Survivor Nicaragua - September 22, 2010 Episode Recap

Fatique makes cowards of us all.

Espada - Night 3
We opened the episode with the older tribe returning from tribal council.  Holly feels like she's on the outs - she made an alliance with Wendy then voted against her - she knows it's part of the game to lie but she wants to show these people she can kick their ass on Survivor.  (I don't think anyone on the tribe even knows her name at this point.)

Espada - Day 4
-None of the older tribe have been sleeping and they decide the order of the day is to fix their shelter.
-They get together for a morning meeting and Jimmy J starts handing out the assignments.  Jimmy T doesn't like the fact that no one will listen to him and they all follow Jimmy J like he's... a two time Superbowl winning coach.  Marty is fine with Jimmy J taking the leadership role, so he can take the heat when they next have to vote someone off.

LaFor - Day 4
-Sash and NaOnka are talking, she likes his smile.  He tells her he's half black and wants to bring in as many minorities as he can - when the time is right he wants to talk to Brenda too.  He says they want to make as many friends as they can, try to keep the numbers in the game.
-NaOnka says she sees Kelly B as a charity case - her mind may be there 100% but her body can't be 100% and that is going to hurt us. (Really?  And this woman is a teacher... I always hated PE teachers.)

Espada - Day 4
-Holly (Swim Coach) sees Jill (ER doctor) pulling a bunch of snails out of their shells and make a face as she tries one.  Holly knows that face means they are not good to eat.  Jill tells Holly and Jimmy T they should try these and Holly says she can't fool her, those aren't good to eat and she takes the pot and goes and dumps them. 
-What the F... Was that? Jimmy T says she's gone off the deep end.  Jill thinks Holly's mental state is not good, and if it's one thing you don't want to appear in Survivor it's mentally unstable.
-Jill & Jimmy T tell the rest of the tribe what happened with Holly and they're all speculating about her strange behaviour.  As she comes back within earshot she hears Dan say she's Crazy as S___.
- Since she's completely delusional, she thinks he's making fun of her and decides to release he anger by stealing his shoes, filling them with sand and sinking them in the water.  Payback, she says. (This is DAY 4!  This has got to be one of the most bizarre and earliest breakdowns I've ever seen on Survivor - the Older team certainly got the crazy end of the stick.)

Espada - Day 5
-The next day Dan notices his shoes are missing from inside his bag... his $1600.00 alligator shoes (I said pardon?)  Still no one is freaking out, they're just speculating on who is playing the game that hard already.
-Holly feels like this game is turning her into someone she's not  - it's draining her (it's Day 5 - don't they have to have some kind of psychological testing before they go on this show?)  She decides she has to come clean (Noooo... you'll just make it that much worse.)
-Everyone is gathered around the shelter, Dan is lying down inside it - Holly comes over and tells them she has something to say - she dramatically grabs Dan's knee (his eyes nearly popped out of his head) and looking him straight in the eye she tells him she took his shoes out of his bag, filled them with sand and sunk them in the water.
-Dan, "if she were a guy I would have knocked her out."
-Everyone else plays lip service to her being honest and playing with integrity from now on but Dan says he'll never trust her.
-Tyrone says Holly keeps getting stranger and stranger.  Every time she opens her mouth it's obvious she's crazy.  I'm keeping one eye on her and one eye on my shoes.  (Hahaha. Cuckoo.)

LaFor - Day 5
Over on the young people tribe, NaOnka has lost one of her socks and she loses it.  "Who took my sock, who's playing games with me."  She stalks around looking for her missing sock, finds another pair of socks, obviously not hers, and just takes them.
-Jud (Fabio) says he can't find his spare socks.  Henry, "Nay's wearing them dummy."  "She is?" (Jud's really is not too bright but he does seem like a sweet soul... he's doomed.)
-Fabio goes over to NaOnka like he's going to confront her but he loses his nerve and she goes off on him, "What are you looking at?"  He has no idea how to respond to her overbearing antagonism.  They decide to hate each other.

Espada - Day 5
-Holly pulls Jimmy J aside to talk to him - she tells him she doesn't think she can do this, she wants to leave and starts crying.  He gives her a pep talk - tells her they really do need her at this point.  She seems to rally and decides to stay but he knows she's still tenuous.

CHALLENGE
-One person from each tribe will crawl through the mud (under a rope crawl) to a stack of hay.  They have to search through the hay for a ball (a bit bigger than a softball) then they have to run the ball to their mat and the next person can go.  Once they get all 4 balls on the mat, 3 other tribe members have to balance/bounce/pass the ball on wooden shields to a barrel - the first team to get all 4 of their balls in the barrel wins Immunity and will also win reward - the choice of a tarp & rope or fishing gear.
-The Medallion of Power advantage - they can start with one ball already in the barrel, meaning one less person going through the mud and one less search through the hay.  Espada decides the stakes are too high on this challenge and decides to go for the advantage.  They hand the medallion over to LaFor for next time.
-LaFor has to sit one member - they sit NaOnka (really?) and because they took the advantage Espada can sit one person too, so Dan sits out.
-They start out pretty even but the young tribe catches up, they start the ball passing and get one in right away - then they get the second in and they're ahead of Espada even with the advantage but they start to have trouble getting the third ball in the barrel and Espada is able to catch up, pull ahead and finally ESPADA wins immunity and they take the fishing gear.

Espada - Day 6
They are all jubilant coming back from winning the challenge.  Holly is glad she didn't leave (I bet).  Jimmy J says in his experience once someone's had a set back like that it's easier to have another - he quotes Vince Lombardi -"Fatigue makes cowards of us all."
-They open the fishing gear and Jimmy T finds the clue to the hidden immunity idol.  Jill reads it out to everyone and they start working together to figure out the symbols.  They figure it out as "15 yards west of the tree man?"
-Everyone takes off digging under random trees.  Jill keeps thinking it over and - Ding - figures out the final symbol is Tree Mail!  She goes and tells Marty (and Dan is there) and they take off for Tree Mail.  Jill figures Marty is smart and a good ally to have.  Marty's not overly enthused to have Dan included but he likes him well enough and figures he can use him later.
-Marty starts digging, Dan kind of stands around then wanders off and Jill & Marty find the hidden immunity idol.  Marty - I GOT THE IDOL, I got the first Immunity Idol... I.. uh, We, we got the idol.  Jill - Yeah, we. (That was pretty telling, I think Marty is smart and I hope he appreciates Jill's sharing of the clue enough to stay loyal - but I wouldn't bank on it if I were Jill.)

LaFor - Day 6
They're all bummed having lost to the old people.  The boys are talking and surprised that Kelly B killed it in the challenge.
-NaOnka is also surprised Kelly B did well in the challenge.  Nay said she sat out to see if Kelly B would use her leg as an excuse but she was awesome - NaOnka was so proud (sure you were... backfired didn't it?)  No one is thinking of voting Kelly B now.
-The boys want to vote out NaOnka, especially Jud after the whole socks debacle.
-Alina & Kelly B are discussing who they want to vote out and they feel NaOnka made enough of a fool of herself that it will be easier to get rid of her later, right now they want to vote Brenda out, she's too close with Chase.
-The guys tell Kelly B they want to vote NaOnka, she says why, Brenda is way more of a threat.  And like that they're going for Brenda.
-Shannon & Benry pull Chase aside to talk to him, they know he's tight with Brenda but they tell him she's playing him and Shannon goes on that they can't let the women have power, with Sash they have 5 (he's so hung up on the women taking over - it's weird - and it makes me hope they totally do.)
-Chase feels torn between alliances - he's not sure what to do.
-NaOnka and Brenda are talking - NaOnka sees Shannon is the ringleader, talking to everyone but them - she wants to vote Shannon out - then Jud (Fabio) cause she hates him.  Brenda likes her list.
-NaOnka asks Brenda if Sash has talked to her about their minority alliance - she laughs.  Brenda tells the camera she's got people on her side and she's not even doing anything (they all better watch out for this one, the face she shows them and the face she shows us - is not the same.)  They agree they're voting Shannon.
-Chase goes and tells Brenda that they want to vote her out first.  She asks him why he needs Shannon? - I don't - why don't they take Shannon out? - We should.  Of course they weren't smart enough to make sure no one could overhear their conversation... and Alina heard the whole thing - thinks they're screwed.
- Alina tells Fabio, Kelly B & Shannon what she overheard and that Chase is not with them- Shannon is not happy.

TRIBAL COUNCIL
Jeff - Shannon, how much more difficult has this been than you anticipated?
 - It's been brutal, I've never been camping before but I'm sticking it out.  It's been interesting we've had people say we're all together and now I'm finding out there's no loyalty.  We'll see - He better hope his girlfriend stays with him on this tribe tonight, cause if not he'll be going home next.
Wow!
Chase - He's talking about me.
Who's your girlfriend? I guess he means Brenda.
Shannon - Everyone knows it's Brenda.
Chase says he's been between alliances the whole time.  The only people he trusts are Brenda and Henry and he came there tonight not sure who he's going to vote for, Shannon or Brenda (TMI dude, shut it.)
Shannon - All your talk of honesty and loyalty, where's that been if you've been lying the whole time.
(It just seems Shannon's trying to run roughshod over everyone but Chase especially and it's really making him mad that it didn't work - it's probably especially making him mad because his chosen boyfriend is siding with a woman - how dare he betray him that way?)
Jeff flabbergasted at how much whoop ass came out of his first question.
Shannon is still going off and Jud raises his hand - I'm just trying to tell Shannon not to make enemies man, he gets so angry so fast and it's too early for that.
Shannon - make enemies? He's trying to vote me out.
Brenda, you're conveniently placed between them with Shannon losing his mind behind you (you can tell Jeff is secretly LOVING this.)
Brenda - I think a certain weakness has been exposed - it's hard to trust him (Shannon).
Shannon starts polling the rest of the tribe -Do you not trust me? I tell you to vote one way and I'm honest - most of them avoid answering.
But do you really think it's the smartest move to throw it all out there before the vote?
Shannon - that's just the way I am.  I speak my mind (What I heard: I am the alpha male, they should all just follow me.)  
(I don't think the young ones are all that smart.)
-Sash pipes up - "He's digging his own grave."
-And Shannon strikes back - "I'm going to get this out of the way - Are you gay?" (WHAT? I had to rewind it, I couldn't believe someone would self destruct that completely at Tribal Council this early.)
Shocked and disbelieving looks all around, except for Brenda's satisfied little smile - and he kept it going.  Sash says he does alright with women in New York and Shannon says,"New York if full of gay people."
Jeff repeated it - in shock at the ignorance of that comment... (mouth hanging open...)
Jud - Be Quiet, Dude.  We are a tribe for the next 2-3wks...
Jeff tells him to get his head out of the trees, they are definitely divided. 
Alina, is it foolish to believe you can trust someone just 6 days into a million dollar game?
Very foolish and surprising everyone's saying they can't trust Shannon when he hasn't lied but Chase has.
Henry, surprised trust is this big and issue?
It did happen fast - all of a sudden there are two alliances and I don't know who to trust now either (Shannon didn't like that.)
Brenda, why are they targeting you?
I think Shannon wants to take out a strong girl but I'm not sitting here all day plotting (wow, she's got the innocent act down - we'll see how long that will work for her.)
Shannon pipes up that it wasn't just him, they were going to vote NaOnka but the girls thought Brenda was a bigger threat.
NaOnka, news to you?
I thought they might vote me cause I sat out of the challenge but we were such a tight unit...
Jeff tells her to get out the tree Fabio's in...
I don't want to be in that tree.  I don't like Fabio.
He's sitting right behind her throwing his hands up.  See the attitude I have to put up with.
NaOnka - am I complicated? Noooo.  (No one making eye contact... again.)
Jud/Fabio - Can we vote already? (I'm with you buddy.)
Hold on - Kelly B, what's the criteria for voting someone out tonight?
Kelly B - We have to determine what will bring us together to win more challenges.  I think that's how people will vote tonight. (Not with Shannon having shot himself in both feet and one hand...)

Finally it's time to vote:
Fabio votes Brenda - I guess this is still the game plan.
Brenda for Shannon
Shannon for Brenda
Sash votes Shannon - Shouldn't have messed with the biggest bachelor in New York (okay, over selling it now.)

Tallying the votes:
Shannon, Brenda - Shannon 2, Brenda 2 - Shannon 3, Brenda 3 - Shannon 4, 5, 6 and the second person voted out of Survivor Nicaragua is SHANNON!  Haha, couldn't have happened to a nicer homophobic misogynist. So, with Shannon leaving that means Alexis G, Brittany & Sarah R and Laura H are out of the pool.

Shannon's parting thoughts  - Biggest mistake I made is I should have gunned for Chase.  They lost a leg and both feet (get over yourself).  These are a bunch of kids - I should have been with the old tribe.  I've been married for 11 years (wait, what?  He's been married since he was 19... Ohhh, it's starting to make some sense to me now.)  He hopes the older folks jump on them and they get what they deserve.

Next week - LaFlor has to make a game changing decision with the Medallion of Power.  Jimmy J is talking to the monkeys and NaOnka strikes - "I'll push you so hard that damn leg will fly off."  (I see she's making friends all over the damn place :)

Have a great weekend everyone,

Coleen