Rather than start you off with an introduction to this blog, I’m instead going to apologize. I’d been good so far this season about making sure that my blogs came out on time. Despite my dire warnings of the new housepet wreaking havoc, she has so far been fairly immaterial to viewing “Survivor”, and she continues to be so. No, my cable decided that YESTERDAY would be the perfect day for the sound to go out on CBS, and given that I had to wake up early today, I thought it the better part of valor to go through the long way of resetting the cable, and just catch the episode the next day. Sadly, while I did my best to avoid spoilers, I foolishly went on Facebook, and accidentally saw who the boot was. Granted, the boot this episode is the person I thought was going to be the boot before the episode aired, so hopefully this spoiler won’t color my opinion on the episode too much, but in case it does: I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
Speaking of sorry, it’s time for another:
MATT’S MESS-UP!
Not only is it bad enough that I have these two episodes in a row, but I in fact missed TWO THINGS last episode. First and foremost, I was so busy pointing out how Wendell was being an idiot at the top of last episode that I neglected to mention the actually GOOD gameplay at the top of last episode. Domenick admits to the group that he was being kind of an ass about the whole Chris feud, and swears to play a more quiet game. This is a smart move, and one that helps make Domenick less of a clone of Tony Vlachos (“Survivor Cagayan”) for me. Granted, we’ll see that this lasts pretty much only one episode, but it’s a good attempt, at least. My other missed point concerns Michael, and his pitch to Angela against Domenick and Wendell. While he did bring them up as targets, Michael also brought up Kellyn as a possibility, and this is who Angela went to first after the news. While this does prove that Michael has his finger on the pulse of who’s running things, I think it was a bad move to suggest targeting Kellyn to Angela. Bear in mind, it was Domenick and Wendell who burned Angela earlier in the season. They’re the people she has a vendetta against, and they’re the ones she’s likely to turn against. Kellyn, on the other hand, is the one who successfully brought Angela back into the fold, and with Chris gone, most likely her closest ally. Angela is probably not keen on targeting her, hence part of why Michael’s plan failed.
Fallout from the exit of Libby just about equates to her impact on the game: Virtually nonexistent. Thus, we start of the next day with Domenick telling Laurel about a dream involving the pair of them and egg-and-cheese sandwiches. Thankfully there is no dream interpretation, and we move on to Desi talking about managing the hunger by growing up on the streets. What’s this? Character development for an under edited player, and a fairly interesting story? Scratch that! Time for a strategy confessional we’ve seen a million times before! Desi gathers the Malolo Four and suggests targeting Kellyn, then Domenick and Wendell, to shake things up. In the process, Desi reassures them that the Naviti Seven, as they are now known, are not tight and will eat each other. Now, I’m a bit conflicted about what Desi is saying here. On the one hand, what little we HAVE seen of her games makes her seem more of an equal partner than a subordinate, at least in relation to Kellyn. On the other hand, Desi probably has a better grasp on where she is than we do, and it’s probably not a bad idea to make nice with the Malolos, should you want to use them down the line. The flaw in the plan is Desi’s execution. There’s a time where Naviti may have to use Malolo to better themselves in the game, but with eleven people left at the start of this episode, now is not that time. It’s just too many people, and too high a likelihood that someone will use this to turn Naviti against you, Desi. Better to just lead with the subtle hints, such as the “Naviti won’t stay strong forever”, to give people hope and a desire to work with you, but not plant incriminating evidence for yourself. Ah well, the fruits of her labors will be seen soon enough.
More evidence that this season is on a downward trajectory: they pulled the reward challenge from “Survivor Fiji”. Yes, “Survivor Fiji”. Going for the creme of the crop there, CBS. Teams of five, starting with two in a boat, will row said boat to prison cells that must be untied, freeing three tribe members. Then it’s your basic block picture puzzle at the end, with the winning five-some getting a picturesque picnic, while a member of the losing five goes to Ghost Island (the sit out is eligible for neither reward nor Ghost Island, both of which seem missed opportunities to me. It sucks when someone is left out of everything pure for challenge considerations). To be fair to this challenge, this is one we haven’t seen in a while, and the puzzle is devious, as there are actually extra pieces, but this is not stated to the contestants, leading to fun moments where they have to figure it out on their own. The puzzle ALMOST makes up for the rest of the challenge, but unfortunately, the bad of a post-merge team challenge circa “Survivor Fiji” is enough to sink it still.
The orange team consists of Sebastian, Michael, Kellyn, Chelsea, and Jenna, while the purple team consists of Wendell, Domenick, Laurel, Angela, and Desi. Fairly evenly matched, all things considered, at least until the challenge starts. Not sure where Wendell and Domenick learned to paddle a boat, but for some reason of “Have someone paddle at the back.” is beyond them. This gives the orange team a bit of a lead, which in a puzzle challenge wouldn’t be such a huge deal, were it not for the fact that orange also has the best puzzle solver of the season (Kellyn) with them, and thus makes the conclusion all but certain. Probst tries to amp up the drama by saying “reverse the curse” on Malolo again, but A, this is not the MALOLO team but the ORANGE team, and B, Malolo already reversed their curse right before the merge. You said so yourself, Probst. The inevitable rock draw happens, and Angela gets to be the one sent to Ghost Island this time. Yay. Way to make NO STRATEGY happen back at camp, as the in-control foursome of Wendell, Domenick, Laurel, and Donathan are left with Desi, who wouldn’t want to talk to them anyway.
Oh well, at least we may get some strategy on the reward. After our admittedly gorgeous nature shots, and Sebastian narrating said nature shots, the strategy talk resumes. Reiterating the now obvious point that rewards are a good time to get on people’s good sides, Michael gives a pretty good pitch, all things considered. Rather than openly strategize, which would make him more of a threat, Michael acknowledges his position on the bottom, and merely states that he hopes to be used as a number. This good pitch is met with mockery from the Naviti on reward, with Sebastian of all people giving a half-hearted “Yeah, that could happen, I guess.”, which is island-speak for “No.” This gives Kellyn well-deserved confidence, and she admits that he game is exactly where she wants it to be right now. I’m sure this confessional is is NO WAY ironic, and will be proven true as the episode goes on.
Angela finds that she gets to play for an advantage on Exile Island… I mean Ghost Island. Ok, seriously, I’ve been SO CLOSE to writing “Exile Island” several times, and I’m amazed I’ve lasted this long without making that mistake. I don’t mind the “Ghost Island” twist as much as some people, but apart from giving the season a name, there’s really no reason for it not to be “Exile Island”. It works pretty much the same way.
Anyway, Angela gets the same deal that Kellyn got last time, namely that she has a 2/3 shot at getting an advantage, but risks not voting in the process. Angela analyses that with Naviti going strong, her vote is of little consequence, and thus she can risk it. Astute, correct analysis. Unfortunately, Angela makes the fatal mistake of picking the unlucky rightmost chute, which has the no-vote in it. Angela curses her bad luck, we berate production for doing the same thing repeatedly, and we move on.
For the first time this episode, I’m wrong, as we DO get a bit of strategizing back at camp. Laurel and Donathan debate whether or not to go with Desi’s plan. Once again, Donathan seems to be the main person who’s gung-ho for it, and once again, Laurel seems to be the one to shoot it down. Frankly, I’m not surprised. As I’ve hinted at, it feels like the dynamic that played out last episode, but with less mystery. The fact is that if Laurel wasn’t willing to move when she felt burned by her core alliance, she’s not going to move now, when she’s clearly made her bed with them. This scene also has the unfortunate side-effect of really making Donathan seem like a bit player. He’s definitely fun and likeable, but any delusions of him being in power are gone. He’s riding Laurel’s coat-tails, nothing more.
Laurel informs Domenick about Desi’s plan, thus beginning to shake him out of that “Calm and collected” strategy he had been doing so well at. Admittedly, Domenick’s first response is actually quite measured, but give it time. Domenick informs Kellyn of the plot, thus shaking up Kellyn’s whole world. Oh, the irony! I could never have seen this coming!
Meanwhile, with the Malolo people, despite Michael’s valiant attempts at relationship-building, the man reads that he’s still on the bottom, and thus goes in search of the idol. Donathan agrees to go with him, which Michael is somewhat wary of, and with good reason. Donathan is the one who finds the idol, specifically the one held by Scot Pollard on “Survivor Kaoh Rong”, a much better season to be pulling from than “Survivor Game Changers”. While there is some hyperbole to be had here (I really don’t think Tai’s betrayal is one of the “biggest” there ever was, and the snubbing of Aubry’s role in that blindside displeases the Aubry Lobby), I do like the twist they do with this idol. Rather than work on it’s own, it requires Tai’s half of the idol, aka the half that was never played, in order to make a regular idol. This makes for a more authentic curse than we’ve seen. Tai’s half of the idol is hidden under the shelter. Sadly for Donathan, he’s not as “sneaky sneaky” as Kelley Wentworth, and thus requires help to get it. He first enlists Laurel’s help, which I can get behind, since the pair are close allies. Then, however, he also needs Michael and Jenna, which I have a harder time with. Maybe Jenna, just to keep your Malolo options open, but at this point, Michael is the primary target. If he knows you have an idol, and you don’t play it for him (since, after all, your train seems to bit hitched to Laurel, who in turn is hitched to Domenick and Wendell), then that’s an unnecessary betrayal. Still, at least Donathan gets an idol out of it, and I have to say, this is a good use of “Survivor” History. Rather than just repeating what we already know, we get a twist on the old idol concept, but a twist that makes sense given how events went down. Be happy. This is the highlight of the episode.
While our immunity challenge is at least individual, it still sucks. It’s the “Balance the ball on a plate with two ropes” challenge which was boring to begin with, and is now overdone. At least this one goes quick, with over half the players falling out in the first two minutes. Our bland challenge is won by the bland Chelsea, and we move on.
Without immunity, Michael would seem to be the obvious target, but the wrath of Domenick has been aroused, and he wants Desi gone. Here’s where Domenick flies off the rails. Now granted, he doesn’t go quite as far as he does with the Chris vendetta, but he’s still seen strongarming a lot of people, particularly Kellyn. Kellyn, being die-hard Naviti strong, talks to Desi and Chelsea, who both deny wanting to make a move. From what we’ve seen, it’s true of Chelsea, but Desi has to lie, and lie she does, saying that Laurel (Domenick had mentioned to Kellyn that Laurel was the one who passed information) is making things up to try to break them up. Kellyn seems convinced, so now all Desi has to do since her plans have blown up is lie low and wait for things to shift back to Michael. But no, she has to go and berate Laurel for blowing up a “good” plan. Wendell enters the area, and Desi abruptly and bluntly changes tactic, berating Laurel for a conversation that “never happened.” Now, the flaw here is not Desi’s lie. It’s definitely a good one, and Desi, for all her bad moves this episode, has an AMAZING poker face. Desi’s flaw is not going with this lie from the beginning and sticking with it, thus keeping suspicion off of herself. Oh, and being too forceful about the lie. When Desi leaves, and the Malolo bring Wendell in on the conversation, even though Wendell doesn’t know what’s going on, Malolo seems more truthful by demeanor alone.
Ironically, Michael gets an offer of an alliance only when he DOESN’T try and do something. Domenick is again paranoid, and so makes Michael and alliance offer. I don’t think it’s super serious, and it’s a good move on Domenick’s part ot keep his options open. Less good is what happens with Kellyn and Domenick. Kellyn is getting more and more paranoid, but more good reassurances from Desi keep Kellyn wanting to go for Michael. Domenick keeps strong-arming against Desi, though, leading to an outburst from Kellyn about how she always goes with what the guys want, and now the guys should go with what the girls want, in this case Michael.
Now, I’m jumping ahead a bit here, and spoiling the boot slightly early, but I want to talk about the implications of this scene because I think it explains something about how this season is being received. Personally, I’m enjoying this season a lot, and certainly way more than “Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers”, but even I admit that the last couple of episodes have been weak. Still, I couldn’t quite understand the hate until tonight, and now I think I get it. The problem here is not technically a Pagonging, but something of a similar nature. The problem is that our top four (Domenick, Wendell, Laurel, and Donathan) have no real competition. Once it was clear that their side would win out over Chris, the story was written. Pretty much anyone who could match them on a social or strategic level was voted out pre-merge. Smart for them, but boring for the audience, who now have to slog through a LOT of the less-good characters of the season (name one thing about Sebastian, Jenna, or Chelsea. I’ll wait.) in order to get to anything interesting. True, the episode can be EDITED to be more tense, but like the boy who cried “Wolf!” there’s only so many times you can get away with this before we stop believing. I bring this up with this scene because at this point, their only real competition left is Kellyn (some would argue Michael as well, and while he’s better than expected, he’s not on the same level as the rest of the strategists this season, so short of an immunity run, he’s not really a threat), and she’s so blinded by “Naviti Strong” that she’s not really putting up much of a fight. Even tonight, when she seemed ready to wrest control from the guys, she STILL kowtowed to their way, and eliminated Desi. Thus, the next few episodes just seem like a slog with an obvious outcome, rather than an exciting roller-coaster ride it should be. As for myself, I personally think the four who are in control are the most likable and interesting people left (save for Domenick, and even he gets in a good line now and then), and thus I’m happy to see them succeeding, but if you’re someone who DOESN’T like them, then this is not only a slog, but a slog to an outcome that isn’t fun. It’s a bit like the problem with Kim Spradlin’s win on “Survivor One World”. Even if she’s a good player, and even if you liked Kim, the fact that it was so obvious just removes the entertainment week to week. This isn’t quite as a bad as that, since it’s a group dominating the game instead of the individual, but it’s still pretty bad.
To the episode’s credit, Tribal Council is at least entertaining, as one would expect with Desi on the defensive. Things kick of with Desi and Laurel both giving their sides of the story. Desi in particular states that she’ll tell her side once and leave it at that. Once Donathan contradicts her story, she flies into a rage, arguing loudly and often incoherently. Pretty much all of the old Malolo speak up calmly against her, and it makes for a fun contrast that only adds to the credibility of Malolo. Even the vote reveal manages to eke out a bit of tension, by showing four Desi votes before two Michael votes, making it seem like it will follow the pattern of the second person revealed being the victim. But, as mentioned, Desi goes home. I can’t say I’m too sorry. While I can’t say anything bad about Desi, she just never really made an impact. Michael, at least, provides a good underdog story. Plus, I’d say it’s the right move for the Naviti people, if the goal is to stay united. Even if Desi wasn’t allying against you, she’s still stirring up disunity by arguing. In addition, keeping Michael around gives you a common enemy to rally around, and with ten people left, his threat to immunity is still relatively minimal.
Good move, bad episode. The drama was really just gone, and it’s starting to drag down the season. Point being, we lost too many players too early. We needed people like Jacob and Stephanie still around to add fun and strategy to counter the main alliance, and we just don’t have it. I’m not writing the season off yet, but for the first time since the premier, it’s slipping in my mental rankings.
Still, next episode looks promising. Not only is it the 200th blog of “Idol Speculation”, but we return to a Double-Tribal Council, of the type not seen since “Survivor Redemption Island”. Unlike most things from that season, I look forward to its return.
-Matt
Title Credit to Jean Storrs.
idolspeculation 