SURVIVOR: BLOOD VS WATER 2 FINALE – 12/17/14

After Jeff summarizes the remaining players’ journeys through the game, we return to camp (Night 35) after Tribal and things are getting testy. Jaclyn is doing her best to give props to the others for taking out Jon, but while trying to have an honest conversation with Missy about why she flipped; Natalie tries to inject her opinion in the conversation. Jaclyn is in no mood to hear what Natalie has to say and the two go at it. It’s good to see that Jaclyn still has a fire in her belly, which is something that’ll either strengthen – or weaken – her last few days in the game.

And what it gives Natalie is the outburst she needs from Jaclyn to put a target on her, instead of Natalie. She’s smart enough to know the Missy-Baylor alliance is a force to be reckoned with, and even with her hidden idol, Natalie knows she’s got some work to do.

The morning of Day 36 rolls around and all Missy and Baylor can talk about is how cool it is that they can go to the final 3 together. Baylor can only think about taking Natalie to the finals, which, to me, is exactly why Baylor won’t win. She’s not thinking endgame. She’s thinking damegame. “Wouldn’t it be cool to go to the end with my home-girls?” No, dummy, wouldn’t it be cool to go to the end with your mom (because, you kind of NEED to do that to move on) and then take someone along who doesn’t have a chance to win. Uh, that’d be Keith… But, Baylor’s just blinded by her mom’s shiny womb, so she’s not thinking straight…

Off to the first Reward Challenge we go and you can tell that Missy is struggling. I don’t know if this ankle injury will work to her advantage in any way, or just totally against her in every way. The challenge is really physical, requiring players to jump over and crawl under wooden posts and then build a bridge using sticks, so I’m thinking there’s no way that Missy will win. There’s almost no way the show should even let her compete, it’s that physical. And now would be a good time to crush this challenge because the winner will receive an advantage in the next Immunity Challenge, possibly getting that person a step closer to the final four.

Jeff then states the obvious and informs Missy she has zero chance to win so she’s out. Go sit on the loser’s bench. And I’m reminded about something I saw in the Survivor Charter that stated you HAVE to participate in challenges to remain in the game. I’m not totally up to snuff on that Charter, so maybe if there’s someone out there who knows more about it, I’d love to hear what you have to say. Back to the challenge…

Everyone is neck and neck in the “rope gathering” phase but Keith and Natalie have a slight edge on the others. Jaclyn is having trouble untangling her rope and Baylor just seems a bit slower than the others. With little missteps happening to everyone, Keith builds a bit of a lead and places the last rung on his bridge first. While Natalie has to go back and get another handful, Keith moves on to the “dadgum sandbag throwin’” phase. He takes his time and deftly knocks blocks off with almost every throw while Natalie finally is able to move on to the sandbag stage (Baylor and Jaclyn are totally out of it). As Natalie runs to retrieve her first few thrown bags, Keith coolly knocks the last 2 blocks off the perch and WINS REWARD!

Jeff hands him an envelope that must be read in private and then tells him there’s the big decision of “who is going to Exile?” Being away from the tribe at this stage will be a tremendous disadvantage, so who’s he gonna put that on? He’s distraught at even having to make this choice. But, as expected, he chooses Jaclyn. It would have been a good opportunity to make a big move, but we know Keith isn’t here to make big moves, right?

[Side note: I’m not going to recap the “bits” that Jeff does from the Live Show because they’re not part of the season.]

Off to Exile and there’s only one thing that’s a definite: Jaclyn is going to look smokin’ hot. But wait, now that Jon left with an idol in his pants – oh, behave – could another idol have been hidden? Could the game provide THAT big an advantage THIS late in the game? We’ll see. Jaclyn (in slo-mo) sidles up to the urn, slowly removes the clue, licks her lips, and then reads…the same clue that everyone else got. She chucks the clue and stomps off, suddenly not looking so hot.

So now is the time to take stock of her position in the game, and in life, and she just realizes that she’s been through much tougher times than this. I’m glad that on Day 36, someone actually has the wherewithal to remember what life is like outside of the game, because players tend to get far too wrapped up in “the game” (Tony, Russell). I may have said some nasty things about Jaclyn in the past, but those were all playful pokes at moments of weakness, but right now, she’s showing me her strength…and her tummy. So I say, more power to you, Jaclyn! And by the way, what is your natural hair color?

Back at Huyopa, Keith takes the first opportunity to head off to read his secret clue, and the girls stay back to conspire. They realize he’ll have an advantage in the next Challenge, but if he falters in any way – he’s gone. Again, everyone’s just viewing him as a challenge threat and not a jury “non-threat,” but let the girls play their “damegame.”

Away from camp, Keith reads the clue and it says there’s a place set up near camp that he can use – as long as he wants – to practice for the challenge; but once he stops, he’s done. The challenge will be a little tricky, where you have to use long, spoon-like handles to transfer balls from one side of the table to another. He tries – and fails – a lot, but it appears he’s getting the hang of it eventually. This will definitely be an advantage, IF none of the girls are natural “ball handlers.” I’ll let you devise your own joke from that…

Day 37 and Baylor and Natalie are having a “we’re going to the final together, right?” chat. While Baylor seems totally on board, Natalie is scheming again, or maybe she’s just throwing out some talk to keep us guessing. She knows she could go to the final with Missy and Baylor (and presumably WIN based on who’s on the jury) or she could flip to the Keith/Jaclyn side (and presumably WIN based on who she’s up against at FT). Could this be the set-up we need for the perfect Twinnie “bookend” season (Nadiya out first, Natalie wins it?). I don’t know, but there’s a lot of game let. Sure must be nice to have that idol in your pocket right now, huh, Natalie…?

Off to the challenge we go and we see the 5 tables, and Keith must be feeling pretty good. Jaclyn returns from Exile and is on the verge of tears as she returns to her tribe. It must have been a very rough time on Exile. Jeff takes back the necklace from Natalie and here we go…

We get under way and it looks like Keith’s advantage didn’t provide him with squat. Missy and Baylor are actually making more headway in transferring their first balls as Keith is almost flustered at how poorly he’s performing. BUT…while Missy and Baylor finally taste some failure, Keith is now making progress. And despite Jeff’s annoying play-by-play in Keith’s ear, he drops his first ball in the chute and takes the lead.

With Jaclyn trying to steal pointers on how Keith is doing it, he systematically maneuvers his second ball through the maze and gets that one to drop too before anyone else even has their first ball home. The women all look clueless in this challenge as Keith’s reward advantage is seriously paying huge dividends. This is all too apparent as he even gets his third ball home before any of the women get one. A dominating performance! And as he goes over to collect his necklace, the girls all look at each other like, “Oh snap, we need to take one of US out, now…” I wonder if this spells the end of the Power Couple (Jaclyn) on Season 29?

Once they return to camp, Keith is dumbfounded that no one else was able to get one ball home – and yes, there are a million jokes I can make about balls right now, Kate – but he’s even more dumbfounded by these damn confessionals. Maybe he’s losing his mind a little since he seems overwhelmed by even telling us about what happened at few moments ago. But since he’s immune, he doesn’t need to bother with strategizin’ or manueverin’…or thinkin’…so he’s gonna go for a swim. Plus, he knows darn tootin’ that Jaclyn is going home, which probably means that she’s not going home. Oh, what might be brewing…

With Keith, Missy and Baylor lounging at camp and confirming that Jaclyn is ready to “go and drink a bottle of wine” (thanks for that burn, Missy…) Jaclyn and Natalie go for a pee in the lagoon and to chat about options. Jaclyn’s got a bit of game left in that bikini, and Natalie is always willing to talk strategy. While she feels “secure in her position with Missy and Baylor,” Natalie reveals the real truth, “…at the end of the day, they’re blood.”

And as Baylor and Natalie take one final walk to discuss their game plan, Baylor suggests she play her idol for Missy, since Natalie doesn’t have to worry about going home. And either Baylor is totally legit in stating she, Missy, and Keith are voting for Jaclyn, so there’s no reason to NOT give her idol to Missy, or maybe there’s a whole angle that we’re not seeing? Perhaps that Missy and Baylor are thinking about taking out Natalie?

If there’s nothing for Natalie to worry about, then why even SUGGEST giving her idol to Missy? If I’m Natalie, I’m thinking that Baylor may be up to something, so I think Nat needs to look out for herself. And as she confesses, she’s made some big moves in this game, and making one now may simply guarantee that she’s going home tomorrow. Off to Tribal we go.

Everyone takes their seats and I’m just amazed at how strong the jury looks and how weak the remaining players look. Seriously. I can’t wait for Final Tribal just to see how these guys let loose on these incompetents. Jeff runs through a series of questions, but let’s summarize:

Keith is happy his name wasn’t mentioned after the last tribal.
It was a catfight at camp.
Jaclyn feels ambivalent about not having Jon in the game.
Missy is confident about “the idol situation.”
Jaclyn is not…
The remaining “couple” is either a good or bad thing.
Natalie knows that now is the time to do something…maybe.
It was either Keith or Jaclyn going home…
…until Keith won Immunity, so that means…
…Jaclyn would be the next…
…so she implored Natalie to work with her…

And with Jeff’s final question to Missy about whether Jaclyn can do anything to save herself in the game, Missy says she respects Jaclyn for trying to do something, but sometimes you just gotta say,

“This is my time…”

And now we know where the title of the episode comes from, and did Missy just portend her demise? Let’s see, it’s time to vote.

Votes are cast and when Jeff asks for Hidden Immunity Idols, Natalie stands and makes a big production about “I was going to play this for myself but…”

“Jaclyn, did you vote for who I said to?”

And I’m wondering if that’s fair game in Survivor?

She nods ‘yes’ and Natalie says that she’s playing her idol for Jaclyn, and boom goes the dynamite. Looks like it took 36 days for this game to finally find its legs. It’s about time! And with Missy telling Baylor that “momma is going home,” she throws the old stink-eye at Natalie while Jeff reads the votes:

Jaclyn
Jaclyn
Jaclyn
Baylor (what?)
Baylor

And with that, someone who couldn’t win the game, won’t win the game. And Natalie has secured herself as one of the strongest players on the season with her non-stop big moves and surprising decisions. And boy, I can’t wait to see what happens at camp, considering how much of a momma bear Missy can be…

And with that, I (selfishly) want to take another peak at my pre-season odds:

Missy 9/2
Jon 5/1
Jaclyn 8/1
Alec 8/1
Kelley 8/1
Jeremy 10/1
Wes 10/1
Baylor 10/1
Josh 101
Reed 11/1
Val 14/1
Drew 15/1
Keith 17/1
Julie 20/1
Dale 25/1
Natalie 50/1
Nadiya 50/1
John 150/1

Ok, I’m still doing okay. Not sure how, but 2 out of the top 3 ain’t bad. Let’s see what happens when the final four return to camp (Night 37). Is Missy allowed to use her crutch to beat someone?

Everyone stumbles back in the dark, and the big move that Natalie made is applauded by the others. After 30 minutes of chit-chat, potty breaks, and tracking and skinning a wild boar, Missy finally limps back into camp (she’s moving MUCH slower than the others) and eventually has a heart-to-heart with Natalie. Thankfully, she’s not wielding any weapons, and the two of them can talk like adults. Missy understands the move, respects the move, and is even okay with the move, since it means that she doesn’t have to turn on Baylor. She realizes that since she can’t compete against the other players physically, her game is in their hands. It’s truly an individual game at this point, and who knows what that final challenge will offer…? Missy and Natalie hug it out. No hard feelings. No ill will.

Natalie and Jaclyn discuss the plan is to take out Keith next, if he doesn’t win immunity, since they think he’s the biggest threat to win it all. Really…? They discuss taking him out and going to the final with Missy. Because…

“Keith is scary.” Ouch.