And finally, we’re doing a challenge! Pretty standard fare. Run over some obstacles, pull a wooden chest, and solve a puzzle. Let’s do this. Ciera, you can sit this one out.
The obstacles seem like twisted ankle central, but the teams appear to make it through virtually unscathed. A couple hard falls, but everyone seems none to worse for wear. After the next stage, Bayon has a moderate lead as Kimmi and Kass attempt to solve the puzzle. They start well, but hit a roadblock and have to adjust some pieces. Wentworth and Peih-Gee start for Ta Keo, but Kelley is soon replaced by Spencer. As the tribes begin to yell instructions at their puzzle solvers, tensions begin to build. Shirin steps in, Jeremy heads in, and eventually, Joe takes a turn.
Finally, Spencer seems to be making some good progress and both tribes frantically shift pieces around. Ta Keo gets what they think is the answer first, but it’s not. Seconds later, Bayon claims to have it…and they do! Bayon wins immunity and reward.
As Bayon grabs their tool kit and leaves, Ta Keo at least gets the rest of the day to scramble before heading to Tribal. And as we go to break, Varner – playing this season’s impresario – announces that Spencer and Shirin had their fate in their hands, and failed. One of them is going home tonight…
“How poetic.”
And even when they return to camp, Spencer confesses how great it is to be in a power position and able to play with someone (Shirin) who “gets him.” I’m paraphrasing there, but he just seems so innocent and stupid right now. Gosh, it’ll be neat to see him go home tonight…
Varner then starts spinning his web of deceit and control, and shares moments with Peih-Gee, Kelly, and Kelley, where he reveals his master plan of taking out Spencer or Shirin. Peih-Gee is good, as long as the numbers exist, and Kelly – Damn, she looks good in those glasses – is hesitant to join the Varner Cult, but thinks she has to drink that Kool-Aid if she wants to survive.
Shirin and Abi head off to find out where each other stands, and despite Shirin’s confidence in her alliance, she’s shocked to find out that Abi has flipped over to Terry’s side because he came to her when she needed help. And…to make matters worse, Abi tells her that she and Spencer are now in everyone’s crosshairs, so she better watch out for the Karma Train…
Shirin is devastated to hear this, and when she goes to Spencer to let him know how f**ked they are, I’m reminded of the old Spencer, and how he needed to scramble every week to stay alive. And I guess all that practice scrambling will need to come into play, because he just went from a 6-3 majority, to a 7-2 minority. How’d that happen?
So they do the only thing they can do: scramble. They grab Woo and Shirin tries to spin a web of “you’re the first one that’s going to go home if you vote with them,” but while he looks really confused at the proposition, he’s more dumbfounded that THIS is the first conversation he’s having with Shirin, and let’s her know it. He knows that he needs to stick with his numbers, so he’s just going to let her swing in the wind. Shirin is relegated to deciding if she should just vote for Spencer, which may be her only option.
And in what I can only describe as laughable, Spencer gets really emotional about having to most likely vote for Shirin, who is the only person he wanted to play with. And what I think he’s crying about it is…
“I can’t believe I’m not going to win Survivor again.”
Okay, you baby, here’s the deal. Stop thinking your s**t doesn’t smell and that you’re such a great player. You’re just a kid playing a game, and the other kids just ganged up on you. Suck it up and do better next time. IF there is a next time… Let’s go to Tribal…
Probst tallies the tribe about recent events but the significant thing is that Shirin is not enjoying playing this game again, and much like last season, a guy (Terry/Mike) came to a woman’s defense (Shirin/Abi) when they needed it most. And as continues to reveal layers of the onion, Spencer admits that he and Shirin are in trouble because they played too hard and didn’t spend enough time getting to know the other players, and then Varner confirms that to Probst.
Spencer then gives his last speech to keep himself in the game, saying how much he’ll change overnight and start getting to know these people, which is kind of like saying after the house burned down,
“Hey, I’ll bring a hose tomorrow.”
But Shirin is too proud to beg for forgiveness, and hopes she just gets to play another day. And I’m hoping that the tribe doesn’t make their second mistake and vote out another “strong” male player (am I’m putting quotes around “strong” because I don’t think he’s all that strong. He’s more like a skinnier version of Fishbach). It’s time to vote.
Spencer
Shirin
Shirin
Shirin
Spencer
Spencer
Spencer
Shirin
Spencer
Shirin
Boom goes the dysfunction. And thankfully, her Survivor story is coming to an end. No business being here, no chance to win, no more Shirin. Whoop-de-frickin-do…
And with a new 1 vs 7 tribe split to face, I’m sure Spencer has an uphill battle ahead. Well, he should be used to that. And thanks for handing Abi her torch, I’m sure you’ve smoothed everything with her again…
And in next week’s tease, we get the big tribe mix up, from 2 tribes to 3, so THAT couldn’t come at a better time for some people. And Spencer makes some mysterious comments about “not changing,” which could be an indictment on Varner…or not.
Pretty good episode, I still feel like we’re not seeing enough on the Bayon tribe, but that’s what happens when you’re doing well. Next week will rewrite everything though…
Since it’s a regular episode, wanted to spend a tiny bit of time letting you know what I’ve been watching lately…
Dodgers – woo hoo! Kershaw one-hits the lowly Giants. Yes!
TAR – just goes to show you, don’t be a TMZ bi*ch and you might do better in life
Gotham – is that on yet? I still don’t have cable…!
Fear The Walking Dead – kinda not what I expected. But when you have a franchise like TWD, you might as well milk it. I’m just wondering if this show is taking something away from the show we all love. Can’t wait til Oct. 11th
Under The Dome – Gosh darn it, you had to mess it all up. What started out as a relatively interesting sci-fi “whodunit” kinda story, devolved into a soap opera acting, Canadian looking, SyFy budgeted, foreign TV movie. It was just, “No!” at the end. I could go into specifics of who was good and who was bad, but it was just a mess. It reminds me of the stories I used to hear about the writers of Cheers, and whenever they’d hit a writing block, they’d go into Sam Malone’s “office” and smoke used to billow out from the cracks around the door. But with Under The Dome, those writers were untalented hacks who just liked to smoke weed. Such trash at the end. Is that really the best way you wanted a whole season to go? With that stupid Marg Helgenberger story line. You’ve got to be joking. Glad it’s over… So stupid…
As always, please support any way you can. Otherwise, I got start selling t-shirts!
Pescadoringly,
Fish
Email: bryan.fish.fischer@gmail.com
Twitter: @BF_TheFish
AIM: bryan.fish.fischer@gmail.com or Bryan Fischer
Holy “Mackerel” your recaps are so good. Momma likes it! (did you note the fish reference above?) Downward facing Dong was stellar!!!! Tribal-I actually wish Abbi and her little piggy eyes had gone before the Human Ferret Shirin, but what-evs. Ok, where do I start…I think the heat and lack of food was getting to everyone who started choking up at that guy’s story about how he met his hot South African wife and the office full of playboys on the desk etc. What a charming story, just like grandma tells! NOT. What a joke. Kelly W has turned into the season’s most boring player. Varner is a bit of a character. Is he gay (no homo-just asking so take it easy everyone). seriously, is he? I thought it was nice of Dietz to try and show some compassion to Abbi but then, maybe it really wasn’t. He had an ulterior motive. I also thought it was totally stupid of him to announce at tribal how he and Abbi had a “connection.” Just pack it up and put a nice bow on how you are working together. Joe continues to be the homecoming king making plastic mesh hammocks for everyone and feeding the tribe while Fishbleck looks on longingly/jealously/creepily. Overall, kind of a boring episode. My 10 year old super fan son fell asleep before tribal. Not enough Woo for him. As for me (and you will love this Fishy) not enough Keith this episode, don’t you think? Love your favorite mermaid, Kinbville
Once again…glad that you and your re-caps are back to make this show even more entertaining!
I wonder if Varner even knows just how poetic it was for Shirin to go out that way. It was like a bad after school movie where the former picked on nerd gets a shot at sitting at the cool kids’ table and instantly becomes one of the bullies. Granted…I enjoyed seeing Abbi looking so forlorn and sad (maybe that’s wrong…but dang she is obnoxious)…but for Shirin to be laughing at her expense shows a profound lack of self awareness. Ferret face deserved to go home last night.
Please please please do not let Abbi make it to the end. I despise the trend to use goats that way.
I think the flamboyant scheming Varner is my favorite to watch this go around. And yes Kinb…I believe he is.
Looking forward to the 3 tribe split…and seeing what sort of position that puts people in as far as alliances. Mr. Man Bun needs to remember that he was too perfect last time and that’s why he didn’t win. It’s funny how none of them have truly seemed to change their game play. Leopard=Spots
-Hathor
I know it is early and the teams are full and there still are a bunch of players, but some were totally ignored.
Did I miss something or did Monica not speak one word. At least there were a few shots of her before the challenge.
Is hiding the idol in the woods ever a good move? Plus the first tribal was straight after the challenge. If that happens again no time to fetch the idol.
Abi, yes it worked out, but don’t tell the plan to the people you plan to vote for. Sort of hoping for some December/May romancing. Has that ever occurred?
Where did Joe get the supplies? Was the from the initial gathering?
Kinb – Hey Momma! Love your dedication! 🙂 So, in the column I was gonna make a joke about the Playboys and Stephen, but it just didn’t come together, so I appreciate you bringing them up. Kinda funny how they didn’t have anything to do with the story, other than titillation. If she’s a top model, I’m sure she wouldn’t be floored to see a Playboy in someone’s office. It’s not like they were found in his closet… Yeah, Kelly is not living up to it. In an email I sent to someone earlier today, I mentioned how the really old school players don’t compare to the new schoolers, because the game is so much faster now. She may find herself out sooner than later if she can’t pick it up. And yeah, Varner is on fire. Dude’s been on TV for years, so he knows the value of a good soundbite. Terry’s downfall could be his compassion, so let’s see where he ends up. I just don’t think he has the game to win the new Survivor. Joe is a god. I just wish there was a way to “earn” your immunity every week. Gimme some stupid Big Brother twist that upsets hard core Survivor fans but keeps the strongest players around. I hope your son saw Woo’s shining moment when he told Shirin to “suck it.” I’m sure your boy would’ve been proud of him… Thanks, kinb, keep swimming upstream…
hathor – thank you for the support! And I love it when you folks engage each other as well. Keep it up! Yeah, I’m starting to like Varner’s chances, even more when I read Vytas’s interview where he said Varner was connecting with EVERYONE prior to leaving for Cambodia. Dude knew he was gonna go and put the effort in. Funny how in ep. 1 he acted like a bumbling fool, but in ep. 2 he was workin’ it… Hope the tribe switch doesn’t fuck him up too much… And I’m with you. I DO NOT want to see Abi go far, because it just means having to hear her obnoxious voice/accent/grammar/logic for all those weeks. She seems so unaware of how she comes across and that’s just not what I want to see on TV. Thanks!
Doc – You’re right. I can only remember seeing Monica’s eyes get teary when listening to Savage’s story, but nothing else. And believe me, I’m looking for Monica soundbites/footage! Maybe this means she’s being saved for later. As I mentioned, the Bayon tribe is benefitting by winning, which is great when you’re on that tribe. We’ll see what happens next week. And yeah, I think the tribes got a lot of stuff from the junk at the beginning. Don’t want them to suffer too much, right…? Thanks for the comment. See ya next week!
Fish