When everyone returns to camp, there are celebratory high-fives and hugs, but everyone wants to get down to business. Stephen provides another “Masterpiece Gay Theater” moment and describes Joe as being his Moby Dick. Joe heads over and speaks with Savage and confirms he still wants to take out Stephen, but Joe wants to speak with Jeremy first. He also thinks he can recruit the Bottom Feeders to vote with him.
Next scene, he’s putting the plan in motion. He drops the hint to Wentworth (with Wigles there) who’s more than happy it’s not her name being bandied about. She’s down, she trusts Joe “enough,” and she’s just happy she doesn’t have to play her idol yet (which thankfully, still no one knows about. THAT’s how you do a hidden idol, kids! Good on ya, MB!). So when Kelley and Ciera head off to check on Treemail, Ciera is elated to hear the news from Kelley and is ready to pull the trigger on anyone not named Ciera or Kelley. They head back to camp, forgetting to check if there’s Treemail…
Savage is holding court with Tasha and Spencer, and trying to get them to understand the Fishbach vote when Jeremy approaches and wants to know what’s up. Savage, foolishly, reveals the whole thing to him, but it’s not like he could take back what he just told the others. Jeremy argues that it’d be better to take out Wentworth or Ciera first, and then begin to “trim the fat” on their side; but he’s only looking out for himself, since he knows he has Stephen in his back pocket. Savage hears Jeremy’s side, and appears to agree with him, but we’ll see who’s really telling the truth. From what Savage said before, he loves Joe and wants to go deep in the game with him (even swearing on his kids’ lives he’ll never vote for him), so turning on him tonight may not keep that alliance.
Joe and Tasha go off to confirm the plan but she tells him the Fishbach vote is not going to happen. Hearing this, he’s now too afraid to the rock the boat, so it looks like he’s swinging back to the Bayon side. And then, when he speaks with Wigles and Ciera (with Wentworth nearby) that the SP vote is off, the girls are starting to get frustrated that Joe can’t “grow a pair” and man up. Even though Wentworth knows she’s not going anywhere, she would rather not play her idol yet.
Next scene, the Bottom Feeders are harping about Joe’s inability to play strong, and wonder if they should still vote for Fishbach, or maybe pull a fast one and try to blindside Savage. No matter what, the three agree to stick together, vote as a bloc, and see what hits the fan at tribal… Let’s march in a straight line to Tribal Council, Orkin…!
The first “moment” is when Kass walks in and flips the bird to the players. Yeah, we know it’s all in jest, but the way she does it just seems so obnoxious. It’s like she’s not doing it as a joke, which is just a little sad… She has that look of all the trailer trash people in Central California who pass you on the 5 freeway and flip you off because you didn’t get out of the fast lane…
Jeff opens the dialogue by asking Ciera about her “not playing the game” comment from last Tribal. We can see that she – and then Kelley – both wanna stir up some s**t, so they begin to name names, take no prisoners, and expose alliances. Ciera is especially vocal about who’s doing what, where everyone stands, and Tribal is getting lively.
Eventually, the topic of conversation swings around to hidden idols, since none have been played yet, and Spencer makes a comment that either there are no idols or they haven’t been found yet. Wentworth makes all kinds of crazy eye movements and I’m surprised Probst didn’t call her out for it.
Ciera makes one final plea to the people who aren’t in the Bayon 4 or the Bottom Feeders (leaving Keith, Spencer, Wigles, Kimmi, and Joe) to step up and make some big moves, but clearly, no one seems to be playing that level of game yet. SP theorizes the game is being played differently this time, since all the shifting of alliances has resulted in “non-hierarchal” alliances of convenience. Essentially, I’ll vote with you today, but I may not tomorrow. Whatevs, that’s too deep for most Survivor players, and you can tell just by looking at the blank stares on Kimmi, Keith, and Abi’s faces. It’s time to vote!
With no votes revealed – except it appears Spencer is talking about Ciera’s attempts to rock the boat – it looks like we’re in for a big surprise. And as Jeff collects the urn and asks for hidden idols, a moment passes before Wentworth makes a speech about “not ready to go home yet,” drops the mic, and plays her idol. And it takes EVERYONE by surprise. Wow. Nice move, girl… One of the biggest plays EVER at Tribal Council. Jeff reads the votes.
Wentworth
Wentworth
Wentworth (Wow)
Wentworth (Seriously?)
Wentworth (Holy f**k, haven’t I ALWAYS said it’s smart to split the vote?!)
Wentworth
Wentworth
Wentworth (Okay, this is some Parvati-level s**t right here)
Wentworth (this is THE most epic Hidden Idol play EVER, if you weren’t aware…)
Savage
Savage
Boom goes the barrister! And I bet that Ponderosa is going to be interesting, considering how animated/disgusted Kass was any time Savage walked by or when his name was read.
And with that, another piece of the puzzle is laid. And what an amazing burn on everyone. People were both shocked, amazed, tickled, and in awe of how well she pulled it off. It really scored MB some major points for making a “big move.” Not sure how popular she’ll be next week, but maybe her and Ciera’s pleas for players to start playing will be heard now. Hell, all it takes is everyone to gang up on the rest of Bayon 4 – make that 3, or is it 4, with Joe? – and this game can change again. Let’s tune in next week, shall we, to see what happens.
The tease reveals that everyone’s on the hunt for a hidden idol, so scramble mode 2.0 is in full effect. Would love to see Kelley or Jeremy find it, and finally send SP home. Tune in next week – same Magic Butt time, same Magic Butt channel…
I hope you enjoyed the column. I had a lot of fun writing it. I’m particularly interested to hear what you think of the Sh**tiest Players of All-Time list. I know I wrote some snarky stuff, but that’s whatchagottado… I hope you enjoyed it. Please, please, please send in your comments, tweets and emails, and retweet as much as possible. I’m really trying to spread the Fish word, and I need your help. Have a great week, everyone, and thank you for being my posse…
You can’t spell OK Corral without VODKA…
Fish
Email: bryan.fish.fischer@gmail.com
Twitter: @BF_TheFish
AIM: bryan.fish.fischer@gmail.com or Bryan Fischer
Good recap! I’m excited I get to be first in posting a comment. 🙂 The hidden immunity idol being played was epic! One of the best moves I’ve seen on Survivor (I haven’t seen all of the seasons but still….it was damn good!) I wasn’t a Kelley fan before that but I am now! I’m curious to know what happened, that we didn’t see, that led her to believe she was the one everyone would vote for, thus causing her to play the idol? I was kind of thinking Cierra.
The scene with Keith driving that bike thing around was so funny! I was so waiting for someone to fall off or out.
Joe is a friggin’ beast at the challenges! For real, there were about 5 times that he should have lost that challenge but someone the guy comes back every time! Love Joe!
Thanks again for the recaps – I look forward to reading them every Thursday! 🙂
Bonnie
TGIF Folks! Seriously…I need a weekend…or three….and more of this season of Survivor…I think I’m enjoying it more than most of the seasons past.
You once again reaffirmed my faith in your snarky wisdom by including my two must-have’s on your Crappiest players list. Dan and Abi. Dan was the most hurl inducing, completely self-unaware Ahole. Just moronic.
Abi I am embarrassed to say actually earned a point with me this week when she told SP to Suck it up Buttercup. But…She is still the survivor player I’d most like to shiv.
Once again this week SP continues to display his pathological need to rid his island of the Adonis. That desperation is disturbing. If he ever does manage to get rid of Joe…I worry what he will do when he realizes that he is STILL just a skeevy loser.
I cannot believe all of these experienced players decided not to bother splitting the vote. Are you freaking kidding me? I LOVED seeing Wentworth make the decision to throw down the idol. THAT was good television.
Other than losing a possible defender for the golden boy…I wasn’t sad to see Savage get his wish to make Jury. He is not the loyal nice guy he tries to portray…not.at.all.
Enjoyed the recap…great episode…looong wait until next Wednesday.
Fish do you watch Amazing Race? This has been a tough season to find someone to root for. Justin is that show’s Dan Foley. ugh. And…he’s engaged…seriously…why would anyone put up with that sort of asshattery?
-Hathor
Won’t lie, the end of the show last night left a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve no desire to watch Big Brother (where I imagine the contestants constantly flipping each other off and calling each other all sorts of deplorable rubbish imaginable [Guess who started listening to Christmas music]) and that’s what tribal felt like.
Beyond that, Cierra’s mother clearly never slapped her enough as a child. Nobody should be able to roll their eyes like that. Also, Survivor editors, are you out there? I also don’t need to see that creepy eye roll 3 or 4 times. Once was enough.
I can’t believe there wasn’t a splitting of the vote. Seriously shocked. When you have the kind of numbers you do, why not be prepared for a possible hidden immunity idol? Bunch of morons really think that this far into the game not a single idol has been found? Just because everyone’s been smart enough to keep that to themselves doesn’t mean they’re not out there. Bunch of idiots.
Hopefully this isn’t the start of a final 3 of Cierra, Wentworth and Abi. I wouldn’t mind seeing Wentworth pull a victory (especially with that idol play) but the other two being taken along? Horrible. Truly horrible.
Good morning fellow BBQ haters . A few of the sh*^tiest I would add . Gervase , aligning himself with Tyson and Monica ? Because he had a chance to beat them ? I also nominate the entire Hunahpu tribe . How do you run out of food after 14 days !? I am not a fan of Dan but he was just a jack ass . He tried to play I guess . Will was the most useless Survivor ever in my eyes . No social game (except loving him some Rodney ) terrible in Challenges and did nothing at camp . Rodney what a tool . An obvious Jersey Shore reject . On to last episode . I think the alliance was scared that the 3 girls might pull Super Joe , Clueless Keith and Mr Personality Spencer or at least 2 of them to their side . Kelley may have put a huge target her back . Great move playing the idol . Bad move going all Ciera and calling out the “Alliance ” . Shake your butt at Joe and Keith and try and turn them . Do not I repeat do not start running off at the mouth ( women feel free to heed this advice in your daily lives) . That was a joke no hate mail please . Scary that so many bad players are still in the game (sorry Keith you entertain me but ) Abi , Spencer , Kimmi you should not have been voted on and certainly shouldn’t still be playing ! Have a wonderful day everyone !
Holy smokes, folks, what a crazy world we live in, huh? Makes watching a reality show a bit less important. But…we still need our distractions, and I think we’ve got a nice little distraction in Survivor…
Bonnie: Thanks for writing in, and I’m glad you’re enjoying the recaps. Based on what I saw in the episode, it looked like Ciera was doing more of the talking at Tribal, but that could just be the edit. I thought Kelley made the decision to play the idol when Joe told her the Fishbach vote was off. The show wants to keep us guessing, but I’d say that’s when she decided she was gonna drop it. And yeah, Joe’s the man. He’s the kind of guy I like on Survivor. Strong, good looking, social, cool, athletic, all of it. I don’t like bad guys and Fishbachs…
hathor: What up, yo! Thank you for continuing to come back. I’m a little lost about the “suck it up” comment, cause I don’t recall Abi speaking to Fishbach, so can you clarify? And THANK YOU for mentioning Adonis because that’s who I meant all along. I kept typing Apollo but it never seemed right. I will correct that moving forward… I agree about not splitting the vote but from all the post-show interviews and videos I’ve seen, it looks like the group outside the 3 girls couldn’t trust each other to split, and fearing one or two would flip, their split would have sent one of their own home. In Fishbach’s post interview, he said that everyone was 100% sure no idols would be played (because 1, no one ever saw Kelley looking and 2, she evidently sold the fact she was going home pre-Tribal). He mentioned she was just lounging about, looking depressed for a couple hours, and really sold it that she had accepted her fate. Wish we would have seen THAT storyline in the episode! I’m neither here nor there on Savage. He does have a smuggery I don’t like, but at least he’s not annoying to me. I just wish they would have targeted Fishbach instead… Yeah, I do watch TAR (thought of recapping it at one point but decided against it). I’ve watched every season since 15 so I have less experience than others but yeah, that dude gets on my nerves too. There’s something about that New York stereotype that bugs me. Always has. I have friends from New York, and they don’t act like that. Just kind of a buffoon too. Like Dan…
thatguy: I totally get what you mean with the flipping the bird stuff. It just doesn’t belong in society anymore. If you’re pissed at someone, tell them to fuck off, but flipping the bird is lame, especially Kass’s who did it purely for television and not because she’s still pissed. At least Savage did it in response to Abi’s stupid comment. I agree with you on Ciera, I’ve just never been a fan of hers. Don’t know why. Just comes across as someone who complains about everything when it doesn’t go her way, but whatever, I’ll never meet her. And hell ya, they were idiots! Stupid that NO ONE said, “but even if there is an idol, we should have a plan B.” I just wish they’d get rid of Abi, because the longer she stays, the better the chance she’ll be dragged to FT, and none of us wanna hear her try to justify how she deserves to win the game. I just wish once there’s a contestant who says, “I know I was dragged here, so I won’t even bother trying to justify why I deserve to win. I’ll just sound stupid…” My wish for Final 3: Joe, Kelley, Jeremy…game on! But it’ll probably be: Ciera, Kimmi, Wigles, and we’ll all throw up in our mouths a little…
Rick: Welcome back, sir! Thanks for the kind words. A few comments: Gervase, I never really thought of him as an ass, but I see your points. Hunahpu, yes, I should have given them Honorable Mention. And we’re in agreement on all the rest. I just wonder if Kelley’s big move will finally motivate some players to start pulling moves of their own. I see a lot of fracturing the rest of the season. Players will have to compete with what Kelley just did, so I think the game just started… Have a great week!
So, in case you follow me on Twitter (and if you don’t, why not?!) I tweeted a link to an interesting comment from Savage. In it, he said something like, “in the rest of the season, something happens that’s NEVER happened before in the history of Survivor.” I have no idea what that is, but it makes me wonder. Yesterday, I received an email for a reader who had a theory, and I had one of my own. Would love to know what you folks think…
Reader theory: Joe goes on an Immunity string and wins every challenge, guaranteeing him a place in the Final. His theory was based on following Joe on social media, and it seems Joe hasn’t worked since returning from Cambodia so that means he “doesn’t need the money.” Not sure I totally buy that, because Joe doesn’t know if he’s won or not, unless he’s in the Final against Keith and Abi. We’ll see…
My theory, which I suggested a few weeks ago, is what if the show played around with the format and we have a 4 person Final Tribal? There’s a rationale for it since the merged tribe was so large, and since these are “favorites” playing, the show wants us to get our fill. I’m probably wrong, so let’s hear what you guys have to say…
And for the record, every time I think how hot some women are on Survivor, I then realize that they’re unshaven, bug bitten, no teeth brushed, monkeys flying, and pooping in the bushes or the ocean. And it’s almost enough to stifle my chubby. Almost…
I don’t follow you on twitter because I don’t tweet. 😛
Final Four would be very interesting.
Joe going on a win streak wouldn’t really qualify as “something never before seen on Survivor” (OK, yes the length would be new, but the event itself isn’t new.)
Fish…the moment I’m referring to is when they go back to camp after losing the reward challenge. SP is languishing in the shelter and says says something whiney to the effect of “I can’t deal with losing that challenge…I’m having a low moment”…something like that…and Abi comments back “Get over it”. THAT made me laugh…truly. So she earned a point. But that’s one point against literally hundreds of bitch points she has already earned in her two stints on this show.
I don’t do twitter or any of the other stuff…but you will always get support from me here for doing these re-caps! Keep on keepin on.
-Hathor
Stay classy Kass…. Guess she’ll be introducing herself that way at tribal the rest of the season. Disappointing to say the least.