Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Survivor Millennials vs Gen X - Nov 30/16 Episode Recap

About to Have a Rumble

Last week we saw two eliminations, first with Chris getting blindsided and then there was a stalemate and they drew rocks, which resulted in Jessica going home.  She ended up willing her legacy advantage to Ken (that thing better be pretty good after all this build up.)
 
Vinaka - Night 30
They are all shell shocked after the rock drawing and Hannah is freaking out - guilty/thankful/sad.
-David is angry that he burned his idol at tribal for no reason and now he feels like he's in the minority with no idol.
-Zeke on the other hand thinks that Tribal Council Was AMAZING! He's trying not to be too cocky but he truly feels like he could win this game... and that David is going to lose it. (Never say stuff like that... oy.)
 
Vinaka - Day 31
-Ken gets the gift of the Legacy advantage in his bag... and takes the opportunity to preach about being authentic and building genuine relationships in this game (blah, blah... Ken's pretty - he has such a simplistic view because I don't think he's able to play on the same intellectual level as many of the other players... but he does seem like a really nice guy.) We find out that he's trying to win to give himself and his daughter a better life.(Oh now I feel like the jerk.)

REWARD CHALLENGE
Oh NO... it's the crying show... yes, the loved ones make an appearance and it's just a veil of tears - they ALL lose their sh*t.
Sunday's husband Jeff comes out - and she shares good insight, you're with people all the time but you're alone - seeing someone that makes you not alone is overwhelming at that point in the game.
Bret's Dad Don comes out - and he makes Bret crack... even Bret cries... (oh man, I was a mess.)
Jay's sister Melanie comes out and Jay is a mess (seriously, why am I crying?) Says, "I'd give me up before I'd give her up."
Hannah's Mom Liz and yes, she looks like you'd expect, older mom version of Hannah.(crying)
Adam's brother Evan comes out and he loses it - they remind us that Adam's mom has stage 4 lung cancer and he's out there with no news of how she's doing so seeing someone from home is that much more for him... he whisper asks how she's doing and Evan tells him she's okay.  Then Adam (who is full on ugly crying) says he's not going to use his advantage to steal this Reward, he couldn't do that to everyone...(and I think it was at this point my husband had to go get me a tissue... It got me, I'm not proud of it, but yup, the crying show totally got me.)
David's dad Doug comes out and he's a taller and bigger built man than David, it's interesting to see their family... oh and more crying.
Ken's brother William comes out and Hannah comments to Zeke, "Oh my God they're both so handsome." (Ha, and it's true - though all the family members are much more pale and pudgy, it does definitely show a sharp contrast and highlights how harsh the Survivors have had it for the past month.)
Zeke's dad Sam comes out to Zeke's jubilant, "Poppa!" and he kinda looks like the actor that played Max Headroom... Anyway, Dad/Sam says Zeke is his hero and who he models his behaviour after which gets Zeke crying (yup, even Zeke who was holding it together... I may have been on tissue two.)
Will's Mom Irene comes out and she's a ginger... and seeing someone's Mom sets Adam off again.

Phew, that was too much.  On to the challenge - they will be tethered to a rope that is woven through a series of obstacles - they have to make their way over, under, around the obstacles, leaving themselves enough slack to make it to the end.  First person to reach the end wins Love. (Alright, that was a bit over the top.)

Off they go and it's Ken & Jay out to an early lead but the one obstacle that proved the undoing for Ken & Adam both was having to dig themselves under a log... neither dug deep enough and both got pretty hung up... leaving the field open for JAY to win the Loved One reward.
Of course he gets to choose two people to share it with, he chooses his boy Will first and then Sunday who apparently he said she made a promise to him first (huh?) and finally Jeff gives him one more spot (because, hello) and Jay is not a complete d*ck, he relents and picks Adam for the last spot. (His tearful thanks had me going again - I think I'm dehydrated after that, sheesh.)

Reward
-The Survivors and loved ones sit down to a picnic with beer and soft drinks and Will definitely had a beer (oooh) - Adam and his brother go off and talk about mom - he gets filled in on how she's doing, stopped chemo pills, taking strength from him being out there.   And then Jay and his sister come sit with them (not set up at all - right) and Adam gives Jay his right to steal a Reward Advantage as a thank you for picking him for the loved one visit. (Huh, I wonder how many reward challenges are left... there are 9 people still and the season usually ends before Christmas - he better get using that soon.  Okay, I looked it up, there are supposed to be 14 episodes and this was episode 11... and it looks like they'll have a final three.)

Vinaka - Day 33
David is watching the meeting going on down on the beach between Zeke, Bret, Sunday and Jay - he mentions it to Will who says he's ready to make a big move (seeing his Mom has spurred him to start playing this game so he gets the credit he deserves for the moves he's made.) Will suggests they take out Zeke tonight and he will vote with David, Hannah, Ken & Adam to make that happen.  Will wants to flip the scrip, he didn't come here to be dragged as a goat, he's come here to play.
-David is all about this plan, he believes Will is genuine and they may actual send Zeke home.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
-They will each have two handles which they will use to keep tension on a steel bar (so the bar is threaded through loops at the top and bottom of the handles and they have to pull outward at chest level to keep the bar suspended between the handles.  If they let up the tension, the bar slips and falls, smashing a tile in front of them at their feet and they are out.  Last person standing wins Immunity.
-Four people drop almost immediately David, Hannah, Will and Bret, just like that.
-Next goes Sunday, Zeke... and we are 4 minutes into the challenge (What?)
-Ken is next to go and we are down to Jay and Adam... with Jay losing it just seconds before Adam thankfully lets it go... But that was long enough for ADAM to win his first individual immunity.
-The big news for Will is that Zeke did not win, time for this high school kid from New Jersey to show them he came to play (son!)

Vinaka - Day
-Adam is reveling in his win, he tells the camera he's making his Survivor dreams come true, he only has one tick box left and that is to win the whole thing.  He's feeling good about tonight, he's got the immunity necklace, he's got a hidden immunity idol in his pocket (oh yeah) and Will wants to make a move to take out Zeke.
-David says to Adam, Hannah and Ken - no matter what anybody says, vote Zeke.  Everything hinges on Will and David feels like Will just got his drivers license and they are all terrified waiting for him to take them for a spin.

-The other group is nervous that David is so calm - Jay wonders what David must have up his sleeve to not be flailing around. Zeke agrees, something is amiss, things should not be this calm.  So they figure David must have another hidden idol so they should shift their vote... to Ken. Zeke has decreed it and Will is told to vote Ken.

-So then we see Will talking to Ken and it's painful for Will.  Will tells him he wants to work with people that listen to his input, don't just tell him who to vote for... and Ken is clueless, he's schooling Will on his style of not just talking strategy right way, he's got to get to know someone... and he's testing Will treating him like a kid instead of a man who is playing the game.  Will is finding this excruciating but he wants to make a big move so he's got to deal with Ken's crap.  Ken is going on about only being loyal to people he feels are as authentic as he is (OMG get over yourself already) finally Will loses patience and to show Ken he is in with them, he tells him that the other group is going to vote for him [Ken] tonight.
-Ken freaks out - the genuine/zen guy - runs right into camp and grabs Jay to have a talk, right in front of Will (WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?? Ken is not the sharpest tool in the shed, holy moly.) 
-So Ken says to Jay that Will told him they were voting for him tonight. Jay, "Will said that?" And next thing you know, Will and Bret have joined the convo and Ken thinks he's totally justified in this course of action, tells Will he was "testing" him earlier and had to find out if what he told him was true (I can't believe what a hypocrite that guy is, preaching about giving people one chance to prove their trustworthy and then doing this to someone who trusted him - wow, just wow.)
-Will can do nothing but watch as Ken totally blows up his game, and he says exactly that, "You are blowing up my game at this point." And then who comes over to join the fray, Zeke.  So Jay fills him in and Will defends himself, says he's trying to make big moves and build a resume, he is not going to be taken to the end as a goat... and then Ken leaves (what a douche.)
-Now Will is left to deal with Jay berating him for not coming to him since they've been together since day one - they are all mad at Will but still treat him like kid who was just acting out and Will plays it well, backing down and letting them think he's back in line.

-Now Ken's got to go try and do damage control on the other side since he's screwed up everything - and he's still convinced that he was in the right by testing out Will.  David and Adam ask how he 'tested him' and when Ken admitted he went to the other side and told them what Will had said David just utters, "oh jeez" (Yeah, Oh Sweet Jebus! Why are we keeping the dolt around!)
-Adam yells at the camera, "That's not a test, that a betrayal!" (Exactly!)

-Back at the other group they are rallying Will back over to their side, look at what Ken just did, you trusted him and he turned around and screwed ya... Will agrees, he's done with them and wants to take Ken out tonight (can't say I blame him.)

Consensus among Hannah/Adam/David is that Ken just screwed up everything and Will has no incentive to vote with them now so whoever Zeke wants to vote out will be gone.  Hannah thinks it will be her.

Zeke is worried that David may play his (non-existent) idol for Ken so should they vote Hannah?

Will is in the middle, he's played it well with the Zeke group thinking he's back in with them... but he knows he's still the swing vote - he's in control and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

TRIBAL COUCIL
-David puts it all out in the open - that there are two sides vying for one swing vote.
-Sunday goes further to name the sides: Zeke, Bret, Jay and Sunday vs Adam, Hannah, David and Ken with Will sitting appropriately in the middle.
-Jeff asks Will how he ended up in the middle and he tells him, exactly.  His original plan was to flip on Zeke but Ken today revealed this plan to the whole tribe so everyone knows what is going on.
-Sunday says she thinks Will came out there to play and doesn't want to sit on the sidelines while the big kids make all the decisions (that doesn't sit well with Will.) She continues that he was swayed a bit today but she thinks he is back with them.
-Will pipes up that he was not swayed at all, he went to them with the idea to flip on Zeke and that is part of the issue - they treat him like the 18yr old high school kid and he doesn't want to be treated like that, he wants to be treated like an adult because he came to play and to win just as much as any of them.  He finds it very insulting and it's crazy that this huge swing vote is what it takes to make them realize that he is a serious contender. (You know, the more you have to say you are a serious contender, the less you actually are one.)
-Zeke's pitch is that he always wanted to work with Will and he's been protecting him and keeping the heat off him.
-Adam points out Zeke was treating him exactly how he didn't want to be treated but Zeke counters that he knows he owes his life to Will from last tribal and if he makes it past tonight he will again owe that to Will.
-Jay confirms he's never looked down on Will, he always talks to Will as an equal and hasn't tried to take credit for moves they've made together - we took out Michaela together (I'm pretty sure Jay took credit for that.)
-David says that Will feels like he has to have some big moves on his resume for final tribal if he gets there and Jay is trying to make him feel like he already has it - but I'll say if he votes with us, his name will be on this vote in big bold letters - and that's something to put on your resume.
-Bret tells him they will build you up and they will vote you out in a heartbeat, they've done it several times (and you haven't? Again, welcome to Survivor.)
-Adam says their side has an equal say in the votes and Will is already a part of that.  Will doesn't really buy that.  Hannah says there has been a lot of fluffing by the other side and Jay cuts her off to say he's not there to fluff him (do they know what that means?) but Will should just vote his gut, if that feels right then do that. And Will listens because Jay is the one person who has treated him with respect the whole time. (I notice we did not hear word one from Ken tonight - he's sitting there with his tail between his legs, as he should.)

Time to Vote:
They don't show how anyone voted... and they left Will's vote to last.

Tallying the Votes:
Anyone have a hidden immunity idol that they want to play now is the time... and ADAM stands up (what?) and digs his hidden idol out of his crotch to play for Hannah.  Who says, "whaaat?" (This episode should have been called the Selflessness of Adam.)

Votes:
Hannah - does not count
Hannah - does not count
Hannah - does not count
Zeke - 1
Zeke - 2
Zeke - 3 - that's enough to make ZEKE the next person to join the jury.  (Okay, that was a baller move by Adam but I'm a little sad to see Zeke go, he did turn from underdog to running the show but he had a genuine likeability and joy in the game that I will miss.)
And with Zeke's elimination, that also takes: Trish J. and Emily H. out of the pool.

Next week: Will tries to take charge, decreeing they should take out David.  But Adam has different ideas and he's talking to Bret because Adam does not want Will controlling his fate in the game.

Zeke's final thoughts: It's possible he went for David and his side a little early but he didn't go out there to ride coat tails he went out there to throw some punches and he wasn't going to go down with out a fight.  When you play at this level, with this caliber of players, it just makes you want to play better. 

(Oh, and they showed the votes, Will did vote for Zeke so Adam didn't have to burn his hidden idol... though it did make for pretty good TV.)

Happy December everyone,

Coleen







 

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