When they return to camp, the bed is already set up and damn, I gotta admit that looks comfy. Sure, in an hour it’ll smell like saltwater, BO, and a few other funky things, but it sure do look purdy! Immediately, Keith, Baylor and Missy take off to collect water because they’re all just jealous. Natalie wants to keep Jonclyn chill, because with her ulterior motive, she needs everyone to stay calm to pull it off. Jon isn’t too worried since he’s been tight with Missy from Day 1, and he’s beginning to trust the hell out of Natalie, which may be his downfall or not.
But it might be all this stupid talk of wine and being a sommelier and studying it in Vegas and then moving to Italy that is upsetting Natalie the most. I understand there’s a reason behind it (it reminds Jon of his father) and it may be cool to discuss this with other wine snobs, but when you’re sitting on a bed on a Nicaraguan beach, you kind of come across as a douche. Natalie is totally playing into Jon’s delirium and even offers him her wine when he starts whimpering that he’s almost done with his. And with all this generosity she’s showing him, he’s beginning to feel that he can trust her – which is exactly what she had hoped for – so much that Jon even tells her he found the idol at Exile. JFC, does this guy know how to hold his liquor?
The morning of Day 31, while Jon and Jaclyn are still lounging in bed, Natalie is telling Baylor how much of a jerk Jon is. Everything is about money and what they’ll do with it when they win the game. Natalie is holding nothing back and tells Baylor she wants Jon out next because he thinks he has everyone wrapped around his finger. Baylor agrees to do it, but Natalie tells her not to say anything to her mom, who is aligned with Jon. Baylor refers to Natalie as her “Survivor Sister” and reveals some things that are bit more personal than Missy would probably like to hear from her daughter, but that’s what you get when you’re divorced 3 times…you get judged. No offense, it’s just the facts… And I wonder how the conversation between Baylor and Missy went this morning after having watched the episode.
So the plan is to have Natalie, Baylor, Keith and Alec vote for Jon, and hopefully, he hasn’t won immunity or doesn’t play his idol.
With Jonclyn snoozing again in the shelter, Keith blurts out that they “haven’t been awake more than two hours the whole day,” and why isn’t anyone taking them out? But Baylor’s little grin is not enough to alert Keith to what may be upcoming. The three of them go out to collect wood, and later plunk it down next to the shelter, loud enough to wake up Jon. As Jon looks at all the wood that was collected, he’s able to take the temperature of the tribe, and he’s not liking the vibe he’s getting. He thinks something may be up, and “may be” is enough to make a player worry as you get so close to the end.
Jaclyn, evidently, can also sense something may be up, and has her bulls**t meter tuned perfectly to the possibility the others may be secretly targeting Jon. However, his confidence is full, and she just hopes that the Jon she knows from Michigan is not the Jon she’s seeing in Nicaragua: high hopes, dashed dreams… Man, these two are revealing all their foibles tonight.
It’s Day 32 and time for another Immunity Challenge. Alec is welcomed back from Exile warmly (totally fake, I know) and before we get started we have to watch Missy get emotional about something. IDK, lack of sleep, menopausal, or maybe she’s just over all of this. Enough with the sensitivity, there are people who do this WITHOUT having a loved one around, so please get over yourself.
The challenge is the same one we saw Tyson win back in Blood vs. Water 1. Players must hold onto a rope that stabilizes a table. Players have to retrieve wooden blocks and stand them up, all the while keeping the table level. With the amount of fatigue that everyone’s feeling, this could be another tough challenge.
Keith takes the early lead but a lazy spill drops him back. Jon and Jaclyn are neck and neck up to about the 7th block when Jaclyn’s take a spill. With Keith rushing to get back into it, he catches Jon at the 8th block and it’s getting tense. Alec is no good at all (why is he even on this show, again?) and Baylor isn’t doing much better, but better than Alec…
With a slow-and-steady approach, and a whole lot of praying to the big man upstairs (Mark Burnett?) Jon can ease up when Keith drops all 9 of his blocks and Jon wins immunity. So much for that big plan of Natalie’s. Looks like it’s Plan B now. You do have a Plan B, right, Natalie…?
Well, Jon has a Plan B and it involves splitting the votes against Keith and Alec. Not sure why he thinks one of them may have an idol, but that’s his deal. Maybe he’s just trying to cover up that he has one, but the only one who doesn’t know he has it is Baylor, so I don’t know what he’s doing. Natalie and Jaclyn discuss how to split the votes, and it’s going to be the two of them (+ Jon) voting for Keith and Missy and Baylor voting for Alec (just to put the fear of God into him). Natalie and Baylor then get some alone time and Natalie bitches about how crappy this is because of all the work she put into building up his trust so she could blindside him. I’m starting to think that if they can’t take out Jon, now may be the time to take out Jaclyn, but no one ever seems to discuss that. Maybe she’s just viewed as the “Gervase” of the season…?
In the shelter, Alec is gonna try anything he can to stay in the game, so he’s gonna get all emotional with Baylor and reveal how much this game is f**king with him and what a big effect it’s having on him. She’s exhibiting signs that he’s getting through to her, which means she’s either faking this whole response, or she’s just as bad as her mom at judging men. She whispers to Alec to “trust her,” which is all he needs to know that his b.s. may be working.
Natalie and Keith share a conversation about who may be going home (him or Alec) but she tells him she’s ready to make a big move and vote out Alec (with Keith) and turn on her alliance. This could be the big play she needs to vote out Jon next time, or…it could be the move that spells her doom. She still has a secret idol that Jon doesn’t know about, so either way she should be good for a couple more Tribals.
I’m wondering why anyone is thinking about taking out Alec because he’s such a non-threat. Just look at EVERY one of his performances in challenges and you’ll see a guy who just doesn’t know what he’s doing. Plus, with the chauvinistic attitude he displayed, you know he’ll never get any votes from the jury. He’s a guy YOU TAKE to the final, just like Sherri, Mick, or Becky, in season’s past…
At Tribal, Jeff opens by asking Missy if we’re still at a “5 vs. 2” thing, and whether it’s about “who you take out,” or “who you leave in.” Both she and Jon confirm that it’s about taking out someone who’s good at challenges (Keith), which Jeff picks up on, but Keith just wants everyone to know that he’s not good at some other things. Like faking it or trying to mislead someone. I don’t think there’s EVER been a player on Survivor who’s been more “WYSIWYG” than Keith.
Jeff asks Natalie to confirm if it’s as simple as everyone’s making it and she gives a telling reply that makes Jon prick up his ears. She says that it’s not completely that simple, and you can see Jon is starting to get “that vibe” again. Before she can go on, a rat pops out and frightens her, which freaks everyone out, except Alec, who’s ready to cook and eat that rat, he’s so hungry. This, oddly, seems to turn Baylor on a little, who obviously likes her men unshaven, unclean and ready to eat rodents. It’s so cute…
Seeing the rat prompts Jeff to remind everyone that they’re out in the jungle. Jon then opens up about the last reward challenge and how being able to drink from a wine glass reminded him of his father, who is dying of brain cancer. Jon tears up, understandably, about how great it’ll be to have his dad tell him how proud he is of Jon, which is just another reminder of how little time they have left together. Jon reveals he wasn’t always so tight with his dad, it being only the last 2-3 years that they’ve grown closer. He regrets all that time he wasted being a stubborn son, instead of one who could have shared a lot more with this father. This is really emotional stuff and you know it’s beginning to sink in with everyone. Hell, I’m about to cry…
Whether ALL of it is real is not important now, he’s definitely made his point. And yeah, he may be trying to cull jury votes, but the reality of what he’s describing is enough to allow him the courtesy of not calling him out on it. I’m sure that’ll happen at Final Tribal, though, if he makes it.
Or, maybe Jeff’ll just call him out on it right now, since he’s been at more tribals than anyone and hasn’t forgotten this is a game. But no, instead of Jeff taking sides, he’ll ask Keith to do it, and asks if Jon’s tragedy could work against him in the game. Keith replies that, “yeah, it could work against me, but hey, I ain’t dead yet, and I got a vote to give to someone, if they wanna take it.”
One final question for Natalie but she basically confirms (or pretends to confirm) that the Power Couple 5 is sticking together and either Keith or Alec is going home. We’ll see, it’s time to vote.
We see that Keith and Alec are voting against each other, and no hidden idols are played, so Jeff reads the votes:
Kieth (nice spelling, Aleck)
Alec
Keith
Alec
Keith
Alec
Alec
Boom goes the dynamite, and Alec quickly scurries for the rat and tries to get some dinner. And as the final name was read, the surprise on Missy and Jon’s face is evident. Someone didn’t vote like they were supposed to! Damn you, Natalie for not following the instructions of your Supreme Leader! You will pay for this!
And in the tease for next week, we see that Natalie is still out to get Jon and she’ll need to remain tight with Keith to make that happen. And in a challenge, Missy takes a hard spill and may need to be pulled from the game for an x-ray. We’ll see if that comes to fruition.
Until next week, have a great start to your holiday season. I’m gonna wrap this up really quick because it’s 2am and I need some sleep. Perhaps I’ll find some inspiration in the morning…
Fish
Email: bryan.fish.fischer@gmail.com
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OMG, I am so glad you brought that up about how Natalie never seemed to consider taking out Jaclyn. I was practically screaming at my TV, vote out Jaclyn!!!! All I can think is she figures she’ll have the alliance mad at her plus she’ll still have an angry Jon to contend with and for some reason he’s scarier than an angry Jaclyn. It was so weird. And why wouldn’t Keith or Alec try and get Jaclyn voted out? Its so odd…has her name ever even come up?? She has such a spaced out look on her face. Yep, I agree with you about Jon all muddy. What was that all about? Was he trying for the rugged look? Maybe to get sympathy for being out at Exile. And yes, 3 people in a king sized bed, 3 adults-does not seem that comfy. I have a question for you Fishy? Do you watch the Ponderosa videos? I love watching them.
Hi Kate! Yeah, I don’t get it about Jaclyn. Maybe everyone secretly thinks she has no game so she’s not a threat, but with her “story,” she’s a shoo-in for votes at Final Tribal. Why would you keep her? Why keep the Power Couple together? It makes no sense. And who cares if Jon is angry? It’s a million bucks! Maybe he was going for his version of “eye black” (Mr. ex-football player) but it just came across as “filthy homeless guy.”
Yeah, I always check out the Ponderosa videos because you see a lot that wasn’t discussed in show. They always include all this nonsense stuff: how much they lost (do we really need to see everyone get weighed? You COULD just tell us while they’re eating…) and do we really need to see them eating SO MUCH! Fine, we get it, they’re starving, but we wanna hear what they have to say about getting voted out, or a beef they had with another player, or discussing who’s still in the game, or how pissed they are at so-and-so, or…IDK…how shitty things were at camp. Give us some good stuff, not the same old same old EVERY time…
Ask me anything, I love it!
Fish
Jaclyn was shown standing before the first challenge in a bikini bottom, however during the challenge she is wearing shorts. Do people bring clothes to wear at the challenges or was the shot not rally before the challenge.
Please no more challenges where one has t0 stand on a small platform and have arms raised. Let’s mix things up a bit, as well as I am not a hairy woman armpit fan.
Is this some twitter gimmick? #hairyampit #keithspitting? I don’t get why certain things are shown over and over again.
Along with everyone else, I didn’t get it, unless it was all edited out, why not vote Jaclyn out or at least talk about it? Plus Reed getting all the votes made no sense to me.
Jon and Jaclyn are exactly why I would never go on a Survivor with a loved one or Amazing Race with anyone I knew. Would not be pretty. I thought it was all too telling when Jon was talking to Missy when he got back and Jaclyn said in her interview that, just like at home, he goes and tells his mom (and in Survivor Missy) everything. Run, Jaclyn, run.
(thedoc) I just rewatched that part and I see what you’re talking about. I remember watching it on Wednesday and thinking, “Man, Jaclyn’s butt is popping out of those pink briefs,” so maybe someone on set thought that too and thought it best to cover her up a bit. The show does air at 8pm so they do have some Standards & Practices guidelines to follow. Or maybe it was “that time of the month” and Jaclyn didn’t want to expose so much? IDK, she was pretty emotional the whole episode…
Totally with you on the #hairyarmpit and #keithspitting thing. Seems like the editors have fallen in love with Keith spitting so they show a lot. Maybe it means he goes to the final because they’re always trying to create more story for the ones who go to Final Tribal… (shudder the thought)
Maybe Jaclyn makes the FT too, that’s why they don’t show any talk of voting against her. IDK, that doesn’t make sense but there’s gotta be some reason.
(erica) Yeah, I feel you on that. Seems like he’s a bit of a momma’s boy considering how tight he is with Missy, and he did admit he wasn’t too close with his Pop. And he just seems to not want to pay attention to what Jaclyn has to say, yet he doesn’t want to upset her too much. Just the way he was coming up to her like a puppy dog when she was pissed, was annoying enough. Dude, be a man…
I’m telling you, if we’re heading towards a Keith/Jaclyn/Baylor finale, I’m done…
I wonder if Natalie cut off her nose to spite her face with her vote against Alec. Why exact revenge when it compromises winning a million dollars. She should try to win the million and then do something nice for Jeremy. I don’t get it. Maybe she thinks Jon is so trusting he won’t see what is happening.
I too thought they should vote out Jaclyn, but maybe Baylor isn’t willing to make a move without her mom.
I get the feeling Natalie is just trying to increase the Twinnies reality show Q. Now, she just wants to make a statement rather than try to win.
Who knows the thought processes of these folks. Nothing makes sense… Watch how quickly this season is forgotten once Seas. 30 rolls around… I don’t even think anyone is worthy of “All-Star” status. Jeremy maybe, but he’s brought down by the stench of the other players.