Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Survivor Worlds Apart - April 29/15 Episode Recap

Survivor Russian Roulette

Last week Mike overheard a plot to take him out and in his horrible attempt to reveal and mitigate the threat, ended up turning everyone against him.  Dan won the pick a rock tie breaker at the auction to win himself the advantage of a second vote at Tribal Council, Will proved he wasn't such a nice guy by verbally attacking Shirin and Jenn ended up the next member of the jury.

Merica - Day 28
-Dan & Sierra are talking about how they almost felt bad for Mike but they still aren't about to turn for him and/or Shirin.  Dan tells the camera it may appear that he's on the bottom of his alliance but his seemingly passive game play doesn't mean he doesn't have schemes a-brewing.

-Shirin is still feeling the effects of, what she terms, Will's assault on her and when Dan comes over to see if she's okay she is wondering what is wrong with Will that he doesn't realize he's verbally assaulting a human being - is he really that mean or just that dumb?  She concludes he's just that stupid and then laments to the camera that his behaviour, unfortunately, makes him a great candidate to take to the end because no one is going to vote for him to win.
-Dan is trying to seem sincere when he tells Shirin he is truly sorry about what happened at tribal council to make her cry... then he tells the camera he may feel bad for her having violence in her past but that being said, she is a drama queen, a two-faced liar and she looooves to play the victim.  Dan also thinks she's a hypocrite - Will may have gone overboard but when she calls him names and has no gratitude or appreciation, he'd call what happened karma. (And I bet a lot of them feel that way - Shirin should know trying to play the sympathy card gets you nowhere in Survivor.  Criers Never Win.)

REWARD CHALLENGE
-They will be divided into two teams of four - they will have four barrels, two planks and a piece of rope with which they will
have to transport all four team members across three sections from one end of the field to the other - if somebody falls off or a plank touches the ground, they have to go back to the start of the section they're in - first four to make it to the other side will win Reward of: An afternoon sailing along the coast in a catamaran, eating bacon cheeseburgers and pie.

Teams:
Blue: Mike, Shirin, Sierra & Rodney
Red: Tyler, Dan, Carolyn and Will
-Blue - Mike starts by knocking the barrels on their sides and getting everyone across to one they keep standing up... then he rolls the barrels with his body takes the planks, gets everyone forward again and does it again - this can't go on, he's exhausted after the first section.
-Red takes the more traditional approach of keeping the barrels standing up and walking the planks between them - slower but in the long run, probably something they can sustain going through the sections.  Dan is a man possessed, he loves cheeseburgers!
-In the third section, Blue is discussing their strategy and Mike, just not thinking, puts the planks in the dirt - they have to go back to section two and start section three again (they had just started that section - but still, puts them behind.)  Sierra decides to just start barrel rolling, and encourages the rest to try the same go for broke method - but Mike and Shirin fall and there is no coming back.  Red team wins the Reward!

-Jeff remarks that the Red team seems subdued and Dan says he feels bad, Rodney hasn't been on any rewards... Jeff calls him on his BS, "Well, you could give your spot to Rodney." (I could feel Dan's panic through the TV) Rodney lets him off by saying he'll get his, and Dan is super relieved (Ha, Dan, fakey McFakerson - almost had to put his money where his mouth is.)
-Carolyn feels Dan is a loose cannon and she wants to make sure he's reassured so he doesn't get the inkling to go back to Mike, she can't be more pleased than to go on this reward with him.

Merica - Day 28
-The four challenge losers return to camp and make a meal of the last chicken.  Mike tells the camera the challenge was him doing all the work while everyone stood around and watched and that proved to be the losing strategy, but everyone is already mad at him so it doesn't really matter if he takes the blame, things can't get much worse for him anyway.

-Rodney is actually pretty p*ssed that he hasn't won a reward yet - he hasn't had one chance to get off that beach (well, you've actually had a lot of chances, you have just never won.) He starts going on about how he's dirty and hungry and miserable - he just needs some Rodney time. (What a princess, he's got an itchy beard and his nails are nasty - you can take all the spa-time you want after to win - so suck it up, Buttercup!)

-Sierra starts working on Rodney telling him that he better watch out for Tyler, if things keep going as they are: Tyler winning immunity and the way he's been playing, he'll get jury votes - he's going to win.   Rodney says they'll get Tyler out, he's got faith.  But she points out Shirin will vote for whoever they say, they can use her vote to take Tyler out and it makes her nervous that Rodney doesn't seem willing to do that.
-Rodney isn't buying what she is selling because she's saying Tyler is a threat when they should realize that Rodney is the one running the show, he's got the numbers, he's got the relationships (he's got the ego that's going to get him booted) - his plan is still to take out Shirin and Mike, get to the strong six and then Rodney will work his magic. (Right.  I think he's looking too far ahead and not giving everyone else sufficient credit... but we'll see.)

REWARD
They're on a boat!  Dan makes the the announcement that they won this challenge because there is no Mike in Team... (ugh, Dan just thinks he's so clever... get over yourself already.)  He's so glad he got to go on the Reward with these people, because they are his alliance right now and they all agree they can pause the game because there is no Mike or Shirin there.  Dan is ready to take Mike out - and basically tells them he didn't believe that they had planned to vote Mike out and had Rodney turned - so Tyler plays into Dan's hubris and confirms for him that Mike was being paranoid, they hadn't plotted against him... Tyler tells the camera his goal is to keep Dan focused on the flippers, those that don't
belong so he doesn't question their motives.  Dan is playing short sighted, he doesn't see past top six and that's the perfect place for him to exit the game in Tyler's opinion.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Day 29
-They will have to hold onto a rope handle attached to 25% of their body weight - as time goes on and the weight becomes too much, the rope will unspool and if the weight hits the ground, it will tip a bucket of water to douse the survivor and take them out of the challenge - for today's challenge, the last man AND woman standing wins Immunity.  Shirin's jaw drops, this could be a game changer if both Mike and Shirin are able to win... what would they do?  (Of course, I don't see Shirin being able to do this...)
-They start and Jeff keeps talking... he informs them they are holding 25% of their body weight from day one... and today is day 29 so it's more than that now.
-15 minutes in and Sierra's rope is on it's last inch... she is the first one out.   Not long after, Tyler drops out.  Dan and Rodney have been struggling to spool their rope back in and succeeding... but it's Will who is out next, followed not long after by Dan, who apologizes that he gave it everything (whatever dude.)  Shirin says her fingers are numb (stop thinking about it... sheesh).
-We're down to Mike vs Rodney and Carolyn vs Shirin...  and Shirin can't hold on so Carolyn wins Immunity (darn it!)
-Dan is beside Rodney and he keeps talking to him, encouragingly but still - shut up, can't you see he's in pain?  Dan's telling him he's got it and Mike's twitching... so Rodney looks over at Mike (who still has a lot of rope spooled on his handle) and Rodney's break in focus nearly knocked him out (stop listening to Dan.)  And he digs back in... but it's not enough, Mike wins Immunity again! (and I think it'll be goodnight Shirin.)
-She knows it too - Shirin wished she could have held on and won so they could watch the 'axis of evil' scramble all day but now, it's she who will have to scramble to stay in it tonight.

Merica - Day 29
-Carolyn hugs Rodney and kind of whispers to him, "Can you imagine if they both had won?" (It would have been awesome for us to watch...) He's still beating himself up about losing to Mike again... but Carolyn is so happy, not just to have won immunity but that Shirin didn't win it.

-Mike & Shirin are away from camp and the rest just agree it'll be the easy vote tonight, no more discussion needed - they won't split the votes because then they'd have to vote for one of their own, doesn't make any sense - it's Shirin all the way.

-But then Shirin pulls Dan aside and lays it out as he expects her to do - she thinks they'd be extremely stupid to vote her out, she's not a threat in challenges, she's not going to win this game and yet they have real threats out there, namely Tyler...
-Dan, after rudely spitting out a mouthful of water (yeah, you really seem to be listening respectfully you goof) tells her he agrees with her...  And she cuts in, "If you had any power in this game, if you were truly strategic, you would figure out a way to not vote me out." (I don't think that will cut it, telling him he's powerless may rankle a little but he doesn't respect her opinion enough for that to spur him to action.)

-Next Shirin's working on Sierra and she takes a different tack with her - she tells her she has nothing, she is literally with her to the end, she's begging her to try and keep her there and take out Tyler tonight.  Sierra knows Shirin should be who they want to take to the end because she won't win and if she had two people backing her on her alliance, she would vote for Tyler tonight (but they just don't have the numbers to get it done, I fear.)

-Tyler knows that Dan has an advantage and he wants to find out what it is - so he steals Dan's bag... grabs it, takes it away to rifle through and bring back later (and that just rubs me the wrong way - I know nothing is sacred in Survivor but I still think going through people's personal things is really low.)
-Tyler reads the advantage and tells Carolyn what Dan's advantage is and then tells us he knows if Dan & Sierra woke up and realized how dangerous the alliance of four was, they could join Mike & Shirin and use the advantage to take Tyler out.

-Next we see Mike talking to Dan, asking how he feels - Dan says not good - they could easily whip out an idol, protect both of themselves and take Dan out... Mike says, yes, we could (and he
could! I forgot he has a hidden idol... but he won't waste it on Shirin.)  They get to the water hole and Dan has a filthy stinky sock on his shoulder (ewww) while Mike asks what if tonight is his last chance to take Tyler out? If Dan goes to the end with Tyler, he's not going to win.  Dan doesn't disagree with that... but then he just starts babbling and we get Mike's voice over that he's sad that Dan used to be his biggest ally and now he's not willing to give Mike a chance, he's disappointed Dan isn't the type of man he thought he was. (What a blowhard?  He's still that... a blind follower - maybe not so much.)
-Mike is starting to think his best strategy may be to give Shirin the hidden immunity idol tonight and shake things up.  "Let the chips fall where they may and maybe some of them will fall in his direction."

TRIBAL COUNCIL
-Jeff starts with Shirin sharing her personal history last tribal and she gets into it again, how she has no family because of the domestic violence in her childhood and Dan pipes up, "Not to take anything away from Shirin..." But he was an adopted child so he doesn't have a real family either, just his mother and his wife and all his family... Jeff asks if there was violence in his past and he repeats, "I was an adopted child..." like it's the same thing.  Jeff calls him on it though (love it) "Not to split hairs, but that is a very different thing."
-Shirin goes on that they don't seem to realize how very wrong Will's verbal assault of her was and Jeff asks Dan if that is just the way it goes when there is a million dollars on the line?
-Dan says, no, but he also wasn't there when it all went down and he apologized to her... but Shirin won't let it go - Notice nobody says that what he did was wrong and he's made no apology.
-Will says he's not going to apologize because it wouldn't be sincere.

-Shirin finally moves them along by telling Jeff he's going to see the stupidest thing tonight in her going home when they all know she's not a threat, yet they have someone here [Tyler] who has won an immunity challenge, who comes close every challenge [Tyler] and who will win a million dollars because everyone here is too afraid to make a move and it will cost them a million dollars.
-Tyler says, "At the end of the day, my alliance knows that I stand strong with them and without them I would be over there" [on the jury.] (That's it?)
-Sierra says Shirin's argument is 100% valid but she's only one vote... And Shirin's relentless:  if you don't have the power to change a few people's minds, perhaps you're not in the strong position in your alliance you thought you were in. (Jeez Shirin, she was on your side-ish, she's definitely not going to want to keep you around now.)
-Carolyn says they do have a six strong alliance but timing is everything in this game, if you try to make a move too soon, you could make the worst decision in your life (that certainly sounded like a threat to me - from the lady with the immunity necklace around her neck.)

-Mike knows he has to keep winning to stay in it but if he does win immunity one more time, they have to start cannibalizing themselves.  He pleads for his former Blue Collars to vote for someone who's name starts with "T" tonight.
-Tyler finally shows some emotion by calling Mike out, "And they'd listen to you because your loyalty has been spot on." (It has actually, he just let them convince him he didn't hear what he actually heard.) Sometimes looking at an alliance they need to realize they have a guarantee to the top six and all they have to do is shut up, put blinders on and don't listen to the nonsense and just eliminate people.  We play ball with people who are smart enough, and patient enough to just sit back and wait...
-Jeff says, "Or, if somebody realizes they are in the bottom, they would make a move because going out at six makes no sense, this game is too hard."
-Rodney pipes in that before the strong six it was the strong seven with Mike included but he flipped and made himself a target, things could have worked out much differently (uh, when did Mike flip? On you, when you plotted against him?)
-Dan has drunk the Kool-Aid, he agrees with Rodney totally, Mike's actions were the start of everything and now he's answering for the consequences of his actions, and likewise so is Shirin.  They'll say anything at this point because that's what desperate people do. (And Shirin does an eye roll with the tongue sticking out - priceless.)

-Alright  Jeff gives the desperate people a chance for any last words and Mike makes it count.  He pulls the hidden immunity idol out of his sock and says he and Shirin are not going home tonight - Shirin's voting for Tyler and he's voting for one of the other four... all three of them have to do is vote for Tyler and they'll guarantee themselves a spot because it's only going to take four once he plays the hidden immunity idol.
The No Collars on the jury are loving this bold action, and Shirin of course, but everyone else looks like their dogs just died....
-Jeff says this really is Survivor Russian Roulette - they can't vote Mike or Carolyn, he's going to give Shirin immunity and she's going to vote for Tyler and Mike's voting for one of the other four - they have no idea who... this is going to make for a very interesting vote.

Time to Vote:
Shirin votes for Tyler, "Just sit there and look pretty." (Ha!)
They don't show who Tyler voted for but he tells the camera he hopes this works...

Tallying the votes:
Anyone want to play a hidden immunity idol - Mike took his time but finally got up... then tells Shirin, "I love you girl." AS HE PUTS IT BACK IN HIS POCKET!  (Oh, man - that's what Tyler meant, they are going to call his bluff.)

Votes:
Tyler - 1
Shirin - 1
Dan - 1
Tyler - 2
Shirin - 2
Dan - 2
Shirin - 3
Final vote is Shirin - and she is still voted out... and weirdly excited to have her flame snuffed.  Everyone seems happy about the outcome of the vote except Dan you got two votes and should now realize he's on the bottom.

So with Shirin finally getting the boot, Elaine R., Chandra K. and Coleen T (oh yeah! I forgot Shirin was mine, oops) are out of the pool.

Next week: The six strong start to crumble with Dan wanting to know who flipped when it was obvious Mike was bluffing, Tyler admits when it was his name being bandied about, his only thought was he had to vote Dan.  And Rodney reaches his limit telling them to vote him out, he wants to be next on the jury (what?)

Shirin - has no hard feelings towards Mike, thinks it would be dumb if he had played it for her - they actually got a couple people to flip and you know who in fact is on the bottom. (Oh, it was Tyler and Will who voted for Dan, interesting... the rest stayed the course.) Shirin knows Dan is a sensitive guy and he's going to be upset he got votes - she can't wait to be part of the jury and see how it all pans out.

Have a great weekend everybody (it's my Friday, off for the GCT this weekend, Yay!)

Coleen

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