SURVIVOR: BLOOD VS WATER – 10/16/13

Later, the Galang tribe is back on their beach and Laura B. just seems a bit loopy to me. In her defense, she’s never been to a Tribal Council – EVER – and she’s going with people who have been to many. Her plan is to “keep her eyes open all the time,” but her failing is that she wants to “mix it up” a bit. So, stupidly, she tells Kat that Laura M. and Monica were talking s**t about them not doing the challenge and Kat volunteering so quickly, and while that may irk some people, Kat just writes it off that Laura is on the bottom of the totem pole, so you just let those people say whatever they want to say, and then just vote them out.

Tyson then rehashes the state of the union for us, specifically that they have a core alliance of 5, Kat is a sixth, Laura M. is a space cadet, and everyone is annoyed by Laura B., so she’s going home. I wonder if that’s how it’ll play out…?

We then see Aras and Laura M. out on the lagoon, and she appears to be as simple as Tyson said.

Laura M: “What’s the consensus?”

Aras: “Laura B. is the easy one.”

Laura M: “Okay, Laura B. is the easy one. Lock it down.”

However, we then see Tyson and Aras discussing the vote and they’re now considering blindsiding Laura M. because she may have a better chance to beat Brad at Redemption Island (because every challenge is a puzzle and not physical, I guess…?) and that once Brad is gone, Monica will be a solid asset of the “Alliance of 5” and not a wild card if Brad comes back in the game.

The situation is then brought up to Monica, who needs some time to think about it, because she’s no dummy, and knows that Laura M. would have a better chance to beat Brad than Laura B. She even mentions that to Aras and Tyson, who have to pretend to mull it over a bit, because the one thing you don’t want to do is give someone the impression you want their SO out of the game. It’s kind of crazy that everyone is thinking the same thing, and while the “easy vote” is to get rid of Laura B., as Aras says, “that’s not always the best vote.”

I understand the logic behind this, and Aras even discusses this in his ITM, but he also knows that if he petitions too hard for the Laura M. vote, that may put a target on his back, something you don’t want as you’re about to head off to Tribal. As the Galang tribe grab their stuff and head off, I’m remembering the blindside that CBS set us up for, and still wondering who may be getting snuffed tonight.

So since this is the first time these players have been at tribal this season, and some for quite some time (Gervase, 13 years!) Jeff asks a few questions about what’s changed since the show started. Gervase tells us he came in with a certain plan, but “that’s dead and gone. These people make moves!” Which is true not only at Tribal, but for many players since day 1. The game has changed quite a bit in those 13 years, and you have to be ready to play when you set foot on the beach.

Tina says that she made more moves in 5 days this season, than when she played “the entire season in Australia .” The game is just that fast now. While former competitors were learning the game, the new iteration of Survivor is that each new season brings contestants who quite possibly may bring 13 years of experience…from just watching the show.

So this new game play seems to be in effect with the Galang tribe as everyone starts to rattle off what my mother would call “a bunch of bullsh*t.” Aras is talking about not caring about what Vytas is doing because he needs to shore up his alliance on this tribe, and then Monica restating what she said about couples meeting up later and how that may affect current alliances, and then Laura M. saying that you got to cut the “apron strings” sometime and let your SO play on their own.

I’m just calling bullsh*t on all of it. Everyone wants to get to the merge so they can meet up with their SO and get to the end. And win… That’s it.

Jeff then asks Laura B. a few things about some stuff, but who cares. We want to get to the vote. Laura M. tries to hurl one last barb at Laura B. that “since she’s never been to Tribal Council, she’s never felt the sting of having her torch snuffed out.”

But in the end, who cares about that? Since when is Survivor a game of equality? Is everyone required to jump through the same hoops to earn their stripes? No. Survivor is a game. It’s unfair. It’s challenging. It’s a bitch. And sometimes the best players don’t win (hello, Ozzy!) and sometimes coattail riders are rewarded (hello, Natalie!).

So, stop trying to point fingers Lauras and go vote!

Well, it looks like someone named Laura is going home. And in the most shocking blindside of the season (not really!) Laura M. feels “the sting of having her torch snuffed out.”

How’s that for foreshadowing…?

One Tribal Council for Galang. One blindside. Wonder how this will affect the tribe. Wonder what Redemption Island challenge awaits Laura. And I wonder what is getting “switched up” next week (per their tease of next week).

Until then…keep watching TV and go celebrate our government not shutting down.

Written by:
Fish
bryan.fish.fischer@gmail.com