SURVIVOR: BLOOD VS WATER 2 – 11/19/14

When the losing four players return to camp, they “rinse that mud right outta their hair” and discuss what a big move giving the reward away was for Natalie. She admits that it was, and Wes and Keith know that it was, so let’s call a spade a spade (and Wikipedia that phrase if you’re thinking I’m being racist in any way…).

But Wes and Keith have a little trick up their sleeve. They freely admit to the girls that they know “their 6 are going to the finals,” but they tell them to just be kind enough to let them know which one is going home. Seems pointless, and unlikely, but it’s the best play they have. Little do the Jeremys know that Keith intends to share the idol with Wes and use it to save either of them, if things look bleak. Pretty smart firecrackers, those Nale boys… Don’t know if Natalie and Missy are going to take that bait, but let’s see how things play out.

Over at Exile, Jeremy tells us that he wanted to come here to say thanks to Jonclyn, and to find the idol for his alliance…to share with them (What’s with all this sharing of idols?). I don’t know if that’s exactly what he’s thinking, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt until the next Tribal. Something tells me Jeremy would not give that baby away (if he finds it) to anyone, regardless of how the votes are shaping up. As he’s rinsing off the mud from the challenge, he spies the yacht that he should have been on, but all he can do is ponder if he made the right decision as it zips away…

With T-Pain and Andy Samberg’s “I’m on a boat” blasting from the top deck, the winning “team” is snacking away on sandwiches and toasting champagne. Of course, Baylor, being only 20, is verboten from drinking the fine bubbly – even though the drinking age in Nicaragua is 18 you fools! – so is apparently drinking a Root Beer or Killian’s Red?

Jonclyn is again being the lovey-dovey couple that everyone is sick of, and Reed is getting saucy because they don’t deserve to be here. Everyone knows Natalie’s move was purely strategic, so Reed’s going to stir up some trouble even if it’s the last thing he does on the show. Shoot, what’s to stop him from getting voted off next time, where his OMG “punishment” is to go spend some alone time with his boyfriend at a resort! I think I know who might not care if he goes home next Tribal… Heck, if he had fake boobs and hoarded trail mix I’d think he’d simply quit…

Exile Island (Night 23) Jeremy is trying to get a good night’s sleep amongst the crabs when thunder and lightning signals Jeremy ain’t going to bed tonight. With hardly any sleep, he’s feeling lethargic and is getting frustrated that he hasn’t been able to find the hidden Immunity Idol. However, he – and his underwear – are going to try one last time. Fruitless – or is that Fruit of the Loomless? – he theorizes that Jon may have already found it. Which would be okay with him, but Jon could have, I don’t know, TOLD HIM he found it so Jeremy wouldn’t have to spend 2 days looking? I get his point, but I also see why Jon wouldn’t tell. Let’s see what’s happening at Huyopa…

Jon is discussing with Jaclyn exactly this scenario and is considering that when Jeremy comes back without an idol, the tribe will either think that he’s dumb, or that Jon had already found it and was keeping that secret from his alliance. This is something that Jon didn’t consider beforehand, which just goes to show that Jon is not the player that Jeremy (or even Keith!) is. Just when Jonclyn thinks they’re in a good place, something has to come along to mess up their game… Curse you, Survivor! (shakes fist at the sky)

But lo, something’s afoot, literally, as the Immunity Challenge is up next. This challenge was teased to us in the preview video released yesterday (did you see my Retweet?). It looks like a very unique and altogether different challenge than Survivor has ever run. Evidently it’s named after the good doctor, Tarzan, when he mentioned “…the game is afoot” back in One World.

The challenge consists of untying a rope that releases some wooden blocks into a basket. Players then have to assemble a 3-story tower out of the block and place a flag in the center…and all this needs to be done with their feet! It’s a Survivor first, and John Kirhoffer must be feeling pretty good about himself right now…

I won’t go into the specifics of the entire challenge because everyone is succeeding to a degree, besides Jaclyn and Alec. At the end, it’s Reed and Baylor trying to place the final block but Reed keeps tipping another block over. With that small window of opportunity, and orange nail polish left on only her big toes, Baylor places the final block and drops in the flag. And she looks like a kid in a candy store, her adorable smile says it all. I have to admit she’s never looked cuter than she does right now. If I was 25 years younger…she’d still go out with the guy who can play guitar…

And with that, Baylor has a “1-in-9 chance to win, and someone’s going home tonight.” Jeremy confesses he was definitely affected by Exile, but he’s just happy that someone in his alliance won. He’s probably safe, so he’s not going to sweat it…

But Reed is going to sweat it when they return to camp because he knows he could be going home tonight. And instead of trying to sway votes away from him, he’s gonna “light this camp on fire on his way out” if he has to. So instead of targeting one of the players in THE OTHER ALLIANCE, he decides to go through Keith’s stuff to see what “this old coot is sitting on.”

Okay, this is the kind of thing that might get your ass kicked back home, but in Survivor, it’s fair game. I mentioned in an email to a reader that this kind of behavior is really distasteful to me. I mean, where’s the line of decency? What, do people have to bury all their personal belongings in a hole, like a squirrel hides nuts, just to keep certain things private? I remember the time Crystal did the same thing in Survivor: Gabon and it struck me as a very shi**y thing to do then. We all know where Crystal’s ethics lie (just check her Olympics results) and this is a very telling thing about Reed. I think there are other ways to play, because not everything can be forgiven just because you’re “playing a game.” Hey, if you want to pull that off when you’re off-camera and can get away with it, go for it, but to do it in front of everyone (meaning the viewers at home) is an indication that someone’s barometer is a bit low in
mercury. Reed looks in Keith’s bag and finds a clue to the Hidden Immunity idol and shoves it in his pocket.

Hey, isn’t that technically, a crime, so he should be kicked out of the game? We know the show has a tendency to look the other way when it comes to tribe dynamics. If Russell can keep playing when he’s burning other people’s socks than Reed is free to rummage through someone else’s bag. Reed confesses he hates when players do what he just did, but “desperate times call for desperate measures.” I can’t wait for Keith to find out what Reed did and kick his ass, because that’s what happens where Keith is from.

Reed is off with Jaclyn and Missy and tells them what he just found and what it means. It now occurs to me that this is a pretty stupid move. You’re purposely putting a target on one of YOUR ALLIANCE’S backs? And if he has any chance to go much deeper in this game, he could have gone to Keith and say, “Look, I know you have an idol. Let’s get everyone to vote for you and then you play it.” At least it’ll be 5-4 then and they might be able to work some magic next time.

But no, Reed wants to split the “Other Joshes” into the “Other Josh” and the “Honey Boo Boos.” So it’ll be 6 vs. 3 vs. 1 now. How’s that gonna work for you, Bob Fosse…?

When Baylor walks up and finds out Keith might have an idol, she’s surprised that A) he could even find one, and B) kept it secret for so long. She has the line of the night…

“It’s about to get…crazy.”

We then see “crazy” happening as:

-Keith tells Wes that someone went through his bag and stole his clue.
-Jaclyn tells Jon that Keith has an idol.
-Jeremy tells Natalie that Jon probably found the idol and they can’t trust him 100%…so he’s going to try to catch him in a lie.
-Jeremy confronts Jon about it and Jon says he doesn’t have it.
-Jeremy thinks that Jon is lying but he’s still got to work with him.
-Jon realizes that Jeremy thinks he’s lying, so he’s going to have to make a big move.

So Jon goes to Missy and comes clean that he found the idol. (Finally, we get a taste of that Jon-Missy bond that Kelley told us about weeks ago…). Jon tells her that since he’s revealed this to her, he wants to take Jeremy out either tonight or next Tribal. Missy is a bit uncomfortable with that plan, because she’s been aligned with Jeremy (and Nat) since early in the game. Moreover, she’s unsure if she wants to go along with him, since Jonclyn’s had a history of bulldozing through people. Missy’s plan would be to split the vote between Keith and Reed, flush the idol, and remain 6 strong, but you never know what happens when paranoia and an inflated sense of ego come into play. Let’s watch…!