A Short History of the “Survivor” Season Preview

Well, after a break of I would say reasonable length, it is time to return to our off-season discussion content.  And naturally, with the first thing I’m covering, the thing that is designed to bring back readers who may have tuned out during the off-season, I’m going with an incredibly niche topic that is likely non-controversial and interesting to few.  Because I make good decisions!

In all seriousness, my reasoning for covering this topic merits some explanation.  At the end of “Survivor 42”, I, like most fans, eagerly consumed the preview for the upcoming “Survivor 43”.  It was an enjoyable preview; pretty standard on the surface, but fun.  However, I did have a nagging thought that this preview seemed to have more cast members present in it than previous ones.  Still, this was not enough on its own to merit further investigation, particularly since it might be a “just me” thing.  Later on, though, reading around online and talking with fans myself, many people got a similar sentiment, and thus investigation seemed more warranted.  To do this, though, I needed to rewatch every single season preview “Survivor” has ever produced, taking down relevant data on each so as to be able to compare the latest preview to those that came before.  Entertaining enough, but even with such short subject matter (generally 1-2 minutes in length), that adds up over the course of 40+ seasons, so that’s over an hour of my life I can never get back.  All this research mushroomed into a lot of patterns and factoids I felt might be fun to share with the readership, hence this blog.  Or, to put it another way, I have spent over an hour of my life on this, and you will all now experience my findings with me, dang it!

Before we get to what makes the preview for “Survivor 43” different (and rest assured, there are some stark differences), we need to talk about how the season preview started out.  As one might expect, the focus of the preview when it first came to light was not on the cast, or even the twists that the new season would bring, but instead on the location.  The culture, the beauty of the land, and the difficulty of survival were the main things highlighted, if not the only things highlighted.  One need only look at how the preview was introduced to recognize this.  Rather than “Take a look at what’s coming next season” or similar language, the preview was usually brought up with “Take a look at where ‘Survivor’ is going next” or similar language.  And, for the early days of the show, this should not be a surprise.  Strange though it may seem now, in the early days, “Survivor” was pitched as a show about, well, actual survival.  Not the elaborate strategy game we know and love today, the idea was that actual physical survival in the wilderness would be important, if not the driving factor of the game.  

What MAY be a surprise is how long this method of hyping up the next season lasted.  “Survivor” may have been initially pitched and marketed as a show about actual survival, but the social survival and strategy quickly came to dominate that perception, even in the eye of the public.  The exact date the switch happened is unknown, and therefore up for debate (some might argue that it happened as early as halfway through “Survivor Borneo” with the Gretchen boot), but even being conservative, I feel like it would be hard to argue that the focus of “Survivor” was on literal survival post “Survivor The Amazon”.  The success of Rob Cesternino on that season is hard to justify if the game is truly about physical survival.  So, even with this estimate, you’d expect, around this time, that the previews would switch to talking about the casts, twists, and possibly a hint of strategy for the new season.  Yet, with only a couple of exceptions, this style of preview, focusing on the new location, continued up through the preview for “Survivor Nicaragua”, pretty much the halfway point of “Survivor” at the time of this writing.  

Conversely, a peak at the cast, now very much the norm, did not happen in any form for quite some time.  The first preview to even SHOW the cast was for “Survivor Fiji”, since the show highlighted the diversity in socioeconomic status in their casting.  They noted that they had “A former homeless street performer” and a “Harvard educated lawyer” on the same season, and showed clips of Dreamz and Alex, respectively, when mentioning this.  And it would take another year before we actually heard any of the cast SPEAK in the preview, with the first instance being in the “Survivor Micronesia” preview.  Yeah, well after the viewing audience had abandoned the idea of physical survival being a major factor on the show, the show doggedly tried to act like this was the case in the preview.  They paid lip service to it, more so as time went by.  Mostly through the use of the phrase “How will they survive the elements, and more importantly, survive each other?”.  But if you were someone new only seeing the preview for some reason, you’d be forgiven for thinking the show was about actual, physical survival.  

For every rule, however, there is an exception, and this era of preview has a few exceptions to this rule.  Most notably, in instances where the show had to reuse a location (such as with “Survivor Exile Island” or “Survivor Heroes vs. Villains”), they couldn’t exactly focus on the wonder, mystery, and danger of a location the viewers were already familiar with.  Logically, they went to the next step, and focussed instead on the twist or gimmick of the season.  The preview for “Survivor Exile Island” focussed on the titular “Exile Island” twist, while “Survivor Micronesia” and “Survivor Heroes vs Villains” focussed on their respective tribe divisions, and the 10th anniversary in the latter case.  The show also began using the technique of reminding viewers of the previous exotic locations the show had been to to hype up the legacy of the show continuing, and oddly, not always when going to a reused location.  “Survivor Palau”, which could easily have had a regular season preview in the “new location” style, was the first to utilize this technique.  

Perhaps the most confusing outlier, however, is the preview for “Survivor All-Stars”.  Or rather, I should say, the LACK of a preview for “Survivor All-Stars”.  Yes, out of all of the seasons in this era, with the exception of “Survivor Borneo” (which obviously couldn’t have one due to coming first), this is the only season to not get a proper preview video at the end of the previous season.  Probst just says a couple sentences about various old castaways coming back, and asks everyone to tune in next season.  Underwhelming by any measure, but particularly baffling given that this is a season that should be EASY to hype up.  After all, this is something fans had been speculating about for years at this point, and hyping themselves up online for such an event.  Surely a preview extravaganza would be in order?  Well, while I don’t have a definitive answer, I can offer a couple of hypotheses.  

For the more cynical side of things, one might assume that production just had little faith in the season as a whole.  Filming had wrapped only three days prior to the Pearl Islands finale, so they knew how the season would play out.  It’s well known that pretty much all of production were not happy with the result, and Probst in particular was vocal that it was not fun to work on.  With all that so fresh in production’s mind, perhaps they just didn’t feel the season merited the grand preview the season premise would indicate.  If one is perhaps more optimistic, it might simply be that the show felt it did not have a good way to market itself.  Really, the entire draw of a season like this IS the cast, but as mentioned, the show was quite reluctant to give any casting hints in their previews at this time.  Perhaps they just wanted to avoid spoilers, and figured the hype of the premise itself would be enough, preview or no preview.  How badly the cast was spoiled even prior to the end of Pearl Islands might also be a factor here, but as I wasn’t part of the online fandom at the time, I can’t say for certain.  If someone is reading this who was, how soon was the cast of “Survivor All-Stars” known?  It really would be interesting data to help with coming to a  conclusion.  

Moving along, naturally the era of hyping up the location itself came to an end.  It was less due to public perception changing, however, and more due to logistical concerns.  Once the seasons started shooting back to back in the same location, every other season, at a minimum, would be hard, if not impossible, to hype up as an exotic and dangerous location if it was one we’d already seen before.  Thus, from “Survivor Redemption Island” on, pretty much up until the present day, the twist of the season became the defining feature of the preview.  How would the tribes be divided?  What new twist would our players have to face in the upcoming season?  These were now the sort of questions the preview was posing to try and hype up the next season.  

Interestingly, the format for hyping up the twist was more fluid in this era than the format for hyping up the location in previous seasons.  Initially, it stayed focussed on the twist, with rarely any appearances by the cast, either in voice over or in on-camera shot.  “Survivor Caramoan” saw the second return of contestants appearing, making it seem as though such an appearance was limited only to seasons subtitled “Fans vs. Favorites”.  

Then came the brief stretch where “Survivor” tried to focus more on social media hype than on preview hype.  “Survivor Blood vs Water”, “Survivor Cagayan”, and “Survivor San Juan del Sur” all have exceptionally short previews, only a few seconds long.  Instead, the show let people speculate on these incredibly vague previews (Blood vs. Water was just a shot of a drop of “blood” falling into water, Cagayan showed the logo with “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast” changing to “Brains, Brawn, Beauty”, and San Juan del Sur had a lot of quotes about how great “Survivor Blood vs. Water” was), and showed these speculations via tweets at the end of the reunion to hype up the season.  A decent enough idea, but really fell flat, particularly as most of the ideas they chose to highlight were ridiculous, rather than anything that could actually get people talking and debating.  Most notably, they highlighted a tweet for the “Survivor Blood vs Water” preview which suggested that the location would have a lot of sharks.  Give me a break.  

No, it would not be until the preview for “Survivor Worlds Apart” where hearing from the contestants would become the norm (since technically “Survivor Cambodia” did not get a traditional “preview”, but instead a live vote reveal), and continue up through the present day.  From that season on, the only season to get a preview and NOT feature any of the new cast talking was “Survivor Island of the Idols”, which features Rob and Sandra instead.  True, it could be argued they count as “cast”, but I’d classify them more as “on-screen producers” myself.  Helping this trend was the large number of “vs” seasons during this time period.  Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty, Heroes vs. Healers, vs. Hustlers, David vs. Goliath.  The show really had a thing for dividing tribes along semi-arbitrary lines during this era, and having the cast talk about what it meant to be a part of their particular group was a good marketing strategy.  This is also where the average of hearing from six players per season became codified, since it fit neatly into this format.  After all, if you want to talk about some divide, you want an equal number of representatives from each side, and 6 divides evenly into both a 2 tribe and 3 tribe “versus” format.  Notably, seasons during this time that DIDN’T have such a divide were less likely to adhere to the 6 contestants rule, with “Survivor Game Changers” and “Survivor Ghost Island” only having two players make appearances, and “Survivor Winners at War” having 8 (though three of the latter were voice over, more easily identified due to the winners being more iconic than unknown players).  

So, if being unable to emphasize the location was the impetus behind emphasizing the twist, you’d think that being unable to emphasize some game-defining twist would be the impetus to emphasizing the cast to the degree we saw in the last preview.  Yet, while “Survivor 41” did not get a preview at all, “Survivor 42”, which purely reused twists, still emphasized that they were reusing said twists.  It had a decent number of the cast shown (8 overall, though 4 of these were purely in voiceover, rather than a full confessional), but also talks about the twists that the contestants will have to endure, as well as the accursed “Monster” metaphor the show keeps emphasizing.  So no, “Survivor 42” still fits right in with the preview family of this era.  

Which brings us to “Survivor 43”, and the results of the date I gathered.  First off if you, like me, thought we saw more of the cast in this preview than in previous ones, you’re not wrong.  The preview for “Survivor 43” holds the record for the most individuals we see a confessional from in the preview at 9.  Technically we heard from as many people in the preview for “Survivor Worlds Apart”, but that was purely in voice-over, and there might have been some doubling-up I missed.  For now, I’m fine saying “Survivor 43” holds the record for most people shown in its preview.  

Yet, even this explanation alone is not enough.  Yes, we have more people in this preview than any other, and yes, we have no twists emphasized instead, but it’s still only slightly more than some other previews.  Again, “Survivor Winners at War” had a respectable 8 identifiable players, barely less than “Survivor 43”, yet felt like we saw much less of them.  For that, I have a simple hypothesis as to why this is: It’s not what’s present in the preview, but what’s absent that makes the difference.  That something is Probst Narration.  

Yes, with the exception of those three exceptionally short previews at the end of the 20’s I mentioned, every season preview save for “Survivor 43” has had Probst narrating the action, giving us a hint of what’s to come.  Here, however, Probst is completely absent, just letting the cast speak for themselves.  The hype doesn’t come from Probst, but from the player, and THAT, dear reader, is the big departure.  With nothing else to distract from them, you’re focussed on the cast for 100% of the preview run time, something no other preview (that’s full-length) can boast.  That, I believe, is the major factor as to why it feels like we saw more of the cast than we did on previous season previews.  

Why would CBS make this switch?  Again, I can offer a couple of hypotheses, mostly based on trends of how the show has developed.  Over the course of its history, the show has tried, in each preview, to hype up everything BUT the cast.  They started with the location.  When the locations got reused, they emphasized the twists.  It was only when the twists began being about tribe divisions on the regular that they started putting in new cast members on the regular.  This may seem like it’s been going on for a while, but really, this has only been a thing for the past 6 years or so, at least regularly.  But this trend got us used to the idea, and with “vs” twists seeming to be a thing of the past, as well as back-to-back seasons being carbon-copies twist-wise, really the only thing LEFT is to emphasize the cast.  More cynically, one could argue that the show has stopped caring about spoilers.  After all, logic would dictate that the main reason not to show any of the new cast is to avoid the public getting spoilers about your new cast.  By showing half the cast in this preview, it could been seen as the show saying “Yeah, we know you’ll know the cast by now.  Go ahead and look, we don’t care anymore.”  Still, that’s perhaps a bit cynical, even for me.  More likely there’s a marriage of the two.  With the greater prevalence of internet culture than when the show started, coupled with the realities of staying in one location for filming permanently and needing to reveal the winner on the island due to COVID, hiding spoilers is that much harder.  CBS could fight, but if the public’s going to find out anyway, why not just get a great preview out of it?  Take the lemons of a spoiled cast, and make lemonade out of an engaging preview.

And that is why, whatever you think about the new style of preview, I suggest you get used to it, as it is likely here to stay.  Again, with no location or twist to newly emphasize, all the show has left is the cast.  They may tweak the style a little bit, but without the need to hide the cast for spoilers, expect this sort of preview to become the norm moving forward.  

And there you have it: A brief history of the “Survivor” season preview.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this little romp through history as much as I have!  As a bonus, here’s a couple of fun facts I noted during my research, but didn’t have a good place to include in the body of the work:

-While Probst narration is a mainstay of most previews, Probst himself very rarely appears on-camera in them.  I only remembered him being in the preview for “Survivor The Australian Outback”, and was prepared to write this off as an example of “Early Installment Weirdness”, and was thus surprised when he put in a brief appearance at the beginning of the preview for “Survivor The Amazon”.  The reasons why remain a mystery to me.  

-Much was made of the preview for “Survivor 42” intentionally deceiving us, putting the voiceover of Maryanne finding the idol over footage of Tori looking at a paper.  Yet, this is not the first time a preview has been misleading.  It’s happened a number of times over the course of the previews, but the first outright error I could find was in the preview for “Survivor Vanuatu”.  Probst specifically says there will be “16 castaways”, when there ended up being 18.  This could just be them changing the number of contestants after the preview was made, admittedly, but an error nonetheless.  

-While most season previews that feature the contestants try and show an equal number from both tribes, the major exception is “Survivor Micronesia” the first time the players are heard to talk in the preview.  They show an above-average number of players at a respectable 7, but all of those seven are from the “Fans” side.  None of the favorites are shown, a trend that continues through most All-Star type seasons.  Even “Survivor Heroes vs. Villains” did not name the players, instead showing highlights from fan-favorite past seasons, which did show some players on the season (such as Coach), but also some who did not appear (such as Jonny Fairplay).  

-When you watch these preview back-to-back, you come to realize that producers have some shots/moments they love to favor as their B-roll for the previews.  Some are mundane shots that would be hard to pick out unless you’re looking for them.  For instance, they LOVE showing shots of people jumping off the ship during the Pearl Islands Marooning.  Others, however, are more notable and predictable.  I never thought I’d say this, but I tire of hearing Erik say “I want to give individual immunity to Natalie”.  When you see it used multiple times in subsequent previews, it loses its luster.  

Hope you’ve enjoyed this off-season content!  Keep an eye out for the next one!

-Matt

Title Credit and Idea to Jean Storrs.  

Idol Speculation: “Survivor Ghost Island” Episode 7: Everybody Knew

HALLELUJAH! PRAISE JESUS! A savior has been found! A savior to deliver us from the greatest evil in the game of “Survivor”! Oh, not entitlement or reading the room completely wrong! No, no, the greatest evil in “Survivor” is horrible rap that no one acknowledges is horrible. But now, our lord and savior Wendell has brought us salvation! Praise be!

Ok, ok, enough with the gushing. Time for a “Survivor” history lesson: Back in the day, believe it or not, the merge was a big deal. The exact date it would happen was kept a secret, and the tribes were brought together in varied and unexpected ways. Unfortunately, the producers preyed on the apathy of the viewing audience, and so now all we get is people by boats arriving at camp. Hell, we’ve even dispensed with tree mail at this point. No foreshadowing, just opening on people on boats heading to the new camp. Hell, we don’t even get much in the way of pre-merge confessionals, mostly just Kellyn being happy that she gets to show off her social prowess, and Mike being happy at his new lease on life. I guess I can see the argument that one’s time can be better spent on other aspects of the episode, but it does make the whole thing lose some of its grandeur.

Evidently whoever’s voted out last before the merge gets to pick the merge camp, as everyone is moving to Naviti’s old beach. Domenick is of course happy to see Wendell, but his hackles go up at the sight of Chris. Did I mention that Domenick and Chris don’t like each other? Yes? I just wanted to make sure. It was pretty easy to miss. I mean, they only mentioned it EVERY GODDAMN EPISODE! Seriously, if that storyline hadn’t come to an end this episode, I would have been incredibly pissed off.

The contestants are told to go to the other side of the island for a surprise. I’m guessing the tree mails at the camps indicated that this was a merge, as the note for the feast does not use the term “merge”, yet everyone seems to feel it’s a merge. Mike takes this time to comment on wanting to be the “Youngest Player Ever”. I’m guessing he actually means “Youngest Winner Ever”, since while he is 18, there was no press hype about Mike being younger than Will Wahl. You remember Will Wahl? He was the guy who couldn’t drink alcohol on “Survivor Millennials vs. Gen-X”.

Sure enough, it’s a merge, with black buffs for everyone. And thus begins the speechifying, mainly by Domenick, trying to extend an olive branch of unity to the tribe, while still harboring some resentment towards Chris. Not to be outdone, Chris also starts speechifying on a similar topic, before devolving into “rappifying”. And I’ll give him credit, it’s better than his first attempt at rapping, though this is less due to his technique, and more due to the fact that he doesn’t misuse the phrase “diamond in the rough”.

Kellyn, prior to the feast, had made a comment about deciding where to sit socially. I, for one, would have been inclined to decide where to sit based on where an advantage is most likely hidden. Come on, with a setup this typical, there’s no way that the producers wouldn’t hide an idol or advantage, or a clue to one of these, in that feast. Inevitably, they do so, and Chris is our big winner this time. It seems that production thought the Chris/Domenick/Wendell battle was too one-sided in terms of advantages, and so throw Chris a bone. He’s told to go to tree mail, where he finds a note that says a boat will take him to Ghost Island tonight if he can sneak out of camp, and that he can find an idol there. This is an idol twist I can get behind. Apart from changing things up from you basic idol hunt or Ghost Island game that we’ve become accustomed to, it’s a much more high-risk way to get the idol than we’ve seen. We had something similar on “Survivor Cambodia”, but there, Jeremy didn’t have to hike too far from camp. He could leave without arousing suspicion. Here, Chris is likely to be gone for much longer, thus increasing the risk. Plus, and idol hunt amongst “Survivor” lore? Chris will doubtless have to use his in-depth knowledge of “Survivor” to find the correct thing that is an idol amongst a bunch of other, powerless idols, and this in no way is a setup for profound disappointment from this “Survivor” fan.

As has been demonstrated many times in the past, however, good old-fashioned social maneuvering can sometimes overcome advantages. Wendell, being the sensible one caught in this conflict, decides to try and bridge the gap between Chris and Domenick. After all, while the original Naviti enjoys an 8-5 majority over the original Malolo, infighting can make that majority go away quickly. Working together, even temporarily, can make the infighting much safer. So Wendell gets the pair of them to sit down. Domenick, putting on his diplomat hat, makes the offer to Chris to work together, at least for one vote, to avoid an original Malolo comeback. Chris takes this generous offer, and considers what to do with it. He could say “Yes”, even if he doesn’t trust it, in the hope that Domenick and Wendell will then not gun for him, and if nothing else, he’s no worse off. Instead, Chris goes full Jonathan Penner (“Survivor Cook Islands”) by taking this generous offer, shoving it back in the faces of those that made it, and giving them the proverbial finger just for good measure. Ok, even as someone hoping for the success of Domenick’s side, due to it including Wendell, I’m not a huge fan of Domenick. The guy really started this whole petty conflict when he could have just let it go at several opportunities, and digs himself into more holes than he needs to. Chris, despite a certain amount of arrogance, is at least not the primary aggressor in this conflict. But here? There’s no downside to Chris saying yes, even if he doesn’t mean it. It possibly helps get a target off of your back, and gives you more options down the road. And yet Chris says no? At this point he deserves to lose, even if just for the stupidity.

Oh, and just to add to the “Chris is a moron.” counter? He mispronounces “suave”. Ok, “beneficiary” I can kind of understand, at least that was a polysyllable, but “suave”. How did you even mess that up?

Night falls, meaning it’s time for Chris to make like Kelley Wentworth (“Survivor San Juan del Sur”), and be “Sneaky, Sneaky” and get out of camp. This he does, and is whisked off to Ghost Island, lit up in flame. All right, now THIS is where Ghost Island can be ominous in its full effect! Creepy shots of idols! Creepy shots of snuffers! A mad hunt as Chris walks up the stairs and finds the idol sitting out on a table just waiting for him. Wait, what?

Yeah, I must admit, I’m disappointed. Ghost Island, being so full of “Survivor” relics, would have been a fantastic location for a proverbial Easter Egg hunt, and I was excited to see what they do with it. Having the idol literally served up to Chris on a platter is a big letdown.

Thankfully, the show does make up for it somewhat. Chris has specifically found JT’s idol from “Survivor Game Changers”, aka an idol that was so badly misplayed that it loses power, and is only good at the upcoming Tribal Council. Not that this should matter much to Chris, since really this upcoming Tribal Council, with the merge having happened and physical threats now the major targets, there’s really no reason he shouldn’t play it at this upcoming Tribal Council, and thus it still fulfills its purpose to Chris.

Fortunately for the viewer, it doesn’t stop there, as Ghost Island has updated its game slightly. Chris can add to the number of Tribal Councils the idol can be used at by playing the 50/50 guessing game we’ve seen so far. However, there are now five rounds, with each consecutive win increasing the number of Tribal Councils the idol can be played at. Of course, the whole “Lost Vote” thing still applies. A bit of a debate for Chris, but on the whole, I’d say the smartest move is not to play. True, if Chris IS in the majority, it’s a solid one where his lack of a vote won’t really matter. However, with alliances so up in the air, it’s a risk, and one that Chris doesn’t really need to take. As I said earlier, there’s no reason Chris SHOULDN’T play this idol at the first available opportunity, and thus no reason to take the risk. It’s a decently large risk for a fairly small reward. Odds like that get Chris Noble’s blood a-pounding, and so he plays. To his credit, he does manage to win the first guess, gaining him TWO Tribal Councils to use the idol. Gambler’s fallacy does Chris in, though, as he switches sides for the second guess, and finds a “No Vote” parchment, thus screwing him potentially and assuaging everyone’s fear that the show was just bluffing about the “No Vote” thing.

We head back to the newly christened Lavita Tribe (whose name is neither good nor bad enough to comment on beyond this moment). What we have left before our immunity challenge is really just more of Chris and Domenick bickering. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, and with one exception, none of it bears analysis. However, I will first applaud the editing here, as they show Domenick complaining about Chris’ arrogance, only to interrupt it with Chris comparing himself to Dwayne Wade. They even made it look like Domenick was somehow sitting in on Chris’ confessional. Priceless.

Somewhat more interesting is how this all turns to strategy. Since the old Malolo will likely be the swing votes here, Wendell sets out to court Libby and Jenna, evidently because Domenick would do more harm than good in this scenario. Wendell gives a good pitch, and Libby and Jenna consider it. However, while Jenna’s dislike of Chris is known, and Chris may be strong in the challenges, Libby makes the good point that Chris is kind of bad at the whole “lying” thing, and thus might be better to work with. A fair point. So fair, in fact, that I’ll call it here and say that it would be much better for the original Malolo to side with Chris in this scenario. Don’t get me wrong, Chris isn’t quite as much of a moron at strategy as these ladies make him out to be, but he’s still pretty bad. Add onto that the fact that, if the old Malolo can exploit this fracture, their only real threat is a bunch of advantages, then Chris is far and away the smart move. Chris has one idol that works at two Tribal Councils. Between them, Wendell and Domenick have two idols that can work at any time, plus a legacy advantage. Much more threatening.

As is standard at this point, our first individual challenge is an endurance one. Contestants will hold a pole over their head horizontally, with a totem balanced on one end, while standing on an increasingly smaller balance beam. Last one standing with their idol wins. I applaud the show for trying something new (again, wish they’d do that with the MERGE), but this challenge just falls flat. Like me, you may think that the players look like they’re holding boom mikes. That’s because this challenge was inspired by the people on the crew who hold the boom mikes. The trouble is, it kind of breaks the illusion of this being “reality” if you’re drawing from television culture rather than local culture. That doesn’t make this the worst first individual immunity challenge, and I don’t want to squash the creativity of the crew, but I expect better.

This challenge also gives us our first look at the new individual immunity idol, which I have mixed feelings on. On the one had, it does a lot that’s different from your usual idol. The centerpiece of the necklace, which usually points away from the neck, is now angled towards the neck of the wearer, giving this idol a distinctive silhouette. Plus, they’ve managed to recreate the season logo (at least the shadow part) on the idol which is wicked cool. That said, something about this idol just feels off to me. I don’t know, maybe it’s just too big, but despite the cool features previously listed, it just doesn’t sit right with me somehow.

One would expect an endurance challenge involving balance to come down to the ladies, and indeed it does, with Kellyn and Libby duking it out for the win. This creates an interesting dichotomy in what could happen. Kellyn is not really a target here, but Libby’s name was thrown around as a possible target should things go Naviti strong. Granted, nothing’s given us any indication that the vote would go for anyone but Chris or Domenick, but still. It’s a winner of no consequence versus a winner of possible consequence. The winner of no consequence wins out, as Kellyn takes the victory. Good for her.

Chris is the one to strike first back at camp, pulling in literally everyone back at camp save Wendell and Domenick on a trip to the well to discuss splitting the vote between the pair, so as to flush out the idol. To Chris’ credit, he does make a good pitch. An idol’s a threat, and it gives Domenick and Wendell a good amount of power that virtually no one else has. Plus, splitting the vote is a great way for Chris to hide his “No Vote” without looking suspicious. The problem here is that Chris is about as subtle as a Mack Truck (copyright Malcolm Freberg, “Survivor Philippines”), and everyone, including Wendell and Domenick, notice. Apart from alienating some people by Chris seeming to think they’re that stupid, this gives Wendell and Domenick time to confer. Wendell tells Domenick about his idol, which given the situation, I can’t hate. From the outside, things look pretty desperate for the pair, and the more information they have about what’s going on, the better to plot their move. The pair again pitch their plan to the others, but we don’t really get any word on how people feel about it. Frankly, it’s chaos back at camp, so much so that LIBBY’S name comes up just for simplicity. Seriously. The original Naviti women (Kellyn, Angela, Desi, and Chelsea) all say that voting for Libby might be the best strategy for now. An idea that seems ludicrous at first, as four is hard to make a majority out of 12, but between the split vote and idols it could happen.

Despite the confusion, things become clear when Domenick, Wendell, and Chris all talk about playing their idols tonight. This will effectively be a lesser version of Advantagegeddon. Domenick will rightly play his idol, which will lead Chris to play HIS idol just to be safe, which will lead Wendell to play HIS idol just to be safe, which will leave Libby in the crosshairs. Not quite as bad as Advantagegeddon, since it doesn’t make for an elimination by default, but still out there. I wouldn’t fault any of these guys for playing their idol. Given what we’ve seen between Domenick and Chris, it’s the smart move for both of them, and since the vote is likely to be split, both of them playing idols makes it smart for Wendell to play his idol.

As you’d expect, Tribal Council is an over-the-top fun debate between Domenick and Chris about who started what and when. We get some more attempts at diplomacy from Wendell, and color commentary from Libby about how good this is for the original Malolo, but frankly it’s SO crazy it all blends together. Thankfully, it’s an enjoyable crazy, since Chris and Domenick don’t seem to ACTUALLY hate each other, and are more in-game rivals than actually feuding. This means that we get good mystery at Tribal Council, rather than annoying blustering.

But, of course, the real highlight is the voting confessionals for this episode. We see three, and of those, only Chris’ falls flat. For the good ones, Domenick starts us off, following in the grand tradition of yelling your vote for all to hear, goes off on Chris yet again. An entertaining move, but not a smart one. Do you WANT the guy you’re trying to blindside to know your vote? Granted, Domenick doesn’t know about Chris’s idol, but still, seems like an unnecessary risk. The real highlight, as mentioned at the top of the blog, is Wendell. The normally calm and collected peacemaker starts off simple enough. He praises Chris’ strength, but then rightly gives him some criticism on being entitled and socially unaware. Had it stopped here, there’d really be no need to comment on it. Some justified criticism explaining a vote from someone whose vote we already knew. But then, Wendell goes off. We see his dark side. It seems that what gets under Wendell’s skin is what gets under all our skins. Poor quality rapping. And seriously, Wendell just goes OFF on the guy. He starts off with a harsh “Your rapping sucks. You suck at rapping.” But then it just keeps going. And going. And going! And it turns into a thirty-second diatribe against Chris’ rapping. You can’t write this stuff! Comedy gold! While I find “Survivor” funny, rarely does it make me laugh audibly. Yet I was busting my gut over this. One of the most entertaining things I’ve seen from this show for quite a while!

Now onto the playing of idols/advantages. After a decently long suspense-building pause, Domenick breaks first. He’s been wearing his fake idol around his neck pretty much all Tribal, but wisely decides to play his Legacy Advantage instead, which is a wise move. As I’ve said, Domenick needs to protect himself, and it’s better to use the thing that’s time-limited than the thing that can be used at any time. This, of course, leads to a cascade where Chris, and then Wendell, play their idols…

Wait, why is Jeff reading the votes?

Ok, I’ll admit it, they got me. This episode was pretty good about keeping things mysterious, but I was CONVINCED we’d get a triple idol play. It made sense both narratively and strategically. These guys have cajones of steel for not doing anything.

Of course, in Chris’ case, he SHOULD have done something. Maybe his brain is steel as well. I think I’ve made clear that his is the wrong move strategically for everyone but Domenick and Wendell (and, if the next episode preview is to be believed, it has a downside even for them), but as a viewer, I’m ELATED! Chris, while definitely a three-dimensional character, was still on the whole arrogant, condescending, and taking up too much time with the pointless feud. Now we can get on with the narrative. This felt like just the right amount of time for this feud to brew, and now we get a satisfying conclusion. Good job, show.

Oh, and Chris can’t rap. That’s another good reason to vote him out.

Interesting factoid: Chris now gets to join an elite group of players who exited the game without ever ONCE getting to cast a legitimate vote themselves. Surprisingly he is not the first, but he joins a small group nonetheless. His only companions in this area are Wanda Shirk and Jonathan Libby of “Survivor Palau”, Gary Stritesky of “Survivor Fiji”, Kourtney Moon of “Survivor One World”, Dana Lambert of “Survivor Philippines”, and Caleb Reynolds of “Survivor Kaoh Rong”. And of these people, Chris is the only one attend Tribal Council (no, the schoolyard pick on “Survivor Palau” doesn’t count). Plus, for all you Chris fans out there, he gets to be on the jury, so don’t feel too sad for him.

Now, why do I say this move could be bad for Domenick and Wendell? Well, while Chris was a big threat to them, he was an annoyance and a distraction. Now, who are the biggest threats left in the game? Why, Domenick and Wendell of course! Granted, Wendell’s good socially, and both have idols, so they’re hardly in the worst shape ever, but I’m concerned for them next episode. Still, I’ve seen people come out of worse scrapes, so I’m not counting them out just yet.

But we’re talking about this episode, and while I was concerned for a bit, it ended up great! Things at the merge seemed fine enough, but very standard and even confusing at times. That Tribal Council redeems the whole thing, though. Exciting, mysterious, and an engaging climax! Who could ask for more? Well, you could ask for a…

TOP 5 AND… TOP 5?

Yes, it’s time once again for a list at the merge. Given my love for Wendell’s voting confessional, that means it’s doubtless time to talk about the best voting confessionals of all time. Since this list doesn’t lend itself well to the “Worst” ones, since it would just be me saying “they’re boring” over and over again, I’ll make this effectively a top ten. This category is pretty self-explanatory, so the only rule worth mentioning is that the limit is one per season. Apart from that, let’s get started!

10. “The ‘Outwit’ Part” (“Survivor Guatemala”): If I were doing “Honorable Mentions” on this list, this confessional would go there, but I’m not, so I’ll settle for putting it on the bottom. Brian Corridan was one of the wittier people on “Survivor Guatemala”, so it’s no surprise that his voting confessionals tended to be good as well. People may remember his “Golden Boy” vote a bit better, and I NEARLY put it on the list, but it seemed a bit forced to me. Brian, the self-proclaimed smart person of the season, saying to Bobby Jon, condescendingly “This would be the ‘Outwit’ part of ‘Outwit, Outplay, Outlast’” is more spontaneous and subsequently more funny to me. The problem? Despite Brian’s boasting, Bobby Jon wins out, since Brian goes home. Vastly detracts from the confessional, but funny nonetheless.

9. “You have made my life HELL!” (“Survivor Gabon”): There’s something inherently funny about people taking the “secret” vote and throwing the idea out the window. Crystal Cox’s vote for Randy Bailey does just that, and is funny enough to earn a spot on this list. That said, it DOES come across as fairly mean-spirited, and so I can’t give it too high a spot, but it’s too funny not to include here.

8. “Dragon Slayed” (“Survivor Tocantins”): Sometimes, simple is better. I’m in the camp that Coach’s whole “Dragonslayer” thing was forced and went on too long to really be entertaining. Still, if it had to last, this was a satisfying conclusion. Erinn Lobdell, someone looked down upon by the titular Coach, delivers the greatest comeback to the whole thing as she enacts her final vengeance. Granted, I’m not a huge fan of Erinn either, so this one doesn’t do it for me quite like it does for some other people, but like I say, it’s still quite good. Sometimes, the simple things in life are the best.

7. “This vote is a total bummer, dude.” (“Survivor Cagayan”): In keeping with the theme of “confessionals from people I’m not a huge fan of.”, we have a gem from Spencer of “Survivor Cagayan”. While I did fine Spencer enjoyable for humor, it was mostly humor directed at him rather than humor from him. What can I say, it’s funny to see a guy try and fail time and again. But credit where credit is due, Spencer did make me laugh at his vote-out with his impression of Woo. This is kind of an odd choice, since it has elements I said I didn’t like from previous entries. Specifically, it’s an unsuccessful, mean-spirited vote. What saves it is that I don’t feel like Spencer really thought he would be spared this vote, and so just wanted to go all out, and despite how mean it is, the impression is spot on. Plus, it adds to my theory that Spencer might have voted for Kass in the end had she been up against Woo, so there’s that.

6. “DENISE.” (“Survivor Philippines”): Like I said before, loud is good. Few people get louder than Jonathan Penner, and he even went so far as to turn around to make sure it was heard. Penner’s usually good for a laugh, and this time is no exception. Short, sweet, and incredibly funny.

5. “You can’t rap.” (“Survivor Ghost Island”): Need I say more about Wendell’s incredible voting confessional? While funny, it doesn’t quite measure up to the gems of yore in my opinion, but still comes pretty close. What it might lack in intensity in some places it makes up for in length. When you think it’s done, it just keeps going. And going. And going. And…

4. “You’ll still give me the money.” (“Survivor Heroes vs. Villains”): What list of quips would be complete without the great Sandra Diaz-Twine weighing in? In my opinion, this is the greatest Sandra badass moment there is. Rupert, having stupidly rejected an alliance with her, is voted out for his troubles. Sandra, to rub it in, notes that Rupert will vote for her regardless. Badass enough, but what makes it funny is that it comes to pass exactly as she says. Rupert realizes his mistake, and pays for it by voting for Sandra. That, my friends, is karma.

3. “You can always beat ‘em with these.” (“Survivor Micronesia”): Frankly, any confessional from the Erik Reichenbach boot would have worked, and if I didn’t have the one-per-season limit, Parvati’s would definitely be on here. As it stands, though, I have to give Cirie the edge for out-badassing Sandra. Cirie’s “Momma always said you can’t beat ‘em with these all the time, but you can always beat ‘em with these.” while first pointing to her muscles and then her brain was a good summation of Cirie’s character, and a badass callout. And bear in mind, these are compliments from someone who’s NOT a fan of Cirie, so that tells you how good it was, that it could break through the veneer of a non-fan.

2. “Checkmate, bruh!” (“Survivor Marquesas”): This confessional right here is why I say Sean Rector is funnier than Boston Rob. John Carroll’s downfall was a satisfying one, but this was just the cherry on top. Sean cockily (but not with bad sportsmanship) declaring his victory of John, while making references to both Vegas and Chicken and Waffles in one bizarre yet fascinating confessional. What could top it?

1. Casey Kasem (“Survivor The Amazon”): Kind of a cliche one to pick, but it’s a fan favorite for a reason. Rob Cesternino doing a spot on impression of a disc jockey to dis Roger Sexton on his way out is that one-of-a-kind comedy (and the rare non-sex-based comedy of this season), that will likely never be repeated. Mostly because of copyright reasons, but also because of Rob’s nearly unparalleled impression skills. He well earns the number one spot on this list.

Hoo, and there you have it. See you next week! May Chris’ rapping soon be forgotten!

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.

Idol Speculation: “Survivor Cagayan” Episode 7: WRONG KIND OF CHEST! WRONG KIND OF CHEST!

Remember how I said Tony was equal parts smart and stupid a blog or two ago? Well, just a word of warning: We get a LOT of “Stupid Tony” tonight. Granted I find “Stupid Tony” entertaining, but others may not. Just know that you have been warned.

The episode proper will have to wait, though, as it’s time for another:

MATT’S MESS-UP!

Just a small one today, but the irony bears mentioning. At the start of the previous episode, during that horrid conversation between Kass and Sarah, Kass ended everything off by pointing out that on “Survivor”, just when you think your plans are going smoothly, that’s when they generally crumble. This comes via a misquoted Robbie Burns line, which irritates me slightly, but I thought at the time it was a good insight, and in hindsight, it’s a great bit of irony, as Kass HERSELF is the one who causes the plans to go awry. But enough chit-chat! On to the newest episode!

We start off with a segment I like to call “How ‘Survivor South Pacific’ Should Have Gone Down”. You’d expect, after a major flip like that, particularly given Spencer’s remarks immediately after the vote, that I’d be another bashing of Kass, with a lot of rude, uncalled-for exchanges. Now, the people Kass betrayed are certainly miffed, there’s no denying that, but they do not, by and large, resort to name calling or casting aspersions on her character. They admit that they think it was a stupid move, and try to correct Kass when she claims they put her on the bottom, but again, most of them content themselves with that, and picking themselves up for a new day.

Kass, meanwhile, is oddly happy about her move. She claims that this makes her a free agent now, and that while she made five enemies, she also made five friends, thus balancing things out. Your math is correct, Kass, but you neglect to point out that those five friends MUST be on the jury for them to matter in this game, and generally, sending those friends to the jury requires betraying them, which puts something of a damper on the friendship. The swing vote comment, however, makes a bit more sense. True, Kass voted with the new Solana alliance, but it was a very last-minute thing, and there didn’t seem to be any long-term agreement with the alliance as regards to Kass. She could, if they’ll have her, flip back to her original alliance. And, admittedly, it’s not a bad strategy. While they aren’t necessarily the most well-liked of contestants, a free agent between two alliances, if played right, can be taken fairly far in the game. On the other hand, that’s a VERY tricky strategy to pull off without annoying others, and only time (specifically about 35 minutes) will tell if Kass can pull it off.

Now, I said that MOST people were civil about Kass’ betrayal last episode, but most is not all. Morgan, for her part, is very annoyed with Kass. This sort of comes to a head the next morning, when a general question is put up as to who should go get some water. Kass makes an admittedly snarky comment about Morgan doing it to “Remove her from her usual spot.” Morgan, to her credit, agrees to go do it, and while she argues with Kass about her tone, things do not get out of hand. I then immediately LOSE respect for her when she starts insulting Kass to the camera, calling her bitter about her looks, and basically making out that her looks embitter Kass. Now, while this isn’t NEARLY as bad as some who’ve prided themselves on their looks, it’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine. I think the problem is that (and later scenes in this episode corroborate this), that Morgan feels entitled to things based on her looks, and that any animosity directed towards her is purely because she has the BURDEN of being pretty. Oh, POOR YOU! I’m not saying Kass’ tone was warranted, but I’m inclined to take her side in this whole affair. While Morgan’s laziness hasn’t been a plot point up until this point, we HAVEN’T really seen her do anything, but she WAS included in that scene where LJ complained about the laziness of the women on the old Solana. That, in my mind, is enough to indict Morgan.

Today’s reward challenge is another team obstacle course. Goody. The teams will have to go up and over a net teeter-totter, across a balance beam, swim to shore, haul a treasure chest over to a large climbing wall, scale the wall individually, pull their chest up an adjacent ramp, and finally solve a puzzle, the first team to crown their puzzle with the piece in the chest winning… A SPONSOR PLUG! In all seriousness, though, the reward is an Outback Steakhouse meal, which is one of the few sponsor plugs I don’t mind on the show. Somehow, the feel fits, though I do question the waiters and waitresses having Australian accents in the Philippines. Not out of the question, all things considered, but seems a bit odd to me. As to the challenge, I’m not a fan. It’s a team challenge after the merge, which I’m not a fan of, and it’s an obstacle course, which is hard to do right. Admittedly, while this one has very few unique elements, it does have some new combinations, and was actually kind of fun to watch. I particularly enjoyed the teeter-totter obstacle, just because it was somewhat original and looked fun. This season, however, is done in by its start. It just had such GOOD, ORIGINAL challenges, that I got my hopes up for a season full of them. Now my hopes just keep getting dashed, and it sucks.

Orange team gets LJ, Jeremiah, Spencer, Morgan, and Jefra, while Purple team gets Tony, Woo, Tasha, Kass, and Trish. Fairly evenly matched, though I’m surprised that Woo fell on the balance beam. We then have a pretty close competition, with a lot of back-and-forth between the two teams. Woo falls of the balance beam, as I mentioned, meaning we get shots of the Orange team as Probst shouts “You have to go to the chest!” Accompanied with shots of… Morgan’s cleavage. Ok, “Survivor”, I’ve tried to resist the boob jokes, I really have. One or two here or there have slipped out, but I’ve resisted a lot of softballs you’ve thrown me. But now you’ve done it! This is too much! I just can’t resist! JEFF, THAT IS NOT THE RIGHT CHEST, FOCUS ON THE CHALLENGE!

Well, with that bit of middle-school indulgence on the way, the Orange team loses time to the Purple team on the climbing wall, but win in the end, due to the Purple team putting Woo on the puzzle for some reason. Kass I understand, but why not Tasha as well? Granted, Woo is a lot smarter than I gave him credit for, but a puzzle mind he ain’t. So yeah, Orange team wins, which is probably good for Spencer, as he can now talk to all the former “Beauties” freely, and since they’re the majority, perhaps get them to turn on the others, with Spencer and Tasha as five and six.

Surprisingly, we start off with the losing team waiting back at the camp, where, in revenge, they start to cook up a steaming bowl of rice and strategy, just to spite those on the reward. The rice is eaten, but the strategy is a drawn out affair. After presumably excluding Tasha, Woo, Trish, and Tony all congratulate Kass on her move, and ask her what her plans for the future are. Kass makes her “Free Agent” stance clear. We know we’re in for “Stupid Tony” this episode, because he, for some reason, takes this as an all-out declaration of loyalty on Kass’ part. Now, he’s still Tony, and so he’s not entirely trusting, but this is far too much loyalty to put in someone who just declared themselves a “Free Agent”. This leads me to believe that Tony does not actually listen when people talk, but just notes when their mouths are moving, and comes up with his own dialogue. Tony also admits that Kass must be good because she has a blank face, and can’t be read. Ok, bit of a backhanded compliment there, but I can’t help but feel that a large part of this is due simply to Tony believing he can read people better than he actually can.

Still, even “Stupid Tony” realizes that with fewer people at the camp, now is as good a time as any to go looking for the hidden immunity cookie. He comes up empty handed, but not so for Spencer. For some reason NOT talking any strategy at the reward, pure dumb luck, rather than intellect, rewards Spencer. His napkin at the Outback Steakhouse happens to be the one containing the clue, and he somehow gets away with keeping it to himself despite a very obvious pocket placement. Incidentally, I’m starting to think that this form of “Cookie Clue” giveaway is not as random as people would like to believe. Of all the people on the new Solarrion (shudder), Spencer is the one the producers would most like to get the clue, and he just HAPPENS to sit at the exact spot where the clue is hidden? Seems a bit suspicious to me.

Rain seems to stymie Spencer’s plans for cookie hunting, but he goes anyway. The clue tells him it’s hidden in a dirt wall on the other side of a riverbed, and that he’ll have to dig to get it. Spencer strips, notably leaving the clue in this pants which he has taken off to keep semi-dry, and goes looking. The rain soon lets up, however, meaning it is time for the “Stupid Ninja Game”! In all seriousness, Woo is pretty savvy here, he actually IS good at stealth and tracking, and I have to admire the guy for the nerdy ninja reference. Woo is even so game-savvy as to check Spencer’s pants when Spencer isn’t looking, and manages to steal the clue. Spencer sees him, but Woo has the clue and runs off with it. Woo comments that he goes all “Sonic the Hedgehog”, and with that nerdy reference, I officially give Woo my seal of approval. Yes, he’s a bit of a brainless surfer dude, but he’s a NERDY surfer dude, and for all that he’s not the most strategic, he is trying, and deserves credit for it. Woo also comments as he runs away that someone would have to be a moron to give up a clue to the hidden immunity cookie. Colby Donaldson of “Survivor The Australian Outback” immediately volunteers as tribute.

So yes, our promised cookie racing scene was actually a racing scene for the CLUE to the hidden immunity cookie. A bit of a letdown, but a fun and clever subversion all the same, so I enjoyed it. Woo decides that the best way to slander Spencer’s name is to inform everyone that he had the clue (Spencer having not informed them), and then read it aloud, as his alliance has the majority, and so would have a better time finding the cookie. Again, this is actually pretty logical thinking, and Woo must be commended for it. This leads to what we were promised, a mad scramble for the cookie. Everything ends anti-climactically when Spencer finds the hidden immunity cookie while Kass (who was guarding him) isn’t looking. The two do have a good reconciling moment, which helps the idea that Kass can pull off the whole “Swing-Vote” thing, but a lot of it is undone by Spencer calling Kass “Stupid”, which I say is classless and untrue. First of all, you yourself said earlier that it was nearly impossible to get the cookie out from under Kass, and second of all, unless there’s a consistent record of stupid moves (which I would argue Kass does not have), hate the move, not the player. Some would argue I’m guilty of the same thing, but I’m on the internet. It’s my JOB to unfairly judge and condemn others!

To Spencer’s disappointment, this is just a regular sugar cookie, not a super special, double chocolate, Tyler Perry cookie. However, Spencer’s alliance is currently on the bottom, and so he needs all the help he can get, and this could swing things in his favor.

A twist on a challenge from “Survivor Fiji” originally, today’s immunity challenge is a bit weird. Standing in a wooden frame adjusted for height, tribe members stand on tiptoe to hold a block of wood between the top of their head and the top of the frame. Last person with a block of wood left wins. Now, this is a pretty nice endurance challenge, and I admire the crew for changing things up a bit, but I can’t help but feel that it’s a bit off. I’m not exactly sure why, but I get the feeling it has something to do with Jeff Probst saying “tippy toes”. It just doesn’t sit right. Perhaps it’s also because the challenge reminds me mainly of a challenge from the third season of “Endurance”, the show that was basically “Survivor” with kids. A good enough show in its own right, it just doesn’t strike me as being right for “Survivor”. Still, this one isn’t terrible, it does change a thing or two up, and I used up a lot of ire on the reward challenge, so I’ll let this one live.

It comes down to a duel between the two most desperate people: Tasha and Spencer. Despite Spencer wobbling more than a Weeble, Tasha falls out first, giving Spencer immunity. Still, he doesn’t have very many prospects. After a stunning turnabout of roles, KASS is the one erroneously swearing that someone does not have an idol. In the one instance of “Smart Tony” we get tonight, Tony decides not to risk things, and his alliance, plus Kass, agree to go for Morgan first, as she’s unlikely to have the idol, and Tasha second in case something goes wrong. This reasoning makes sense, but from the point of view of everyone except LJ and Jefra, it has the benefit of evening the playing field a bit. At this point, the original Solana has a majority over the others 4-3-3. While somewhat unlikely due to Morgan’s dislike of the other 3, this would make me uneasy, and I’d want to eliminate one member of the original Solana just to be safe.

Meanwhile, Spencer and his alliance are short on ideas for how to vote. Morgan, demonstrating that PLETHORA of brains she supposedly has, suggests Kass purely out of spite. Of all people, Jeremiah is the one to point out that this is a stupid idea given the solidness of the other five. Between Jeremiah and Woo, we’re getting strategy from all SORTS of unexpected places this episode. In another bit of irony, Spencer realizes that he really has no choice but to try and convince Kass to flip back and vote for Tony, on the grounds that it would help repair her chances with the five she betrayed, and get rid of a potential threat in the finals. I have to say, a world where TONY is a finals threat is a really screwed-up one.

Forget “How ‘Survivor South Pacific’ Should Have Went Down” the segment, this is “How ‘Survivor South Pacific’ Should Have Went Down” the EPISODE! Spencer goes to Kass, talks to her like a human being, apologizes for any perceived wrongs, but explains why he thinks it’s a good idea to go for Tony. Kass, for her part, listens civilly, and I believe seriously considers the offer. This does two things, apart from win this season a lot of my respect: it shows that Kass CAN pull off being the swing vote, and it gives me a (somewhat) logical reason as to why Kass might have flipped when she did. The swing vote is a powerful, and usually safe, position on “Survivor”, and if you’re good, you can ride it to the end, or nearly. Rob Cesternino (“Survivor The Amazon”) is a prime example of keeping two competing alliances around for his own benefit. I believe Kass might simply have been trying to keep herself in the swing position by flipping. Had she stayed, in some minds, she would have been firmly with the new Aparri alliance. By flipping one vote, but not remaining loyal, she becomes the power broker for both alliances, and thus keeps herself in a better position to get to the end. Granted, I still think her move was stupid, as it offended so many people, and she probably could have pulled off the swing position later on anyway. Still, it’s nice to know there MIGHT have been logic behind it. As to what she should do, I think her best bet is to stick with the new Solana for now. Yes, if Kass want’s ANY chance at winning, she will probably have to flip back at some point, but now it would only produce a tie. Better to wait for the new Solana to start fracturing a bit, and take a few of them over with you. Yes, I know they seem solid, but bear in mind that TONY is on their side. Sooner or later, things will get hairy.

We’ve actually got a really fun Tribal tonight, kicked off with a litany of reasons as to why Morgan is an awful person. Remember that whole “entitled and vain” complaint I had about her earlier. Well, here’s the evidence: she outright SAYS it at Tribal. Admittedly, she does also say that this makes her a good candidate to take to the end, which is not a bad argument, but does not change the fact that she annoys me as a person. Then, “Stupid Tony” rears his ugly head once again, insulting the opposing alliance by saying that they didn’t “choose” each other, and were simply brought together by chance. Spencer rightly points out that the same could be said for Tony’s alliance. I really don’t get Tony’s logic on this one. You were all RANDOMLY divided, and you each voted out one person. Your alliances were made EXACTLY the same way, in other words. You have no right to criticize. Strangely, it’s JEFF of all people who brings up the “Maybe Kass is Untrustworthy” argument. Jeff, I thought you LIKED players who made big moves, why are you working to get one eliminated now? Tony makes some more stock statements about Kass’ supposed loyalty, and after all that fun, it’s time to vote.

Going into Tribal, I wasn’t sure who would get the boot 100%. The backup plan of the new Solana seemed suspicious, and Spencer hinted he might play his idol for the good of all tonight. Once Spencer doesn’t play his idol, and doesn’t hint at it, though, the game is up. Morgan goes home, thus depriving the blogging community of even more boob jokes. On the whole, I’m not sorry for her loss. While she was a BIT smarter than I expected, this episode just made her annoying, and I think on the whole she was the smart choice. Now she and Sarah can just bash Kass at Ponderosa.

Not exactly a stellar episode up there with others this season, but not every episode has an exciting twist. This had enough originality and fun to keep me entertained, so I give it a thumbs-up. It looks like things may get Khaotic next week, and I am excited!

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.