If this blog seems slightly later than normal, that’s because I needed a cold shower after viewing this episode. I hadn’t been exercising or anything, but the creepiness factor of the family visit this time had me sweating proverbial bullets.
Still, we’ll get to that in a minute. In the meantime, we get to talk about the fallout from last episode. You’d think two votes along original tribal lines would have little to no fallout, but there is from the second Tribal Council. You see, our players this time around can do basic math, something you’d think would be obvious until you remember that Brad Culpepper is a previous contestant. Since he’s not on the season, Domenick in particular quickly realizes that six votes being played at a five-person Tribal Council is a bit out of the ordinary. As Ghost Island is based around old advantages coming back into play, he correctly deduces an extra vote twist. Given that Kellyn is suspicious of Domenick and Wendell due to them not voting for Laurel as she had hoped, she keeps quiet about this, and hopes the lack of information will spread discord amongst the dominant alliance.
Or, you know, she could come clean. That works too. In fairness to Kellyn, if she’s going to come clean, she does it correctly, bluntly stating the facts and offering an apology for getting them wrong. Not bad, but I still think keeping quiet would have been better. Oh well, I guess we get to just sit and wait for the smart Kellyn to come out and realize she has no shot.
Oh, and just to make it ABSOLUTELY clear that the Domenick/Wendell alliance is taking this thing, does Domenick and Wendell not taking her fears of an exit seriously make Laurel question her alliances? Of course not! In fact, she claims that this shows that Domenick and Wendell have her back. Yippee, even more predictability.
Speaking of predictable, it’s time for the loved one’s challenge. Now, since I’m about to make fun of this in a way that is slightly more cold-blooded than usual, allow me to preface my snarky remarks by saying that I actually really enjoyed seeing these family members. Some of them (Chelsea, Sebastian) were just your run-of-the-mill nice, but we had a lot of really tender moments. Wendell and his father seemed to have a genuine bond, and it was cool to have two “Survivor” fans out at once (though points are deducted from Wendell’s father for being one of those people who names his children after himself), Donathan had a good, tearful reunion with his Aunt, Kellyn and her brother seem to have a nice bond, and Angela and her daughter had a great discussion about the trials and tribulations of having a military parent. This last moment is sadly undercut by Probst’s line of questioning. He’s usually quite good here, but really drops the ball with Angela. He goes on to ask about her, in essence, choosing the military over her family, which is A, not at all how it is, and B, incredibly insensitive even if it were true. Geez, Probst, these people have been through enough.
So yeah, nice touching moment, fun and heartwarming for all the family. Now let’s ruin the shit out of it. Never before have I seen sets of non-identical twins look SO MUCH ALIKE! Granted, these people are family, so you’d expect some resemblance, but a lot of this is freaky. Our parent /child pairs (Wendell and his father; Angela and her daughter) look like younger/older versions of their counterparts, that’s at least somewhat expected. But then it gets freakier. While they’re built very differently, Donathan and his Aunt have the same face, Sebastian and his sister have the same nose and mouth, you get the idea. “But surely,” I hear you say, “You can’t mean ALL of them! I mean, what about Domenick and his wife? They aren’t genetically related.” True. I thought they were going to be the pair that saved us from this uncanny valley of resemblance. But even THEY look something alike! Not as much as the others, and their accents probably have something to do with it, but they seem to have a similar jaw-line. It’s bizarre, and it really took me out of the moment for a moment, though I’ll understand if others don’t feel the same way.
As to our challenge itself, it’s your standard balance beam obstacle course, with the winner getting an afternoon comfy feast with their loved one. I’d complain about how overused and basic this challenge is, but given that last season’s loved ones challenge amounted to “Pull beads out of a bag.”, I’ve learned my lesson. Don’t complain about the loved one’s challenge, or the producers WILL find a way to make it even worse.
If the challenge itself isn’t very good, the editing more than makes up for it, something I’ll be saying a lot throughout this episode. It’s true we have our early frontrunners (Sebastian, Laurel, Domenick), and our early slowpokes (Angela, Donathan), but nobody falls completely out of it, and the music does a good job of keeping us in suspense, once again employing the trick of “Play the dramatic music multiple times to fake people out.” Good thing too, because Sebastian (the early, big frontrunner) wins it all, a thoroughly predictable outcome.
This also further cements Sebastian as not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, if you catch my drift. While I’m not as big an advocate for throwing individual challenges as some are, I will say that the loved one’s challenge is one you really should throw. It inevitably leads to you having to choose who gets love and who doesn’t. Being in the public allocator position is bad enough on “Survivor”, but to do it when emotions are so supercharged is practically suicide. Anyone worth their salt knows to avoid this position.
Speaking of picking people to come with, Sebastian chooses first Domenick, then Wendell, then Donathan. Not terrible picks, though given that Sebastian was never really in any power, nor in immediate danger, there’s not a lot he could have done to mess himself up. Pandering to the power players (Domenick and Wendell) is a smart touch, though I would slightly question Donathan. If you’re trying to set up that things are still “Naviti Strong”, then Chelsea or Kellyn might have been a smarter move, but again, it’s Sebastian, aka “Sea Bass”, a nickname I have not acknowledged because I think it’s stupid, and because I don’t often get to write the name “Sebastian”. I’m not giving up that opportunity for a dumb nickname. Point being, no one’s accusing him of being a Rhodes Scholar.
Unfortunately for Sebastian, not only does winning this challenge screw him, it screws him more than usual. You see, Sebastian now also has the responsibility of selecting who goes to Ghost Island, but with a twist. Giving up ANY pretense of the “game of chance” Probst admits that whoever goes gets a free advantage, thereby ensuring they will have a target on their back. Probst then explains to Sebastian the rules for selection, which are confusing. The way Probst makes it sound, Sebastian can select ANYBODY whether they won or lost the challenge, but the way Sebastian talks, he makes it sound like he has to pick someone going on the reward. This distinction is important because, should Sebastian be unable to make a decision, those not selected get to pick. Now, if Sebastian can pick from anyone, his choice is simple. Pick Kellyn, Chelsea, or Angela, thereby keeping all advantages “Naviti strong”, and prevent a tied vote from occurring with four on reward and four at camp. If Sebastian can only pick from those next to him, or himself, the choice gets harder. Thankfully, Wendell steps up to the plate. His dad is also a big gamer, and so encourages his son in this choice. A bit risky for Wendell, since everyone will KNOW he has an advantage, thus increasing the target on his back. However, on the whole, I’d still praise this move by Wendell, since he was a target anyway, and the advantage could be helpful.
We leave as Kellyn is pissed (more on that in a minute), and we head to Ghost Island. Just when you thought Jacob getting the legacy advantage was the most USELESS advantage Ghost Island had offered up yet, wait until you see what clunker Wendell got left with! He gets Malcolm’s challenge advantage from “Survivor Philippines”, the one I famously decried for sullying the sanctity that is the Final Immunity Challenge. Since this ISN’T the final immunity challenge (the note specifies that it’s the upcoming challenge), I’m ok with its presence, though the more I think about it, the more this advantage seems very situational. With an endurance challenge, unless someone lapses in concentration, or some outside force (say, the wind) steps in, one usually loses because one is just not that good at the challenge. Thus, getting a second attempt really doesn’t help that much, as it doesn’t improve your skill level. Really, Wendell’s real advantage is that he has a ball and stick to practice with, giving him an edge in that regard. Still, production is setting it up like we get an actual cursal reversal (a runner-up title for this blog), so perhaps I’m wrong.
Ok, time to talk about Kellyn being woke. Yes, after all the betrayals, after being strongarmed by Domenick, after ALL THE SIGNS pointing to Domenick and Wendell running everything, what gets Kellyn to finally move against them? Being denied the loved one’s challenge. I mean, really? I get that emotions run high, and maybe Kellyn needed her buttons pushed to move out of her comfort zone, but blaming Domenick and Wendell for this? Why had nothing to do with you missing out on your family! That was Sebastian! The worst you can say is that Wendell volunteering for Ghost Island cost you some power, and again, THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR FAMILIES! Don’t get me wrong: I’m very happy that Kellyn is finally moving away from “Naviti strong”, but this reasoning, after all the other logical reasons Kellyn would have to flip, seems contrived. In fact, I bet it WAS contrived. There’s no doubt Kellyn was pissed about missing the reward, but I bet she really decided to make a move because Sebastian not picking her showed where she was in the pecking order. I suspect this was just a contrived reason that played better on camera. I understand the reasoning, but for someone as smart as Kellyn, MAN it was depressing to see her strategy reduced to an emotional upheaval, not helped by the fact that we know it will come to naught. The high emotions do make for more uncertainty than we’ve had in past episodes of late, but Laurel is surprisingly quiet, and given how she feels towards Domenick and Wendell, I doubt she’ll flip.
Donathan might, though. Unsurprisingly, Domenick uses the reward to offer Donathan and Sebastian a final three deal. A pretty good move for him, as it helps ensure his power (and given Donathan an incentive not to flip), and gives him a final three he can easily beat. Wendell and Laurel are his only possible competition (and even losing to the latter only happens with a very upset jury), so an final three without them is the smartest move for Domenick. Unfortunately for him, Donathan’s misuse of idol means he’s running more scared than ever, and it seems he has a phobia of muscles. Donathan lets us know that he’s not sure he could beat Domenick, Sebastian, or Wendell (the latter was included by proxy in the conversation) in a challenge, and so may flip on them. Now THAT is actually somewhat believable, were it not for the fact that Laurel seems to get final say, and she’s more of a stalwart ally for the Domenick/Wendell alliance.
Oh, and while I’ve been hard on Sebastian tonight, I should give him credit for at least playing the dumb surfer so well that, despite establishing a pecking order, no one targets him. Props.
We get to our immunity challenge, as mentioned previously with Wendell. It’s been gone for a while, and it is a good challenge in and of itself, so I’m not super upset at its presence. However, I must complain at YET ANOTHER ENDURANCE IMMUNITY CHALLENGE! Come on, I know they’re good, but give us some variety!
Though he’s not the first out, as expected Wendell ends up blowing his advantage by not being the best at this sort of challenge. It’s actually Domenick who pulls out the victory, much to my surprise, as he was holding his pole up much higher relative to the table than others, which seemed an unnecessary risk. Good for him, and for once immunity does have an impact, since Domenick was the intended target of the ladies, should their alliance have come to fruition.
Back at camp, we get our first death knell for Wendell as he and Domenick talk about how safe the pair of them are, and how nothing will go wrong tonight. They target Chelsea, which I have to admit in hindsight makes the editor’s slighting of her in terms of the show (four confessionals in 11 episodes when she won two immunities and was apparently a driving force being a lot of the votes this season? Not cool.) a bit more understandable. As I’ve stated in previous blogs, the flaw here is that there seems to be no real danger to the Domenick/Wendell alliance, and editing tricks can only take you so far. However, when you make the target someone like Chelsea, who’s been a virtual non-entity this season, compared to Wendell (the women’s probably target with Domenick immune), who’s had a decent bit of screen time, it makes the scenario seem much more plausible. Does it make it ok for the editors to keep her so in the dark when she made it so far and was vital to a lot of the plans this season? No, but it does at least explain things a bit better.
The women do indeed intend to go for Wendell, letting Donathan in on the plan so as to have a majority. Then, of course, we see Laurel go over to talk with Wendell and Domenick, meaning the plan will come unraveled. And it does, though not in the way you’d expect. Rather than Laurel dumping the plan in their laps, she keeps quiet, listening to them talking about targeting Chelsea, and how this makes them invincible. Rather, Wendell’s emotional intelligence comes into play. While he may not be the strategic force that Domenick is, Wendell is damn good at reading the room. Through no more than a few looks, Wendell gets the sense that something is off with Laurel, leading to a good chance of an idol play tonight.
As to where Laurel actually stands? It’s a bit hard to say. Donathan, as usual, is on board with blindsiding Wendell, with Laurel on the fence. She seems to be considering a bit more, yet all we hear from the pair is good reasons to NOT flip. Donathan mentions how they can vote out Chelsea and still get a 4-3 majority next round if needed. Laurel, meanwhile, notes in confessional that it’s a choice for her between who she can get to the end with (Domenick and Wendell), and who she thinks she can beat at the end (Kellyn, Angela, and Chelsea). Now, normally I’m in the “Go big or go home” camp, saying one should play to win regardless of how likely you are to get to the end, and it is true that I still think this is the smarter move for Laurel and Donathan, but she makes a compelling point here. While Donathan I think NEEDS to distance himself to have any shot at winning the Final Tribal Council, Laurel is well-spoken and a likable underdog, meaning she has a SLIM chance of beating Domenick and Wendell, thus giving her some incentive not to flip. That said, flipping is still her best bet. While we know Wendell at least wants her in the end, there’s no guarantee for Laurel. In reality, playing both sides of Naviti against one another is her best bet, both to get to the end and have a good argument for herself. However, she needs to do it soon, or there won’t be an opportunity to do so, and given that Domenick and Wendell have idols, the sooner the better. Worst case scenario, you flush an idol, and make things easier for yourself later on.
Credit where credit is due: this episode IS more tense than previous ones. The editing has done its level best to make this an up-in-the-air vote, and the music is so good that, despite my instinct saying Laurel and Donathan aren’t going to flip, it seems like a possibility. If they do, though, I bet Wendell plays his idol.
And it seems like it will come to that, as Donathan throws subtlety out the window, stating that there are cracks in the old Naviti, and he expects a blindside. I get what Donathan’s going for here. He’s trying to play up that he’s on the bottom to misdirect people, since that’s what he’s supposed to say. However, his lack of nuance here clearly indicates his desire to make a move, and thus indicates bad things for Domenick and Wendell. And they know it. While the rest of Tribal Council is good enough (nothing to write home about, but good), the expressions on Wendell and Domenick’s faces are priceless.
On a downer note, they refer to Donathan as dropping “Bombs”. Really? I thought we’d used up our stock with the “Ben Bombs” of “Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers”. I get the metaphor, and it’s appropriate, but after last season, I’m sick of the term. Something different, please!
Now, I’ve given the editors a lot of praise this episode, and they deserve it. From the music to what they emphasize, this episode is more tense than any since the merge. However, it must also be noted when they drop the ball, and they REALLY killed the tension during the vote. How so? Well, as usual with swing votes, they show people walking up and picking up the pen, maybe even taking the cap off, but then cut away before we see what they write. Naturally, as the swing votes, Laurel and Donathan get this treatment this time. The flaw here is that they wait a BIT to long to cut away from Laurel, and we see her put her pen at the bottom of the parchment. Why is this a problem? Well, a pen at the top of the parchment could make either a “C” for “Chelsea” or a “W” for “Wendell”. But tell me, who do you know who writes “W” starting from the bottom of the page? Clearly there will be no flip tonight, and while it doesn’t undo ALL of the editor’s earlier work, it comes close.
Sure enough, Chelsea goes home, with some nice words between her and Wendell about a game well played. A nice way to go out, and I’m not sorry to see Chelsea go. While she got a raw deal in the editing department, Wendell still seems like the more interesting player, so I’m much happier he stays. Also, to give the man his due, he has balls of steel! After all of Donthan’s theatrics at Tribal Council, were I in his shoes, I’d have FOR SURE played my idol. That fact that he didn’t shows that Wendell can read the room far better than I can.
Ok, ok, enough complaining. Despite the ending editing gaffe, this episode rekindled my faith in this season. It seems the editor do have enough tricks up their sleeves to make things exciting, especially with only two episodes left. Still, I think this season still goes down predictable lines.
-Matt
Title Credit to Jean Storrs.
idolspeculation 