Second Chance
Last night was the premiere of Survivor Second Chance, where 20 former Survivors who have played only once before, get a second chance to finish what they started. We opened with the contestants in the back of a truck and start re-meeting a few:
-Kelly Wiglesworth was on Season One in Borneo, where she heartbreakingly came in second to Richard Hatch... and I just gotta say, girl has had some work done - that was not the same nose she had 15 years ago - anyway - she said losing by one vote has been poking at her for 15 years (really, that's a little sad) but she's stronger and smarter and she's a mom now, so she thinks she can do anything.
-Andrew Savage - living the dream, perfect wife, kids, job - he has no bad things in his life except Pearl Islands (really? I don't even remember this guy but apparently Jonny Fairplay had something to do with his ousting - uh, I hated that guy). Andrew says his losing Survivor has haunted him for 12 years, he hasn't gotten over it - so to cure his Survivor pain he's putting 1000% in this game, it will be epic (does he have Mike disease with the ridiculous percentages? Ugh.)
-Spencer - admits he was frankly cocky last time he played (was it all of two years ago?) but he says he's done a lot of growing and maturing in that time (he's a ripe ol' 22 now) - he's more emotionally aware of the people around him and thinks he's in a better place to win this game.
-Kimmi - her time in Australia was cut short and she wants to fulfill her dream of getting to the end... 14 years is a long time to finish that last chapter in the book.
-Kelley Wentworth - playing with her dad the last time was her downfall, she probably should have written his name down (wow) - but this time she can make the moves she wanted to make and have a better game. (Man, two Kell(e)y W's, great.)
-Ciera - she messed up the first time being scared early on, but once she realized she could socially make her way through the game, she started making some moves (like voting off her own mother) - this time she wants to be fearless from the beginning and just leave it all out on the island.
-Tasha - First time she played she was nice Tasha, she didn't want her church members to think badly of her - but when she got home her church members were the ones telling her she needed to be more aggressive and back-stab people (Ha! What Church is that?) so this time she's there for a million dollars and when it's all done she'll pray for forgiveness. (Yikes)
Oh, and did I mention they have been driving through jungle and villages, then they were walking through a temple - there were monks and monkeys...
-Jeff Varner - This second chance means everything to him - he jumped off a pole in Australia for peanut butter and he ended up going home - having to go over that mistake for 14 years does a number on ya... This is his opportunity to re-write his story, he's not jumping off anything for peanut butter.
Now they've reached some boats and are heading out on the water.
-Joe - Man-bun - He grew up watching Survivor and he really wanted to make it far enough to get his Dad out there for the loved ones visit - but he fell short and wants to make up for it right now (don't forget, he just played last season, so at least he hasn't been eaten up with regret for years like the oldies.)
-Kass - She is still Chaos Kass - they showed her flip off someone as they were voted out - she likes her legacy thus far - she wants to change people's perception of her but not really change so when the merge happens all hell will break loose. (I didn't find her as bad @ss as she thinks she is, but she was a good player.)
-Abi-Maria - She says she knows she made a lot of mistakes in her first season - and they showed her threatening to kill RJ, hitting Skupin in the head with a coconut, arguing with Lisa Welchil (not Blair!)... She said she's getting a second chance to patch those little mistakes (little?) But villains have more fun (oh yeah, she's not changing anything.)
-Jeremy - played with his wife before - it was very emotional and split his focus worrying about her - he took it hard getting blindsided by his alliance - this time he wants to win the money for Val, and he's back for some redemption for himself.
The boats are finally coming up to a bigger boat... and there is Jeff Probst welcoming them to Survivor Cambodia - Second Chance. He points out that they all played before and didn't win - meaning, they failed - and now are being given a second chance. More importantly they were chosen by the audience to get this chance.
Jeff asks some of them how it feels knowing they were voted in - Ciera said it adds pressure not to let down America (Merica!), Jeff Varner is emotional, he's thought about this a lot in the last 14 years, Joe (Man-bun) playing back to back, made them all feel old saying he gets to play beside these great players he grew up watching... (I don't quite get the Joe love honestly - he's a poor man's Malcolm.)
Kelly Wiglesworth - Joe made her feel old - Jeff asked her how often she replays losing by one vote? She says, "Uhhh, Everyday." (They even added a sound effect to highlight how sad that is... oh Kelly.)
Finally time to get started:
Tribe Ta Keo is: Kelly Wiglesworth, Woo, Peih-Gee, Shirin, Spencer, Abi, Vytas, (Terry) Dietz, Jeff Varner and Kelley Wentworth
Tribe Bayon (pronounced Bi-on): Ciera, Tasha, (Stephen) Fishbach, (Andrew) Savage, Jeremy, Monica, Joe, Keith, Kass and Kimmi.
Both tribes names after famous temples in Angkor Wat which they had travelled through to get there.
On Jeff's boat is a bunch of supplies they will want to collect to make their lives easier, the catch is that 100ft beyond that boat is another boat with a big bag of rice on it - first person to touch the bag of rice wins - so they have to decide how much time to spend gathering supplies before they get on their raft and head for the second boat. (It's not clear what they win other than the bag of rice...) Anyway, off they go, jumping in the water with their nice clothes on - then it's a free for all grabbing stuff and loading up the rafts.
Ta Keo is the first team out on their raft and Kelly Wiglesworth decided to swim out in front of the raft instead of paddling with the tribe. Bayon is right on their tail but their raft is a bit overloaded and slow - Stephen wonders if someone can swim it and Man-bun is on it... as Kelly is slowing down he's swimming strong but as he gets along side the Ta Keo raft, Woo jumps in and he makes it to the rice first.
Jeff declares him the winner for Ta Keo and tells them to head for their beaches - 39 days - One Survivor. (So was it just a team building exercise? They just win, now soggy, rice?)
Ta Keo - Day 1
They are all huggy and happy when they reach the beach - Jeff V. says they should name the chicken Kimmi but they can't kill it (she famously had a finger waving fight over a chicken in Australia)- Vytas gives Kelley Wentworth a lingering hug, she says no brother, no dad, we're all good (they did play together before but on separate teams I believe.)
-Quickly the tribe starts working on a shelter, and it becomes clear who the workers are in Kelly Wiglesworth's eyes - Terry, herself, Woo, Spencer and Vytas. She hopes that when it gets cold and they have somewhere to sleep, they'll remember who was working to build them shelter - you don't get any more Old School Survivor than Kelly.
-Terry tells Vytas that he will be honorary Old School because his brother Aras beat Terry the first time he played (I have very little memory of that season, I'm so bad, once it's over it's gone.) But we're starting to hear a common theme of Old School vs New School brand players of this game.
-Terry knows the game starts immediately when you hit the beach now - his wife told him not to let people just go off on their own - that he's got to be better at the social game of Survivor to win.
-Terry talks to Spencer and tells him that his son told him to align with Spencer - Spencer tells the camera thank you to Terry's kids for getting their dad to trust him - because he doesn't trust anyone and he's going to do what's best for him. (Don't be douchey already.)
-Spencer says he's a New School player but he's an Every School fan - he wants to talk to everyone more quickly than he did before.
And then the DRAMA begins. Abi, "Has anyone seen my bag?" (Oh no, here it comes, she's going to lose her mind...) She's asking everyone, she has to find her bag because it has her leather bracelet in it. Woo offers her another bag - no, she wants her bag and her bracelet. Shirin asks if she's checked the bags hanging on the tree and Abi is having a hard time controlling her emotions, she knows it was her downfall when she played before but it is hard for her not to pull out the fangs. (Yup, I'm waiting for her to blow.)
Bayon - Day 1
They appear to all be working around camp - either building the shelter (the men) or weaving palm fronds (the women... Do we have to fall into the sexist stereotypes, really?)
And we hear from Keith - he says he didn't think he'd make the cut but he's grateful and isn't going to coast along this time, 4th place was a bitter pill to swallow... (I see the spitting hasn't changed though - great.)
-Jeremy talks to Keith and they agree that they're good - then Jeremy talks to Tasha, the strongest female out there in his opinion - then he talks to Savage, another physical threat (oh yeah, Jeremy is working it HARD.) They don't have a good feeling about Fish (what? Why not? Poor geeky Stephen) and then Jeremy focuses on the best shield out there Joe (Man-bun), so he's assembling his dream alliance already.
- Andrew tells Joe a sweet and somewhat creepy story about how his 17 and 15 year old daughters think Joe is perfect (oy, don't let it go to your bun-head.) Joe says he and the other alpha males seem to be on the same page and ready to work together instead of against each other (yeah, for now.)
-And then we spend some time with the Fishbach out of water - poor Stephen feels out of place on the tribe with all these physical men that are totally in their element - this is what happened last time he played, until he connected with one of those guys and he went all the way to the end - but he doesn't want to do that again because he lost. The way he sees it, he's either going to have to start running things, or he's going to dramatically over-play and flame out quickly (sadly, unless he starts doing something different, he's already being left behind.)
Ta Keo - Day 1
Vytas is my guy in the pool - we spend some time with him in his underwear (tight multi colour patterned boxer briefs - you didn't bring shorts?) He tells us last time he was put on a tribe with all women who wanted him out but he was able to manipulate their perspective and get in their good graces... he thinks he's good at that - but really he's just creepy. Telling Peih-Gee she looks like a friend of his who's beautiful, touching Kelly as they talk, trying to massage Abi's shoulders (she's having none of it.)
-Shirin is watching his behaviour and tells the camera that Vytas is just smarmy (you've got that right). She wants to lock down the people she wants to play with right away so she talks to Jeff Varner and Spencer pointing out that Vytas is super well-connected - Terry played with Aras and they're close, so Vytas and Terry are close and he has ties with the other tribe as well having played with Ciera before... Jeff's head is spinning, he's not seeing any of this stuff, he can't believe how fast she's talking and he tells the camera this train just starting going and he got on it, he doesn't care who's pulling him along, yes is your answer. (I love Jeff Varner, he's funny but he better start catching up or that train's going to run him over.)
-Shirin is going on and Spencer agrees that they love Kelley Wentworth.... Jeff is trying to play along and suggests Pieh-Gee but Shirin isn't sure, she's got to feel her out... (she might as well have patted him on the head, you just do as your told for now.)
-Jeff Varner tells us he will be 50 next year and many men his age have a mid-life crisis, for him he went on Survivor, he's having a mid-life quest and the second half of his life begins with Survivor Second Chance. But right now, even though he's the OG here, he's feeling like a baby - and then they showed us a 'so ugly it's cute' baby monkey - Awww.
Drama! "So where's my bracelet?" Abi is still looking for her bag/bracelet and she sticks her hand in Peih-Gee's bag and finds her bracelet. Very interesting, instead of asking PG (I'm short-handing her name from now on) about it though, she goes around behind her back to everyone else and tells them she found her bracelet in PG's bag, pretending like she's giving her the benefit of the doubt but really sowing the seed with everyone that PG is not to be trusted. (Ugh - She is the devil.)
-PG is a grown up and confronts Abi to clear the air about this bracelet ... but her explanation also made no sense. She says there was a bag hanging up with no name on it so she just took it, not knowing there was anything in it... Did you not look in it? Did you not realize when Abi was looking everywhere and asking everyone about her bag, that you had taken it??? (Makes no sense, and I'm wondering if this was set up, because really - she would have realized right? Is it just me?) PG said she didn't make the relationships as she should have the last time so she wants to do better this time - (News flash, you're not doing better, but then neither is Abi.)
Bayon - Day 1
Man-bun/Joe is trying to make fire as everyone else stands around offering suggestions... when they realize that Stephen isn't there... Kimmi says he's off trying to find a hidden idol. And she's right, Stephen is shirtless but wearing long pants and awkwardly trying to go down a ravine into stagnant water to look for an idol - and for a guy who's supposed to be smart, he's picked the worst, most obvious time to do this... I don't feel good about Fishbach's chances this time people.
Joe-bun makes fire! Then sings about Teamwork (with a capital ME!)
-Savage gets all philosophical about this being a sign of great things to come.
Ta Keo - Day 2
Yoga starts the day for Kelly Wigelsworth and Vytas - everyone else is just waking up.
-Jeff V. doesn't want to look it, but he's playing hard - he and PG are talking in the water and he gets her take on things - she sees the tribe to be divided into the Shelter people and the Beach people. Which is the Old School/Shelter where hard work is your worth and New School/Beach who go running down the beach and try to get everyone in an alliance right away. Jeff has been approached by the Beach people but he doesn't want to turn his back on his old school/Shelter people. PG feels like she's kind of in the same boat (except no one's approached her.) They discuss who they'd choose for first boot - Jeff says Shirin wants to get rid of Vytas and PG thinks they should do something about Abi (of course you would, she hates you for stealing her really ugly bracelet.) Jeff V. is feeling torn.
Ta Keo - Day 3
Kelley Wentworth takes on the task of gathering coconuts and palm fronds so she can spend some time looking for the hidden immunity idol - she's smart and actually puts coconuts on the path in case someone comes looking for her - and she searches until she finds... is it, did she really find ... a clue to the hidden idol. Oh. It tells her that the hidden idol is tucked up under the front right tripod that they have to place their raft on during the immunity challenge. If she's bold enough to retrieve the idol during the challenge, immunity is hers. (That's cool, I like that twist.)
Bayon - Day 3
Tree mail - 15 years waiting to return, the first challenge ever done... So they have to replay the first challenge ever, fun.
-Andrew gives them a little speech about being a family (ugh, I'm over this guy already, was he always this preachy?)
-Monica goes on about how she's the smallest one there (humble brag)... But does anyone remember Monica? Me neither.
More Yoga, with Joe/man-bun and he's got a good class going with Kimmi, Tasha, Stephen and Andrew. Keith can't be bothered with that hooey - He "gets up in the morning, has a cup of coffee and goes to work like 99% of Americans do, no one wants to see me bend over and get contorted out there" (ha, Keith, good ol' boy for sure.) "Joe, pretty boy with the hair - yoga, that's Joe."
-Tasha was loving her some Joe-ga - she kept getting distracted by his body (really?) but she feels like they are in a good mental place to win this challenge.
Ta Keo - Day 3
Vytas is also giving some yoga lessons to Shirin, teaching her a modified downward dog that she can do all over and then he proceeds to demonstrate... showing us his butt and just being smarmy guy still. Spencer and New Kelley are laughing at him - she says his attempts to flirt with all the women are really getting annoying. She wants him out, you're dead to me. Vytas tries to offer Abi some lessons but she still wants nothing to do with him and that makes him nervous that she'll want him out. (Is this guy so out of touch that he doesn't realize all the women are skeeved out by him?) He tells the camera his mistake the first time was his lack of awareness and over confidence - (I think you still have those problems, dude.)
-Terry talks to Vytas and Old Kelly saying they want to win the challenge of course but if they don't, he's thinking it will be Abi right off the bat. Vytas agrees it would be smart to go for Abi because no one likes her, but the day is still young.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
-New Kelley is just thinking about the hidden immunity idol, that's all she has on her mind (as you should!)
The challenge - they start on a platform out in the water, on Jeff's go they will swim to a raft with a fire pot on it, they will light a torch and then swim the raft along a series of torches which they have to light along the way to the beach where they will place their raft on a stand (where the hidden immunity idol is, but only New Kelley knows that.)
Then one person from each tribe will use sticks and rope to fashion a long pole to retrieve a key that is on the other side of a locked gate - first tribe to unlock the gate and light their final fire on the other side, wins Immunity and also reward of a fire-making kit.
Quest for Fire was the very first Challenge ever run on Survivor, Old Kelly was there and she lost... "thanks for reminding me Jeff."
-Off they go and Ta Keo is out first as Tasha held up Bayon - but they get the torches lit with Spencer and Keith taking control of the fire for each tribe. They were neck and neck lighting the fires until Keith lost control of the torch and dunked it in the water - he had some trouble getting the torch re-lit and they fell behind - just getting out of the water as Ta Keo was placing their raft on the stand... And the camera focused in on the hidden idol (come on New Kelley!) But there is too much traffic around, she can't go for it yet... Old Kelly starts working on making the stick to go for the key and they're showing New Kelley keep looking at the raft, will she go for it? (No one's looking! But the other tribe could see her... Argh, this is nerve wracking just to watch.)
-Okay, Bayon is finally back and Joe gets working on the stick...
- Old Kelly makes an attempt at the key but her stick is too short...
- Joe has a long stick but is it strong enough? (That's what she said).
- New Kelley is looking at the raft (go for it!)
- Joe gets to the key and as everyone is concentrating on the action at the gates, New Kelley finally makes her move and smoothly grabs the hidden idol and sticks it in the small of her back (Yay!)
-Meanwhile Joe has retrieved their key with a cool whip action of the pole and Spencer has taken over for Old Kelly working on retrieving their key, but it's too little too late and Bayon wins Immunity!
Old Kelly (Jeff's calling her Wiglesworth now, maybe that's better than Old Kelly :)) - says she feels 100% responsible, they had built a strong lead and they fell behind on the pole construction, that was her fault. (You don't do that, don't throw yourself under the bus, they'll gladly do it for you... though she does seem to be getting the sympathy instead of the enmity of her tribe so maybe it is a good strategy.) But then she's crying when they all say she hasn't let them down (come on, suck it up.)
-Then Jeff lays another bombshell on them - they are heading to Tribal Council - right - now! No time to confer, no time to strategize - and they are all, understandably, freaking out.
TRIBAL COUNCIL
I'm calling a little bit of BS on the straight to tribal council because they are all wearing different clothes from the challenge when they get there.
-Spencer says Second Chance means a whole new element of heartbreak - you're not only letting down friends and family if you're voted out, but also all those people who wanted to see you have that second chance.
-Woo said immediately he could see the division happening between the Old School way of playing, let's build the shelter - and the New School way, let's go strategize, let's go talk... and it was very clear.
-Terry Dietz agrees with that - he's part of the Old School regime and they were busy building, not getting a chance to talk but then they did get down to talking, that is a big part of the game. It was an eye opener to see it happening that fast.
-PG says second chance is about - did you learn from your mistakes the first time, and correct them? (Hmm, why did they focus on Abi there? ;)) - PG says she's been trying really hard to split the difference between camp life and trying to get to know everyone - you can't get stuck making the same mistakes you did the first time.
-Abi says second chance is about growth, it's about learning from her mistakes - she says she's faced some situations where she could have been a firecracker but she's counted to ten and reached the next level of her confidence (huh? right.)
-Wigelsworth says coming straight to Tribal from the Challenge may have a huge impact because they couldn't talk - she says she's still trying to catch up.
-Jeff Varner pipes in that he thinks people know exactly what they're doing tonight, he doesn't care what they say - there has been a lot of work on this beach in the last three days.
-Vytas says he thinks that enough people have talked and know where they stand that it's definitely not going to be random tonight.
-Woo says tonight's vote is very critical, it's going to set the tone for the game and honestly, tonight, he doesn't know where he's going (sub-text there is, "No one's come to talk to me yet Jeff." Woo better get working.)
-Abi says she clearly sees the division now, clearly there is a male thing that's going on with them.
-Vytas says there is not a male thing going on, (Abi contorts her face like she is not buying that... but then no one's been talking to her either so she should be scared) Vytas goes on about tribe unity... blah blah. Abi feels nervous, as she should be.
-Wiglesworth is picking up on some cues, she thinks she knows which way she's going.
-Jeff Varner says he's been doing nothing but picking up on cues in the last three days and he doesn't know about his other Old School counterparts, if they've been playing as hard as he has, but he's balls to the wall and can't wait to see what's going to happen tonight.
Jeff finally asks if there is an elephant in the room he's missing - Jeff V. says if there is, we're about to find out. This is his second chance and he doesn't want to screw it up.
Time to Vote:
Abi votes for Vytas
Vytas votes for Abi
New Kelley votes Vytas
PG is disgusted by a millipede...
Tallying the votes:
No one plays a hidden immunity idol
Votes:
Vytas - 1
Abi - 1
Vytas - 2
Abi - 2
Vytas - 3
Abi - 3
Vytas - 4
Abi - 4
Vytas - 5... one vote left...
VYTAS is the first person voted out of Survivor Second Chance - and I made $10... Bye creepy yogi.
So with Vytas leaving - Richard B, Coleen T and Chandra K are out of the pool - but we get our stake back at least - and we can root for whoever we really want to win now :)
Next week: Abi is playing the same old game, getting right in PG's face - and Varner is trying to change it up, saying to Dietz that all these threats have got to go. He doesn't like these people, he's had a wake up call to get off his @ss and play this game (oooh...)
Vytas' final thoughts - with a chuckle he tells us he originally said he'd rather not get picked than be the first out - it sucks. He went out there and tried to pick the people he wanted to play with but it's a sign of respect, they were afraid of him and with good reason. (Whatever, you creeped all the women out, so you are gone.)
They showed how everyone voted too:
Abi - Vytas
Woo - Abi
New Kelley - Vytas
Vytas - Abi
Wiglesworth - Abi
Spencer - Vytas
Shirin - Vytas
PG - Vytas
Deitz - Abi
Varner - Vytas
- So does that mean that Shirin is running this thing right now? I'm not sure if that's scary or cool - (as long as she keeps her pants on!)
Overall, I thought it was a good opening episode. I have hope for this being an enjoyable season to watch.
*Don't forget The Amazing Race starts on Friday.
Coleen
Last night was the premiere of Survivor Second Chance, where 20 former Survivors who have played only once before, get a second chance to finish what they started. We opened with the contestants in the back of a truck and start re-meeting a few:
-Kelly Wiglesworth was on Season One in Borneo, where she heartbreakingly came in second to Richard Hatch... and I just gotta say, girl has had some work done - that was not the same nose she had 15 years ago - anyway - she said losing by one vote has been poking at her for 15 years (really, that's a little sad) but she's stronger and smarter and she's a mom now, so she thinks she can do anything.
-Andrew Savage - living the dream, perfect wife, kids, job - he has no bad things in his life except Pearl Islands (really? I don't even remember this guy but apparently Jonny Fairplay had something to do with his ousting - uh, I hated that guy). Andrew says his losing Survivor has haunted him for 12 years, he hasn't gotten over it - so to cure his Survivor pain he's putting 1000% in this game, it will be epic (does he have Mike disease with the ridiculous percentages? Ugh.)
-Spencer - admits he was frankly cocky last time he played (was it all of two years ago?) but he says he's done a lot of growing and maturing in that time (he's a ripe ol' 22 now) - he's more emotionally aware of the people around him and thinks he's in a better place to win this game.
-Kimmi - her time in Australia was cut short and she wants to fulfill her dream of getting to the end... 14 years is a long time to finish that last chapter in the book.
-Kelley Wentworth - playing with her dad the last time was her downfall, she probably should have written his name down (wow) - but this time she can make the moves she wanted to make and have a better game. (Man, two Kell(e)y W's, great.)
-Ciera - she messed up the first time being scared early on, but once she realized she could socially make her way through the game, she started making some moves (like voting off her own mother) - this time she wants to be fearless from the beginning and just leave it all out on the island.
-Tasha - First time she played she was nice Tasha, she didn't want her church members to think badly of her - but when she got home her church members were the ones telling her she needed to be more aggressive and back-stab people (Ha! What Church is that?) so this time she's there for a million dollars and when it's all done she'll pray for forgiveness. (Yikes)
Oh, and did I mention they have been driving through jungle and villages, then they were walking through a temple - there were monks and monkeys...
-Jeff Varner - This second chance means everything to him - he jumped off a pole in Australia for peanut butter and he ended up going home - having to go over that mistake for 14 years does a number on ya... This is his opportunity to re-write his story, he's not jumping off anything for peanut butter.
Now they've reached some boats and are heading out on the water.
-Joe - Man-bun - He grew up watching Survivor and he really wanted to make it far enough to get his Dad out there for the loved ones visit - but he fell short and wants to make up for it right now (don't forget, he just played last season, so at least he hasn't been eaten up with regret for years like the oldies.)
-Kass - She is still Chaos Kass - they showed her flip off someone as they were voted out - she likes her legacy thus far - she wants to change people's perception of her but not really change so when the merge happens all hell will break loose. (I didn't find her as bad @ss as she thinks she is, but she was a good player.)
-Abi-Maria - She says she knows she made a lot of mistakes in her first season - and they showed her threatening to kill RJ, hitting Skupin in the head with a coconut, arguing with Lisa Welchil (not Blair!)... She said she's getting a second chance to patch those little mistakes (little?) But villains have more fun (oh yeah, she's not changing anything.)
-Jeremy - played with his wife before - it was very emotional and split his focus worrying about her - he took it hard getting blindsided by his alliance - this time he wants to win the money for Val, and he's back for some redemption for himself.
The boats are finally coming up to a bigger boat... and there is Jeff Probst welcoming them to Survivor Cambodia - Second Chance. He points out that they all played before and didn't win - meaning, they failed - and now are being given a second chance. More importantly they were chosen by the audience to get this chance.
Jeff asks some of them how it feels knowing they were voted in - Ciera said it adds pressure not to let down America (Merica!), Jeff Varner is emotional, he's thought about this a lot in the last 14 years, Joe (Man-bun) playing back to back, made them all feel old saying he gets to play beside these great players he grew up watching... (I don't quite get the Joe love honestly - he's a poor man's Malcolm.)
Kelly Wiglesworth - Joe made her feel old - Jeff asked her how often she replays losing by one vote? She says, "Uhhh, Everyday." (They even added a sound effect to highlight how sad that is... oh Kelly.)
Finally time to get started:
Tribe Ta Keo is: Kelly Wiglesworth, Woo, Peih-Gee, Shirin, Spencer, Abi, Vytas, (Terry) Dietz, Jeff Varner and Kelley Wentworth
Tribe Bayon (pronounced Bi-on): Ciera, Tasha, (Stephen) Fishbach, (Andrew) Savage, Jeremy, Monica, Joe, Keith, Kass and Kimmi.
Both tribes names after famous temples in Angkor Wat which they had travelled through to get there.
On Jeff's boat is a bunch of supplies they will want to collect to make their lives easier, the catch is that 100ft beyond that boat is another boat with a big bag of rice on it - first person to touch the bag of rice wins - so they have to decide how much time to spend gathering supplies before they get on their raft and head for the second boat. (It's not clear what they win other than the bag of rice...) Anyway, off they go, jumping in the water with their nice clothes on - then it's a free for all grabbing stuff and loading up the rafts.
Ta Keo is the first team out on their raft and Kelly Wiglesworth decided to swim out in front of the raft instead of paddling with the tribe. Bayon is right on their tail but their raft is a bit overloaded and slow - Stephen wonders if someone can swim it and Man-bun is on it... as Kelly is slowing down he's swimming strong but as he gets along side the Ta Keo raft, Woo jumps in and he makes it to the rice first.
Jeff declares him the winner for Ta Keo and tells them to head for their beaches - 39 days - One Survivor. (So was it just a team building exercise? They just win, now soggy, rice?)
Ta Keo - Day 1
They are all huggy and happy when they reach the beach - Jeff V. says they should name the chicken Kimmi but they can't kill it (she famously had a finger waving fight over a chicken in Australia)- Vytas gives Kelley Wentworth a lingering hug, she says no brother, no dad, we're all good (they did play together before but on separate teams I believe.)
-Quickly the tribe starts working on a shelter, and it becomes clear who the workers are in Kelly Wiglesworth's eyes - Terry, herself, Woo, Spencer and Vytas. She hopes that when it gets cold and they have somewhere to sleep, they'll remember who was working to build them shelter - you don't get any more Old School Survivor than Kelly.
-Terry tells Vytas that he will be honorary Old School because his brother Aras beat Terry the first time he played (I have very little memory of that season, I'm so bad, once it's over it's gone.) But we're starting to hear a common theme of Old School vs New School brand players of this game.
-Terry knows the game starts immediately when you hit the beach now - his wife told him not to let people just go off on their own - that he's got to be better at the social game of Survivor to win.
-Terry talks to Spencer and tells him that his son told him to align with Spencer - Spencer tells the camera thank you to Terry's kids for getting their dad to trust him - because he doesn't trust anyone and he's going to do what's best for him. (Don't be douchey already.)
-Spencer says he's a New School player but he's an Every School fan - he wants to talk to everyone more quickly than he did before.
And then the DRAMA begins. Abi, "Has anyone seen my bag?" (Oh no, here it comes, she's going to lose her mind...) She's asking everyone, she has to find her bag because it has her leather bracelet in it. Woo offers her another bag - no, she wants her bag and her bracelet. Shirin asks if she's checked the bags hanging on the tree and Abi is having a hard time controlling her emotions, she knows it was her downfall when she played before but it is hard for her not to pull out the fangs. (Yup, I'm waiting for her to blow.)
Bayon - Day 1
They appear to all be working around camp - either building the shelter (the men) or weaving palm fronds (the women... Do we have to fall into the sexist stereotypes, really?)
And we hear from Keith - he says he didn't think he'd make the cut but he's grateful and isn't going to coast along this time, 4th place was a bitter pill to swallow... (I see the spitting hasn't changed though - great.)
-Jeremy talks to Keith and they agree that they're good - then Jeremy talks to Tasha, the strongest female out there in his opinion - then he talks to Savage, another physical threat (oh yeah, Jeremy is working it HARD.) They don't have a good feeling about Fish (what? Why not? Poor geeky Stephen) and then Jeremy focuses on the best shield out there Joe (Man-bun), so he's assembling his dream alliance already.
- Andrew tells Joe a sweet and somewhat creepy story about how his 17 and 15 year old daughters think Joe is perfect (oy, don't let it go to your bun-head.) Joe says he and the other alpha males seem to be on the same page and ready to work together instead of against each other (yeah, for now.)
-And then we spend some time with the Fishbach out of water - poor Stephen feels out of place on the tribe with all these physical men that are totally in their element - this is what happened last time he played, until he connected with one of those guys and he went all the way to the end - but he doesn't want to do that again because he lost. The way he sees it, he's either going to have to start running things, or he's going to dramatically over-play and flame out quickly (sadly, unless he starts doing something different, he's already being left behind.)
Ta Keo - Day 1
Vytas is my guy in the pool - we spend some time with him in his underwear (tight multi colour patterned boxer briefs - you didn't bring shorts?) He tells us last time he was put on a tribe with all women who wanted him out but he was able to manipulate their perspective and get in their good graces... he thinks he's good at that - but really he's just creepy. Telling Peih-Gee she looks like a friend of his who's beautiful, touching Kelly as they talk, trying to massage Abi's shoulders (she's having none of it.)
-Shirin is watching his behaviour and tells the camera that Vytas is just smarmy (you've got that right). She wants to lock down the people she wants to play with right away so she talks to Jeff Varner and Spencer pointing out that Vytas is super well-connected - Terry played with Aras and they're close, so Vytas and Terry are close and he has ties with the other tribe as well having played with Ciera before... Jeff's head is spinning, he's not seeing any of this stuff, he can't believe how fast she's talking and he tells the camera this train just starting going and he got on it, he doesn't care who's pulling him along, yes is your answer. (I love Jeff Varner, he's funny but he better start catching up or that train's going to run him over.)
-Shirin is going on and Spencer agrees that they love Kelley Wentworth.... Jeff is trying to play along and suggests Pieh-Gee but Shirin isn't sure, she's got to feel her out... (she might as well have patted him on the head, you just do as your told for now.)
-Jeff Varner tells us he will be 50 next year and many men his age have a mid-life crisis, for him he went on Survivor, he's having a mid-life quest and the second half of his life begins with Survivor Second Chance. But right now, even though he's the OG here, he's feeling like a baby - and then they showed us a 'so ugly it's cute' baby monkey - Awww.
Drama! "So where's my bracelet?" Abi is still looking for her bag/bracelet and she sticks her hand in Peih-Gee's bag and finds her bracelet. Very interesting, instead of asking PG (I'm short-handing her name from now on) about it though, she goes around behind her back to everyone else and tells them she found her bracelet in PG's bag, pretending like she's giving her the benefit of the doubt but really sowing the seed with everyone that PG is not to be trusted. (Ugh - She is the devil.)
-PG is a grown up and confronts Abi to clear the air about this bracelet ... but her explanation also made no sense. She says there was a bag hanging up with no name on it so she just took it, not knowing there was anything in it... Did you not look in it? Did you not realize when Abi was looking everywhere and asking everyone about her bag, that you had taken it??? (Makes no sense, and I'm wondering if this was set up, because really - she would have realized right? Is it just me?) PG said she didn't make the relationships as she should have the last time so she wants to do better this time - (News flash, you're not doing better, but then neither is Abi.)
Bayon - Day 1
Man-bun/Joe is trying to make fire as everyone else stands around offering suggestions... when they realize that Stephen isn't there... Kimmi says he's off trying to find a hidden idol. And she's right, Stephen is shirtless but wearing long pants and awkwardly trying to go down a ravine into stagnant water to look for an idol - and for a guy who's supposed to be smart, he's picked the worst, most obvious time to do this... I don't feel good about Fishbach's chances this time people.
Joe-bun makes fire! Then sings about Teamwork (with a capital ME!)
-Savage gets all philosophical about this being a sign of great things to come.
Ta Keo - Day 2
Yoga starts the day for Kelly Wigelsworth and Vytas - everyone else is just waking up.
-Jeff V. doesn't want to look it, but he's playing hard - he and PG are talking in the water and he gets her take on things - she sees the tribe to be divided into the Shelter people and the Beach people. Which is the Old School/Shelter where hard work is your worth and New School/Beach who go running down the beach and try to get everyone in an alliance right away. Jeff has been approached by the Beach people but he doesn't want to turn his back on his old school/Shelter people. PG feels like she's kind of in the same boat (except no one's approached her.) They discuss who they'd choose for first boot - Jeff says Shirin wants to get rid of Vytas and PG thinks they should do something about Abi (of course you would, she hates you for stealing her really ugly bracelet.) Jeff V. is feeling torn.
Ta Keo - Day 3
Kelley Wentworth takes on the task of gathering coconuts and palm fronds so she can spend some time looking for the hidden immunity idol - she's smart and actually puts coconuts on the path in case someone comes looking for her - and she searches until she finds... is it, did she really find ... a clue to the hidden idol. Oh. It tells her that the hidden idol is tucked up under the front right tripod that they have to place their raft on during the immunity challenge. If she's bold enough to retrieve the idol during the challenge, immunity is hers. (That's cool, I like that twist.)
Bayon - Day 3
Tree mail - 15 years waiting to return, the first challenge ever done... So they have to replay the first challenge ever, fun.
-Andrew gives them a little speech about being a family (ugh, I'm over this guy already, was he always this preachy?)
-Monica goes on about how she's the smallest one there (humble brag)... But does anyone remember Monica? Me neither.
More Yoga, with Joe/man-bun and he's got a good class going with Kimmi, Tasha, Stephen and Andrew. Keith can't be bothered with that hooey - He "gets up in the morning, has a cup of coffee and goes to work like 99% of Americans do, no one wants to see me bend over and get contorted out there" (ha, Keith, good ol' boy for sure.) "Joe, pretty boy with the hair - yoga, that's Joe."
-Tasha was loving her some Joe-ga - she kept getting distracted by his body (really?) but she feels like they are in a good mental place to win this challenge.
Ta Keo - Day 3
Vytas is also giving some yoga lessons to Shirin, teaching her a modified downward dog that she can do all over and then he proceeds to demonstrate... showing us his butt and just being smarmy guy still. Spencer and New Kelley are laughing at him - she says his attempts to flirt with all the women are really getting annoying. She wants him out, you're dead to me. Vytas tries to offer Abi some lessons but she still wants nothing to do with him and that makes him nervous that she'll want him out. (Is this guy so out of touch that he doesn't realize all the women are skeeved out by him?) He tells the camera his mistake the first time was his lack of awareness and over confidence - (I think you still have those problems, dude.)
-Terry talks to Vytas and Old Kelly saying they want to win the challenge of course but if they don't, he's thinking it will be Abi right off the bat. Vytas agrees it would be smart to go for Abi because no one likes her, but the day is still young.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
-New Kelley is just thinking about the hidden immunity idol, that's all she has on her mind (as you should!)
The challenge - they start on a platform out in the water, on Jeff's go they will swim to a raft with a fire pot on it, they will light a torch and then swim the raft along a series of torches which they have to light along the way to the beach where they will place their raft on a stand (where the hidden immunity idol is, but only New Kelley knows that.)
Then one person from each tribe will use sticks and rope to fashion a long pole to retrieve a key that is on the other side of a locked gate - first tribe to unlock the gate and light their final fire on the other side, wins Immunity and also reward of a fire-making kit.
Quest for Fire was the very first Challenge ever run on Survivor, Old Kelly was there and she lost... "thanks for reminding me Jeff."
-Off they go and Ta Keo is out first as Tasha held up Bayon - but they get the torches lit with Spencer and Keith taking control of the fire for each tribe. They were neck and neck lighting the fires until Keith lost control of the torch and dunked it in the water - he had some trouble getting the torch re-lit and they fell behind - just getting out of the water as Ta Keo was placing their raft on the stand... And the camera focused in on the hidden idol (come on New Kelley!) But there is too much traffic around, she can't go for it yet... Old Kelly starts working on making the stick to go for the key and they're showing New Kelley keep looking at the raft, will she go for it? (No one's looking! But the other tribe could see her... Argh, this is nerve wracking just to watch.)
-Okay, Bayon is finally back and Joe gets working on the stick...
- Old Kelly makes an attempt at the key but her stick is too short...
- Joe has a long stick but is it strong enough? (That's what she said).
- New Kelley is looking at the raft (go for it!)
- Joe gets to the key and as everyone is concentrating on the action at the gates, New Kelley finally makes her move and smoothly grabs the hidden idol and sticks it in the small of her back (Yay!)
-Meanwhile Joe has retrieved their key with a cool whip action of the pole and Spencer has taken over for Old Kelly working on retrieving their key, but it's too little too late and Bayon wins Immunity!
Old Kelly (Jeff's calling her Wiglesworth now, maybe that's better than Old Kelly :)) - says she feels 100% responsible, they had built a strong lead and they fell behind on the pole construction, that was her fault. (You don't do that, don't throw yourself under the bus, they'll gladly do it for you... though she does seem to be getting the sympathy instead of the enmity of her tribe so maybe it is a good strategy.) But then she's crying when they all say she hasn't let them down (come on, suck it up.)
-Then Jeff lays another bombshell on them - they are heading to Tribal Council - right - now! No time to confer, no time to strategize - and they are all, understandably, freaking out.
TRIBAL COUNCIL
I'm calling a little bit of BS on the straight to tribal council because they are all wearing different clothes from the challenge when they get there.
-Spencer says Second Chance means a whole new element of heartbreak - you're not only letting down friends and family if you're voted out, but also all those people who wanted to see you have that second chance.
-Woo said immediately he could see the division happening between the Old School way of playing, let's build the shelter - and the New School way, let's go strategize, let's go talk... and it was very clear.
-Terry Dietz agrees with that - he's part of the Old School regime and they were busy building, not getting a chance to talk but then they did get down to talking, that is a big part of the game. It was an eye opener to see it happening that fast.
-PG says second chance is about - did you learn from your mistakes the first time, and correct them? (Hmm, why did they focus on Abi there? ;)) - PG says she's been trying really hard to split the difference between camp life and trying to get to know everyone - you can't get stuck making the same mistakes you did the first time.
-Abi says second chance is about growth, it's about learning from her mistakes - she says she's faced some situations where she could have been a firecracker but she's counted to ten and reached the next level of her confidence (huh? right.)
-Wigelsworth says coming straight to Tribal from the Challenge may have a huge impact because they couldn't talk - she says she's still trying to catch up.
-Jeff Varner pipes in that he thinks people know exactly what they're doing tonight, he doesn't care what they say - there has been a lot of work on this beach in the last three days.
-Vytas says he thinks that enough people have talked and know where they stand that it's definitely not going to be random tonight.
-Woo says tonight's vote is very critical, it's going to set the tone for the game and honestly, tonight, he doesn't know where he's going (sub-text there is, "No one's come to talk to me yet Jeff." Woo better get working.)
-Abi says she clearly sees the division now, clearly there is a male thing that's going on with them.
-Vytas says there is not a male thing going on, (Abi contorts her face like she is not buying that... but then no one's been talking to her either so she should be scared) Vytas goes on about tribe unity... blah blah. Abi feels nervous, as she should be.
-Wiglesworth is picking up on some cues, she thinks she knows which way she's going.
-Jeff Varner says he's been doing nothing but picking up on cues in the last three days and he doesn't know about his other Old School counterparts, if they've been playing as hard as he has, but he's balls to the wall and can't wait to see what's going to happen tonight.
Jeff finally asks if there is an elephant in the room he's missing - Jeff V. says if there is, we're about to find out. This is his second chance and he doesn't want to screw it up.
Time to Vote:
Abi votes for Vytas
Vytas votes for Abi
New Kelley votes Vytas
PG is disgusted by a millipede...
Tallying the votes:
No one plays a hidden immunity idol
Votes:
Vytas - 1
Abi - 1
Vytas - 2
Abi - 2
Vytas - 3
Abi - 3
Vytas - 4
Abi - 4
Vytas - 5... one vote left...
VYTAS is the first person voted out of Survivor Second Chance - and I made $10... Bye creepy yogi.
So with Vytas leaving - Richard B, Coleen T and Chandra K are out of the pool - but we get our stake back at least - and we can root for whoever we really want to win now :)
Next week: Abi is playing the same old game, getting right in PG's face - and Varner is trying to change it up, saying to Dietz that all these threats have got to go. He doesn't like these people, he's had a wake up call to get off his @ss and play this game (oooh...)
Vytas' final thoughts - with a chuckle he tells us he originally said he'd rather not get picked than be the first out - it sucks. He went out there and tried to pick the people he wanted to play with but it's a sign of respect, they were afraid of him and with good reason. (Whatever, you creeped all the women out, so you are gone.)
They showed how everyone voted too:
Abi - Vytas
Woo - Abi
New Kelley - Vytas
Vytas - Abi
Wiglesworth - Abi
Spencer - Vytas
Shirin - Vytas
PG - Vytas
Deitz - Abi
Varner - Vytas
- So does that mean that Shirin is running this thing right now? I'm not sure if that's scary or cool - (as long as she keeps her pants on!)
Overall, I thought it was a good opening episode. I have hope for this being an enjoyable season to watch.
*Don't forget The Amazing Race starts on Friday.
Coleen
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