to work with, nothing better could have come of this episode.

Still, with the loss of such a character as Lyrsa, I think we need a tribute. A tribute in the form of a…

TOP 10!

I know I usually do “Top 5 and Bottom 5”, but as our subject matter this week is “Pre-Merge Characters”, it would be rude to do the “Worst Characters”. Plus, it would just a list of the most forgettable people to be early boots. I suppose I could do “Overrated Merge Characters” for the bottom 5, but then again, I feel that this merits its own list. So, we do top 10; no honorable mentions. Which people were a lot of fun, but then left us too soon? We’ll be looking at the top one of those today. A couple of points to note: If you make the merge, regardless of whether or not you make the jury, you do not count. More importantly, this list looks at first appearances ONLY! Yes, Jonathan Penner might be a great character who went out pre-merge on “Survivor Micronesia”, but a lot of that was due to his fame from “Survivor Cook Islands”. This list is about people standing on their own with a limited amount of episodes. On a related note, people who were boring the first time around, but fascinating their second, will also not be on this list, since they weren’t exciting enough to stand on their own in their first appearance. Looking at you, Kelley Wentworth of “Survivor San Juan del Sur”.

10. Jennifer Lanzetti (“Survivor Kaoh Rong”): A bit of an odd choice, since she did a good job getting herself voted out, but I think there’s something to be said for Ming-Na Wen.. I mean Jennifer. Though she only lasted two episodes, Jennifer made her mark, and not just by standing up at Tribal Council. She tried to have guile and cunning, and failed at it, despite having seemingly competent strategy. Jennifer was her own worst enemy, but that’s nothing if not fascinating.

9. Bobby “Bobdawg” Mason (“Survivor Exile Island”): I can already hear the complaints, but I think, while Bobdawg definitely deserves a spot on this list, I can’t really justify putting him higher. Yes, his boot episode was memorable and fun. The man got drunk, slept in the outhouse, and was unapologetic about it. You can’t make this stuff up if you try. But really, that’s about it. For all his outsize personality we would see after the show, Bobdawg really had little impact outside of his boot episode. Which is a shame, as the combination lawyer/gangster could have made for really interesting gameplay. Shame we didn’t get to see too much of it.

8. Lyrsa Velez (“Survivor David vs. Goliath”): I said Lyrsa was deserving of being in this company. I never said she deserved a particularly high spot. Even as someone who really likes watching Lyrsa on tv, I can’t deny that there was a lot of the time where she just wasn’t there, and the best pre-merge characters tend to have a big presence. Like I said, though, her wit, tenacity, and unwillingness to take bs make her a lot of fun when she is on screen. Hope she gets a second chance somewhere down the line.

7. Travis “Bubba” Sampson (“Survivor Vanuatu”):This is going to sound weird, but I find Bubba to be similar to the aforementioned Bobdawg. Not in terms of personality, but in terms of contradictions. Whereas Bobdawg sounded like a gangster, but was incredibly smart, Bubba sounded like a redneck, but had a lot of smarts for it. The man was a good social player, and a key member of his initial majority alliance, but then got screwed by a swap and being too blatant about his old allies on his other tribe. Still, had he made the merge, I’d be interested to see how he’d navigate the alliances there. He might have been a stealth threat from what we saw, which to me makes him interesting. Plus, the guy likes Bob Barker. You can’t fully hate someone who likes Bob Barker.

6. Ace Gordon (“Survivor Gabon”): It speaks to the competition of this list that a guy who’s the closest thing we have to a living James Bond villain only comes in at number six. Seriously, though, between his accent and his delusions about how good he was at the game, Ace made a good act one villain, whose antics helped make the admittedly slow pre-merge of “Survivor Gabon” tolerable. Plus, that man could give a good confessional. “Legless chickens against sleek weasels” is still a persona favorite of mine.

5. Angie Jakusz (“Survivor Palau”): To me, this is what Lyrsa could have been if she’d gotten more screen time. Angie was bound to make a mark based on appearance alone, but that’s not all she had going for her. The woman could give you a good quip, whether intentional (talking up her construction skills), or unintentional (“We’re not going back to immunity”), she had a lot of memorable lines. Plus, even in her limited time, she had an arc. Initially perceived as the weakest, and struggling to fit in on her tribe, Angie rallied to become a strong member of an ultimately self-destructing tribe, but valuable nonetheless.

4. Amy O’Hara (“Survivor Guatemala”): Another tough lady, but with a longer arc. Amy is probably best remembered for playing on a broken ankle for most of the game, and that’s a touching story to watch. But the lady had a mouth on her as well. She told it like it was, and had a tendency to nickname people. Recall that “Golden Boy” was her doing. Yeah, between that and my overall love of “Survivor Guatemala”, you knew Amy had to be on here.

3. Robb Zbacnik (“Survivor Thailand”): Sometimes, appearance is all you need. The heavily pierced skater-dude made a mark early on by skateboarding through the streets of Thailand, but even that wasn’t enough. He too had to have an arc, and actually it was one of the more touching ones in the show. In case his appearance didn’t make it clear, Robb had a lot of growing up to do. He was pulling pranks, cracking jokes, and throwing fits whenever something didn’t go his way. If the status had remained quo, this would not have been interesting. But we got to see Robb start to grow out of this, actively maturing as he saw the consequences of his actions, and ultimately parting on good terms with his tribe. A fun little arc for a very fun character.

2. Cao Boi Bui (“Survivor Cook Islands”): What my top two players have in common on this list is that both had potential not just in terms of character, but in terms of strategy. True, Cao Boi is most remembered for his folk remedies and off-color humor, but the man actually had some chops. Recall that he was the architect behind “Plan Voodoo”, one of the first “Split the Vote” plans which only failed due to misreading of who had the idol. Props for thinking of it, though, and it works to make Cao Boi more than just a walking caricature. Cao Boi misses out on the top spot only because the racial humor can be a bit uncomfortable.

1. Brian Corridan (“Survivor Guatemala”): Out of all the people on this list, I think we lost out the most by having Brian not make the merge. The man invented “Bait Blake”. Who knows what else he could have come up with if given the opportunity. But the man got screwed by a swap, so we’ll just have to enjoy his cheerful demeanor and his sarcastic confessionals. You’re good people, Brian.

A few notes about the merge next episode: While I usually do a “Top 5 and Bottom 5” list, this one probably takes the place of it, simply so I don’t burn myself out. On a happier note, I’m excited to see blue merge buffs. Apart from having been absent as a merge color for a while (last used for the merge on “Survivor Samoa”), it’s a really pretty lighter shade of blue we don’t often get. Even though I’m not wild about this season, I just might have to get that buff.

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.

Idol Speculation: “Survivor HvHvH” Episode 7: My Fair Coley

35 seasons into the show, one of the hardest challenges to be faced is how to keep things fresh and original. No matter how complex a character, no matter how intriguing a plotline, the fact is that if it hasn’t been done before, most likely something similar has been done before. Therefore, it’s very refreshing that this “Survivor” merge has actually managed to bring us something fresh and original, something to keep this old concept alive in it’s old age: Cole actually says something intelligent!

We’ve still got plenty of stupid to get through, though. After our “Previously On…” segment reminds us of the plotlines of every single tribe thus far, we start off at Yawa, where Cole informs us of the “Yawa strong” pact. Yes, I DID say that Cole said intelligent things tonight. Don’t worry, they come later. Not to say that “Yawa strong” isn’t a good plan for Cole, but is assumes that people on his tribe not named Jessica can stand his presence. This is not the case, showing just how out of touch he is. Ben and Lauren do a good job playing up that they’re with Cole, but Ben in particular privately admits that he can’t STAND Cole, and therefore isn’t fully on board. Soko does little but reaffirm that the threesome there are tight, so they will only get this sentence of a mention.

Things at Levu aren’t looking too good either. They may yet be the disaster switched tribe, as Ashley informs us that they’re basically down to eating sugar. Now, I’m not going to act like “Survivor” is a cushy game show. There’s nothing cushy about it, and starving certainly isn’t fun. With that said, I feel like Ashley is exaggerating just a little. Like I said, I’m sure they’re not in good shape, but this plotline came right out of nowhere. No confessionals in previous episodes talking about their food supply. No previous complaints of malnutrition. Devon is just suddenly barely able to walk (though in his defense, he did have very little body fat to begin with). Again, I could understand a normal level of starvation plot with little buildup, but Ashley makes it sound like the second coming of Hunahpu (“Survivor San Juan del Sur”) or Barramundi (“Survivor The Australian Outback”).

Fortunately for them, product placement is right around the corner. Probst announces the merge, which is purple this time! I am a fan of this, as it both is a change from the usual black, and marks the first time since the duo of “Survivor Caramoan” and “Survivor Blood vs. Water” that we’ve gone two consecutive seasons without a black merge buff. Thank God! There’s really no fake-out as to this not being a merge, but there IS a fake-out as to the merge feast. Probst teases a twist they’ve never done before, only to reveal the aforementioned product placement. Outback Steakhouse, a long-time sponsor of the show, is catering this particular merge feast. Evidently this is the cue for everyone in the cast to start gushing about Outback Steakhouse, which makes sense, as only starving people would be eager to eat at Outback Steakhouse. Joe extols the virtues of the Chocolate Lava Cake. Dr. Mike cheers at the thought of personalized steaks. Ben literally levitates upon hearing the word “Rib Eye”. Even those who AREN’T as enthused must gush when the food actually arrives. Not that Joe will be gushing for long, as he follows in the steps of Joe Del Campo (“Survivor Kaoh Rong”), and orders a lot of meat. Two whole steaks, to be precise, and I find it miraculous that the pair did not share the same fate. But back to the main point, that being the blatant product placement. I understand that it’s a necessary evil on the show a lot of the time, but my God, this is over the top for a product that’s OK at best. I mean, the only way they could have pushed the product harder is is they….

CRASH!

SANDRA DIAZ-TWINE: Did someone say “Outback Steakhouse”?

ME: Oh, for Christ’s sake…

SANDRA: You know where there’s Outback Steakhouse, there’s gonna be Sandra.

ME: NO! NO! I don’t CARE if you’re one of the most awesome players ever, you can’t be here! You’re not even on this season!

SANDRA: Well, how else am I supposed to remind everyone that the queen of schilling for Outback Steakhouse stays queen of schilling for Outback Steakhouse?

ME: I don’t know, but don’t do it in MY house! I just had that wall fixed, and we’ve got a cold front coming!

SANDRA: You know what? I’ma vote you out, and if I’m in that finals, you’ll STILL vote for me to win.

ME: Most likely, but first I need to get on the show, something I can’t do with you in here. Now, please sign my buff collection and beat it.

(SANDRA exits to find a Sharpie).

Well, now that my day has been made much better, let’s get back to blogging. There’s no idol clue hidden in a napkin this time around, but there is strategy talk. You’d think it’d be hard to do with everyone gathered around a relatively small table, but thankfully the conversation is loud enough that Chrissy and Ben are able to touch base. They don’t say too much, as Ben makes it clear that he’s not comfortable talking around so many people, but they do agree to meet back up, reaffirming their old bonds.

Ok, Cole, enough with the dilly-dallying! Time for that intelligent commenting to start. As previously mentioned, there was no clue hidden at the feast, so it stands to reason that, when the new camp comes with a bunch of tools, that there is a clue hidden in one of these. Cole recognizes this, and sets about searching for it. He doesn’t FIND the clue (we the audience see it hidden in amongst the nails), but hey, baby steps.

Moving on to the strategizing, things quickly shake out to be an Old Healers/New Yawa group versus… not them. Ok, so the name thing kind of needs work. Desi and Joe are pulled back into the fold, and along with Ben and Lauren from the former Yawa, they appear to have seven. Ryan, meanwhile, recognizes that the original Healers have five people left, against the Heroes’ four and the Hustler’s three, putting his “underdog” strategy into greater prominence. Thus, it seems logical to him that these two groups band together against a supermajority. This makes Lauren and Ben the swing votes, unsurprisingly. One might argue that Dr. Mike is a swing vote as well, since he was no great friend of the Healers, while being more in bed with Ben and Lauren (proverbially speaking). However, for Mike it is clear which side he should go with. His connection with Ben and Lauren will remain probably no matter what, but going against his original tribe, even with Joe back in the fold, would have what we might call “John Cochran Downside”. Hailing from “Survivor South Pacific”, this is a phenomenon where someone flips too early, thereby pissing off most the jury, even if the move was strategically smart. Mike DOES need to move against his original tribe at some point, but this would put too many of the them on the jury too soon, even though the jury actually doesn’t start tonight. Since I know I’m going to get called out on praising Cochran’s move, while saying the same move for Dr. Mike would be a flaw, let me explain the difference. Cochran was between Savaii and Upolu, two tribes that, due to be a “returning captains” season and the lack of a swap, were relatively ironclad, with no cracks in the alliance, and very few major divisive characters to break up an alliance. Plus, Cochran had known the Upolu’s for a relatively short time, and had no firm allies on that side. Contrast with this season, where we HAVE had a tribe swap (thus making original tribe alliances shakier), and a VERY divisive character in the form of Joe (Chrissy wants him gone, and even his original tribe seems to view him as little more than a necessary evil). Even if Dr. Mike sticks with his original tribe, he has room to maneuver, whereas Cochran really did not. Hence why the move is appropriate for one, but not the other.

Point being, the decision falls to Lauren and Ben. Lauren quickly shows which side her bread is buttered on by firming things up with Dr. Mike, which I can kind of understand. As mentioned, Lauren was kind of the “oddball” amongst her tribe, with only Ali as anything resembling an “ally”. If Dr. Mike’s offering her a power couple pact, she has little reason not to take it, and thereby want to keep the people Dr. Mike wants around, around. Ben, however, has more ties to his old tribe, and an intense dislike of Cole. Cole doesn’t do himself any favors by continuing to gorge on food, this time cinnamon sticks. Ben makes his disgust about this known, a boon to the opposition. Dr. Mike does his best to talk Ben around, agreeing with his assessment of Cole’s character, but noting that it’s too soon, as they would lose their majority. Ben is civil about this, and Dr. Mike comments that he’s surprised at how crazy things are at the merge. Come on, Dr. Mike, I thought you were our superfan of the season? If you’ve seen ANY “Survivor”, you know that the merge is a major shakeup time.

In all honesty, despite my praise of Lauren joining with Dr. Mike, Ben IS making the smart move in wanting to go back to his original allies. The key, once again, is options. By sticking with Dr. Mike, they make Dr. Mike their ONLY connection. If he can’t swing some more people, when you get down to the last seven people, you’re most likely done. It’s true that that alliance has fewer people overall, and more hidden immunity idols, which are both attractive features. The other alliance, though, has many connections with Ben, and while Lauren didn’t bond with her original tribe, she can still potentially do something. Plus, Dr. Mike’s rocky history with the original Healers means he probably won’t shed too many tears at their loss, and would probably still be willing to work with you down the line, meaning you keep even more power.

Not to say that the old Healers don’t sense danger though. Realizing that Cole’s leash needs to be tightened AGAIN, Jessica calls him over and urges him to stop eating so much, which Cole seems dumbfounded by. Look, Jessica, I know he’s cute, but you’re smart, and might actually have a shot were it not for the lead weight of Cole around your neck. At some point, you really need to just cut him loose.

Oh, and the new tribe name is Solewa. It sucks, because it’s a combo tribe name. That said, the flag is cool-looking, with the name printed on a strip underneath the flag rather than on the flag itself. Plus, they used the last part of “Yawa” rather than the first part, and the last four letters give me “Bionicle” flashbacks, so I’ll just let this one slide, rather than rant about it.

Speaking of sliding, our immunity challenge is a new twist on the “ball endurance challenge”. We have people moving down an increasingly small balance beam, but this time instead of balancing a ball on a plate, they must spin it around the inside of a hoop. If the ball or you fall off, you’re out, last one standing wins. The small scale and repetitive nature of ball endurance challenges annoys me, but this one does change up enough for me to give it a pass. Our individual immunity idol is ok. It’s basically a big metal plate necklace with some gears and seashell designs on it. It’s a bit garish to me, but it stands out, and it’s hardly the worst thing. Oddly, though, the STAND for the idol is actually really cool looking. Part of it resembles a set of scales, which has a nice “judgement” tone to it appropriate for immunity.

Probst is in fine form with his challenge commentary today. He trashes Ryan for failing two seconds into the challenge, which later gives Chrissy a chance to show off her math skills, calculating how many times beyond Ryan our finalists have gone. He also attempts to hypnotize the players by pointing out how relaxing spinning the ball can be. And, of course, he has to throw some shade. He points out that you can’t really practice for this particular challenge, and he’s right. After all, who on earth has done THIS in their backyard?

CRASH!

COACH: (raising hand) I have.

ME: NO! NO! TWICE IN ONE EPISODE IS TOO MUCH! I DON’T EVEN WANT YOUR AUTOGRAPH! OUT! OUT!

(Coach leaves, pelted by Buffs).

I would fault the music for giving us basically no mystery as to when someone will lose this challenge, but as this was a balance and endurance challenge, we knew from the beginning that the women would dominate. Sure enough, it comes down to a battle between Desi and Ashley, which Desi ends up winning. Good for her!

As you’d expect, talk quickly turns to where Ben and Lauren will go. Cole, having evidently learned from Jessica’s etiquette lessons, goes up and gives what’s actually a really good apology to Ben, talking about what a scumbag he was for hogging the food, and promises to do better. Ben, not being an idiot, sees right through the play, but that’s not to say it wasn’t as good an effort as could be expected from anyone. Sadly, just when Cole is turning things around, it’s time for his demise. You see, while this episode does a fair job, in and of itself, of masking who will win out tonight, it’s soon made clear that Ben and Lauren will make the smart move and go against the old Healers, despite Lauren’s protests. You see, we soon learn our targets for tonight are Chrissy, the lady built up as a hero, smart cookie, and fan favorite, and Cole, who apart from this episode has been shown to be brainless, rude, and little more than a living prop for Jessica. I wonder which of these two has more to lose?

Of course, with idols in the offing, Chrissy and co. discuss who their backup target should be. Joe’s name is thrown out, as he annoys everyone, but is quickly dismissed on the grounds that, as he found one idol, he may have more, thus lending credence to the complaints of every fan who hates that idols are being hidden the same way at separate camps (for my two cents, I look on it as a necessary evil. I get that it makes it easier for the same person to find multiple idols, but it just wouldn’t be fair if idols were hidden differently at different camps. Based on camp, someone might have an easier time idol hunting than someone else). Jessica is therefore thrown out as a backup option, which is a smart plan, since she’s a good, unexpected player unlikely to have an idol played on her. But, with so little screen time so far, and all of it good, what are the odds of that happening? We wouldn’t want another Jeremy Collins (“Survivor San Juan del Sur”) incident on our hands, NOW WOULD WE?

Joe, for his part, has some sense of which way the wind is blowing, as he criticizes Cole for bringing in Ben. I can see his point, since Ben has a number of ties to other people, but I have to give the point to Cole on this one. Ben may not be the most solid ally, but he at least brought SOMEONE! I don’t see YOU making any friends on your tribe, Joe.

Merge Tribal Councils are usually fairly exciting, and this one does not disappoint. Dr. Mike and Ryan set up our main conflict, and Cole actually makes a good, JP-esque point about how solid he is. Once again, though, Joe steals the show. He makes a big show about his loyalty to his original tribe, shortly followed by Dr. Mike doing a pretty accurate impression of him, and pointing out that while he and Joe are cool now, they weren’t before. Apart from further cementing my “Voting against Dr. Mike isn’t a death sentence to that alliance” point from earlier, this sends Joe into a frenzy, ultimately pulling out his second idol. I can KIND of understanding this move, being a sort of “Put fear in the other alliance to make the scramble” tactic, but I feel like there’s too many numbers here for that tactic to be effective. Better to hold onto it, and pull a move like he did at Levu: Be annoying to attract votes to yourself, THEN bust out an idol with no warning after the votes are cast to ensure victory. Instead, all Joe ensures is that people will NOT vote for him. Good for Joe, bad for his alliance.

Sure enough, Chrissy’s alliance wins out, but unfortunately, it’s not Cole who gets a heroic death, but Jessica. While I prefer that Chrissy stay over her, I am sorry to see Jessica go. She had a lot of bite for being one of the “generic pretty girls” cast on the season, and might have become an interesting strategic force given more time. Plus, her exit falls prey to the “Jeremy Collins” effect, where her exit was foreshadowed SO little that it feels unearned. This one got a BIT more traction, and Jessica wasn’t as major a character as Jeremy was, so this doesn’t sting quite as much, but it’s a blemish on an otherwise fascinating episode. We got a good look into the dynamics of everything, and Joe’s antics made for some fun moments. In fact, I don’t want the fun to end, meaning it’s time once again for…

TOP 5 and BOTTOM 5!

In honor of the contestants shilling for Outback Steakhouse, this list will look at the best and worst attempts at product placement the show has ever had. For once, there’s no special rules, so let’s get started with…

TOP 5

5. Visa (“Survivor Africa”): I suppose there is ONE rule worth mentioning: Should a product appear in multiple seasons, I’ll be putting the time I feel it is most memorable/worth talking about, not the first instance. Such is the case here. Yes, it was understated, but for a couple of those early seasons, on certain rewards contestants would pay with “Jeff Probst’s Personal Visa”. Most likely a card made up with a dummy name, this one stuck around from “Survivor The Australian Outback” through “Survivor Marquesas”, and was usually an understated part of the reward, not the reward itself, hence why it ranks low. This is more of a personal choice than any on this list, but I love the idea, even though it’s unrealistic, that Probst DID fork over his actual credit card, and was forced to watch as Lex, Big Tom, and others spent his hard-earned cash on third-world frivolities. I also like to imagine the contestants splurging on the most ridiculous items just to rack up Probst’s bill.

4. Pringles (“Survivor Palau”): Doritos may be the ORIGINAL “Survivor” chip of choice, but it was Pringles that went one step further, and landed itself on the list. Not content with merely being shown on the show, Pringles decided to do special “print” chips that had trivia from the show’s history up to that point on them. As a hard-core “Survivor” fan, this pleases me, and earns the chip a spot on this list.

3. Sprint (“Survivor Gabon”): One of the longer-running sponsors of the show, most of you probably remember Sprint. Not only did the sponsor a “fan-favorite” prize at the end of the seasons, but they usually heralded the loved-one’s challenge by giving people video previews from home. This was a nice touch, more sweet than clever, but still fun. Gabon gets the edge here for having the trick of the reward seeming to just be the video, before having the loved one walk off-camera and reappear on the show. A bit hokey, and very predictable, but usually a fun part of the season, and therefore a worthy bit of product placement.

2. Casa de Charmin (“Survivor Exile Island”): Like most kindergarteners, we want to know how the contestants go to the bathroom out there. Exile Island decided to answer that question with the hilariously named “Casa de Charmin”. Actually an outhouse, and probably more famous for Bruce and BobDawg’s wild night in it, there’s something that’s just hokey enough for this reward to be a nice bit of product placement for the show.

1. Home Depot (“Survivor Palau”): The ultimate product placement trick is, of course, to get your product in a challenge somehow. This is easier said than done, but one of the few seamless integrations, that earns this company the top spot, comes from Home Depot. Challenges involving building something at camp are nothing new, and while some may miss the ingenuity brought on by contestants having to make do with islands supplies, it must be said that by giving them better tools, cooler products were made. The specific winner was a close call between Palau’s bathroom-build and All-Stars’ shelter build, but Palau wins out for two things. First, it gave more choice. All-Stars got a full tool kit, while Palau forced one tribe member to choose just six tools to use. Second, for whatever reason, the bathroom builds got more creative, making for a more fun watch, and more memorable product placement.

Honorable Mention: Febreze (“Survivor Guatemala”): You’d think a product designed to make things smell nice would be out of place on “Survivor”. You would be right. That’s why Febreze was never used on “Survivor” itself, but rather in the end slates. For a couple of seasons, starting I believe with Guatemala, following the vote you would get the “Survivor Family Moment” sponsored by Febreze. Basically a short clip of the eliminated contestant’s family congratulating them, it made for a nice touch, and misses out on the list because the product TECHNICALLY wasn’t on the show itself, but in the commercials. But it was really sweet, so I’ll mention it here.

BOTTOM 5

5. Outback Steakhouse (“Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers”): For all my grief, this one nearly made the “Top 5” list, since Sandra’s love of Outback actually made the whole thing seem sincere. This episode just took it way too far, though, and thus the food must earn my ire.

4. 7-Up (“Survivor One World”): Maybe this one annoyed just me, but after name-brand soda had been absent from “Survivor” for a while, we didn’t really need to see it again. Thus the presence of 7-Up in the “Survivor” Dark Age was really unnecessary. I’ll concede that they did a good job making the crate look authentic, but once again, the plugging was a bit too much. Probst just used the phrase “Cool. Crisp. Refreshing” one time too many for my liking.

3. Craftsman Tools (“Survivor Redemption Island”): Remember how I said that the holy grail of product placement was to use it in a challenge, but how it was very rarely done right? Yeah, this is a case of it going horribly wrong. Taking apart a challenge and then putting it back together is not a bad idea in and of itself, but the use of modern tools just felt very un-“Survivor”. Do any of you remember this challenge? Of course not! If you do, it’s for how out of place it was, and I for one would like to see it buried by history.

2. “Gulliver’s Travels” (“Survivor Nicaragua”): If the Craftsman Tolls plug felt like forced integration, this one really pushed the envelope. Movies were nothing new for a reward on “Survivor”, but they were usually classics that related to life on the show. For example, “Survivor Africa” had a showing of the film “Out of Africa”. It’s hard to make a Jack Black comedy relevant too “Survivor”, and even carrying around a giant dummy didn’t help things. Only two things spare this atrocity from the top spot: One, the image of Dan sitting on a chair designed to make him seem small. This is hilarious. And two, for all that the attempt at integration failed, at least there was an ATTEMPT!

1. “Jack and Jill” (“Survivor South Pacific”): Yeah, you all knew this was coming. If “Gulliver’s Travels” was AT BEST tangentially related to the show, then the Adam Sandler vehicle “Jack and Jill” was in another solar system. No integration to the challenge or the theme, just dropped randomly as the last reward before the merge. How underwhelming. This in and of itself would have been bad enough, but the producers REALLY pushed people to praise the film, when anyone with taste could tell this was going to be an abomination to the art of filmmaking. Thus, we get forced Coach philosophizing, which is tolerable at best when it ISN’T related to Adam Sandler. I know for a lot of people this falls into “So bad, it’s good.” territory, but for me, it was just too cringe-worthy to be fun even in that respect.

Honorable Mention: Dr. Scholl’s (“Survivor Borneo”): While over-inserting the product may be the cardinal sin of product placement, under-inserting the product comes close. You may not remember this one, and for good reason. It was shilled precisely once, on “Survivor Borneo”, and never heard from again. It wasn’t even the focus of the challenge, instead given out as a bonus after an immunity win by Kelly Wiglesworth. Admittedly the challenge did involve balance, hence the foot connection, but when your product is overshadowed by a cheap tiki head on a string, you’re probably not getting what you’re paying for.

Overall, this episode averages out to “pretty good”. The strategizing was excellent, there were some fun moments, and taken in isolation, the misdirection was good. Taken in the context of the season, though, the winning side was obvious, and the exit unearned, which is why this isn’t yet one of the greats. There’s still time, though.

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.

Survivor Retrospectives: Exile Island

Sorry for the one-day delay on this particular blog, but perhaps that’s due to the nature of this season.  Most seasons of “Survivor” are either well-loved, well-hated, or are a polarizing force amongst the fan base.  Exile Island, however, falls into a similar category with “Survivor Marquesas”, about seasons that divide people, but not strongly.  Some say it’s a closeted great, others, say it’s just “meh.”  So, where do I stand?  Well, if I just told you outright, there’d be no point to this blog, now would there?

But just to drag out the dramatic tension still further, a quick reminder that this blog does contain spoilers, and therefore should not be read in full unless you have either seen all of the Exile Island season, or simply don’t care if you know who wins.  If, however, you wish to know how watchable the season is without any spoilers, you can scroll to the bottom of the page, where I have prepared an “Abstract” section, that will cover the season in just such a way.

 

CAST

This, for me, is probably one of the weaker points of Exile Island, though it is by no means the worst part of Exile Island.  After all, the cast did give us a few standouts that are still talked about today.  Going from the time it was aired, probably the two most talked about contestants are also two of the people who made the final episode.  Specifically, I’m talking about almost polar opposites Terry Deitz and Cirie Fields.  Seriously, the debate over who was better divided nations.  Terry was someone the show had seen before in other forms: an ex-Army (or, in this case, Air Force) guy who was unbelievably strong, a leader of his tribe, taken out by a majority who wanted power for themselves.  Think Hunter Ellis (“Survivor Marquesas”), but with more success. Terry managed to survive by a combination of good politics on the tribal level, a string of immunities at the individual level, and a certain twist that I’ll naturally be saving for the “Twist” section.  Suffice to say, he was the Big Good Guy, of the season, the underdog trying to claw his way up after the Pagonging of his old La Mina Tribe.  Seen as a real threat by many, disliked by only a select few (such as Cirie), who could dare challenge this paragon of might, this spiritual successor to Rupert?  Why, an overweight, highly strategic woman who was so afraid of the outdoors that she was actually “afraid of leaves” of course!  In all seriousness, Cirie was the ultimate “Underdog” story of the season, even including Terry.  She started out as probably the most visibly unfit contestant ever on the show, had absolutely ZERO outdoor training, and was widly considered by many to be likely to be evacuated.  Instead, with a few clever moves on her part (which will, again, be covered in the “Twist” section), Cirie survived week by week, until, thanks to many of her new Casaya Tribe being unbelievably annoying, she’d worked herself effectively into the tribe’s political structure, was probably the biggest threat to win should she make the finals (save Terry), and even acquired a few outdoor skills along the way, managing to start fire with no matches by the end, and even catching the biggest fish of anyone out there.

So, if these characters divide nations, naturally I need to stand somewhere myself, and I do. Sorry Cirie, if you’re reading this, but I’m firmly in the Terry camp.  While I respect Cirie’s growth and development throughout the season, and acknowledge that strategically and socially, she was the best player out there (she originated the idea of the 3-2-1 split vote, and decisively won a challenge based upon likeability), the “afraid of leaves” thing turned me off to her in the beginning, and by the time she was really developing, Terry was well into his underdog story, and I just couldn’t resist.  Besides, with the odds stacked against Terry, he was going to be much more interesting week by week than Cirie once the merge came.  The audience loves an underdog, and while Cirie was one in the beginning, she and Terry kind of switched places (underdog and top of the tribe) come merge time.  On top of that, I’ve always had a bit a problem with how Cirie talked about her fellow castmates.  While there have been snarky and rude people before, and Cirie was by no means the worst of the lot (at that point, Jonny Fairplay of “Survivor Pearl Islands” would get that distinction), I felt that Cirie, talking to the cameras, was far too mean to her fellow contestants.  Again, Terry was not the saint I made him out to be, but he had a good story, a relatively good attitude (at least up until the final 4), and with the odds stacked against him, he was the main thing I tuned in to watch.  Also bear in mind that this, for me, was an early season of “Survivor”, and so I didn’t fully understand the social game yet.  I thought it was still only for hardcore survivalists, and so I thought Terry would have had it in the bag.  In hindsight, I appreciate Cirie’s social game, but still, if only for nostalgia, my support stays with Terry.

While these two were the main characters to come out of the season, they were by no means the only ones.  Most memorable by far is Shane Powers, the young-at-heart smoker who somehow ended up on the original “Older Men’s” Tribe, who went very insane trying to quit cold turkey THE DAY THE GAME STARTED.  This led to a lot of funny confessionals and moments, notably the creation of “Shane’s Thinking Seat”, and “Shane’s Blackberry”, the former of which was a stump, and the latter of which was a small hunk of wood.  Any debate or discussion about such things would guarantee an eruption from Shane, and an over-the-top argument.  I didn’t much like Shane when I first saw him, I’ll be honest.  My general disdain for all smokers at the time just prevented it.  However, he’s since grown on me since I’ve widened my horizons, and now I find him funny.  Also of note is Shane’s arch-nemesis on the show, Danielle DiLorenzo, whom Shane chastised for doing no work, and Danielle chastised for being rude and insane.  Danielle started out filling the “hot chick in bikini” role for the season, but we found she actually had a few brains behind her, with some even going so far as to call her the “Female ‘Boston Rob’” (“Survivor Marquesas”).  Now try getting THAT image out of your head.  Personally, I always thought she was overrated, as while she was smarter than the average young, hot female contestant, she wasn’t brilliant, and really the only thing she did all game was to ally with Terry at a strategic time, and then break that alliance at the end, when it served her (not that it mattered, as she would have lost against either Terry or eventual winner Aras Baskauskas).

Other contestants of note would be Bruce Kenagai, an older gentleman best known for being a bit eccentric, anal about his things, and his manner of exit (which will be discussed in the “Twist” section), and his partner in crime, the rare famous early boot of Bobby “BobDawg” Mason.  The latter is a bit surprising, since he went out fifth, and got barely any screentime beforehand (and most of that was Danielle calling him “Not a gentleman”), but BobDawg is very hard to forget.  A big, bombastic personality that took to the internet very well, BobDawg has been one of the more vocal early boots, talking at length (and very crudely) about how early boots are portrayed on “Survivor”.  This has earned him a considerable following, but not from me, as I just find him a bit too crude.  Still, you have to admire the guy for speaking up at all.

There are a few other slightly remembered early boots, specifically Dan Barry (though more for being a former astronaut than his gameplay), and more unfortunately Tina Scheer, the first boot of the season.  apart from being the most capable survivalist on the “Older Women’s” Tribe, Tina’s remembered for having a tragic backstory.  Originally cast on “Survivor Guatemala”, Tina the Lumberjill withdrew when her son, Charlie, tragically died in a car crash.  Naturally, the production was devastated, but handed over Tina’s spot to Amy O’Hara, and told Tina should she ever want on the show again, all she had to do was ask.  Tina asked, and next thing you know, she’s voted out first, poor thing.  Her dream had turned into a nightmare, and unfairly so, though I’ll explain why in the “Twist” section.

One person I really liked initially was would-be author Austin Carty.  Part of the initial “Younger Men’s” tribe (or Viveros, to use the proper name), I felt that Austin was funny and a lot smarter than was given credit (he actually was the first to make a fake immunity idol, but it never made air or came into use), and only left as early as he did because his ego got in the way, to the point where no one could trust him.  Still, on a show that favors big, bombastic characters, I can understand why he didn’t stand out.

Now, this is a fair number of big characters for the show, so why should I dislike the cast?  Well, while they stand out compared to each other, compared to the pool of ALL “Survivor” contestants, none really stand out save Terry and Cirie (and Terry would even be overshadowed next season).  On top of that, a lot of the people at the merge were really just non-entities, and so it got quite boring at that point.  Hell, back in my blogs for “Survivor One World”, I named Aras one of my Bottom 5 winners ever, for good reason: he really did nothing!  At least, nothing big or of interest.  Still, one cannot deny that this cast had a few good, memorable characters, but when diluted, the cast doesn’t stand out too much.  It’s not bad, it just doesn’t stand out.

 

Score: 6 out of 10

 

CHALLENGES

Now for the REAL weakest category of Exile Island.  While I will consent that this season did have one of the best obstacle courses ever on the show, and while they tried to be clever and unique about the challenges, they REALLY fell flat for me.  They seemed to be hedging their bets, not going strongly in the puzzles direction or the strength direction.  They just kind of sat there, being average, not at all big or exciting.  There were exceptions, such as the aforementioned obstacle course challenge, and I’ll admit the season was limited by its theme (which we’ll discuss in the “Overall” section.  And you thought I would say “Twist” section!), but the challenges were just really lackluster this season.  When you got the rare good one, it was really, really good, but overall, they’re just “Blah!”

 

Score: 3 out of 10

 

TWISTS

Enough bashing of Exile Island, now we come to the best part: the twists!  Yet, what would a season called “Exile Island” be, if not for the “Exile Island” twist that was central to the season, and may I just say, what a great twist this was, even if not entirely original.  The name “Exile Island” actually came from a twist in “Survivor Palau”, where Janu, after losing a challenge, was sent to live on her own for a night.  This expanded it, by forcing a winning tribe to send someone from the losing tribe (or, once the merge happened, anyone in general) to Exile Island, to be on their own for a period of days, essentially turning the idea of “voting people off the island” on its head, as now you were voting people ONTO the island!  On top of that, it combined such a twist with the “Hidden Immunity Idol” twist from “Survivor Guatemala”, thus further complicating the game, though it did change up the way the idol was used.  On “Survivor Guatemala”, the idol had to be played before the vote.  This time, you could hold onto it, and play it after the vote, thus sparing yourself, and the person with the next highest number of votes would go.  This changed things up adequately, but was a bit too powerful, as once people found out who had the idol (Terry), they were too scared to try and vote him out, the few times he was vulnerable.  Note that the introduction of an idol played this way led to a string of alpha male victories.  Still, this one stumbling black aside, this was the biggest twist to the game since the introduction of switching tribes, and if I do say so myself, it came off quite well.  It added and manipulated the social dynamics in a big way, while still keeping the core game the same.

But the producers were not content with this, oh no.  They had to pile on more twists, specifically, starting out for the first time with 4 tribes, Older Men, Older Women, Younger Men, and Younger Women (Bayoneta).  Again, I like this twist, it lends the season a unique start, and forces hard gameplay from the beginning (only 4 to a tribe).  However, it is what led, indirectly, to the ousting of Tina.  While she did want to go on the show, she was still mourning her son, and understandably so, but this meant she was of on her own a fair amount.  Cirie, who was on the outs by this point, seized her opportunity and banded the other women of her tribe together to vote out Tina, on the basis that Tina was less like them, and therefore couldn’t be trusted.  Good bit of strategy, I’ll admit, but I felt sorry for Tina for being treated this way, and many other people did as well.  By the way, interesting side note: on the DVD for the season, there’s a feature where a bunch of critics, before the season, give their personal picks to make the final 4, and their personal picks to win.  The most common answer for a winner?  Tina.  Boy, that REALLY bites the big one.

If I have one complaint about the “4 Tribes” twist, its’ that it DIDN’T LAST LONG ENOUGH!  By this, I mean that literally in the second episode, they did a schoolyard pick of new tribes (La Mina and Casaya).  I admit this was a fair way of doing things, but it was just too soon in my opinion.  Let the original tribe dynamic develop a bit before you mix it up.  It did have a unique element, though.  Bruce was not picked, due to the odd number of people left, and so was sent to Exile Island, but also avoided the second vote, getting absorbed into whatever tribe lost the next immunity challenge (Casaya).  Again, a good way of shaking things up, and making the season unique.  It also helped Casaya a lot, as Bruce had many survival skills, and let to their eventual domination.

Terry found the immunity idol hidden on Exile Island on Day 9, which is not bad, and would become a major force later in the game.  Things continued on normally, for a while, until a combination Reward/Immunity challenge, the first that was not a first challenge since “Survivor All-Stars”.  This was another ok way to change things, up, nothing too special.  The only way this impacted the game is an early merge.  It also, however, led to the odd ousting of Dan.  Up until this point, Dan had hidden his astronaut history from everyone (save Terry), but came out after the challenge, believing himself to be going home for his poor performance.  He did go home, but it was one of the soberest, most personal tribal councils ever, that’s a standout for the season.

Following the ouster of Dan was the merge, with Casaya having a large advantage over La Mina.  Terry tried to work things (he was a halfway decent strategist), but Casaya simply blocked him at every turn, and the Pagonging of La Mina continued.  They did change things up with Exile Island once, sending two people (Austin and Danielle) there after a challenge involving 3 teams of 3, and it was good to know that Exile Island Wouldn’t be predictable.  This season also had a “Eat or Compete” twist, but it has no major difference from the one in “Survivor Guatemala”.

The next major twist came after the Pagonging of La Mina, save Terry.  Bruce, unfortunately, had a blocked colon, and needed to be evacuated, the first since Michael Skupin of “Survivor The Australian Outback”.  This was an unfortunate and somber turn, but as the game had been in a bit of a rut, it was not an entirely unwelcome twist (once it became clear that Bruce would be ok).  It also won Bruce a lot of sympathy and fame with the viewers, and I was sorry he didn’t come back for the “medevacs” twist of “Survivor Philippines”.

Then came the family challenge.  In and of itself, the challenge was nothing special, just another obstacle course, but the way things worked was one of the most unique family rewards ever.  Rather than the winner getting (or being offered to give up) love for himself and one other person, the winner got to advocate who got how much love.  Terry gave himself and Shane a night away from camp with their loved ones, Cirie a night with her husband, Aras a hug from his mom, and poor Danielle (who had recently betrayed him) nothing.  This was an excellent way to do the loved one’s twist, staying true to the roots of the twist, but adding a new political dynamic that incited debate amongst contestant and viewer alike.  Just a great way for it to go off, making this probably my favorite loved one’s episode ever!

Terry by and large remained pleasant throughout the ordeal of being on the bottom of his tribe, but once the final four rolled around, and he was STILL unable to control his fate, he lost his cool and snapped at Cirie.  I think how the others ganged up on him after this was mean, but it’s no excuse for what Terry did, and one of the few low points of the season for me.

The final twist, such as it is, was due to the early merge and previous combined reward/immunity challenge.  Prduction was a few days ahead of schedule, and so Cirie was voted out a day early, and there was an extra reward challenge at the final 3 (something not done before).  While it made the game unique, it still wasn’t anything to write home about, and the season finished very blandly, with Aras predictably winning once Terry was gone.

Lots of good twists this season, and what few bad ones there were didn’t hut things too much.  They still existed, but they don’t drag the season down.

 

Score: 9 out of 10

 

OVERALL

As you can probably tell, this season had a lot of “blah” elements, and what good one existed were dragged down somewhat by the bad ones.  If the season had had a good theme to tie it all together, things might have worked out better, but given that the show was going to Panama for the THIRD time, they went with Vodou for the theme, which just didn’t lend itself well to “Survivor”.  The tribal council set looked kick-ass, but the season as a whole revolved around a lot of skulls, and just didn’t get much in the way of good challenges or design.  Note that this season gave us Jeff saying “Place the zombie head on the zombie body”.  Still, the season should be noted for what it did well: namely Exile Island.  It gave us a great, game-changing twist that would influence the show for years to come, and tied in well with the dynamics of isolation present in the cast (particularly how Terry was isolated from the Casaya Tribe), so it wasn’t all bad.  Even so, not one of the stronger seasons, in my opinion.

 

Score: 25 out of 40

 

ABSTRACT

While not the greatest season in the world, “Survivor Exile Island” is certainly one of the more influential seasons you’ll find.  In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it was the genesis for “Modern Survivor”.  While the cast and challenges are not the best, the twists are phenomenal, and a few good cast members keep you invested.  Not the GREATEST season in the world, and it CAN be skipped if you’re pressed for time, but if you’ve got a free bit, I’d say give it a watch.