SURVIVOR: BLOOD VS WATER – 11/20/13

We’re taken to Redemption Island arena where the next “Wowie in Palaui” is about to go down: Aras vs. Vytas vs. Tina in a “throw a grappling hook and retrieve some bags and then use a ball to solve a table maze” kind of thing. Not sure if anyone has a clear advantage in this one, so let’s see what happens…

Immediately, Tina snags a bag and then a couple throws later snags another, and THEN ANOTHER. She’s on fire! Did she grow up in the rodeo? Aras is fortunate to snag a bag pretty quick, but Vytas is having issues just keeping the rope untangled. I guess this isn’t one of those activities they did at the jail yard… Perhaps if there was a “shiv sharpening” task, he’d blow everyone away, but not so much in a “traditional” Survivor challenge…

However…after Tina begins working on the maze, the Brothers Bakauskas-mazov suddenly become the Brothers Texas Wranglers and snare all their remaining bags. With a small lead, Tina works the maze cautiously until she finds herself in a virtual tie with Vytas at one spot near the center. Aras , in the meantime, has dropped a ball through a hole, so he’s got to start over. Tina then manages to get her ball in the center circle…but she overcompensates and winces as her ball falls down a hole. Got to start all over…

Vytas takes this opportunity to calmly guide his ball into the center circle, and coolly maneuvers it into the groove. Take that L.A. County Jail guards who said I’d amount to nothing!

So even after dropping his ball well ahead of Tina, Aras doesn’t seem to have any lead on her. Tina is somehow already past him, and finds herself in the same place as before, just outside the center circle. This time, with a bit more patience (and luck) Tina guides the ball into the groove and takes second place. It’s time to say goodbye to Aras …

But first we get a taste of what it means to the Brothers Baskauskas to have fought, played, and lived together on Blood vs. Water. This is actually a very touching moment where both guys admit they’ve grown closer together, and that’s more valuable than a million dollars (easy to say when you’ve already won a million, huh, Aras …?). But seriously, as Aras walks out of the arena, he gives props to the remaining players, “no hard feelings, you outplayed me, good job” which shows a lot of class on Aras ’ part. Let’s hope that others can leave the show with such grace.

And for winning the challenge, Vytas gets to select who receives the clue to the hidden immunity idol. This whole “gift” has become such a joke this season that it’s almost shocking that he decides to give it to someone who actually needs it – Katie – and she actually keeps it! Thank god someone is finally using their head.

Sure, there were valid reasons to burn the previous ones, but as I’ve said, CLUES ARE POWER. You can always manipulate how the power is received or shared. Keep the damn clues…! Share it with your alliance. Go look for the damn thing with your alliance, but for f**k’s sake, KEEP THE CLUE. So Katie sticks it in her bag and maybe, just maybe, this is the chink in the armor that she needs to break into that alliance of 7. Or…Tyson already has the idol so it’s just false hope for the next Redemption Island competitor…

Kasama camp (Day 25), as the players return, there’s the usual, “wow, that was amazing! Did you see the way she did that? Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe he’s gone…” kind of talk. Yeah, yeah, whatever… All we care about is watching Katie try to escape from the rest of the tribe and…go look for nothing.

“I’m going to the bathroom.”

Sounds like a valid reason to separate yourself from the tribe. I was just surprised that Tyson and Gervase didn’t offer their “wiping services” to her. At this point, I wouldn’t put it past anyone to cross various lines of propriety to keep tabs on those outside the alliance.

Oh, Katie, you lying vixen! You didn’t have to poop! You’re reading your clue! You sneaky little bi*ch… So she tells us she thinks she knows where it is, and heads off to the “snake tree.” Back at camp, Laura is suggesting that they hide all the sharp instruments, “so she can’t dig.” Seems a little desperate, and pretty f**ked up, if you ask me. What’s next? Should Katie tear off Ciera’s tibia and use that to dig with…? (Sorry, watching too much Walking Dead lately…)

Tyson then informs us that he’s not bothered in the slightest about Katie having a clue. He’s more interested in figuring out what his next move should be. Only problem I have with this is that while he says others may be afraid to make a big move, he’s okay with it. And happy to do it. Maybe this is where Tyson starts to unravel. Because making a big move in the game may be a good idea, but getting addicted to making big moves (and thinking that you’ll come out unscathed) may be a recipe for disaster. We’ll see if this approach bites Mr. Apostol in the ass…

In the lagoon conference room, Tyson approaches Caleb and Hayden with an idea. Let’s get rid of Laura M. tonight, which will bring Ciera back into our fold. And then maybe Laura can beat some people at Redemption and help our cause. Sounds good to Hayden and Caleb, who seem to be okay with ANY plan presented to them.

Ciera and Laura then go off to have a big conversation about their future plans. This was actually a very emotional and heartfelt conversation between a mom and her daughter. It’s really unusual to watch a strategic conversation occur on Survivor and NOT feel like it was all under the guise of gameplay. Ciera was very straightforward in her belief that it may behoove her to cut her Mom now to increase her chances of winning (however, she’s forgetting that whole “you never know what’s going to happen on Survivor” thing). And surprisingly, Laura is more proud to be seeing her daughter grow up and be mature enough to have this conversation with her, than fearing what it may do to her chances of winning a million dollars.

Once again, this is why this season of Survivor is one of the best seasons ever. I agree with Parvati and her guest on the After Show last week that this season is probably in the top five of all seasons of Survivor. The level of gameplay, the layers, the emotional toll that each vote takes, and how each decision is not only two layers deep, but could very well be 4 layers deep. I’m just amazed the Survivor composers have this many emotional cues in their library to cover all these crying scenes…

Day 26 and Katie is up early to search for the hidden immunity clue. She trudges off down the beach…and then like a cat, Laura M. is sprinting after her! I think I’d be really annoyed if I was Katie. How dare this woman follow me on my morning walk!

And doesn’t it make Laura seem a bit desperate? Maybe players forget that cameras are on them 24/7, but I think you should act with a modicum of dignity when you play the game, right…? Once Katie realizes Laura (“the Shadow”) is upon her, she does the next best thing: digs in the wrong place so Laura can go suck eggs…

Later, Tyson takes Ciera out for a little strategy talk. He wants to reveal his big plan to her (which she guesses, anyway) but he can’t even man up and say it was his idea…

“Hayden and Caleb want to vote her out…

What a pu**y. Just tell her your plan and maybe earn a bit of respect. But Ciera knows this is just something more she needs to consider, but still doesn’t know what she’s going to do tonight. She’s a woman with options…