The Amazing Race 29 - May 25/17 Episode Recap

As Easy As Stacking Cups

Last week, in Vietnam, we said goodbye to Team Fun when Floyd was overcome by heat exhaustion and couldn't continue - but now we're down to the final four who are competing to their spot in the finale.

Matt & Redmond were the first team heading out at 11:57pm and they read the clue that they are heading to Seoul, South Korea.  Once they land, they have to make their way to the Gang Nam District and search for their next clue - from the K-Pop girls. 
Matt & Redmond have only been beaten by Mom & Dad, so they hope that Tara & Joey go home this leg to make the final easier for them.
Scott & Brooke are inexplicably still there and she's being amazingly positive that they are going to make it to the finale. Admonishing Scott not to jinx it by talking about it.
Tara & Joey were able to persevere through the last leg which was definitely the hardest, they can keep it going.
London & Logan is the last team out and she is looking forward to getting her Gangnam style on.
Everyone is going to be together on the same flight.

Seoul, South Korea
-Flight lands and everyone runs for the cabs, except for the Boys - people have told them that the subway was the way to go... this could be a brilliant idea... or an epic mistake.
-The cabs are in traffic... but the Boys miss their connecting train... Noooo.

-Tara & Joey are the first team to the K-Pop girls and they get the clue to head by taxi to Hanyang University Olympic Gymnasium and search for their next clue.
-Scott & Brooke get the clue, followed closely by Logan & London... the boys are no where to be seen.

Olympic stadium and it full of tables with little kids... speed stacking cups. ROADBLOCK: Who stacks up?  Ho boy, this could be hard.  They have to complete a specific sequence of stacking and unstacking three cups, six cups, three cups - and get it done in less than 7 seconds to get their next clue (the record is less than 2sec.)
-Joey is going to do it for them.
-When Brooke & Scott get their she is so excited because she has a little cousin that does this and showed her how one time so Brooke is sure she has this - she wades in. (It's so weird to hear her say I can do this instead of wining that she can't... is that really Brooke? And then she is loud and shrill and oh yeah, that's her.)
-There is definitely a learning curve here.

GangNam District - the boys finally showed up and got the clue to head to the Olympic gym... but their cab driver takes them to the wrong University (WHAATT???)

-London & Logan get to the gym and Logan is going to do the cup stacking.  Brooke is almost there, and Joey's slowly getting faster.
-Brooke is the first one to make it in 7 seconds (What is happening here?  Is it opposite day?)
-Joey gets it right behind her and Mom & Dad head out too.  Logan was a quick study, he finished shortly after.

Brooke & Scott are first to the next task - where they have to Make Kimchi.
-Each team will have to make six servings of kimchi, which involved; mixing the spices then properly layering the spice rub throughout a head of cabbage. Once they got the okay it was prepared correctly, they had to pack it in ceramic jars and bury it in dirt. (Oh yeah, this one is nice and messy.)
-Brooke is being her crazy perfectionist self wanting to start the spice mix over because he put things in the wrong order (crazy lady, calm down, you're mixing it together, order doesn't matter.)
-Tara & Joey and London & Logan also get there and everyone is getting their Kimchi on and wondering what happened to the Boys... is it possible they are way ahead and already did this? Nope, their station is still clean & empty.

The Boys have finally made it to the cup stacking at the correct Olympic gym and Redmond is going to stacking some cups.

-The Kimchi's are being checked - each of the teams have to fix a few of the heads of cabbage but it's Mom & Dad that get theirs jarred and buried first - once they sampled some kimchi, they got their next clue. (I've never had it but I've heard it's an acquired taste.) Everyone is able to pretend it's good except London who's eyes nearly popped out of her head - ha!
-Everyone is heading to OGN Stadium to search for their next clue.

Redmond is still stacking cups... but he's almost there.  Once he gets the rhythm down, it's as easy as stacking cups.  And they are able to head for the Kimchi making.

OGN Stadium - all three teams get there at the same time and find it's another ROADBLOCK - Who's going to take control?  The person that didn't do the cup stacking will have to do this one... and it is playing a video game - Street Fighter V - against a master gamer.  They have to beat the master to get the next clue (Seriously? I'd be dead.) Oh, and they have a theatre audience watching and cheering them on, e-sports is a huge thing in Korea.
-Scott used to play this video game back in the day so he thinks he's got an edge over London who has never played and Tara who reverts to tech-phobic mom really quick here.
-They all just get trounced by the gamers - over and over again... but every 10 rounds they will get an advantage: first the gamer will have to start playing with one hand, then they will have to play blindfolded.  London is the first person to beat her blindfolded gamer, followed by Scott - and they get the clue to the PIT STOP: Gavit Some (a floating island/building on the river)  - they have to make their way to the rooftop and look for Phil at the mat.

Back at the gamer stadium - Tara is so completely unable to figure out the controls, she and Joey are getting mad at the gamer for not letting her win at this point (you just have to flail blindly, start pressing the buttons really, really fast... she's hopeless, the blind guy keeps kicking her butt.)  She was there so long that Matt & Redmond actually showed up.  She did not come all this way around the world to lose this race because of a video game - Joey would have happily kicked that gamer kids butt for real I think.

-Matt is diving right in to the video game playing but he doesn't do much better than anyone else did against the master gamer at first. 
-Tara is finally able to pull out a win against the blindfolded kid after 100's of matches. They head for the Pit Stop.
-Matt's gamer had to tie one hand behind his back and that's all Matt needed, he was able to win his match and they headed for the Pit Stop.

Here's How They Finished:
1) Brooke & Scott - (What is happening?) They have secured their spot in the final.
2) London & Logan - The polar opposites of Brooke & Scott - these teams were never in the top but they made it when it mattered.
3) Tara & Joey - That was her worst nightmare.
4) Matt & Redmond - **ELIMINATED** Well that was a shocker, these two were my favourite to win it all.  Taxis can so often prove the death of a good team, it's crazy.
-They were super bummed to go out that way, but super happy to have been partners and Redmond was proud of how he represented overcoming whatever obstacles you face in life.  (It was sad to see them go.)  So that took Bob L., Yvette S., Heather G. and Fraser G. out of the pool - so close guys.

Next week is the finale and they will be heading to Chicago for some race car action and Wrigley field baseball challenges.

Here is who is still in the running for our pool:
Brooke & Scott: Philip K., Elaine R., Andria S., and Cindi C.
London & Logan: Bernice W., Cara & Alex L., Robert L., and Kevin R.
Tara & Joey: Shane B., Susan N., Emily H., and Shelley A.

Good luck everybody!

Coleen




 

Survivor Game Changers Season Finale - May 24/17

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Okay everybody, it was three hours and I have to try and fit it all in and sleep tonight so here we go:

The show started out with six people still remaining in the game, and here are the people still in our pool with them:
Brad Culpepper: Elaine R., Bryon L., Coleen T.
Cirie Fields: Sophie S.B, Alexis G., Vikki Murray
Sarah Lacina: Julisa C., Mike L., Brandon L.
Tai Trang: Kim B., Andria S., Tori K.
Aubry Bracco: Roxanne S., Shelley A., Lee B.
Troyzan Robertson: Kim A., Krista H., Scott M.
Last week, Cirie tried to steal Sarah's vote by using the advantage that Sarah let her hold - Sarah, knowing full well it was non-transferrable set Cirie up and she fell for it, hook line and sinker. (Read the fine print Cirie).  Sarah ended up using her 'steal-a-vote' to get Michaela out.

Maku Maku - Night 35
We come back to fireworks at camp with Sarah angrily confronting Cirie, wanting to know who Cirie was referring to as a rat and Cirie came back at her wanting to know why Michaela had to go.  Well, Sarah felt betrayed by Cirie (as well she should) and so she took out her right hand man.  Cirie was playing damage control trying to tell her she was trying to save her by voting out Tai when Sarah wouldn't and Sarah does not believe that, Cirie messed up her plan for that advantage and could have screwed her whole game (but somehow, I think this is kind of what Sarah wanted to happen.)
-Cirie is the one who said no good deed goes unpunished because she has convinced herself she was actually trying to help Sarah... by stealing her advantage... (really?)  Cirie said Tai was the rat and tries to get Tai to corroborate her story about him targeting Sarah and Cirie telling him about the advantage but he straight out lies about it all. Of course Tai can't keep that up, when pushed he admits it all.  Sarah apologizes for not believing Cirie's story but the damage has been done, she knows she can't trust any of them (it is Survivor, you shouldn't be trusting anyone anyway.)

-Tai feels like he may have screwed up his game by trying to make a move on Sarah and having it blow up in his face - so he decides, in order to win back trust with Brad that he's going to tell him about his two immunity idols (WHAT?? NOOOO!)  Yup, that's what he does and immediately Brad is telling him not to tell anyone, and is going to manipulate Tai to do what he wants - before throwing him under the bus with his own idol. (Grr.)

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE # 1 - Day 36
There is a huge maze laid out with three puzzle piece stations hidden within - each person has to make their way through the maze, finding one bag of pieces at a time, bringing them out, then going back in - once they have all three bags, they can open them and get started on the compass rose puzzle.  First person to finish gets immunity and reward of an Italian dinner back at camp.
Off they go and, while it was not a blow out - Culpepper wins. (Great, as if he's not insufferable enough already)
-Brad also gets to choose two people to join him in the Reward, he chooses Troy with no hesitation and secondly... Sarah.  (Oh ho, that should have been pretty telling to Tai.)  Sarah is hoping to solidify her spot in the final especially after last Tribal she's not sure who is willing to work with her (I think you found your answer right there.)

Reward - While they are filling their faces, they agree to vote together and they agree that they should vote out Tai or Aubry.  Sarah says she thinks Aubry is more of a threat in the end and they agree, let's vote Aubry... but Brad throws in that he's going to make Tai play his idol... if he has one (oh, good save, sheesh.)

Brad comes back to camp guns blazing, at Tai. He sits him down and tells him what he's going to do, "We're voting out Aubry but you are going to play one of your idols for you and you are going to give me the other one because I don't want any funny business, do you understand?"  Tai does not like how he's being treated, he asks him if he's serious and Brad gets mad (like how dare you question me) Tai lost his control, his destiny lies with Brad now and he did it to himself.  (WTeverlovinF - I would have told him to go F&*^ himself)  but Tai is trying to get along, Brad's taken him to get the idols and shown them to Troyzan - then both guys are pressuring Tai to give an idol to Brad. I was proud of Tai, he said he had to think it through first and got out of there - so he didn't just give in... (I was so mad at Culpepper, he was so disrespectful to Tai it was pretty disgusting - every jock/bully stereotype proven right there.)  And Brad tells Troyzan after Tai leaves that he's not giving the idol back to him, he's going to vote him out next (ugh.)

Tai goes running to Aubry and tells her she has to help him, he tells her everything, that he has two idols and Brad is bullying him to give him one... but he wants to play with Aubry - she is leery but hopeful and then Cirie shows up and they clam up, no idol love for Cirie - she pleads her case to Tai that she is sorry about last tribal but if they want to have any chance of sticking around these three have to vote together - they rush her off and we're back to Tai crying and Aubry disbelieving that once again her game is in Tai's hands and he's having an emotional breakdown.

TRIBAL COUNCIL #1
Aubry says they concluded that Tai was the rat in their camp and Tai doesn't understand why all the heat was landing on him when this is a game of deceit and they have all been lying.
-Sarah and Brad both come at Tai, she says it's falling on Tai because he's not taking responsibility for his lies and Brad is just being a sanctimonious a-hole. (Can you tell I hate him now?)
-Jeff asked if Sarah was worried that the three that went on the reward would be viewed as a tight alliance - she says there are five people that are tight, meaning only Tai is on the outside (seriously? Sarah knows Tai has idols by the way, Troyzan told her, so I think she's just trying to egg him into playing one.) Plus, she still has the legacy advantage so they could all vote for her tonight, she's safe.
-Tai says people have tried to make deals with him and threatened him ... Brad rolled his eyes (I can't even) - Brad says buyer beware if you try to make a deal with Tai.

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

Tallying the votes:
Anyone want to play a hidden immunity idol?

Tai is the first to step forward... and he plays the blue idol for himself, then he pulls out the red idol and plays it for Aubry.  (Brad is not happy but the jury is loving it.) Any votes for Tai or Aubry will not count.
Then Sarah gets up and tells Jeff she is going to play the Legacy advantage - any votes for Sarah will not count.
And then Troyzan, "Jeff," and the jury can't contain themselves - oh yeah! "I want to get on the immunity train and be final five." He also plays his idol so any votes for Troyzan will not count.

This is unprecedented, of the six people left, five of them have immunity and that means that Cirie is the only person that could receive votes, and by default she is the one voted out (even though there were no votes actually cast for her.)  So, the first person to be voted out ever, without receiving actual votes is CIRIE.  That takes Sophie S.B, Alexis G., Vikki M. out of our pool.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE #2 - Day 37
There is a mouse trap type apparatus on each station, they will have to transfer balls on small paddles through the different obstacles on the table and deposit them at the end.  The first person to get three balls through wins Immunity.  I'm not even going to go over it, Culpepper's hand eye coordination made this a blow out - he got three balls through when no one else could even get one... and then he's crying saying that one was for Monica - (give me a break. At this point I'm rooting for him to lose and I have him in the pool.)

-Back at camp, Brad thinks and acts like he's king sh*t of the world, he lounges back in the hammock as Troyzan and Sarah attend him (I wouldn't have been surprised to see palm fronds fanning him) but they agree that it's Aubry going next because Troyzan says she would be harder to argue against than Tai at the end.
-Aubry's not just rolling over though, she's talking to Tai and Sarah and telling them if Brad wins immunity again he is taking Troyzan to the end with him, which only leaves one other spot open.  If they work together and take Troyzan out, that leaves two open spots in the final for them to vie for.
-Sarah then talks to Tai to see how they stand - she says she's had his back and that's why she was so hurt when he turned on her - he understands and says he thinks they should vote out Aubry.  Okay, that's easy, that's what she was going to do anyway...
Then Brad messes it up by being he-man asshat and grinding Tai under his heel again - "if I let you stay you have to assure me you are voting whatever I vote. It's not hard.  Do you understand that?" (He's not deaf or stupid you douche nozzle) So now Tai no longer wants to vote Aubry because that's what Brad wants, he tells Sarah they need to flip on him and vote Troyzan.

TRIBAL COUNCIL #2
Everybody's been pitching everybody - Aubry knows she's on the block tonight and she lays out her proposal, that Brad & Troyzan will be two of the spots in the final three if one of them (Brad) wins immunity tomorrow - to make their odds better, they should take out Troyzan tonight.
-Tai said he is taking this argument into consideration.
-Sarah says she has to consider who she is willing to put on the jury and who they want to sit next to - and it could be different for all three of them.
-Jeff polled them if there were people they thought they could not beat if they went to the final three and everyone says yes, there are people they could not win against - except Troyzan, who is delusional in thinking that he could beat anybody. (What are you doing?  Even the jury was like, huh?)

Time to Vote:
Aubry votes Troyzan
Troyzan votes Aubry

Tallying the votes:
You know there are no hidden immunity idols left after last tribal.

Votes:
Aubry - 1
Troyzan - 1
Aubry - 2, 3 - and it's Aubry joining the jury in fifth position - taking Roxanne S., Shelley A., Lee B. out of our pool.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE #3
(Um, Brad is wearing a burlap sack tunic... what up with that?)
-They have to race through an obstacle collecting rings of keys and bags of puzzle pieces, including having to run up a large staircase, untying the key ring and sliding down a large water slide.  Once they have all three bags they have to untie them and start on the lighthouse puzzle - once they get all the pieces until the last assembled, they have to use the numbered tiles to unlock a combination lock box to retrieve the last piece and complete the lighthouse.  First person to have the lighthouse completed wins the final individual immunity.
I'm not even going to bother, they all gave it the good ol'college try but Brad Culpepper won the final immunity as well.  Which means b-bye Tai.  Brad says, "It's good to be the king." (gag.)

Back at camp Troyzan wants to just tell Tai it's him tonight and Brad says no, this is his island, he wants Tai to think he has a glimmer of hope and then he's going to give him what he deserves. (He's acting like such a jerk.)
-Tai knows that Brad feels like he's wronged him and will take him out tonight so he proposes to Sarah that they vote together against Troyzan and force a tie and take their chances making fire.  Sarah says she has to consider it but she's not good at making fire.  Tai is good at fire and he thinks he can beat Troyzan at fire so it's more of a risk for Sarah.
-I just have to throw in an aside here - Tai has a big wound on his head through this whole scene - where did that come from?  There's a bump with a bleeding hole in the middle, what? I guess he usually has the buff on his head but ouch. (And later it's not there... hmmm.)

Anyway, this was all just a red herring - there is no fire making. 
TRIBAL COUNCIL #3 - TAI is the last person voted out making the final three Brad Culpepper, Troyzan and Sarah!  Meaning Kim B., Andria S., Tori K are out of the running in our pool.

Maku Maku - Day 39
Troyzan thinks he played a good social game - uh huh, keep telling yourself that.
Sarah made moves that other people were scared to make, she made moves she was scared to make. She played like a criminal but she will be honest tonight to the police of the jury and hopefully they'll reward her honesty.
Culpepper thinks he's king of the world - he doesn't need the money, he just desperately wants to win (Please, no.)

FINAL TRIBAL COUNCIL
Jeff tells us in this season of Game Changers they are going to change up how they conduct the final tribal this time. They are going to focus on the three tenants of Survivor: Outwit, Outplay, Outlast and have a more open discussion between the jury and the finalists.

Starting with Outwit - the social part of Survivor - Zeke volunteers to go first and acts as champion for Sarah - she borrowed his jacket on day three and when he was blindsided she wore it every tribal after like a bad ass. She was instrumental in getting Sierra voted out and did it so well that Sierra had no idea and still willed her the legacy advantage - she controlled the game and he wishes her the best.
-Andrea pipes up with the emotional argument that Sarah made personal connections and made them feel gross when they realized it was all fake.  Sarah tries to say that it was real but no one is buying that especially Ozzy & Debbie who laugh meanly. 
-Ozzy says why should they trust what she's saying to them right now.  She says she was willing to do whatever she had to do to be sitting where she is right now.  Ozzy says he's played the game longer than anyone else (and he has 128 days, Cirie was next at 121) and he knows that you don't have to go as low as she did to win this game. (I do not think she went that low, this sounds like crybaby stuff to me.)  Ozzy then comes out as the champion for Brad and his style of gameplay - to provide and win win win win, and not have to get his hands dirty (but that still doesn't get you the win, does it Ozzy?)
-Cirie said they voted out Sierra because she appeared to be the brains of the operation, what did Brad do?  He said he made friends with JT which made him spill the beans about the vote at the double tribal and he was able to save Sierra (I gotta say, for a lawyer, Brad didn't make very compelling arguments, it was almost like he was over it at this point - you know I'm the best, it's beneath me to have to entertain your petty questions... or he was just exhausted.)  He was impatient with Michaela's questioning, giving her a whatever wave off at the end - Cirie, "Wow." (I know, right?) Brad just looked defeated after that.
-Andrea wanted to know how Sarah was able to make the personal connections and stay above the emotional side - Sarah said when she played the first time, she played like real-life Sarah and it got her nowhere. Her family and friends gave her permission to open the floodgates and do what she had to do out there. 
-Aubry wanted to know specifically how she could differentiate between real Sarah and game Sarah - she said it was her training as a police officer undercover, she has to be able to become people she is not - drug user, prostitute, she can become those people and then shut it off, that's what she has to do for a living.
And then Debbie tries to prove she's got a big brain and pipes up about the ends justifying the means, name checking Machiavelli and Lady MacBeth, you know you want to win but at what cost?  (What is the cost Debbie?  You all signed up for this game, she played it better and she's not losing sleep, that blood washed right off those hands.) Debbie says she has zero respect for her or her game play and her vote is for Brad. (Wow, that is bitter Betty alright, Sarah took her out and she can't get over it.) Michaela doesn't understand the emotional reaction to Sarah, she voted her out because she was the only person who could beat Brad (he looked shocked at that) she didn't take it personally (exactly.)
Michaela also throws Troyzan a bone, but it doesn't matter what he said, they all thought he was carried along by Brad and did nothing. (Baaah. Goat.)
-Andrea asked Brad why he never tried to make connections with people in the bottom like Michaela or Tai.  He said he and Michaela were just like oil and water, they didn't mix for some reason and Tai, he must have done something right because he told him he had two idols and then Brad tried to do everything he could to make him uncomfortable to make him play an idol or give one up (you do not get to paint yourself in a good light on that...)
Tai does finally make Brad listen to him, "Do you realize how you talk to people?" He said he told him what to do, tried to control him and threaten him and Tai said no, he was going to control his own destiny.  Brad is still trying to spin this like he was trying to manipulate the game and his idols and it was Tai's choice not to go along with his (obviously superior) ideas.
Hali piped up, "Did you just say that you used condescension as a strategy to control Tai?" He flails around some more but it falls flat - I was just trying to make a deal but everything has a price and the price was the idol (really? You should just stop talking.)
Zeke brings it back to Sarah, this ship had one driver and that was Sarah, she always knew the right way to vote because she was directing the right way to vote.

Outplay - Ozzy took up the gauntlet here saying Brad took this physically, he won five individual immunities and sacrificed his body to make it there - Ozzy was never able to make it but Brad deserves to. You are the master of your own destiny... blah blah blah.  Debbie agrees that the other two would not be sitting there without Brad. 
Sarah tried to make a statement - Brad is a professional athlete - and he kept interrupting her, she and Michaela asked him to let her finish her statement (but they are just girls) - she made her point - she had to rely on the tools that she had, Sierra told her about the legacy advantage and now she had to vote Sierra out and still get her to will it to her, she had to make moves quickly.  The emotional day Cirie made it across the beam, Michaela was on the sit out bench and there was the steal-a-vote advantage right there at her feet - no one else saw it but Sarah's attention to detail served her well, and she ended up eliminating Michaela with that advantage. (No one knew where that came from until now) Michaela even thought that was bad ass.

Outlast - they got a last appeal to the jury.
-Brad didn't think you needed to deceive and lie to win the game. He developed relationships and things got flipped upside down, he had to rely on his physical abilities to keep him in the game but he got there and (I swear he almost yada yada yada'd - Brad is done.) anyway, it was on honour and privilege to play with all of you.
-Sarah, you have to strike first in this game, the reason these two are sitting here instead of any of you is because I truly believed you could beat me.  I just hope you can respect the game play and how hard it was to play with 20 people at such a high caliber and be one step ahead at all times. Because I was the one person that was in on every vote.  The training I have to adapt to situations to save my life at work, is the same training I used to save my life out here.
-Troyzan - he knows where he stands, he just wanted to tell them how much he appreciated all of them and enjoyed having this adventure with them. I'm out.

Then they voted:
Ozzy & Debbie voted for Brad.
Zeke & Michaela voted for Sarah.

And back in the CBS Studio Jeff reads all the votes:
Brad Culpepper has a horrible moustache (what's up with that?), Troyzan looked better with the beard and Sarah looked really good... but I digress:

Votes:
Sarah - 1
Culpepper - 1
Sarah - 2
Culpepper - 2, 3
Sarah - 3, 4, 5... and SARAH is the winner of Survivor Game Changers! Making Julisa C., Mike L., and Brandon L. the winners of our pool.  Congratulations to you all! 

Sarah ran away from Jeff to hug her family and he's trying to give her the cheque, Hello, a little matter to take care of?? Her husband takes the cheque.

I'm not going to go over the whole reunion part - it's late - I'm tired. 

Brad did apologize to Tai for his treatment of him out there, he said he needed a snickers or something but he was sick at watching himself and wants to make sure Tai knew he loved him - they hugged it out.

Zeke is doing very well after the Trans-Outing heard round the world - he's got a lot of love in his life and he's working with GLAAD and writing for LBGTQ organizations and magazines and he thanked Survivor and CBS for allowing him to tell his story on his own terms and thinks that should be the model for how trans-people are treated in the media going forward.
Varner has owned up to his mistakes and is doing alright (though he's looking a little rough, gained some weight) but he's also gotten a new job and has written a book about overcoming shame (it's not about you Jeff. Ha.)

Next season, they will be back in Fiji and will divide the three tribes based on the positive traits most associated with them: Heroes (Marine, Lifeguard), Healers (Surgeon, Therapist), Hustlers (I said pardon? In this case they mean people that work hard and stop at nothing to achieve their goals, and then we meet the PA and the Bellhop, okay.)  Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers

So there you have it, another season done and it was a pretty good one, I think.  Have a great summer everyone, I'll see you in the fall.


Coleen
















 

The Amazing Race 29 - May 18/17 Episode #2

Riding a Bike Is Like Riding a Bike

We are continuing in Vietnam with all five teams as the last leg was a non-elimination, which means Tara & Joey will face a Speed Bump this leg.

Scott & Brooke made up with London & Logan - well, London's so easy going she says she's already forgotten the ladder incident.  Scott is willing to be nice until it comes to winning the money - then anything goes.

Becca & Floyd are the first team out at 7:59am - they get the clue to head to the spectacular limestone mountains of Ninh Binh - they will have to take a bus and they are hoping that not everyone gets on the same bus so they can get some separation (all the teams leave within 48 minutes of each other.)

Becca & Floyd and Matt & Redmond are the only two teams that make the first bus which left at 9am.
London & Logan and Scott & Brooke made the 9:30am bus and were trying to bribe the bus driver to take off even though Tara & Joey were already there (apparently they all want to eliminate Mom & Dad this leg) but, much to their dismay, Tara & Joey do make the bus.

Ninh Binh - it's time to ride a bicycle to the Bich Dong Temple where they will have to pick up their Travelocity roaming gnome and get their next clue - this is also where Tara & Joey will face their Speed Bump.  Matt was hoping it would be a little cooler - but it is not, so buckle up for another day of sweaty miserable Brooke (and everyone else.)
Becca & Floyd are the first team to get the gnome and the clue to head to Thon Hai Nham to search for their next clue - which is the ROADBLOCK: Basket Case.  They have to load up a bike with the correct number of shrimp traps, then try to ride the balancing nightmare bike to deliver them to the fisherman and get their next clue.
 
-Floyd and Matt are going to be doing this one and they start out helping each other count the number of bundles of traps figuring they can keep their lead before the rest of the teams show up if they are cooperative.  The one problem though is that Matt is Superman and Floyd is not. 

The second bus has arrived in Ninh Binh and Brooke starts complaining even before they start riding about trying to ride with the backpack on her back, Scott doesn't even indulge her, "You'll have to balance."  Tara & Joey take off like a shot, London & Logan right behind and Scott dragging Brooke behind - she's crying and groaning, Scott, "Oh my god, you're not giving birth." (Seriously, and she's just riding a bike.)

Roadblock:
-Immediately Floyd has a problem trying to balance the heavy bike and with his traps falling off. He just keeps going figuring he can deliver what he has then go back and get the rest... unfortunately that is not what happens, when he has the wrong number, he has to take everything with him, get the traps he's missing and come back again... Matt gets it right the first try and he's off.  Becca is kicking herself for not doing this roadblock, she's used to riding a bike all the time, Floyd is not and it shows.

Bich Dong Temple - Tara & Joey get to their Speed Bump and find out they have to head to a local rice paddy and collect six dozen duck eggs to deliver to the farmer, before they can continue.  So they get their gnome and off they go.
London & Logan get their gnome and head for the Roadblock.
Scott has to play cheerleader/drill sergeant to get Brooke to stop crying and move her butt so they can get their gnome and take off for the Roadblock.

Roadblock: Matt gets back after helping Floyd pick up the bike but he knows as he saw all the dropped baskets that Floyd is not anywhere near done.  The Boys get the clue to head to Den Thai Vi Ben Thanh to get their next clue.

Speed Bump: Tara & Joey are searching for eggs in the thick foliage - seems to be going pretty quickly - but six dozen is a lot.  They don't give up though and get the okay to head back to the temple and pick up the clue to the Roadblock.

Roadblock: London & Logan get there and she is going to be doing this one (really? That bike gets really heavy and awkward with the baskets on it.) 
-Floyd has learned that he has to go back with all the baskets on the bike and pick up those he's lost - he's made an error in judgement, but he's Floyd, he'll get it done with a smile if he can.

Den Tahi Vi Ben Thanh - Matt & Redmond read that they have to row a boat like the locals do, with their feet, and deliver a tray of offerings to the traditional dragon boats which will give them their next clue.  Either one of them can do this, but with Redmond only having one leg, it does fall to Matt and it's crazy - how do you row a boat with your feet? (oh, the best part, is the Roaming Gnome got a traditional Vietnamese hat to protect him in the boat - it was so cute.) Of course Matt figures out how to row the boat and they get the clue to the Pit Stop: Hang Mau Peak - where they will have to climb almost 500 steps to meet Phil at the top (are you kidding me? I think they were trying to kill them in Vietnam.)

Roadblock - London is still loading her bike when Brooke & Scott get there and Scott just says he's doing it (Brooke can't even ride a regular bike, are you kidding me.)  Floyd finally comes back to pick up the dropped traps and Becca is still kicking herself.
-Scott had no problem with this task - he is a bigger guy so he was able to manhandle the bike and get the delivery done tout suite.  They head for the foot rowing... which Scott ended up doing and they were bickering loudly in the boat, you should have seen the poor local woman stuck with them, she couldn't understand why they were yelling at each other (I feel for you lady.)

Roadblock -London and Floyd start out together-ish and her bike starts falling over, she is yelling for Floyd to help her (uh, lady, if he could do this, he'd be done - Poor Floyd, he's so nice, he's trying to help her too.)  They get to the delivery area and, you guessed it, Floyd had lost traps again.  London gets her clue and he's got to go back again. Floyd is so exhausted though, he just feels like taking a nap, and he's still pretty positive (come on Floyd - you can do it!)
-Joey & Tara get there and Joey bangs this one out with no problem, he and London head back with the clues and Floyd has to find his dropped baskets.

Hang Mau Peak - Matt & Redmond realize they have to climb a million steps but there is no quit in these two - just got to get it done - first place here they come.

Foot Rowing - Tara & Joey get in the boat and she is trying to row with her feet, she says it's harder than giving birth.  Logan is trying to do it for them but he feels like he's too big, he can't even bend his legs enough not to get the oars caught on the seat.  Scott & Brooke have rec'd the clue to the Pit Stop.

Floyd finally delivered all the baskets and was able to get back to Becca - but when they tried to head out on the bikes he was just so physically exhausted and probably nearing heat stroke - that he fell off the bike.  Becca was initially exasperated but then it became apparent that he was really not able to continue and it got scary.  They had medics looking him over while he lay in the shade trying to recover.

Here's How They Finished:
1) Matt & Redmond - They won a trip to Costa Rica.
2) Scott & Brooke - (Oh sweet Jebus - please don't let them win.)
3) Tara & Joey - Yay, Mom & Dad overcame a Speed Bump and are still there.
4) London & Logan - Those stairs were killer especially after such a physically demanding leg.

Becca & Floyd - ** ELIMINATED ** He was medically unable to continue and she agreed that she wouldn't want him to hurt himself trying to keep going - Phil came and met them right there by the road had to tell them the bad news.  Floyd's undying positivity just ran him into the ground quite literally today.  They had the best time on the race and to share it with someone else who just wants to enjoy life is just the piece de resistance.

So, with Team Fun leaving us too soon, that takes Sandy G., Bryon L., Ozzy R., and Lee B. out of the pool.

Next week it looks like there is some cup stacking and some video game playing - as they fight it out for the final three.  It looks like the season finale is scheduled for June 1st - so still two episodes/weeks left.

Have a great long weekend everyone,

Coleen

The Amazing Race 29 - May 18/17 Episode #1

I Thought We Were Playing It Nice

Last week we said goodbye to Liz & Michael when they were U-Turned by Brooke & Scott - but Team Fun was able to survive the U-Turn and they have become Team Funstoppable!

This episode they begin still in Greece and the first clue sends them to the Corinth canal to recreate a Roadblock from Season 9 - where they have to bungee jump off a bridge at great heights (yuaaaah, no thanks.)
Tara & Joey are the first out and he is still pissed off at Brooke & Scott for being soulless schemers by U-Turning Mike & Liz when there was no reason to, they already had a speed bump, they were way in the back, "just heartless in his opinion."

There is really no urgency in this task because they are going to be heading to the airport right after and they will all be on the same flight to Hanoi, Vietnam.  However, the story that is fit to print is that Scott has to do this Roadblock and all he kept praying for in the cab on the way there was that it not be bungee jumping - of course that's what it is, and he is NOT HAPPY, (really, when are those two ever happy?)
Joey did it with no problem, even joked with the guys, "Is my hair still good?"
Matt did it with gusto, he's an adrenaline junky after-all... and then it made me wonder, could Redmond have done this one?  How would they hook up the bungee cord to a man with one leg?  Can you do it with one leg?  Alas, we don't find out because Matt also had to do this one.
Then we get to Scott and he's cursing "FOUR ROADBLOCKS AND THREE OF MINE ARE HEIGHTS! ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS? and shaking and crying... he won't let go, the guys running the thing were super patient with him, they've probably seen this before - but finally he goes, and screams the whole time - he tells us, "that was Horrible."
Logan and Becca also do the jump with no issues - a bunch of daredevils left except for the team we all love to hate.

Hanoi, Vietnam - once they land they have to make their way to a certain park and search for their next clue.  The order got totally turned around once they landed in Vietnam with Tara & Joey being the last team, and we find out that Joey's not feeling very well, Tara's not either but that could be a combo of lack of sleep on the plane and the fact that it's super hot and humid in Vietnam (you know what that means? A lot of cranky racers.)
-Becca & Floyd are the first team to the park and they have to figure out that the clue is being held by one of the ladies doing the fan dance exercising in the park - a few of the red fans have a yellow marker on them - they find the clue and Scott asks if they found it and Floyd tells him to look for a fan with a yellow stick on it (really? Oh, I guess they did get a key from Scott in the locked boxes of horrors detour, okay I guess.) 

-Brooke & Scott pay it forward a little bit at the park by telling London that the clue is on a person but not to look for the yellow stick (so magnanimous of her.)

-Becca & Floyd read the clue to make their way to the Buddhist temple, where they basically just have to pay their respects and get the clue to the DETOUR: Bamboo Climb or Window Design
In Bamboo Climb: teams must find one of three available marked ladders, then make their way through the busy streets to the designated apartment building.  Once there they have to maneuver the ladder up a very narrow stairway and retrieve a birdcage from the roof.  They then have to return the ladder and drop off the birdcage where they started (the trick here is the narrow stairway, think of Friends "Pivot", and how hot it is, running in the humidity, killer.)
In Window Design: teams have to pick up three mannequins, carry them through the streets to the designated store fronts, then dress them to match the reference picture.  Here it's the attention to detail and the fact that lack of sleep and not feeling well, doesn't help you read the clue correctly.

Everyone chooses Bamboo Climb, but there are only three ladders available.  Becca & Floyd grab the first one, Matt & Redmond next (though Scott did try and grab the ladder out of Matt's hands) and then Brooke & Scott get there but don't see the marked ladder (it was hanging above the rest so you had to climb up to get it) as they are bickering and milling about, London & Logan show up, she sees the ladder right away and starts climbing to get it - Scott yells at Brooke to climb up there and get it and they think that London & Logan should let them have it (Seriously? You snooze you lose.) So Scott is yelling at Brooke that it's all her fault they didn't get the ladder and since nothing is ever her fault, Brooke twists it so that she didn't get the ladder because Scott didn't hold the ladder for her to climb up (I hate them both - the rest of the episode, she is screeching at him about not holding the ladder.)  Anyway, they can't do this detour because there were only three ladders and they have to go find the mannequins - meanwhile Tara & Joey run by them and they don't say anything about all the ladders being gone, just keep fighting and let them find out for themselves. (Tara & Joey already dislike them, this did not help.)

Bamboo Climb:  Becca & Floyd risk life and limb running through the congested streets with a 15ft ladder - they get to the apartment building and actually figured out how to pivot the ladder up to the roof with a minimal amount of struggle.

Window Design: Brooke & Scott get to the mannequin shop and they are slick white mannequins that they have to carry through the streets as they fall apart and they are sweating like crazy - this would make anyone curse - so Brooke especially was insufferable.  They have to pick up a man, woman and child mannequin, which Brooke & Scott do.  Tara & Joey however, she misreads the clue and thinks they only need two mannequins so they grab the woman and child only (Nooooo!)

Bamboo Climb: Becca & Floyd get the birdcage and are heading down the narrow stairwell when Matt & Redmond are wanting to go up, so they are lucky because Matt has had moving experience and he is able to get their ladder down the stairs quickly so he and Redmond can go up (Is there nothing they can't do?  Answer, no.  The ladder even shifted when he was up getting the birdcage and I was thinking, where is their fall protection - oh yeah, Vietnam - but it didn't phase him.) They are back down and leaving when London & Logan show up. Much to London & Logan misfortune, they didn't have anyone to help them or anyone they could copy to figure out how to get the ladder up the stairs and it took them a while.
-Becca & Floyd were the first team to get the clue to the Pit Stop: Thong Nhat Park.

Window Design: Scott & Brooke - bicker bicker, complain, whine, screech, Arrghh! Just make it stop! At one point Brooke cried, "I need this to be over." (My sentiments exactly.)
Tara & Joey have such a better attitude and they get to the storefront first (since they had an easier time only carrying the two mannequins) but they kind of shrug off the missing man until they don't pass their inspection and re-read the clue - they have to head back and pick up the male. (So heartbreaking.)
-Scott & Brooke were able to get all their figures there and get the clue to the Pit Stop ahead of Tara & Joey but then their cab driver took them to the wrong park, and they cut it so it looked like maybe...

Here's How They Finished:
1) Becca & Floyd - Team Funstoppable! Won a trip to the Galapagos Islands (That would be so cool)
2) Matt & Redmond - Always the bridesmaids - Becca coins them Team Unboyleivable.
3) London & Logan - I'm feeling the love between these two... hmmm.
4) Brooke & Scott (BOO!)
5) Tara & Joey - and he collapses to his knees on the mat - not feeling well and then pushing himself in the sweltering heat all day.  Brooke seem genuinely concerned and Tara snaps at her, "oh, you care now?" Brooke is shocked, of course she cares about their physical health, (but, you are an insufferably horrible person) And Scott is incensed, this is a race for a million dollars, not a hundred dollars, of course they're going to be devious.

Oh, and it ends up being a NON-ELIMINATION leg so Mom & Dad are still in it, if Joey can get some hydration and sleep, they are very determined to not let Scott & Brooke beat them again.

Episode # 2 coming up.

Survivor Game Changers - May 17/17 Episode Recap

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Last week Sierra didn't survive trusting Sarah with the knowledge of her legacy advantage - Sarah wanted that advantage and she was able to make it happen because Sierra willed it to her after she left.  That Sarah is definitely playing to win this time.

Maku Maku - Night 32
Returning to camp Brad now knows that Michaela did not vote with them.  Also the other girls; Aubry, Andrea, Cirie and Michaela are discussing Sarah's performance for Sierra when she was voted off - she looked very confused and Aubry explains that she was acting to keep Sierra on her side. (We know it was to get the advantage and hopefully her vote on the jury - but who wouldn't have done that.)
-The rest of them are starting to realize how crafty Sarah actually is - this makes Andrea think they should be targeting Sarah... but Cirie is alright with her lying to everyone, makes it easier to beat her in the end. (Ah, not necessarily.)

Maku Maku - Day 33
Sarah gets the legacy advantage, her shocked look at tribal worked.  So Sarah now has two advantages, the steal-a-vote she found at one of the challenges when Michaela was too preoccupied being mad to realize there was a secret advantage at her feet, and now the Legacy advantage which will only be good as immunity now when there are six people left.  (I think there are currently 8 people there still.)
-Sarah, if she had her choice, would like to see Andrea go next, she cannot stand the girl - but it's also got to be the right time (see, the patience is key, not everyone has that virtue.)

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Day 33
This is an oldie but a goody - with one hand they will have to steady a wobbly table by holding a suspended handle.  On one side of the table is a stack of wooden "cards", on the other end they have to start building a house of cards that will be high enough to reach the red marker (a couple feet above their heads - they don't tell us how high it is.)  This challenge was last won by Cochrane in 17 minutes - Aubry comments that's her boyfriend and Jeff runs with it, "Do well here and maybe you can win his heart." (Survivor pimp?... oh, I guess I should say matchmaker :)). Anyway, people are going great guns on this house of cards, Aubry and Michaela are neck & neck when Michaela's drops, then other all start to drop their stacks - Andrea, Troyzan, Cirie, Brad, Michaela again - and have to start over but Aubry's structure is steady as a rock (I don't know how, her hand was shaking like a leaf) - she got to the point where she used all her cards but the stack wasn't high enough so she had to take some off and reconfigure - she still didn't lose her stack - and she ended up winning this challenge in a blazing, record-setting, six minutes!  Aubry wins her first individual immunity - and slams her body into Jeff hugging him (Hmm, who does she have a crush on?)

Back at camp: Aubry is on a high from her win, she's finally starting to build a resume (hmm, might be a little late at this point).  She's thinking that the time is nigh for Brad Culpepper to go home. 
-Aubry, Cirie, Andrea and Michaela are talking and confirming they are all on board to vote out Brad but Michaela just wants him to go fishing before he leaves because once he's gone, there will be no fish (wow, way to think with your stomach.)  Michaela actually volunteers to go find Brad, saying she's going to make sure he's not looking for a hidden immunity idol, and she tells him that he should go fishing.  The guy is gathering coconuts to feed them all and she has the nerve to suggest to him it would be good for him if he were to go fishing.  Brad doesn't see it that way, he feels like she's trying to blackmail him and he is not going to kowtow to some diva's demands.

Meanwhile Andrea is floating the idea of voting for Sarah to Aubry but she doesn't think the timing is right, she fully believes it's time to send Brad home.  So Andrea tries to work Cirie to vote out Sarah and Cirie sees right through her, she's having none of that.  Cirie goes to Sarah and tells her she thinks it's time for them to vote out Andrea (wait, what?)

TRIBAL COUNCIL (Yeah, there were two this episode)
-Aubry says she feels like they have a solid We this time.  Sarah concurs - if it ain't broke, why fix it.
-Cirie said there was no scrambling back at camp, it was unusual.  Andrea agrees that no one seemed to be scrambling - well no one talked to her anyway.
-Brad said he didn't talk to Andrea because he had written her name down twice but he talked to some of the other girls and maybe they'll realize that they can use the guys to make their move.
-Sarah says she thinks the jury will reward game play, Aubry thinks that she is underestimating the emotion that is involved when you get voted out.  Tai agrees that the jury would reward the best player and not vote for someone just because they're friends.  Andrea hopes they'll reward gameplay but it also depends on the manner in which you send those people off, don't rub salt in the wound by acting their friend all day, then voting them off.
-Blah blah blah... Brad hopes they wake up and don't wait to the end to get voted out - get that person at seven before you get got.

Time to vote:
Brad votes for Andrea

Tallying the votes:
No one plays a hidden immunity idol

Votes:
Andrea - 1
Brad - 1
Andrea - 2
Brad - 2
Andrea - 3, 4, 5... and It's ANDREA blindsided - she teasingly said, "Oh you..." to Cirie when she was leaving but then was choked up on her exit interview.  It was frustrating to go out on day 33, she thought she was playing a smarter game and she thought she had real relationships - but it's Survivor and you can't really trust anyone.
And with Andrea leaving, that takes Coleen T., Manny W., and Trish J. out of the pool. (Boo!)

Maku Maku - Night 33
Aubry is emotional when they get back to camp - she was riding the high of her first immunity win, and then her closest ally was killed off - figures, she seems to have really high highs and really low lows out there (whoa is me) Cirie half-heartedly asks if she's okay and of course Aubry isn't going to trust her now - it's only Tai who is big hearted enough to really console her and this makes Cirie suspicious of both of them now. (Oh come on.)

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Right back at it. (Day 35)
They will each be perched on a pole out in the water, on Jeff's go they will have to lower a bucket full of holes into the water and dry to pour the water down a chute, raising a key.  Once they are able to raise the key enough to reach, they have to grab it, swim back to shore, and unlock a bundle of puzzle pieces. They then had to use the puzzle pieces to solve a block puzzle (which looked really hard, the blocks were in weird shapes, there was a navigational star picture on it and they had to lower the pieces on posts to put the puzzle together - oof, tough.)

Off they go and Cirie can't even stand on the post, she's asking herself why she keeps doing this... and then Cirie's bucket gets stuck on the bottom of her ladder and she has to go down and free it when the other's are now jumping off with their keys.
Michaela is first back followed closely by Brad, Troyzan and Aubry.  This puzzle is not easy though and anyone could have won once they all got working on it.
Michaela thinks she has the puzzle done but it looks like a top and bottom piece were switched, when Jeff tells her she's not right she kicks the puzzle (in true Michaela fashion.)
-Brad is the next one to get the puzzle done and he actually had it right, BRAD wins individual immunity and celebrates angrily, "You're g*ddamn right! Pick somebody else people."

Cirie's got to recalculate what their move will be, and she's ready to take out somebody who is a threat to her.

Maku Maku - Day 35
Troyzan's taking his idol to tribal tonight (no one even remembers you're there, don't sweat it.)
-Tai is talking to Aubry about how he needs to start making some moves to prove to the jury he's worthy of winning game changers and the way he sees it, the biggest player out there is Sarah.  Aubry thinks he and Sarah are friends but Tai shakes his head.
-Aubry sees this as her chance to try and get Tai out of there because if she doesn't make a big move and fill out her resume she wouldn't be able to beat him anyway - so she goes to Cirie and tells her that Tai is targeting Sarah...and in true Survivor Telephone fashion, Cirie goes right to Sarah and tells her what Aubry said. 
-Sarah doesn't believe it, she trusts Tai over Aubry all day long and to prove that they can trust Tai, Sarah gives Cirie her Steal-A-Vote advantage to hold on to, so when she comes back after tonight's vote she can give it back to her and she'll know who she can trust.
-Cirie can't believe she can't get Sarah to use her advantage to save herself, she actually gave it to her - and you better believe she's going to play it (what???) She says she's going to use it to save Sarah and show her who was right. (Seriously?)
-The downside to Cirie's plan is that once she steals Sarah's vote and they vote for Tai, he has the option to play a hidden immunity idol and save himself - and Cirie's pretty sure he has an idol (oh does he - he still has two!) - So Cirie hatches the plan to try and convince Tai that she is going to use this advantage to save him so he won't play his immunity idol.  And she does a very convincing job, getting choked up about how this could put her in jeopardy if anyone were to find out... He's surprised, he didn't think his name was even in play tonight.  Tai is freaking out - why would she lie and make up this whole thing?  Should he play his idol? He's terrified.

TRIBAL COUNCIL
-Sarah said back at camp after Brad won immunity there was lots of sneaking around and lying going on.  She needs to get to the bottom of who was lying to her and who was telling her the truth and this vote should do that.
-Cirie agrees there are several lies and untrue stories going around and tonight is going to show where it's coming from.
-We have a totally paranoid tribal with everyone thinking everyone is lying, even when you tell the truth people knew you lied before so it can't be true and when you do someone a favour it's rarely returned... nothing much really said, just everyone is lying to everyone - that's Survivor.
-Michaela sums it up, is now the time to make a big move, make yourself a name, and risk going home next time or is now the time to be grateful for what you have, play for a week and make it to the end of this game.

When Jeff says it's time to vote, Cirie jumps in, "Jeff, there is a rat in this game and the person I save from this rat will thank me tomorrow.  So I want to use this advantage..." And Sarah is smiling, hmmm, Cirie is saying how she gets to steal a vote and she's going to steal Sarah's vote. 
-Sarah is all calm, cool and collected, "Um, actually, that is my advantage and I'm letting Cirie hold on to it, and it says it can't be stolen from me." (What???)  Cirie says it wasn't stolen, it was given to her... but then it also says the advantage is non-transferrable - and she is hooped! (Officer Sarah is one cagey lady, she knew what she was doing. WOW, that is fantastic!)
-Sarah jumps up and goes and whispers to Tai.  Then Cirie trying to do damage control whispers to Sarah she was going to vote out Tai and she can confirm that with Michaela if she doesn't believe her.  Michaela jumps up to corroborate and then Troyzan is trying to listen but Michaela tells him to jump back.  Brad is asking Tai what she said - Tai and Sarah and Cirie are whispering... and Aubry just pulls her buff over her face (I think that would be me).  Sarah finally just sits down and tells Jeff she is going to use the advantage and she's going to steal Tai's vote.  She's ready to vote.

Alrighty then, I guess it's Time to vote:
Aubry votes Tai
Cirie - they don't show us who she voted for but she laughs embarrassedly, "Should have read the fine print."
Michaela votes Tai - I don't know what she mumbled.

Tallying the votes:
No one plays a hidden immunity idol (Seriously? Tai, what are you doing?)

Votes:
Tai - 1
Tai - 2
Aubry - 1
Michaela - 1
Michaela - 2, 3, 4... MICHAELA is voted out. "I don't see how that makes sense Sarah but you do you, boo."  Wow, that totally backfired - how did Michaela end up voted out there??
And with Michaela leaving tonight, that takes Katie L., Susan N. and Becky G. out of the pool.

Next week (May 24th) is the two hour Season Finale - looks like Tai tells the boys about his hidden idols, Brad has no problem voting him out with his own idol and threatens Tai that his fate is in his hands and then Tai is crying that he lost control - (big bully, go pick on someone your own size.)

Michaela's final thoughts: I'm pretty bummed but excited that I made it to day 35.  It's been a wild experience you know it's a compliment to be voted out because people didn't think they could beat you. She may have to come back and play again to win the million dollars - and she gave a big grin and little laugh (like whatcha say producers?)

Here's who is still in the running:

Brad Culpepper: Elaine R., Bryon L., Coleen T.
Cirie Fields: Sophie S.B, Alexis G., Vikki Murray
Sarah Lacina: Julisa C., Mike L., Brandon L.
Tai Trang: Kim B., Andria S., Tori K.
Aubry Bracco: Roxanne S., Shelley A., Lee B.
Troyzan Robertson: Kim A., Krista H., Scott M.

Have a great long weekend everyone,

Coleen


 

The Amazing Race 29 - May 11/17 Episode Recap

Good Job, Donkey

Last leg in Venice, Matt & Redmond finally came in first place and Liz & Michael came in last but it was a non-elimination round so they will face a Speed Bump on this leg.

The Boys get the clue that they are heading to Greece... and they hit us with some Dad humour (well, Mary Poppins humour actually, this joke was in that movie):
Matt: A couple weeks ago I met this guy with a carbon fiber leg named Redmond. 
Redmond: What was the name of his other leg? (Ba hum cha!)
These two are having the time of their lives.
-Floyd & Becca are right behind them and also a team that has clicked from the beginning, still Team Fun, still upbeat and loving life.
-Tara & Joey, Mom & Dad are also having a great race, no drama, just getting 'er done.
-Then we come to Scott & Brooke, the team you love to hate.  He is still needling her at every chance he gets because she just makes it so darn easy. Scott: Maybe we'll go to Marathon and have to run.
Brooke: Oh yeah, cause this team is made for running, she screeches.  I think they would happily strangle each other in their sleep if it wouldn't take them out of the race.
-Oh yeah, London & Logan - these two are so vanilla, I actually keep forgetting about them - he keeps his cool, she keeps her cool and that's about it.
-Finally Liz & Michael - the bearded wonder and his little cowgirl sidekick - no one can say they aren't colourful and fun to watch... when he's not being a stubborn dumb@ss.

So they are all on the same flight to Bari, Italy where they will board a ferry for the 16 hour ferry ride across the Mediterranean Sea to Patras, Greece. They will then have to drive themselves over 100 miles to the small mountain village of Arahova where they will hit a traditional Greek Wedding and face the last of the double U-Turns.  (Oof, it seems like there were a lot of U-Turns in this season.)
-But the first hurdle they have to overcome is the self-drive, which has been Mike & Liz's downfall on many a leg so far- and this one was no different.  However, they were staying with the pack until Mike turned left and everyone else turned right... instead of stopping and turning around, he refused to backtrack and stubbornly insisted that they were going to loop back around - it would be fine... they ended up driving up a mountain in the wrong direction - I would have lost my mind, but I think Liz is just beyond arguing with him when he gets like that.
-This drive proved a huge issue for Becca & Floyd as well, they were lost from the moment they got in the car - to their credit they stayed positive, I don't know how, but they did.

Tara & Joey were the first team to the wedding and they join in the dancing - not noticing that the actual cluebox and U-Turn board were across the street until Scott & Brooke show up and he's yelling at her to get over there.  Matt & Redmond are there at this point too and all three teams hit the U-Turn board - Scott & Brooke U-Turn Mike & Liz (well, that was kind of kicking them while they are down) - so Tara & Joey decide to U-Turn Team Fun in the hopes of giving their friends Mike & Liz a bit of a fighting chance.

-These three teams read the clue to the DETOUR: For the Bride or For the Groom.
In For the Bride: They have to deliver two big tins of sheep's milk carried by a donkey, to two specialty cheese makers, exchange the milk for cheese and deliver it to the bride to get the next clue.
In For the Groom: They will have to take part in a sporting contest racing up 252 steps past the church of St George, to a shepherd a the top who will give them the gift for the groom (which is a live goat.)  Both detours deal with live animals, that can be challenging in and of itself.

Everyone chooses For the Bride (of course, who wants to race up stairs?) and they take off looking for the donkeys.

By the way, Floyd & Becca haven't even crossed the bridge yet which was at the very beginning of the drive and Mike & Liz are still driving up a mountain somewhere, he's still refusing to turn around and it's her fault, "We don't know which way we came because you can't read that map." (Um, you just came from there - duh.)

Detour: The donkey's weren't that bad, they knew what they were there for.  They all got the cheese relatively easily and headed back to the wedding.

-London & Logan got to the U-Turn board and were relieved to see they weren't U-Turned but surprised to see that Becca & Floyd were U-Turned, "How can you U-Turn Team Fun?"  They also choose For the Bride.

Tara & Joey were the first team to get the clue from the bride in the form of a plate they had to smash on the ground (OPA!) inside the shattered plate was the clue - to drive themselves to Panathenaic Stadium in the city of Athens to get their next clue.

-Floyd & Becca and Mike & Liz are still lost and driving... yikes.

Athens - Tara & Joey get to the stadium and have to run one lap around the track to get their next clue (seriously? Sure it was the site of the first Olympic games... but running more, come on - yeah, I wouldn't do well on this race haha.) - the clue tells them to make their way on foot to Zappeion and search for their next clue (sheesh.)
Matt & Redmond and Brooke & Scott get to the stadium and see that Liz & Mike's Speed bump is there (just to add insult to injury) - they get to running. 

Meanwhile, Mike & Liz have finally made it to the wedding and see that they were U-Turned by Scott & Brooke - and they were super bitter!  Mike doesn't let anything go ever, and Liz was right there with him - (Bitter Betty, party of two?)  They start with For the Bride with Mike ranting about how he helped Becca with her ladel - this was just a slap in the face (Get over it already, they are not there to win you a million dollars.)
-Floyd & Becca finally show up at the wedding too and were shocked to see that they had been U-Turned - Becca: We're Team Fun? Who wants to U-Turn Team Fun? (Ha, people who want to beat you to a million dollars.)  They start with For the Bride as well and name their donkey Speedy McSpeederson.

Mike & Liz deliver their cheese to the bride and run into Floyd & Becca heading for the other Detour - they are elated to realize that they are still in this and griping stops with new hope. 

ROADBLOCK: Step in Time.  They have to learn a precise changing of the guard routine... ooooh, dressed up in the cute guard uniform; puffy shirt, skirt, vest, little hat, pom poms on the shoes - it was awesome.  Tara & Joey are the first to the cluebox and, being military, she is doing this one, she had to learn drill and ceremony in the US army, though nothing like this.
-Matt has to do this one because Redmond has already done his quota of Roadblocks (huh, really?)
-Brooke is doing this one too, and she just wants to pee - but first, dress up and learn how to do the Greek changing of the guards.

Detour: Mike & Liz get to the For the Groom side of the detour and it does NOT look fun - the local guy starts sprinting up the stairs and I thought Mike was going to have a jammer part way up - he had to stop and they had to take it slower up to the shepherd - he gives Liz a baby goat across her shoulders and they start back down the stairs (hmmm, just one goat?)  When they get back to the wedding, the bride tells them they have to go get another goat - yup, they didn't read the clue, they were both supposed to bring a goat.
-Becca & Floyd get a goat and a lamb (I guess two animals works) on their first shot and head for Athens.  Mike & Liz had to run up the stairs again, get the second goat... oh, I felt bad for them - so ended up both teams heading out about the same time.

Roadblock: Tara, Mike and even Brooke all look fantastic in the costumes and learn the routine relatively easily - they had to mirror a soldier that did the routine with them, I think that might have made it easier (or they just edited it so it didn't look like it took that long.)

Tara was the first to finish and they got the clue to the PIT STOP: the Acropolis - they head out on foot.
London & Logan get to the Roadblock and she bangs it out.

Stadium - Becca & Floyd get there just ahead of Liz & Mike and celebrate when they see the Speed Bump board - they get to running their lap.
Liz & Mike have to go do a butchery challenge - wrapping a skewer of organs with intestines - Liz is grossed out but Mike is in his element - it goes quickly.  Then back to run the stadium to run their lap.

Roadblock: Becca is stepping in time - just like marching band, channel your inner Floyd (maybe she had to do this one.)
And when Mike & Liz get there she is going to be doing this one too - I think she did marching band in high school too.

Here is How They Finished:
1) Tara & Joey - they won $7500 each!  Score!
2) Matt & Redmond - they passed Scott & Brooke who got lost trying to find the Pit Stop on foot.
3) Brooke & Scott - Phil asked them about the U-Turn - Scott felt they had to push another team down to make sure they were able to stay (bully).
4) London & Logan - this was their best finish to date.
5) Becca & Floyd - are they ever happy to see Phil and hear they are still in the Race.
6) Liz & Michael - ** ELIMINATED ** They accepted defeat with dignity and hopefully a life-long friendship - they feel like brother & sister, even fight like siblings - they had a once in a lifetime experience and were very grateful. (Aww, I'm going to miss Red Beard and the Cowgirl.)

So, with Liz & Michael leaving, that takes Roxanne S., Laura W., Denise R., and Lindsay J. out of the pool.

Next week: it's a two hour episode (oh man) and they are heading to Hanoi, Vietnam - there will be bungee jumping and Brooke falling to pieces (so like every other leg.) :)

Have a great weekend everyone,

Coleen









 

Survivor Game Changers - May 10/17 Episode Recap

It Is Not a High Without a Low

Last week the newly formed majority of six quickly turned on their own and voted out Zeke much to Michaela and Sarah's dismay.

Maku Maku - Night 29
Back at camp Tai confirms that all the majority five voted for Zeke which means the three he thought were with him all wrote his name down.  Cirie, Sarah & Michaela are talking and they think that Tai could be a number they can use because of that fact... and they want to break up Sierra & Brad next so Culpepper is their next target.

Maku Maku - Day 30
Sierra feels like she got burned by Sarah who has been her best friend out there but, in a bid to win back her favour, Sierra reveals to Sarah that she has the legacy advantage which is an immunity idol that is only good for when there are six people left... and if she doesn't make it to six Sarah will get a nice little gift as Sierra has to will it to someone.  Sarah sees this as a reason to keep Sierra around, she is willing to work with her and share info with her (but she really just gave you a reason to slit her throat and take her treasure... or is it just me?) Sarah says Brad's game is over (huh, okay, maybe just me.)

Day 30 - Reward challenge
The winners of the challenge will have a good, old fashioned BBQ... and it's crying time because today they are playing for their loved ones.  Jeff no sooner gets those words out than Sarah starts a keening wale and crumples to the ground (holy carp lady, hold it together) but that is just the beginning because they all blubber through the loved ones parade:
Sarah's husband Wyatt - is a cutey-patooty. (Um, did we know she was married, let alone a mother, apparently she has a son as well.) Sarah really is playing this game close to the vest.
Andrea's mom Linda - reveals more than she'd like I think when she reveals that Andrea lost her sister who had encouraged her to apply for Survivor initially. (Huh, what else will we learn today?)
Aubry's sister Carrie - meh, they hug, unconditional love - yeah yeah.
Sierra's dad Dan - Dad gives some advice about keeping thick skinned and climbing the mountain- yawn.
Michaela's mom Candy - she is so cute and shocked to see Michaela crying - Michaela is just so proud to have been able to get her mom a vacation to Fiji it seems.
Troyzan's brother Todd - (Troy & Todd, their parents weren't too imaginative with the names) but they were very affectionate, Troyzan is one of six kids and they are all very close.
Tai's love of his life - Mark - Awww, they kiss and hug, then Tai asks how the cats are doing (checking on the kids) they were cute.
Culpepper's wife Monica - She looks really good when she's not starving - and Brad runs over to hug her - and he tells her he finally realizes how hard it was for her (ugh, for some reason they annoy me.)
Cirie's youngest son Jared - she missed his high school graduation to be out there - and he is so handsome.  They have a very close relationship, he can talk to her about anything - and they made me cry but I think it was because they were just so happy to see each other, it was sweet.

So finally the challenge - the Survivors will be divided into three teams of three - they will be tethered together at the waist and then have to get through a series of obstacles (over a barrier, under a half buried log), then unbraid a rope to release a key and use the key to open a chest full of sandbags,  then throw the sandbags to clear all stacked blocks off a table - first triplet to clear the blocks wins the reward of the BBQ with their loved ones back at camp.

Teams were:
Brad, Aubry & Andrea
Cirie, Troyzan & Sierra
Tai, Sarah, Michaela  - At first blush I thought this team would win easily, they all seemed super motivated to spend more time with their loved ones but then I underestimated the power of the Culpepper - Andrea, Aubry and him were able to dig under that log quicker than anyone else and that made a huge difference - but then the quarterback was able to easily throw the sandbags to clear the table before any of the other teams even got to that point.

So Culpepper, Aubry & Andrea win... and they get to choose another person and their loved one to share with them - Andrea says Cirie and she is crying that everyone can't join them... well Jeff tells them they get to choose one more (which is like torture at this point, they are all begging for it to be them) and they choose Sarah.  Let me tell you, Michaela was mad, and there was no hiding it.

They show Andrea dismissing how upset Michaela was, "She's smart, she knows it's a game.  We'll give Michaela a day and she'll be back on track." (Really? it was a little gross how condescending it was - Seems Andrea is getting a little big for her britches.)

Day 30 - Back at camp the loved ones are getting their feed on and having the Survivor experience - Brad is strategizing with Monica - she tells him that Michaela is ripe to flip since she was so mad not having been chosen to partake in the reward.  Brad hopes that Sierra & Troyzan are working on Michaela to get her to vote with them, but Brad also knows that he has to win immunity if he wants to stick around.

Maku Maku - Day 30
Michaela is talking to Tai in the water - she feels like she's on the bottom, no one cared about her and her mother and Tai is the same, he's got no one out there either so they agree that they will stick together.  Sierra & Troyzan move in to bring these two back in the fold so they will now have the majority and they are going to target Andrea to go. 
-Michaela feels like she has put herself and Tai in a great position to vote either with the group that votes Andrea or the group that votes Brad - at the end of the day it's about Michaela doing what is best for Michaela. (Exactly.)

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
They will have to balance on a narrow beam and hold a buoy between two sticks (ball with two divots in the sides) - if at any time they drop the buoy or they lose their balance, they are out.  Last person standing wins immunity.
Once they get going they quickly start dropping like flies Aubry drops her ball, followed by Sierra then Andrea and Sarah, Cirie, Troyzan and they are down to three - Michaela, Culpepper and Tai.
-In the end, Michaela lost it, Tai lost it and Brad was able to dig deep and pull this one out - Culpepper wins Immunity - his first individual immunity win in all the time he's played, huh.

Maku Maku - Day 32
So with Brad now having immunity Andrea tells her people to vote for Sierra.  Tai is saying he is with them and will vote how they want - but he is with Michaela, and they are thinking that they should vote Andrea with the other group tonight.
-Michaela & Tai tell Sierra that the Andrea group is voting for her tonight but they assure her that they are going to vote Andrea with her - she's terrified.
-Aubry tells Sarah that they are voting Sierra and Sarah has no hesitation, she is all in for that - because she wants that legacy advantage (ah, there it is!) Sarah goes to solidify that she and Sierra are still good so that she will still will her the advantage when she leaves and Sarah tells the camera, "This is not about making friends," (ah, she's not there to make friends, one of my favourite tropes.)
-Sierra shares with Sarah that Michaela and Tai are voting together and are voting Andrea tonight but this is not what Sarah wants, she needs them to help her vote Sierra out.
-So Sarah goes to Michaela and tells her that Sierra has the legacy advantage which is essentially a hidden immunity idol, and they have to get her out.  Michaela doesn't like this complication but seems to flip pretty quickly to Sarah's way of thinking.  Of course she tells us she is still deciding what she's really going to do tonight.

TRIBAL COUNCIL
We start talking about the loved one reward and Sierra points out that she, Troyzan, Tai and Michaela just happened to be the four that were left out of the Reward last time too - so this just gave them the opportunity to get closer and figure out if they want to move forward in the game together.
-Brad did win his first immunity but he can't even revel in it because it doesn't help the four on the bottom only himself (ugh, really - I'm not buying his selfless non-leader shtick).
-Sierra said she didn't worry about who won immunity she was just worried about herself (that I believe to a point - she was also glad that Andrea didn't win) - she just wants them to see her as a non-threatening vote and points out that Andrea is a bigger threat.
-Andrea downplays her immunity wins and points out that if the underdogs "sneak by" and get to the end, they have a great chance at winning the game. (She's acting like she's the boss, if she lets them sneak by, really?  Hubris goeth before the fall.)
-Aubry talked a couple times but I just hear Charlie Brown adults - wha wah wha... she never says anything of any consequence.
-Sarah says she hopes they have a solid group right now but you never know in this game, has the deck reshuffled? (While you were eating steak with your loved ones? Probably.)
-Jeff asks Michaela if saying you are in a group is the kiss of death - if you are in the We should you be worried? She says that you have to be careful that the big W doesn't turn upside down and become a Me - then you might not have been in the we to begin with and you got to get out before it bites you. (Jeff loved the W turning upside down and even does it with his fingers... Whatever - I'm bored with this, let's vote.)
-Sierra and Andrea both know they are the names on the block and they are hoping the people they talked to today stay true with their word... but then they both talked to the same people so someone was being lied to... let's find out who. (It's like there can be only one blond!)

Time to Vote:
Andrea votes Sierra - It's either you or me girl.
Sierra votes Andrea - I hope I'm part of the real We.

No one plays a hidden immunity idol.

Votes:
Sierra - 1
Andrea - 1
Sierra - 2
Andrea - 2
Sierra - 3
Andrea - 3
Sierra - 4, 5... and it's SIERRA voted out tonight.  Sarah looks at her like she's expecting that advantage but Sierra walks off into the night.  Oh, but Sierra does will the legacy advantage to Sarah (I guess they'll give it to her later so not everyone knows about it) saying she hopes that Sarah didn't vote for her tonight, she was the only one true to her (oh, you poor thing, no she wasn't) and she hopes that Sarah makes it to six and does something great with it.

With Sierra leaving, that takes: Lois L., Fraser G. and Elliot L. out of the pool.

Next week:
Tensions are high - looks like Michaela is trying to push Brad around and he's not having it - then Cirie is hatching a plan with Tai... ooh, could be good.

Sierra's final thoughts: she thought she was part of the We and she was not - she got too comfortable but she is proud of the game she played. (Snore).

Have a great rest of your week everyone,

Coleen


 

The Amazing Race 29 - May 4/17 Episode Recap

Have Fun and Get It Done

Last week the teams all ganged up at the U-Turn and took out the oddball team of Vanck & Ashton.

This leg they remained in Italy - Becca & Floyd were the first team out at 3:07am and they got the clue to head to Venice, Italy.  There will be two buses at 4:15 and 4:30am so everyone will be pretty close together.  Becca said now it will be a race to keep Tara & Joey at the bottom (oh are they the new target, these teams are feeling very high school cliquish.)

This is a four hour bus ride and it's more of a van... Scott is finding this race challenging having a partner with a glass half empty attitude - he knows anything slightly negative he may say would just send her spiralling so he's got to stay positive to survive.

First bus arrives in Venice and they immediately are on water taxi's heading for the Piazza San Marco. Tara knows that the spazzino they need to find is a local street sweeper in green, everyone else will have to notice the small red & yellow marker on his broom.

Tara & Joey are the first team to get the clue to the DETOUR: Sing it or Bring it.
In Sing it, teams had to dress as gondoliers (yay! I love it when they have to dress up) and practice a traditional Italian serenade, when ready they had to perform the song on board a gondola tour along Grand Canal. If the mandolin player is satisfied with their notes correctly, he will give them their the next clue.
In Bring it, teams had to work as porters and pick up a dolly of suitcases to the name of the hotel onto the suitcase's tag, then carry them through the stairs and narrow alleys of Venice to Ca' Nigra Lagoon Resort. Once all the suitcases delivered to the hotel's porter, he will give them their next clue.

Tara & Joey decide to do Bring it and head out on foot but get pretty lost looking for the suitcases.
Becca & Floyd - after asking a local what the spazzino was, got the clue and decided to Sing it (of course, they are team fun and who doesn't want to dress up?)
Matt & Redmond are bringing it all day long and take a water taxi straight to the task, load up their cart - complain about how heavy it is (there were a lot of bags) but still bang it out like it was nothing, up and down stairs, through narrow alleys, no problem.

Second bus of teams arrive and Logan & London get the clue from the street sweeper right away, no one saw them get it and when Michael called out to them to ask if they found the clue, they didn't answer - Michael took this snub very personally, he will not be helping them anymore (as you shouldn't be there are only six teams left.)
London & Logan are going to do Bring it and they run into Brooke & Scott still looking for the clue, don't help them either - oops, sorry, not sorry.
Liz & Michael and Brooke & Scott are also going to Sing It.  Both of these teams are done with Team Lolo after their shadiness with the clue misdirection.

Bring it - oh, the boys have to put on a porter outfit, which is just a navy vest, not half as fun as the gondolier red & white striped shirts and flat hats.  Matt & Redmond get to work while Tara & Joey and London & Logan are still trying to find the place on foot.

Sing It - Becca & Floyd look so cute - and they jump right in trying to learn the song, at least they will be able to read it - their main issue is singing it together and they do have to take quite a few shots at it. Their enthusiasm is much better than their voices.

Bring It - Tara & Joey finally find the luggage just ahead of London & Logan, and this is a very physical challenge - there is luggage falling everywhere - lots of stairs and bridges... I would die.

Sing It -Liz & Michael had surprisingly pleasant voices and they did well with the song in practice, it takes all of them quite a few tries to get the mandolin players approval.
-Brooke & Scott - she, of course, complained she couldn't learn it being able to hear Liz & Michael singing but once they headed out she could concentrate.  Scott & Brooke sound pretty good too - but they have to make a couple attempts.

Matt & Redmond are the first team to deliver the luggage and they get the clue to head to the Roadblock - Matt whistled for a taxi and a boat pulled over for them - Redmond thought that was the coolest thing. They are the first team to the ROADBLOCK: Who has masked intentions?
One team member must choose an actor from a Venetian masquerade performance, Commedia dell'arte, and paint exact copy of their mask. If they can successfully recreate it to the satisfaction of the artist, they would be given their next clue.
-Redmond is doing this one and since he's there by himself, he takes the time to watch the demonstration and see how the colour goes on first, then overlay the black and wipe it off to blend before adding the details.

The other teams start finishing the tasks and it's an issue for some to find water taxi's to head to the Roadblock - water or road, those darn taxi's can make or break your race.  There is lots of Brooke's complaining, Logan & London are able to beg a shared ride with a family heading to the airport.

Roadblock: Redmond finishes his mask and gets the clue to head to the PIT STOP (Campo San Vio) just as Tara & Joey show up.  Tara is going to do this one even though she doesn't enjoy painting - and she doesn't watch the demonstration which was a mistake.
-Floyd shows up and he is a very good student, watching the demo carefully and following the steps exactly - he does a great job.
-Mike & Liz show up and she is so excited - she LOVES TO PAINT - but also doesn't watch the demo like she should have but in her case it was because she thought she already knew how to do it - mistake.

Outside Mike is complaining to Joey about London & Logan not helping them find the clue - he really needs to let it go - Mike has an issue with holding on to every slight.

-London & Logan get there and our resident artist, London, is doing the Painting.  Logan might have felt it a little frosty waiting outside with Mike.
-Brooke & Scott are the last team there and he's getting Brooke to do this one (really?) Inside she is immediately whining, asking how to do it - she is annoying and Liz tells the camera she just needs to put on her big girl panties and get it done (Amen!)
-Tara does not pass her first inspection and has to start her mask over, because it was not blended - she watches the demo this time and Floyd also tells her about the wiping off part as he's leaving with the clue to the Pit Stop.
-Liz wasn't doing it right and London knew that but she couldn't help her, she's in ruthless mode at this point in the race.  And Liz fails her first attempt, she's got to do it again and the burn there is that Brooke ends up finishing before her which was totally demoralizing to Liz.

Here's How They Finished:
1) Matt & Redmond - they won a trip to Granada - but for them their first first place was the sweetest reward.
2) Becca & Floyd
3) Tara & Joey - She just wants to have fun and get it done.
4) Brooke & Scott
5) London & Logan
6) Liz & Michael - **NON-ELIMINATION** She just didn't want to let her partner down and was very emotional that they still had a chance - though they will face a Speed Bump next leg.

So no one went home and Roxanne S., Laura W., Denise R., and Lindsay J. got a reprieve this leg.

Next week they are heading to Greece - Micheal & Liz get lost on a self-drive and there is yet another double U-Turn (holy carp, that's a lot of U-Turns.)

Have a great weekend everyone,

Coleen


 

Survivor Game Changers - May 3/17 Episode Recap

Reinventing How This Game is Played

Last week Sarah flipped on the "rock solid" alliance of six and took out Debbie, who's overconfidence proved her undoing (as it probably usually does.)

Maku Maku - Night 26
Back at camp, Brad's in shock and Sarah can't take the quiet I guess, she tells them all she was the one that flipped (why would you announce it like that? Seemed weird to me.) Anyway, she made herself available to talk to anyone who wanted to and no one took her up on it, Sierra just asked why they targeted Debbie and Zeke said it was because she seemed to be the one in charge (really? Or was that just a dig, Sierra thinks she's in charge.)  Oh, Sarah wanted it to be known that she made the game changing move... I get it.

The new six alliance, though tentative because Zeke & Andrea still can't stand each other, agree that they need to stick together at this point in order to keep the control away from Brad & Sierra.

REWARD CHALLENGE - Day 27
The players were divided into two teams of five; three teammates, one at a time, raced through a series of obstacles to a chair, where four other tribemates used a pulley system to lift them across a vertical structure to retrieve ten puzzle pieces. Once all thirty pieces were retrieved, three teammates used them to solve a word puzzle. The first tribe to solve the puzzle would be taken by helicopter to a luxury resort where they would have food (including cheesecake) and be able to stay overnight, sleeping in an actual bed, (Ah, that would be heaven after 27 days out there I think.)

Teams: Andrea, Aubry, Brad, Sarah & Zeke vs Troyzan, Micheala, Tai, Cirie & Sierra

This all came down to the word puzzle - it was a long phrase and not something common to the show: Reinventing How This Game is Played.  It took almost an hour but finally Andrea & Zeke pulled it out and won the reward with Aubry, Brad & Sarah.

REWARD
-Helicopter to the resort, it was beautiful and they show up all dirty and gross - but they get to gorging on the food and Zeke & Brad are talking football.  Andrea is surprised that Zeke would openly consort with the enemy, she doesn't trust Zeke and even more now is worried he'll try to make a move with Brad.

Maku Maku - Day 28
Sierra, Tai & Troyzan are feeling very uneasy with their new positions - she's hoping to be able to find a way in with the majority - Tai & Troyzan both have hidden immunity idols but no one knows that but themselves - they just agree to tell the other if their names come up (heads up is always a good thing.)

Rewarders return and Aubry is also worried that Zeke had time to bond with Brad on the reward.  But first thing we see is Andrea ensconced with Cirie in the hammock floating the idea that they take out Zeke which will still give them a one person majority over the other four. Cirie is down with this plan, she's played four times and Zeke still knows this game better than her, so she wants him out - now she has to carefully approach officer Sarah and see how she feels.
-Sarah doesn't want to take Zeke out yet, she reveals to Cirie that she has the 'steal a vote' advantage and she can use that to take Zeke out once they are down to the six.  Sarah thinks she's reassured Cirie and brought her around to sticking with taking Sierra out this time - but I'm not so sure.  Sarah is still trying to play the middle, if things don't go her way she is alright with going back and playing with the other four - whichever side will get her farther along (but playing the middle often gets you gone.)

-Zeke is nervous at camp - he feels an eerie calm and he doesn't like it - time to get to the scheming and plotting, something he excels at.  So Zeke & Sarah go for water and she is telling him the order she wants people to go, Sierra, then Andrea, then Tai.  Sarah & Zeke have been together since day one, she trusts him and for now they will stick with the girls.  Zeke says he'd like to try and make a final five deal with Brad & Troyzan and Michaela - or at least tell them that.  Sarah is okay with that, Zeke just doesn't trust Andrea and Aubry who are very tight (really? I feel like we see very little of Aubry - she could ghost her way to the end, you never know.)

Zeke goes and talks to Brad & Troyzan and floats the idea of working together to the final five.  He tells them that he can't hook them in on this next vote, other than to tell them it's neither of them going, and the next vote they could do something interesting.  This is music to Brad's ears, it means he made headway - it would bother him to have to vote for Tai or Sierra, but make no mistake, he is there to win the game.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Day 29
It's the domino challenge - they have to place blocks on a floating beam while stepping through a grid of slats that if hit would shake the beam and possibly topple the blocks.  First person to place the blocks so that they fall like dominos with the last block falling off and hitting a gong, wins Immunity.

Everyone was moving pretty quickly and Brad was the only one to hit the side and knock all his blocks off so he had to start again.  Andrea got all her blocks on the beam but they were too close together and she had to do some rearranging before knocking them down - but it was still ANDREA that won Immunity.

Back At Camp - Andrea has tunnel vision about getting Zeke out of the game and she is thinking that her plan is brilliant to take him out tonight.  Cirie agrees to voting Zeke out but isn't sure if they can sway officer Sarah, so she is thinking they should bring Sierra in to vote Zeke with them... Speak of the devil, Sierra comes along just then and says she will vote however they want her to, she will throw anyone under the bus as long as it's not her.  Good to know, they will let her know.
-Then Sarah comes along and Andrea again presents her case to have them blindside Zeke tonight, Sarah is not down with that but she can't tell them that, if she starts scrambling to save Zeke she'll be putting herself at risk.
-So Andrea is drunk on power and she goes and tells Aubry & Michaela that she wants to blindside Zeke tonight so they'll still have the majority and can still pick off the others after.  Aubry is in 100% agreement but Michaela is not, she trusts Zeke somewhat and she does not like taking their numbers down to 5 vs 4, because then it only takes one person and the power shifts.
-Michaela and Sarah talk and they both agree that they don't want to vote out Zeke tonight... but they don't seem to have any alternate plan, neither seems willing to stick their necks out - we'll have to see how it goes at Tribal.

TRIBAL COUNCIL
-Sarah owned up being the flipper that voted out Debbie and Debbie flipped her the bird from the jury box (keeping it classy as always.)
-Brad says it was very disconcerting going from the top to the bottom, he, Troy, Tai and Sierra are now on the bottom.
-Tai agrees and feels like it could be him tonight.
-Sierra is also nervous, she thinks she has connections with these people but it could also be her tonight.
-Zeke says this tribal is the mirror image of the last vote - the best thing they can do is stick together and keep the vote to themselves.
-Andrea says this season is not like any other she's played before, it's like they are trying on different alliances to see which one will stick.
-Michaela says she thinks their six will stay together this vote to solidify the numbers, sometimes you have to make the simple move to advance everyone in the game. (But she did not sound convinced.)
-Zeke agrees, this is a game of timing and tonight is certainly not the time to make a big move.
-Blah blah blah - Sierra made a plea to stay, Sarah isn't swayed. Michaela has to turn the heart down, they'll be friends after day 39, for now other people have to go so she can stay and win.
-Andrea says you still have to make connections with people, you can't just turn your heart off or you're not going to make it to the end.

Time to Vote:
Sierra votes for Tai - she hopes its him and not her tonight.
Zeke votes for Sierra - so long cowgirl.

No one played a hidden immunity idol - huh, I thought Tai might go for it seeing as he has two.

Votes:
Tai - 1
Sierra - 1
Tai - 2
Sierra - 2
Tai - 3
Zeke- 1, 2, 3, 4 - and he realizes 5 - it's ZEKE that is the next member of the jury.  Sierra and Tai were shocked and Michaela just started bawling... I guess she's not so good at turning her heart off after all.

With Zeke's blindside, that takes Jennifer G., Cara & Alex L. and Cindi C. out of the pool.

Next week: Sierra tells Sarah that she has a legacy advantage and Michaela appears to be joining Sierra, Tai and Troyzan - but no bond is stronger than blood - And with the loved ones will come the tears - have the hankies ready!

Zeke's final thoughts: It was smart of Andrea to come after him because he was about to come after her.  He has confronted so many fears and moved beyond boundaries he's had in his life - he will forever be a better person because he's played Survivor.

And with that, have a great weekend everyone,

Coleen