Later that day (Day 30), the players file in and we’re about to do a Reward Challenge. Jeff tells them they’ll be playing for a good olde-fashioned American barbecue, and…they’ll be playing for their Loved Ones. Cue the tears, everyone…
-Sarah’s boyfriend(?) Wyatt is here, and lets her know Sarah’s kid is saying “mommy,” and they’re ready for her to be home (A foreboding statement? We’ll see…). And now Sierra is hitting on Wyatt, drawing jealous glances from Brad…
-Andrea’s mom Linda is here. And we find out Andrea lost her sister in high school (always key to have those emotion backstories on Survivor, right?)
-Aubry’s sister Carrie is next. She gets as much airtime as Aubry’s gotten this season.
-Sierra’s dad Dan is here, giving her the strength she’ll need tonight.
-Michaela’s parole officer is up next. No, I’m kidding, it’s her mom, Candy, who looks like one of the waitresses at Rob’s Place on What’s Happening!!
-It’s Troyzan’s turn, and I really hope 3 topless models run out giggling and tickling each other. Nope, it’s Peter Brady, and once again, I think Sierra is getting a little moist…
-Tai gets his “tree moment,” actually, this one seems to be more about wood than anything else. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone kiss that loud on Survivor…
-It’s the Culpepper family reunion, and all I’m going to say is Monica is on fire, and now I’m tearing up over seeing a husband and wife who like one another.
-Finally, Cirie gets her moment, with her son, who graduated while she was gone. It’s a touching moment when you see how tight some parents can be with their kids.
Okay, enough with all this emotion, let’s see what they’re going to do to earn a little more love. Jeff tells them OSHA still hasn’t cleared any relatives to play, so the players will be doing it by themselves…but tied together. Random 3-member teams will be drawn, and players will have to scramble through obstacles, undo a rope maze, retrieve some keys, and throw bean bags at targets. Let’s get ready to rumble!
Red Team
Culpepper
Aubry
Andrea
Green Team
Cirie
Troyzan
Sierra
Blue Team
Tai
Sarah
Michaela
Teams seem pretty even so I’ll make no predictions. Okay, maybe I think Red will win because Brad is a beast. Jeff releases the hounds (no, Debbie isn’t here) and players are off. The only slackers at the start are Cirie and Tai, who are being dragged over the sandy beach, but everyone reaches the log to dig under about the same time.
Red takes a bit of lead when all three can squeeze under, and Green takes a step back when Sierra’s long limbs can’t make it through and she shimmies back under to dig out more sand. Meanwhile, Tai is stuck in the sand, and Cirie squeezes her booty under. And Red just keeps extending the lead when they release their keys first.
All teams are through now as Red opens their box with the bean bags. Brad immediately scores two good hits, and continues to fire away. And hit! Kid’s on fire as each one of his tosses knocks more blocks off the table. And before anyone else can even open their box, Brad connects on his last three throws, clearing the table. Red wins! See, dude is a beast!
And Cookie Puss is acting all petulant again, kicking the box holding her bean bags. I don’t wanna be too demeaning, but “momma’s gonna put you down for a nap if you keep acting cranky!”
Jeff calls the winning team’s SOs over and tells them they can bring one more player/SO along. And instantly, Cirie, Sierra, and Michaela begin lobbying for the spot. (Does anyone think they’d bring Michaela, after everything we’ve seen from her?)
Andrea chooses Cirie, her closest ally, and after a couple moments of, “that sucks for everyone else,” Jeff tells Aubry to choose one more couple, “Sarah,” she says, and everyone else can kick rocks.
Andrea knows that Michaela is gonna be pissed, but “she’s smart,” Maria says, “give her a day and she’ll be over it.” Let’s see if that’s how this is going to play out.
At the barbecue, Cirie is telling her son where he can take a dump later, and the look on his face is priceless. He ain’t never done “that” in the woods, and I think he just gained a little respect for his mom and her ability to adapt to tough conditions. Let’s just hope she goes back to using a proper toilet when she gets back home…
Brad is very fortunate to have a SO who’s played before, and made it to FT, so she knows a thing or two about strategy. She immediately recognizes that Michaela might be primed to flip, based on the fact she wasn’t chosen for the reward (she’s definitely the brains in that household). But Brad knows that if they can’t get her to flip, he’s going to have to win immunity to stick around.
Back at camp, Michaela and Tai are going pee in the ocean and discussing how revealing the picks were for the reward challenge add-ons. She’s feeling she may not be as big a part of her alliance’s plans as she thought, so maybe it’s time to make a move. And since Tai doesn’t have anyone anymore – besides his idols – maybe the two of them should hook up. Yes, please do. I’m really liking the chances of this pairing (no, I’m not).
Sierra and Troyzan are also scheming, and they realize that if they can bring Tai back in, and recruit Michaela, they’ll be back in the majority. They head over to the pee pond to discuss it. Everyone seems to agree that this five (with Brad) can do some damage if they wanted to, and with all the disrespect they’re getting from Andrea, she should be the next one to go. Everyone’s down, until we get a confessional with Michaela who says she’s “all about Michaela,” and maybe she’ll go after Andrea or maybe she’ll go after Brad, but she’ll decide everything later.
Day 32 and it’s Immunity Challenge time! And something about this is telling me it’s going to be a dramatic challenge. Jeff calls everyone in and describes what it’ll take to win. Players will stand on a narrow wooden perch and balance a buoy with two sticks. When you drop your buoy or step off the perch, you’re out. Immediately, I think strength and/or balance will be a huge factor, so I’m leaning towards Brad, Sarah, or Michaela to win. Let’s see what unfolds.
-Aubry is out within 10 seconds, I guess the barbecue was too much for her this episode.
-Sierra falls next, no surprise there, because it’s tough to keep 6’ of sexy on a perch…
-Brad and Sarah wobble, but recover.
-Andrea drops out, followed quickly by Sarah
-Cirie is next
-And then Troyzan
-After 18 minutes, Michaela drops out
-And when it’s down to Brad vs. Tai, both fighting for survival (Brad is obviously fighting for a little more), Tai loses his buoy and it falls to the ground.
-Brad wins his first Individual Immunity necklace and will live to see another 3 days!
As Michaela takes us to commercial she lets us know that since Brad won, it’s going to be either Sierra or Andrea because everyone thinks Cookie Puss is voting with them, so there’s going to be some fireworks.
Yet, all I’m thinking is that Tai still has two hidden idols and could use one to save Sierra tonight, guaranteeing the Maku Minor alliance is tight, and garnering some love for his actions. But…he wouldn’t do that, right?
Returning to camp, Brad is given the congratulations he deserves and players break up to start scrambling. Aubry, Andrea and Tai begin talking about taking out Sierra now that Brad has Immunity, and discuss the same when Michaela arrives. But as soon as Aubry and Andrea head back to camp, Tai and Michaela plot to take out Andrea, because her alliance thinks they’re outsmarting Tai and Michaela. And who could outsmart these two…?
And I’m thinking if ANYONE is smart enough to take these two to Final Tribal, that person will win the game, so there goes the Dynamic Duos plans of greener pastures and controlling things.
Back at camp, Andrea grabs some hammock time while Michaela, Tai and Sierra discuss what they just talked to Aubry and Andrea about. Sierra’s name being mention scares her a little, but as long as “nobody do[es] something stupid,” she should be okay.
And when has anything stupid ever happened on Survivor?
Oh, right now. Let’s see what happens…
Aubry lets Sarah know that Sierra is the next target, but since Sarah didn’t want Sierra to go home yet, she’ll need to confirm that she’s still tight with the cowgirl to inherit her Legacy Advantage. The two chat, and Sierra tells her that Tai and Michaela are ready to vote Andrea, so now Sarah has to scramble to get Michaela and Tai to change their votes back to Sierra, so she can get the Legacy Advantage. She tells Michaela about the Legacy Advantage – why? – to convince her it’s time to get rid of Sierra. It’s a big decision for Cookie Puss, so let’s see what goes down.
I finally got a reminder of why I watch Survivor this week . The grand delusion some people life with . Michaela and Tai s conversation about people not being able to outsmart them was classic . Tai you are possibly one of the most compassionate souls on earth . My friend you are not a smart man though . Its cool Forrest Gump was dumb too and look what he accomplished . Michaela sorry but having zero control over your emotions is not a sign of intelligence . Let s put it this way if it was me and you two in a round of jeopardy I would be calling my banker before the game started . Look man I am on Jeopardy going to be throwing some cash your way soon . Invest wisely . No I cant possibly lose to these 2 . Not a chance . I have replayed that part several times when I need a laugh . Kudos to Sarah for making sure Sierra was voted out and still getting Sierra to give you her advantage . That was impressive . She is a challenge threat and is also playing a great social game . It might be too late by the time the others figure out she is probably the one to beat . Culpepper and his golden arm . Damn he left no doubt about the reward challenge . If he gets a few ball throwing immunity challenges he wont be beat . Aubrey I am so disappointed in her play ( at least what they show ) . I expected more . I know not getting voted out is priority one but if doing nothing leaves you no chance to win what s the point ? Fish have a great week my friend . Bottoms up !
Oh man, when Michaela was kicking the box and her Mom told her to hold her temper (or something like that), I laughed so hard. #1 – obviously she’s not any different at home. #2 – she’s an adult and her Mom still needs to tell her how to act like one. Very funny.
Great recap as always – made me laugh. I do NOT want to see Tai in the final. Please please do not bring him along as an easy non-vote. I like your idea of Sarah, Andrea, and Cirie.
Thanks again – cannot wait to see this weeks show. It is getting better, I agree.
I think I spoke too soon on the comment love. Maybe I’ll just keep quiet from now on… 😉
Rick! You are harsh! Funny stuff, though. Yeah, I don’t think they’re the brightest lights on the porch, and I don’t even think they’re “good TV,” so I’m trying to figure out why they’d be cast on the show. Tai is not what you’d call “Survivor gameplay savvy,” and Michaela is just not someone who should be on TV. I just don’t get why she was brought back. She must be giving it up to someone in production… I agree with you on Sarah, she’s doing everything under the radar and keeping her hands clean. Brad’s a beast. And like I said, Aubry is doing nothing to win. Not a great gameplan. Thanks, Rick. I got a new car this weekend so the resurrection of Fish continues! Have a great week!
RSanon! I’m so with you on Michaela. I can’t even tell if she’s doing it on purpose. As I’ve said many times, people are cast as “characters,” so I think producers told Michaela her character is “bitchy, emotional, baby.” So her goal every episode is to get snotty, cranky or upset every week. Then, the show shows us all those moments. I could be wrong, but nobody’s that much of an idiot for 32 days straight. And I’m praying for no goats this season. No Tai, no Michaela, no Troyzan. And preferably no Cirie since she doesn’t deserve to win after that swimming debacle. Let’s hope next week is great too. With 8 people left, and only two more episodes, that probably means 2 go home next week, 3 in the first half of the finale, and then a FT with 3 contestants. I guess… Unless someone gets evac’d, or there’s a FT with 4 (but they’d never do that, right?) Can’t wait. Thanks for writing in.
Hugs and kisses to everyone…
Fish