Survivor: Caramoan, Season Finale – What a Finale!

Hello Readers!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese!

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

Hey Readers!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

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 Fans vs. Favourites 2, Episode #7 – The Best Made Plans…

Hello Readers!

It time for another installment of Survivor: Caramoan! As we become closer to the Merge, the Castaways are scrambling to create new alliances and see where they stood with each other.  How you decide to play this game will determine how far along you will go in it.  One Castaway learned that their game plan of sitting back and then trying to back stab another player will get themselves a one-way ticket out of Survivor: Caramoan.  Who was this lucky person? Read on and find out!

At Bikal, after Tribal Council, Corrine takes Michael aside for a pep talk. She advised him to get through the next few Tribal Councils because she doesn’t want him to leave the game yet. Phillip saw what was happening and went berserk! He pulled Cochran aside to tell him that Corrine has to go because Phillip doesn’t trust the bond being formed between Corrine and Michael. Cochran reminded Phillip that in order for the Fans to have the numbers, the Favourites (or Favs)s have to stick together.

Bikal received Tree Mail that told the Castaways that the strong will carry the weak.Phillip,being a secret agent and all, believed that, since he is also a power lifter, he felt that he would breeze through the upcoming Challenge. Phillip then challenged Cochran to an arm wrestling competition to prove his manly strength (Ha! Ha Ha!).  Cochran then threw their “competition” in order to fluff up Phillip’s ego.

At the Reward Challenge, the Castaways all had to wear belts that attached them together.  They were each given a twenty pound bag to carry with them throughout this Challenge.  Each tribe had to race around an oval course while carrying the with them.  If a member of a team became too tired, they could opt out of the race, giving another member of their team their weight to carry.  The tribe that catches and  tags the other tribe won.  The prize?  Well, that team would by choppered over to an island where a Survivor: Caramoan coffee shop with all of the baked delights they could desired were awaiting them.  With Phillip’s strength and leadership, Bikal literally walked throughout this Challenge, allowing for Gota to catch them and easily win this Reward.

While Gota used their Reward experience as a time to create bonds or feeling these new tribes mates, Bikal was busy licking their wounds. Phillip was mad (and probably embarrassed after all of his boasting) over losing the Challenge.  Once the commiserating was done, Corrine set out to damage Phillip’s character some more to get him out of their tribe. Cochran was keeping his eyes in the prize, and was working as a peace-maker.  What he didn’t want to happened was for the Favs to begin creating bonds with the Fans. Why would this be important? Well, if the Favs began liking the Fans, they would want to change their game plan and keep that particular Fan around, lessening the Favs’ chances of making it to the Merge intact. Unfortunately for Cochran, it was already happening with Corrine (with Michael) and Phillip (with Julia).

After Phillip was beginning to let Julia into his “inner sanctum,” she decided it was time to kick her Survivor: Caramoan game up a notch. She thought it was a good idea to gain the trust of other Favs members by telling divulging to them everything Phillip had told him. Big mistake! This was one of the biggest mistakes anyone can make in this game. You should only give information to another person if you can trust them enough to keep it to themselves. Well, Julia gave Dawn, of all people, all of the details Phillip shared with her, and guess what Dawn did? Yep, you guessed it, she ran straight to Phillip to inform him of his “double-agent.” Phillip became upset with Julia, and would try to get rid of her the first chance he gets.

Once Gota returned from their Reward, the guys of the tribe went for a dip in the ocean, and agreed upon forming an alliance between them (Malcolm, Reynold, Eddie and Erik). Malcolm also let Reynold know that he has the Immunity Idol to solidify their trust in him. Malcolm thought that this alliance was more beneficial for them because he doesn’t really need their protection due to his deals with the Favs, and because of his possession of the Idol. As well, Malcolm knew that Reynold and Eddie would be all over this alliance because of the bad position those two guys put themselves in at the old Gota tribe.

At the Immunity Challenge, three members of each tribe had to paddle out into the ocean in a canoe to retrieve a heavy statue. Once back on the shore, one other member was then responsible for using a grappling hook and rope to drag five keys laid out in the sand several meters (or feet) away. The last two members then had to take those keys and unlock the locks to release a flag to win. This time, it wasn’t only Phillip’s fault, but also the fault of those paddling the boat who lost the Challenge for Bikal. They were facing another Tribal Council…oh joy!

After the Immunity Challenge, Phillip, maybe trying to defend his poor performance, pulled Cochran aside and told him that he threw the Challenge so they could go to Tribal Council. Cochran almost laughed, but kept it together to hear Phillip out. Cochran confessed that he thought that Phillip was becoming delusional to believe that Phillip would do such a thing, and then to admit it to another person.

The Favs then huddled together to decide which of the Fans they were going to send home. Phillip wanted to get rid of both Fans as quickly as possible because he felt they were not needed to get them through the Merge. The rest of the Favs felt that, since they were not sure what was happening over at Gota that it may not be the best idea to count out the usefulness of the Fans just yet. This enraged Phillip, so much so that he began yelling and stomping around the camp, upsetting the rest of his tribe mates. He also began saying that Boston Rob would never do what they were doing. The Favs had to tell him that he was not Boston Rob, and that Phillip’s plan from the Boston Rob Playbook may not work in their situation. This angered Phillip even more. Phillip then confessed that he wanted Michael gone because of his new found closeness with Corrine.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst asked Bikal about which of the Fans they were going to vote out, Phillip taking on the “hero” role for tribe, and of the approach to the game that Michael and Julia were using so far to stay. I’m not sure if Phillip heard Jeff Probst properly when Jeff suggested that maybe Phillip should step back a bit from taking on this role because he had been unsuccessful at it since the shake-up of the tribes, but Phillip answered Jeff by saying that the tribe was going to forget the past and move on to the next Challenge. Michael said his game plan was to be social and create bonds. Julia said her approach was to lay low and observe what was happening before making a major move. This made some of the Favs give a face because they were not fans of Julia, and were all aware of what she had already done.

This week’s vote was an interesting one. The Favs decided to make it a split vite between Julia and Michael (Julia – 3, Michael – 3). With the second vote, where the Bikal could only vote for Michael and Julia, the tribe made it crystal clear who they wanted gone…good ol’ Julia.

Oh, boy, Readers, it was another fun-filled time on Survivor: Caramoan. Poor Julia, one of the people I thought would do well is now out of the game. Maybe she shouldn’t have lads so low, only to make such a big move. She was described by many people on Bikal as having a “vanilla personality.” Maybe she should have opened up some more to those in Bikal. Well, since another person has been shown the door in this game, it must mean that the Merge is close at hand. How will the Castaways deal with this possible new predicament? Will Phillip try to use another page out if Boston Rob’s playbook to further himself in the game? Will it backfire again? Find the answers to these questions when I check back in with more Survivor: Caramoan news.

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 #4 – Might Trumps Loyalty!

Hey There, Readers!

Just finished watching the latest episode of Survivor: Caramoan, and it’s not looking too good for the Fans! So far, they have lost two Immunity Challenges in a row, not doing too well with gathering food, and are separated into two camps: Reynold and Eddie vs. the rest of the tribe. Tonight’s installment shows how far loyalty can go for this tribe before something’s got to change for Gota.

Reynold and Eddie were quaking in their shoes after Hope, one of their alliance members had just been blindsided and sent home at Tribal Council. Back at camp, Eddie tried to reason with the rest of his tribe mates, warning them of the trouble they all are in with their decision to keep Hope over Shamar.  This angered the rest of the group, sending this group into turmoil.

The next day at Bikal, Phillip was providing amusement to the tribe by assigning “specialist” code names to those in “his” alliance. Brandon was especially happy when Phillip blessed him with the code name “The Conqueror.” Brandon didn’t really care for being in the alliance, but he wanted to have Phillip’s trust, and having this new “secret” identity gave him this access.

At the Reward Challenge, the tribes had to get their two of their members from the shoreline to a small platform further out in the water using planks that were tied up. Then the rest of the tribe had to then scramble up on the same platform and not fall off for a count of five in order to win.  What were they playing for? This week’s reward was having a bushman from the area visit the winning tribe, help them improve various aspects of their camp life, create a feast for them, and also drop off some gifts, like food and chickens. Once again, the Favourites came out on top, just edging the Fans out of a win.

Once the bushman arrived at Bikal’s camp, this little guy spared no time in getting down to the business at hand.  He swiftly shared his knowledge on how to do things around their camp better.  Even though it was hard to understand what he was saying, the Favourites were able to catch on by observing his movements. They loved every minute of their informative visitor, and the ladies of the tribe even shared a dance with him. He was not shy about showing his appreciation for the dances!

Back at Gota, the tribe was, once again, reminiscing about where they went wrong during the Challenge.  Reynold was also continuing his get rid of Shamar campaign around camp.  Shamar was indirectly acting as Reynold’s campaign manager by making demands of the tribe in order to stay and lounging about around camp. Shamar’s biggest supporters, Sherri and Laura both said that it wasn’t cool of Shamar to be acting like a big baby, but they were sympathizing with him because it meant siding with Reynold and Edddie, something neither of them wanted to do.

Gota was running into other problems besides the rift between them and their lack of success. It’s hurricane season around Caramoan! Oh, I didn’t mention they also had a rat infestation as well.  So camp life went from just bearable to hanging on by the skin of their teeth fun!

The hits just kept on coming for Gota when Shamar injured his eye.  He scratched it, then started complaining about the amount of pain he was in. Reynold put his situation to his advantage by telling anyone who would listen that a marine shouldn’t be whining about something so trivial as a scratch to his eye, so Shamar should just be he next to go.  Some of the other tribe members were beginning to listen.

Well, whoever said that wishes don’t come true should be kicking themselves right now. Why? Well, because Reynold’s wish was granted when Jeff Probst had to make a trip out to the Gota tribe in order to assess Shamar’s injury.  After taking a look at his eye, the medic found that he had actually scratched his eye in two places, both close to the pupil, and it could affect his vision if he doesn’t get it looked after immediately.  Shamar decided that the loss of his vision was not worth $1 million, so he said his goodbyes, and left the game.  Most of the tribe was crushed by having their main source of muscle just leave the game, but Reynold was happy that Shamar was out of his hair…that was until he realized Shamar’s departure put an even bigger target on his and Eddie’s back to be the next to leave if they don’t win this up-coming Immunity Challenge.

At the Immunity Challenge, five members of each tribe had to swim out to a platform, then jump off of it an hit a tile to release a key. Once all five keys were freed and brought back to the beach, two other members had to them to unlock three locks of a chest containing a whole lot of balls.  They then had to knock off a stack of bricks off of a platform on the beach to win Immunity. Phillip pitched his heart out to hand the Favourites another win, sending the Fans back to Tribal Council.

When Gota arrived back at camp, Eddie and Reynold realized they had to devise a plan to keep themselves safe from the vote. Matt became their newest hero and cheerleader by advising the rest of the tribe that they should be looking to keeping their tribe strong, and maybe turning a blind eye to their alliance for now.  Reynold and Eddie were on board for this new plan, and they knew who to set their sights on to accomplish this new plan: Laura, the weakest member of their tribe. This plan worried not only Laura, but Sherri as well, because, to them, it seemed as though being a woman equaled being weak, since the last two members of their tribe who have left have also been women.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst had Gota talk about what their tribe was like after Shamar left.  Matt commented on their loss of muscle, but also the lack of tension around camp. Sherri said she missed Shamar as part of their alliance, but you could tell she was holding back more comments she had.  Reynold argued that since Shamar was gone, that he and Eddie were needed more than ever for the brute strength to win challenges. Laura saw where Reynold was going, and countered that the tribe had to weigh whether loyalty was more important to them than having a physically strong tribe at this point in the game.  She was leaning towards loyalty because of her position if the tribe went Reynold’s way. Eddie wasn’t doing himself any favours by saying, after being asked by Jeff Probst who he thought was weak, that Laura and Sherri were weak players. Laura them chimed in by reminding the tribe that a merge was coming, and she questioned how loyal Reynold and Eddie would be to the rest of the tribe when that happened.

After the votes were cast, Reynold played his Immunity Idol to save his life in the game.  It was a pretty futile move, as Laura was voted out of the tribe by a vote of 4-1. She was shocked by this decision, but was gracious as her torch was snuffed out.

Was this the smartest move for Gota to have made in the game? Yeah, I think so. Sure, Reynold and Eddie aren’t loyal to the rest of their tribe, but they have their eye on the bigger picture, winning the game.  Laura even knew she was a liability to the tribe. I’m not sure if many more Gota members will make it to the merge to even warrant keeping their Gota loyalty strong. Well, this tribe has a long way ti go if they are going to have any more success in Survivor.  Something really wonky has to happen for Bikal in order to help Gota out at this point of the game. Thanks for joining me for all of the action-packed.fun this episode had to offer, and come back for my next Survivor: Caramoan post to see what happens next to the Castaways this season.

Until my next post, Readers!

Reese.

Survivor: Caramoan Fans vs Favourites 2, Episode #2 – Remember, This is a Numbers Game!

Hey Hey Readers!

Episode #2 of Survivor: Caramoan brought out the fierce side of the Castaways with arguments and threats being flung around each of the tribes. Maybe the weather and the lack of food is beginning to really hit this season’s players earlier than usual.  Sure, it’s great for ratings, but it also hurts the social game of those starting all of the trouble.  What caused all of the verbal fireworks, you ask? Well, read on, and you’ll find the answer.

After the first Tribal Council, Bikal returned to their camp with mixed emotions. Some were happy with Francesca’s departure (Phillip) while others were blown away by it.  Brandon was especially upset about Francesca being voted out because he thought she didn’t deserve to leave the game yet.  He took his anger out on Dawn by yelling at her, threatening to make her time left in the tribe a living nightmare.  He also confessed that he might take a play or two from his Uncle Russell’s angry playbook, eventually leaving the game with a bang.

Dawn didn’t know what to make of Brandon’s tirade against her.  She said she wanted to try to not break down so easily, but you know what they say about the best laid plans!  She was crying hysterically in the jungle, wondering why Brandon would speak to her the way he did.  Dawn, this is Survivor, as well as your.second time at this rodeo.  You really can’t fall apart so easily so soon in the game.  It puts a target on your back for the next time Bikal goes to Tribal Council.

Brandon’s mood changed the next morning.  He went from going on a rampage to somewhat mellow.  He told Cochran of his change of heart (not going after Dawn and ruining camp life for her), and this raised a red flag for Cochran.  Cochran confessed that he may not want Brandon in their tribe anymore because of these mood swings. It was disturbing to the rest of the tribe, and it made trying to gauge where Brandon’s head was.

Phillip was also stirring up trouble within the tribe.  He took it upon himself to try and reign Brandon in by telling him how to calm himself down.  Brandon equated Phillip’s “advice” to being bullied around as Boston Rob may have done if he were a part of their tribe.  Others noticed how Phillip was trying to be Boston Rob, and it turned them even more against him.

At Gota, Shamar wasn’t doing any favours for himself with the rest of his tribe mates.  As Shamar put it, he was “conserving energy” for Challenges by not contributing around camp.  He just lounged about in the tribe’s shelter, watching everyone else work their tails off.  He also didn’t care what the others thought about his inaction around camp.  Not surprisingly, Shamar’s laziness didn’t go unnoticed, nor were they ignored by he rest of his tribe.  Allie expressed how upset she and other tribe members were over his choice not to help out.  Julie, on the other hand, wanted Shamar to stay, comparing his popularity around camp to that of Phillip.  Maybe Julie wants to use him as a shield at some point in the game?

At the Reward/Immunity Challenge, each tribe had three of its members untie a raft and use a pulley to get a second set of three members out to an underwater cage.  Once there, they had to release nine rings kept in place by bamboo sticks and collect them.  They then had to get pulled back to the beach where the last group of three had to toss three of these rings onto three posts to win.  The Reward: a full fishing kit to find more food, as well as Immunity. The Fans struggled through most of this Challenge because they didn’t use the talents of their members effectively, handing another win to the Favourites.

After the Challenge, Bikal was excited, probably because they escaped Tribal Council.   They poked around the fishing kit, and even tried out a few of their new toys. The strange thing about Bikal going through their kit was that not one player thought to look for a clue for the hidden Immunity Idol.  I guess the trill of food took over their competitive nature for a moment.

Phillip also decided to give those in his alliance code names to describe their responsibility to their union.  Malcolm just shook his head, explaining that that Phillip may be doing this because of his job as a secret agent.

Feelings were not riding so high at Gota.  Matt and Eddie were going over the various mistakes they made at the Challenge.  Reynold decided this was a good time to call Shamar out on his lack of responsibility around camp.  This then sparked a shouting match between the two, blaming each other for their loss.  Reynold also admitted in front of the whole tribe that he was going to vote for Shamar at Tribal Council.  Shamar wasn’t deterred by Reynold’s comments, throwing out comments about how Reynold was.saying all of this in order to keep his alliance of Allie, Eddie and Hope together.  Shamar continues to “help” his case to the rest of the tribe by going back to the shelter and resting some more.  Really, Shamar!  I know you don’t care.how.you are perceived by your tribe mates, but you are not helping your cause by being lazy.  That kills your social game.

This outburst further confused most of the Gota tribe.Most of them agreed with Reynold, wanting Shamar out because of his laziness.  They were also looking at the four-person alliance as a threat to their personal game.  They ultimately had to decide whether one lazy person outweighed a group that didn’t have their personal best interest at heart.

Reynold went to cool off by trying to find an Immunity Idol in the jungle behind their camp.  After some stumbling around and digging, Reynold finds one hidden within a tree.  He tried to conceal it in the pockets of his tight shorts, but Laura was watching him and newly lumpy pockets.  Reynold decided to keep his new prize from everyone, including those.in his alliance.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst got the Gota tribe to talk about a few issues.  The first one was Shamar and his military background. Shamar also commented on how Gota had no leader, and how it was the main reason why they lost the Challenge that sent them to Tribal Council. Reynold also piped in, stating that Shamar was the big problem in their tribe. Shamar defending himself by saying he was being used as a scapegoat to keep Reynold’s alliance together. When Laura was asked how she would be voting, she said she thought she was voting the way the “family” decided, but then she commented on Reynold’s bulge in his pocket, and may have been swayed to vote differently. Reynold admitted he had the Idol, shocking the whole tribe, including members of his alliance.

Before Jeff Probst revealed the vote, he always asks if anyone will be using a hidden Immunity Idol to save themselves. Reynold, after some pondering, decided not to use his. The vote was another close one. It was a shocking 6-4 vote for Allie to leaving the game over Shamar.

Now, you’re probably are wondering why the tribe would get rid of her instead of Reynold, Shamar, Eddie or Hope . I think it was because the tribe wanted to keep some strength on their tribe. As well, since Allie and Reynold are in a romantic alliance, breaking them up now was a good idea.

Hopefully, the now three-person alliance will begin ti.realize how important it is to have the numbers on your side before going to Tribal Council, along with a good social game. They pretty much had separated.themselves from the rest of the tribe, making it easier for those who voted Allie out.

As for the Favourites, they also have to make sure they don’t ruffle too many feathers, as Brandon’s fickle thoughts and Phillip’s Boston Rob impression will be taken as a reason for the rest of the tribe to ditch them. If you don’t have a social game in Survivor, the numbers will not be in your favour. This will ultimately lead to your end in the game.

What will happen now that both tribes are evenly matched, how will they do the next time they meet for a Challenge? Will Shamar lift a finger around camp? Will Brandon flip-flop again and try to turn into his uncle again? Who will be the next Castaway to leave the game? Come back for my next Survivor: Caramoan entry to find out what happens next.

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.