Vote Early, Vote Often
Last week on Survivor, Sandra & Michaela played JT like a fiddle and he went home with his hidden immunity idol back at camp. Now the only previous winner still in the game is Sandra.
Nuku - Night 13
-Aubry is trying to save her butt, she was the only one who voted with JT, she was left out of the strategy to take him out, which means she is very firmly on the bottom of this tribe, and she knows it... thus the pandering - how impressed she was with their game play. The one question she asked was why they chose to keep Aubry over JT.
-Sandra told her it was about the betrayal. When Malcolm went home, Sandra took it really hard and JT had to be held accountable for what he did. (She is scary.)
-Aubry realizes that clearly Sandra is the queen of this game and she needs to learn a thing or two from her.
Mana - Night 13
-Meanwhile, Tai is the only one awake because he's got to get looking for the hidden immunity idol he got the clue for. It told him to wet the boards and when he finds their tribe symbol, that is where to dig. He knows the only "boards" are on the watering hole so he goes and pours water on all the boards and it's the last one that has a blazing white (in the dark it looked bright) anchor symbol. He quickly digs at the base of that board and Tai has another hidden idol.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE (?)
Brad and Sierra seemed sad to see JT gone when Nuku showed up but what did they expect, they totally burned that guy... sheesh.
Anyway - Jeff gets right down to it and tells them to drop their buffs - Again! There is no challenge today, they are being shuffled back into two tribes:
Nuku: Andrea, Sarah, Ozzy, Tai, Zeke, Jeff and Sandra (Tai seems so happy to have all the gay guys on one tribe - they have the rainbow connection.) But Sandra & Jeff are the odd men out now.
Mana: Troy, Michaela, Sierra, Hali, Aubry, Ciera and Brad Culpepper - only two guys and they have never met before, (that's not going to sit well with alpha male Brad.)
Debbie has nothing... no buff in her bundle and she finds out she is heading to EXILE ISLAND (couldn't have happened to a more deserving person, in my opinion, after her performance last week.) She will not participate in the next challenge but will come back and join the tribe that goes to Tribal Council and votes someone out. (How much you want to bet Brad Culpepper is going to make sure he does not lose the next immunity?)
Debbie seems devastated but of course tries to act like it doesn't matter - she'll be fine on her own.
Mana - Day 14
-I can't remember all the connections now - Brad tells us he doesn't know most of the people on his new tribe. He is still with Sierra and they're tight but he's not close with Hali and all the other girls he's never met - the one other guy is Troy who played with his wife before so hopefully they'll be able to work together.
-Brad approaches Troy and let's him know he's not on his own, they have the male connection which Troy is drawn to because when he played on One World he was with a lot of women and he doesn't want to get bamboozled again. Troy also has a hidden immunity idol of his own which gives him a measure of security as well (he doesn't tell Brad that of course.)
Nuku - Day 14
-There is some getting to know you going on, Jeff Varner is trying to get a toehold in there because it is just he and Sandra joining this tribe where the rest of them were together before.
-Sandra knows they're in a bad spot but when she is in a situation where she is outnumbered, she stays calm and collected - then give her a day or two to get her feet wet and she'll be running the show over here too - The Queen stays Queen.
-Zeke talks to Ozzy and tells him he wants to get Sandra out of here - Ozzy agrees. Zeke knows that other people have said that before and what has happened to them? "They lost a million dollars to Sandra Diaz-Twine." Zeke & Ozzy know they have to make Sandra and Varner think that they are safe and blindside them in order to take them out.
-Zeke goes and talks to Andrea and Sarah and Andrea thinks they should use Tai as the decoy because he's sneaky and always finds hidden immunity idols, it makes her nervous playing with someone like him. (And I just have to comment on what Andrea was wearing - she has cut off her jeans into shorts, but then is wearing the legs of the jeans I guess as leg warmers... what the heck? Shipwreck chic? Oy.)
-Zeke then goes and talks to Tai and tells him that they want to take Sandra out first - which Tai totally agrees with - but Zeke is also not telling Tai they are throwing his name out as the smoke screen which could really blow up in their faces.
-Tai feels good that they seem to be targeting Sandra but he also thinks they could go after him so to be doubly safe, now that he's at the new camp, he's going to go check their water-well and see if they have the marked board there too... and of course, he finds himself another hidden immunity idol. (No one noticed that extra bulge in his drawers... and he re-buried it while tending the chickens, no one the wiser. Tai could be a force in this game if he could play it a bit cooler and smarter.)
Exile Island... or fully stocked party boat!
-Yup, Debbie's Exile is on a boat where she has all the food she could want, a hammock, she'll probably get to sleep in a bed - totally unexpected game changer in her favour. She needs to keep it going, everyone feeling sorry for her because she was all alone, no one could ever guess she was being treated like a queen.
-After she eats her fill and relaxes in the hammock, a boat comes speeding over to her ship and we see who is on board - Cochrane! (What?) He's not there to join the game, but is only there as a resource and advisor to Debbie. Of course, Debbie has a little fan-girl moment and then her usual bravado is firmly in place, she's telling him she has no worries, everything is great.
-Cochrane knows right away Debbie's fatal flaw is her over-confidence and he breaks her down until she finally admits that she blew up at Culpepper the other day. He tells her that sometimes swallowing your pride and pandering to people's egos is a great strategy, it could win you the game. (He might as well be talking to the wall for all this is going to sink in with Debbie - but bless him, he tried.)
-The next thing he presents Debbie with is an Advantage option which is also part of Exile and she does let her guard down by almost jumping him - she cries and hugs him and won't let go until he has to stand up to comfort her... (uh, this is getting a little uncomfortable, Debbie is pretty unstable, I don't know that this game is good for her psyche.)
-Finally she gets it back under control and they go through the Advantage options she has to choose from: Fake hidden immunity idol kit, Extra vote or Tribe Challenge advantage. (I would totally have gone for the Tribe Challenge advantage, try to suck up to the new tribe, but that's probably why I'd lose at this game.) Debbie chooses the Extra Vote rather quickly, it's like having one person she can totally depend on for a vote (and I'm sure she's used to having imaginary friends.) (Would anyone go for a fake idol kit? Come on.)
-Cochrane thinks if Debbie can actually take the advice he gave her and use the advantage she just received, she could do well (I noticed he did not say she could win, because, well, it's Debbie.)
Nuku - Day 16
-Varner is being vulnerable with Zeke, telling him that he felt pretty devastated by the shake up in the tribes and the fact that he's played twice before and never made the jury really hangs over him.
-Zeke does like Varner and sees him as a potential desperate person he can use for a vote in the future, after he convinces him that Tai is going home and blindsides him by voting out Sandra.
-Zeke tells Varner they are targeting Tai so he'll take that back to Sandra - and he does.
-She thinks it may be too good to be true - don't get her wrong, she'll vote Tai all day but she thinks it may just be too easy. Winning the next challenge may be the only way to make sure they're safe. And then of course she tells us, "If they don't think I'm going to take control of the situation, they don't know the queen." (I think they do know the queen and it's off with her head.)
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE (for reals this time)
They all start out on platforms in the water, on Jeff's go they will all dive into the water and swim to the first obstacle, a set of monkey bars, everyone has to cross the monkey bars then back in the water to race to the next platform where they will have to transfer a bunch of heavy puzzle pieces onto a sled, then drag the sled to shore where they will have to use logs to roll the sled up the beach to their designated area where they can then unload the puzzle pieces and complete a barrel puzzle. First tribe to finish wins immunity, losing tribe goes to tribal council and gains Debbie (just to add insult to injury.)
- I think Jeff reminding them that the loser gets Debbie was all the incentive Culpepper needed to get Mana out to an early lead which they were able to hang on to through the challenge. MANA won immunity but completing the puzzle in record time - sending Nuku to Tribal Council.
Nuku - Day 16
The only solace Zeke sees in getting their butts handed to them in that challenge is now they have the opportunity to take Sandra out of this game.
-Sandra though is feeling, for the first time ever playing Survivor, that something could go wrong here. She's got to assess the situation and work her magic.
-She goes and talks to Sarah, Andrea and Ozzy and tells them the last thing they need is Debbie, Tai and Aubry all together since they played together before, they have that bond. She tells them she'll have their backs, scoping out what's going on and keeping them informed if anyone's coming after them - she can help them.
-Sarah knows exactly what Sandra is doing, she talks to you like she's grooming you - her voice is calm, it never raises, and she just starts to suck you in... but they have her number. Ozzy confirms with Sarah and Andrea that she did make him consider what she was saying but he shook off her hypnosis and they are all still solid to vote out Sandra. Then maybe look at Tai later.
-Tai has noticed everyone talking and no one talking to him so he's getting nervous. All the scheming and plotting is not how he thinks so he gets nervous when they walk away... and a nervous Tai is a dangerous Tai. He talks to Varner telling him he's freaking out and Ozzy comes over as Tai is saying it's an easy vote for Sandra tonight - 100% positive, that's what we talked about. (Tai, Tai, Tai... read the room, man.)
-Ozzy is pissed - it was stupid and unnecessary. Then Tai admits to everyone else that he told Varner they were voting for Sandra and they are all exasperated, he still doesn't understand why - he didn't throw any of their names out so what's the problem? (I just wanted to shake him - does he not realize that Varner is with Sandra? How is that possible?)
-So now Sandra knows they are coming for her and she's going to act like she's going home but then set up Tai as enemy number one. She's going to twist it around and he will go home.
TRIBAL COUNCIL
Oh, this was Andrea, Ozzy, Zeke and Sarah's first time at Tribal Council so they had to light their torches... I guess it feels like they are farther in already and these four were on the winning Tavua.
Debbie comes in from Exile to witness the tribal council shenanigans of her new tribe.
-Andrea starts us off saying they are looking to get rid of the big threats. Jeff points out that arguably everyone there is a big threat.
-Ozzy says that is true and it's a constant debate between which threats have bigger targets that could take the hit instead of him.
-Sandra says it's been 16 great days Jeff but she thinks this is it for her (I don't buy it, we all know Sandra wouldn't just give up like that.) She says she's been there three days and no one has talked strategy to her. She hasn't heard any names and they must just consider her a big player. (Right.)
-Tai says what Sandra said was pretty accurate but he wouldn't say she is going home tonight - he's worried because he made a game changer move taking out Malcolm [it could be him tonight]. He's paranoid, with big names like Sandra and Ozzy, anyone could go - he just hopes he's safe.
-Sara says she has heard names but coming to tribal tonight, some people are still open... and that's why Tai is worried. He thought they were all together to vote out Sandra but now, who knows.
-Sandra says if Tai wants to spit out a name, as long as it's not her, she'll vote with him.
-He whispers to her and then goes to whisper to Varner and everyone is looking around all big eyed - Sandra immediately tells Andrea he sais Ozzy and she points to Ozzy to tell him it was him.
-Sarah asks if he wants to share with all of them and he does tell them he named Ozzy which makes Sandra smile, she figures they will all vote for Tai now.
-As Tai is going on about taking out the biggest guy, he can't compete with Ozzy - Zeke and Ozzy are conferring behind his back about voting for Tai - Sandra tells Andrea that she and Jeff will vote with them to take out Tai... Zeke asks Tai how they can trust him, Sarah says she doesn't know... and Ozzy is shooting sly looks at Sandra who is grinning like the cat that ate the canary... Finally Varner asks if they can just vote... and with that, it's
Time to vote:
Varner votes Tai - my goodness that was so dramatic
Sandra votes Tai - when you come after me I bury you, and the Queen stays Queen.
Tallying the Votes:
Tai - 1
Tai - 2
Sandra - 1 - that made her lose the grin.
Sandra - 2, 3, 4 - and the Queen is Dead... long live... is Zeke the new Queen? For the first time in 94 days of Survivor... he's about to snuff her torch and she says, "Don't do it Jeff, don't do it." But, it's inevitable, "the tribe has spoken." And they give Sandra a round of applause. She is gracious in defeat and wishes them all well, leaving with a smile and a wave.
So with the fall of the queen, that also takes out Linda S., Manny W., and Drew C.
Next week: Mana reaches their breaking point - and they show everyone crying (what the heck?) And alliances implode on Nuku with Sarah & Andrea irate, Varner sees an opening and goes after Ozzy.
Sandra's final thoughts: Jeff finally got to snuff her torch but she thought she did good for 16 days considering she is a two time winner. She loves Survivor and knows she has the life she does because of Survivor - There will never be another two time winner, except the Queen. (She could be right, who knows.)
Have a great rest of your week,
Coleen
Last week on Survivor, Sandra & Michaela played JT like a fiddle and he went home with his hidden immunity idol back at camp. Now the only previous winner still in the game is Sandra.
Nuku - Night 13
-Aubry is trying to save her butt, she was the only one who voted with JT, she was left out of the strategy to take him out, which means she is very firmly on the bottom of this tribe, and she knows it... thus the pandering - how impressed she was with their game play. The one question she asked was why they chose to keep Aubry over JT.
-Sandra told her it was about the betrayal. When Malcolm went home, Sandra took it really hard and JT had to be held accountable for what he did. (She is scary.)
-Aubry realizes that clearly Sandra is the queen of this game and she needs to learn a thing or two from her.
Mana - Night 13
-Meanwhile, Tai is the only one awake because he's got to get looking for the hidden immunity idol he got the clue for. It told him to wet the boards and when he finds their tribe symbol, that is where to dig. He knows the only "boards" are on the watering hole so he goes and pours water on all the boards and it's the last one that has a blazing white (in the dark it looked bright) anchor symbol. He quickly digs at the base of that board and Tai has another hidden idol.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE (?)
Brad and Sierra seemed sad to see JT gone when Nuku showed up but what did they expect, they totally burned that guy... sheesh.
Anyway - Jeff gets right down to it and tells them to drop their buffs - Again! There is no challenge today, they are being shuffled back into two tribes:
Nuku: Andrea, Sarah, Ozzy, Tai, Zeke, Jeff and Sandra (Tai seems so happy to have all the gay guys on one tribe - they have the rainbow connection.) But Sandra & Jeff are the odd men out now.
Mana: Troy, Michaela, Sierra, Hali, Aubry, Ciera and Brad Culpepper - only two guys and they have never met before, (that's not going to sit well with alpha male Brad.)
Debbie has nothing... no buff in her bundle and she finds out she is heading to EXILE ISLAND (couldn't have happened to a more deserving person, in my opinion, after her performance last week.) She will not participate in the next challenge but will come back and join the tribe that goes to Tribal Council and votes someone out. (How much you want to bet Brad Culpepper is going to make sure he does not lose the next immunity?)
Debbie seems devastated but of course tries to act like it doesn't matter - she'll be fine on her own.
Mana - Day 14
-I can't remember all the connections now - Brad tells us he doesn't know most of the people on his new tribe. He is still with Sierra and they're tight but he's not close with Hali and all the other girls he's never met - the one other guy is Troy who played with his wife before so hopefully they'll be able to work together.
-Brad approaches Troy and let's him know he's not on his own, they have the male connection which Troy is drawn to because when he played on One World he was with a lot of women and he doesn't want to get bamboozled again. Troy also has a hidden immunity idol of his own which gives him a measure of security as well (he doesn't tell Brad that of course.)
Nuku - Day 14
-There is some getting to know you going on, Jeff Varner is trying to get a toehold in there because it is just he and Sandra joining this tribe where the rest of them were together before.
-Sandra knows they're in a bad spot but when she is in a situation where she is outnumbered, she stays calm and collected - then give her a day or two to get her feet wet and she'll be running the show over here too - The Queen stays Queen.
-Zeke talks to Ozzy and tells him he wants to get Sandra out of here - Ozzy agrees. Zeke knows that other people have said that before and what has happened to them? "They lost a million dollars to Sandra Diaz-Twine." Zeke & Ozzy know they have to make Sandra and Varner think that they are safe and blindside them in order to take them out.
-Zeke goes and talks to Andrea and Sarah and Andrea thinks they should use Tai as the decoy because he's sneaky and always finds hidden immunity idols, it makes her nervous playing with someone like him. (And I just have to comment on what Andrea was wearing - she has cut off her jeans into shorts, but then is wearing the legs of the jeans I guess as leg warmers... what the heck? Shipwreck chic? Oy.)
-Zeke then goes and talks to Tai and tells him that they want to take Sandra out first - which Tai totally agrees with - but Zeke is also not telling Tai they are throwing his name out as the smoke screen which could really blow up in their faces.
-Tai feels good that they seem to be targeting Sandra but he also thinks they could go after him so to be doubly safe, now that he's at the new camp, he's going to go check their water-well and see if they have the marked board there too... and of course, he finds himself another hidden immunity idol. (No one noticed that extra bulge in his drawers... and he re-buried it while tending the chickens, no one the wiser. Tai could be a force in this game if he could play it a bit cooler and smarter.)
Exile Island... or fully stocked party boat!
-Yup, Debbie's Exile is on a boat where she has all the food she could want, a hammock, she'll probably get to sleep in a bed - totally unexpected game changer in her favour. She needs to keep it going, everyone feeling sorry for her because she was all alone, no one could ever guess she was being treated like a queen.
-After she eats her fill and relaxes in the hammock, a boat comes speeding over to her ship and we see who is on board - Cochrane! (What?) He's not there to join the game, but is only there as a resource and advisor to Debbie. Of course, Debbie has a little fan-girl moment and then her usual bravado is firmly in place, she's telling him she has no worries, everything is great.
-Cochrane knows right away Debbie's fatal flaw is her over-confidence and he breaks her down until she finally admits that she blew up at Culpepper the other day. He tells her that sometimes swallowing your pride and pandering to people's egos is a great strategy, it could win you the game. (He might as well be talking to the wall for all this is going to sink in with Debbie - but bless him, he tried.)
-The next thing he presents Debbie with is an Advantage option which is also part of Exile and she does let her guard down by almost jumping him - she cries and hugs him and won't let go until he has to stand up to comfort her... (uh, this is getting a little uncomfortable, Debbie is pretty unstable, I don't know that this game is good for her psyche.)
-Finally she gets it back under control and they go through the Advantage options she has to choose from: Fake hidden immunity idol kit, Extra vote or Tribe Challenge advantage. (I would totally have gone for the Tribe Challenge advantage, try to suck up to the new tribe, but that's probably why I'd lose at this game.) Debbie chooses the Extra Vote rather quickly, it's like having one person she can totally depend on for a vote (and I'm sure she's used to having imaginary friends.) (Would anyone go for a fake idol kit? Come on.)
-Cochrane thinks if Debbie can actually take the advice he gave her and use the advantage she just received, she could do well (I noticed he did not say she could win, because, well, it's Debbie.)
Nuku - Day 16
-Varner is being vulnerable with Zeke, telling him that he felt pretty devastated by the shake up in the tribes and the fact that he's played twice before and never made the jury really hangs over him.
-Zeke does like Varner and sees him as a potential desperate person he can use for a vote in the future, after he convinces him that Tai is going home and blindsides him by voting out Sandra.
-Zeke tells Varner they are targeting Tai so he'll take that back to Sandra - and he does.
-She thinks it may be too good to be true - don't get her wrong, she'll vote Tai all day but she thinks it may just be too easy. Winning the next challenge may be the only way to make sure they're safe. And then of course she tells us, "If they don't think I'm going to take control of the situation, they don't know the queen." (I think they do know the queen and it's off with her head.)
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE (for reals this time)
They all start out on platforms in the water, on Jeff's go they will all dive into the water and swim to the first obstacle, a set of monkey bars, everyone has to cross the monkey bars then back in the water to race to the next platform where they will have to transfer a bunch of heavy puzzle pieces onto a sled, then drag the sled to shore where they will have to use logs to roll the sled up the beach to their designated area where they can then unload the puzzle pieces and complete a barrel puzzle. First tribe to finish wins immunity, losing tribe goes to tribal council and gains Debbie (just to add insult to injury.)
- I think Jeff reminding them that the loser gets Debbie was all the incentive Culpepper needed to get Mana out to an early lead which they were able to hang on to through the challenge. MANA won immunity but completing the puzzle in record time - sending Nuku to Tribal Council.
Nuku - Day 16
The only solace Zeke sees in getting their butts handed to them in that challenge is now they have the opportunity to take Sandra out of this game.
-Sandra though is feeling, for the first time ever playing Survivor, that something could go wrong here. She's got to assess the situation and work her magic.
-She goes and talks to Sarah, Andrea and Ozzy and tells them the last thing they need is Debbie, Tai and Aubry all together since they played together before, they have that bond. She tells them she'll have their backs, scoping out what's going on and keeping them informed if anyone's coming after them - she can help them.
-Sarah knows exactly what Sandra is doing, she talks to you like she's grooming you - her voice is calm, it never raises, and she just starts to suck you in... but they have her number. Ozzy confirms with Sarah and Andrea that she did make him consider what she was saying but he shook off her hypnosis and they are all still solid to vote out Sandra. Then maybe look at Tai later.
-Tai has noticed everyone talking and no one talking to him so he's getting nervous. All the scheming and plotting is not how he thinks so he gets nervous when they walk away... and a nervous Tai is a dangerous Tai. He talks to Varner telling him he's freaking out and Ozzy comes over as Tai is saying it's an easy vote for Sandra tonight - 100% positive, that's what we talked about. (Tai, Tai, Tai... read the room, man.)
-Ozzy is pissed - it was stupid and unnecessary. Then Tai admits to everyone else that he told Varner they were voting for Sandra and they are all exasperated, he still doesn't understand why - he didn't throw any of their names out so what's the problem? (I just wanted to shake him - does he not realize that Varner is with Sandra? How is that possible?)
-So now Sandra knows they are coming for her and she's going to act like she's going home but then set up Tai as enemy number one. She's going to twist it around and he will go home.
TRIBAL COUNCIL
Oh, this was Andrea, Ozzy, Zeke and Sarah's first time at Tribal Council so they had to light their torches... I guess it feels like they are farther in already and these four were on the winning Tavua.
Debbie comes in from Exile to witness the tribal council shenanigans of her new tribe.
-Andrea starts us off saying they are looking to get rid of the big threats. Jeff points out that arguably everyone there is a big threat.
-Ozzy says that is true and it's a constant debate between which threats have bigger targets that could take the hit instead of him.
-Sandra says it's been 16 great days Jeff but she thinks this is it for her (I don't buy it, we all know Sandra wouldn't just give up like that.) She says she's been there three days and no one has talked strategy to her. She hasn't heard any names and they must just consider her a big player. (Right.)
-Tai says what Sandra said was pretty accurate but he wouldn't say she is going home tonight - he's worried because he made a game changer move taking out Malcolm [it could be him tonight]. He's paranoid, with big names like Sandra and Ozzy, anyone could go - he just hopes he's safe.
-Sara says she has heard names but coming to tribal tonight, some people are still open... and that's why Tai is worried. He thought they were all together to vote out Sandra but now, who knows.
-Sandra says if Tai wants to spit out a name, as long as it's not her, she'll vote with him.
-He whispers to her and then goes to whisper to Varner and everyone is looking around all big eyed - Sandra immediately tells Andrea he sais Ozzy and she points to Ozzy to tell him it was him.
-Sarah asks if he wants to share with all of them and he does tell them he named Ozzy which makes Sandra smile, she figures they will all vote for Tai now.
-As Tai is going on about taking out the biggest guy, he can't compete with Ozzy - Zeke and Ozzy are conferring behind his back about voting for Tai - Sandra tells Andrea that she and Jeff will vote with them to take out Tai... Zeke asks Tai how they can trust him, Sarah says she doesn't know... and Ozzy is shooting sly looks at Sandra who is grinning like the cat that ate the canary... Finally Varner asks if they can just vote... and with that, it's
Time to vote:
Varner votes Tai - my goodness that was so dramatic
Sandra votes Tai - when you come after me I bury you, and the Queen stays Queen.
Tallying the Votes:
Tai - 1
Tai - 2
Sandra - 1 - that made her lose the grin.
Sandra - 2, 3, 4 - and the Queen is Dead... long live... is Zeke the new Queen? For the first time in 94 days of Survivor... he's about to snuff her torch and she says, "Don't do it Jeff, don't do it." But, it's inevitable, "the tribe has spoken." And they give Sandra a round of applause. She is gracious in defeat and wishes them all well, leaving with a smile and a wave.
So with the fall of the queen, that also takes out Linda S., Manny W., and Drew C.
Next week: Mana reaches their breaking point - and they show everyone crying (what the heck?) And alliances implode on Nuku with Sarah & Andrea irate, Varner sees an opening and goes after Ozzy.
Sandra's final thoughts: Jeff finally got to snuff her torch but she thought she did good for 16 days considering she is a two time winner. She loves Survivor and knows she has the life she does because of Survivor - There will never be another two time winner, except the Queen. (She could be right, who knows.)
Have a great rest of your week,
Coleen
No comments:
Post a Comment