They’re coming to take me away, ha-ha, ho-ho, hee-hee! Seriously, that song’s been running through my head ever since the episode ended, and for good reason. This season has been on a steady upswing since the merge, I would hardly deny that. What with all the strategy, and getting rid of all the crazy people, the only way TO go is up. But even with all the scrambling, and all the blindsides, this is, bar none, the BEST episode of the season. It had everything, it had emotion, it had drama, it had misdirection (albeit misdirection that didn’t work too well, but it wasn’t completely transparent), it had scheming, it had just about everything a “Survivor” fan could want in an episode. Well, ok, a “Survivor” fan could want a truly original challenge, but that’s par for the course by this point, and it’s really too late for this season to redeem itself in my eyes, challenge-wise. Let’s take a closer look at everything there is to love about this episode.
Our first clip, besides an emaciated Erik (more on that in the next couple paragraphs), is a blatant demonstration of why having Eddie still in the game is an insult. For all that I’ve trashed good looking males with muscles rather than brains in the past, I admit that I can understand their niche, and maybe I’ve given them a hard time. However, Eddie commits the cardinal sin of “Survivor”: failing to try. Yes, his interview talks all about how if he doesn’t win immunity, he’s screwed. I admit, this is an apt summary of the situation, but Eddie, at least TRY to do something. If you’re going to go down, go down fighting. Strategize, check all angles, however unlikely they may be to work, but at least TRY it. Dear God, even REYNOLD did more than you, and all he really did was look for the idol! That, above all, is what makes Eddie a terrible character, a terrible player, and an insult to good strategists and characters everywhere. The ONLY reason he’s still around is that everyone realizes he’s a patsy they can eliminate at any time (barring an immunity win), but the man should still be ashamed of his apathy.
He will, at least, consent to CONFIRM how royally screwed he is with this season’s puppet master, Cochran. Cochran is more than happy to oblige, but then does the smart thing of asking Eddie, if he wins, who he’d try and vote out. This makes the other person feel like they have some control, like they’ve got a shot, like they’re smart, and opens up the possibility of a new alliance. Not to mention, you would have someone on the jury who thinks slightly better of you. In short, this is a golden opportunity for Eddie to pull himself out of the hole in this game, perhaps suggesting they vote for Erik, as he’s a physical threat, and also likeable.
Eddie, strategic mastermind that he is, takes this opportunity and crushes it into the sand, by telling Cochran that HE will likely get Eddie’s vote, should he win immunity. Where to begin with the stupidity of that statement? How about that you’ve just shown your hand to the enemy, not to mention making them offended, and wary of you? Perhaps it would be best to begin with the strategic doors you’ve just closed, or just how blatantly you’ve set a key player in your destruction on their guard. Words cannot express just how DUMB of a move this was. I still agree with the vote out tonight, but I am SICKENED that EDDIE of all people has made the Final 5. Just EUGH!
For all of Eddie’s stupidity, he at least has enough sense to be prophetic about strategy this episode. It gives the editors a good tie-in to the strategizing going on in the ocean. As promised by the preview, Brenda talks to Dawn about the possibility of eliminating Cochran, saying that after Eddie is gone (or if he wins immunity), she, Erik, and Dawn can band together to eliminate the strategic and social threat. I have to admit, while I’m rooting for Cochran, this does make sense. Cochran’s been playing an AMAZING game this season, and he’s still somehow well-liked, even by the people he’s voted out. He is a real threat to win, and anyone with sense SHOULD probably go for him. Also, Brenda is FINALLY doing something! Good on you Brenda, only took you 13 episodes to finally put your brain back in! Still, given the pattern of this season, you’d think that Brenda would have learned to do better. Corinne tells her plan to Dawn, Corinne is eliminated. Malcolm tells his plan to Dawn, Malcolm’s plan is foiled, Malcolm is eliminated. Frankly I’m sensing a pattern here, and it does hold true tonight, but at least Dawn misdirects us that she might flip on the plan. Good for Dawn, she’s finally getting some REAL up front strategic chops. Her decision is a tough one, I’ll grant you. Cochran would be tough to beat in the finals, and cost her the game last time, so it might be in her best interest to flip. Also, while Sherri might seem good cannon fodder for the finals, she COULD pull out the “I’m the last fan standing” card (assuming she goes with Dawn and Cochran), which might make her a threat. On the other hand, is she really better off with Erik and Brenda? They are both fairly well-liked, even if they’re not the greatest strategically, and they haven’t betrayed anybody, whereas Dawn has. It’s a tough call, to say the least. Personally, my judgment, if I were her, would be to go with Erik and Brenda, because there, at least, you can make the argument of “I was more strategic than these two”, whereas Cochran has you beat on both fronts. Still, it could go either way, and surprisingly, I think Dawn will have a hard time winning against anybody (more on that at the end of the blog).
A vote of Cochran might drive Erik to the finals, but a lack of food is driving Erik crazy, so much so that he believes he is Tom Hanks, and the coconuts are talking to him. Specifically, they are laughing at him, mocking him for his hunger, and singing “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts!” Ok, maybe I made that last one up, but it wasn’t too far off what would have happened, had Erik’s hunger continued. I still find the guy funny, but he’s going stark-raving nuts out there! He even thinks he’s back on “Survivor Micronesia” at one point, trying to emulate Ozzy, aka Challenge Jesus (“Survivor Cook Islands”), and climb up a palm tree that is WAY too dangerous to climb up, particularly when one is literally starving.
Thankfully, Erik’s sensible mind (at least, as much as ever existed) prevails, and he comes down, safe and coconut-less. He’s rewarded, though, as his hunger is assuaged. Not by food, of course, that would be too easy, but by a Sprint phone, which everyone immediately realizes means loved ones. Does anyone besides me miss the days when the Sprint phone was a surprise, and people didn’t know what it meant? You know, when the loved ones challenge was actually kept a bit under wraps? Give me back those days. I understand that CBS needs to plug the sponsors, but come up with some kind of new twist on this, the video thing is getting old.
We arrive at the challenge to find out, shock horror, that it’s a loved one’s challenge. We get to meet Dawn’s husband Dave, Erik’s brother Richard, Eddie’s dad Ed (see my “Survivor Philippines” blogs for my opinion on people who name their children after themselves), Cochran’s mom Arlene, Sherri’s husband Jared, and Brenda’s dad Raymond. I give Brenda’s dad special mention because I should have liked their reunion. It was small, but genuine and touching, and it even made Jeff Probst cry, supposedly, though I couldn’t see any tears, nor did I find this a particularly emotional reunion. However, I can’t help but dislike the guy, for one simple reason: HE’S why Brenda has been a non-entity up until this episode! If their meeting is to be believed, his advice to Brenda before the end of the game was “Be Humble.” Well, Brenda has certainly taken that advice to heart, and I can’t deny it’s logical given how she left “Survivor Nicaragua”, and it has certainly improved her standing in the game, but the advice was “Be Humble”, not “Be Invisible”. She may be playing better, in a sense, but she’s become boring as all get out.
The only other note I have about the loved ones is that I’m disappointed that Erik didn’t say “That’s Jeff Probst! He’s just standing there!” again. That was one of my favorite Erik moments, and I was looking forward to seeing it play out.
Thankfully, the families actually bring something good to the table: a semi-new challenge! Alright it takes elements from the spinning wheel challenge and “throw the balls at the tree” challenge, both of “Survivor One World” (and if you read my blog where I rank the seasons, you would understand why I’m amazed that you’d want to copy ANYTHING of “Survivor One World”), but the spinning thing is actually adapted, and it’s a new combination of challenges, so I’ll take what I can get. Basically, everyone and their loved one spins around 3 bamboo shoots to remove them from a pole, and place them on a pair of bamboo stilts. Once all 3 are placed, the contestants or their loved ones throw balls on strings (they had a proper name, but I’ve forgotten it in the excitement of the episode as a whole), with the first to land 3 balls winning a barbecue on the sea with their loved one, tantalizingly in sight of the camp. Alright, seems like your average loved ones segment, but still pretty solid.
Cochran and his mom take a verbal lashing from Probst (as do a few other pairs, but Cochran’s the only one who stands up for his loved one), and Brenda and her dad pull out a narrow victory. Not too surprising, but a nice, tense outcome. Yep, there’s Probst asking who she’d like to take on the reward with her. She chooses Dawn. Good choice for Brenda, Dawn was particularly emotional about seeing her husband, and if you want to make an alliance with her, this is a good time to strategize/butter her up. And now, here’s Probst opening his mouth to tell Brenda to pick one other person to go with her, and since she’s not a moron, she’ll logically say Erik, so she can get some strategizing done, and… wait, why is Probst pulling out another Sprint phone, they’ve already got their plug in for the episode…
HOLY SHIT!
In case it wasn’t obvious, I LOVE what’s happened here. Yes, for the first time in a while, they’re changing up the loved ones twist, and I couldn’t be happier about it. It turns out that everyone has TWO loved ones on the island now, Eddie’s mom, Cochran’s dad, Erik’s other brother, Sherri’s son, Brenda’s sister, and Dawn’s… ok, I feel really bad here, but in the awesomeness of the twist, I’ve completely forgotten who Dawns other loved one was. The catch is that at this stage, with now TWO loved ones on the line, Brenda can give up the reward for both her and Dawn, and let the other 4 see all of their loved ones, or keep it for her and Dawn, and choose one other person to come with them. Now, we’ve seen this kind of twist before, in a sense, with the “give up your visit so others can have their visit” idea, but this plays with it, and takes it in a bit of a different direction. You see, now Brenda’s not just giving it up for herself, but she’s also controlling Dawn’s fate, and giving up for her. Yes, by making a decision, Brenda could hurt Dawn. Emotional, borderline psychotic, potentially ally Dawn (do you get which way I’m leaning yet?). On the other hand, if Brenda KEEPS the reward, and picks, say, Erik to go with them, that leaves 3 very irritated people back at camp. This is EXACTLY what I want in a twist. It build upon the established game, comes right out of nowhere, and adds new layers of strategy never before considered. Admittedly, when I first saw it, I thought it was actually something of an unfair twist (once I’d gotten over the shock). You see, normally you’re required to give up the reward in these scenarios, because otherwise you look like a jerk, but this reward choice HAS no good scenarios. You can keep it, and have 2 people really like you, and 3 people dislike you, or you can give it up, have 4 people like you, but one person absolutely hate your guts. To be SO CLOSE to a reward, particularly one such as this, and then have it snatched from you grasp, is just about the cruelest punishment that can be inflicted at this stage of the game. But then I thought “Since when is ‘Survivor’ fair?”, and it occurred to me that it’s not actually FORCING you to make someone hate you. Unlike other times where this choice has occurred, it’s not social suicide to keep the reward. True, you have 3 people who dislike you, but it’s a mild dislike, and half the tribe still likes you. Compared to having someone hate you for tantalizing them with reward, it might actually be the better option. In any case, it changed up the loved one’s challenge, making it, in my opinion, one of the best ever.
But enough gushing, did Brenda make the right move? Normally, I would say yes, ALWAYS give up the family reward if everyone else gets it, but in this case, I think Brenda made the wrong move. More than emotional support, Brenda needed this reward to strategize with Dawn and Erik, which she could have done by taking both of them on reward with her, and still had half the tribe like her. Moreover, giving up the reward REALLY pissed off Dawn, which may have contributed to her decision tonight. So, in Brenda’s case, I think it was a bad move, but in fairness, it was sprung on her at the last minute, and there was no perfect option to choose from. Both had their downsides.
So people party, Dawn mopes, and Brenda tries to cheer her up. The happy mood is broken by who else but this season’s major strategist, Cochran, who points out that Brenda might be harder to beat in the finals now, and that SHE might be the target it Eddie can win the immunity.
Speaking of immunity, it’s CHALLENGE TIME! Yes, it seems that this is the “Hearken Back to ‘Survivor One World’” episode, as we get an immunity challenge straight out of it. Standing on a log, and holding a flying fox behind their back, tribe members are slowly lowered over the water until they fall off, last one standing wins. I didn’t like this challenge back when it first aired, and I still don’t like it. They even removed the one GOOD element from it: the cool-looking torture wheel, replacing it with a captain’s wheel. It’s not a TERRIBLE challenge, I should say, just not one that’s very enjoyable or memorable.
This is a challenge that favors women, so it’s no surprise that Cochran, Eddie, and Erik are out first, though I’ll admit I though Eddie would hang in longer. In the one good bit of misdirection tonight, I was actually convinced that Eddie would win immunity tonight. It just seemed, with all the potential strategizing, that having him vulnerable would be an anticlimax. So, while it probably was obvious in hindsight, I’ll give the edit team this round.
Sherri drops next, and then Dawn tries to talk out a deal with Brenda, as Dawn hasn’t had immunity yet. Brenda turns her down, but drops out later anyway, leading Probst to erroneously claim that this is Dawn’s first individual win. Wow, Probst, you call yourself a “Survivor” fan? Dawn was one of the people who won the first individual immunity challenge on “Survivor South Pacific”. Between this and claiming Ben Browning (“Survivor Samoa”) was the first person to be thrown out of a challenge, I’m really starting to doubt your credentials. Good for Dawn, though. Brenda takes away from the victory by admitting that she could have held on longer, had Eddie still been in the challenge.
IRONY ALERT! IRONY ALERT! WE’RE REACHING TOXIC LEVELS! PLEASE EVACUSTE THE BLOG ASAP!
Yes, if that confessional didn’t tip you off, the conclusion is pretty much set in stone at this point, but how we get there is interesting. It should be straightforward to vote Eddie off, but Cochran has a good idea that Brenda is plotting against him (which is later confirmed by Dawn), and so makes the logical move of getting tight with Sherri, and urging Dawn to stay loyal. Dawn is still conflicted but not opposed to the idea of eliminating Brenda.
Dawn makes what I would consider the worse of the two moves (though, like with Brenda’s reward choice, neither one is really good), but does solidify herself for the final 3 by sending Brenda home. I have to admit, I was scared by Brenda’s little speech to the remaining 5 when she left, and she seemed very put out about it, to say the least. I think we have our bitter juror for the season, folks. That said, I’m a bit disappointed that she went, because she was finally coming into the excellent strategy I remember her for, but overall, for what she gave us this season, she wasn’t a bad choice.
So we’ve got our setup for the finals, and I’m pretty excited, not in the least because my man Cochran looks to be in a good position to win it all, which I would LOVE. Plus, with all the drama this season, we should have an electrifying finale. I thought that I wouldn’t talk about people’s odds of winning this time, because it seemed straightforward, but looking at things now, I actually do want to talk about them a bit, just because the order is something I think you wouldn’t expect. Keep in mind that the order I show these people’s odds of winning at is ASSUMING they make the finals, not their odds of actually getting to the finals. So, in the order of finals lethalness, the castaways:
Eddie: For all that this goofball doesn’t deserve to be there, if he gets to the finals, he wins. He hasn’t betrayed anybody, he’s been an underdog this whole time, and he’s got a lot of friends on the jury. Unless this is a particularly open-minded jury, and wants to see a strategist win, Eddie is lethal in the finals.
Cochran: A bit surprising, given how disliked he was last season, but Cochran seems to be a favorite of the jury. He’s played a hard game, but not a malicious one, and is probably the most improved of any Favorite left. As long as he can get rid of Eddie (and possibly Erik), he’s most likely going to win.
Erik: Erik has a chance. He’s a bit like Eddie, in that he hasn’t stepped on any toes, and is fairly likeable. However, Erik has coasted more than Eddie has (i.e., he hasn’t been to many tribal councils, and hasn’t been in danger like Eddie), and unless you have a really bitter jury that doesn’t care, Erik will have to convince them that he’s done some strategizing this season.
Sherri: Sherri has an uphill battle ahead of her. While she came out early as a stronger strategist than I gave her credit for in the beginning, and I admit she must have SOMETHING going for her to still be around, she hasn’t done much, at least that anyone on the jury has seen, and of those who have (Michael, Reynold, and Eddie), only Michael is really predisposed to like her. Now, she COULD win if she pulls a “last fan standing” card (assuming Eddie goes home), but most likely, she’s going to have a rough time.
Dawn: Surprisingly, for how likeable she is, Dawn I think is the best one to take to the finals. Dawn’s strategy this season has been to make friends with everybody, so she can control the game, which is a good strategy in a sense, but Dawn’s done it too well. Most people on the jury feel a personal connection to Dawn, and so feel the most hurt by her votes. She might be able to turn it around if she could play the “master strategist” card, but other people left have her beat on that front. Sad to say, but I just don’t think Dawn can win with who’s left.
The only other thing I’ll say about this episode is that I was going to do a “Top 5 and Bottom 5” of loved one’s visits, but there’ll probably be one next week, and I don’t want to wear myself out. Besides, there’s only so many categories I can do for “Top 5 and Bottom 5”, so I ought to use them sparingly. Rest assured, though, that when I do the list someday, this one will be near the top.
As to next week, I’m looking forward to it. The only problem the Cochran-Sherri-Dawn alliance has is that Erik and Eddie could both go on winning streaks to the end. Fortunately, the remaining challenges are probably endurance, which men generally aren’t good at, and one of them may be medevaced, making for the latest medevac ever in the game (though not the latest visit from the medical team). Surprisingly, I think Erik will go. I suspect the poor guy really is malnourished, and just can’t continue. So, will this mean another Final 2, or will the alliance just be spared a vote? Find out soon enough!
-Matt
Title Credit to Jean Storrs.