At the New Galang, I just get the feeling the estrogen is going to become a problem. Rather than discussing the reality of having an apparent “weaker” tribe and how to remedy that, Tina is just happy to play with Katie. Vytas echoes what I said above about being the “odd man out” so at least he’s got his reality cap on. We’ll see if he can get these women to like him enough to keep him around a bit.
As soon as the tribe is separated a little, Monica is busy strategizing about keeping the original Galang 4 together and targeting the old Tadhana. Well, we know Tina is going to defend Katie, so who does that leave? Mr. Yoga. And while this may seem to be a good opportunity to discuss…I don’t know…ANYTHING…Kat is just annoyed at Monica for trying to play the game. But since Kat is the expert at playing Survivor, she gives us the bottom line…
“If you wanna learn how to play Survivor…shut it!”
Back at Tadhana, Tyson is in full attack mode on Aras . And for some reason, Aras seems to not want to defend himself (or maybe we’re just not seeing his responses). Regardless, it seems that Tyson is starting to play a little too hard, and maybe that’s something that won’t sit well with some of the others. And with his messed up arm/shoulder, I’m starting to wonder if he may begin to have a target of his own on his back. We’ll see…
Galang is in full bonding mode as they pray and form their own Mutual Admiration Society. This may be the only play that Vytas has, in his opinion, since he knows he’s already “in the chamber” and ready to be torpedoed. He decides that his only play is to open up to the ladies about his past and hope that some of them connect with that vulnerability. And what do you know! Laura B. loves Vytas for opening up…! But, she also knows that he and his brother could “take this whole game” so she needs to keep her heart out of it.
The Immunity Challenge is up and I’m anxious to see if these new tribes will pan out as it looks they should. And just from the opening shots of the beach and underwater, it looks like this is going to be a physical challenge with a lot of swimming. Good luck, Galang. And good luck, Gervase!
The challenge starts with Gervase and Aras heading out first against Tina and Laura B. And while Gervase’s swimming seems to have improved, you can’t believe what happens next. The players have to swim out, untie a gate and then retrieve a basket. Somehow, Tina and Laura forget the most important part….the basket! So after swimming all the way back to shore to the podium, they have to swim back out and get the basket! As expected, Tadhana continues to stretch their lead as all their swimmers are doing well. So when they return with their third basket, you’d think they have it in the bag. Tyson and Aras are busy working their puzzle, but…Tina and Monica are determined women! And somehow the ladies catch up and even call Jeff over to say they’ve won!
No, sorry, it’s not right…
Panic has set in for Tadhana who can’t believe they may have totally blown this challenge. When Tina and Monica raise their hands again in victory, you just got to wonder if the “old ladies” have forgotten their reading glasses. Their puzzle is clearly not done right, but you got to love their confidence…
Finally, and frustratingly, Aras and Tyson get it done and Tadhana can celebrate with a picnic lunch on Day 16… Galang, as expected, is going to Tribal and I just wonder if one of the ladies will be punished for their failure on the first leg… I know it would be clear to me who’s going home.
Back at camp, Tina feels the need to apologize for her screw-up. And she says that if it’s her going home, she’ll understand, and if it’s not, she’ll feel bad for whoever does. This is another one of those comments that just rings false. You’re saying this because you know you’re not going home, and you’re just trying to give your tribe mates the impression you have a heart. Thanks Mom…
Vytas is annoyed because he can’t say how he really feels. He’s pissed that Tina and Laura f**ked up that bad, and HE’S still the one on the chopping block. But just when all seems lost for him, Kat brings up another option.
“What we need to do is take out the person who won’t stop talking…”
That would be Monica. She’s got to do something with those glorious teeth, I guess. And so Kat approaches Tina to let her know about her alternate plan for Tribal. Tina seems to get where she’s coming from, but her main concern is keeping the women strong and vote out Vytas, because when the tribe’s merge, it’s going to be men vs. women. At least that’s what she thinks is going to happen. But now that Kat has brought up this new twist, Tina is beginning to doubt Kat’s allegiance to the women, so she determines to let everyone know that Kat is waffling… Oh-oh, this may not go well for Kat, but it could be the only thing that saves Vytas.
Tina gives Monica (and Vytas?) the low-down of what Kat said so now it’s going to get ugly. Monica is dumbfounded that Kat could go against the women’s alliance (especially her) so it means she has to look at Kat as an enemy. She confronts Kat about it, who appears so taken by surprise that she can do nothing but scramble and deny anything that Tina said is true. I don’t know about you, but seeing Kat reply to Monica’s accusations showed me that Kat does not lie very well. You could see the panic in her eyes as she tried to diffuse the situation. In a later ITM, Monica lets us know that she still may not trust Kat, but she’ll do whatever she can to stay in the game.
Kat can now sense that her back’s against the wall too, and she also has to do whatever’s necessary to stay on track. This may not bode well for Vytas, but who knows what evil lurks at Tribal Council…? Of course, the two women hug it out and pretend to like each other, which is just another difference between male and female dominated tribes. Guys would just agree to disagree. Women have to pretend they’re still BFFs…
So they decide (or do they?) that it’ll be Vytas. But…a short while later…Monica has to get biblical on us and preach the “do unto others” mantra. She’s bothered that Kat was gunning for her, so she’s going to do what she can to get her out. Vytas, of course, is on board, but I just don’t see her wrangling another vote out of Katie, Laura B. or Tina at this point in the game. Tina tells us that she’s 50-50 on who to vote out, so as we head off to Tribal, we don’t know what’s going to happen.
And at this point, I’ll say it again, UNTIL YOU MERGE, KEEP YOUR TRIBE STRONG! They should be voting out Laura B, just in case they need Vytas for some physical strength in a challenge. But what do I know? I’m typing this at 1am in my pajamas and not waking up on the beach in the Philippines with centipedes and spiders crawling all over me…
At Tribal, it’s just Kat vs. Vytas. And while the target should have been on Vytas the entire time, Kat is the one who seems the most defensive and has the most to lose. She’s relegated to begging for her life and for the women to believe that she’ll stick by them when the tribes merge. However, Vytas is offering the perfect counter argument.
“I haven’t made any mistakes. And I’ll stay strong with you.”
Sounds pretty good, but we all know that logic doesn’t always find its way to Tribal Council. And while Vytas, Monica and Tina (and hence, Katie) should all have a reason now to vote out Kat, let’s see how it’s going to pan out.
“It’s time to vote…”
And, somewhat surprisingly, the women do feel that trust is an issue and vote out Kat. Who maybe should have followed the advice of that Survivor expert…herself.
“If you wanna learn how to play Survivor…shut it!”
Maybe if she hadn’t have opened her mouth to Tina about Monica she would have been sitting pretty. Instead, she’s got a long walk to Redemption Island and a challenge to look forward to in the morning. Way to go, babe! Can’t wait to see if Hayden decides to falls on his sword for you tomorrow. I’m sure he doesn’t expect that.
And so in our tease for next week, we see that Vytas is endearing himself to his tribe mates (especially Katie and/or Tina, who’s hearing wedding bells) and that Aras is going to start feeling the heat over at Tadhana.
And finally, as Kat arrives at Redemption Island , she offers us the funniest line of the episode. She’s depressed that she’s let Hayden down by getting voted out, so she laments that Hayden will think:
“Who wants to date someone who doesn’t make the merge?”
Classic Kat…
Thanks for all your support. I will endeavor to open a Twitter account that links to these recaps. Hopefully I’ll have something amusing to say on other days of the week as well. Now that the Dodgers have been eliminated, I have more time to devote to watching Survivor-related content…and The Walking Dead.
Have a great week!
Fish
bryan.fish.fischer@gmail.com
Hey! I really enjoy your recaps. I’ve been reading all season and wanted to comment before, but I couldn’t remember my password.
Anyway, I was wondering what the “purple rock” scenario was? It doesn’t ring a bell for me!?
I’m glad Kat was voted out. I don’t blame the women for questioning her loyalty. She seems like a bit of a loose cannon.
Didn’t she claim to have heart problems and had been through open heart surgeries and stuff? Any truth to that?
As soon as I heard Kat say that, I immediately missed writing this blog! I enjoy your recaps. Glad someone got to take over for me and is handling things well. The thing that makes it so funny is that Kat was SO serious when she said it, too. She’s probably thinking that since Hayden won Big Brother, he’s only dating her to get onto Survivor and will only continue the relationship if one of them wins the million, since he most likely spent his $500,000 on new surf boards, hair gel, and a penis enlargement surgery.
Thank you, MAC, for your support and kind words. I could be writing these recaps for you and about a dozen other people, but I’m glad SOMEONE is enjoying them.
The Purple Rock was a lame way of resolving a Tribal Council tiebreaker after a revote. I could expound on it, but I think Survivor Wiki does a better job: http://survivor.wikia.com/wiki/Tiebreaker
It’s a good place for any Survivor-related questions…
Kat revealed at Tribal Council on Survivor: One World that she had a heart condition that would require her to have another open heart surgery at some point after she was on that season. I got the impression that her life-and-death reality had given her perspective to not hold a grudge against the women who had voted her out.
While I enjoyed the goofy side of Kat on that season, I found her new “strategic” approach didn’t suit her. She’s trying to play the tough girl, but she should just be the surfer chick… As I wrote, if she didn’t say anything to Tina about Monica, she would have been safe.
Scott: Thank you for reading! It’s super important to have your blessing as I inherited this from you. I hope to live up to the standard you set.
And yeah, at the beginning of the season I though Hayden definitely had an advantage by winning another reality show. True, there’s a target on him for that too, but he also knows to keep playing the game 24/7, like on Big Brother. I hope he does well. On a secret scene from next week, you can see he’s given the option to trade places with Kat. I wonder how they handle that, considering how this week’s episode ended.
Ok, now I remember! Thanks for the reply!
Shout out to Scott- I read and enjoyed his recaps, too.
Y’all have a great weekend!