SURVIVOR: BLOOD VS WATER 2 – 10/22/14

When the new Hunahpu returns to camp, they reveal just how bad their food situation is – a couple scoops of rice left in their bag where Coyopa had half a bag left! You can see that no one wants to get off on the wrong foot, so there’s a lot of glad-handing as they discuss: food, shelter, the camp, etc. But Jeremy tells us exactly what’s up, that he’s in a real bad position now. This morning, he was flying high, but now the only thing that needs to happen is Reed get into bed (figuratively, of course) with Josh (Alec and Wes), and they’ll target Jeremy. Wasn’t I just saying that?

We then hear how wonderful it is for Josh and Reed to get to play together. There’s a little scene where they discuss how their relationship has made them both stronger and that they’ve chosen to remain abstinent until marriage. Now, they didn’t say they’ll remain “virgins” until marriage, so are we to assume they’ve “gone there” previously (with other people)? I don’t care either way, but the fact that the show has chosen to reveal THIS part of their relationship makes me wonder if they think we’ll disapprove less of a gay couple if we’re told they’re not “knocking tap shoes.” Or are they merely giving us more “story” on Josh and Reed because they’re going to go pretty deep in this game…? Hmmm…methinks something’s afoot…

And then we’re provided a metaphor as the ocean’s cool white foam is splashed all over Josh’s body making him shudder with delight… Oh, myyy…!

Over at Coyopa, the topic of the day is food, as well, as Jon, Missy and Keith (well, maybe it was just Jon) are happy to find out the tribe has lots of rice. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but if the old Hunahpu tribe didn’t have a lot of rice left, that means they were eating it. And I know they had more players after day 3, but I’m just confused why Jon is acting like they’ve been starving. Hell, everyone’s starving! It just looks like the Coyopans did a better job in rationing their rice while starving themselves, so maybe Jon should cool his jets about how much food he’s going to eat…

But, more importantly, he goes on to tell us how great it is that he can now play WITH Jaclyn (and based on how many smooches they’re sharing, it looks like they’ll be heading off to the jungle pretty soon to do a lot more “playing”), and since it’s Blood vs. Tears, he confesses how awesome it is just to share this experience with the girl who knows him so well, who knows about his father’s medical condition, and who has such great boobs… (Hold on, maybe he didn’t say that last part and I just thought it…).

So when Jaclyn confesses that it’s really amazing she gets to play the game with someone she trusts “100%,” you really have to appreciate how unheard of that is in this game. I mean, this is a game built on paper-thin alliances, fake alliances, temp alliances, lies, cheating and “moral turpitude,” how often can someone say they’re playing with someone implicitly? Maybe that’ll come back to haunt them, but for now, they’re gonna keep smooching away, in front of everyone, which may slowly begin to piss people off. Even Baylor seems to be getting the “get a room, guys” look, though she claims that it’s “so cute.” But she’s 20, single, and stuck out here with her mom instead of hooking up with some dude, so it’s almost cute how much she’s longing to be kissed by someone. And I just wonder what the rest of the season has in store for her…

And I just wanted to mention what a few others already have, she needs to start pitching for that nail polish company because that stuff is da bomb… 11 or 12 days in and it’s still looking strong. I’m wondering if that nail polish was her personal item…?

Later, as the “couples” are all bathing in the lagoon, Keith is trying his hand at fishing, since he knows he’ll need to provide or go home. Regardless, I don’t see him going very much farther, but he reminds us he’s got an immunity idol, so there’s still some damage he can do. Let’s hope the “Idols + accents = death” curse doesn’t burn him like it did so many others: Rocker, JT, James…

Back at Hunahpu, the tribe is milling about not talking about much. Alec is on a bit of a high since he’s outlasted his brother, which may be the first time in his life he’s done that. He’s feeling strong, both physically and within his new tribe, and thinks the new Hunahpu is the stronger tribe, so maybe they’ll be able to avoid Tribal Council for a while.

Jeremy and Natalie however, are more interested in playing the game, agreeing they need to pull in Alec to their “Singles Alliance,” since he’ll be targeted by “Broadway” to join them eventually. Natalie goes after Alec first with a “stick with the singles, yo!” plan, while Jeremy is utilizing his “Surround and Drown” fireman’s tactic. That is, keep complimenting Alec and making him feel appreciated. Little does Alec know that Jeremy thinks he’s just a clone of Drew, which means he’s just another big dummy from Florida…

We then watch a lengthy scene about how much rice is being cooked by Missy at the new Coyopa. Since they have so much rice (in Missy’s opinion) she feels like making as much as she wants. Dale’s keeping a watchful eye on what she’s doing since this was “his rice” just a few short hours ago. Now, she’s using her dadburn Hunahpu rice cooking methods on his rice! He’s beginning to boil, and Missy can sense it. Tension is mounting. But she’s not interested in hearing anything that sounds remotely like criticism from a man. We know what that might lead to… Tribal divorce!

Missy is fine with that (duh!) and she tells Baylor that “no one’s gonna tell me how much rice I can make.” And I’m left wondering why a decision as important as food is not a community decision. Maybe I’ve been watching a little too much Utopia, but I think certain things should be a tribal decision. Agree or disagree?

Kelley can tell this is going south, fast, so she takes her dad away for a walk so he can cool down. Because if things turn on him suddenly, that means it’ll turn on her next, so she needs to step up and regain a bit of control over her game.

It’s Day 13 at Hunahpu and lethargy is rampant. The food shortage is critical and Josh estimates they have 3 days of food left. “What were these people thinking?” he says mockingly. Alec is proving that everything Jeremy thought about him is true when he suggests bartering with Probst for more rice (a chip off the old Christy block!). Reed finally utters his first words of the season when he says it won’t go over well with Probst, but they gotta do what they gotta do.

32 minutes into the episode and we’re finally seeing our first challenge. Thank you! This is why I tune in every week. I don’t care about alliances, rice, and idols, I want to see some good old-fashioned obstacle course racing and puzzle figuring outing…

And this Immunity Challenge looks to be another doozy. There are 4 stages:
1st Stage – dig up a bag of keys
2nd Stage – crawl through a long mud pit under a wooden structure
3rd Stage – open a locked gate and then shake sandbags out of a “crow’s nest” atop a tall pole
4th Stage – 2 members toss the sandbags onto a suspended platform

First tribe to get 10 sandbags to stay on the platform wins immunity. On your mark, get set, go!

Hunahpu is first to retrieve their bag and heads to the mud first. The entire tribe gets through the mud pit and begins unlocking the gate before Coyopa even finds their bag. Jeff is already beginning to ridicule them. However, a huge lead is a precarious thing. Or is it…?

Hunahpu shakes the hell out of their pole and the bags go flying everywhere. They’re picked up rather quickly and Wes and Jeremy begin to toss their bags. Wes lands his first throw and soon develops a rhythm. As Coyopa finally reaches their pole, their method of “wobbling” it proves ineffective (weren’t they even watching Hunahpu?) as nothing is happening up top.

In fact, it looks like the challenge was supposed to have the bags falling out the bottom of the crow’s nest when the pole is shook, since that how it was shown in the preview of it, but Hunahpu found an easier way to do it, so more power to them…

As Hunahpu gets closer to a victory, “7, that’s 8, and 9…” Coyopa finally retrieves all their bags and is about to start tossing when Jeremy…

“…wins Immunity for Hunahpu! This challenge is over. Not even close…”

Geez, thanks Jeff, it’s not like they weren’t trying. Have a heart.

So when Coyopa (those losers!) takes off back to camp, Hunahpu petitions Jeff to make a deal. They tell him about their food situation and how dire things are, and while Jeff makes a little speech about how smart Coyopa was for rationing their rice, it may have worked against them in challenges. He informs them that he’s first got to deal with the Coyopa Tribal Council, but he’ll come to their camp in the morning to discuss what they can do for more food. But the price will be steep.

I’m wondering if the show would consider sending them to a separate Tribal Council, just to say, “f**k you for being so stupid.” I don’t know, sounds fair to me… For f**k’s sake! It’s Survivor! Go catch a fish. Go kill a bird. Go find some wild boar and stalk the heck out of him. Go get primal! Hell, eat one of your tribemates’ legs. I saw that on Walking Dead this week and that Gareth motherf**ker seemed better fed than these jerks…

But what I’m also considering is how all this “bartering” will affect future seasons. Will tribes simply eat up all their rice in the first 1/3rd of the season to stay strong because they know they can always ask Jeff for more rice? It sets a bad precedent when you completely forego logic for hunger in a game that’s called SURVIVOR. I can’t even say that Hunahpu ate through their rice because they were hungry. It just seems like they put no thought whatsoever into rationing their food. Who was in charge of this tribe?! Oh, wait a minute, that was Drew. Oh, I get it now. Makes total sense. Yeah, uh, Jeff, can you bring another bag of rice to both tribes? They were Christy-ed!

So Hunahpu is left to ponder what trade they’ll have to make with Jeff in the morning, and as they walk along the shore returning to camp, the camera lingers on Julie’s chest, with a bit of blur added to hide the fact her nipple or areola may be exposed. Thanks for that guys…

While Coyopa is trudging back to camp, still muddied from the challenge, you wonder why they don’t throw down their things and just rinse off in the ocean. Hell, I would. Do you really want to walk a few hundred yards, or a quarter mile, caked in mud when you can just jump into the ocean and wash it off? Okay, I get it, it’s a show, but is that something they should force you to do?

When they do return, Keith confesses he’s an easy target, since the couples will vote together. Thankfully, he’s got the idol, so he’s going to wait and see what unfolds at Tribal. He knows that some of them (Dale and Missy) are feuding, so that could work to his advantage. Dale, like everyone else, recognizes that couples are powerful, so if he and Kelley could just get one other couple on their side, their 4-3 advantage could control the tribe. Plus, he knows Missy’s a bitch at camp, and Baylor’s lied and changed her vote, so that’s all Dale needs. He’s going to try to hook up with Jon and Jaclyn.

Next scene and the four of them are discussing doing just that. But are Jon and Jaclyn really trying to do that, or are they just telling Dale and Kelley what they want to hear? When Dale spills the beans about Baylor flopping on Day 3, it’s mentioned that she can’t be trusted; and Missy is essentially the same, according to Jon. They take leave with a “we’re working together” agreement, but then we see Jon and Jaclyn discussing what just happened. Sure enough, they’re telling everyone they’re “with them,” but they’re still undecided. And at this point, they need to figure out who they’re better off with, which means they need to “get to know” people a little better to make that decision.

Not sure how much they’ll get to know someone in the hour or two before Tribal, but at least they’re in agreement that that’s what they need to do. They smooch it out… Gosh, they’re so cute. Congratulations again on your engagement. Where are you registered?

Kelly and Dale head off to presumably look for an idol, so it’s time for Jon and Jaclyn to work on Baylor and Missy. They discuss how Jaclyn’s early vote was for Dale, and then Baylor explains how/why she flipped her vote. Missy also wants to know how Dale’s been around camp before she arrived, because you can tell she’s still annoyed about the rice debacle. There’s a lot of talk, but that’s what it all is…talk.

Alone again, Jaclyn tells Jon that Baylor’s flipped on her once, so what’s to stop her from doing it again? They agree that Dale and Kelley are also smart, so there’s a lot to process. This decision could be fruitful or fatal to J/J, so they need to think wisely. They could either vote with D/K and vote for Baylor, or they could vote with B/M and split their votes against D/K, just in case an idol is played.

And just when things are getting too confusing, Keith approaches Baylor and Missy to stir the pot some more. Nothing is actually revealed in their conversation, but it leads me to believe he’s going to vote how Missy votes, so that would be another vote against Dale. I can honesty say I have no idea who’s going home tonight, and that’s a feeling I like to have when Tribal begins. Good job, Survivor, for knowing how to keep us guessing…