Survivor Nicaragua - Sept 29, 2010 Episode Recap

Glitter In Their Eyes

LaFlor - Night 6
The episode opened with LaFlor returning from the explosive Tribal Council where they voted out Shannon.  Everyone was saying the right things - clear how we feel about each other - we have to unite...blah, blah, blah. 
NaOnka said to the camera - "It was so fake!  Fake like faux fur."  She said Alina, Kelly B and Jud were in pure shock - their ringleader was gone and it's gonna bite them in the butt.

Espada - Day 7
-Men & Yve are following the howler monkeys to find fruit.  Jimmy J starts 'howling' back at them. (I was waiting for them to fling poo.)
-Marty tells the camera he's pissed off that everyone is so star struck with Jimmy Johnson. "Why did we get stuck with the celebrity?"  He said everyone has glitter in their eyes, if he walked across the lagoon right now they'd all believe it.
-Later Marty is talking to Jill, telling her that Jimmy J is a threat.  Jill tells him not to get everyone stirred up at this point.  They're all about staying strong at this point.  She tells Marty that she thinks he should tell the tribe he has the hidden immunity idol and he's saving for the merge to keep them strong, yada, yada, yada.

LaFlor - Day 7
-Fabio(Jud) is trying to get a fire started by wearing the scuba mask and getting his face right in there - he takes a huge lung-full of smoke and gets lightheaded - he's cracking wise that he'll take what he can get out there.  He says it's his strategy to be fun to have around but he doesn't just want to be the funny guy, he wants to be kept around for his mind and spirit. (Right, he's no rocket surgeon - he should stick with the goofy, non-threatening thing.)
-NaOnka - he's so stupid - I can't stand him - he's such an airhead.

Espada - Day 7
-Marty says he has an announcement to make and he shows them all the hidden immunity idol - says it'll come into play in a merge situation, we'll keep it until WE really need it. (Yeah, right.)
Applause
-Jimmy T - "You just strengthened this tribe by 5X."  Jimmy T tells the camera  that what Marty just did shows he's a nice guy, he (Jimmy T) would have kept it for himself.
-Jill - Marty's stock went up right there and that's good for me.
-Tyrone - Everyone was impressed with Marty's sharing of the idol but he thinks Marty's shady - doing his own thing.  (See, Tyrone is no dummy.)
-Marty tells the camera that he presented the idol like it was for the tribe but- "we all know the idol can only belong to one person and it belongs to me."

Espada - Day 8
-Dan is struggling - he's got a bum knee but he contends he's not the weak link - he's at least as strong as the women...(yeah... you keep telling yourself that buddy.) 
Yve says she's not so sure about Dan.

LaFlor - Day 8
-Pow-wowing on the beach are Sash, Brenda, Chase, Kelly Purple and NaOnka - they think Alina or Kelly B should be the next to go but they're leaning toward Alina.  NaOnka - That's what you get b*tches.
-Alina knows there was a line drawn at Tribal Council and she ended up on the wrong side of it.  She sees them all talking and figures they'll want to keep Ben & Jud around but that puts her and Kelly B in a bad position.

CHALLENGE
-They will race out onto the field to retrieve 10 tribe coloured barrels.  Once they have all 10 of their barrels over the line they must arrange them on individual platforms.  Then they will throw sandbags and attempt to get them on top of the barrels.  The first tribe to get a sandbag on all 10 barrels wins Immunity and Reward: herb garden, fruit, vegies, and spices.
Medallion of Power - they can have 2 of their barrels pre-placed, with sandbags on top.  LaFlor decides not to use the advantage for this challenge.

And they're off - (I don't think Jeff remembers the tribe names because he only refers to them as the older or younger tribe... or is it psychological?)  The younger tribe starts out fast - Jeff is telling the older tribe to pick it up but they're pretty even getting the barrels and start throwing sandbags about the same time.
-LaFlor has Ben throwing and Espada has Tyrone throwing - Tyrone takes them to an early lead and LaFlor switches Benry out with Chase but Ben comes back and starts pouring it on.  Jimmy T is telling Tyrone to gives someone else a shot but he tells him to be quiet - Jimmy T goes to Jimmy J and says you're wasting me here and Tyrone listens to Jimmy J when he tells him to switch out - Jimmy T got one sandbag on the barrels but it didn't help them - LaFlor won Immunity & Reward!

Kelly B & NaOnka both go to pick up the fruit basket and Kelly B conveniently parts the fruit so the camera can see there is a rolled up clue to the hidden immunity idol in there - NaOnka says I see it too. (Kelly B, dang it.)  NaOnka tells the camera, I don't care, I'm going for it.

LaFlor - Day 8
They get back to camp... just barely... and the basket and the girls are on the ground - NaOnka & Kelly B start cat scratch wrestling over the clue.  Nay comes up the winner (surprise) and takes off with the clue. She says this is worth a million dollars as far as I'm concerned.  Kelly is playing it like she's the victim, can you believe that? Everyone is shocked by Nay's bahaviour and unimpressed that she smushed the bananas.
NaOnka tells the camera she knows Kelly B is playing it like Nay just pushed her out of the way and Kelly had no idea what was going on (but we know that's not true.)  NaOnka says she hopes it happens again - "I'll push her so hard that leg will fly off." (Oh, that's horrible... HAhahahha - okay, I can't help it, I'm enjoying her this episode - could be everyone else is so boring.) 

-Okay, NaOnka's reading the clue - It has the first line of symbols (Clue #1) and a second line Clue #2... can she figure it out?  Nope. 
-NaOnka shows the clue to Brenda (oh, meeting of the minds) so, can they figure it out together?.. Nope.
Brenda says NaOnka has the power right now as far as she's concerned and she's going to stay as close to her as possible.  They are gunning for Alina.
-Umm, I just have to say, didn't Kelly B & Alina get a clue to the hidden immunity idol in the first episode?  Why aren't they trying to look for it?  Hello.

Espada - Day 8
They returned to camp after losing the challenge.  Jill said it was a disaster and tough to take.  Jimmy T addresses the tribe - tells them he feels like he has talents that are being wasted (what a whiny baby - you have to show them your worth not whine about them not valuing you...Gaaah.) "I got skills man - leaving me on the bench can hurt us." Jimmy T tells the camera it must be because he's such an obvious leader (this guy is delusional) ah, but he does admit he has a high opinion of himself... (huh, so slightly self-aware but still having trouble relating normally in this situation - is it because the older you get the less patience you have for getting to know people?  Could be.)
-Then Jimmy T tells Tyrone he stayed in too long and should have let him in - Tyrone says he just wants to win, do you want to win or make sure everyone has a chance to touch the ball?  (Hmm, Tyrone also has a high opinion of himself but I much prefer his attitude to Jimmy T's - that guy bugs me.) 
-Marty found the tension enjoyable - maybe we'll finally get this tribe to play the game - it starts now.

-Later Marty & Jimmy J are talking - still want to keep the team strong - Jimmy J says he's sure Dan's in lots of pain with his knee and back... Marty seems to agree but he tells the camera he wants to take Jimmy J out so they'll lose their daddy and they'll have to come to him.

-Marty goes and talks to Jill- "Coach has got to go."  She says, whatever - in her mind Danny, Coach and Holly are all one person so she doesn't really care in which order they go - just tell me who to vote.  Marty thinks Jimmy J is more strategic than the other 2 and he needs to go first.  Again she's whatever (really?)
-Jill tells the camera she doesn't really follow Marty's logic (it's easy, he's jealous of Jimmy Johnson and the respect he garners in the tribe.) Jill thinks Dan is physically the weakest and would rather he go but she doesn't say that - so Marty says, "fine, it's Jimmy J then."
-Marty knows he'll have Dan - Dan says he's sure he's in much better shape than Jimmy J (yeah, you keep telling yourself that... the egos on these guys is amazing to me.)  Jimmy T is on board of course, he's made no secret of the fact that he wants to be the leader too.

-Holly is talking to Jane and seems all paranoid, bug-eyed, jumpy, looking around furtively - she says she's sure it's her tonight.  Jane reassures her she doesn't think so, and she'll tell her if her name comes up.  Jane thinks it should be Danny and Coach is her fishing buddy so she doesn't want to see him go.
-Later Jimmy J is working the ladies down by the water, Jane, Holly & Yve, he says he may not be seeing them for a while after tonight-  they all say nooo - Yve says he's her favourite person there.
-Marty approaches Tyrone and asks if he can count on him for everything (huh?) Tyrone looks leery - Marty gets to the point and says, "How about voting Coach?"  Tyrone, "Ahh, I don't know about that."  Tyrone knows Marty is all about Marty.  Jimmy J's whole life has been about motivating the team - Tyrone would rather vote Dan as he's the weakest - "Dude's got ailments."
-Marty thinks Tyrone is not thinking the game through and that's not smart.

TRIBAL COUNCIL
Marty, what happened at the challenge?
 - We had a little lead going in, lost ground and couldn't pull it out in the end.
Jimmy T, any frustration about how things went down?
 - I always want a little more play time.  They know my skill set.
So you said, "Put me in Coach, I'm ready to play?"
 - I did tell him he's wasting me and I think he knew it and put me in.
Jill, it looks like you're relying on Jimmy J for strategy.
 - We're all leaders in our own fields and it doesn't always gel - he's the most accomplished leader of all of us so we often look to him (Wow, what a neutral statement - boring.)
Jimmy J - is your contribution helping to form the strategy of the challenge?
- I don't think I'm forming strategy - I listen to them and let them make the contribution.  I also fish and give my all in the challenges. (It's like they're all running for office.)
Holly, can you give me an example of Jimmy J's leadership?
 - He calls tribe meeting and he tries to boost morale as much as he can.
Jimmy T - How you getting along with Jimmy J?
 - I don't think we've had the time to talk.
How is that possible?  You've been out her 8 days, you'd think the celebrity alone would have you talking.
Jimmy T - Maybe he sees I'm a threat and he doesn't want to be bothered with that (hmm, me thinks someone's projecting.)
 - Tyrone gives a "Yeah Right" look - What's that look about?
Tyrone - that's baffling to me - Jimmy Johnson being threatened by Jimmy T.
Jimmy J says he thought he had a great relationship with Jimmy T (well now you know how he really feels.)
Jill - you lost the challenge - how much does that weigh on you?
 - A lot - we're up against young, strong looking people.
Dan how do you measure up?
 - Average - I'm not the top, I'm not the bottom.
Jill is that true? 
- Well, around camp he's stiff and little slow...
Jane, do you notice Dan stiff around camp? (At this point, Dan looks like he wants to have Jeff whacked but Jeff's still desperately trying to get some fireworks going at this tribal council and they're not taking the bait.)
Jane says yes she's noticed the scar on his knee and thinks it bothers him.
Jimmy T, you get back from the challenge, what went down? (Oh, so we're starting over again.)
 - We're trying to keep the tribe strong by voting out the weaker members and I'm fine with that it's not going to affect me any.
So you're not a weak player.  Definitely not.
Who would you say is a weak player? (Really, really trying to create some drama with that one.)
Jimmy T - I don't want to call anyone out but we have 3 or 4. (Denied.)
Then Jeff proceeds to poll the whole tribe asking if they consider themselves weak and everyone says no except... Jimmy Johnson.
 - I'm the oldest and one of the weakest too.
So, Tyrone, is that a free pass to vote Jimmy J?
 - There are definitely other dynamics but you asked him a direct question and he gave you his answer based on a self-assessment.  (You can tell Tyrone respects Jimmy J and won't say anything bad about him - ever.)
Marty, what's the goal of tonight's vote?
 - I'm anxious to get the game accelerated - looking beyond the weakest/strongest and challenges - there's a lot going on here.
Man, if I didn't think they were thinking about that the last thing I would do is remind them. (He finally gets a good answer and he smacks him down - ouch.)
Marty - Well, I just think it feels like we're doing a lot of waiting around and now the pace is picking up and going to Tribal Council is a big driver of that. (So... it sounds like Marty likes going to Tribal Council?)

FINALLY it's time to Vote - Jimmy T votes for Jimmy J, says "You say you listened to us but you never listened to me - Go long Coach."

Tallying the votes: Jimmy J, Daniel, Jimmy J 2,3, 4, 5 ... JIMMY JOHNSON is the third person voted out of Survivor Nicaragua.  (Wow, everyone voted for Jimmy J - was it him saying he was weak? Or was it editing?)
SO... with Jimmy J leaving us that means: Susan N, Kelvin H and Roxanne S. are out of the pool.

Jimmy J's parting words: I had fun.  I was miserable the whole time but I still love the game of Survivor and it was a great adventure.  It was the most stressful time ever, including his Super Bowls and College Championships.  He says he knows they'll come together and be successful.  (You can stop running for office now.)

Next week: A fierce storm is coming - Hurricane NaOnka!  Kelly B, you knocked me over - NaOnka, screw your leg - keep it away from the fire.  (Ooooh.)

Have a great rest of the week everyone,

Coleen.