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 #12 – Feeling Too Comfortable Can Cause Your Exit to the Game, Again!

Hey There, Readers!

I guess the producers at Survivor decided to take the game up a notch this week (or they realized they were running out of time) because there were two Immunity Challenges and two Castaways voted off during this episode! This meant there was less tribe life seen, but it also gave way to more action, which is always good entertainment. In this episode, both players that left the game became too comfortable in where they stood amongst their tribe mates, and one of them made the mistake of not learning from their past experience on the show. Who was this person? Read on, and you’ll find out!

After the last Tribal Council, Reynold was upset that Malcolm was out of the game, but, he was also very confident about his strength against the other competitors still fighting for the million dollar prize. He confessed that all he had to do was to continue winning Immunity Challenges, and that it would not be that hard because he thought he was the best at them now that Malcolm was gone. Cochran and Andrea must have sensed hat this was what Reynold was thinking, as they were discussing how they knew the next step would be to take Reynold out to prevent him from getting to the Final Three. Tree mail alerted Enil Edam that they wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

At the first Immunity/Reward Challenge, the Castaways had to balance themselves on a floating triangular platform with narrow footholds. The last person standing would gain Immunity from the next.Tribal Council. The Reward portion of this Challenge was that they would earn information about the game which could prove invaluable to the winner.

As the Challenge began, Jeff Probst offered people the opportunity to forfeit in order to snack on some doughnuts and milk. Eddie and Erik felt safe enough in their positions in the game that they jumped off of their platforms and swam over to collect their snack. At the 15 minute mark, the competitors went to the second level on the platform. Jeff Probst offered another treat for people to quit: Hotdogs and soft drinks. Cochran leaped at the chance to eat, giving up on winning Immunity. At the 30 minute mark, the rest of the Castaways moved to the top of the platform. This, along with the wind proved to be the undoing for Dawn and Sherri.  Reynold tried holding on, but after some very close saves, fell into the water.  This left Andrea and Brenda in the Challenge.  The ladies couldn’t agree on a deal for both of them to end the Challenge, and were able to stay balanced and afloat for over three hours! They even came up with a new rule for the competition. They lifted their left leg to see who would be able to stay up the longest. Brenda wobbled, and fell off, leaving Andrea as the winner!

Back at camp, Andrea and Brenda began seriously seeing each other as a threat to winning the game. They both pitched ideas to their alliance members  to blindside the other one, and how the other one was untrustworthy. Andrea also shared  her Reward with her alliance members. It was directions to another Immunity Idol. Erik found the Idol, and gave it to Andrea instead of keeping it for himself. Maybe Erik should have kept it for himself. This set off alarm bells for Cochran, making him suspicious of Erik’s actions.

At,  the first Tribal Council, Jeff Probst introduced Michael, Phillip and Malcolm as the Members of the Jury.  Then he and the Castaways spoke about the Immunity Challenge, and why Brenda and Andrea stayed so long in the Challenge after Reynold was out. Brenda’s excuse was that she didn’t  wanted to win by default. No one believed her. Reynold then reminded his tribe mates that they could use him for whatever purpose, he just wanted to be kept in the game.
After the votes were cast, Jeff announced that it was a 3-2-2-1 Vote to have Reynold leave the game (the other votes went to Eddie, Erik and Sherri in that order).

Back at Enil Edam, the scheming continued, as Andrea and Brenda were continuing to plant seeds of doubt against each other to their alliance. Cochran heard both sides, and decided that Andrea was the more dangerous of the two ladies, since she’s more of an independent thinker than Brenda was. He’s right, and by players thinking for themselves and not always sharing their game-plans with you all the time means they may have plans to eventually get rid of you sooner than later.

At the second Immunity Challenge, the Castaways had to go through an obstacle course and untie several knots on a post to retrieve a key that opened up a chest. This chest held a ladder puzzle where they had to figure out which rung belonged where on the ladder. The first one to finish would win Immunity. Erik blew passed everyone to swiftly win Immunity.

Back at camp, Andrea and Brenda were still trying to convince their alliance to get rid of each other. Andrea knew she should be worried about what could happen at Tribal Council, but she felt that she could trust those in her alliance to get rid of Brenda. Cochran was very unsure of Andrea and her motives, especially since, when she spoke of her plans, they seemed not to include him. He spoke to Erik and told him of his plan to potentially split the Vote and have Andrea go home. Erik said he would think about the plan. I agree with Cochran, again! If your plans don’t include me, then maybe it was time for you to go. Andrea also spoke to Eddie, telling him he would be safe from the Vote. Eddie said it was the first time since he’s been out there that he could breath a sigh of relief at Tribal Council.

At the second Tribal Council, Jeff let in the Jury again, which now included Reynold. Jeff and the Castaways spoke about Eddie being on the outside of the tribe, and about how and when a big move should be made in the game, especially since there were only seven of them left. Brenda said that if no big move was made now, it will eventually be made. They also talked about being lied to in the game. Cochran said he knew he’s been lied to, but at the same time, he’s also done some lying of his own. Andrea also admitted to the same offense, and if she felt paranoid, she would use her Idol to save herself. These words were telling, and maybe Adrea shouldn’t have felt so confident in her alliance, as they voted her out of the game with a Vote of 3-2-2 (Brenda and Eddie got the other votes).

Andrea even had an Idol, and she chose not to use it!  This happened to her the last time she was on the show. She trusted those in her alliance, and they turned on her. When you have an Idol, and you know someone is coming after you, you use the Idol to save yourself, no matter what anyone tells you. It was sad to see her go, since she was such a good player. Only two episodes left, and with six people left in the game, it should prove to be interesting as to who will stay loyal to who, and who will fall by the wayside.

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor: Caramoan, Episode #11 – Oh, No! Not You, Too!

Hello Readers!

Survivor: Caramoan did it again! Another great episode aired, keeping viewers, like myself, glued to the screen until the Castaway voted out had their torch snuffed out. Yes, another Survivor giant has left the game. Who was it? Check it out my post and you’ll find out!

Stealth-R-Us was still reeling from Phillip’s impromptu departure. On the other hand, The Outsiders (or as they are called on the show, The Three Amigos – Malcolm, Reynold and Eddie) were elated that their plan worked so well. They couldn’t stand Phillip being at camp, and it may also help them get further in the game with the head of Stealth-R-Us no longer trying to call the shots. Erik was also assessing his position in the game. He felt that he would be able to get further in the game if he became a swing vote instead of being loyal to Stealth-R-Us.

The next day, Brenda was crying. Her tribe mates rushed to her side to see what was wrong. She told them it was the reality that Stealth-R-Us was no longer in control, and the fear of not knowing who was in the driver’s seat upset her. I wish Brenda would get control of herself, and keep her eyes on the prize, not cry over things that may not happen.

The Castaways were happy when then received their Tree Mail. It had colourful envelops for each of them. Yes, Readers, it was Survivor: Caramoan’s day for their annual Auction as their Reward Challenge!

At the Challenge, Jeff Probst told the competitors that each of them had $500, and that the bidding would go up in $20 increments for each prize. As well, no one was allowed to give another person their money or share their prize (unless Jeff Probst stated otherwise). This was how everything went down:

Malcolm spent $20 on a blind item which turned out to be two ice cold beers.

Reynold spent $80 another blind item. Jeff Probst then gave him the opportunity to trade it for two other blind items. He stuck with his original item which turned out to be a slice of pizza. He turned down a coconut and the remainder of the pizza. Sherri scooped that up with her $500.

Dawn bought a whole cooked chicken with her $500.

Information in the game was the next prize to bid on. Malcolm spent the rest of his money ($480) to win this prize. It turned out to be directions to find the hidden Immunity Idol. He had 60 seconds to memorize the directions, and he took in all of the details he could.

Andrea won a spaghetti and meatball dinner, along with garlic bread and a glass of red wine for $280. Jeff Probst then gave her the choice to either keep this delicious dish, or to give the tribe a whole sack of rice and beans, something they needed desperately. Andrea decided to help out her Castaways and chose the ride and beans.

Cochran came out of this Auction as the big winner with his prize. He spent $380 on an advantage he could use for the next Immunity Challenge.

Sadly, Brenda may gave been the loser of the Auction by winning a blind item which turned out to be pig’s brain that she had to eat immediately. She was so sad, and admitted she doesn’t eat pig meat outside of the game. Poor girl!

Letters from home was the next prize that Reynold on. He passed them out to the Castaways to read at their leisure at Enil Edam.

The final item of the Survivor Auction was won by Eddie. He won a huge bowl of peanut butter that he was allowed to share with rest of the tribe for 60 seconds. Everyone was covered in the sticky treat as they headed back to camp.

Back at Enil Edam, the tribe got together, still sticky with peanut butter, and shared what their lived ones had to say. Of course, many of them became emotional over these letters, but it also gave them the strength to keep going in the game.

Sherri was trying to change her fortunes in the game. She was thinking about leaving Stealth-R-Us to become an Amiga. Malcolm promised her at least fifth place in the game if she she came aboard. She didn’t sign on the dotted line, and told them she would seriously consider the change.

Reynold thought the next logical target would be Cochran. This was because he was a strategic thinker who was also becoming a threat at Challenges. Reynold thought that with Cochran, along with a few other strategic players, out if the game, that it would be smooth sailing for The Three Amigos for the rest if the game.

Malcolm went in search of the Immunity Idol in the cover of  night. He felt he needed this Idol in order to make it through another Tribal Council. His only trouble came in the form of Andrea and Cochran. They tracked him down in the jungle during his search, and pretty much stopped it cold. He didn’t want to have them find it, nor give away what the clue had told him, so he and Andrea just sat in the darkness until almost sunrise. Malcolm knew he wouldn’t be able to look around with Andrea on his heels, so he gave up searching and went back to camp with Andrea right behind him. I hope Andrea’s actions doesn’t put a target on her back.

At the Immunity Challenge, each Castaway had to hold a rope with several knots on it with one hand. The rope held a weight which represented a third of their body weight before they started the game. Every five minutes, they had to move the same hand down the length of rope until they were holding on to the tip of their rope. The last person to be holding on to their rope would win Immunity from Tribal Council. Jeff Probst gave Cochran his advantage in this Challenge that he paid fir at the Auction. He was able to move his hand two knots back up the rope at any point in the competition.

The first group who dropped out of the Challenge were Brenda, Erik, Sherri, Malcolm, and Andrea. Jeff Probst then gave encouragement to those left in the competition to keep going. Cochran then chose to use his advantage to make it easier for him to win. The next few people to leave the Challenge were Dawn and Reynold. This left Eddie and Cochran. Eddie looked over at Cochran struggling to hold on to the rope, and grimaced. This proved to be his undoing as the rope slipped from his hand, giving Cochran his second Immunity Challenge win.

Back at camp, The Three Amigos were upset that they could no longer target Cochran, so their next plan was o try to get two other people to flip over to their side. They went after Erik and Sherri with the promise that flipping to their side would help them stay in the game longer. Malcolm would take Sherri, while Reynold would work on Erik.

Malcolm made Sherri a promise that he would take her to the end if she flipped, as well as telling her of their voting plan to split the vote to take Andrea out of the game. Reynold told Erik of their plan to vote Andrea out, but Erik didn’t agree with it fully, as he intended to play both sides for the rest of the game.

The Favs were also talking about who they should vote out at this Tribal Council, and Andrea confessed to the group that she was suspicious of Erik, and she wanted him gone since she didn’t trust him.

Sherri secretly confessed that this was now her game since she was a swing vote. I feel that she should actually watch her back, as she is the weakest member of her tribe, and no one would want to take her to the end if the game since she has done nothing to show that she has done anything strategic, social or physical to impress anyone else left in the game who would be on the Jury.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst brought in The Jury with a very disappointed Phillip to observe the next Vote. Jeff and the Castaways first spoke about Phillip leaving the game. The Three Amigos were smug about what happened, and were sure they were in a good position to be successful for the rest of the game. Jeff Probst also touched in the topic of people flipping since it seemed as though Stealth-R-Us was fracturing. Andrea confessed she was nervous about this happening; but she then said she trusted her alliance.

Once the votes were cast, Jeff Probst shared these results: Reynold got 3 votes; Malcolm got 3 votes; and Andrea got 3 votes. Yup, a three-way tie! Jeff Probst had the Castaways do a second vote where they could only vote for Reynold, Malcolm or Andrea. When the second set of results came in, it was clear who was going to be Juror #3…it was Malcolm! The Three Amigos are down to two. He was gracious when he shared his thoughts at the end of the show. He knew it was his fault that he was no longer in the game, and said he had a good time.

Yeah, I know, another heavy-weight is out! No Phillip, no Malcolm. Now I’m crossing my fingers and toes for Cochran to hang in there for the rest of the game. I think he has the brains to do it, especially with Malcolm out of the way. The only person he has to really has to worry about is Andrea, as she’s good at Challenges, and, hopefully, she’s learned from her last experience in Survivor. Only three more episodes left until the finale on May 12, 2012! I can’t wait to see how everything unfolds!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor: Caramoan, Episode #10 – Phillip Finally Steps Up and Takes a Bow

Hey, Readers!

This episode of Survivor was one where I shook my head at certain parts due to the ups and downs the Castaways experienced. The situations of certain Castaways changed in an blink of an eye, which also kept effecting how people were going to vote at Tribal Council. Whose star ultimately rose, and whose luck went down the toilet, along with their chance at $1 000 000? Read on and you’ll see.

After Tribal Council, Malcolm, Reynold and Eddie were blindsided by Michael’s exit from the game. Malcolm thought he was the target, but since he was wrong about Stealth-R-Us’ plans, he knew he had to find a way to get on top of the totem pole of Enil Edam sooner than later.

The next morning, Phillip and Cochran were talking about how strong of a player Dawn this time around when a crazed scream could be heard throughout the camp. The scream came from none other than Dawn on a dock by their tribe, becoming hysterical with every moment that past by. Brenda asked what happened to Dawn, and Dawn told her that she had lost her retainer in the water while swimming. Brenda used the fishing gear to fish out Dawn’s retainer for her. Dawn did an 180, going from hysterical to gleeful, grateful to Brenda for her help. Brenda felt sorry for Dawn, confessing that, from this point on, she would try to have Dawn’s back for the remainder of the game.

At the Reward Challenge, the Castaways were split into two teams of five. Each member had to race through an obstacle course, slide into a mud pit to find a bag of balls, then go through a pit of rice. Once this was done by everyone on the team, they had to untie the bags of balls, and then toss them into a basket above their heads. The Reward: a trip to a resort with a smorgasbord of a lunch for them to enjoy for the afternoon. Below are the members of each team:

Purple                  Orange
Phillip                  Malcolm
Erik                       Andrea
Reynold              Sherri
Dawn                    Brenda
Cochran              Eddie

This competition wasn’t even close, mostly due to Sherri’s lack of confidence on the balance beam portion if the obstacle course. Her actions allowed for Team Purple to open up an enormous lead and win the Challenge before Team Orange could finish untying their bags.

While on the Reward, Reynold became even more annoyed by Phillip and his sense of entitlement as Phillip went into the pool at the resort without washing himself off from their Challenge first. Phillip didn’t care about what other people thought, and this bothered Reynold, hoping Phillip would leave the game soon.

When everyone was back at Enil Edam, Dawn was becoming very paranoid about her safety within the tribe. She confided in Phillip and Cochran that she thought Andrea was going to turn on them to go with Malcolm and the Outsiders (Reyonld and Eddie), make her a target, and get her voted out of the tribe. Phillip reassured her, telling her that Andrea wouldn’t do that, and that Dawn was safe. She went on like this for the rest of the day, annoying everyone.

The next morning a new Dawn grace the Enil Edam tribe. Well-rested and more focused, Dawn was back to herself. Stealth-R-Us had a meeting to discuss who would be the next to go out of the Outsiders. Phillip proclaimed that they would split their votes between Malcolm and Reynold, so if an Immunity Idol was used by Malcolm, then their target, Reynold, would be leaving. They also had to make sure one of the seven of them would win the next Immunity Challenge to make sure their plan was successful.

At the Immunity Challenge, each Castaway had to accomplish a series of the following: run along a platform with a ring, put it on a post, jump into the water, pull themselves along the bottom of the platform with a rope, then repeat the run again in order to win Immunity. The Castaways were put into two heats for the first round. Heat #1 had Reynold, Cochran, Dawn, Sherri and Andrea. Heat #2 had Brenda, Malcolm, Eddie and Erik. Phillip made Survivor history by willingly choosing to sit out of the Challenge due to a fear this Challenge made him remember. Reynold and Andrea moved on from Heat#1, while Brenda and Malcolm won Heat #2. In Round 2, the race was between Malcolm and Reynold. Malcolm just couldn’t get his afterburners going, allowing for Reynold to win Immunity.

Back at camp, Stealth-R-Us was worried about the outcome of the Immunity Challenge. They could feel the power shifting away from them, but felt that they could maintain their power if one of them found the Immunity Idol used at the last Tribal Council. Malcolm and his boys had the same idea. Suddenly, it was a scramble to find the Idol all over the jungle. Just as Dawn was asking Malcolm for a hint as to where the Idol could be, Eureka! Malcolm found the Idol hidden within a rock face within the jungle. This took more of the wind out if Stealth-R-Us’ sail, but their fearless leader, Phillip, said they would venture on with their plan to split the Vote, only their new target was Eddie. Poor Eddie was upset, confessing he was probably going to be the next one voted out of the game. I guess only Malcolm knew of the trick he was holding up his sleeve.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst introduced Michael as the first member the Jury, and a silent observer to all of the following Tribal Councils. Jeff Probst and the Castaways then spoke about Malcolm and the Outsiders being the outsiders if the tribe, and about how Eddie was the intended target. Malcolm also let his tribe mates in on the trick he had up his sleeve: his secret Immunity Idol no one knew about. He then gave it to Eddie to keep him safe. Malcolm was forcing Stealth-R-Us (really Phillip) to play a game of chicken. They could all vote Phillip out, or they could call Malcolm and Eddie’s bluff, making them use their Immunity Idols, but it would still ensure that one of the seven of them would be leaving the game. Phillip chose to make Malcolm flinch, telling his operatives to follow through with their plan. He said he didn’t care if he was the one to leave tonight because it would have been due to strategic move, not because everyone wanted him gone.

After Jeff Probst asked if anyone wanted to use their Immunity Idols, Malcolm and Eddie reluctantly gave up their Immunity Idols, giving Phillip some satisfaction. The Vote was 2 for Malcolm, 4 for Eddie and 4 for Phillip to leave the game. Since Eddie and Malcolm were spared because of their Immunity Idols, Phillip was the one chosen to leave the game. I’ll say this about Phillip, he may be a bit eccentric, but he showed a lot of class as he left the Tribal Council area without a word of complaint.

Wow, what an episode! I didn’t see Phillip leaving so early. It was a pretty awesome episode! Now that the power has shifted towards the Outsiders, I wonder how quickly the others will begin to jump ship? Things move quickly in the game of Survivor, and if you are not careful, you can find yourself out of the game. Who knows, maybe the Outsiders will continue to be on the outside by the way this season is going.

If you’ve missed an episode, check out my past Survivor: Caramoan posts to get caught up. You can read my other non-Survivor posts to get a feel for my other interests. Also, check out my Facebook page (you can access it from my blog) for other Reese Speaks tidbits not in my blog, or follow me on Twitter (reesespeaksblog; you can also access it from my blog) to see what I’m up to!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor: Caramoan, Episode #9 – You Snooze, You Lose!

Hey Readers!

It was another wacky episode of Survivor. This week so many people were jockeying for “Top Dog” status, that trying to keep track of who was with who was quite dizzying. It also showed that those who sat on the sidelines thinking they’re safe, without Immunity, of course, are the most likely to be voted out.

Enil Edam has split into two camps: Stealth R Us vs. the rest of the tribe.  Phillip was celebrating Corinne’s departure, while Reynold and Eddie were trying to figure out how to gain more power in the game. They thought that one way to accomplish this would be to get Andrea on their side.

Phillip shared a special event with Sherri. He inducted her into Stealth R Us as a new “double- agent” and gave her the name Tenacity. Sherri held in her laughter, but accepted Phillip’s wonderful gift. Sherri also thought that if she played along with Phillip, that he would confide in her about decisions, making her a bigger player in the game. I just laughed at this because Sherri just saw how Corinne’s ideas were ignored by Phillip, yet she thinks she has a shot of accomplishing this while being at the bottom of the totem pole. Now I’m not sure who’s more delusional between the two of them (Phillip or Sherri)!

At the Reward Challenge the Castaways were split into two teams of five. One person acted as the defender while the others had to throw balls into the net the defenders were defending. The team that reached four points first won the Reward.  This episode’s prize was a trip to a waterfall that they would have to repel down  beside to reach a picnic lunch set up for them to enjoy.

Here was the breakdown of the teams:

Purple                 Orange
Eddie                   Brenda
Erik                      Andrea
Reynold              Dawn
Cochran              Phillip
Michael (Def.)    Malcolm (Def.)

Sherri was not chosen to be on any team, so she automatically doesn’t get to enjoy the Reward. It was a tight game, but the all-male Purple team won Reward with a score of 4-3.

While the Purple team was enjoying their prize, Michael proposed that the guys should get together and create an alliance. Cochran was unmoved by this suggestion, yet he just smiled and nodded at the idea while he ate his lunch.

Back at Enil Edam, Malcolm was planning to add to his followers by looking at those who were at the bottom within the tribe, these people being Sherri and Dawn. When he spoke to Sherri, he told her that he would take her to Final Six. Sherri wasn’t all that confident in Malcolm’s promises.  Malcolm then turned to Dawn. She wasn’t crazy about Malcolm’s plan, either. Not knowing what else to do, Dawn turned to Andrea and told her what Malcolm was up to. Andrea didn’t like what she was hearing, either.

Malcolm then went to Phillip to spell out his plan to him. Phillip had his own agenda. It was to get rid of Michael as a way to clear any remnants of Corinne being in the game. Malcolm pretended to listen to Phillip’s plan, then walked away.

Andrea and Eddie were getting closer to each other in this episode. Andrea admitted that she liked Eddie, but she also wanted to use him to gain information and and a vote in case she makes it to the Final. Eddie admitted to liking her as well, but was using her to get farther in the game. While they were alone, Andrea asked Eddie if he would go so far as to vote the way she would tell him to vote. Playing along with her, he said he would. It will be interesting to see how far this “showmance” will go with the two of them being on opposite sides of the tribe.

This Immunity Challenge was a simple one: the last Castaway to be holding on to a grate in the water as the tide was coming in would walk away with the Immunity Necklace. Once the water began covering the bottom of their faces, people started dropping like flies out of this competition. This was the order in which they gave up Immunity: Phillip, Sherri, Erik, Dawn, Malcolm, Michael, Eddie, Cochran, Reynold, Andrea, and the winner of Immunity, Brenda! Jeff Probst had to get someone to tell her she had won because she was so calm. It looked as though she fell asleep!

Back at camp, Malcolm started making moves to ensure those he wanted for his uprising would be safe from the Vote at Tribal Council. His target was Andrea, as he thought she was the Machiavelli behind Phillip and Stealth R Us. To cover his tracks, he went to Andrea and Dawn and told them that they should get rid of Reynold. Oh, Malcolm! If you were only more convincing! Andrea knew he was lying about his suggestion, and Dawn didn’t trust him, either. To draw Malcolm out of his lie, Dawn asked to see Reynold’s Immunity Idol. Malcolm agreed as a.sign of good faith. Dawn then went back to Phillip and told him what she had learned. Malcolm then turned to Erik, and told him Dawn was on their side, and that Andrea was their mark.

As Malcolm promised, Reynold showed Dawn his Idol. He also threatened her by saying if he gets screwed by showing his Idol to her, she would feel the repercussions of his leaving until she was gone. Dawn didn’t like being spoken to that way, and wanted to make sure she didn’t go down the way she did the last time she was on the show.

Andrea and Eddie met in the jungle to compare notes. Eddie was trying to get out of her who Stealth R Us was voting for so he could bring it back to the guys. She wouldn’t tell him. Eddie then warns her that if Reynold plays the Idol, that it would be Eddie that was leaving. Eddie told her Malcolm’s plan to get rid if her and she her mind started racing to find a way to move the target off her back.

Andrea went to Cochran and told him what was happening. He wasn’t happy about Andrea wanting to break away from the Favs, but also wanted to keep her in the game. With Dawn joining them they decided that Michael would be their choice to vote out of the game, and to have Reynold think it was him in order to smoke out the Idol. Dawn was also shocked that Malcolm didn’t suspect that she was leaking information of his plans to the other side.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst started off their meeting by with the Castaways by talking about how a Fav, not a Fan, went home after the last Vote. Michael said that he was happy he was still in the game, and that he would love to be of use to any side…yeah, in order to save his butt and not be voted out!

They also spoke about what was happening at camp.Phillip informed everyone of his latest acquisition into Stealth R Us (Sherri). Eddie said he didn’t care because he didn’t want to be anyone’s puppet. Uh, Eddie, you may not have noticed, but you are a puppet for Reynold, Malcolm and Andrea. Too bad he doesn’t see this about his position in the game.

They also spoke about sticking together vs. breaking away from an alliance. Phillip believes a group should stick together for success. Andrea said you should try to flip if the numbers work and if the timing is right. Phillip then warned that if people flip, then they will be flushed out and be sent packing.

Before the Vote was announced, Reynold wanted to use his Idol on himself, but Malcolm convinced Reynold to use the Idol on him instead, just in case they were looking to get Malcolm out. Andrea’s plan worked!  With a 6-3-1 vote, Michael was the one to see his million-dollar dream crash and burn. He gave the finger to those remaining, and left the Tribal Council area. Three votes were cast for Andrea, and one vote, by Malcolm, was cast for Reynold. Oh, Malcolm! Double-dealing!

What sportsmanship, Michael! It’s sucks, but it happens all the time in Survivor. I’m surprised he’s surprised he’s gone since he did nothing to keep himself in the game, and he was Corinne’s ally. We’re one vote closer to knowing who will be the next winner of Survivor. I can’t wait to see what we’re in store for in the next episode. Come back and find out which Castaway is the next to get the ax.

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor: Caramoan, Episode #8 – Blindsides are the Order of the Day!

Hello Readers!

Finally, after all this time, the Merge has occurred! Oh, it’s another chance for alliances to strengthen or crumble. Don’t think just because the Favs outnumber the Fans that a Fan will be the overwhelming choice to to be the next to leave the game. I wasn’t sure who was leaving this week until the Vote was revealed. Who was this lucky individual? Read below and you’ll see.

After Tribal Council, Michael was thanking everyone for keeping him in the game. Phillip took Corrine and Dawn aside to let them in on secret that he threw the last Immunity Challenge in order to get rid of Julia.  Dawn and Corrine saw through Phillip’s delusion, stating that if Phillip had decided to throw the Challenge that he would have gotten them together to let them know if his plan, not  right in the middle of a Challenge. Corrine was so ready to dump Phillip, but she had to grind her teeth and bear Phillip until she had her shot to get rid of him.

At Gota, a boat came to their shoreline to deliver their Tree Mail. It informed them to gather their belongings and to get on the next boat that will bring them to their new home. Yep, Readers, you’ve guessed it, it was the Merge! Once the boat dropped the Gota tribe on Bikal’s beach, they celebrated with a chest full of food, and Malcolm renamed the tribe Enile Dam. Why Enile Dam? The sweet boy that he is wanted to let his momma know he was thinking of her. The rest of the tribe was unaware of this, but accepted their new tribe name.

Phillip and Andrea separated themselves from the rest of the group, and caught each other up on what has happened. They both agreed that the Favs had to stick together to make it further in the game. Corrine and Malcolm have their own discussion, only their talk about their new alliance and how to get rid of Phillip and their Favs alliance. She wanted to do this by combining her and Malcolm’s Fan minions (Reynold, Eddie, Erik and Michael).

At the Individual Immunity Challenge, Jeff Probst announced that this contest was a throwback to one Survivor ran many seasons ago. The Castaways had to eat a series of local delicacies. They had to eat quickly in order to make it through each round. The winner of the final round would gain Individual Immunity.

The players of Part 1 of Round 1 were: Malcolm, Corrine, Sherri, Erik, Eddie and Andrea.  The players of Part 2 of Round 1 were: Dawn, Reynold, Brenda, Michael, Cochran and Phillip. The first dish the Castaways had to eat was beetle larvae.  Malcolm, Eddie, Phillip, Michael, Cochran and Erik made it through to Round 2.  The second round found the Castaways eating ship worms. The top three, being Malcolm, Cochran and Eddie, made it to Round 3. These three lucky guys got to battle it out by eating balut,or duck embryos. Cochran and Malcolm were the only two that were able to stomach this dish to make it to the Final Round, which saw these boys eating pig brains. It was a close one, but Cochran shocked everyone by beating “golden boy” Malcolm to win Individual Immunity!

Back at Enile Dam, everyone was congratulating Cochran for his first Individual Immunity win. Malcolm was also a bit sore for coming in second, and went off to lick his wounds to make himself feel better.  The only thing that was bringing Cochran down was the fact that the feeling of triumph would fade away with the craziness of this game. Boy was he right!

Malcolm and Corrine went into action, rallying their troops to set their plan into action. They augmented their plan by setting their target at Sherri, since they thought she was expendable. Then they would go after Phillip and control the rest of the tribe for the remainder of the game.

Corrine had to keep up appearances, so she went to the Favs to discuss getting rid of Sherri. Phillip didn’t like this plan, thinking that they should get rid of either Reynold or Eddie because of their strength. After Phillip stomped his feet to have his way, Corrine was more motivated than ever to get rid of Phillip.

Corrine corralled the Lady Favs together and told them of her new plan. At first, they were in board. Then a light bulb of recognition went off in Dawn’s head. This scenario was what got her voted out the game.  She didn’t want to go down this path again.

Dawn then shared this information with her confidant, Cochran. Cochran pieced together Corrine’s end-game of taking control of the tribe, leaving Cochran and Dawn in the cold, and he wasn’t a fan of that at all! They knew that they had to get rid of Corrine to stay in this game longer. Cochran went to Andrea with this information. As much as she disliked Phillip, she couldn’t let Corrine get away with her plan, either. They needed Erik and Sherri to flip the shift of power to make their plan work. Andrea then Phillip in on what was happening, and he became angry at Corrine’s betrayal.  The big question was whether Sherri and Erik were going to believe them and work with them or against them.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst spoke with the Castaways about whether it was ideal for a Fan to be the next to leave the game. Corrine confessed that she was open to suggestions if the right plan came along. Reynold pretty much said the Favs shouldn’t count their chickens before they’re hatched. Andrea was paranoid because she has been burned by trusting people in Survivor.

The Castaways were nervous as the votes were cast and read out by Jeff. It was 7-5 vote for Corrine to leave the game! It was a huge blindside for her. She was so sure her plan was going well, that she was too cocky that others wouldn’t catch on to what would happen if her plan was successful.

Good work, Cochran! He totally read that plan and cut it off before it got too bad. I know the way I described what happened in this episode made it seem as though Corrine was the one to go, but the way the show was edited, if was really touch-and-go up until the Vote. It really could have gone the other way if a few people had voted another way. The next episode should be interesting, as it will show the fallout of this Tribal Council, as well as seeing how some of the Castaways will react to this blindside. Come on back, Readers, to see how all of this plays out, or check out my other posts or my Facebook page for other fun Reese Speaks tidbits!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor: Caramoan, Episode #6 – Switching Things Up!

Hey Readers!

I know, I didn’t write about Episode #5 last week, but I did happen to catch what happened.  This week, though, Survivor decided to switch things up a bit to keep the Castaways, as well as the viewers, on their toes.  What was the switch-up? Read on and you’ll find out.

Back-tracking a bit, here’s what happened on Episode #4:

Reynold and Eddie were worried about their lives in the game because they knew they had no one to reach out to on the Gota tribe. On Bikal, Brandon went banana crazy, lashing out on Phillip and dumping the tribe’s only supply of rice all the beach. At the Immunity Challenge, Corrine announced that the majority of the tribe was going to forfeit the Challenge in order to go to Tribal Council to get rid of a tribe mate. Jeff Probst accepted Bikal’s resignation, and decided to have Tribal Council right then and there. Brandon explained why Phillip angered him, and Phillip tried refuting what Brandon was saying, but it only fanned the flames under Brandon’s butt.  After all the drama was dialed down a bit, Jeff Probst asked Bikal who they wanted out of their tribe. Brandon said Phillip, while the rest of the tribe said Brandon. Cursing all the way, Brandon left the Challenge area, and the tribes went back to their camps.

Back to Episode#6…

Bikal was all a-twitter when they returned back to their camp from their explosive and impromptu Tribal Council. Phillip confessed he wanted Corrine to be the next to leave, while the rest of the Favourites wanted Phillip out of their tribe.

At Gota, Reynold and Eddie were happy about being spared due to Brandon’s exit, but were still stuck on how they were going to survive to the merge when they no longer have a social game.

Jeff Probst called both tribes together to announce that the game wpuld be shaking up by changing the faces on both tribes. This made some smile (Reymond and Eddie), and others grimace (Phillip). After having the Castaways break an egg with a coloured center on their body to reveal which tribe they were to be on. Here are the line-ups of the new tribes:

Gota                             Bikal
Malcolm                     Phillip
Brenda                        Cochran
Andrea                       Corrine
Eddie                           Matt
Sherri                          Julia
Erik                              Michael
Reynold                     Dawn

Each of these new tribes got new tribes received a container of rice, a new piece if flint, and new buffs. They were then sent back to their camps to bond and strategize.

At Gota, Reymond and Eddie have thrown away their “feud” with Malcolm, as they sought him out to gain his trust, and maybe create an alliance with him by telling him their story of woe of how they ended up at the bottom of the totem pole at the old Gota. Sherri had the same plan, and tried becoming friendly with Brenda and Andrea, giving her every bit of gossip about what happened within her old tribe.

Andrea and Malcolm compared notes on their new tribe mates, happy they were not close. Andrea also asked Malcolm if he had an Immunity Idol, and he boldly lied to her, telling her that he didn’t have one.

At Bikal, Phillip was acting like he was Cock of the Walk again by trying to flip Julia to do his bidding.  Julia just let Phillip flap his gums, taking in any bit of information he was giving her so she could try to use it in the future.

Corrine and Dawn were shaking their heads at Phillip and his attempts to try and turn Julia because they didn’t care about getting new recruits, they wanted the Immunity Idol to protect themselves against one of.the Fans possibly using it against them at Tribal Council.

At the Immunity Challenge, the tribe mates had to go in pairs to roll six crates across the beach.  The tribe then had to create a set of stairs out of the crates to a platform.  The winning tribe would be granted Immunity.  It was pretty much a blow-out for the Gota tribe as they rolled by Bikal to win Immunity.

When Bikal returned from the Challenge, Phillip was playing Papa Bear by giving a pep talk to the tribe about how well they worked together despite their loss.  Corrine was thoroughly annoyed with Phillip’s antics, but knew to remain in the game meant to keep Phillip around.  So she, along with the rest of the tribe, bared down and let Phillip run his mouth.

Phillip then took Matt and Michael aside to tell them Julia was going to be the one to go.  They agreed because they both wanted to stay on in the game. Phillip then felt they were worthy enough to be inducted into Phillip’s Stealth-R-Us group, giving them code names to seal the deal.

Julia spoke with Matt and Michael in the jungle about who they were going to vote for.  They lied to her, telling her they were going to vote for Dawn to leave. She was happy with this, and let them go.

The Favourites then got together to talk about who they really wanted to vote out. Corrine wanted Julia gone because she felt Julia brought no value to their tribe.  Cochran brought up the idea that Michael and Matt should be split up because they seemed too close, as though they had an alliance. This interested the other Favourites, but also made their decision harder.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst asked the Castaways about how the switch effected them and whether the Fans on Bikal felt as though they were in trouble.  All three Fans admitted they were sure one of them were going to be voted out. Jeff Probst also asked the Favourites what would it take to keep a Fan in their tribe. Corrine said that she had to be convinced of their intentions, and that none of them had or would use the Immunity Idol to save their numbers. Phillip added that if any of them had the Immunity Idol, that they should use it to save themselves because the three of them didn’t know which of them would be the one to be leaving the game.  It was also a way to flush out the Immunity Idol if they did happen to have it.

After the votes were cast, Matt was the Fan that was chosen to leave the game by a vote of 4-2 (Julia)-1 (Dawn).  I thought either Michael or Julia would be the one to go because Matt had more muscle than the other two.  They’re going to be sorry for getting rid of him when they are destroyed over and over again by the new Gota, who has just about every strong player in the game now.

Yes, Readers, it was another shocking episode of Survivor: Caramoan. Phillip is so lucky the Favourites have the numbers on their tribe, or else he would have been the one to go this week. Reymond and Eddie must also be thanking their lucky horseshoes because of this shake-up in the tribes.  All of the Castaways are hoping they can make it to the merge, then all bets will be off.  Will Bikal be desecrated with most of the stronger players being on the Gota tribe? Will Phillip notice that everyone is placating him and change his strategy? Come back to get the latest update on the Castaways and this season of Survivor: Caramoan.

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor: Caramoan, Episode #3 – That Was a Close Shave, Shamar!

Hello Readers!

The Castaways on this season of Survivor: Caramoan are very explosive. They continue to allow their emotions get the better of them, clouding their better judgement.  This is especially true of the Fans, or Gota tribe. This is especially true of Shamar and Reynold. Reynold sees the errors of his ways, but Shamar seems as though he’s a lost cause. How do they fair during this episode? Read on, and you shall see!

With the loss of Allie to their band of four, Reynold, Hope and Eddie were still reeling from Shamar still being a part of the Gota tribe.  Reynold began trying to make concessions with Matt, telling him how important he thought he was, and how needed Matt was for numbers to get rid of Shamar.  Shamar, not learning from the close shave he just had at Tribal, began going off on anyone around him, telling them how awful they were for treating him so badly.  Laura and Michael commented on how they liked Shamar, but he needed to cut down on the crazy.

The next day, Laura took it upon herself to take Shamar aside and let him know that he was wrong about how the whole tribe hating him. Shamar was so defeated by the blowout at Tribal, that he was on the edge of wanting to throw in the towel and leave Survivor. Laura told him that the reason some people may not like him was because he was so explosive.  In a nice way, Laura told Shamar he should not rise to Reynold’s attempts to provoke him.  Shamar continued to mope, telling her nothing will change because he was the black sheep of the tribe, and the money for winning the game was not worth bringing both the tribe and himself down.

Reynold and Eddie were trying to see how to get the numbers back in their favour while getting Shamar out of their tribe. They realized that if they could get Shamar to blow up a few more times around camp, while keeping themselves cool may make other tribe members see what liability Shamar was to them.  They then set out to fulfill their plan.

Shamar got some counseling from Sherri as well.  She said she was used to dealing with guys like Shamar, and decided to try to talk him out of wanting to stay in the game. Sherri also thought that if Shamar did quit this game, that he would regret this decision and be angry at himself for doing so.  The talk made Shamar feel a little better about himself and his place in the tribe.  He even apologized to the tribe for his actions, and told them he didn’t want to leave the game yet.  This turn of events made Reynold even more determined to send Shamar packing if Gota should have to go back to Tribal Council.

At Bikal, home of this year’s Favourites, Malcolm and Corrine were talking strategy while searching for the Immunity Idol in the jungle. While they were talking about what they would do at the merge, Malcolm had the Survivor gods smile on him by finding an Idol! After celebrating, Malcolm hid the Idol close to where he found it, decided they should work secretly together in an alliance, and returned back to camp.

Their alliance may not be a secret for much longer, though, as Cochran spied Malcolm and Corrine chatting to each other off to the side of their shelter away from everyone else.  Cochran then shared his concerns with Andrea, who was not keen to hear this bit of news.  She then concocted a plan to get rid of Corrine, as Andrea felt threatened by how strong of a player Corrine was.  As she began recruiting other tribe members to her cause, Andrea was also worried about Corrine finding out about her designs against Corrine.

Brandon was not gun-ho about Andrea’s plan. In fact, he didn’t trust Andrea at all.  He confessed that he didn’t trust anything anyone on his tribe tells him.  I think some of Brandon’s paranoia around good-looking aggressive women may be rearing its ugly head again. He went so far as to say if anyone double-crossed him, he would go crazy on his tribe mates.

At the Reward/Immunity Challenge, all members of both tribes had to swim out to a sunken cage, open its door, then retrieve a very heavy trunk that would require all of their efforts.  Once out if the water, they had to take turns using a rope with a hoop tied to it to gather three pieces of a bridge to push their trunk across to the finish line.  The winners not only gained Immunity from Tribal Council, but they would gain some comforts for their camp, such as lounge chairs, cushions and and a tarp to keep warmer and drier.  It was a close one, but the Favourites were able to squeak out another win, leaving the Fans out in the cold with a trip to Tribal Council.

Oh, Shamar has listened to nothing his fans on his tribe have told him. While the tribe was assessing where they went wrong during the Challenge, Shamar starting yelling at Reynold for not giving him a pair of goggles.  Laura was also worried about her performance during the Challenge because she swam so poorly, costing them time during that competition.

Once the shouting match ended, the tribe members not a part of the fractured mini alliance came up with a plan to get rid of Reynold by splitting the votes between he and Hope.  Since there were more men than women on their tribe, Reynold would go.Shamar, being smug, alluded to Hope that she was not the intended target for the vote.  She caught on to what Shamar was telling her, she told the rest of her alliance what was happening.  They then went around camp, telling everyone that Shamar spilled the beans on their plan, and this was a good reason to cut him loose.

When this news hit the rest of the tribe, they were upset to this new development.  Laura was so upset that she went to Reynold, suggesting that herself and Julie would flip, adding the much needed numbers to their cause.  Reynold was over the moon, and couldn’t wait to see Jeff Probst at Tribal.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst and the players started the meeting off with what happened at the last Tribal. Again, Shamar had his pity party, saying he was a scapegoat for anything that went wrong for their tribe, and that some tribe mates were lying about what he said. Hope felt the need to try to save her butt by binging up her conversation with Shamar. This set Shamar off, again! Come on, Shamar, have you learned nothing? You never go crazy at Tribal. You have to keep your crazy pent up inside of you until the game is over.

It was a wacky vote, Readers, as the Gota tribe had a three-way tie for Shamar, Hope and Eddie.  Jeff Probst advised the Castaways that they would have a second vote where they could only vote for the three aforementioned tribe members, and that these people were not allowed to vote.  Once these votes were cast and counted, another shocking decision was made…Hope was voted out four to one against Shamar. Reeling from the decision, she gave Jeff Probst her torch and watched as her life in game was snuffed out.  Jeff Probst also warned Shamar to shape up or ship up if he didn’t change his ways towards his tribe, as I guess even he though Shamar was on his way out of the game.

Shamar was a lucky ducky, narrowly getting by this Tribal Council with his torch still on fire.  Due to his theatrics, it could have very well been him leaving the game. Hopefully, he will get the message and start being more friendly towards the rest of the Gota tribe.  I have the feeling he doesn’t, though.  Now that another explosive episode of Survivor has come to an end, will my prediction come true?  Will the Favourites be in for any bad luck soon? Will the weather hold out for these Castaways, or will it become wet and wild for them? All you have to do to find out is to come on back to my blog!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor: Caramoan (Fans vs. Favorites 2), Episode #1 – When Emotions Take Over

Hey Readers!

The next installment of Survivor is underway!  Twenty Castaways are in sunny Caramoan to duke it out to decide who will be the next million dollar winner of the game.  It is Survivor’s second time around with a Fans vs. Favourites theme.  I wasn’t so impressed with the group they assembled, but the few I liked make up for my disappointment in spades.  If you read my previous post, I spoke of my favs of the Favourites.  They were Malcolm, Cochran, and Phillip.  Yeah, if you have watched the last few seasons of this show, you’ll know what I mean.  After watching this episode, I’m still surprised that the Favourites are such emotional players, especially since they’ve been through this game before, allowing for paranoia to set in early in the game.  How did this happen? Read on, and you’ll see.

As most seasons of this game begin, Jeff Probst welcomed the Fans (or, as I will call them, Newbies) to Survivor, as well as to Caramoan.  Jeff also introduced them to the other group of people they would be competing against: the Favourites fans like themselves had voted for.  The Newbies were both elated, as well as in a competative mood, as each of the Favourites left the helicopter.  Jeff then gave each tribe their buffs.  The Newbies are called Gota, and the Favourites are called Bikal.

Once both sides sized each other up, Jeff Probst announced the first Reward Challenge for some flint and twenty pounds of beans, something a tribe could use to initially raise morale back at camp.  For this Challenge, two members from each tribe had to battle each other get a lifesaver ring from a post set offshore, then bring it back to their tribe’s post that was closer to the shore.  The catch: thee was only one ring, and the other tribe could do just about anything to take the ring from you and score for themselves.  The tribe that won five rounds first won the Challenge.  Well, Readers, it was a blow out.  The Favourites came to play, winning five out of the six rounds played.  This Challenge may have also sparked the beginnings of a feud between Fan Reynold and Favourite Malcolm.

Once they reached their beach, the Gota tribe marveled at the beauty of their beach and the long journey they had as they started their virgin adventure in the game.  They also began to set up their camp.  As usual, the men-folk felt they were the only ones capable to build their shelter.  This allowed for the women of their tribe to begin to make strategies and formed alliances.

Back at Gota, Shamar, biting back his military urges, was commenting on how he didn’t want to set himself as a leader for this tribe, but he wanted to be chosen by the tribe to fulfill this role.  He saw that the the rest of the tribe needed help starting fire without the aid of flint, so he waited until the right moment and created a spark to make fire.  The tribe cheered and congratulated him on his fire making skills.  Maybe Shamar’s plan will work?

Other sparks were flying between Reynold and Allie.  While wading in the blue ocean, they decided to become an alliance with Eddie and another female player.   They solidified their pact by using each other for body heat during the cold nights in Caramoan.  Other Castaways noticed how close Reynold and Allie were becoming and have begun to label them as a romance alliance.  Maybe these two should cool things down a bit, or else they will put an even bigger target in their backs, especially since it’s the beginning of the game.  Other Castaways will this as a reason to vote you off.

At Bikal, the Favourites also began setting up their camp.  Both sexes took part in this event.  The only thing that was holding them back a bit was good old.Phillip trying to be the “leader,” giving advice to anyone around him.

While this was happening, Francesca, Dawn and Andrea agreed to form an alliance straightaway.  Francesca also tried to bury the hatchet with Phillip after their last encounter on Survivor: Redemption Island,  but Phillip, hard-headed as he is, turned his back on her olive branch.

While eating, Phillip decided he would take the lessons he learned from his Survivor “Yoda,” Boston Rob, and try to make everyone feel like family, as.well as try to form alliances within alliances.  Some of the other Castaways caught on to his futile attempts, and caulked it up to Phillip being Phillip.

Cochran was feeling the heat early in the game , especially on his feet!  Yes, Readers, Cochran had a sunburn on his feet already.  He then turned as red as his feet as the rest of his tribe learned of his condition.

At the Immunity Challenge, two players from each team had to race up certain levels of a structure to find two crates (twelve in all), and throw them over the side to crash on the ground to release the two sandbags within them.  Then two other members of their tribe had to retrieve these sandbags to then toss into six targets.  The winning tribe would win Immunity, and if the Fans won, hey would also receive flint.  Once again, it was a blow-out, but it was in the Newbies’ favour! Malcolm was bested by his new rival, Reynold, bringing the Immunity Idol to the Gota tribe.

Once Bikal got back to their camp, it was game-on for scrambling.  Everyone was hustling, running around, sharing tidbits of information to.each other as they were trying to decide who should go home.  Andrea has become quite the strategist, rallying many of her tribe mates together in getting rid of Francesca because she didn’t trust her.  What happened to your alliance with Francesca?  Alarm bells went off when this information got back to Francesca, and she was on the move, trying to get support to get rid of Andrea.  Cochran and Dawn decided to pair back up again, and they were si confused as who they should vote out, that they were going to put their support where the numbers were to avoid being targeted themselves.  Again, your alliance to Francesca, Dawn?  What happened to it?

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst had the Favourites light their torches, representing their life in the game, and letting them know that, soon, one of their torches would be snuffed out.

The topics brought up at Tribal Council were who was running their tribe, the continuing feud between Phillip and Francesca, and llaying on a tribe of returning players.  They told Jeff that no one was really running their tribe.  Where Phillip and Francesca were concerned, Phillip continued to be a jerk toward Francesca.  As for playing with returning players, Andrea tried to downplay her skills while giving her opinion, and Cochran said that the tempo of the game is faster for them because they are all expecting to be blindsided, so paranoia has already begun to spread within their camp.

Jeff Probst revealed the vote.  It was a close one, Readers! It was a 6-4 vite to have Francesca be the first Castaway to leave the game this season.  Francesca also made Survivor history by being the first Castaway to be the first player to leave the game on two different seasons.  That really sucks.  I think this was the right move for the Favourites gang  because Francesca didn’t really bring any strength to the Bikal tribe.  I’m no fan of Andrea as a player, but the Favourites will need Andrea down the line to go a bit further in the game.

Well, Readers, we are on our way in this new season of Survivor.  See what happens when just a bit of negative information gets spread about you in this game? I wonder how this will play itself out? Hopefully, the Favourites will get out their funk and work together to take the Newbies out.  We’ll find out when the next episode airs.

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.