Survivor: Cagayan Season Finale – That Was Not a Shocker!

Hey Readers!

 

Sorry it took so long for me to publish this post! Life got in the way…  😦

So another season of Survivor has come and gone, and another Castaway has been handed a $1 million check. For me, it was no surprise who was going to win this season, and when the votes were revealed all I could do was shake my head and continue to watch the Reunion Show.  Who was this season’s big winner that helped answer this season’s question whether brains, beauty or brawn was the best? Read on and you’ll find out.

After Spencer, Kass, Tony and Woo had a visit from their loved ones, they were called upon to battle it out in an Immunity Challenge. Jeff Probst explained that the Castaways had to stand on a pole and collect water with a bucket on a rope. They had to use the water they collect to fill a long shoot to retrieve a key. Once the water in the shoot is high enough for the Castaways to reach, they must then jump off the pole they’re standing on into the ocean and swim back to shore. They must then use the key to unlock a chest that was holding block pieces to a puzzle they must solve. The first player to solve the puzzle correctly wins Immunity. It was a crazy challenge to watch as Kass came from dead last to decisively win.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst spoke to the Castaways about Kass and her come from behind victory, the visit from their loved ones, and Spencer’s situation since he didn’t have Immunity. Spencer tried convincing Tony to keep him instead of Woo because he has played a subtle game and is favoured by the Jury. Kass said that she would take Woo to the final before she would take Tony because she felt she would have a better chance at beating him in front of the Jury than with Tony.

Once the votes were cast, Tony came clean with his lie about the other Idol in his possession. He told everyone he had an Idol that he could use st the Final Four and after the votes were revealed. The Idol he held did allow him to use it after the votes were read out, but he had to use it before the Final Four. Everyone groaned as Tony had tricked his way into the Final Three as it was found that Spencer was the next to join the Jury and loosing his chance at winning the game.

At the final Immunity Challenge, the Castaways had to race through a maze of turn stalls to find four medallions. Once all four medallions have been found, the players must use the medallions to open a chest that held a number of cogs. The cogs had to be placed in a certain order to turn a crank and release a flag signifying their win in the challenge. It was a close one, Readers, but Woo pulled out a win, just beating Kass by a a second.

At the final Tribal Council, Jeff Probst spoke to the Castaways about Woo winning the final Immunity Challenge, Kass loosing this challenge and her thoughts about her safety in the game, and Kass and Tony sharing their thoughts about why Woo should take them to the final. Woo stopped the chit-chat by saying he didn’t want to hear anymore opinions, and that he wanted to get to the vote. After Woo wrote down the name of the person he didn’t want to go on in the game with him, Jeff announced this unlucky person. The line piece of paper in the urn had Kass’ name on it. Shaking her head, she had her torch extinguished by Jeff Probst, ending her time in the game.

The next evening, Woo and Tony then had to speak in front of the Jury to sway them to give them $1 million dollars. Most of the Jury came down hard on Tony for his actions throughout the game, while they scratched their heads at Woo’s responses. The Jury then cast their votes to choose the Sole Survivor of this season.

Back in Los Angeles, Jeff Probst walked in to the studio with the urn holding the votes the Jury cast. After some small talk, he finally got down to business. It wasn’t even close, Readers. Tony was crowned the Sole Survivor and the winner of $1 million with an 8-1 vote count! When Jeff Probst asked Woo about how he felt, he was one of the most gracious and classy losers ever. He was all smiles, and said he was happy to be sitting beside the best at the end of the game.

Jeff Probst asked the Jury if Woo had taken Kass to the final, how many of them would have voted for Woo to win, all of them raised their hands. Did Woo make a $1 million mistake? Yeah! But he said he wanted to live by the code he upheld through his martial arts training (honor, loyalty and going up against the best). Even though I would have taken Kass and probably won, I gained more love and respect for Woo!

So, the final also answered the question whether brains, beauty or brawn was the best trait to have. Technically, since Tony and Woo were on the Brawn tribe, you would have to say, the case of Survivor that brawn was the best trait. Having said this, it wasn’t Tony’s brawn that got him the money this season. It was his brain that got him the bug prize. He went hunting for Idols.

Tony also got his alliance to follow him and believe what he said, as well as everyone else about the lies he told them. The best lie he told was about the powers of the special Idol. He said he could use it up until the Final four, when actually it was up until the Final Five. I know watching at home is very different than actually playing the game, but why didn’t anyone call Tony’s bluff on the Idols as other Castaways have on previous seasons? Or at the very least flush out the Idols so they can be back in play again. The Castaways sort of sat there and let Tony run the show. It was nerve-racking to watch, but since I’m such a Survivor fan, I had to keep watching!

So, that is a wrap to another season of Survivor! I can’t wait until the fall for Blood vs. Water 2!

I will be following Big Brother again this season, so if any of you Readers are BB fans as well, pop back over to my blog for the latest on what’s happening in the BB House!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

SURVIVOR Season #28 – New Cast, Same Country

Hey Readers!

It is T-Minus six days and counting until the newest season of SURVIVOR™ begins! The producers have selected a new crop of Castaways for this round of fun and games, but we are still located in the Philippines.  This time, they are in Cagayan, which is located in the northeast part of the country, instead of on one of the islands.

This season, the theme is Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty.  When this season’s theme was announced, I wasn’t too crazy about it. Just about any one of these individuals could hold all three of these qualities, yet they’re being labelled as a ‘brain,’ a ‘brawn’ or a ‘beauty.’ For me, these categories are a bit misleading.  Sure, you can be an engineer, but you could also be very anti-social.  Being social in this game is probably the most important attribute you can have, and all of the math skills in the world will not make up for lacking in this area where other people hold your fate for most of the game.  Beauty and brawn will also carry you so far as well.  You can be voted off for being good-looking, and your strength may not translate into the endurance you need to be living out in the elements and without proper food and water for a few days.  Since this game has been won by all kinds of people, you need to have a good balance of all three to be successful at SURVIVOR™.

Enough preaching, now onto my picks to win SURVIVOR™ Cagayan! Below are my three picks to win it all!

LJ McKanas (Beauty Tribe) and my #1 Pick

– He seems as though he is a down-to-earth type of person and doesn’t mind getting dirty.

– I like how he spoke about the misconception of those on the Brawn tribe.

– He can fish, which is important when you don’t have your fishing gear yet.

Con – He sees himself like Boston Rob.  So many peoplewant to model their game after him, and they have to realize that other Castaways will be targeting you if you try to emulate a former player’s game-play.

Sarah Lacina (Brawn Tribe)

– She didin’t over inflate her ego when she spoke of herself, which speaks volumes to me.

– She is not modelling herself after any past Castaways, so she knows she has got to win the game in her own way.

Con – She thinks she is going to dominate the game.  You can never know just how well you are going not do until you are out there playing the game and have won.

David Samson (Brains Tribe)

– He seems as though he can rally people together as a team well.

– He knows you need to have more than one of the aforementioned traits to win this game ,nor is he relying on just one of them to help him win.

Con – I can see him turning out to be a Russell Hantz later on down the road in this game. This will be the kiss of death for him if this does happen.

Now that my picks to win have been shared, here is my pick for the first to be voted out:

Brice Johnston (Beauty Tribe)

– He seems to be the type that will have a hard time adjusting to life in this game without the ‘creature comforts’ of home. He’s worried about the B/O of others, as well as his own when you’re out in the middle of essentially nowhere for 39 days. This should not be your primary concern in the game of SURVIVOR™. In his defense, there were a few other new Castaways that were worried about having to smell bad breath from other people. He just took it further with the B/O issue.

– He compared himself to Colton as a player.  Really?! IF the B/O issue wasn’t bad enough, comparing yourself to Colton as a player in this game is almost like packing your bags early! Colton is, arguably, the worst Castaway ever to have played this game due to his attitude. If he turns out to be compared to Colton by other Castaways, he very well may be the first to go!

Even though I have pretty much written Brice off as being the first to leave the game, I did the same thing to Cochran on his first time out in the game.  He lasted FAR longer than almost anyone, including himself, expected. He even came back for a second kick of the can and won!  You can never be sure how things will play out in the game of SURVIVOR™!

So there you have it, Readers.  This is how I think the game will unfold for this season’s Castaways.  It will be another season willed with action, adventure, and of course, drama! Can’t wait for all of the fun and games to begin next Wednesday night!

Who do you think will win SURVIVOR™? Who do you think will be first to be sent packing?  Let me know. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor 27, Episodes #6 & 7 – Have the Trust of Your Alliance Before Making a Big Move

Hey Readers!

I do have to apologize for running so far behind on my Survivor posts. That’s why I have been combining two episodes together, and writing about only the competitions and Tribal Council, so you would get the action bits of the show.

So, alliances between players are being tried more than on any other season of Survivor!  It might be because half of this season’s Castaways are returning players, while the other half have heard the war stories of the Returning Players.  No one truly went into this season with blinders on.  When the alliances have been true to each other, it always seems as though the person at the bottom of the totem pole made a big move on their own which went against the wishes of their alliance, resulting in their departure from the game.  Two players fell into this trap of thinking they had the support of their alliances, only to realize that they were the odd Castaway out.  Who were these two players?  Read on and you’ll find out!

Episode #5 – Redemption Island

After Jeff Probst introduced John, Laura M and Brad as the competitors for this Duel, he explained how the these three players had to race across a balance beam while untying 4 bags and collecting numbered tiles. With ea h bag, they then had to put the tiles in numerical order from 1-100. The player not to finish would leave the game, losing their chance at $1 000 000.

Laura M won the Challenge, while John came in a very close second.  You know what that means, Readers! Yes, Brad is out of the game! Monica was in tears as she said her goodbyes to Brad and watched his buff burn in the urn as he left the game.

Jeff Probst then announced that the living situation was going to be switched up a bit fir the Castaways.  They had to drop their old buffs, and blindly draw for new buffs.  Which ever buff they picked was the tribe they would be on.  Strangely enough, Galang ended up having 4 women and 1 man, while Tadhana had 4 men and 1 woman!  Here is the actual breakdown of both tribes:
Galang – Monica, Laura B, Kat, Tina and Vytas
Tadhana – Gervase, Tyson, Aras, Caleb and Ciera.

Immunity/Reward Challenge

Each tribe had to swim out and get 3 fish traps.  They then had to bring them back to the beach and use the wood from the traps as puzzle pieces.  They then had to put the vertical puzzle together first to win Immunity, and either Luxury Prize of a Picnic complete with meat, fixings and brownies, or they could trade it for the fishing gear Tadhana still didn’t have.

It went down to the wire, but Tadhana won the Challenge! Vytas was very upset because of his situation on Galang (being the only man with a bunch of women).

Tribal Council

Jeff Probst and Galang spoke about the following topics:
How the tribe was getting along since things had been switched up – Monica and Kat said it was hard. Kat said Monica was strategizing too much, and it was putting a strain on the rest if the tribe, shaking the trust of the other ladies. Vytas was playing humble, saying his name would be most if the ballets to leave.
Vytas and dealing with being only man on tribe of women – Vytas said he would be open with the ladies about who he was, and that everything else would be what it will be
Kat and the ladies’ trust in her since it came out she was gunning to try and get Monica out – Kat, trying to save her skin, said she could really be trusted by them. Vytas challenged her, saying it was not true. Kat was then begging the rest of the tribe to keep her, in spite of trying to get rid of Monica and ruin their alliance.

Here were the results after the votes were cast:
Vytas – 1; Kat – 3 (they didn’t show the last vote because it was enough to have Kat leave).

A very sad Kat then found her way to Redemption Island to await her fate at the Duel Challenge against John and Laura M.

Episode #7 – Redemption Island

Once Laura M, John and Kat the Redemption Island Duel Area, a crying Kat asked Jeff Probst if she could get a hug from her boyfriend, Hayden. Jeff Probst asked Kat why she was so upset. Kat answered it was because she felt as though she had let him down for being voted out so early in the game. She didn’t want him to think of her negatively.

After Jeff Probst asked Hayden what he thought, Hayden answered that their relationship was more important than how well someone played this game. Jeff Probst asked whether Hayden wanted to take Kat’s place at Redemption Island. Hayden and Kat took FOREVER to decide that Kat would stay where she was. If seemed for as though Kat was going to let Hayden take her few seconds. I would have been so pissed if she did, after the way she went after Monica, then tried to put the blame for her predicament on others.

For this Duel, the 3 players had to untie and cut through ropes, using a machete, to release puzzle pieces. They then had to put a difficult fire-shaped puzzle together. The player that didn’t finish the puzzle would see the the end of their Survivor game.

John blew through this Challenge, finishing it first. It was a close race between Laura M and Kat, but Laura M was able to figure it out where the pieces of the puzzle went quicker than Kat could, ending Kat’s time on the show. Kat said a tearful goodbye to Hayden, then put her buff in the urn and left the Area. John chose Monica as the recipient of the clue to the hidden Immunity Idol, and she, once again, destroyed in by putting it in the urn to burn.

Immunity/Reward Challenge

For this Challenge, 4 members of each tribe were tied together, and had to move together to untie bola pieces. They then had to work through a mini obstacle course to untie the other bola pieces. They then had to be the first tribe to toss 3 of them on a post to win the Challenge. The Reward for this Challenge was a fried chicken picnic with all the fixings!

Tyson won this Challenge for the mostly male Galang tribe, sending Tadhana back to Tribal Council.

Tribal Council

Jeff Probst and Tadhana spoke about the following topics at Tribal Council:

• Laura B taking it upon herself to tell Vytas he was going home – Vytas said is was discouraging, milking sympathy for how bold Laura B came across when she let her bombshell go off.  Monica shared the sentiments of the tribe, which was that what Laura B. did was very risky, especially since she did not have the tribe’s trust or approval to go and tell Vytas about his fate.  Vytas added that lack of trust in a Castaway was the reason why Kat went home, making Laura B’s case look worse in front of the rest of the tribe.
• Tina played Devil’s advocate, saying that Vytas could be saying all of these things because of the situation Vytas is in right now (only man on a tribe with 4 women).
• Vytas and his lot on Tadhana – Vytas said he was in a good place within his old tribe, now he’s in a lot of trouble because he’s the only man on a tribe filled with women.
• Vytas and Aras relationship – pleading to stay, Vytas said he wanted to continue to work on mending the relationship he has with Aras, and that the best way to do so would be to stay in the game.  Laura B wisely warned the rest of the tribe that to keep Vytas and Aras in the game would be dangerous because they were not only a pair, but that both of them were also good players and could win Survivor.
• Laura B’s story –  Laura B felt as thought this experience, especially without Rupert around, has allowed her to come out of her shell more, improving her self-confidence, and live outside of Rupert’s shadow.

Here are the results of the votes: Vytas – 1; Laura B – 3.  Laura B then left to join the other on Redemption Island.

Well, Readers, players, both returning and new to Survivor, must be aware of where on the totem poll they sit when in an alliance.  In Kat and Laura B’s case, they thought they had enough support to overthrow other alliance, only to find out too late that they were the ones in need of the support.  Where Vytas is concerned, even though he’s the lone man amongst a pack of women, it  it looks like he’s doing well for himself…for the time being anyway.

Will the merge happen soon? Will the alliance hold now that Kat and Laura B have left their tribes?  Who will be the next Castaway to leave the game?Pop back to my blog to find out!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese

Survivor 27, Episodes #4 & 5: Your Cockiness Was Your Downfall!

Hiya Readers!

Paraphrasing from Jeff Probst, Survivor is a game of knowing when to make big moves that will get to to the end of the game.  Most players of this game make big moves but they may not be at the opportune moment, or let their cockiness get in the way of their judgement, getting them voted out of the game.   Two players have fallen into this trap during these two episodes, and should not have been surprised by the blindside they got at Tribal Council, essentially ending their game.  Who are they, you ask?  Read on and you’ll find out!

Redemption Island (Episode #4)

Jeff Probst introduced Galang and Tadhana to Castaways competing in the three-way duel  – Candice, John and Marissa.  Jeff Probst then asked Candice how she felt to see her husband show up at Redemption Island, to which she said she was upset because there was one person really responsible for sending him there.  Paraphrasing what she said, it was Brad.  Monica, standing by her man, says that more than just Brad is responsible for John being at Redemption Island, meaning the rest of the Tadhana tribe.  Actually, both women are right.  Sure, most of the time, it takes more than one person to vote a person out of a tribe.  But it only takes one person to place a seed of suggestion in the minds of everyone else in the tribe to want to have that person leave as well.  John then said that every time a person had to leave their tribe, Brad “muscled” his opinion around as to who this person should be.

For this duel, the players had to race across a ladder-rope with a key that was attacked to the ladder-rope.  They had to use this key to unlock bags containing puzzle pieces.  They then had to put the puzzle together.  The first two to do this would still be in the game, with the loser having to leave the game.  As well, the winner of the duel will also get to choose a Castaway to get a clue as to where the hidden Immunity Idol was located.

John won the duel.  Candice came second, leaving Marissa to have to say goodby to her uncle, Gervase, as well as to the game.  Jeff Probst asked Gervase what he thought of Marissa’s performance in the game.  Gervase said he was impressed with what Marissa could do, especially since she really didn’t get a chance to play much.  He also said her leaving also gave him more incentive to win the game.

In a strategic move, John chose Monica to receive the clue for the lost Immunity Idol.  They chose her in order to put an even larger target on her back.  Brad immediately told Monica to burn it.  She listened, and threw it into the fire that Marissa dropped her buff into, making this the first time anyone has destroyed a hidden Immunity Idol clue!

Immunity/Reward Challenge

5 members of each tribe had to paddle out inn a canoe to where two crates lay at the bottom of the ocean.  Each tribe had to then bring them back to the beach ad use them as steps up to a platform.  The other two members of the tribe had to then put the puzzle together to get the combination to unlock a flag that signaled the tribe was finished the Challenge.  First tribe to finish would win Immunity, and the choice of a Luxury Reward of an awesome tea and coffee party, or they could trade it for fishing gear.  When Galang were asked to sit two people out, and Tyson wasn’t one of them, Jeff Probst asked why he was competing with his injured shoulder.  Tyson replied that he thought he could, and that he was better than anyone on Galang with 1 arm!  Jeff was shocked, but let Tyson compete.

It was a close battle, but, once again, Galang won the Immunity Challenge, taking their luxury tea and coffee party prize with them.  A sad looking Tadhana had to face Jeff Probst for another Tribal Council, where one of them would then be sent to Redemption Island.

Tribal Council

Jeff Probst spoke to Tadhana about the following topics:

• Has Tadhana lost firsdt 4 Immunity Challenges because of lack of strength or lack of puzzle-solving ability? – Tadhana flip-flopped about this topic.
• How Tadhana was going to vote this episode – Jeff Probst asked they were going to vote based on who’s left in the game on the other side. Brad said it would be great to vote people out from those whose “blood” (partner/family member) is gone.
• Trust – Caleb announced he wasn’t going to vote the way Brad thought he originally said he would.  Ciera was slated to go home, as per Brad, but Caleb didn’t like how Brad was operating, and that he was going to vote for Brad to leave the tribe. Brad started back-peddling, trying to maintain his grip on the tribe.  Brad even said he wasn’t going to write Caleb’s name down.

The votes were cast, and, after a second tiebreaker vote between Ciera and Brad, guess who left the tribe…Brad!  After displaying all of his cockiness, especially after John was blindsided, it was now his turn to feel what it was like to have the rug pulled out from under himself.  Jeff Probst even commented that this may have been the biggest shifts of power in Survivor history, and this may have been one of the biggest move in Survivor history!

Episode #5 – Redemption Island

Castaways on both tribes were very worried about their safety in the game, and they were doing what they could in order to ensure they were not the one voted out.

Redemption Island

Jeff Probst introduced Candice, John and Brad as the competitors in this episode’s Elimination Duel. Monica wanted to take Brad’s place in the Duel, but Brad told her he could handle it.

Each player in the Duel had to create a bridge out of a crate and then cross it. They then had to dismantle the bridge, flip over the bridge pieces, and use these bridge pieces to put the puzzle together. The first two players to finish would remain in the game. The player not to finish would leave the game.  The winner of the Duel would get to give a Castaway watching the Duel a clue to where the location of hidden Immunity Idol on their island.  John was the first to finish the Duel. Luckily, Brad finished his puzzle before Candice could, knocking Candice out of Survivor.  John chose to give Monica the clue for the hidden Immunity Idol, which she burned, again, saying it was too dangerous to have this sort of power. Candice then said goodbye to her husband, and threw her buff into the urn, signifying the end of her game.

Immunity/Reward Challenge

Castaways on each tribe had to take turns racing down a slide, then tossing a ring onto a post. The first tribe to score five points would win Immunity, and could win either a Luxury Reward of a steak and veggie feast, including spices and a wok, or trade it for the fishing gear.

It was a close one, but Tadhana finally won their first Immunity Challenge! Instead of choosing to take care of themselves for the rest of the game by taking the fishing gear, Tadhana chose to celebrate by taking the Luxury Reward. Maybe this boost of confidence may be clouding their judgement!

Tribal Council

Jeff Probst and Galang spoke about the following topics:

• how hard his Blood vs Water twist was for the players this time around. Galang said it was hard because your decisions could impact your
• how easy of a vote it would be for Galang to get rid of Laura B because she was the only member of Galang not to be a Returning Player, so she doesn’t share that bond like the rest of them do.

Once the votes were cast, guess what, Readers? Yes, another blindside went down! Laura M was voted out of Galang because the tribe felt she was not trustworthy, was a bit too cocky, and trying too hard to be friendly with every one in their tribe.

Oh, Readers! Brad really dodged a bullet at Redemption Island, and Laura M didn’t see herself being voted out so early in the game.  It seems as though nothing is following the usual routine of Survivor this season.  Will Brad’s fate finally be sealed by losing in he next Redemption Island Duel? Who will be the next Castaway to be voted off of their tribe? What else is in store for the Castaways this season? Find out all of this and more during my next post on Survivor: Blood vs Water!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor 27, Episode #3 – Drama, Action, Blindside!

Hey There, Readers!

This episode of Survivor had three basic components: drama, action and blindsides.  Well, I guess this can be said about every episode of almost any reality series, but this episode of Survivor really had all three elements.  There was a blindside that even Jeff Probst didn’t see coming until it happened!  How does all of this happen, you ask?  Well, read on, Readers, and you’ll see!

The episode began at Galang, where the Returning Players were sitting around enjoying each others’ life stories without a care in the world…everyone except for Colton.  He really couldn’t take how laid back the rest of the tribe was at this point in the game.  He wanted to strategize about what was happening at Tadhana, who to sit out at the next challenge, and he also wanted some drama to happen on his tribe.  No one else on Galang wanted to deal with Colton’s “worries,” and Tyler told him to relax.  Colton was going crazy with the amount of people telling him to relax.  This was not the game Colton signed up to play, or the tribe he wanted to play the game with.  Colton, no one gets to set the type of tribe you get to be on!  An important part of this game is to go with the flow and adjust your game to how the game is going, not force people to play your way.  Soon, you’ll get your wish when/if Galang fimally losses an Immunity Challenge.

Both tribes were instructed to go to Redemption Island to watch the end of another player’s game after losing a hard fought challenge. Tyson was really upset to not see Rachel with Tadhana. He said he thought Tadhana voted Rachel out to try and get rid of him. Rachel agreed with Tyson’s line of thinking.  Jeff Probst asked Tyson whether he would like to take Rachel’s place and have her join Galang in his place. Tyson asked Rachel whether he should take her place. Rachel said he would have a better chance at winning the game if he stayed with Galang than to take her place. Tyson took her advice, and let Rachel stay. Tyson then issued a warning to Tadhana, saying that if Tyson ever ended up at Redemption Island that they’d better watch out for him, as he’d be taking everyone out and returning to the game.

Marissa then chimed in, saying that Tadhana was voting out its strong players in order to keep its tribe weak. She was directing her comment at Brad, and everyone knew it. Brad, feeling the heat of the situation and the target growing larger on his back, told Marissa that this was the game of Survivor, Babe!  Marissa told Brad what to do with himself (If you didn’t know, I try to keep my posts as clean as possible, just in case younger eyes are reading.).  Gervase told Marissa to keep focused on the up-coming task.

This is where the first blindside of the show happened.  Colton began crying.  Jeff Probst asked Colton what was with the water works, and Colton responded that he no longer wanted to be a part of the game anymore.  After a commercial break, Jeff Probst asked Colton if he was quitting the game, to which Colton responded, “Yes.”  Jeff Probst, taken aback, said Colton was doing the opposite of what he told the producers he wanted to prove in the game.  Colton explained that he didn’t want to play the game with the tribe he was on, so he wanted to quit.  Jeff Probst told Colton he was being selfish.  Colton replied that this decision may be selfish, but it may be the best move for him to make to make himself happy.  Tina then told everyone about how Colton shot himself in the foot by be over aggressive, and was worried he’s lost everyone’s trust in Galang, along with no one wanting to be catty like Colton was, so he no longer wanted to be a part of the game.  Colton slightly agreed with what Tia said.

Jeff Probst then used Colton as an example of the type of person who thinks they want to play Survivor that should actually just stay on their couch at home because they’re not able to adapt to changes or different personalities within the game.  Colton said he didn’t care about the insult Jeff Probst threw at him, and went over to Tadhana to say goodbye to his partner, Caleb.  Jeff Probst then told Colton not to throw his buff in the urn because it was reserved for players that wanted to play the game, had competed and lost, not for quitters, and to leave the game.  Well, Readers, I’m glad Colton left.  All he did was whine about not getting his way, then whined when he knew he screwed up instead of trying to fix what he broke!  I hope you are happier, Colton!

At the Redemption Island Challenge, the players had to stack bricks along a pathway that angled up and down while it lay on a huge spring and having trip bars along the bottom of it so players couldn’t race up and down the course.  The first 2 players to have all of their bricks fall down, ad have a ball at the end of the platform break a plate at the end of the platform would get to stay in the game, while the last person would see their game come to an end.  The person who finished the challenge first would also get to choose a person from any of the tribes to receive a clue as to where the hidden Immunity Idol was on their island.  Just as before, Candice finished the challenge first, leaving Marissa and Rachel to battle it out for their Survivor lives.  After some mistakes, Marissa pulled out a win over Rachel, sending Rachel to say goodbye to her boyfriend, Tyson, and watch her buff, as well as her chance at 1 million dollars, go up in smoke.  Candice then gave her husband, John a second clue to the whereabouts of the hidden Immunity Idol.

Back at Galang, Tyson was sad about Rachel having to leave the game, and was being consoled by the others on his tribe.  He vowed that he had to try and win the game to make up for not taking Rachel’s place, potentially keeping her in the game longer.  Tyson also confessed that he felt weird not being around Monica, as it was her husband, Brad, who had sent Rachel packing.  At the same time, he could not blame her because it was not her actually telling Brad to make the decisions he’s been making.  He also felt that it was a good move Brad because, if Tyson was in Brad’s shoes, he would have done the same thing.

At Tadhana, Brad was confessing that it  sucked being called out for the moves he made.  He didn’t like Redemption Island because the people you vote out of your tribe have the chance to let you know how your decisions made them feel, and they have a chance to get back into the game to exact their revenge on you.  He felt that he was taking some of the heat off of himself by making the others think voting certain people off was a group decision, not solely his.  Uh, Brad, most of the Castaways actually see you as the proverbial head of the snake.   They do see you as the decision-maker, not the rest of the tribe.

John felt as though he had an even bigger target on is back because Candice chose him to have another clue to the Immunity Idol.   He felt that the smartest thing to do was to let Brad in on its location, and he liked Brad enough that he didn’t mind Brad knowing about where it was.  John asked Brad not to let anyone else know where the Immunity Idol was.  Brad agreed with John, but he was also testing John’s loyalty because of his past actions (originally not sharing the clue with him, and his ties to Rachel).

At the Reward/Immunity Challenge, it was a sumo wrestling-like battle where one member from each tribe had to try and push a member from the opposing tribe off of a floating platform over the water.  For each win, the player’s tribe got  a point.  First tribe to 5 points won Immunity from Tribal Council, and the choice between a Luxury prize (pillows, blankets, a tarp, mosquito netting), or they could trade it for a fishing kit like the one Galang won at the last Immunity Challenge.

During one of the showdowns, Tyson popped his arm out of its shoulder socket, and could no longer take part in the challenge.  He didn’t want to leave the game, though.  In the end, Galang came away with a 5-3 with over Tadhana, winning Immunity, and taking the Luxury prize with them.

Back at Tadhana, they went about their regular consoling ritual, losing their 3rd Immunity Challenge in a row.   The guys got together to talk about who should leave the tribe this time, and they spoke about how Katie lost to her mother who was well into her 60s.  Then they went over what the last two women on their tribe bring to the table.  Katie cooks all of their meals, while Ciera doesn’t do much of anything.  After to the conclusion that Ciera was leaving, John went to go look for the Idol.  Once out of ear shot, Brad got the rest of the guys together to talk about Jon becoming a bigger threat to their game, and getting rid of him.  These were Brad’s arguments as to why John needed to leave sooner than later:

• John was a strong player
• John would be controlled by Candice should she return to the game and the tribes got to the Merge, not by them (by them, Brad really meant himself).

Vytas didn’t really trust Brad’s reasons as to why they should get rid of John.  He felt Brad was acting a bit shady, and that Brad was making everyone do their dirty work for him.  Vytas voiced his concerns to the ladies of the tribe, who seemed receptive to what Vytas was saying.  Hayden was torn as to what he wanted to do, but was sure that someone would be leaving by way of a blindside at Tribal Council.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst and Tadhana brought up the following topics:

• Why the men were the only ones who scored at the Immunity Challenge – Katie said it sucked she was not able to beat her mom at two different Immunity Challenges (not sure if she was smart to have voiced her concern at that moment).
• What Trust meant in this game – Vytas said trust was the currency of the game.  The more you ca trust someone, the further you could go in the game.
• John having 2 clues to the Immunity Idol – Candice’s comment about how John knew “what to do with the information” really wasn’t helping John’s chances at staying.  Hayden said they had to trust that John was telling them the truth about not having the Idol.  Brad chimed in, saying that at some point, you have to lie in the game, so how could they trust John now?

After Jeff Probst asked Tadhana to write down who they wanted to vote out, he went to count the votes.  This was how it all played out:

Ciera – 1; John – 4 (we didn’t get to see the rest of the votes, as all a person needed was 4 votes to leave).

John didn’t see this happening to him, and he felt betrayed as he meet up with Candice and Marissa on Redemption Island.

Oh, Readers!  I think Tadhana made a HUGE mistake, again!  Or maybe this was Brad’s plan to weaken his tribe.  This move, in the end, I think, will only hurt his game. He’s losing any trust with Tadhana, since they can’t trust him when they say they’re safe.  Galang, besides his wife, are beginning to hate him because their loved ones are leaving the game at his hand.  I think he is putting a huge target o his and his wife, Monica’s back for making these decisions.  If, for some reason, Galang was to lose an Immunity Challenge, she might be the first player they vote out to get back at Brad.  Will Tadhana finally win their first Immunity Challenge?  Will Tadhana blindside Brad?  Who will be the next player at Redemption Island to leave the game?  We’ll find out in the next episode of Survivor: Blood vs Water!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor 27, Episode #2 – Voting Someone Off Has Become More Complicated

Hey There, Readers!

With Marissa voted off Tadhana to join Rupert and Candice on Redemption Island, the stage is set for the first battle to keep your game alive in this season’s Survivor.  As well, the game has really begun on both tribes as they have to begin to strategize who needs to leave their tribes next.  How will everything shake out? Read on to find out!

At Redemption Island, Marissa spoke to Rupert and Candice about how upset she was about being voted out because of Gervase’s outburst after the Immunity Challenge.  Candice said that Marissa was to Redemption Island because she said she didn’t like Brad when all of the Castaways were together before they were split into tribes.  Marissa thought about it, and agreed with her.  Rupert then welcomed Marissa to Redemption Island by telling her it was a place with a lot of pissed off people!

At Galang, the tribe was acting as a cohesive unit, engaging itself in a group massage.  Everyone, that is, except for Colton.  He wasn’t “feeling the love” like everyone else on the tribe.  He was cursing it!  Others on the tribe were sensing that Colton was not as zen as they were, so Monica and Aras went over to talk to him and see if they could help him.  Colton went off on them.  Monica asked him to be patient.  All Colton could whine about was how much he missed Caleb, and how disappointed he was about not being able to play the game with him.  Aras said Colton should think about looking ahead in the game, not thinking about his disappointment.  Colton wished they were at Tribal Council, so they could vote him off right now.  Privately, Colton confessed that his tribe was stupid to think that the good times were going to continue for the rest of the game, and he wanted to get his point across to the rest of his tribe.

At Tadhana, Brad was flexing his leadership skills by showing the guys on his tribe how to fish.  Rachel, seeing where the power laid in the tribe, decided not to align herself with the other two ladies left in Tadhana, and decided to make bonds with the guys.  She was lucky enough to have made an alliance with John.  Don’t think there aren’t eyes everywhere within this tribe, Readers, because this alliance didn’t go unnoticed!  Ciera saw Rachel becoming buddy-buddy with the men on the tribe, and has suspected that Rachel has started an alliance with John.  Ciera wasted no time in sounding the alarm bells, telling anyone she could about what she thought she knew.

Both tribes received Tree Mail telling them it was time for the first battle to take place on Redemption Island.  After both tribes took their seats, the camera panned over to Gervase, who discovered that his niece was not with Tadhana.  He then realized she was going to be the third competitor to fight for their Survivor life in a few moments.  Jeff Probst then introduced Rupert, Candice, and Marissa.  Jeff Probst asked Marissa why she gave her tribe such a long, hard stare.  She said it was because she was voted off for something she didn’t do.  Then she looked at her uncle, Gervase, and said that she was there becasue of him.  Gervase swore he would get revenge upon those who sent her there (I guess the whole Tadhana tribe.)

For this competition, the players had to use a poll to pick up 10 spools and weave it up through a metal maze, one by one, then pile them up o each other on a platform with a wobbly sprig base.  The first two people to have their tower of spools held up for three seconds, would save their Survivor lives.  The last would be permanently out of the game.  If someone’s pile falls over, they have to start from the beginning.  The person who comes in first would be given the chance to give whoever they wanted from any tribe a clue as to where the hidden Immunity Idol was on their island.

It was a windy day out there in the Philippines, so Candice and Marissa were taking it slowly, while Rupert was actually throwing caution to the wind, trying to burn through the challenge.  This made his tower topple over, making him have to start again.  Candice took advantage of Rupert’s mistake, by cautiously finishing the challenge first.  Marissa, also taking her time not to crash, finished second, meaning it was Rupert’s game ending at this challenge.  Readers, it was a sad one to watch, but someone had to go.  It just sucks it had to be Rupert.  He said he had no regrets about leaving because it meant that Laura B could stay longer, that he loved his wife, and that he was still a lover of this game.  Rupert then placed his buff on a pile of burning coals, letting the Castaways, and us viewers, watch Rupert’s game go up in smoke.

Jeff Probst also reminded the Castaways of the twist where a loved one would be able to take the place of their voted off partner and take their place on Redemption Island.

Back at Tadhana, the guys were taking what Jeff Probst said to heart, and started thinking about who they would vote out next so their partner on Galang would take their place and potentially leave the game to weaken Galang.  It didn’t take them long to come up with Rachel’s name.  The guys wanted Tyson, Rachel’s boyfriend, to take her place on Redemption Island, and then lose and have to leave the game.  They know he was a formidable player, and wouldn’t want his girlfriend to go out to Redemption Island if he could save her.  John wasn’t too happy about this because of the side alliance he had with her.  He knew he must quickly find the Immunity Idol, and that he couldn’t share if he found it with anyone in order to keep Rachel safe.

At Galang, the tribe was consoling Laura B on Rupert being the game’s first casualty.  She confessed she was sad, but with Rupert gone, she could now easily concentrate on playing the game.

Colton began his zen-crushing mission by lying about who’s saying what about who.  Colton wanted everyone to depend on his word, and to rule in chaos.  Tyson, saw what Colton was doing, then confessed that he felt Colton was over-thinking the situation he and the tribe were in, and that it could get him voted off the tribe.  Colton confessed he wanted the tribe to actually lose at Tribal Council so the tribe would wake up and start playing the game.

The next morning, Colton noticed that the rest of the tribe was acting a bit sketchy toward him.  When Colton was out of ear-shot, Tyson told Aras, Gervase, Tina and Monica about how he thought Colton was trying to turn the tribe against each other, and to counter it by talking to each other to get the real story.  Aras agreed with Tyson, calling Colton a bully for acting this way, and saying he didn’t want to play with a person who acted this way.  The five of them decided that they should create an alliance as they have had the most Survivor experience out of the people on their tribe, and to stop Colton from ruining their tribe.

At the Immunity/Reward Challenge, 3 members from each tribe would be rolling a barrel, while a 4th was inside being rolled about from three stations, untying complex knots and collecting bags of balls. Then the rest of the tribe would take turns, if they wished, at rolling the 6 balls up a skee ball-like platform, getting the balls to stay in the holes.  The first tribe to finish this game would win Immunity, and the reward of a fishing kit.  The loosing team would go to Tribal Council, where one person would be voted out of the game.  It was a close competition, but it came down to Gervase and Hayden rolling the balls into the holes to win the game.  Gervase won the game for Galang as his last ball just found its home in the last available hole.  He was happy about beating Tadhana for a few reasons:

• Galang wouldn’t have to go to Tribal Council;
• Gervase received a bit of satisfaction for Marissa being voted off of Tadhana; and
• Gervase winning the game for Galang vindicated his poor performance from the last Immunity Challenge he competed in.

When Tadhana returned to their tribe, they began their consoling ritual again.  Te guys then went off a bit into the jungle to decide which of the ladies was going to be voted off next.  4 of them wanted Rachel to go, but John was still fighting strong to keep her.  This began to sound the alarm bells for the rest of the guy alliance, as they didn’t understand why John would be so keen to keep er unless the 2 of them were had an alliance.  This fact, along with him going off to find the Immunity Idol alone, was beginning to make John a potential candidate to be voted off.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst and Tadhana spoke about the following topics:

• The man vs woman ratio on the tribe – The women notice it, and how the me go off to talk without them.  Hayden said that, yes, the guys have bonded, but it didn’t necessarily mean anything.  Jeff Probst didn’t believe that, and let his feelings about Hayden’s statement be known.
• John and the Immunity Idol clue – Caleb believed John may have the Immunity Idol, but was not saying anything to anyone.
• The Redemption Island twist – Hayden said they could get rid of certain players, just to get their loved ones to use the twist, then hoping it would backfire like it did for Rupert.  Rachel didn’t like hearing that!

Jeff Probst then asked the Castaways to cast their votes.  After counting them, this was how the vote went down: Rachel – 7; John – 2; and Ciera – 1.  Yep, Rachel was voted off of Tadhana!

Well, Readers, it was another strategy-filled episode of Survivor!  Once again, the wrong person has bee voted out of the tribe to now have to compete at Redemption Island.  I just shook my head again and again over the horrible decision-making Tadhana keeps making.  Rachel must now know how Marissa felt as she was leaving her tribe for no reason other than for Tadhana to make a strategic hit at Galang.  Will the plan cooked up by the guys of Tadhana work?  Will Rachel allow Tyson to take her place?  Who will be the next to leave Redemption Island and the game for good?  These answers will be answered in the next episode of Survivor: Blood vs Water!  Check out my blog to see what happens next!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor 27, Episode #1: Someone Else’s Actions Could Hurt You

Hey Readers!

It’s back!  It’s back!  It’s back!  Survivor 27 has finally started, and this season already has some interesting twists.  Most people knew about the Blood vs Water variation on the show, but how the producers did it was kind of neat.  Then there were the other curve balls they threw at the Castaways at the beginning of the game that got me more intrigued about how this season was going to play out.  Oh, they brought back Redemption Island, where voted out Castaways have the chance to compete to win their way back into the game.  Another hard part about this season is that you have to be careful of your actions, as they can then be reflected onto your loved one.  Two Returning Players, one for strategic reasons, one for payback, had their loved ones affected because of their actions, past and present.  What do I mean by this, you ask?  Read on and you’ll see!

Survivor took the Castaways and the viewers back to the Philippines for their 27th season of the show.  Viewers were introduced to each of the 10 Returning Players vying to win the million-dollar prize, along with their Loved One, and how they were related.  They separately spent their first night alone with each other in various locations on an island to get acquainted with the surroundings.  Some of the Loved Ones were a bit disappointed with the lack of survival skills their Returning Player partner had when first out there, but they all seemed to make it through the night,

They then met each other on the beach the next morning.  Jeff Probst welcomed the group to the Philippines, as well as to the game.  It was here that a twist o a twist was revealed to the players.  They found out that the Returning Players would be on a different tribe from their Loved One for a part of the show.  This shocked some of the Castaways, while it made other pairs even more ready to play the game.  Once separated, they were told their tribe names and given their buffs.  The Returning Players were called Galang, while the Loved Ones were called Tadhana.

Now that the tribes had been formed, Jeff Probst hit the Castaways with another bombshell.  Each tribe would be voting one of its members out of the game right then and there.  Whoa!  My jaw dropped at this bit of news!  I had a prediction about Rupert’s wife, Laura ( I will call her Laura B , as there is another Laura, who I will call Laura M) being voted out first because Rupert is Survivor royalty, and he plays a very emotional game.  You know, Readers, to mess with his head.  Well, it happened!  Tadhana voted her off because of Rupert’s past actions and to weaken his game-play. Galang voted Candice off of their tribe.

After the two votes were taken, Jeff Probst informed the Castaways that these players were not necessary out of the game yet, as they were resurrecting Redemption Island.  The twist on this twist was that, at this point in the game, was that the loved one of the Castaways who were just voted out could take their place, possibly giving up their chance to play the game so their loved one could experience more of the game.  Without batting an eye, Rupert said he would take his wife’s place on Redemption Island.  He did this for two reasons:  he said he would protect his wife however he could this season; and Rupert wanted his wife, Laura B, to have a true Survivor experience.  Let me tell you, Readers, this is why viewers and players have fallen in love with Rupert!  Despite the rough exterior, he’s truly an awesome person.  This moment made me an even bigger Rupert fan!  Candice and her husband, John, discussed the situation, he decided to let Candice go to Redemption Island because he felt she could beat Rupert and return to the game.

At Galang, the Returning Players got down to business.  They had their fire going, their shelter almost built, water boiling, and rice cooking away.  Laura B, felt out of place because she was the only one who didn’t know what to do.  Se also felt as tough the rest of her new tribe mates thought she would be like Rupert because they were married.

Monica was becoming weary of Colton.  She didn’t want to be burned by him like she was during their last meeting on Survivor: One World, where a power-tripped Colton back-stabbed Monica, sending her out of the game.  She said that he was mean and vindictive.  She was going to keep a close eye on this wily character!

Colton shared with Galang his intentions this time around in the game.  He said that he had turned over a new leaf since meeting his partner, Caleb.  Colton went on to say he has matured, and will be less insecure about himself, you know, be more like the true Colton he really was.  He wanted people to understand him.  He then started crying.  Monica started to soften her stance on Colton due to this display of waterworks.  She said the tribe shouldn’t be too quick to judge him unless they’ve walked in his shoes.  Hopefully, she keeps an eye out for Colton.  He seems as though he could be a wily one.

For the Loved Ones at Tadhana, things aren’t as optimistic as they are at Galang.  They were having trouble building their shelter and making fire.  They were all expecting to have their other halves with them to show them what to do.  Readers, this is one of my pet peeves about this show.  You know you are going to be on Survivor, and the first thing you should do at home, in the woods, somewhere, is to learn how to build a fire!  This ability may save your butt in this game!  Come on!  Especially when all of the Loved Ones have a personal connection to a former player of Survivor.  This really annoys me!

Brad started doing what smart players of this game do once they arrive at their tribe: form an alliance.  Since there are 5 men and 4 women, Brad thought it was only natural for the men to band together and pick off the women if they had to go to Tribal Council.  He went and did a hard sell on all of the guys in his tribe.  Some were on board, while others were sitting back on the idea.

At Redemption Island, Rupert and Candice had different ideas about how to get things done around their camp.  While Candice toiled around camp, pretty much doing everything to make sure they would get through their night, Rupert lounged and watched Candice wear herself out, living off of the spoils of Candice’s work.  Wow!  That doesn’t sound like the Rupert we all know and love!  Well, Readers, here’s the thing.  This was all a part of Rupert’s plan to beat Candice and return to the game.  He figured that by Candice tuckering herself out around camp, she wouldn’t have enough energy to beat Rupert in a head-on challenge.  He admitted this may have been why he lost so many challenges whenever he went out and played the game.  Oh, Rupert, you mastermind!  Candice, not catching on to what Rupert was doing was complaining about Rupert’s laziness, as well as the Returning Players who voted her out.

At the Immunity Challenge, the tribes had to send 6 of its members through a obstacle course in the water, untie a boat once all it their members reached their designated platform, and then row their boat back to shore which contained pieces to a ship’s stirring wheel.  Once they reached the beach, the remaining 3 members had to work together to put the wheel together, then put it on a crank to let their tribe flag down, signifying they were finished.  First tribe to accomplish this would win Immunity, and gain flint to have fire at their tribe.

When Jeff Probst asked the tribes if they had fire yet, Tadhana lied, saying they had fire.  Galang just scoffed at them, not believing a word they said.  Tadhana didn’t want to seem weak in front of their new enemies.  Well, their bluff was blown when Galang came from behind (no thanks to Gervase’s stellar performance in the water, or the poor puzzle-solving work of Ciera, Katie and Rachel), to win the first Immunity Challenge of the season!  Gervase, who should have kept his mouth shut because he almost lost the challenge for Galang, was the loudest of the Returning Players to trash-talk their Loved Ones!  Really, Gervase, I don’t think that was the smartest thing you should have been doing at that moment.  I was surprised he had the nerve to say anything after his lack luster performance!

Back at Tadhana, the tribe was consoling each other over their loss to Galang.  Katie was becoming nervous because she barely touched the puzzle when she had earlier boasted she was better at putting puzzles together than her mother, Tina, was, and that she could help them win the challenge.  Marissa was also getting worried, as it was her uncle, Gervase who was the loudest trash-talker of Galang.  Could his actions affect her safety in the game?  That was something that was going through her mind a mile a minute.

Brad and John were talking about Katie and Marissa’s worst fears at that same moment.  They said it really didn’t matter which of the ladies on their tribe left, so long as it wasn’t one of the guys.  Vytas, wanting to be the nice guy to keep ties with the ladies on the tribe, told them it would be one of them leaving.  I’m not sure this gave any of them that much comfort.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst and Tadhana spoke about the following topics:

• The first Immunity Challenge – what their actions, or those of Galang, could sway people’s ideas of who to vote for.  Marissa and Katie both voiced their concerns.  Marissa believed she shouldn’t be judged by Gervase’s actions, while Katie believed she shouldn’t be judged by her poor performance at a challenge when it was their first one.  John haughtily said the vote wasn’t based purely on a person’s poor performance.
• Redemption Island – John felt guilty about not taking his wife, Candice’s place out there.
• Where the game was going from this point on – how voting someone off will effect the game of the Returning Players.

After their talk, Jeff Probst asked Tadhana to cast their votes.  After the votes were counted, Jeff Probst revealed the votes were 8-1 in favour of Marissa to leave the tribe.  Marissa was supposedly shocked by this, and gave her tribe an wordless, ugly glare as her torch was snuffed out.  So Marissa was also effect by Gervase’s actions in this game.  He’s not going to find out it until the next time the tribes meet again.  She then surprised Rupert and Candice on Redemption Island, awaiting their challenge to see who would return to the game, and who would go home.

It was an interesting season premiere, Readers!  You see how easy it is for a player’s game to be effected by another person’s  actions?  I think both votes for Laura B and Marissa were unfair.  They were both attacks against players in the game, not against anything they did themselves.  I’m not sure just how Gervase will take the news of his niece being voted out because of his actions.  In the promos for this season’s game, he said he would write her name down if it meant it would get him closer to the ed of the game, but I’m not sure if he even thought she would have been voted out because of him.  I want to see his reaction to her leaving in the next episode.  Which Castaway will win their way back into the game, who will go home?  Has Colton really changed his spots, or will he revert back to the Colton we all…well, know?  What other challenges will the islands of the Philippines have in store for these Castaways?  Come back to my blog and see what happens next on Survivor: Blood vs Water!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor Season #27 Impressions Before the Premiere- It’s Time for More Cut-Throat Action!

Hey, Readers!

I’m glad to have you back for CBS’ 27th season of Survivor!  Yeah, it feels as though it’s bee FOREVER since their last season.  For those of you who don’t know, this year’s big twist is that former Castaways will be battling it out with, or against, their loved ones!  Yep, family members, wives, husbands, fiancé(e), boyfriends and girlfriends!  I guess the producers wanted to have a variety of relationships represented on the show.  For this installment of  Survivor, they have bee split into two tribes: Returning Players vs. Loved Ones.  I also think they love the Philippines, because they filmed this season on Palaui Island, Cagayan Valley, Philippines.

Here are my impressions of this season’s cast as a whole:  It’s alright.  Nothing to write home to mom about or jump out my chair over.  Here are some of the notable pairs competing this season:

• Aras and Vytas (Brothers) – Aras won Survivor: Panama – Exile Island.  It would be interesting to see if the other players will hold that against him and his brother.
• Colton and Caleb (Engaged) – Colton didn’t have the greatest experience the last time he played the game (spoiled rich kid attitude rubbed Castaways the wrong way, then had to leave the game early), but maybe his partner will help to mellow him out.
• Kat and Hayden (Dating) – I don’t remember Kat too much from Survivor: One World, but her boyfriend, Hayden, won Big Brother 12.  His previous success could put a target on their backs in this game.
• Rupert and Laura (Married) – Oh, one of Survivor’s favourite Castaways has come back, again, for a third shot at winning the million-dollar prize.  He and his wife, Laura will be targeted because he is so popular, their a bit older than most of the other players this season, and he has already won a million dollar just for being on Survivor: All-Stars for being the fan favourite.

Who are my picks to win Survivor: Blood vs. Water?  It would probably be Aras and Vytas.  They both look like they could last all 39 days in the Philippines, and since Aras knows what it takes to win, all he and his brother have to do is make it through both of their separate tribes to the Merge to, and they should be golden.  My other pick would be Kat and Hayden.  Mixed gender teams work well together in competitions like this, and Hayden was a hell of a competitor on BB 12.  Overall. I think Hayden, if he doesn’t ruffle too many feathers, would be my #1 pick to win it all.

Who will be the first person voted out of Survivor: Blood vs. Water?  If the Loved Ones’ tribe is strategic, they should vote Rupert’s wife, Laura, off first.  It would mess with Rupert’s head, as he has been known to be a Castaway that plays with his heart in this game, and getting Laura out of the game would certainly throw him off his game!

Well, Readers, this is how I see Survivor: Blood vs. Water playing out.  If you have been following my track record, I’m horrible at picking who’s going to win and who will leave a reality competition first, but hey, you can’t blame me for trying!  Let me know what you think of my picks for this season of Survivor, as well as who your picks are to win!  Can’t wait to get this season started!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor: Caramoan, Season Finale – What a Finale!

Hello Readers!

It’s Finale Night! Yes, Survivor: Caramoan is wrapping up this season, and it does not disappoint. With five Castaways left, it’s anyone’s game to win. Since.it was the Finale episode, it was a two-hour show, then the Reunion Show where they announced the winner. Who has gained the respect of The Jury to be chosen as this season’s Sole Survivor? Read on and you’ll see!

After the last Tribal Council, Erik was not feeling well. He stopped walking, telling everyone his head was spinning and having fainting spells. Jeff Probst called the medic, and he diagnosed that he was very dehydrated and under nourished. The medic then decided to pull Erik from the game. Erik was upset about the decision, but also accepted it because he was not well. The rest of the tribe wished him well as he left the game in an ambulance.

Back at Enil Edam, while still reeling about Erik’s departure, Cochran was thinking about the Final 3 and who he should bring with him. He sealed a deal with Eddie by way of a hand shake, saying it would be the two of them and Sherri, leaving Dawn by the wayside. Eddie thinks that this combination will allow him to win the game.

Tree Mail arrived, telling them that they were going to have their final Reward Challenge. Once they reach where the Challenge was going to held, Jeff Probst explained what they had to do. Each Castaway had to build a house of thick wooden cards on a platform they were balancing with a rope on a pulley system with their other hand. The first to get their structure to a marked height without any wobbles would win. The Reward: an advantage in the Final Immunity Challenge which could help them win it and take them to the Final 3. After a few crashes, Cochran stacked his way to another Challenge win! So happy, Cochran! He was truly the threat everyone wanted to tale out because he has become so dominant at Challenges.

Back at camp, the scrambling for Final 3 had begun. Sherri and Eddie wanted to be with Cochran at he end because they were worried about Dawn using her home life as guilt and play the “sympathy card” to win over The Jury.

Cochran was having to hold Dawn’s hand to reassure her about their pact in the game. He was getting tired of her constant freak-outs, and was considering ditching her. Tree Mail then arrived telling them that they were going to go on the annual Rights of Passage Walk of Remembrance. The Castaways went along a path to pick up the names of players who had been voted out of the tribe, and then burn them in a ceremonial bonfire.

At the Final Immunity Challenge, the Castaways had to run up a three-story tower to untie and collect three bags to make a fire puzzle. First person to put the puzzle together wins Immunity. Cochran’s advantage was that he didn’t have to untie the puzzle bags from the tower. After squandering his huge lead, Cochran stepped on the gas and put the puzzle together to grab the final Immunity of the game.

Back at Enil Edam, Cochran was talking as though he had won the game. He was trying to decide who he was going to bring with him to the Final 3. He knew he was going to bring Sherri with him, but he was conflicted between Dawn and Eddie.

After Dawn became emotional with Cochran, Eddie plead his case to Cochran as to why they should ditch Dawn. Eddie said Dawn would use The Jury’s sympathies to gain their votes, while Eddie’s strategies didn’t really help his game, and he didn’t do much to affect the game. Cochran still didn’t know what to do.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst introduced The Jury (Michael, Phillip, Malcolm, Reynold, Andrea, Brenda and Erik). He and the Castaways then spoke about Erik leaving the game. Eddie said that Erik’s departure opened the door for him, and he also spoke of his plans for the end of the game that didn’t include Cochran. Eddie and Dawn both gave their reasons as to why Cochran should take them to the Final 3. Dawn said that everyone on The Jury loved Eddie, so the smart move would be to choose her. Eddie said he didn’t make many waves in the game as Dawn had, and that she would be harder to beat than he would, so Cochran should take him. Sherri basically said you’d better take me, or else!

At the Vote, it was 3-1 for Eddie to leave the game.

The next day, the Final 3 were talking about the final Tribal Council and about the celebratory breakfast left for them. Sherri said she was still there because she controlled the alliance she was a part of. It was actually the other way around. They controlled the way Sherri voted. Dawn said she was able to make her own decisions this time around, and she was happy to be at the end with Cochran. Cochran said he was becoming worried about his chances of winning the game. It was due to his lack of confidence he had in himself at that moment. He knew he had to pull himself together in order to clinch the victory.

At the Final Tribal Council, Jeff introduced The Jury (now with Eddie as its final member). Then the Final 3 plead their cases as to why they should win the game. Dawn said she was an emotional player, yet knew she had to play the game hard in order to get to the Finals. She had also played a good game and had made her own decisions this time around. Sherri said that she fought hard throughout the game, and she was able to be a part of various alliances in order to have made it this far. Cochran said that he has had a passion for this game for a very long time. He also confessed he was.socially awkward, yet he helped to calm others down when they needed it. Finally, Cochran told The Jury he knew he couldn’t out-strategize other players, but he was able to get.to this point in the game, so they should pick him.

The Jury got their chance to let off some steam by attacking, I mean commenting on how the Final 3 played the game. One of my fav comments came from Phillip when he kicked Sherri out of Stealth-R-Us!

Jeff Probst then turned to The Jury, asking them to cast their votes to choose a winner for the season. After the Vote was over, the show cut to the CBS studios in L.A. in order to announce the winner. Readers, it wasn’t even close. All of the votes were cast for…….Cochran! Hooray! I was so proud of him. He has come a long way from his first appearance on Survivor. Near the end of the Reunion Show, it was announced that Malcolm was voted by the fans as the Sprint Player of the Season! Lucky boy, he won $100 000!

Well, Readers, this brings to a close another season of Survivor. It’s kind of sad, but it makes way for the next season. Jeff Probst gave clues as to the twist for next season. I think it will have family members playing against strangers. I’ll be tuning in! I hope you’ll be returning to my blog, not only for my Survivor posts, but for my other posts as well. Next reality show posts will be for Big Brother which will begin on June 26th!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese!

Survivor: Caramoan, Episode # 13 – No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Hey Readers!

This episode was the second-to-last one for this season! Many tears were shed by the Castaways, and even by Jeff Probst himself!  Why were so many tears shed? It was the annual visit by a loved one episode! Ah, yes, now you can sort of see where I got the idea for this episode’s title, huh.  One Castaway learned the meaning of this saying the hard way, by being voted out.  Who was it?  Continue reading and find out!

After the previous episode’s Tribal Council. Cochran was worried about where he stood with the other players still left in the game.  He confided to the producers that he thought he was the next one to go because he was such a threat to the other competitors.

Strangely enough, Brenda and Dawn were talking about the same thing.  Brenda’s plans were worrying Dawn, as she and Cochran were working together.  She wanted to find a way to change her mind.  Erik confessed that he felt as though he was in the most beautiful prison, as he was longing to be off the island and back at home.  Tree Mail to the rescue!  It consisted of a Sprint smartphone which had recorded messages from their loved ones back home.  Yep, you guessed it! The next Reward Challenge was to win the privilege to spend time with a loved one!

At the Reward Challenge, Jeff Probst introduced the Castaways to their loved ones, then announced that they would be working together to win this Challenge.  Each pair had to unscrew the ropes with coconuts attached at their ends and rails for a ladder.  They then had to place the rails onto the posts and toss the ropes so they would hang onto the rails. First pair that did this three times would win a lunch on a floating barge off the coast of their island with their loved one.

Brenda and her father won the Challenge, and Jeff Probst allowed for Brenda to bring another Castaway and their loved one to share the Reward.  Feeling pity for Dawn, Brenda picked her and her husband.  Jeff Probst then threw a monkey wrench into the situation.  He gave another Sprint smartphone that had another recorded message from her sister and a second  group of loved ones.  Jeff told her that, if she wanted to, she and Dawn could enjoy their time with their loved ones, or allow for the other four Castaways to be with their loved ones, while her and Dawn would go away with nothing.  Brenda decided to be nice and allow for the others to have their time with their loved ones, punishing Dawn in the process.

While the other Castaways partied it up on the barge with their loved ones, Brenda and Dawn watched from their beach.  When the Castaways returned from their Reward, they all thanked Brenda for her selfless act of kindness.  Cochran was on the defensive about what Brenda did.  He thought of this as a million-dollar move on Brenda’s part, making her an even bigger threat that needed to be dealt with.

At the Immunity Challenge, each competitor had to stand on a ledge on a platform.  They had to hold onto a handle that was attached to a piece of rope that Jeff Probst would let out more of their line, making it harder to hold on to.  The last person standing would win Immunity at the next Tribal Council.  This was the order in which they bowed out of this Challenge: Cochran, Eddie, Erik, and Sherri.  Brenda and Dawn were left to battle it out.  Brenda refused to make a deal with Dawn, then fell in the water, making Dawn the winner!  After the Challenge, Brenda confessed that she let Dawn win, and had to make it look as though she wasn’t going to just let Dawn have it.

Back at Enil Edam, Brenda was happy that Eddie was going home.  Cochran was beginning to scheme against Brenda, confessing that Brenda was a threat because of giving up her Reward, and how good she was at Challenges.  Cochran then went to Sherri to share his thoughts, promising her that she would be guaranteed fourth place if she went along with is plan.  He also told Dawn about what he wanted to do.  Dawn was worried about this plan because it left the door open for Eddie to win the game, and she liked Brenda because she had been so nice to her.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst introduced the Jury (Michael, Phillip, Malcolm, Reynold and Andrea).  He and the Castaways then spoke about Dawn winning the Immunity Challenge, and how Eddie needed to win to stay in the game.  They also spoke about Brenda and the Reward Challenge. Once everyone wrote down their names for who they wanted out of the tribe, Jeff Probst reveled the results of Vote. It went like this: 1-Erik; 2-Eddie; and 3-Brenda!

Another blindside was successfully carried out. I guess that is what happens when you try to be nice to others in this game.  They vote you out!  I believe this would be the third one since the Jury had been formed.  Brenda looked so shocked and hurt, especially after what she did for them at the Reward Challenge.  Dawn had better watch out if she makes it to the Final Three.  With Brenda gone and no longer in her corner, if Dawn does make it to Final Three, I’m not sure if Brenda will give Dawn her vote to win the game.  Well, Readers, this is shaping up to be an interesting season finale on Sunday night.  Who’s going to make it to the Final Three? Who will win the million-dollar prize and be named this season’s Survivor champ?  My fingers are crossed for Cochran to make it to the Final Three.  He’s the only interesting Castawayleft.

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.