As we get under way, each tribe utilizes a different method, but the one decision that seems most odd is the No Collar strategy to have Nina not participate in the plugging of holes, electing to send her ahead to the barrel for, I don’t know, emotional support? (Her?) Really dumb move, but let’s see how it works out. Sure enough, on their first bucket back (in last place) they dump half the water on the ground, clearly not understanding what it takes to “win” a challenge. No collar = no brains.
With their barrels almost filled, it’s a race for first and second with WC getting back a few moments before BC to dump their water. Alas, they come up a bit short, as does BC, forcing both teams to race back to fill one more bucket. NC is clearly out of it, even after Nina decides to join in (why is there always one sh**ty tribe?).
Upon Mike’s urging, the BC head back to the barrel a few seconds before WC and maneuver through the obstacle course seconds before WC. When they dump their bucket, the BC flag is successfully raised, winning the challenge for the “hardest working tribe in show business.” WC, seconds later, dumps, raises, and wins a tarp. Hopefully, Shirin will use it to make herself a pair of pants. No Collar is a distant 3rd, left to explain why they chose to have Nina run ahead. Perhaps it was to make Tribal Council reservations…?
And I’m beginning to wonder what would have happened if they had kept their tribe strong – like Fish always recommends – and Nina had been voted out? C’est la vie…
Jeff doles out the spoils to Blue and White, who all head back to camp, and Jeff confronts NC about their strategy. Joe claims it was his plan to have Nina skip ahead so she can plug holes at the end, but he admits it was a dumb idea. As the Pathetic Collars head back to camp, Will reveals that even though the challenge kicked his butt today, it’s probably time for Nina to go home. And I’m left wondering why Will would reveal his struggles to us… Maybe it’s time for the NC tribe to evaluate Will’s contributions and abilities? Or maybe it’s just the show’s attempt at presenting another option, to what is probably a foregone conclusion. They gotta keep us guessing a little, right?
At camp, Joe makes a public apology about the Nina strategy, to which Nina replies that she should have just gone with her gut; but later, Will tells Joe that he shouldn’t sweat it, since the decision was a tribe one. The next few scenes all give the impression it’s a “Nina or Will” vote, but I can’t really believe they’d consider voting out Will at this point. Even with all the discussions about how he tanked in challenges and how little they trust him, I can’t see how keeping Nina would be the better decision for this tribe right now.
So when Jenn and Hali discuss splitting their votes and voting for Will, you know something’s up, because why would they cast their votes for Will, when you know Nina is also voting for him? It’s just a dumb ruse to make us think there’s a blindside tonight, but I have to believe there isn’t. Nina’s going home, all the rest is dramatics… Yet, considering how poorly the NC tribe has played lately, I wouldn’t be totally surprised if they f**ked up this vote too and voted out another “strong” player. We’ll see.
At Tribal, Jeff opens things up by asking about trust, but the real focus of this Tribal Council is what Nina brings/lacks. While she claims to be underappreciated for her abilities, she also laments she’s been an outcast from Day 1. When Will mentions that Nina has been viewed as an outsider, not because of her disability but her performance and emotional state, the girls chime in. Joe finally admits that he’s grown up around many deaf people (but he doesn’t mention he can “sign,” for some reason) and Jenn adds that Nina’s been an emotional wreck from the outset.
Nina tries one last attempt and lobbies to vote out Will, but it may be too little too late. After Jeff suggests that maybe Nina is on the wrong tribe, Hali gives us the best comment of the night. She says that while Nina may have been White Collar prior to losing her hearing, the need to act more “No Collar” when you’re playing a game would have served Nina better. Bam, you got served. It’s time to vote.
Nina
Will
Will (uh, the dumb girls actually DID split their votes, why?)
Nina
Nina
And with that, the No Collar tribe’s median age just dropped significantly. Can’t say I’m surprised. Can you?
Next week, look’s like we’re gonna get some more Blue Collar drama as Lindsey and Rodney square off about tattoos. Seriously…? Uh, dude, if you’re gonna be inked up neck to foot yourself, maybe you shouldn’t be bitching about someone getting one on their face? Isn’t that the point of tattoos, to make a statement? To be honest, I’ve never been a fan of tattoos, maybe one or two small ones to signify something important, but when your whole body becomes a canvas, you’re making a statement (to me) you think you’re missing something. Something that needs to be satisfied by having tattoos. I know many of you would disagree, but that’s my feeling. Hit me up if you want to offer a valid counter-point.
Also next week, we get another blindfolded challenge (similar to the one used on BBB where X’XXX proved her utter incompetence. God, I hate that f**king woman!). Come back next week and let’s see who’s about to bleed to death…
And in next week’s column, just to add a little “something something,” I think I’ll present a list of players who I think would be great to see again on Survivor. Not sure if you’d call them Unfinished Business players, but something along those lines. I hear next season will have returning players, so fingers crossed some of them are on it. Because I want to see players who still have something to prove, and aren’t named Francesca…
Check out the next page for my Top 125 Rankings…..
Perhaps I am Survivored out, but I am bored so far with this season. Too much drama that is pointless.
I hate that Jeff takes control of Tribal (been happening for a long time), but he even mentioned some after tribal drama.
I have no idea what the fat guy’s, your mom is a whore comment was about, why even show that, except for some fake drama.
I enjoyed watching google girl watching monkey love and then describing it, what the heck else is going on? OK every one is smelly and such, but guys google girl is horny, why is no one trying to hit that?
Did Jenn gain weight? With the nice boobs it looks like she has a bit of a stomach, I did not notice that week one.
Seems like a weak season, hopefully just a slow start.
Hey Mr. Fish, big kiss! Best recap yet. Love the Fast Times at Ridgemont High reference about the cool buds and tasty waves. “Mr. Spikoli, did you order this pizza?!” But I digress…. Yeah, Shirin is just gross. I’m sure Yahoo is so proud. Don’t see CEO in her future. And does she just have really bad acne or did bugs bite all over her face. EWW, maybe the naked hooch was to distract us from her face? I had to fast forward over the whole monkey part because I was not wanting to have THAT conversation with my kids. My son was so mad bc he loves the Howler Monkeys. He yelled, “why are you fast forwarding?” I said bc I thought Shirin was boring…..Yes, I totally agreed with you about Carolyn. Kinda dumb to not play along looking for the idol as you lay on the twigs with a shit eating grin on your face. The beard guy totally grosses me out, I hate the name Max, I hate facial hair and he just seems so smug. Yuck! Next the blue collars. The your mom’s a whore thing was just so, well, blue collar! I hate to tell Rodney but all that is, is a grown up version of your momma’s so fat, which my 4th grade son and all of his sons love to do. And no, this momma is not fat. I think its funny. So stupid. Every time that fat guy comes on my son yells out EWWWWWW. Something about long, wet chest and belly hair is really gross. I hope that doesn’t fall in anyone’s rice.
Oh yeah, you asked me last week why if I’d been Will I would have voted out Jenn and not Vince. Yes, Vince was creepy, point taken. But he was strong and looks fast. If I was Will, I’d be thinking…Vote Jenn out, then I’m still strong with Nina and Vince (who both don’t like Jenn), Joe loses his biggest fan, Haley loses her BFF and we don’t lose a strong man. Plus, Haley hates Nina and vice versa so you keep that alive which takes the attention off Will, who is one cheeseburger away from angioplasty anyway.
I agree with “the doctor” above, I noticed the same thing about Jenn. Perhaps the only person in history to look fatter after a few episodes of survivor.
The state trooper has sure stayed quiet, I’m giving her my early vote for winner!
Holy smokes, you’re both onto some things. My thoughts…
[doc] I agree on the drama. It just seems so unnecessary. I know reality tv is based on conflict, but it seems that’s all there is so far. Aside from the surfing bit, everything else is just people bitching about each other.
-I agree with you about Jeff’s involvement at Tribals. He used to let things unfold, but now he seems to be steering the tribals down a path. Kinda not the point of the show, right?
-And yeah, the whole “whore” thing was so out of left field. Just kinda seems like a producer said, “Call Rodney’s mom a whore and Rodney you flip out.” But based on what Coach told me last season, the producers only “observe.”
-And I don’t think anyone wants to nail Shirin. Tyler’s married, Joaquin Dead wants slutty hot girls, and Max seems to be in shape enough to bang girls who are in shape. Have you seen her hips?
-And finally, yeah, I agree with both you and kinb, Jenn seems to be sporting a bit of a tummy this week. She’s already kinda “hippy” so maybe she’s retaining water this week…?
-I just hope things pick up. I read a spoiler that we have to wait til season 32 for returning players, so I’m loathing another season of newbies. They just don’t bring enough to the table.
[kinb] Loving you! :-* I think that’s the one thing that scares me most about being on Survivor. The constant existing in hot humid weather with bugs feasting on you. I’ve seen so many horror stories of contestants getting destroyed by mosquitoes, bugs, and other varmints, with leaves their skin looking fugly. Can’t a season be sponsored by Off! so the players can stay a little protected? I know they want maintain a true survival aspect to the game, but come on, it’s a frickin TV show! Who knows what other creepy crawlers are creeping and crawling around some of the more “humid” areas of female contestants…?
-I get that Carolyn had to stay to “tend the fire,” but it just seems a little curious that she wouldn’t want to be around the others. Maybe the WC are dumber than we’re seeing…?
-The verdict is still out on Max for me. I can appreciate any real Survivor fan, and he was cool enough to hit me up with a tweet this week, and the fact he lives in an area I used to tool around in as a kid is cool to me. Yeah, the beard can go, but everyone’s got their calling card…
-And yeah, Dan is just…gross. I still don’t understand why Probst said this is a great cast… Maybe the show realized they made a mistake and is overcompensating?
-I get what you’re saying about voting for Jenn. Makes sense now. Can’t wait to see her lose 12-14 pounds and continue skinny dipping.
-And I forgot to mention in the column the past two weeks that Kelly’s almost non-existent. Last week I don’t think she had one sound bite and this week just that one confessional, pretty much. I think last season Reed had a similar arch where he was nowhere to be seen on some early episodes but then became a player. We’ll see if they’re just recycling every aspect of the show now… Would be nice to know that a show runner is working to keep things fresh and not rehashing every aspect of the show… Have a great week, Kate XO