Talk about down and dirty and in more ways than just the obvious! This season of "Survivor" is proving that labels mean nothing. If labeled a hero, wouldn't you assume that person would attempt to live up to that name. Some of those labeled "villains" would probably have preferred a different moniker.Heroes among us!
It's clear that the Heroes can hardly stand one another. Personally, I'm tired of James and JT for that matter. JT is clearly more villainous than anyone realizes it. He just manages to hide it better.
Side note: When Candice comes on the screen does anyone else scratch their head and wonder what she's doing on this version of "Survivor"? Nothing against her, but she seems bland, and one dimensional; although, I did learn more about her last night than the previous two episodes.
I still like Tom although his days in the game are definitely numbered if James has his way. Colby will likely follow shortly after Tom.
Rupert wants a rainy day so everyone will sit inside the shelter and play games all day and hopefully bond. Instead, he gets a chicken catching incident that allows the men of the team to come together and catch two escaped chickens. The men surround the shelter where the chicken is hiding and force the chicken out the back where Tom manages to catch it. Rupert is ecstatic that they were able to bond over catching the chicken. I get the feeling it will be short term though, because there is very little trust among them.
Sleeping with the enemy?
Meanwhile back at the Villains camp, we see who is sleeping next to whom. I found Boston Rob's insight absolutely invaluable. He provided an "Ah-ha" moment of the game. Boston Rob observed that if you want to see who's aligning with who, you merely have to see who they are sleeping next to.
Parvati and Russell are sleeping next to each other and cuddling with one another. The married Hantz is described as following her around with "puppy dog eyes." Seems that Russell is, at the very least, smitten by Parvati.
On the other hand, Coach is up in the middle of the night stroking Jerri's hand and making me scream at the tv, "Don't go there, Jerri! Please don't go there!"
Rob also notes that he's done the same thing. It's actually the best piece of advice I've heard because he's right, you are not going to sleep next to someone you don't trust.
Parvati and Russell's relationship is not unnoticed by others in the tribe. Coach tries to advise Russell that it's best not to appear too close to Parvati. Rob also tries. Coach observes that she gets her way by with her smile and tiny bikini. Russell listens but later describes Coach as a joke and resents the interference of both men.
The playground bully resurfaces
Russell is once again up to his old tricks. Planning on taking control of the game, Russell buries the machete. He hopes that the missing machete will cause controversy in the camp.
Here is where "Survivor" mirrors life more than anywhere else. Most people encounter a Russell in everyday life but few people have to live with someone like him. Russell is a school yard bully who enjoys tormenting others for the simple sake of tormenting others. These bullies grow up to be office or work bullies. The guys you simply can't wait to get away from. I would hate being a part of his team!
Randy, meanwhile, is on an island by himself, so to speak. He catches a giant clam and attempts to share it with his teammates. Tyson refuses. Courtney appears to have lapsed into a zombie-like state as she doesn't even acknowledge his presence.
On the beach, Randy shares it with Sandra and Parvati, who promptly spits out her mouthful. At this point, I'm wondering why they are eating the clam uncooked. I would think they would have had the ability to at least boil water at this point but also, aren't they hungry by now? Everyone has been through this at least one other time. Where's their drive to survive?
Who's the best gamer?
In the Heroes camp, JT begins to worry that Candice is more of a gamer than she originally let on. Because of this, he starts a rumor that Candice doesn't trust Cirie. Now for his part, James claims to not to get too much practice lying in real life but he's a pretty good liar in the game. File this under the heading: Things that make me say, hmmmmm.
Cirie goes straight to Candice and questions her new information. Candice, of course, denies it because she never said it! JT's lie does set in motion some interesting new scenarios as Candice begins questioning the others as to where the information is coming from.
In JT's case, his previous season's play is helping his game. Everyone assumes that, since he was basically truthful during his first season, he will continue to be truthful now. So far, he's got a lot of people feeling that he's truly remorseful about having to go against an alliance and he's also lied successfully a number of times. Possibly the best "strategic makeover" of all the players!
Down and dirty!
The reward challenge favors the Heroes by far. There are only a few close match-ups and most of them are the women. The challenge features a mud sumo wrestling match. The main rule of the game is that both hands must be on the bag at all times.
Tom takes on Russell and makes quick work of him starting the Heroes roll to victory. Next up is Candice versus Parvati. I really thought Parvati would win this one but Candice pushes Parvati into the mud.
The match between Rupert and Coach features the first do-over of the game as Coach's hand comes off the bag and Rupert goes in the mud. During the rematch, a wiser Rupert defeats Coach. I must say I was actually happy they both had an opportunity to taste the mud.
Jerri takes on Cirie who quickly finishes her off. JT knocks Tyson in the mud. Tyson emerges from the mud and gives JT a quick peck on the cheek. Is it wrong that I felt a little thrill when Tyson hit the mud?
Amanda and Danielle are more evenly matched but Amanda continued the winning ways of the Heroes and knocks Danielle in the mud. The best match-up of the day was between Boston Rob and Colby. I was hard pressed to know just who I wanted to win because I like them both but eventually Colby won.
Through the previous match-ups I kept wondering who would face off against James. As each match ended and the field of Villains dwindled it became painfully clear that Randy was going to face James. Randy? Really? The mere fact that he even made his way to the platform and stood up to face James should have been worth at least a half a point! The villains should have been able to put up Tyson with Randy just to even it out a bit (I actually wanted to see Tyson in the mud one more time. Shoot me. :) ). One shove and the challenge was over.
In addition to immunity, the Heroes took back coffee and rice and that warm fuzzy feeling of winning their first challenge since, well, the first challenge!
That's pretty much the last we see of the Heroes until next week.
1001 reasons why Parvati should go...
The Villains, on the other hand, are doing what villains do best. That's right, strategizing. I bet you thought I would say something else! Didn't you?
Parvati's charms are not lost on anyone. Coach doesn't like her and that goes double for Jerri. Add Rob to the list of people who don't like Parvati. Then there's Randy! Randy knows his head is on the chopping block because he's the oldest but he warns and he warns and he warns the people to take the threat that is Parvati seriously.
Randy is making sense when he explains that, if she makes it to the merge, she has plenty of friends on the other side. She has James, Cirie and Amanda, all of whom she has played with and aligned in the past.
Sandra could have been persuaded to vote her out. I'm almost positive Tyson would have gone with her as well.
At tribal council, Sandra points out the obvious threat of Parvati flipping to the other side at the merge. Just as quickly though, she puts Coach under the gun with her assertion that he spends his time doing nothing.
As Jeff reveals the votes, not one is cast against Parvati. Randy is revealed as the unanimous choice of the rest of the tribe. As he leaves the council area, he flips his buff into the fire. During closing credits his lone vote for Rob is revealed. Not sure why he chose Rob as his target but he did.
For some reason, this episode lacked the drama that the previous two had. Not sure why. Maybe there was not enough material or maybe seeing the Villains plotting against one of their own was anti-climatic!
Also, I'm not a big fan of the combined immunity/reward challenges. It made me wonder whether the season is abbreviated somewhat. Because of the combined challenges, no one is being exiled which is always a fun part of the game. I would love to see James and Russell exiled together. ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment