Everyone grabs their torch and makes the long trek to Tribal Council where Jeff welcomes them in, and then invites the first jury member, Bible Barbie, to take a seat. And damn, the way Taylor is staring at this new cleaned-up Michelle, I think he’s wondering “Figgy who…?” Everyone seems to want to check out the cleanest chick in the room, but Jeff needs to get down to business. He starts with Jay…
…who tells him that “as a fan,” it was awesome to see that big move played, but it sucks to be on the wrong side of it. Nevertheless, it just means he had to get to work to turn things around.
“Welcome to the club,” Adam adds, “because it wasn’t the first time someone got blindsided.”
“No duh, idiot, it’s called ‘Survivor’ for a reason.” Which is why he’ll be writing Adam’s name down tonight. He then confirms for Jeff that he, Tails and Nate Morris are all feeling like their clocks are ticking.
Chris then confirms the three Mouseketeers are on the outs, but he says it happened to him as well, and “you just work yourself back in. Get to work…because there are always cracks…”
Which is exactly what Taylor needed to hear, as he brightens at the possibility that he’s not a dead man walking tonight. Now’s the time to make his move, so he rolls the dice and tells everyone about his secret stash and how he stole all that food…“and Adam helped me.” Which elicits a big reaction from everyone, especially Adam. Hannah begins hyperventilating since she just can’t handle the truth. Idiot…
Jay decides to raise the stakes and confirms Adam was a part of Taylor’s midnight rendezfood…
To which Adam has to respond and defend himself, but the more worked up he gets, the guiltier he looks. Taylor keeps saying that Adam helped him bury the jars, and ate some, but all Adam confesses to doing is watching Taylor do the dirty work and keeping it secret.
Now, everyone’s up in arms because they’re shocked/pissed about the theft (and their hunger) and how sneaky Adam was by not telling anyone.
Clearly, Taylor’s actions were worse, but all you got to do at Tribal is get people thinking – or confused – and that might be all you need to stay alive. To his credit, Taylor is owning everything he did, but to his discredit…he’s pretty dumb for owning it with such a huge grin on his face. This is all just a huge joke to him, but it obviously isn’t to everyone else.
And now that the cat’s out of the bag, Taylor decides he might as well spill the beans about Adam’s Advantage, since it’s the only play he’s got left considering his Mason jar snafu…
“Adam has an advantage in this game…” which is all he needs to say to open a new can of worms for discussion. But before things can spin too far out of control, Adam fesses up to what the Advantage is, because damage control is all he can do now.
…and Jay is loving all of this…
Adam reveals the details of the Advantage, which is that he can steal someone’s reward, but that’s not good enough for Taylor. He wants everyone to know just how devastating the Advantage can be,
“He can steal your Loved Ones visit…”
Which everyone knows is a huge benefit so late in the game, but is that a bigger crime than the one Taylor committed? We’ll have to see. Adam is not really great at defending himself, and is resigned to stating,
“If the advantage that I got is so terrible, then vote me out.”
David tells Jeff how shocked and uncomfortable he is, and says that “admitting you ate the food is the nail in coffin…” (and clearly he means Taylor)
“…for one of you,” (meaning Adam), but I think David’s just being a savvy TV writer and creating some drama.
However, Taylor keeps digging his own grave by admitting he knowingly was trying to get ahead by eating more food than everyone else, and that just seems to not sit well with anyone, mostly Ken, who’s spent the entire Tribal just making incredulous faces and wondering how someone could have screwed the tribe – and owned it – as much as Taylor is doing now.
And of course Probst has to bring this back to a “Millennials vs. Gen-X” discussion when he asks Jessica if that’s all this really is. She confirms that maybe it is for Taylor, but not for most of the others present. Jay takes this opportunity to say that he wouldn’t have stolen the food, and says he has dreams and goals, unlike other Millennials, and then attacks Taylor for being a “regular dumb surfer.” This would normally piss off someone, but not Tails, dude, he’ll just laugh it off and say he ain’t a dumb surfer.
“Dude, I’m a dumb snowboarder…get that straight.”
“No offense, dude…”
And clearly none is taken, or can be taken, or will ever be taken by this season’s Fabio.
Jay then doubles-down on this whole attack of the food incident and accuses Adam of being just as guilty as Taylor, but I think he’s forgotten that HE’s just as guilty as Taylor, since he ate some of the food. Just keep your mouth shut, dude! And I know it’s tough to keep all this straight, Jay, but you’re spinning a web of deceit when you should just zip it and let them vote for Taylor.
“So, Hannah, where are we with the vote tonight?” Jeff asks the ostrich…
It’s tough to hear what she says as she’s talking/breathing into a lunch bag so she doesn’t pass out. It sounds like she says, “I’m not a simpleton, Jeff,” but she does remind us there may be idols in play. That’s the smartest thing she’s said all season.
Bret gets his two cents in, which is that multiple mistakes have been made, and it’s up to everyone to decide whose was greater. That’s it, it’s time to vote…
Ken doesn’t say much, does he…?
After votes are cast, Jeff collects the urn and asks for Hidden Idols to be played. And Jay…
…stays seated. Evidently believing that Taylor’s faux pas was too great for him to overcome. Jeff reads the votes…
Jay
Taylor
Adam
Jay
Taylor
Jay
Taylor
Jay (oops, maybe you should’ve played that idol, or brought another pair of underpants!)
Taylor (Adam is finally able to breathe easier)
Taylor
Taylor
Boom goes the Sex Wax as Jeff Spicoli gets to surf into the sunset. Jay throws a quick little wink to Sunday as Taylor heads to JP to get his torch snuffed for the last time. Most likely, we’ll never see him again. And as he strolls down the path to freedom, he leaves with one final statement,
“All I need is some cool buds, and some tasty waves, and I’m fine… Sorry for stealing food!”
You got to love the dumb surfer…
And with that, Jeff reminds us all that most of the time, Tribals are all about strategic moves, but sometimes, it’s just about consequences. I’m sure Brandon knows a little something about that…
Next time on Survivor…
Looks like the Gen-X lovefest is over as the two “sides” start turning on each other. And Will proves how unworthy he is by revealing to one person, I mean two, then three, four…well, everybody knows now…that Jay has an idol. And um, I think that puts an even bigger target on you, Will, so great decision there… Do you really think Jay will play it on you now that you revealed his best secret?!
And in Taylor’s final moment to dot the I’s and cross the T’s, he talks about his new bud, Jay, and looks forward to traveling the world on a sailboat with his “girlfriend,” but mysteriously, he doesn’t use the word Figgy… Smart man…
Okay, I need to wrap it up quick as I’m writing this at work, and everyone’s wondering why I’m drinking a cocktail at 11am (you know, habits…). It’s been a crazy few weeks, and I’m looking forward to the future. Especially December 14th (Survivor finale) and December 19th (Electoral College vote). Both of those may be very interesting…
Hope everyone enjoys their week! Check out Gotham if you haven’t yet, and be sure to travel safe next week. I heard more Americans will be traveling this Thanksgiving than ever, so be sure to take it nice and slow. I hope you all have something to be thankful for.
FYI, I’m trying to lock down some interviews with a couple cast members, but CBS slammed the door in my face. Let’s hope I don’t run into her at an event somewhere in Hollywood. I may have to spill my drink on her…
Apologies for the late recap, life is…getting interesting again.
Thanks for reading!
Fish
Email: bryan.fish.fischer@gmail.com
Twitter: @BF_TheFish
AIM: bryan.fish.fischer@gmail.com or Bryan Fischer
Hannah how did you end up with such a horrible team ? I hope your parents are super rich because I don’t see you doing very well in the real world ! I wonder if Chris or Brett get voted out if Taylor gets an ass whooping at the Ponderosa ! You don’t steal food from grown men that big ! Taylor is a clueless fool . He had the nerve comparing a reward advantage to stealing food from hungry people that have no means to get more of it . I was hoping to see another surprise tonight but cant be mad that Taylor is gone . Watching Adam and Jay implode is quote entertaining . The millennials are making me consider moving to Canada . Man I cant see living in a country run by these morons ! Happy Thanksgiving Fish . Hey folks drop a line if you read the column . Show the Fish some love . Its the least you can do !
Rick – appreciate the love, as always. I’m still struggling to figure out how they cast Hannah, as well as a lot of other players in recent seasons, because they really don’t seem that good at playing, or that interesting, or that…capable…of dealing with the realities of being on TV. Hannah? Seriously? Lucy? Seriously? Will? Dan Foley? Michaela? Leif? The list goes on and on…
It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out. As a fan, I like to see good players winning, but I also like to see interesting Final Tribals go down. I think the last 2 seasons have been disappointing FT, let’s hope that changes.
I think every negative aspect of Millennial-dom is coming to fruition this season. Even when Jay called Taylor a “regular dumb surfer.” Not only did Taylor not stand up to him, or defend himself properly, but Jay could have said, “I was talking about myself and not you.” But Millennials are so milquetoast when it comes to drama. No one wants to offend anyone.
As much as I hate on Trump, there’s one thing I don’t mind hearing from him. We are getting too PC, sometimes you gotta call a spade a spade (that’s a literary reference, btw, not a racial, in case some people out there are too stupid to know where it came from) and not have to tiptoe through everyone else’s emotional scars. Time to put on your big girl panties, America, cuz things may get ugly here soon.
Happy Thanksgiving, Rick. I truly hope you eat and drink too much… And I appreciate your appeal for more comments. I’m scratching my head sometimes… Later!