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.

Big Brother 15, Episode #36: The Winner of Big Brother 15 Is…

Hello, Readers!

I decided to be a bit more formal with you because of this episode’s occasion: it’s Finale Night!  Yes, I’m so excited about tonight because one of my picks to win BB 15 had made it to the Final Three!  Yes, sneaky, yet calculating good guy, Andy has wormed his way to this position in the game along with GinaMarie and Spencer.  Which one of these three will win the pivotal HoH, then get the Jury to vote for them to win $500 000?  Read on and you’ll see!

When we left these three in my last post, the Final Three were competing in Part 1 of a three-part HoH Competition called The Greatest Skate.  House Guests  were being swung around the BB roller rink trying to avoid obstacles on the ground to trip them up.  Spencer was finding it hard to hold to his bar as the producers decided to speed up the cords the bars were attached to.  Spencer just couldn’t hang on any longer, and fell.

Andy and GinaMarie were still hanging tough in the game until they were being sprayed with jets of fog, water and foam.  This made Andy and GinaMarie slip and slide all over the rink until Andy’s footing gave out on him, making him let go of his bar and fall.  GinaMarie won the first of three competitions for the HoH, and a by from competing in Part 2.  She was showered with a golden glitter which she ended up choking on in her excitement. Andy confessed he began to wonder whether his fall could have cost him the game.

Part 2 of the HoH Comp called Crab Grab had the fellas rigged up for some wall climbing as they had to find the faces of the House Guests that had been evicted on crab pieces, then climb up a wall ad put them in the correct order of when they left.  Andy and Spencer got to compete individually, and both had a hard time at this challenge.  In the end, good ol’ Andy won Part 2 of the Comp!  At this point, Spencer felt he had to get GinaMarie and Andy to realize just how easy it would be for them to win the game if they took him to the Final 2 with them in order to win $50 000 and at least second place.

GinaMarie and Andy had a private conversation about what they were going to do should either of them won this HoH.  Andy said he would take GinaMarie since Spencer would beat both of them due to the fact that he has less blood on his hands than the two of them.  GinaMarie confessed in the Diary Room that she would probably go with Andy as well.  She was worried about making this move because she felt she would lose to Andy because he was such a good kid, and he deserves to win the game.  Yet, at the same time, GinaMarie could screw him over because she needed the money as well…

Julie Chen then announced to the viewers that Dr. Will Kirby ( a BB icon) had visited the Jury House to speak to the Jurors about the Final Three, and to get them to think about who they were going to vote for to win the game.  He asked the Jury what made each person worthy of the grand prize.  This got Amanda practically yelling at most of the other Jury members, and even some questionable looks shot at McCrae for his opinions that didn’t agree with those she shared.

The show then went to the Final part of the HoH Competition.  For this final part of this HoH showdown, Julie Chen asked them to finish off a statement given by each of the Jury members.  Julie Chen gave them two possible options as to how each person had responded, and the players had to choose which statement was the correct one.  For every correct answer they gave, they got a point, and if one player had more points than the other, the scales they were put on would lower in their favour.  After answering 8 questions about their Jury members, Andy answered more statements correctly than GinaMarie, making him the last, and the most important HoH of the season.  Yay! My pick has made it into the Final 2!

The show then moved quickly to the last Live Vote and Eviction of the season.   Andy apologized to Spencer, telling him he knew he told him he would take him to the Final 2, but he made a promise to GinaMarie from Day 1 that he would take her to the end of the game.  Spencer was the  last evicted House Guest from the House this season, as well as the final member of the Jury deciding who would win the game.

When Julie Chen interviewed Spencer after his eviction, he told Julie he kind of saw his eviction coming, and he was proud of Andy for staying loyal to GinaMarie for all this time.  He was also proud of the fact that he broke the “Pawn Always Goes Home” curse that lingered around the BB game.

It was now time for the Jury to interrogate the Final 2 to decide which of them would win BB 15.  First, Julie Chen introduced Spencer to the Jury as its last member, and got them up t speed as to what happened in the House.  The Julie Chen let the Jury lose on Andy and GinaMarie.  As usual, the questions, ” What was your biggest move in the game,” “What was your biggest obstacle to overcome,” and “Why should we give you the money” were asked, as well as “Why should we give you our vote when you had offended us and called us cockroaches?” by Candice of GinaMarie.  GinaMarie answered that she was upset by Nick’s leaving, that it was not an personal attack against anyone, and that she loved everyone in the House.  Wow, after cussing Candice and supporting her Eviction, GinaMarie sure does know how to do a 180º turn when $500 000 is on the line!

Then Julie Chen gave the Final 2 their last chance to sway the Jury to choose them to win the season.  GinaMarie continued her love fest, flattering the Jury, telling them how great of an opportunity this prize would be for her, and that she was sorry for offending anyone.  Andy said he played the game with his heart, but that he played the game more with his head.  He went on to say that he played both sides of the House in order to get further in the game.  Then the Jurors each put their key in a box with the name of the House Guest they wanted to win BB 15.

To add more suspense to the evening, Julie Chen then brought out the first 5 evicted House Guests so the Jury and the Final 2 could get a better perspective of what they were able to watch from home.  They spoke about all of the controversial events that happened, and how they were affected both inside and outside the House.

Finally, the moment many of you have been waiting for: the winner of BB 15!  The winner had to have at least 5 votes to win.  This was who the Jurors voted for:

Spencer – Andy; McCrae – Andy; Judd – GinaMarie; Elissa – Andy; Amanda – Andy, Aaryn – GinaMarie; Helen – Andy; Candice – Andy; and Jessie – Andy.

If you add it all up, it was a 7-2 vote for my pick ANDY!!!! YES! My pick finally won a season of a show!  My bad luck curse has finally broken!  I don’t think GinaMarie minded too much, just winning $50 000 for second place, and running straight to a somewhat weary, yet nice Nick.  She didn’t let go of him for the rest of the broadcast!  Nick took it all in stride.

Lastly, Readers, Julie Chen announced the winner of the $25 000 America’s Choice prize.  American viewers were asked to vote on who they thought played the game the best, and they would be awarded this prize.  The top 3 vote-getters were Judd, Elissa ad Howard.  Readers, it was no surprise who won…it was Elissa!  If she was chosen by America to be the MVP 3 weeks in a row, of course they were going to choose her to win this prize, too!

After all of this, Julie Chen thanked the viewers for watching this season, and the theme music closed out the show.  It was kind of sad.  I know they have the show on so often to make up for reruns during the summer, but this was my thing to watch!  Oh well, I have 2 seasons of Survivor to watch until next summer to fill this void!  Thanks, Readers, for popping in to catch up on what was happening in the BB 15 House this season.  I really appreciate your support.  If you didn’t know, I am also posting Survivor 27: Blood vs Water right now, so if you wanted to keep up with Survivor, come back to my blog and check out those posts until Big Brother 16 starts up next summer.

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Big Brother 15, Episode #35: Reflections of This Season’s Past

Hey Readers!

This is the second to last episode of the season!  With McCrae gone, The Exterminators, well, most of them anyway, have accomplished what no other alliance this season: get everyone they wanted evicted out of the House while making it together to the end of the game.  Now that they have to turn in each other, it should be fun to see what happens.  Read on to see what happened between the Final Three in this episode!

Andy was getting worried about McCrae and most of the other Jury Members because of his methods of getting them evicted via a double-cross.  It may hurt his chances in winning the grand prize.

Spencer wasn’t worried about the Jury.  He was very confident,calling himself the “Grim Reaper of the Block” because he was on the block and had survived it 8 times, seeing those up against him get evicted.  Yeah, no one can fault him for this.  You can only really fault the HoH who put him on the block and those who didn’t vote for him to leave the House.  But is this enough fir him to win the game in the eyes of the Jury?

The Exterminators then went on to talk about why they decided to tell McCrae about their alliance. Andy said it was because out of all if the Jury Members (except for Judd), he was the most level headed, so he would understand and judge them on being part of an alliance getting him out of the House. Before leaving the House, McCrae confessed in the Diary Room that Andy told him that Andy would be a bitter Jury member if he had been stabbed in the back. Since McCrae had just been stabbed in the back by his former 3AM alliance member, Andy, McCrae said that Andy’s words may come back to haunt him if Andy made it to the Final Two.

The show then cut to the Final Three celebrating accomplishing their goal. The producers had set out a lush snacking feast, some champagne and some OJ. The Final Three then toasted to their success, and drank their drinks.

Andy, Spencer and GinaMarie then began to reminisce about all of their favourite, and not so favourite memories of this past season. Here were some of my favourites out of the ones they talked about about showed to the viewers:

• The Forming of the Moving Company

• Jeremy’s Macho Freak-Outs (ex – the wine incident)
• BB 15’s Many Showmances
• “Judd the Studd” (how he made out with both Jessie and Aaryn)
• The GinaMarie-Amanda Verbal Cat Fight
• Amanda and McCrae’s “Wedding.”

Once The Final Three finished their walk down Memory Lane, they put their hands together, cheered “The Exterminators,” then wished each other luck as they prepared for the final HoH Competition of the season.

As with every season, the final HoH Competition is played in 3 parts.  In Part #1 of the Competition, everyone gets to compete.  In The Greatest Skate, all three players had to hang on to a horizontal pole attached to a rope that was swinging the House Guests around an amazing roller rink while they were wearing roller skates!  The object of this comp: be the last player hanging onto their pole while getting bashed into the obstacles around the roller rink.  Gotta love the endurance challenges!  The show ended with the Final Three hanging on for dear life as they were being swung around the BB Backyard.

This was a fun episode to watch, Readers!  I was saying, “Oh, yeah, I remember that!” and “I really wish I had the live feed to have seen that!” for most of the show.  Who do you think will win BB 15?  My last pick, Andy is still going strong, but would GinaMarie or Spencer take him with them should the win the last HoH of the season?  What kind of things will the Jury say to the Final Two when it comes down to choosing the winner?  Who will America choose as their favourite player this season?  Come back to my blog to catch how this season will wrap up!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Big Brother 15, Episode #34: Your Luck Has Finally Run Out

Hey Readers!

It’s yet another Eviction Night on this episode of BB 15!  I know, they’re just throwing the House Guests out at this point  in the season!  With Andy being the HoH this week, it’s be up to McCrae to take his butt out of the fire again if he wants to make it into the Final Three.  Will McCrae be saved by the PoV or some last minute deal?  Keep reading and you’ll see!

After Julie Chen got the viewers caught up on what was happening in the BB House, the show cut straight to Andy announcing his Eviction Nominees.  He put McCrae and Spencer up on the block.  McCrae confessed after the Nomination Ceremony that he had a good chance of going home this week if he didn’t win the Veto.

The Exterminators were in the HoH Room discussing the Veto Competition as well.  They agreed that McCrae can’t win the PoV again.  Andy was also thinking about what would happen if McCrae did win the Veto this week.  He confessed it didn’t matter whether Spencer or GinaMarie were on the block, so long as McCrae went home.

At the Nomination Ceremony, Andy’s decision was revealed.  e put McCrae and Spencer up for Eviction.  Andy said his decision was not personal, and that this week was all about winning the PoV.  McCrae was confused as to why Andy would put him up if they’re in an alliance together.  Spencer didn’t like how Andy put him up on the block instead of GinaMarie, and felt there was something fishy going on between the two of them.

The show then showed the viewers what was happening at the Jury House.  They showed Aaryn, Amanda and Elissa joining Candice, Jessie and Helen.  Yeah, Readers, a House and a Jury full of women could spell trouble for those remaining in the game.  There was some verbal cat fights between Amanda and Candice over who deserved to win the game.  Of course, Amanda was forcing her opinion down everyone else’s throat, preaching about how McCrae should win the game, while Candice thought GinaMaire should win.  No surprise why Amanda would have such strong feelings for McCrae to win, but it was interesting why Candice would want GinaMarie to win after everything that wet down between them.  Maybe it was a girl power feeling, or maybe it was because GinaMarie was the person she liked the most out of everyone else left in the game.  They each argued over how the other’s pick rode on someone else’s coat tails to get where they were.  When Judd joined the ladies, it was a hot/cold sort of reaction to his presence with them.  This was because he had sent some of them to the Jury, while some of them still adored his easy-going manner.

At the last Power of Veto Competition (I’m not sure if the producers gave this Comp a name), the players had to match up the correct House Guests to the clues provided on 14 spiders connected to a web on boards in the BB Backyard.  Some of the clues had more than one correct response, but there was a proper House Guest to make the web work.  The player to correctly figure out this puzzle ad hit their buzzer won not only the Veto, but also put themselves into the Final Three, and got the right to cast the sole Vote, deciding the last person to go on in the game, while sending the other person to the Jury House.  After a lot of pondering and switching around by the House Guests, HoH Andy won the Veto, along with the opportunity to decide who goes along with him to the Final Three.

After the Veto Competition, McCrae was crushed, potentially losing his last chance to stay alive in this game.  He said he was going to try to do anything he could to make Andy see that he should bring him along to the Final Three.  Andy and Spencer were in the HoH Room, trying ot figure out whether he should use the Veto or not.  Spencer confessed he would rather have McCrae go on with himself and Andy, leaving GinaMarie to join the Jury.  He felt threatened by GinaMaire because of all of the support she may have on the Jury, so getting her out would be better for his chances to win the game.

McCrae went to Spencer to make his pitch as to why he should go on in the game.  He let Spencer know about GinaMarie’s potential support on the Jury because she sis what so many others were afraid to do: get rid of Amanda.  I agree, this was a major move in the game, and if Spencer doesn’t take McCrae’s point to heart, he could be making a half a million dollar mistake!

McCrae the went on to make his pitch to stay with Andy.  He told Andy that GinaMarie and Spencer have not made that many enemies on the Jury since they haven’t had to get their hands as dirty as he and Andy have.  He also reminded Andy of how dangerous GinaMarie was in the game.  McCrae also told Andy that if it came down to it, he would take Andy with him to the Final Two because he knew he would lose to Andy, but would have a better chance at winning than against GinaMarie or Spencer.

At the Veto Ceremony, Andy chose not to use the PoV on any of the Nominees.    Right after Andy made his decision, the show moved right along to the last Live Vote and Eviction Ceremony of the season.  When given their chance to try and save themselves, McCrae thanked his family and supporters at home, and told GinaMarie not to worry about what was going to happen, as she was the only one allowed to vote.  Spencer told the House Guests to do whatever she wanted.  In the end, GinaMaire decided to stay true to the Exterminators, choosing to Evict McCrae.

As an extra tidbit, before the Live Vote and Eviction Ceremony, Julie Chen informed the viewers that The Exterminators had outed themselves to McCrae.  They replayed this footage for us viewers to see.  In McCrae’s exit interview, he told Julie Chen he wasn’t sure where his relationship with Amanda was going to go after the show ends because life outside of the House is much different than it is within it.

Well, Readers, McCrae will be missed by me.   He was a funny little character.  The one thing I won’t miss is typing his name!  Now with him out of the way, the Final Three House Guests are Andy, GinaMarie and Spencer.  The next episode will show these three battling it out to become the final HoH of the season, guaranteeing their spot in the Final Two, and also getting to choose who they want to sit beside in front of the Jury on Finale Night for the $500 000 prize.  There are only two episodes left, Readers!  Who do you think will make it, and who will be the last member of the Jury?  Come back to my blog and see how it all plays out!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Big Brother 15: Episode #33: Dodged Another Bullet

Hi There, Readers!

This episode was a special night, where a House Guest was going to leave the House a day early McCrae is in a bit of a sticky wicket as he is up on the block with GinaMarie, one of the members of The Exterminators.  He’s alone in the House with no real allies.  His only hope: winning the PoV to take himself off the block, giving him another shot to win the next HoH.  Does he have what it takes to get himself out of the hole he is in? Continue reading and you’ll find out!

While McCrae worried about his safety in the House, Spencer, GinaMarie and Judd were in the HoH Room talking about what would happen if McCrae did the unthinkable and win the PoV to save himself.  Judd asked Spencer who he would put up.  Without really skipping a beat, Spencer said it would be Judd.  Judd was taken aback for a moment, then tried to get Spencer to change his mind.  Judd later confessed he found it weird that Spencer would be shielding Andy at this point in the game instead of himself.

GinaMarie and McCrae were asked to go into the Diary Room.  They came back out, their friendship bracelet cut, letting everyone know their punishment was officially over.  Judd was released from his punishment after having to do 75 sit-ups in the BB Living Room.

Spencer and Andy were keeping up the ruse to get McCrae to let down his guard so he wouldn’t fight so hard for the Veto.  They were also making sure they were on McCrae’s good side should he win the Veto and then win the next HoH competition so they could then work with him and get further in the game.

This week’s Power of Veto Competition had a special guest host.  It was none other than last season’s winner, Ian!  In Super Veto, a of the House Guests and Ian were dressed in superhero tights and capes.  The players had to put together a puzzle.  The trouble was that they only had 20 seconds to keep the the board the pieces were stuck to magnetized.  They had to fly, with the help of wire harnesses, between their boards and a button that reset their time to 20 seconds.  If a player does not get back to their board within 20 seconds, all of their puzzle pieces would demagnetize, making all of their pieces fall off the board and having the player start from scratch.  If the player then didn’t get back to the buzzer to reset the timer within 10 seconds, then they would be eliminated from the game.  After many restarts, Judd dropped out of the game to help Andy, while McCrae used his pizza delivery boy powers to serve himself up a much needed win, dodging yet another bullet in the game.

After the Veto Competition, Spencer and GinaMarie were talking in the HoH Room about what was going to happen next.  Spencer said Judd was definitely going up on the block because of how he quit the Veto comp to help Andy and no other Exterminator, as well as for his suspicious nature.  The two of them.also swore to have each other’s back for the rest of the game.  Let’s see how long this pact lasts for!

Judd went to Spencer to talk about Spencer’s next move.  Judd felt that he would be the one to be leaving over GinaMarie.  Spencer tried to get him to cool down, telling him he was safe, but Judd didn’t believe Spencer.  Judd then became nervous, which then made Judd take a hissy-fit, cursing and tossing things all over the House.  Judd’s behaviour was not doing him any favours with the rest of the House Guests.

At the Veto Meeting, as expected, McCrae took himself off the block.  Spencer then replaced him with Judd.  This made Judd do one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen a player do in the BB House.  He decided to tell everyone that his one and only target was McCrae, and that he was coming after him.  I know, Readers, it seems kind of crazy for Judd to do this, but I get what he was trying to accomplish.  His rationale was this: if the House Guests thought Judd was going after Judd, they would vote GinaMarie out so they could still work together to get McCrae out.  Where Judd went wrong was how he went about it.  You don’t announce it to the House the way Judd did.  You go to each person and explain your plan to them, so you don’t lose a vote, like Judd did with McCrae.

At the special (and early) Live Vote and Eviction Meeting, Judd reiterated his intentions of solely going after McCrae, even they were allies at the beginning of the game.  Gina Marie reminded the guys that she was loyal, and always tried her best to compete in the game.  Once again, Readers, it was a pretty predictable Vote.  It was yet another unanimous 2-0 vote to evict Judd.  Oh,  Judd, it’s your second eviction!  At least he saw this one coming, unlike his first one.

During Judd’s exit interview, Julie Chen asked him about why he dissolved his alliance with Elissa, and whether or not it was a mistake.  He said he couldn’t take Elissa irrational and indecisive behaviour, so no, he didn’t make a mistake in cutting himself loose from her.

Before or After was the next HoH Competition.  Julie Chen gave the players, except for Spencer, a series of events, and they had to decide whether they took place before or after another series of events.  Each correct answer gave them a point.  The player with the most points after 7 rounds would become the HoH.  It was a close one, Readers, as it was a three-way tie between all of the players.  It came down to them being asked to figure out how many seconds it took for McCrae to win the PoV.  Andy was the closest to this number, making him the HoH!

Wow, Readers, it was a crazy shortened week in the BB House! McCrae saving himself, and then Judd having his huge freak-out and eviction! The next episode will also have an eviction, so we’ll be seeing yet another House Guest leave the House and join the Jury. Who will be the next HoH? Will McCrae dodge yet another bullet and make it into the Final Three? Who will be joining the Jury? Check back into my blog to find out!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Big Brother 15, Episode #32: Falling for Your Own Tricks

Hi Readers!

With Amanda and Elissa gone, the power in the House has shifted back to the men.  One of these men is now in danger of his game ending, as he is now on the outside looking in.  It’s pretty apparent who this lone soul is: McCrae.  Now he has to battle it out against the secret alliance, The Exterminators, to keep from being evicted.  Can McCrae overcome the odds and stick around longer?  Read on and find out!

The producers backtracked to the Double Eviction Night when McCrae and Elissa were talking to each other.  McCrae asked her if she voted Amanda out of the House.  Elissa told him that she didn’t, and that Andy was trying to frame her.  When Andy got a second alone with McCrae, he was begging McCrae not to put him up as an nominee, telling McCrae he was more trustworthy than Elissa because of their past history.

Spencer, working along with Andy, told McCrae to put GinaMarie and Elissa up because Amanda was out of the House.  Once away from McCrae, Spencer told GinaMarie that The Exterminators could control McCrae, so she didn’t have anything to worry about.

After The BB 500 Veto Competition, Elissa was becoming worried and upset because McCrae didn’t believe her, and that he was listening to everything Andy was saying when Andy was the treacherous one.

GinaMarie told Judd not to use the PoV on anyone to keep the nominations the same. Elissa was begging Judd to use the Veto on her while Andy was arguing to also keep the nominations the same. At the Veto Meeting, Judd did what The Exterminators wanted and didn’t use the Veto on anyone. Hey Judd! What happened to your alliance with Elissa? Well, this is Big Brother, so alliances can end as quickly as they are formed. The show then cut to Elissa being evicted from the BB game.

The Exterminators were secretly celebrating, jumping around and doing their Exterminator hand motion over getting rid of Amanda and Elissa in one night. McCrae then spoke with Spencer and Andy, forming an alliance he didn’t know was a false one, to stay safe in the game. Spencer and Andy were giving McCrae a sense of false security so he wouldn’t work so hard to win the HoH.  McCrae, you should know better than to fall for this at this point in the game.  Didn’t you and Amanda run this same scam on Helen a few weeks ago?  Hopefully, you’re not falling for your own trick, McCrae!

The show then went to the HoH Competition called Pixel This. In each round, an image would appear of a past competition on a screen in the BB Backyard. The players had to put together the picture of the House Guest that won that particular competition. They then had to hit a buzzer to say they were finished putting the face together. The slowest player was eliminated in each round. The last person standing would become the next HoH.  At the end of the competition, Spencer finally won his first HoH competition!  I guess it took being on the block 7 times to finally give him the luck he needed win an HoH comp!

Spencer was also given the task of giving the other House Guests “gifts.” Oh, Readers, in the game of Big Brother, a gift is not always a good thing. To GinaMarie and McCrae, he gave the Gift of Friendship. The two of them would have the pleasure of being tied to each other with a huge friendship bracelet for the next 24 hours. To Andy, Spencer gave him the Gift of Wealth. At some point, Andy would get a chance to win up to $5 000! For his buddy, Judd, Spencer gave him the Gift of Health. For the next 24 hours, Judd would have to do whatever exercise the BB Drill Sargent would tell him to to over the loud speaker. This “gift” was so bad, that when Spencer was reading his letter from his girlfriend when showing off her HoH Room, the BB Drill Sargent ruined the moment by telling Judd to do 15 jumping jacks right them and there. It also went off while everyone was sleeping, while he was eating, and even in the shower!

Andy got his chance to win up to $5 000 by smashing three decorated piggy banks of his choosing that held random dollar amounts. After choosing his three piggy banks, he smashed them, winning a grand total of $94.83! Andy was so thrilled! He confessed in the Diary Room that, after taxes, he would come away with about $6.00!

McCrae and Gina Marie wanted to speak to Spencer privately, but they had the problem of being connected to each other by their friendship bracelet. They figured out how to talk to Spencer separately, and McCrae went in first. Spencer continued to tell McCrae that he was safe to make him not work hard for the PoV. When GinaMarie went to speak to Spencer, he told her she was safe, and that he was leading McCrae in to make him feel safe.

At the Nomination Ceremony, Spencer chose GinaMarie and McCrae for Eviction. While Spencer was trying to explain why he chose these House Guests for Eviction, the BB Drill Sargent told Judd to complete another set of exercises. Can’t Spencer ever catch a break during his big moments as HoH?

Well, Readers, Spencer’s fortunes seem to be McCrae’s fortunes seem to be declining. If McCrae doesn’t take his butt out of the fire by winning the PoV, he will be joining his light of love, Amanda, sooner than he planned. Will McCrae win the PoV, placing an Exterminator on the block and exterminating one of their own? What other surprises are in store for the House Guests in the BB House as they near the end of the season and the $500 000 prize? Check back into my blog to find out!

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.