The Id, the Ego and the Pee

Well, I won't lie to you. This wasn't the most exciting episode ever. But, as always, some interesting things to note.

First on my mind is Fabio. I'm pretty sure dude is smarter than we think. He is only 21 and he's a student. He comes off like a mimbo, but is it all just an act? Yesterday we saw a few glimpses of smarty-pantsness. For one, when his tribe is deciding what to do, they all look to Fabio and say, "What's the plan?" I'm thinking, you're asking HIM? He then rattles off a smart answer. "Well, we should split the vote between Marty & Jill to flush out the idol." Uh, OK. Good idea. Granted, it's a bit obvious... but last week they made him look like he didn't even know what they meant by flushing out the idol. This is a guy who took a minute to pee in the pool during one of the challenges. Jeff: "Fabio, what are you doing right now?" Fab: "I'm using the restroom, Jeff." Everyone: "Ewwww!" Fabio: "I can't concentrate if I've gotta pee!" But then, in tribal council, when Sash makes an error in speech (more on that later), Jeff asks Fab whether he's familiar with what a Freudian slip is. "Uh, yes, Jeff, I'm actually VERY familiar with Freudian psychology." Really? Huh. And you know Jeff knows things we don't and likes to poke people til they spill. From Jeff's own blog last week,

"Everybody keeps saying Fabio is crazy, or maybe not the sharpest tool – but I wonder how crazy he really is? Is he playing everybody including us? That was my question from day one. I was never sure if his surfer boy responses were 100% genuine or a bit of a character he’s created. I’m guessing a bit of both."

As always, me and my boyfriend Jeff see eye to eye.

So. There was a reward challenge. Horse ride, breakfast, blah, blah, blah. The only semi-interesting thing was where Alina started crying and getting all emotional over the food (she must have really missed fritatas.) Right away NaOnka points out that it's probably an act to get sympathy. NaOnka is really a piece of work.

Besides Fabio, Jane was my favourite again last night. Can I help that they're both my picks in the Survivor pool. Nope. It's just that they're both super entertaining to watch in a field of fairly blah contestants. Even NaOnka - she's hateful, but man, she's good TV. Marty is also good to watch.... but almost everyone else is pretty boring so far.

So Jane goes off fishing, catches a whole bunch of fairly large fish (she's Survivor McGuyver, remember?) and scurries off to the woods where she cooks and eats one of the fish by herself. Hee! That is a fine Survivor move! Remember, the show is called SURVIVOR... not SHARESIES. Right? Our Jane is surviving. She also is surviving by not buying into Marty's bullying and just opting for what the youngsters have to offer. She's not stupid, she knows she's not first on their alliance list either, but she knew she wasn't getting anywhere with Marty and Jill. When Marty confronts her on how she voted, I LOVED that she just laughed & patted him on the back & walked away!!!! Hee! I'm suspecting that Marty is more than a little peeved that his bullying isn't getting him anywhere with her.

Now, that doesn't mean I'm not fond of Marty. He's a smart and risky player, who I'd like a bit more if he'd stop TALKING about the fact that he's a smart and risky player. But that's the type, right? Richard Hatch was the same. Russell Hantz was the same. To be that sort of player you have to be pretty self-confident and unfortunately that also can mean being stuck on your own ego a bit.

Marty's team loses the immunity challenge in a spectacular fail by his entire team. No one was working together & the other team just walked all over them. So it was pretty obvious that it was going to be Marty or Jill going home. Sash & Brenda came up with a pretty good idea to simply ask Marty to give them the idol in exchange for not voting him out. Now, that could turn out to be the smartest or dumbest thing any of them has done so far. Dumb for Marty because he could have been voted out last night. His risk paid off, however, and he wasn't.... so smart. Dumb for Sash/Brenda because they had their chance to vote off one of the most powerful players & they didn't. The merge is up next & Marty will have a whole new lease on life (mind you, they didn't know that to be fair.) Smart for Sash/Brenda because now Marty owes them one & trusts them a bit... or does he? Smart for Sash because he's got the idol. When he tells Jeff that he has it, it becomes clear that he didn't let his teammates in on the fact that he had it, didn't tell Jane about it at all and then makes "the slip".... that "if ever I don't trust them"... uhhhh I mean, "if they don't trust me...." then we'd see in whose pocket the idol gets to reside. Heh heh. Cue Jeff - Fabio - Freud. Delightful. Made the whole show. If all you saw was the last 10 minutes, you'd be good.

So yes, Jill got voted out. I liked Jill. She couldn't really have played any differently & in my mind is a way better person to get the money than NaOnka. On the other hand, she's an ER doctor, so she's probably OK in the money department. And I liked that in her parting words she said how much being on Survivor made her appreciate her husband & kids. Someone who gets it. I'd like her & Marty to team up again for the Amazing Race or tmaybe he Apprentice. Now that would be some good TV.

Under the Radar, or Radar O'Reilly? (And do you get the '70's reference?)

So it was all about the alpha males before... now it's the alpha females' turn... Well, at least gals who kinda thought they were playing under the radar but who everyone can tell are players!

A pretty fun episode. It's always going to be a let-down a little bit after the big "Heroes vs. Villains" superstar season, so I'm glad that they're at least shaking it up a bit and putting in some great challenges. While there are some amazing characters on this season (Marty, Fabio, Kelly B., NaOnka....) there are some who don't have a lot to offer.... yet. I mean, we haven't heard two words from Benry (who?) or Purple Kelly. It's like they're not even playing. Chase is good to look at but doesn't really have a lot of game-play so far. Sash was in a gay/not gay discussion with Shannon and loves minorities as long as they're not disabled... that's all he's contributed. So I liked seeing a few developments this episode.

First, I enjoy that Jane is in with the youngsters. It was a good move for her to make because she was never really in with Marty & Jill. Not that she wouldn't have liked to have been, but they never let her in to their plans. MacGuyver Jane is playing the game and could go a lot further.

Second, all of a sudden, Holly has developed a brain. The vacant cow-stare seems to have vanished and she all of a sudden is forming her own thoughts and contributing to her tribe. She's pretty likeable when she does things for herself!

Third.... well, it's not really a development exactly.... but I enjoyed watching Marty trying to work Fabio by telling him that he is a chess grandmaster and beat Argentine Guillermo Vilas when he was a kid. "Whoa, dude!" says Fabio. Well, Guillermo Vilas is an Argentine tennis player, and no, Marty is not a grandmaster at all. Hee! But he tells us, "I can pretty much use any reference from the '70s around these guys and they won't have a clue what I'm talking about." Bravo! It's a funny story, plus it makes Fabio like Marty a bit more, not want to vote for him, "because he's been sharing his secrets with me." Delightful! There was another bit later on where Sash was trying to communicate the plan with Fabio... they were going to split the votes between Marty & Kelly B to try to flush out the idol... Fabio: "Are you sure we WANT to flush out the idol?" The look on Sash's face was great... Uh.... YES!! OF COURSE WE DO, YOU MIMBO! Heh.

Right... so the big news was that the teams were playing for individual immunity. One person from each tribe would win immunity, but both tribes would go to tribal council. The two people who won immunity would compete for a reward feast that the winning person's tribe would get to have while watching the other team's tribal council. Cool, right? Surprisingly, Holly won for her tribe and Jill won for hers. Jill narrowly beat out Holly for the reward. See, finally Holly doing something good! Yay!

So yellow team has to figure it out. Marty has the idol. Brenda's plan is - as I mentioned earlier - to split the votes between him & Kelly B. Would he play the idol? I personally was yelling at the TV... "Play it! Play it!" Yep. True story. NO! He didn't. Dude should take up poker. It was an amazing bluff that could have easily ended up with him leaving with the darned idol in his pocket.... BUT, the tie resulted in a re-vote. Apparently Kelly B. was the bigger threat. She didn't see it coming & at the end mentioned that she didn't think she had done anything wrong. Sadly, it was because of the one leg. It's unfortunate but true and it's good game-play. You don't want to take the girl with one leg to the finals. She's nice, people like her, she does well in the challenges.... and she has one leg. Do you want to compete with that? No. You don't. I know, I liked her too. Now, the other minority people will be happy to have one less minority to compete against and not take with them in their minority sweep of the finals. What? Right.

Then team blue comes in & has to watch the other guys eating, drinking, licking their fingers.... Which, I think, Jeff Probst really enjoys. I think he's a little bit sick that way & I love him for it. So this one's between Dan & Yve. Both from the former older tribe, they're in the minority. Dan pretty much says he wants to quit, he complains all the time, can barely walk (NaOnka: "He's gonna be walking on stumps pretty soon." Hee.) and doesn't exactly contribute. He even tells us that he doesn't need the money, he's got 6 cars - one is a Ferrari, etc. etc. So, begs the question... why are you there? Go home then! But, no. He seems to always pull it together by Tribal council and is adamant that he doesn't want to go home. Whatever - maybe he's trying to make it to the jury? Yve, on the other hand, really wants to stay. She approaches the other girls and tries to make her case. She's a hard worker, she contributes to challenges, she wants to be in the game... OK, the girls follow so far. Then... OH, YVE! Silly girl... she tells them that one of the advantages of keeping her over Dan is that she has better relationships with the older tribe people on the other team. Riiiiiight. That is not an asset. That, my dear, is a liability. That makes these girls think that you'll jump ship as soon as the tribes merge, and they are probably right. So, Yve is gone. Too bad, I liked her too, but the game is getting more interesting, right? The players are aiming for the other players... which in my mind says that probably one of the people I mentioned at the start of this blog will win. My money's on Benry or Purple Kelly. You?

Next time Sash starts making some moves (which may or may not be gay), Marty still has the idol and the team doesn't have a swing vote. Marty tells Fabio he is in fact the King of Argentina. Madness ensues.

Social Game? What Social Game?

If I were an alpha male on Survivor, I'd be watching my back. That's... three alphas down in a row. Jimmy Johnson, Jimmy T, now Tyrone. And still they don't seem to learn their lesson. And honestly, it's been happening for a few seasons now - haven't we discussed this? Aren't they reading my blog? (Ha!) It's been the misfits at the end, generally, or the under-the-radar players, or the alpha males who can persuade others that they're not as much of a threat as they really are (Russell!)... Right? So, probably being all alpha-up-in-everyone's-face is a bad idea, Tyrone.

The teams split up. No more young vs. old!! Which is great - I like that they shook it up early. You? I like that it totally messed up some of the existing alliances. Marty & Jill are still together but they don't have the numbers they had before. Plus, Marty is getting all alpha. On the other side, NaOnka's big alliance was split up & she now has to be pally with Alina. At one point, there's a huge storm and NaOnka can't handle it. She falls apart, gets all emotional and starts crying and whining about how she wants to go home. Alina, on the outside, tries to be quite comforting. To the audience at home, she's totally revelling in NaOnka's crash. And so would I. Heh. Rightly, she says, fine, go home. One less person here to vote out. Seriously, NaOnka is a Phys. Ed. teacher. And she wants to quit the game because it's hard. Wah. Do you feel sorry for her yet? I feel sorry for her students. Awesome example she's setting. Push down girls with one leg to win..... unless it rains, then quit. Oh no I didn't! Yes, I did.

The blue tribe (I just don't care to remember what they're called) won reward... some chickens! Immediately there's discussions on what to do - eat them or save them. They decide at first to save them, then later on, to eat one. Tyrone is the only opponent. Way to go. If you're the only opponent to something, you need to make your case but not be so sour about the result when you're voted down. Even Vacant Holly noted that as soon as it was decided to eat the chicken, Tyrone refused to participate in the chores (killing the bird, de-feathering, cleaning, cooking, etc.) but was fully in there to eat. Not only that, he ate MORE than anyone else! What? Seriously, Tyrone, you & I need to talk. People who go on this show & forget that there's a very important social aspect are just as bad - perhaps worse - than the losers who go on without knowing how to start a fire. It's like applying for a job at NASA and being super surprised when they tell you you need to know math. Sigh.

The yellow team won the immunity challenge. It was a crazy-awesome challenge that made me say "WHAT?" out loud in my living room. 3 people get strapped to a wheel that gets spun through a trough of water. The 3 people have to suck up water in their mouths and then spit it into a skinny tube, which eventually would get full enough to tip over, releasing a ball that the reamaining teammates have to throw & break 5 plates........ (You just said WHAT? in your head right now, didn't you?) Anyway, yellow team won.

So blue team has to go to Tribal Council. Jeff pretty much only talks to Alina, NaOnka and Tyrone. Very little is made of the fact that NaOnka wanted to quit, making me think something's fishy with the editing. Pretty much right until then, she wanted to go home. So, she must have made some attitude changes to her tribe prior, or she'd have been gone. At Tribal she goes on to Jeff about how this is the hardest thing since her divorce and how she's happy to have these people here as a support net. Jeff... "These strangers?" NaOnka, "Yep." Weird. There was also a really great spot where Jeff asks Benry (who?) a really direct question about... I don't even remember, honestly. It doesn't matter. But Benry looks at him and says, "What do you mean?" Jeff just about loses it. "I can't believe you don't understand." Heh. I love it when Jeff is punchy.

So Tyrone went home. Everyone found him annoying, way too alpha... and if they're willing to get rid of a big dude who can help in challenges, then they mean business. Marty should watch out. Apparently next episode, he confesses to Fabio that he's a chess grand master, which makes me think of Coach & wonder if Marty also was kidnapped in the Amazon..... Also, next time there's a personal vs. tribe immunity! Fun! Keep on shaking it up, Jeff. Tyrone, call me up any time. We'll meet for coffee & I'll tell you all about Survivor. It'll be fun!

I'm Easy to Get Along With..... I Think.

So, even if you had him in the Survivor pool, you weren't that sad to see him go, right? The sad thing is that ol' Jimmy T. may have just had an epiphany re: his personality, but I'm less inlcined to believe it. You? I think he would have gone right back to camp and harassed people for, "just an opportunity to be a leadah," because, "where I come from, I'm a leadah." Seriously, where does this guy come from and who the heck is he leading? Jimmy T. indeed was from his own world, alright.

So back to the episode. It was pretty much focused on the older tribe and Jimmy T's whiney exploits. However, there was a tiny bit of younger tribe drama. Brenda helped that horrible NaOnka find the hidden immunity idol. When Kelly B. and Alina tried to go find it, NaOnka got in their faces rather than just ignore them. Something about "keeping them off balance" or something... surely the pun was intended. NaOnka again went on about not letting a one-legged girl get on the jury, blah, blah, blah. Girlfriend is going to (hopefully) get some serious karmic action handed down on her one day. To her credit, Kelly B. kept her cool when NaOnka was in her face telling her, "I don't like you." She correctly labelled her a bully - so true! It's hard to watch and I'm quite sure if any of us were in Kelly B's place, it would have been pretty tough to bite our tounges and not call her out for her horrible-ness. (Is that a word?)

Right. So that's really all that happened for the young folks. Not even any clips of Fabio hurting himself. And still - who the heck is Benry?

So our older folks go into the immunity challenge with a plan. They know it's going to be a blindfolded challenge, so they practice. Marty cleverly nominates Tyrone as leader, knowing full well that it'll get under Jimmy T's skin. Does it ever! (Remember, where he's from, he's a leader.) Sounds good so far, right? They get to the challenge & the young tribe uses the MoP, giving them immediate advantage. Well, not that they really needed it. Tyrone did his best calling out what I thought were very clear directions. "Jimmy T, go left." Nope. The older tribe were PAINFUL to watch. They couldn't do anything right, weren't listening, going the wrong way, tripping over stuff, and slow as molasses. They had no chance. Later they try to talk themselves up at Tribal Council saying that had it not been for the MoP, they'd have been right in there. Jeff: "Let's be clear. You had one more item, a big heavy chest, a set of keys and three locks to go. Do you really think you were in this?" Hee.

So it was sort of a toss up between Jimmy & Dan. People still want Dan out because he's weak & can't really participate in any challenge that requires, well, walking. But here's why Jimmy got the votes:

1) Marty. Marty is the squeaky wheel who gets to be leader. He doesn't like Jimmy & Jimmy doesn't like Marty ("Mahty") & Marty's is getting rid of his opposition. Others like Jill & Tyrone would have been inclined to vote Dan, but Marty reminded them that they'll have numbers on their side if they get rid of Jimmy. Would have been a good point.
2) Jimmy T. was annoying. You can't be annoying and get very far on Survivor. The problem, I suppose, is that annoying people don't generally realize that they're annoying. At one point, Jimmy says, I don't know what their problem is, I'm pretty easy to get along with.... I think. If you have to add the "I think" part, you already know a little bit that you might be difficult, if not annoying. It wasn't just the contant "Put me in the game, I just want an opportunity to lead..." nonsense (loved the part where he's going on & on to Yve, who says, "I'm a mother. I don't coddle my kids that much!" Hee.) It was also likely the singing (bad-annoying), the hugging (spatially intruding - annoying) and the lack of any actual skills (annoying, when all you do is talk about your great ummmm.... skills.) Right? I mean, the guy couldn't throw a fishing net, wouldn't accept help doing it, and ummm... is a FISHERMAN! Really? Granted, that's not likely the type of fishing he does in life, but if that's the case, maybe accept the help that's offered so that your tribe can eat. If you're an annoying person, you'd better have some sort of skill that would make your tribe keep you, and sadly, Jimmy T. had none.

At Tribal Council he got beaten down to the point where he agreed that he'd just step aside and quit asking to lead, because obvioulsy his tribe didn't want him in that role. However, he won't get the chance to prove it. My other favourite part of Tribal Council was vacant Holly standing up for Jimmy T..... "Just give him a chance!" ... proving that she has no game whatsoever.

Next week the teams will switch up! Don't know if it's a big merge or - more likely - that it'll be a playground-style pick where someone (let it be Holly) will be the last one picked. It'll be new tribes and alliances will be split up! Very bad for Marty. Bad for NaOnka. Great for Kelly B. and Alina. Fun!! Love that they're switching it up early! And though I'll miss his accent, I will love watching an episode with no Jimmy T.