SURVIVOR: BLOOD VS WATER – 10/16/13

After the recap, we head over to Tadhana (or is it, Incompetana?) where the tribe is returning from “the most dramatic tribal council ever!” We already knew that Caleb and the girls had voted out Brad, but we see now (actually, we figured it out last week with Hayden’s vote for Ciera) that Vytas also voted for Brad. Which – as I alluded to last week – is a tough one to understand because it took Hayden and Vytas from a power alliance of guys to a 2 vs. 3 numbers battle against Caleb and the girls. Not sure if it was Vytas’ play to switch over to that side, but it sure puts a target on his (and Hayden’s) backs. Especially Hayden because HE DIDN’T VOTE for Brad.

I’ve mentioned a few times this season I’m a little surprised at the way Vytas is playing the game: over-thinking certain things, under-thinking other things and this just falls in that category. Did he intend to switch his alliance? Or did he just want Brad out? Not sure it was the right move at this juncture, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out.

What we do know is that Hayden is smart enough to know he’s on the outs now, and it’s because of Vytas. What happened to the “He Man Woman Haters Club?” I’ll tell you what…egos. And as much as people say you can’t trust women when they get together…you can’t trust guys who are consumed with their own egos. It’s a powerful pill, the male ego. And it may be the downfall of many mighty men this season…

We go to Redemption Island where the mighty Brad Culpepper arrives after being voted out at Tribal. Alas, John and Candice are dead asleep. Now wouldn’t that be just the worst thing? You’re at the Blue Lagoon, you’re with your spouse, probably making sweet passionate lovin’ in the daytime and spooning (and forking?) at night. And just when you hit the hay (on the “most comfortable” bamboo pole mattress, I’m sure) who shows up, but your arch enemy! It’s like a bad dream. It’s like if Andre Agassi showed up at the Blue Lagoon!

So Brad arrives waving the white flag and saying that it was “nothing personal” and it was “all business,” but that’s just falling on deaf ears. Candice’s deaf ears… John seems to get it, but Candice is just annoyed as hell that she’s got to be here with HIM! The only upside for her is that now she has a chance to get him off the island. We’ll see about that…

Over at Galang, the love fest is still going strong. But now it’s Laura M. who’s making her play. She’s straddling Aras and giving him the kind of backrub that I used to give girls when I wanted something from them. And yeah, Aras knows that she’s doing it because she’s not in the Aras “ Alliance of 5,” but more power to her for giving her husband three of the more uncomfortable minutes of the season…

Off to Redemption Island Arena we go! Galang takes their seats and see that Brad was voted off last night. Monica is noticeably unhappy with this as she suddenly has to THINK about something right now.

And of course she offers to take his spot straight away, but mighty Brad will have none of it! He’s a warrior and he’ll fight his own battles. But…he does want to make it clear that he’s not an a**hole to the tribes. And while it may be true that he was playing the game and not being personal, I do recall a few times where he was getting personal…with Gervase, with John, or you could even say he was being personal with Monica on the first day when he said he’d throw a challenge to give her a tarp. Look, he’s just a guy who says what’s on his mind and throws caution to the wind. I get that but I also wonder what kind of a lawyer is he…?

So Jeff does what Jeff does best and mentions that “a lot of the negative energy thrown Brad’s way” came from Candice. Moreover, Jeff find’s that interesting because CANDICE HASN’T SPENT A MOMENT WITH BRAD other than the night she just spent with him at Redemption.

This brings up a point worth mentioning. All the crap that Candice has been throwing at Brad is because of hearsay. Each person that came through Redemption Island simply threw shade at Brad to Candice. Some might say that you shouldn’t judge someone based on other people’s opinions, but hey, it’s a reality show. Let her rip the guy for doing better than she’s done.

And just as we’re about to begin the challenge, I wonder what would happen if John loses and Brooke Shields has to stay at the Blue Lagoon with Andre Agassi? Oooh, that may get interesting… Let’s see what happens…

The challenge is something we’ve seen before where the combatants have to disassemble a crate and then use the pieces to build the footings of a bridge. Once placed, you race across and then have to find the pieces that have a drawing on the bottom, and then you need to build a puzzle using 8 of the 12 planks you grabbed.

And once again, Candice takes the lead, but shortly, John and Brad are on her ass.

Insert your own joke here…

Pretty soon, all three are neck and neck and then the guys overtake The Bird. And as we get to the puzzle stage, all 3 are running pretty close. The guys have a bit of a lead and – not surprisingly – John kicks ass on the puzzle again. Just like last week, he just seems to get it. So the battle is between Candice and Brad and just when you think the doctor might be a bit smarter than the football player, Brad orchestrates a 4th Quarter comeback and scores a TD.

Culpepper 7
The Bird 0

After the tearful farewell with John and – surprisingly – a few niceties towards the tribe (who, by the way, didn’t deserve it for the way they treated Candice this season and for the way they were one-sidedly cheering for Brad to win) Candice throws her buff in the fire and walks off the show, with one final tushie shot for us…

Hey! Bikinis, no weenies, remember…?

Once again, for winning the challenge John is given the opportunity to give a clue to the hidden immunity idol to someone on either tribe. And, not sure his logic behind this, he gives it immediately to Monica. Who, once again, throws it in the fire at Brad’s suggestion (more like instruction).

What I don’t like about John’s decision is that it seemed to be made too quickly. Did he forget what happened last time? Did he think it would go differently this time around? With his wife just walking off the show, did he just not care about strategy any more? I’m sure there’s a bit of editing involved in how quickly he made his decision, but wouldn’t you agree that he could have done SOMETHING else with that clue? Give it one of his “boys” on Tadhana? Or shake things up and give it to one of the girls? With all the thought that Candice and John had put into game play before the season started (based on their interview video) you’d think they would have at least DISCUSSED it the night before at Redemption Island ? Very confusing…