What Happened on Exile, Stays on Exile
Wow, just wow. To let you in on a little bit of my process in writing the recaps, I've taken to watching the show through once and then re-watching to write the recap so I know what I can leave out, etc.
But this Tribal Council was so shocking and emotional it made me wonder if I could go back and write the recap like I didn't know what was coming... so I'll give it a shot and I hope I don't give too much away.
So, last week Sandra finally had her torch snuffed for the first time by Jeff Probst and ding-dong the Queen is dead. But that leaves Varner as a bit of a sitting duck on Nuku... and Debbie also joined the tribe after her stint on 'Exile'.
Nuku - Night 16
Debbie has decided that what happened on Exile would stay on Exile - she has no intention on letting herself or Mr. Cochrane down, her lips are sealed. She tells them there was no flint (that's true) and then switches the topic to tribal council.
-Ozzy was not too happy that Tai threw his name out there - but as we all know, including Tai, he's not good at Tribal. He got confused with what was going on and he just went with his gut, he thinks Ozzy needs to go and he just says it... for all he knew he was on the bottom, even with two hidden immunity idols, Tai is always nervous.
-Jeff Varner is mad - he got blindsided big time and he would like to just "punch every one of those b!tches in the throat-bone" (is that a thing?). But Jeff can't show them he's mad, he needs them.
-Zeke apologizes to Jeff and Jeff's working it, saying he understands, it's a game, he's done it himself, yada yada yada. Zeke tells Jeff that he really likes him and wants to play with him and take him to the final three. They hug and Jeff thinks they've bonded - he's not done just yet.
REWARD CHALLENGE
No one seems that surprised that Sandra was voted out.
First, three members of the tribe will be attached to ropes wrapped around a maypole - they have to unspool the ropes to release a key. Once they have the key, one tribe member will have to untie a bunch of knots releasing some ladder rung/boards, two other tribe members must then build the ladder and another person takes the key up the ladder to unlock a bag of balls - then everyone goes up and over the ladder where another tribe member will untie the bag of balls and then they have to launch one ball at a time by jumping on one end of a board, with the ball on the other to get five balls in the five target baskets. First tribe to get one ball in each target will win reward of 10 pizzas along with soft drinks. The collective gasps, screams and ohmygodohmygodohmygod, at pizza, you would think this was manna from heaven - they all want that pizza RIGHT NOW! But no samples, they want it they have to win it and they definitely want it (they are losing their damn minds, I think this season has been very lean food-wise and it shows.)
So off they go and it's Nuku off to the lead with the first group, Ozzy, Andrea and Sarah working quickly to unspool the ropes and get that key. They are able to keep this lead through the whole challenge with Ozzy getting them the final ball in the basket too - NUKU wins the pizzas and Mana is the most dejected I've seen a team almost ever.
Do you remember those promos where they showed Aubry and Culpepper crying - I was wondering would they get letters from home, what causes the water works... well it turns out, it stems from losing the pizza.
Mana - Day 17
-They return to camp and Sierra lays it out, on day 17 things are pretty bleak - they're exhausted, she hasn't eaten in three days, she can't sleep, she's lost a crap-ton a weight and it's gotten real right now.
-They are all sitting around the fire and Sierra starts talking about how hard this game is, how she cried before she came and Aubrey is right there with her, she asked herself why she was doing this to herself again. Aubrey says she played the last time people asked why she was different and she couldn't explain what she had been through, what this game puts you through. Now the crying has started, Cirie, Aubrey and Culpepper - he breaks down too, he played before for 12 days but his wife went all the way to 39 days and when she came home she was hurting and he didn't understand why, he's starting to realize (I would think this game breaks you down and in some ways distills you to your basal self... I could see being changed by it, for sure...) That's enough crying for him - he takes off to wash his clothes and pull himself together.
-Aubrey seeks him out at the shoreline and thanks him for opening up, it means a lot to her and now she feels more of a connection to him. Cirie also comes down and joins them and agrees, thanking him for being so open - Brad feels more comfortable with them now too, and he's seeing himself being able to play with his five: Sierra, Troyzan, Aubrey,Cirie and himself. Leaving Hali and Michaela out in the cold... (they didn't cry, are they dead inside?)
Nuku - Day 17
They are eating pizza! There is no crying on this tribe... but there is scheming. Jeff Varner knows he is still on the bottom and winning pizza means nothing to keeping him there. He knows Ozzy is the beast that, once they are down to individual immunity will win everything, so he has to get Ozzy out of there.
-Jeff talks to Sarah and tells her that they need him in a merge, he's got connections on the other side that can help them out. She is open to his argument and asks who he wants to see go next and he does not hesitate or beat around the bush - he wants Ozzy out so the rest of them could at least have a chance at winning immunity one time or making it to the end.
-She seems hesitant once he brings up voting out Ozzy, but I think that is the cop caution. She does know that would be a huge move and she is ready to show that she can be a game changer, maybe it is time to cut Ozzy throat (whoa, that escalated quickly.)
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Day 18
This one is out on the water. On Jeff's go four tribe members will swim out to a raft then pull themselves along to four buoy stations where one person will dive down to release a set of buoys (balls) which will float to the surface, they have to put all the balls in the bag on the raft before moving on to the next station - once they have collected all the buoys (which each have a letter on them) - the three remaining tribe members will have to arrange the buoys to spell out a 13 letter word: Metamorphosis (huh? what does that have to do with anything?) First tribe to get the word wins immunity, other tribe is going to tribal council.
Off they go and the Nuku tribe with Ozzy, the merman, of course gets all the buoys collected first, but it's the big brain of Hali and her ability to figure out the obscure word that wins MANA immunity. Nuku will be heading back to tribal council and Jeff Varner is having kittens, he's got to try and make them vote for Ozzy or he is going home.
Oh, and I just have to say, Hali is wasting away to nothing, her waist looks like she could snap in half at any moment, please feed that girl.
Nuku - Night 18
-Freaking Metamorphosis - no one was even close to getting that word, even though Jeff Probst said that is the one thing that Survivor is about (really?)
-Jeff Varner says he knows his name is on the block for scramble afternoon - he asks if he can speak to everyone one-on-one - he'll make his pitch and be at peace. "You don't have to lie to me, I don't have an idol."
-Jeff and Ozzy go for water and the other five quickly start strategizing - Debbie wants to vote out Varner, Sarah says she thinks it should be Ozzy, Zeke wants to save Jeff Varner but he also doesn't want to vote out Ozzy just yet because (he tells the camera) he's set it up so that he will still have bigger threats out there (operation Ozzy-shield).
-Next we see Jeff and Zeke talking - Zeke tells him he has a 50% chance of going home tonight, he's going to try and save Jeff but he doesn't know if he can make it happen and the girls are going to be trying to make him feel comfortable. This was a lightbulb moment for Jeff, he's realizing that Zeke and Ozzy may be working together and Zeke does not want to vote out Ozzy... "I wonder if the girls know that."
-Jeff goes and tells Sarah that Zeke told him he was probably going home and that the girls were going to lie to him - this made Sarah mad. Jeff also talks to Andrea and tells her that Zeke is working with Ozzy, he is not on her team... Then Jeff says he knows something about Zeke that nobody else has picked up on, it's insignificant to this game but this is not the guy you think he is... Jeff says if he has to raise mortal hell, he's going to do it (and boy does he) He is not going quietly off this island.
-Jeff's machinations seemed to have bourn fruit - Sarah is really pissed off that Zeke appears to have thrown her and Andrea under the bus with Varner and she's thinking maybe they do need to get rid of Ozzy, if he and Zeke are working together, and keep Varner.
TRIBAL COUNCIL
We are at Tribal Council at the 40 min mark in the show and I said to my husband, getting to tribal this early means something is going to happen... if I only knew.
Jeff Varner starts us off by saying he's pretty sure he's going home tonight, which then makes Debbie nervous because if someone comes out and says that, there is usually a surprise coming.
Varner then starts laying out his story - he's been talking to everyone over the past couple days and he thought he was getting somewhere in his bid to vote Ozzy out but then it became apparent to him that there is a secret alliance between Zeke and Ozzy - (they both look a little wary but keep it cool) - Varner continues, "there is deception going on here and you guys (he's referring to Debbie, Tai, Sarah and Andrea) are on the bottom." He proposes that they vote for Ozzy and take care of the situation. Debbie thinks that was really good... and if he stopped there, things could have gone his way but oh no, Varner's on a role... "There is deception here. Deception on levels, Jeff, that these guys don't even understand." Jeff tells him to continue. Varner turns to Zeke and asks, "why haven't you told anyone that you are transgender?" (WHAT? HOLY HELL!? Why would he ever think that was okay???) Everything just stops for an instant, Zeke goes completely blank as they all absorb what was just said. Varner says what he is revealing is a deception... (OMG, I can't even...) Immediately all hell breaks loose - Andrea yells at him that is personal and has nothing to do with the game and she is crying - Tai is yelling at him too, "that is not deception, that is so dirty Jeff", Debbie is telling him he has no right and Varner is still trying to defend himself, "I'm not knocking him." He says he argues for transgender rights in the state of North Carolina everyday, he would never do anything to hurt anyone here but he pleads to Jeff Probst that he felt like he was fighting for his life and had to throw everything at the wall.
Tai, Andrea, Debbie are still yelling at Varner that he does not have the right to out anybody - it is Zeke decision if he wants to share that information no one else's. Zeke finally says, kind of in shock, that in the two seasons of playing Survivor, he's never told anybody.
Varner is still defending himself, he wanted to show the ability to deceive and the rest of them are all (rightfully) disgusted - saying that is not Zeke deceiving them in a game.
Jeff Probst finally jumps in and points out to Varner that what he is arguing is a huge leap in logic, that by not revealing himself as transgender, Zeke is inherently deceptive... and I think it finally starts to sink in with Varner what he has done - in his desperation to stay in this stupid game for a million dollars, he has jarringly out-ed Zeke not just to his tribe mates but to potentially millions of people - his selfish actions have real-world consequences for Zeke in his real life... and finally Varner apologizes for the first time... and then just doesn't stop.
I found this very painful, and I was crying through a lot of it, I just couldn't believe that someone, who says he's an advocate for the LGBTQ community, could use this knowledge against someone in this way - it was disgusting and I don't have the appetite to go through all of it again.
Zeke is the bigger man, he seems to have gotten over some of the shock and says that he knew that it could have come out at some point so he wasn't adverse to talking about it but this was a crappy way for it to have happened (Varner still trying to apologize, but too late) and all his tribe mates are squarely on Zeke's side, supporting him in his right to come out or not as transgender, that fact has no bearing on this game and they see him the same. Zeke does start talking about Metamorphosis being the word of the episode (and then I was like, hold on... was this a set up to bring it all back to metamorphosis? Or am I being super jaded?) and he has done so many cool things and changed so much, while it's still not cool what Varner did, he's fine.
Varner is shocked at himself - no one cares, you are dead to us - just stop talking.
Sarah, while crying, said some very touching things that totally got me crying - she is thankful that she got to know Zeke over these 18 days and he's kick ass. Coming from the Midwest and a conservative background, this knowledge [that he's transgender] makes no difference to her and that shows how much she has grown, so she's sorry it came out that way but she's thankful that it did and she got to know him as Zeke not as he was afraid they'd look at him as, she'll never see him that way.
Zeke also hopes that maybe this knowledge will help some Survivor viewers, not that he thinks he should be anyone's role model, but maybe it will lead to a greater good. (And we get to see Zeke's smile again, which was a relief to me, I love how much joy Zeke takes in this game and it would have been so sad if he lost that.)
They don't even have to vote, Probst polls them, everyone agreed it was Varner going home and even he tearfully says he's ready to go. Zeke gives Varner a hug as he says he's sorry again, Zeke even consoles him, saying that it's going to be okay - see he really is the bigger man here. Varner slinks off into the night.
Next week: it is the merge and everyone goes in with guns blazing.
Jeff Varner's final thoughts: I don't even know what I was thinking, it was me, wrapped up in this game, trying to do anything I could... and he starts crying, "but no one should ever do what I did tonight. I am so sorry to anyone I offended, especially Zeke and his family." (Well at least he feels shame - I bet this is going to impact him maybe even more than Zeke.)
Oh yeah, and with Varner's epic lapse in judgement taking him out of the game, that also takes Tamara J., Emily H., and Sean M./Milizza C. out of the pool.
That was a tough one. Definitely a Tribal for the ages. I know I'll never forget it, that's for sure.
Have a great rest of your week.
Coleen
Wow, just wow. To let you in on a little bit of my process in writing the recaps, I've taken to watching the show through once and then re-watching to write the recap so I know what I can leave out, etc.
But this Tribal Council was so shocking and emotional it made me wonder if I could go back and write the recap like I didn't know what was coming... so I'll give it a shot and I hope I don't give too much away.
So, last week Sandra finally had her torch snuffed for the first time by Jeff Probst and ding-dong the Queen is dead. But that leaves Varner as a bit of a sitting duck on Nuku... and Debbie also joined the tribe after her stint on 'Exile'.
Nuku - Night 16
Debbie has decided that what happened on Exile would stay on Exile - she has no intention on letting herself or Mr. Cochrane down, her lips are sealed. She tells them there was no flint (that's true) and then switches the topic to tribal council.
-Ozzy was not too happy that Tai threw his name out there - but as we all know, including Tai, he's not good at Tribal. He got confused with what was going on and he just went with his gut, he thinks Ozzy needs to go and he just says it... for all he knew he was on the bottom, even with two hidden immunity idols, Tai is always nervous.
-Jeff Varner is mad - he got blindsided big time and he would like to just "punch every one of those b!tches in the throat-bone" (is that a thing?). But Jeff can't show them he's mad, he needs them.
-Zeke apologizes to Jeff and Jeff's working it, saying he understands, it's a game, he's done it himself, yada yada yada. Zeke tells Jeff that he really likes him and wants to play with him and take him to the final three. They hug and Jeff thinks they've bonded - he's not done just yet.
REWARD CHALLENGE
No one seems that surprised that Sandra was voted out.
First, three members of the tribe will be attached to ropes wrapped around a maypole - they have to unspool the ropes to release a key. Once they have the key, one tribe member will have to untie a bunch of knots releasing some ladder rung/boards, two other tribe members must then build the ladder and another person takes the key up the ladder to unlock a bag of balls - then everyone goes up and over the ladder where another tribe member will untie the bag of balls and then they have to launch one ball at a time by jumping on one end of a board, with the ball on the other to get five balls in the five target baskets. First tribe to get one ball in each target will win reward of 10 pizzas along with soft drinks. The collective gasps, screams and ohmygodohmygodohmygod, at pizza, you would think this was manna from heaven - they all want that pizza RIGHT NOW! But no samples, they want it they have to win it and they definitely want it (they are losing their damn minds, I think this season has been very lean food-wise and it shows.)
So off they go and it's Nuku off to the lead with the first group, Ozzy, Andrea and Sarah working quickly to unspool the ropes and get that key. They are able to keep this lead through the whole challenge with Ozzy getting them the final ball in the basket too - NUKU wins the pizzas and Mana is the most dejected I've seen a team almost ever.
Do you remember those promos where they showed Aubry and Culpepper crying - I was wondering would they get letters from home, what causes the water works... well it turns out, it stems from losing the pizza.
Mana - Day 17
-They return to camp and Sierra lays it out, on day 17 things are pretty bleak - they're exhausted, she hasn't eaten in three days, she can't sleep, she's lost a crap-ton a weight and it's gotten real right now.
-They are all sitting around the fire and Sierra starts talking about how hard this game is, how she cried before she came and Aubrey is right there with her, she asked herself why she was doing this to herself again. Aubrey says she played the last time people asked why she was different and she couldn't explain what she had been through, what this game puts you through. Now the crying has started, Cirie, Aubrey and Culpepper - he breaks down too, he played before for 12 days but his wife went all the way to 39 days and when she came home she was hurting and he didn't understand why, he's starting to realize (I would think this game breaks you down and in some ways distills you to your basal self... I could see being changed by it, for sure...) That's enough crying for him - he takes off to wash his clothes and pull himself together.
-Aubrey seeks him out at the shoreline and thanks him for opening up, it means a lot to her and now she feels more of a connection to him. Cirie also comes down and joins them and agrees, thanking him for being so open - Brad feels more comfortable with them now too, and he's seeing himself being able to play with his five: Sierra, Troyzan, Aubrey,Cirie and himself. Leaving Hali and Michaela out in the cold... (they didn't cry, are they dead inside?)
Nuku - Day 17
They are eating pizza! There is no crying on this tribe... but there is scheming. Jeff Varner knows he is still on the bottom and winning pizza means nothing to keeping him there. He knows Ozzy is the beast that, once they are down to individual immunity will win everything, so he has to get Ozzy out of there.
-Jeff talks to Sarah and tells her that they need him in a merge, he's got connections on the other side that can help them out. She is open to his argument and asks who he wants to see go next and he does not hesitate or beat around the bush - he wants Ozzy out so the rest of them could at least have a chance at winning immunity one time or making it to the end.
-She seems hesitant once he brings up voting out Ozzy, but I think that is the cop caution. She does know that would be a huge move and she is ready to show that she can be a game changer, maybe it is time to cut Ozzy throat (whoa, that escalated quickly.)
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Day 18
This one is out on the water. On Jeff's go four tribe members will swim out to a raft then pull themselves along to four buoy stations where one person will dive down to release a set of buoys (balls) which will float to the surface, they have to put all the balls in the bag on the raft before moving on to the next station - once they have collected all the buoys (which each have a letter on them) - the three remaining tribe members will have to arrange the buoys to spell out a 13 letter word: Metamorphosis (huh? what does that have to do with anything?) First tribe to get the word wins immunity, other tribe is going to tribal council.
Off they go and the Nuku tribe with Ozzy, the merman, of course gets all the buoys collected first, but it's the big brain of Hali and her ability to figure out the obscure word that wins MANA immunity. Nuku will be heading back to tribal council and Jeff Varner is having kittens, he's got to try and make them vote for Ozzy or he is going home.
Oh, and I just have to say, Hali is wasting away to nothing, her waist looks like she could snap in half at any moment, please feed that girl.
Nuku - Night 18
-Freaking Metamorphosis - no one was even close to getting that word, even though Jeff Probst said that is the one thing that Survivor is about (really?)
-Jeff Varner says he knows his name is on the block for scramble afternoon - he asks if he can speak to everyone one-on-one - he'll make his pitch and be at peace. "You don't have to lie to me, I don't have an idol."
-Jeff and Ozzy go for water and the other five quickly start strategizing - Debbie wants to vote out Varner, Sarah says she thinks it should be Ozzy, Zeke wants to save Jeff Varner but he also doesn't want to vote out Ozzy just yet because (he tells the camera) he's set it up so that he will still have bigger threats out there (operation Ozzy-shield).
-Next we see Jeff and Zeke talking - Zeke tells him he has a 50% chance of going home tonight, he's going to try and save Jeff but he doesn't know if he can make it happen and the girls are going to be trying to make him feel comfortable. This was a lightbulb moment for Jeff, he's realizing that Zeke and Ozzy may be working together and Zeke does not want to vote out Ozzy... "I wonder if the girls know that."
-Jeff goes and tells Sarah that Zeke told him he was probably going home and that the girls were going to lie to him - this made Sarah mad. Jeff also talks to Andrea and tells her that Zeke is working with Ozzy, he is not on her team... Then Jeff says he knows something about Zeke that nobody else has picked up on, it's insignificant to this game but this is not the guy you think he is... Jeff says if he has to raise mortal hell, he's going to do it (and boy does he) He is not going quietly off this island.
-Jeff's machinations seemed to have bourn fruit - Sarah is really pissed off that Zeke appears to have thrown her and Andrea under the bus with Varner and she's thinking maybe they do need to get rid of Ozzy, if he and Zeke are working together, and keep Varner.
TRIBAL COUNCIL
We are at Tribal Council at the 40 min mark in the show and I said to my husband, getting to tribal this early means something is going to happen... if I only knew.
Jeff Varner starts us off by saying he's pretty sure he's going home tonight, which then makes Debbie nervous because if someone comes out and says that, there is usually a surprise coming.
Varner then starts laying out his story - he's been talking to everyone over the past couple days and he thought he was getting somewhere in his bid to vote Ozzy out but then it became apparent to him that there is a secret alliance between Zeke and Ozzy - (they both look a little wary but keep it cool) - Varner continues, "there is deception going on here and you guys (he's referring to Debbie, Tai, Sarah and Andrea) are on the bottom." He proposes that they vote for Ozzy and take care of the situation. Debbie thinks that was really good... and if he stopped there, things could have gone his way but oh no, Varner's on a role... "There is deception here. Deception on levels, Jeff, that these guys don't even understand." Jeff tells him to continue. Varner turns to Zeke and asks, "why haven't you told anyone that you are transgender?" (WHAT? HOLY HELL!? Why would he ever think that was okay???) Everything just stops for an instant, Zeke goes completely blank as they all absorb what was just said. Varner says what he is revealing is a deception... (OMG, I can't even...) Immediately all hell breaks loose - Andrea yells at him that is personal and has nothing to do with the game and she is crying - Tai is yelling at him too, "that is not deception, that is so dirty Jeff", Debbie is telling him he has no right and Varner is still trying to defend himself, "I'm not knocking him." He says he argues for transgender rights in the state of North Carolina everyday, he would never do anything to hurt anyone here but he pleads to Jeff Probst that he felt like he was fighting for his life and had to throw everything at the wall.
Tai, Andrea, Debbie are still yelling at Varner that he does not have the right to out anybody - it is Zeke decision if he wants to share that information no one else's. Zeke finally says, kind of in shock, that in the two seasons of playing Survivor, he's never told anybody.
Varner is still defending himself, he wanted to show the ability to deceive and the rest of them are all (rightfully) disgusted - saying that is not Zeke deceiving them in a game.
Jeff Probst finally jumps in and points out to Varner that what he is arguing is a huge leap in logic, that by not revealing himself as transgender, Zeke is inherently deceptive... and I think it finally starts to sink in with Varner what he has done - in his desperation to stay in this stupid game for a million dollars, he has jarringly out-ed Zeke not just to his tribe mates but to potentially millions of people - his selfish actions have real-world consequences for Zeke in his real life... and finally Varner apologizes for the first time... and then just doesn't stop.
I found this very painful, and I was crying through a lot of it, I just couldn't believe that someone, who says he's an advocate for the LGBTQ community, could use this knowledge against someone in this way - it was disgusting and I don't have the appetite to go through all of it again.
Zeke is the bigger man, he seems to have gotten over some of the shock and says that he knew that it could have come out at some point so he wasn't adverse to talking about it but this was a crappy way for it to have happened (Varner still trying to apologize, but too late) and all his tribe mates are squarely on Zeke's side, supporting him in his right to come out or not as transgender, that fact has no bearing on this game and they see him the same. Zeke does start talking about Metamorphosis being the word of the episode (and then I was like, hold on... was this a set up to bring it all back to metamorphosis? Or am I being super jaded?) and he has done so many cool things and changed so much, while it's still not cool what Varner did, he's fine.
Varner is shocked at himself - no one cares, you are dead to us - just stop talking.
Sarah, while crying, said some very touching things that totally got me crying - she is thankful that she got to know Zeke over these 18 days and he's kick ass. Coming from the Midwest and a conservative background, this knowledge [that he's transgender] makes no difference to her and that shows how much she has grown, so she's sorry it came out that way but she's thankful that it did and she got to know him as Zeke not as he was afraid they'd look at him as, she'll never see him that way.
Zeke also hopes that maybe this knowledge will help some Survivor viewers, not that he thinks he should be anyone's role model, but maybe it will lead to a greater good. (And we get to see Zeke's smile again, which was a relief to me, I love how much joy Zeke takes in this game and it would have been so sad if he lost that.)
They don't even have to vote, Probst polls them, everyone agreed it was Varner going home and even he tearfully says he's ready to go. Zeke gives Varner a hug as he says he's sorry again, Zeke even consoles him, saying that it's going to be okay - see he really is the bigger man here. Varner slinks off into the night.
Next week: it is the merge and everyone goes in with guns blazing.
Jeff Varner's final thoughts: I don't even know what I was thinking, it was me, wrapped up in this game, trying to do anything I could... and he starts crying, "but no one should ever do what I did tonight. I am so sorry to anyone I offended, especially Zeke and his family." (Well at least he feels shame - I bet this is going to impact him maybe even more than Zeke.)
Oh yeah, and with Varner's epic lapse in judgement taking him out of the game, that also takes Tamara J., Emily H., and Sean M./Milizza C. out of the pool.
That was a tough one. Definitely a Tribal for the ages. I know I'll never forget it, that's for sure.
Have a great rest of your week.
Coleen
No comments:
Post a Comment