SURVIVOR: BLOOD VS WATER 10/23/13

A quick recap of last week and then we’re back at Galang after their blindside of Laura M. While Laura B. is simply glad it wasn’t her, the others are more concerned about how this vote will affect their tribe. Tina equates it to an octopus losing a leg (never heard THAT one). And the others are more concerned about who made eye contact with Laura M. when she was voted out, Aras is so cool…

“She looked me dead in the eye, like, ‘you’re a jerk’.”

So, the Once And Future King is starting to see a bit of tarnish on that crown! He even uses the word “besmirch” for what must be the first time ever on Survivor. What is this, Downton Abbey!? But you can see he’s a bit concerned that he was the instigator of this blindside, and realizes that any position of leadership is also a target for others. As he so eloquently states, he must “tread carefully.” This is not bad advice for any one on Survivor.

The next morning (Day 14) Tyson and Gervase are having a strategy chat on the beach. Tyson suggests that if they get to a merge, Aras would reconnect with Vytas and immediately target the biggest threat: Tyson. So that’s not going to work for Tyson. Gervase agrees so the two form a “mini-alliance” against Aras and make googly eyes at each to celebrate this new Power Couple…

At Redemption Arena, Tadhana learns that Laura M. was voted out. Ciera seems…relatively…okay with it. Yes, she’s a bit emotional, but what she really is…is psychic! She tells Jeff she “felt” something all day that told her her mom was voted off last night.

I don’t know about that, maybe one of the cameramen dropped a hint or maybe a producer let it slip so Ciera could think about what that might mean for her at Redemption, but I have a little trouble believing the whole “I felt an energy” thing. But what do I know, I’m a Pisces…

So Laura says there’s no way in hell she’s going to trade places with her daughter because “I got this” so let’s get ready to rumble…!

The challenge is a pretty straightforward task. Walk across a balance beam, untie knots on bags with tiles in them, then go across and assemble the pieces 1 to 100. Really? That’s it? Not even “give us the prime numbers from one to 100” or something with some style…? Something tells me the producers wanted a challenge that was a little less physical and little more…Laurable… If that’s even a word…

So, OF COURSE, Laura blows through the challenge because (1) she has smaller feet and can keep her balance easier, and (2) she can count to 100! The battle between John and Brad is a bit tighter because they’re both big guys and can count to 100 also. John has a bit more trouble staying on the beam, but oddly, Brad looks to be in cruise control and not rushing like his life is on the line.

John squeaks out a 2nd place finish and Brad is going home. Jeff then asks him to compare the competition between the NFL and Survivor and – I’m sure you can guess – he says Survivor is far tougher because you have to “s**t in the woods.”

Okay, he didn’t say that, but I don’t think you can compare the two so it didn’t deserve a fair answer. It’s like trying to compare driving a car to making a banana split. “Which is tougher?” Geez, I don’t know, there are so many speeds on the blender…

But Jeff faces his departure gloriously, is a good husband to the end, and gives Monica a big kiss and some lovin’… She’s going to need it.

But now in an ITM, we see Monica is faced with the reality that she’s going to have to do this alone from now on! Like, OMG, Becky…!

This just seems weird to me because she now has to do what….EVERYONE ELSE WHO’S EVER PLAYED SURVIVOR has to do: play alone! Get over it sweetheart, it’s a game where you build alliances. Stop brushing your teeth and go make some alliances!

But now we’ve got a bit of business to conduct. Laura needs to choose who to give the clue to the Hidden Immunity idol to. Of course she’s going to give it to her daughter, right? Or to someone on her tribe? No…to Vytas? Okay, so she wants to put the target on him to get back at Aras . I get it, but…Vytas gets it too. He shadows Jeff down to the fire pit and throws the clue in just like Monica did the last two weeks.

BTW, another thing Jeff mentioned in his Reporter interview is that in the past, players would be clawing over each other for a clue to some power,, i.e. a Hidden Immunity idol. True, he understands that – in her position – she had to do what she did, but he kept waiting for her to pull a fast one and throw something else into the fire.

Um, she’s wearing a hat and a bikini. Not sure what she could throw in the fire. Maybe…just maybe…if she was clever enough (and how many players fit THAT bill in the 27 seasons) to fashion some kind of fake “clue” out of palm fronds and how shall I say…“conceal” it in her clothing (or a part of her body…?) until needed…? Okay, that may have crossed a line, but this site is labeled “sophomoric” so you got to understand where I’m coming from…

After John and Laura are sent back to Redemption Island , we’ve got a little more business to attend to. Drop your buffs! We’re drawing for new tribes…

Tyson decides to not choose his buff, but rather to receive the last buff. Fate will guide his path… And it looks like that worked out for him…and all the guys except Vytas. Henceforth, the new tribes are:

The New Galang
Vytas
Monica
Tina
Katie (gets to play with mommy!)
Kat
Laura B.

The New Tadhana
Aras
Gervase
Hayden
Tyson
Caleb
Ciera

(4 Old Galang/2 Old Tadhana) (3 Old Galang/3 Old Tadhana)

So right off the bat I’m thinking how awful this is for Vytas and Ciera (bet you wish you hadn’t thrown away that clue now, huh, Vytas!?). Because now, he’s on a tribe that’s – shall we say – the weaker of the two and will most likely go to Tribal more frequently. Or…as the only male, the women can easily band together and vote him out.

And for Ciera, while she may get the luxury of being on the stronger tribe, she’s the “odd woman out” if the guys vote as a bloc. Either way, it’s just the (bad) luck of the draw for them and not so great for the ones who won’t make the merge. But, with all the twists and turns this season, it may be bad for Tina and Katie, who could possibly be targeted merely because they’re a “team” too. Oh, what a tangled web we weave…

The New Tadhana arrives at their camp and instantly the old Galang players are grilling them about their past votes, the Hidden Immunity clues, the food situation….and Caleb, Ciera and Hayden are just serving it up. I mean, at least play a little dumb and say you don’t have any idea where the idol is, but nope, Caleb just gives Tyson (and everyone) the bits of the clue that he heard. As Tyson so eloquently states about the new players:

“Stupid will be stupid…”