Survivor BvBvB - Apr 27/16 Episode Recap

It's a Me Game, Not a We Game

Last week we saw the most epic blindside ever when Tai became the mouse that roared by not giving Scot his hidden immunity idol and sending the big man home.

Dara - Night 27
Back at camp after Tribal, Aubry cannot wipe the smile off her face... everyone was on a super high except Jason who was on scramble mode after losing his partner and his hidden idol in one fell swoop.  Jason is putting it out there that he's available to anyone wanting to do something nutty.  Julia and Michele weren't that happy either having been left out of the decision to blindside Scot (but really, can you blame them? Julia was so obviously playing both sides and Michele was her bestie.)
-Jason appears to be the next target if they can keep him from winning immunity.

Dara - Day 28
-Tai feels bad about betraying Scot & Jason and in true Tai fashion wants to make up - Jason listens to his apology and even understands why he did what he did, doesn't mean he has to like it - and Jason is totally gunning for Tai now.

REWARD CHALLENGE
They are tethered together in teams of two, they will have to face obstacles and untie three rings, once they have all the rings, they have to throw them at a floating hook and stick all three to win Reward which is being picked up by helicopter, flown to a remote sandbar and having a Survivor picnic with fried chicken and wine.
They picked the pairs and Jason was the odd man out - so he will not participate.
Pairs were: Joe & Tai, Aubry & Julie and Cydney & Michele.  In the end it was Cydney & Michelle that were able to get all their rings on the hook and win reward.
-Of course Jeff tells them they can pick one more person to go with them (could have included Jason) but they chose Aubry - they said it was because she hasn't eaten, but really, who else would they pick?

Reward - Michelle wants to use this opportunity to let these two girls know that she may be tight with Julia but she wants to work with them, and it could have been the wine, but Aubry trusts her.
-Cydney brings up to Aubry the seed that Jason planted - they are going to have to get rid of Tai if either one of them wants a chance at winning... Aubry agrees that's probably true but she's not ready to think about that yet.
-Cydney knows they need to keep Tai around for now, but she's also ready to use Joe and Michele to take him out when the time comes.
Back at camp - Jason & Julia are thinking they have to approach Cydney to try and find a chink in the alliance and get rid of Tai.
-Once she gets back they tell her that they are going to vote for Tai and hopefully she'll vote with them so they can send Tai home with an idol in his pocket.  Cydney is open to listening, she knows this is a Me game, not a We game and she's going to do what's right for her.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
-They have to run/swim over an obstacle and out to a platform in the water.  On the platform is a large wheel that has a number of pictures of animals with corresponding numbers.  They have to try and memorize as many of the number/picture pairs as possible then run/swim back to the beach and use the numbers that correspond with the pictures on their tables to spin a wheel and pick the correct key to open a box of puzzle pieces with letters on them.  First person to solve the puzzle by spelling BLINDSIDED wins immunity.
This comes down to memory and it's the young girls Michele and Julia who are able to get the correct key on their first try while everyone else had to run back out to the water to look again.  And it was Michele that solved the word puzzle.  Double challenge wins for Michele this episode... better watch out or you'll be the next target.

Dara - Day 29
Back at camp Aubry is questioning if Jason is their best vote tonight because there will be people that hate him on the jury, with Julia, she has no blood on her hands so she'll be tougher to beat (really?) They've agreed as a group that they'll vote Julia tonight, but Michele does not look happy about it.
-Michele asks what she should tell them when Julia asks how they're voting - Cydney tells her if they ask you or me, we're in for the Tai thing.
-This worries Tai, he doesn't ever like to hear his name come up so he's bringing his hidden idol and his advantage tonight - he is not going home with an idol in his pocket.

OMG - so Jason & Cydney are talking and she's saying she's in for the Tai vote tonight, and then they showed a full back shot of the HORRIBLE partial tattoo Jason has on his back, like, he let his daughters tattoo him(and if that is the case, I'd feel bad, but it can't be.) I almost think he has the most reason to win the money just to get that thing fixed - WoW, that was really bad!

TRIBAL COUNCIL
Jason tries to say that he's willing to be used as a vote for others to further their game but then he gets aggressive and condescending while attacking Tai's character as a flipper - and proves (to me anyway) why no one would want to keep him around.  Tai stands up for himself in a calm way, which just proves he's still a better person.
-Julia points out that Michele and Cydney are perceived to be on the bottom of the five alliance right now and so Jeff focuses on them.
-Michele knows at the end of the day, when you are sitting in front of that jury, you better have something to say.
-Cydney also knows you want people to respect your game play, you don't get rewarded for throwing people under the bus left and right.
-So everyone in the five needs to make their mark and Jason & Julia want to help them do that (riiiighhhtt.)

Time to Vote:
Jason votes for Tai
Aubry votes for Julia

Tallying the votes... before Jeff comes back with the votes Tai whispers in Aubry's ear, "Should I play my idol?" She tells him, "I think you're fine, but it's your gut."
Jeff asks if anyone wants to play a hidden idol now is the time...
(Play it. Play IT!) And Tai does NOT play it (WHAT?)

Votes:
Tai - 1
Julia - 1
Tai - 2
Julia - 2
Julia - 3... 4 - JULIA is voted out - and Michele starts crying. Own it! She voted her friend out, it happens on this game.
And with Julia leaving the game tonight, that took Kim A., Emily H., and Bob L. out of the pool.

Next week:  Jason is down and out... until the alliance starts crumbling from within.  Tai talking about voting Michele, Cydney not happy with him trying to call the shots. (Uh oh.)

Julia's final thoughts - I'm young, I've grown up out here, I'm proud of how I played (yada, yada, yada - go home Julia.)

Have a great weekend everyone,

Coleen

The Amazing Race - Apr 22/16 Episode Recap

Hey everyone,

 I totally forgot to write the recap (I usually watch it on Friday when it airs and do he recap Sunday…) anyway this is how it went down:  Salt That Sand

 Last week in Dubai, Sherry & Cole caught another huge break in that it was a non-elimination round and they got to stay after coming in very last place.

 This leg the teams found out that they were heading to Bali, Indonesia – it’s a long flight that won’t be leaving until the next morning and they won’t get into Bali until 10pm – so everyone is on the same flight and Kurt & Brodie where complaining about losing their lead (you guys know the drill, come on.)

Once they hit the ground running they go to the temples and have to grab a number for the next morning – the teams will be staggered two at a time every fifteen minutes.

Next morning – first teams are Sheri & Cole and Kurt & Brodie – they get the clue that tells them they have to take an offering to one temple, then from there go to the other temple.  Kurt & Brodie grab the offering, it’s a tall column of flowers they have to carry on their heads, and head to the wrong temple, Sherry & Cole follow but once they get there they are turned back – Sheri & Cole head down to the beach and get in the middle of a bunch of monks which have nothing to do with their task – Kurt & Brodie head back to where they picked up the offerings and realize the first temple is just a few feet away (way to go) – so they drop off the offerings and are given – a huge snake draped around their necks to carry to the other temple (WHAT THE???) it’s a snake temple.  Well this made for some very nervous racers I can tell you that for nothing.  Sheri was the only one that seemed eager to get that snake around her neck and she was jealous that Cole’s snake was prettier than hers – everyone else could not wait to get that thing off them.

 

Once they delivered the snakes, they got the clue to head to the first ROADBLOCK: Salt Harvesting.

This is also where Sheri & Cole got their Speed Bump: they had to go to a street vendor’s cart, make and sell 10 bowls of a traditional meatball breakfast dish, then eat a bowl each and head back to the Roadblock.  They knocked that out pretty quick because it looked like eager patrons were planted all around where they were – the spicy meatballs were a little hard to choke down but they weren’t that far behind once they hit the salt task.

 

In Salt Harvesting – one person had to pick up two leather containers carried on a pole across the shoulders, go down to the beach, fill the containers, carry the water up to the marked areas and then slosh the water out onto the sand(salting the sand) – once they had wet the whole area they’d get their next clue. 

-This was a physically demanding task because water is heavy and once they filled their containers it was heavy lifting to get them up to the salting area and then they had to do this over and over again until they covered the whole area.  Every team had a guy do this task except Zach & Rachel, she stepped up and it hurt them.  Cole was able to sprint through it and she struggled the whole time.  After they wet the sand, they had to go to the drying area, scraped up enough salt to fill 4 bags and then present the final product for the next clue.  Tying the little bags shut proved difficult too and this is where Kurt fell behind.

 

Burnie & Ashley were first to get the clue to the next ROADBLOCK (Yes, no Detour this leg) – Lets go fly a Kite!

In this task, the team member who didn’t do the salting had to assemble a huge kite just by observing the example kite – and we are talking HUGE kites, I’ve never seen anything like them.  Once they have the approval of the kite master, they will have to run with a crew to get the kite airborne to get their next clue.  Because it was a focus and detail-oriented task, Brodie struggled and I thought the mighty Frisbee players might have been eliminated, but Zach & Rachel were still too far behind to overtake them.

 

Pit Stop was a boat out on the water, teams had to paddle an outrigger sail boat out to the boat where Phil awaited – even this was a grueling task as the water was rough and it was a long way.

 Here’s How They Finished:

1.    Tyler & Korey – they won $5000 each.

2.    Burnie & Ashley – this is their 4^th 2^nd place finish – and they are a little tired of always being the bridesmaid.

3.    Sheri & Cole – quite a recovery from last leg, plus they did a Speed Bump

4.    Dana & Matt – I thought she would meltdown on the kite but no histrionics from Dana this leg

5.    Brodie & Kurt – There was a point where I thought Brodie might lose it for them

6.    Zach & Rachel ***ELIMINATED*** - but they are still a great couple and I will actually miss them – after Phil told them they had to leave, they walked the plank and jumped in the water off the boat (it was cute – but I wished they had done it like one of Zach’s magic videos and made them disappear before they hit the water, that would have been cool.)

 With Zach & Rachel’s elimination, that also takes Heather G., Trish W., Kim K., Trish J. and Cara & Alex L. out of the pool.

I think the next leg they are remaining in Indonesia and we’ll see if Brodie & Kurt can claw their way back to the top.

Note: Next week’s recap will be delayed as I’ll be away for the weekend and not back until Wednesday of next week.

Have a great week everyone,

 

Coleen

Survivor BvBvB - April 20/16 Episode Recap

I'm Not Here to Make Good Friends

Last week the boys made a cocky display of their hidden immunity idol riches but they didn't have to go to the Super Idol because the other alliance got rid of one of their own, taking out the quirky Debbie.

After tribal council, the guys are super happy they are all still there and they still have their idols - speaking of idols, Tai hands back Jason's idol.

Dara- Day 25
The next morning, Tai goes to Scot and suggests it's time that they extend an olive branch and try to unite the tribe... but Tai is of the mistaken belief that Scot would care about making that happen.
-Scot goes and pretty much threatens Aubry, basically telling her she does what they want and they will start providing for the tribe again... and he wants Cydney out.
-Aubry knew exactly what he was selling, but she was not buying - she said she smells what he's stepping in, but there wasn't a chance in hell she was going to work with them.

REWARD CHALLENGE
In this challenge they will have to stand with one foot on the end of a balance beam, on the other end is a stack of clay pots.  If the pots fall, you're out.

As a twist for this Reward, they have the choice of three things: Food (which included a HUGE hamburger and all the fixins, fries, drinks), Love (which is their letters from home), or Advantage (which is an unknown advantage in the game.)  Everyone gets to choose which reward they want, and then they will be competing only against the other people that chose that same Reward (Cool!)

Love: Only Julia and Joe - and yes, Joe was first out so Julia got her letters.
Food: Scot, Jason and Michelle (cocky jerks those two guys, so grossly confident they go for food right away) - But Michelle won the food (ha!) and she just had to stuff her face right there in front of everyone.
Advantage: Tai, Cydney and Aubry - this was the hardest fought battle - they all looked very strong except Aubry who had a lot of wobbles but kept recovering.  Cydney was true to form, super strong and then just dropped out of nowhere.  So it was Aubry and Tai and in the end, TAI won the advantage (is he going to win every endurance challenge?)

Dara - Day 25
Back at camp Tai goes and reads his advantage and it says he just won himself an extra vote... and he can play it any time up to five people left.
He's happy to have something that no one knows about, it makes him feel like he's got a bit more power.
Julia tries to guide the girls to vote for Tai so she can hopefully flush out one of the hidden idols and still stay loyal to her alliance with Jason & Scot.
-Aubry doesn't trust Julia as far as she can throw her so she goes along with the plan to vote out Tai - but she's working her own angle in the background.
-Aubry goes and talk to Tai like an actual person, admitting to feeling vulnerable out there and he connects with her.  He likes her energy and wants to work with her - she tells him that "some" of the girls are pushing the vote to get idols out, and she wants him to know that he can trust her and she has his back.  She hopes that he sees her as an alternative to how Jason & Scot & Julia are playing the game.
-Tai goes and talks to Jason & Scot and tells them that Aubry talked to him and said she was a free agent and open to talking to them... so Tai is thinking this is great, he likes Aubry and wants to work with her... and Scot stomps on him.
-Scot says, "How bout this idea? At the next tribal, we take Aubry out."
-Tai realizes right there he has no say in his alliance, he talks, but they just don't listen. (Goliath does not realize that he just handed David the first stone.)

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Uh oh, more clay pots.  In this challenge they will stand with their arms outstretched and use just their fingertips to press against two wooden discs, attached to the discs are clay pots - once their fingertips give out and they can't keep up the pressure, the pots fall and they are out of the challenge.
This one comes down to Jason & Aubry (surprisingly Tai was out about midway through) and I thought she was going to be able to gut it out... but in the end JASON won immunity. (Dang it!)

But they used Aubry's good showing to further their argument to vote her out - now she's a physical threat as well. (Ugh, they are so sexist, drives me mental.)
Jason figures they will play their Super Idol so Scot and Tai are safe, and from here on out the guys are unstoppable (are you sure about that?)

Dara - Day 27
-Julia fills Scot & Jason in on the plan that they are going to vote for Tai to flush his idol.
-Scot figures that's fine, they'll play the super idol and no one is leaving - they don't tell Julia they are voting Aubry and they try to sway her to vote with them so they can use her vote when it comes time to vote Tai out - so she will be in their final three.  She is stoked for that, figuring she'll definitely win against the guys in the end.
-Aubry is not going down without a fight though, she knows they have to split up Scot & Jason, which Cydney totally agrees with  - and the only in they can think of is Tai.
-Aubry expertly utilizes her connection with Tai, appealing to his better nature she tells him that the vote was going to be for him tonight but she wants to take out Scot because the guys are despicable people - and she'll have Cydney and Joe on board so they could do it.
-Tai is honest and tells her he's a little afraid of Jason & Scot and she immediately soft pedals, "What's best for you? I want you to be comfortable. I'm relying on you to put yourself out there.  This is your game, you'd be making a big move, and you have three people totally behind you."  Okay, he's thinking about it... Argghh!
-Aubry goes and tells Joe he's voting for Scot. Okay.
-Tai goes back to camp and Scot tells him they are probably voting for him (Tai) but don't play your idol, we'll wait until the votes are read and then, Boom, Super Idol! (Yeah, totally do that! Except for the Super Idol part.)  And then Jason hands his hidden immunity idol to Scot... oh, this is going to be good, either way.

TRIBAL COUNCIL
Jason & Scot were just as insufferable at tribal as they were last week.  We're not going anywhere, they have to take out one of their own and either they decide, or we decide. (I dislike them immensely right now.)
-Tai is being quiet and Jeff calls him out on it, asks if he's uncomfortable with the boasting?  Tai says it's not how he is in his regular life but this is war and he's committed to this guy (was that just his accent or did he only say he was committed to Jason? Oh, I don't know...)
-They tip their hand a little by praising Aubry's game play - but then Jason ends threateningly, "You might as well jump on the train, otherwise the world is going to be dictated for ya." (Please Survivor karma, do your thing!)

Time to Vote:
Julia votes for Tai
Jason votes for Aubry
Aubry votes for Scot and prays to the camera, "Please, please, please, please, please, please." (My sentiments exactly!)

Tallying the Votes:
Anyone want to play a hidden immunity idol?  Julia is whispering to Tai to play it, Scot is whispering to Tai NOT to play it... and he shakes his head - he's not playing it (phew.)

Votes:
Tai - 1
Aubry - 1
Scot - 1
Tai - 2
Aubry - 2
Scot - 2
Scot - 3... last vote is Scot and he just sits there as Jeff declares, "Ninth person voted out and fourth member of our jury..."
Scot's got a little smile on his face, he looks at Tai, Tai looks at him, Tai looks at Jason, Jason's nodding for him to hand over his hidden idol, Scot has his hand out for Tai's hidden idol and Tai shakes his head.
Scot, "You're not doing it?"
Tai, "No." "Sorry."
Scot, "Wow." (HA Ha! You bet, wow!  That was AWESOME! Couldn't have happened to a more deserving giant.)

So, with Scot's fantastic blindside, Robert L., Shane B., and Vikki M. are out of the pool as well.

Next week: Jason is angry and wants revenge.  Julia even threatened the chicken (but we all know that chicken is a goner if Tai gets voted out.)

Scot's final thoughts: it's a bad feeling having an idol in his pocket that belongs to Jason, obviously they couldn't trust Tai but it was a good play by him... and I'm out. (B'Bye big guy, I won't really miss you.)

Have a great weekend everyone,

Coleen

The Amazing Race - Apr 15/16 Episode Recap

I Have a Wedgie and a Half

Last week was a tough leg for many of the teams but it was Blair & Scott  who made a couple fatal mistakes, first in making Daddy do the dancing Roadblock and then Scott picked up Tyler's bag and had to go give it back to him which got them to the mat in last place and eliminated.

This week the teams leave Georgia and head to Dubai - needless to say they were all on the same flight...
Once they landed they had to drive themselves to a Bedouin camp, get a traditional greeting, pick up a Roaming Gnome and their next clue.

-The driving themselves part was the first hurdle for many of the teams - Sheri & Cole come from a town with a single lane highway and one exit so they, not surprisingly, got lost quickly. 
Dana & Matt - I don't understand this couple, she is ridiculously volatile when she's trying to read him directions and he doesn't get it immediately she freaks out... only mildly at the beginning but an absolute freakout near the end of the leg nearly caused them to come in last (I hate to call women this, but her reaction was kind of crazy.) But I'm getting ahead of myself...

-At the Bedouin camp, the greeting is to touch noses (a little weird for the North Americans) it would be strange, eyes wide open, touching noses... I hope they had mints or gum.
-The clue was for the DETOUR: Oasis or Races
-In Races, the teams have to race a couple camels on bicycles (the camels were running, the people were on bicycles... ha!) Both team members have to cross the finish line before the camels, and if they don't, they'll get a head start on their second attempt.
-In Oasis, the teams have to lead four camels across the open desert for a mile to another Bedouin camp where they'll have to drink some camel milk to get their next clue. (Nobody balked at the camel milk, after the hike through the desert any liquid was appreciated.)

Races: Tyler & Korie, Burnie & Ashley and Zach & Rachel all head for the Races (but Rachel is not happy about it, she's not comfortable riding bikes fast and he's just not listening to her.)  Kurt & Brodie also choose Races.

Oasis:  Dana & Matt are the only team to initially choose Oasis and we get to hear Dana do nothing but b!tch the whole time about how hot it is and how hard it is to walk in sand (I could not take her, he is the most patient man in the world.)

-Sheri & Cole are still lost.

Camel Races:
-Burnie & Ashley make a valiant effort but the race is actually an all out sprint for 2km, it's really long and there is no way she is going to try twice - they switch.
-Tyler & Korey don't make it the first time but they are game to try again and the head start is huge - they win their second attempt.
-Zach & Rachel, she finally gets him to understand she's afraid of riding a bike (or wiping out more likely) and they switch.
-Brodie & Kurt are the only team to gut it out and actually win the camel race head to head the first time, but at quite the cost, both of them writhing on the ground with leg cramps (it's really hot, they are dehydrated to begin with and then the physical exertion, I'd be dead.)
This gets the boys back in first place (of course).

Sheri & Cole finally get to the Bedouin camp and they decide to do the Race.

Brodie & Kurt are the first team to get the clue to head to Aquaventure, the site of a past Race memorable moment when one of the Racers (Mika & Cameron - yeah, I don't remember them either) she refused to go down the straight drop water slide and was eliminated.

This time, it is the ROADBLOCK: Swimming with Sharks.
-After both team members don the gold lame bathing suits supplied - (that was pretty mean, but hilarious for us) one team member will have to go into the shark pool with a bubble helmet on so they can breathe underwater, and retrieve a cylinder puzzle which they'll bring back to the surface to solve.  The puzzle has a facsimile clue envelope inside suspended in liquid with letters and metal sharks floating around. They have to move the puzzle around until the letters RACE float into the spaces on the clue (must be magnetic because they stick.)
-So Brodie is doing this and he's so manic and ADD, no problem in the shark tank but he cannot calm himself enough to work the puzzle and they burn the Express Pass (well that didn't last long) so he doesn't have to finish it. 
-But we find out why both team members had to put on the bathing suits, because after they completed the puzzle, they both had to go down the new Poseidon's Revenge waterslide, where they put them in an enclosed tube and then the bottom drops out and they plunge down the slide - freaky!

Having to drive themselves to the Aquaventure place proved to be another challenge - and Sheri & Cole got lost again.

Other people that did the Roadblock: Burnie, Dana, Korey, Zach... and eventually Cole.  Sheri was really enjoying Cole's fear, it was fun for me to see.

There were no meltdowns this time about doing the waterslide - this is an adventurous group and they all did it with no problem - other than the atomic wedgies they ended up with at the bottom.

The Pit Stop was the Old Souq Station and they had to take a water taxi across the river to find Phil there... driving to find the water taxis also got people lost (apparently driving in Dubai is a challenge all its own.)
And this is where Dana lost her mind at Matt for not listening to her and not knowing where they were going - she got out of the car and refused to get back in - it was ridiculous!  I get that she's fiery but I think she may want to see someone for her anger issues.

Here's How They Finished:
1) Brodie & Kurt - they won a trip to Helsinki, Finland (Brodie may be taking Blair to Finland.)
2) Burnie & Ashley - they came in right behind the guys who missed an exit and almost lost the lead (which would have been and epic upset when they used the Express Pass - but they made sure to use if before anyone else go to the Roadblock so no other teams know it's gone yet.)
3)Tyler & Korey - Tyler wanted to rub noses with Phil... but he wasn't in.
4) Zach & Rachel - they're still by each others sides and still in love (I think that was a Matt & Dana dig.)
5) Dana & Matt - He says he knows she loves him and doesn't hold what she says in heated moments against her (see, most patient man in the world.)
6) Sheri & Cole - they are in good spirits even though they knew they were in last place... and their spirits improved when Phil told them this was a **NON-ELIMINATION** leg.  Sheri just asked Phil not to make her drive anywhere - let her have a taxi (that could be a 'be careful what you wish for' moment right there.)

So, no elimination this week - next week Sheri & Cole will have a Speed Bump along with the regular tasks, which they will face in Indonesia!

Have  a great week everyone,

Coleen

Survivor BvBvB - April 13/16 Episode Recap

It's Psychological Warfare

This episode was a doozy guys.  After the girls banded together to blindside Nick, Scot & Jason were running scared... and what does a scared little boy or cornered dog do?  They attack.

-Scot, ever the ringleader, asks how Jason and Tai feel about a little sabotage?  Let's see how well they do if we take their food away - or their means of getting food... and Scot & Jason get up really early the next morning and take the machete and ax and bury them. (Right in front of Joe I might add, who is deaf without his hearing aids and apparently clueless as to why those guys are skulking around.)

-Next morning, the girls notice the missing implements but instead of falling apart, they prove to be resourceful, putting the coconuts in the fire to build up pressure, then they hack them open with a saw.
-Well, this just made Scot livid, how dare they be able to eat when he's trying to stop it... so he takes a 5 gallon jug of water and right in front of everyone douses the fire. (I don't know that I could hate anyone more than I did Scot at that moment. I had some choice expletives for that ... guy.)

-Everyone is pretty disgusted by this behaviour, except Jason who thinks it's awesome.  Tai is having a hard time with the ruthlessness of the other guys, that's not how he usually approaches life, but he feels like he's got to stick with them.
-And the girls get the fire going again (suck it!)

REWARD CHALLENGE
-They are going to be divided into two teams of 4 with the extra person sitting out.  That extra person gets to vote for one of the tribes to win and if they are right, they'll get to partake of the reward with the winners. 

-The challenge, they will be attached to ropes, they have to unbraid those ropes by using their bodies to go over and under keeping them from getting tangled - once they've completed that, they will have to throw bean bags at a ledge to knock all the blocks off it - first team to get all the blocks off the ledge will win Reward of Take Out Chinese Food back at camp.
-They filled Jeff in on the shenanigans at camp so he offers for them to decide the team divisions.  Joe volunteers to sit out.  Scot, Jason and Tai are obviously one team... and which girl will go with them?  Julie readily volunteers, she sees this as her chance to make a move and get herself off the bottom of the girl alliance (onto the bottom of the boy alliance?) I had hopes she was going to sabotage them in the challenge, just sit down and let them try to untangle the rope around her... but no such luck.
-Joe valiantly sides with the girls... but in the end the boys and Julia won the Reward. (It was close, but still - I can't stand Scot & Jason and their sh*t-eating grins.)

-Back at camp while filling their faces, Julie tells the guys everything she knows and tells them she's going to continue to tell them everything she finds out from the other alliance from here on out.  They tell her they are going to vote Cydney out first.

-Julia has burned bridges with Aubry & Cydney, they do not trust her.  Debbie still wants to mother her and trusts her implicitly.  When they finish eating the first thing Julia does is ask Debbie what their plan is and she tells her that she's thinking Scot but they'll wait until they see who wins immunity then talk. 

-Cydney goes to Aubry and they are in agreement that they have to vote off Julia - she's proven she can't be trusted and she's trying to play both sides - people in the middle of the road often get run over.

-Next scene is proof that Tai has gone to the dark side - while everyone else is sleeping, he goes and douses the fire. (No... it was like Anakin killing the younglings... not Tai too!)  Next morning, they all think Scot did it.

-Aubry sees this latest sabotage as Scot & Jason trying to get them to vote for them because they have idols so she more than ever thinks Julia has to go.
-Debbie will hear none of that talk, she wants Scot gone so bad she can taste it and will entertain no other vote talk, she will not vote Julia.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
-They have to stack a series of blocks on a beam close enough together so that they can knock them down like dominos in the end - but they can only place one block at a time and they have to step through lattice work attached to the floating beam to set the blocks - so any hitting of that lattice, will cause your blocks to fall and you will
have to start over.  There was a lot of starting over - it made me laugh because Scot's feet are so big, I was surprised he could even get them through the holes... Michele almost had it, Debbie almost had it, even Jason almost had it - but in the end it was JULIA that won immunity (what the what?? Of Course if was Julia. ARghhh!)

So now what?  They get back to camp and Debbie tells the girls (including Julia) exactly how they are going to split the vote tonight.
-Julia dutifully runs right over to the guys and tells them everything that was said, Scot tells her to vote Cydney.
-Scot says they are going to pull out all the stops tonight, tell them all about the idols and put it all on the line, anything to stay.
-Cydney & Aubry hatch plan B, Debbie is playing emotionally, she's not using her head and is putting them all at risk by trusting the fox in the hen house (that is Julia) so they are gunning for Debbie tonight.
-Michelle is game but Joe says absolutely no way. (Sigh, old guy is too honorable and deaf to strategize effectively in this horrible game).
-So now they have no choice but to approach Julia about voting for Debbie and she tells them she is still with them and says she's down to vote out Debbie tonight.

TRIBAL COUNCIL
It was a test of my willpower not to through something at Scot & Jason's smirking, condescending, smarmy faces as they made a big production about showing that Tai had an idol and Jason had an idol and they said when Jeff asked if anyone had a hidden idol Jason & Scot were going to ro-sham-bo to decide who gets the idol. (But we know they are planning the super idol trick... did anyone listen to Tai last week? Nope, doesn't appear so.)
-The cross talk starts immediately, original vote, are we all good, everyone is whispering in everyone's ears... Jeff is loving it!

Time to Vote:
They didn't show us how anyone voted.

Tallying the Votes:
Anyone have a hidden idol they want to play?  Tai shakes his head, Jason & Scot make a big show of rock/paper/scissors... Scot wins (paper coers rock if you care) but then maybe we should give the idol to Tai, who just puts it in his pocket.  (Quite the little skit they put on.) 

Votes:
Scot - 1
Cydney - 1
Scot - 2
Cydney - 2
Cydney - 3
Debbie - 1 (her face said, huh?)
Debbie - 2
Debbie - 3 (The guys are really confused, took some of the hot air out of their "aren't we the greatest" sails.)
Final vote is for DEBBIE!  She was shocked and the guys were ecstatic that they didn't have to burn their super idol, they look like the cats that just ate the canaries - they're going to be insufferable.  And honestly, Debbie lasted way longer than I thought she would.

And with Debbie leaving, that takes Bryon L., Cindy M., and Elaine R. out of the pool.

Next week: The guys think they are invincible with the Super Idol but Aubry tries to lure Tai away from the Dark Side pointing out the other guys are despicable people (can't fault that logic.)

Debbie's final thoughts: She couldn't believe the girls chose to get rid of a girl, it just boggled her mind and made it that much more difficult for them to defeat Scot, Jason & Tai.  "It also totally stinks that those three wankers made it further than me, but they played a better game." (Yes and no, it was her own unwillingness to even entertain the idea of voting out Julia that proved her demise.)

Have a great rest of your week,

Coleen

The Amazing Race - April 8/16 Episode Recap

Welcome to Bloody Fingers 101

Last week Sheri & Cole (Mud) remained in the Race by the skin of their teeth because there was no actual Pit Stop - they continued racing... and everyone is on the train to Georgia (and Phil told us, "Yes, they will be on a midnight train to Georgia") Once in Tbilisi, they must make their way to the statue of St. George to find their next clue.

-Blair & Brodie admit to the camera that they like each other and are going to see if there is anything there once they get home (ooohhh!)

At  the statue, the clue tells them to head to a fortress, ride the gondola down to the river then head to a monastery to find their next clue (this was the travel ad portion of the Race, come to Georgia, it's beautiful...)
Tyler & Korey were the first team to the monastery and they read the clue to the DETOUR: Clean or String (Wine or Candy)
In Clean: they have to climb in enormous clay pots buried in the ground for wine making, and clean them out to the winemaker's satisfaction to get their next clue.
In String: they have to make the country's favourite candy, a string of hazelnuts dipped in a mixture of wine, flour and sugar.  They will have to make five acceptable strings to get the next clue.

Candy/String only has 4 stations and everyone wanted to do candy except Sheri & Cole who chose Clean right away (because she knows she can clean.)

-At the candy task is where Brodie says the title of the episode: Welcome to Bloody Fingers 101, because stringing hazelnuts using just your hands and a big needle is pokey work.
-Brodie & Kurt, Tyler & Korey, Zach & Rachel and Burnie & Ashley were the first teams to candy.  Dana & Matt showed up at the same time as Blair & Daddy/Scott so they had no spots for them - Blair & Scott say they're going to switch and leave, then Dana & Matt leave as well... but then Blair & Scott decide, now that only one team is waiting, they're going to wait it out (tricky).

-Dana & Matt don't think their cab driver knows where they are supposed to go because they are in the cab for so long so she freaks out and gets him to go back...

At Candy: the teams start to get their dipped strings checked and surprise Brodie & Kurt only have a couple pass inspection.  Tyler & Korey didn't do much better.  Zach & Rachel and Burnie & Ashley were successful though and they take off - letting Blair & Scott start stringing the nuts.

In a surprising turn, Tyler & Korey decide they can't restring more nuts, their hands are too cold and their fingers too sore so they switched tasks (say what?)  As they head out, Dana & Matt have just come back and decide to join them with the wine/clean so head back to the cab (make up your mind!)

At Clean: Sheri & Cole have been cleaning the clay pot, I was happy to see he was inside with her being claustrophobic, but when it came time to actually scrub the thing, Mom got in there because, let's face it, the kid is useless.

Zach & Rachel are the first team to the next location, the Georgian National Theatre, there they get the clue to the ROADBLOCK: Who's light on their feet?
-Rachel right away says Zach is, and he's not too happy, it's going to be ballet and he only had some tap lessons as a little kid.
-You know the dance challenges are the kiss of death, and this proved no different - they had to learn a pretty complicated and fast footwork routine. (I know I'd be sunk.)
-The teams start filtering in to the Roadblock and we are treated to an afternoon of horrible dancing and total desperation from some - and one gleeful dance from Dana, the professional dancer who knocked it out of the park because she was so starved to dance.
-So the dancers ended up being: Zach, Ashley, Kurt, Dana, Sheri, Korey & Scott.  I think the worst decision of the leg was Blair making her dad do the dancing. Though they all had to wear a big black fuzzy hat/wig thing which was hilarious.

-The first person done the dance was Ashley, she had some dance experience so she was able to pass Zach no problem... but then their cab driver took them to the wrong park, not the Pit Stop (aw, that sucks for them...)

Here's How They Finished:
1) Zach & Rachel - They won a trip to Turks & Caicos - Zach was a horrible dancer but he never gave up and it paid off for them.
2) Burnie & Ashley - It was tough to lose first place to a bad cab ride.
3) Brodie & Kurt - Kurt has been salsa dancing for years so he was overconfident doing the dancing, but he got it pretty quickly.
4) Dana & Matt - She crushed the Roadblock - she just needed to dance and it was rejuvenating for her.
5) Sheri & Cole - Mom can dance (this was a good one for her to do, but she's going to have to let him do something sometime.)
6) Korey & Tyler - Scott actually finished his dance ahead of Korey but then Scott picked up Tyler's bag by accident and had to go back and Korey & Tyler's cab driver got them to the Pit Stop first.
7) Blair & Scott - **ELIMINATED** It was sad, though her voice is very annoying, I enjoyed their father/daughter relationship on the Race... and is this the end of Blodie?

So with Blair & Daddy leaving us, that takes Laura W., Lee B., Bernice R., Robert L. and Drew C. out of the pool.

Next week they had to Dubai; there are little gold bathing suits and long drop water slides, Sheri & Cole get lost in the desert and Brodie & Kurt race against camels on bikes.  Should be a good leg.

Have a great week everyone,

Coleen

Survivor BvBvB - April 6/16 Episode Recap

The Jocks vs The Pretty People

Last week the tribes merged and the jocks and pretty people seemed to be banding together but Brain Neal was taken out by an infection on the knee so they were spared Tribal Council.

Dara - Day 19
-Neal just boated away and they are all kinda in shock.  The Brains are coming to terms with the fact that they are down in numbers, and will have to try to find a way to stay in it.  Brawn & Beauty are staying the course - in case Neal left his idol behind, the plan is to split their votes between Debbie & Aubry and start taking out the Brains.

Dara - Day 20
-Jason comes clean about his daughter's autism... makes him more relatable and human - so you can almost forget how big a jerk he can be.
-Cydney sees this as Jason being more of a threat to her now, it was touching how he talked about his daughter, she'd give him money too - she's got to start thinking about who she can beat.

REWARD CHALLENGE
They were divided into two teams of 5 - starting out on a platform in the water, they will use stepping poles to move one person from one platform to another (and it was a pretty long way) - once they get the one person across, all five team members had to climb on a small platform and have everyone's feet on or above the top to win the Reward of... Ice Cream, delivered to camp, to enjoy in front of the losers. (nice.)
Teams: Julia, Scott, Nick, Debbie & Tai (picked by Julia, large and small)
Aubry, Michelle, Cydney, Jason and Joe (all the middle of the road picked by Aubry.)
And this was a blow out - with Scott and Nick there to anchor the stepping poles, they were able to transfer Julia across.  The other team could not get any of the girls (and they did try them all) more than two steps.  Team Julia won the reward quite handily.

Back at Camp:
The Ice Cream MAN!  He was waiting for them and made them whatever they wanted.  Being respectful they didn't rub it in the other team's faces, it was a little awkward but whatever, they earned it.
-This was a get to know you episode, we get to hear more of Scott's background.  He's mormon, his dad died when he was teenager, his mom is in assisted living with a rare disease and he financially helps out his brothers and their families - that's why he wants the money (hmmm, I don't know.) But the family aspect worked with Julia, she thinks he's awesome.

Dara - Day 21
Julia, Michelle, Cydney and Tai go fishing in the boat - Jason, Scott and Nick start speculating about whether there is an all-girl alliance in the making, they are evenly split guys to girls right now... Nick doesn't think it will happen (because he thinks the girls will do whatever he says) but to allay their fear he blatantly pulls Julia aside when they get back and point blank asks her if they talked about an all-girl alliance.  She tells him no, he says he knew it and then openly reports to Scott & Jason, "we're good."
-Cydney watched the whole thing and called them all on it - saying if they want to check up on us [girls], send someone better than Nick. (She was ready to snap.) All the guys act dumb, "oh uh, no, not us... we weren't checking up on you."  Then Jason asks her to go get water with him so they can talk.
-He throws Nick under the bus, that it was all him, he and Scott had nothing to do with it.  Cydney's not really buying it, she knows the guys think they can do whatever they want, talk to whomever they want, but if she goes and talks to anyone, all of a sudden there is an all-girl alliance.  Irritated Cydney will blow this whole game up, so don't check her boo.
-This also got Cydney thinking, maybe picking off the Brains isn't her best move - if the guys have to go, they have to go. (Oh yeah! Irritated Cydney is my favourite!)

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
They will have to stand with their heels on a small perch, their back against a post and their hands holding a handle behind their head (so basically a crucifixion pose - ouch.)  If the hands come off the handle or the feet come off the perch, they're out.
-It seems like this hurts immediately and Jeff pretty quickly tells them there is going to be a food temptation... but he drags out bringing it out and Julia is first out seconds before she can get the food.  Once Jeff starts the countdown - Jason, Scott, Joe and Michelle step down  for the pizza, brownies, hot dogs, chicken and cold beverages.
-That leaves Nick, Tai, Debbie, Aubry and Cydney in the challenge.
-Tai said he stayed to see how far he could push his body and to make sure a Brain doesn't get it.
-Nick takes the Brain bashing to a douchy height by laying it out for Jeff that the Brains are outnumbered and on the chopping block, saying it with a smirk that just makes you want to punch him in the head.
-Debbie & Aubry fall out and Nick steps down as soon as the Brains are out because he's a cocky jerk and confident he doesn't need immunity himself, he just had to make sure the Brains didn't get it.
-Cydney and Tai go to the bitter end, he looked tortured the whole time but she was solid until it looked like the pain hit her like a ton of bricks and she dropped.  TAI won immunity and they both collapsed on the ground, he hugged and kissed her (aww.)

Dara - Day 22
-Tai came back and checked in with his chicken, "you have a good day." (Ha! I can't help but love Tai.)
-Nick wants to take advantage of Aubry's weak position, he's confident that Debbie will be going home but he wants to give Aubry enough information so she'll stay and hopefully feel like she owes him.  He hints that they are splitting the vote between Joe & Debbie and she'll be safe if she votes for Debbie.  Acting the arrogant jerk, which he fully admits, but she can't do anything about it, so whatever.

-Cydney makes her very discrete move by rounding up Debbie & Aubry before Nick sees them.  Nick's getting a little too big for his britches and he's rubbing her the wrong way, so she points out to the ladies that they are even in numbers right now and they have to s
trike now - to take Nick out.  He needs to go now.
-Debbie was hoping her Survivor boyfriend would come around but if it has to be Nick, so be it.  The girls are in! (Oh, please, please make this happen - that guy has gots to go!)

-Next we see Cydney with Julia & Michelle out in the water and she is smart, playing it more cautiously with these two... "Are you close to Nick?" He checks in with them... Cydney asks how they'd feel about voting Nick out?  Julia is okay with it but Michelle still considers him part of her alliance and thinks she may want him around a bit longer (NOOOOO!)

TRIBAL COUNCIL
Nick & Michelle had never been to Tribal Council before, how is that possible?  22 days, wow, that's impressive.
Neal came in as the first member of the jury with a small bandage on his knee - he's fine.
-Debbie lays it out that Brains, Brawn and Beauty are still distinct in this newly merged tribe but Brawn & Beauty have now merged.
-Nick confirms the Brains are on the outs, they're going to be splitting the votes and then moving on from there.  He says it like it's a known absolute, no big deal (argh! Every time he talks I'd like to slap him, is that wrong?)
-The girls do a good job of not letting on that they spoke at all.
-The guys are stupidly confident that they know exactly how the vote is going to go tonight.
-And the other thing that happened was that Tai spilled the beans about the Super Idol right there in the middle of Tribal Council. I thought Jason was going to throttle him... and he tried to backpedal, like he thought everyone knew but maybe it was just a story someone told him to get him to vote how they wanted. (I thought he was so stupid, but maybe it was more cunning, he was trying to feel out who knew... or am I giving him too much credit?)  Everyone knows now.

Time to Vote:
Jason votes Aubry
Nick votes Debbie
Debbie votes Nick and has the best line to the camera, "Over-confidence is a weakness." (Exactly!)

Tallying the Votes:
No one plays a hidden idol

Votes:
Aubry - 1
Debbie - 1
Nick - 1
Aubry - 2
Jason - 1 (huh? Who voted for Jason?)
Nick - 2 (he's still smiling)
Nick - 3 (the smile slips)
Nick - 4 (and shock sets in, "Oh, man.")
Nick - 5  And it's NICK voted out! (YAY!! I love it when a blindside comes together.  Couldn't have happened to a more deserving guy.)

So with Nick leaving, that takes Jennifer G., Scott M., and Andria S. out of the pool - sorry for being so stoked that he was out guys, but it was a good blindside.

Next week: The men seek vengeance - hiding the ax and machete, trying to starve the girls out - and it pulls the ladies apart.  Oh little Julia,  Aubry says the person in the middle of the road often gets run over, you better watch your back.

Nick's final thoughts: First and last tribal council and it was bittersweet.  He didn't see what they were planning, he was over-confident and cocky and he deserved it.  He's still going to be arrogant and cocky because he still thinks he's the greatest! (That's not exactly what he said but you get the gist.)

(Oh, and it was Tai that voted for Jason, maybe he was hoping the Super Idol bomb would get them all to vote for Jason, but they don’t all know Jason has an idol.)

Have a great rest of your week,

Coleen

The Amazing Race - April 1, 2016 Episode Recap

Let the Good Times Roll

This week the teams headed to Armenia, there was finally a Express Pass in the offering for the winner of the leg ... and Cole made me so mad I almost couldn't make myself watch the episode again to recap it.

Once they landed in Armenia they had to make their way to the opera house and search for the next clue inside.  There was a performance going on with dancers and musicians but no audience... and one guy vacuuming.  Everyone spread out and starting looking under every seat in every nook and cranny... until Kurt asked the cleaner if he had a clue and of course he did.  But Kurt was stealthy enough that not everyone saw so it took a long time for some of the teams to figure out to ask the guy for a clue - this is where Korey & Tyler lost their front runner status and ended up at the back of the pack.

From here they had to go to the Cascade which was a set of staircases they had to run up to the next clue box (I would have been dead right there.)

The clue was to the DETOUR: Bread or Thread
In Bread they had to learn how to make a traditional flat bread and the cooking involved smashing the rolled dough against the side of a pit oven... there was a lot of dough sacrificed to the Armenian gods that day.
In Thread, they had to weave two rows of a traditional rug... this was a very tedious job but if they paid attention they could get through it pretty quickly.

Only Kurt & Brodie and Burnie & Ashley did the bread and they got through it but it wasn't that easy... though the local lady that taught them was pretty jovial and very happy to hug the hunky boys.

Everyone else did the thread and I bet those rugs were expensive, they had the weavers right beside them the whole time and no one had to re-do anything (but I bet those two rows were likely re-done after they all left.)

From the Detour they had to head to a square and find the #13 buses then ride out to the middle of nowhere to get the next clue.  These were party buses on the inside, lots of local ladies having a good time (it was a little weird, not sure what they were up to.)

At the rug task Tyler & Korey were able to make up a lot of time passing a couple teams but then they misread the clue outside and thought they had to go look for a bus, when they just needed to grab a cab and drive to where the buses were... they ended up in last place again.

ROADBLOCK: Who's feeling drained?  There were a whole bunch of taxi's waiting in the middle of nowhere... which happened to be where they had an outdoor oil change area.  One person from each team will have to choose a cab, get it up on the ramp, drain the old oil, change the oil filter and fill it with new oil - then they take that cab to the Pit Stop.  Only two cabs were allowed up on the ramp at a time so a lot of people stacked up here.

Surprisingly, Sheri & Cole were in second place, right behind Kurt & Brodie.  Kurt was doing this one for them and, for reasons known only to a coddling mother who doesn't make her child do anything (and thus robs them of the chance to learn), Sheri said she'd do this one... even though she knows nothing about changing the oil in a car and she did all the terrifying stuff last leg (make your spoiled brat of a son do something! Can you tell I'm over Cole?)

So here is where the episode derails for me.  Sheri can't get the oil filter off and people did try to help her, to a point.  She starts crying because she doesn't want to let Cole down and he's trying to be supportive but he's getting quieter and quieter as the other teams pass them one by one.  Finally, the second to last team is Scott & Blair and Daddy Scott is so nice, he shows Sheri how to use the tool to get the filter off. 
But Sheri still can't figure out how to use the tool (turns out she is turning it the wrong way) and she goes and is standing in front of Cole the picture of abject misery, crying with her head bowed and does the little prince comfort her? No, he says, "Why are you crying?" (For godapus sakes! You hug your mother if she is standing in front of you crying like that! Sheesh, I'm mad at her too, she should have made him do this one - but still.)  Blair finally can't take it and gives Sheri a hug and tells her not to give up (at least someone's kid was raised right... just saying.)

Sheri does go back to the car, once Scott is done he shows her she's been turning the wrong way and then it's just a matter of her trying to get it done.  Tyler & Korey finished just before her however and Sheri & Mud (yes, his name is mud to me now) head for the Pit Stop in last place - with her crying and him trying not to be p*ssed off telling her she did so good not to worry about it (but still he has not hugged her and he does not seem sincere.)

Here's How They Finished:
1) Kurt & Brodie - they win the Express Pass
2) Burnie & Ashley - Burnie did try to help Sheri briefly but then left it for Scott to help her.
3) Zach & Rachel
4) Matt & Dana
5) Scott & Blair
6) Korey & Tyler - Tyler is trying to find the silver lining, being at the back of the pack takes some of the pressure off and makes them seem not so much a threat to the other teams (Riiiighhht.)
7) Sheri & Cole - She stands in front of Phil crying with her head down again... I guess Cole did have his arm around her but he's still dead to me now.  Phil tells Sheri to hold her head up, because they are still racing! And he hands them the clue to the next leg... So no one eliminated, except Cole has a long way to go to redeem himself to me.

Next week: There is a detailed dance they have to learn (Oh no, the kiss of TAR Death.)

Have a great week everyone,

Coleen