(Day 30) The Solarrion tribe returns to camp and it looks like Spencer is going to walk the green mile. There’s no way he can stay in this game, right? With Spencer and Tash away from camp, the Tigers convene and reiterate that it’s Spencer going home. And then when Tash returns and joins the ladies in the water, Tony suddenly pulls Woo aside and says they need to change it up again. Jefra needs to go home…
And this is where I begin to question whether Tony really is a great player. The man has 2 FRICKING IMMUNITY IDOLS and he’s worried about there being a 4-2 ratio (women to men) if they vote out Spencer. Mind you, the 4 against 2 is invalid since he has 2 IDOLS, but Tony likes playing the “I’m the target” card and right now I’m questioning if he’s more interested in “playing the game” rather than winning the game.
To make his next blindside work, he’ll need to drop the hint to Spencer to vote out Jefra, and Spencer will have to inform Tash. That part’s easy. But what Tony also needs to pull off is not losing his alliance with Kass and Trish once they see he’s gone behind their backs…again! At some point, you have to wonder if his cuckoo clock needs to be rewound, because why would you do this now? You have the numbers, and the idols, and YOU MIGHT WIN IMMUNITY at the next challenge. It’s just starting to look like Tony’s lost his mind. Does he really think he’s going to hold onto all these jury votes if he makes it to the finals? At some point, you have to let fate, and numbers, just play out so people leave the game without a huge chip on their shoulder. I think that’s the part Tony is forgetting. Let’s see where all this goes…
Spencer does what he needs to do and informs Tash, who’s just as incredulous as Spencer that they both may still be around after tonight’s Tribal. Spencer feels like he can breathe again, because he was already convicted, on death row, and strapped in the chair. Well, the governor just called with a reprieve and said, ‘hold on a minute, son, there’s some new evidence to consider in this case,’ and Spencer is suddenly released from the chair. He’s found new life! Heck, he’ll even take this opportunity to go look for an idol, any idol. He doesn’t care if he finds motherf**king Phillip Phillips somewhere in the jungle, he just wants to get his hands on an idol. But, sadly, we know he won’t find one, so it’s Gone, Gone, Gone back to camp and his time on death row…
Which may be the appropriate way to look at it since Tony is now wondering where Spencer is. He’s told that he went to go look for the idol, which upsets Tony because he just threw him a lifeline and this is how he’s repaid?! Tony might need to reconsider that “Jefra going home” plan (if it really existed anyway…) and simply vote out Spencer. Because, as we all know, that would make the most sense. Tony begins to wonder if he’s driving himself crazy or if it’s the game, but there’s one thing he does know about tonight’s tribal…
“There’s going to be chaos…”
The sun sets and players grab their torches. It’s time to return to that crazy place known as Jeff Probst Asks The Tough Questions! He reminds everyone that at the immunity challenge, it was essentially do or die for both Spencer and Tash. Spencer confirms that and claims he’s pretty much helpless since he played his idol last time.
Jeff moves on to Tony and asks what the vibe was at camp after the challenge. Now this would be a good time to just sit back and say, “Everything was chill. No problems.” But rather, he chooses to stir the pot a little and call out Jefra for discussing possibly flipping against her alliance and voting out Tony. And because Tony loves to create drama at Tribal, he pulls out his new bling and puts it around his neck and says he’s not getting blindsided.
Jefra is clearly affected by his accusation and says she was just upset about the LJ vote. Kass defends her by saying she had to get over the anger of being left out, but Tony doesn’t want to hear it.
“Jeff, you don’t go advertise a blindside! You withhold it from people who you think might blow your cover…”
Jeff then asks Tony if he’s surprised that the tribe can still keep it together, considering everything that’s happened. Tony’s opinion is that everyone is merely marching on, like lemmings, simply expecting to make it to the Final 5.
Jeff points out to Spencer that what’s going on right now (“chaos”) can only help him, and Spencer is clearly happy to agree with that. He knows it’s all he’s got. That, and Tony, if he’s still willing to work with him. A couple more questions are asked and then we get to the meat of Tribal. Jeff asks Spencer that if it’s his turn to go home, is he satisfied with the game he’s played. Spencer replies that he can go home happy, but…“windows of opportunity come up and close in this game, and some could be closing right now.” He continues,
“If you pick me off, and then pick off Tash, and get 4th or 5th place, you made a mistake tonight, by not making a move. The most common reason people lose this game, is not making the move that they should have, when they could have, because they got too comfortable.”
Well, Spencer, my boy, it appears you’ve got it all figured out. Maybe the only (next) mistake you made was going to look for an idol. We’ll see…
With that, it’s time to vote!
Kass votes Spencer
Spencer votes Jefra
Other votes are…Spencer, Jefra, Spencer, Jefra (oh, snap, someone flipped!), and “the 11th person voted out” is…Jefra.
The shocked reactions by Kass and Trish tell Jeff everything he needs to know. This was another huge blindside, and he reminds the Solarrions that this game is an individual one. I can’t wait to see how Tony talks his way out of this one, but somehow he’ll probably be able to. All I can hope is that Jefra gets to Ponderosa toot sweet and takes a nice long bath… She deserves it. And from her final words, it sounds like she’s leaving with a wonderful perspective, so she can hold her head up high…
In the tease of next week, we finally see that Tony’s antics may finally be wearing on some of his alliance mates. Kass is threatening to write his name down, to which Tony replies that she would then be going home. Looks like we’ve got some drama cooking up at Solarrion next week. And if you think Kass is the only one ready to flip, chances are Woo may be considering it too. Not sure if any of this matters considering Tony’s “dual-layer” bulletproof vest, so we’ll just have to wait and see where the chips fall. Until next week…
Fish
Email: bryan.fish.fischer@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BF_TheFish
AIM: bryan.fish.fischer@gmail.com or Bryan Fischer
Hi Bryan,
I really should get on Twitter, I just don’t get it! But then I could read more of the comments. I really think this season is great and your comments/recap are always the highlight of each episode. I hope your sabotage idea gets some press. It seems really clever and would be fun to watch. I didn’t get at all why Tony showed everyone the idol he found. I would have kept it quiet myself. I know he said his reasons why but I thought they were stupid. Though over all, he’s a fun guy to watch and I wouldn’t mind if he won. It seems to me like Tasha should be the one they are all gunning for as soon as they can. With respect to the survivor auction, the food portions were really skimpy. Like Woo’s ribs, all you get are 3 ribs and a beer. No fries, no brownie! And Trish, all she gets is some gummies and a small popcorn/soda? Come on, these people are starving! Sorry you didn’t get to see Jefra shower-PERV! 🙂 Finally, I keep thinking LJ looks totally awful at all of these jury shots at Tribal. I will confess, I had a tiny LJ crush, but in the jury scenes, he looks like an old guy with a bad comb-over. The jury members usually look so good when they come out at Tribal, but he always looks terrible.
Yeah, I thought Trish really showed how dumb she is during the auction when she kept asking what they were waiting for. Had she never seen this show before?
My girls! So nice to hear from you… 🙂
(kinb) As you may recall, I was hesitant to get on Twitter all of last season, but it’s necessary for what I’m trying to do now. I get it if people don’t wanna get on it, so here’s my two cents based on my 6 months:
1. If you don’t wanna tweet a lot and just follow a couple people, that’s best. Just as long as the people you follow aren’t fanatically tweeting shit all the time (annoying!)
2. If you follow too many people, you’ll just end up missing everything. I’m following a ton of ex-players now and it’s more work trying to catch up on every tweet I missed than it is joy from reading some good ones.
3. It’s hard/frustrating trying to get followers at the beginning. Believe me!
And thanks for being such a big fan. I’m glad you’re digging my columns.
-I wont’ hold my breath on my Sabotage theme, but I wont’ give up either.
-Re: Tony, if you had Twitter, you would have seen my post where I wondered if Tony’s going to end up “pulling a Russell Hantz” and make it all the way to the end but lose to a Trish, Woo, or Tash because of the way he got everyone voted out. He’s putting WAY TOO BIG a target on his own back, seemingly orchestrating everyone’s departure. That’s not the way to cull jury votes…
-And yeah, the auction was very…sparse. I wonder why?
-Me? A perv? Pul-lease… 😉
-Totally agree on LJ. Is anyone doing hair & make-up SUGGESTIONS for these people at Ponderosa? He looks older than me!
Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it!
(ericah) Something about Trish just makes me think she’s not the brightest light on the porch. Just comes across as a very simple person. Nothing wrong with that, but in a game based on outwitting, it seems like she’s unprepared. Like going to battle without a weapon…
Thanks for writing! Have a great weekend!
Fish
1) I like your “Sabotage” idea in some respect. It would be different and would definitely change how someone plays the game. Here’s what I fear though – I really like having someone to root for. There has to be players who I WANT to win the money. I tend to be totally turned off by players like Tony, Russell, and Brad C (to name a few). Those that are rude, overbearing, obnoxious people. I don’t even care if “they played a good game” by the end. I just want them to lose. SO, if they pick up your idea, I wouldn’t want it to be all totally cut throat and mean players. For example, Rupert stole those shoes at the very beginning of his first season. He could have come off as a total jerk, but instead he came off as a lovable guy with a mischievous streak. I could back a Rupert …. never a Russell or a psycho like J’Tia.
2) I wanted to scream at Tash during the auction. First she bid on some stupid thing for $20 or something – WHAT?!? Do you realize you are playing Survivor? You know there will be some type of advantage at the end. You NEED that; you don’t need some jelly beans (or whatever). And then to let it go at just the two of them. Did you start out on the Brains tribe? Isn’t she an accountant or something? You don’t realize that you two have a better shot with 2 out of 3 than letting Spencer go it alone for a 50/50 shot? She did at least have an explanation …. But I still think she should have gone all in.
3) Russell ran the game through fear, but he also played well (I still didn’t want him to get the money – see #1). Tony seems to be getting more and more irrational. I’m waiting for a J’Tia moment to pop up any time. I think he has lost any chance of getting votes from the jury at this point. Who knows though – these people tend to change their mind a LOT more than their underwear.
Thanks for the great recap – as always!
Hi rsanon, I totally agree with your point #1. If you recall, I said when I revealed it that you can’t have just a bunch of villains, America wouldn’t get behind it. You need to have some contestants who embody the “outwit” part of the theme. Whether that’s someone like Vytas who tried that cheap shot on his brother, or someone like Ciera who was willing to play both sides and make big moves, or even a guy like LJ, who everyone seems to love. It’s just the theme of the show, and Jeff can spin players any way he wants to make them more “sabotag-y.” If that’s a word…
But I’m with you on not having a mean player win. As much as I enjoy a good blindside, deep down I want someone to win who a) deserves it (up to my discretion), b) played a smart game, and c) isn’t a jerk. There have been some players who played a strong game (like Russell H.) but the way he bullied people and his chauvinistic comments were troubling for me to get behind. I would have voted for Mick… And don’t even get me started on X’XXX…
2. I discussed all that in the column. I totally agree with you. Why not go for the advantage and face off against Tony? Even if you don’t win, you’re making it more difficult on him. Oh well…
3. I have a feeling that Tony’s actions are losing him jury votes (or LOST him jury votes) but he’s blinded by his own game. He’s thinking about how HE would vote for a winner, rather than how THEY should vote for a winner. It’s all about communication… You gotta figure out what they want to hear rather than what you wanna say…
Thanks! Stay tuned for an epic conclusion to the season and the recaps…and hopefully more!
Fish