Survivor time! Let’s go! If you’re reading this blog you’ve probably read my cast preview/assessment, (and if you haven’t, you should – I’m told it’s pretty funny), so let’s skip over the whole “meet the Survivors” section of the first episode of season thirty. Is that okay? Can we do that? Loved Jeff’s “entrance” this season, though, that whole thing with him on the rock in the middle of the ocean with the water all gushing around him then the pull back… That was pretty cool. So after the tribes are driven to the beach where Jeff awaits, they assemble on their tribe mats and it’s Jeff banter time for awhile. You’re the White Collar tribe, you guys like to be in charge and call the shots; you make the rules. You’re the Blue Collar tribe, you guys do the hard work because it must be done; you follow the rules. You’re the No Collar tribe, you just go with the flow and do your own thing; you break the rules. Go No Collars! I am and will always be Team No Collar. That’s not going to change as the season progresses. SO! After the banter we get to the game…
Jeff asks each tribe to choose one person to represent their tribe. Jaoquin is volunteers for the White Collars… Because I think he’s the only person on the tribe who knows that you don’t want to be in a leadership position in the beginning; Max definitely knows it. Mike of the Blue Collars suggest they go with wisdom and Dan shakes his head in agreement and steps forward, even though he knows it’s a double-edged sword he’s picking up as he does it. For the No Collars, since he promised to make sandwiches, Will is chosen as the representative. Now Jeff asks each representative to choose another person and explains that both people will make a very important decision for the tribe. Mike steps forward for Blue Collar, So steps forward for White Collar and Jenn is chosen by Will for the No Collars, because he knows he can trust her to make a good decision. With the selections made, Jeff tosses each tribe a map to their camp and tells them what their tribe names are: White Collar is Masaya, Blue Collar is Escameca and the No Collars are Nagarote (I spelled it wrong in my other blog! Darnit! Oh well…). We’ll see how well those names stick as I write these blogs…
When the No Col… When Nagarote arrives at camp, Nina is quick to explain her hearing loss and that she has implants; she knows it puts her at a disadvantage, but her tribe is super supportive of her. They are all in this together! Isn’t that just like a bunch of “No Collar” people? Kumbaya! Let’s get to this twist. So each pair from each tribe must separate from the group once they get settled at camp and find a spot in the jungle where the decision making station waits for their arrival. Each pair must choose an option: Honest or Deceive. If they choose to be honest, they can bring back a “big” bag of beans to camp and hopefully earn a little trust and favor OR they can deceive by bringing home a smaller bag of beans and a clue to a hidden Immunity Idol. This is an easy decision for Will and Jenn of the No Collar tribe: Before they left everyone agreed they would do what was best for the tribe no matter what and they take home the “big” bag of beans. Dan and Mike of the Blue Collars wrestle with the decision for awhile. Mike asks Dan if he wants to be good guys or bad guys. (Let’s go be bad guys, Firefly fans! I love it when I get to reference “nerdy” stuff in this blog!!!). Dan says he heart says to be good, but villains win this game… They both agree it’s too early to be villains and they take the “big” bag. Seirra doesn’t buy what they are selling, though. That “big” bag of beans should be way bigger! LOL Agreed, Seirra! It’s a TRAP!!! Then we get to Joaquin and So for the White Collars…
After a professional round of introductions, Joaquin and So head off into the jungle and arrive at the tables with the bags; they both agree they are pretty much in an alliance now. So kind of wants to be honest, but Joaquin thinks that stupid. Who is honest? If there is an advantage he knows they both want to take it and they do, but So feels like she is making a deal with the devil as they hide the clue to the idol and head back to camp. Of course, Joaquin is totally fine with So telling the rest of the tribe the tale they have concocted to cover up their deception. There were three boxes, they chose the “Neutral” box instead of the “Honest” box because it was implied that there could be repercussions if they chose the other options aaand… No one is buying that bag of B.S. Carolyn knows they are lying, Max knows they are lying, Shirin knows they are lying… Since she knows they are lying, Shirin knows she needs to start buddying up with people and her first “target” is Carolyn. Carolyn is on board then they go talk to Max. He agrees that Joaquin and So are super tight and for now, they are a threesome.
At the Blue Collar camp, everyone is busy busy busy doing what they usually do: they are getting jobs done. They are collecting food, they are making fire; they had fire within two hours! Dan thinks the Blue Collars are kicking ass. In the midst of all this work work work, Rodney and Lindsey find some time to bond over tattoos; Rodney likes girls with tattoos because it means they like to express themselves and it opens up the door to conversations… About how his sister was murdered; he know he can always “get to” girls with that story and since he has a tattoo on his arm to honor her he can back up the story so they know he’s not lying just to gain sympathy. What a piece of work this guy is… You’re going to use the murder of your sister to get girls? And from what I gather, it seems he does it in real life too and it’s not just part of his strategy in the game. What a sicko. I try not to take personal jabs at people in my blogs, but Rodney, sweetheart, you need to get your mind and heart lined up, buddy. Using the death of your sister to get laid, which is exactly what you insinuated you do, is about as dirty rotten scoundrel as a person can get. I’d rather you were lying about her being dead. At least then you could gain “Johnny Fairplay” status, (and she would be alive…), but this? It’s just gross and wrong. Good luck using that story now, buddy!
As if all THAT weren’t enough… In his little confessional he goes on to say that this has been his plan from day one. He’s going to get the girls on his side, because girls want to sit back and let a man take the leadership role, and he’s going to lead the girls and take them to the Merge with him. ::EYEROLL:: This guy is even worse than I thought he would be. Beware of this man, ladies! He’s not ready yet; maybe he’ll be boyfriend material someday, but this guy thinks he’s fine Egyptian cotton, but he’s really like a bin full of dirty rags – nothing you want to be wearing around town. Go ahead, though, Rodney. Take all those girls to the Merge with you and see how much they actually trust you when they are around men who do not devalue their contributions to the alliance. We all remember what happened last season with Jaclyn and the Three Little Pigs… You’ll learn, Rodney, and Survivor is going to teach you. MOVING ON! Mike finds himself a scorpion around the Blue Collar camp and decides he’s going to put some protein into his body by eating it… And he’s sick from it not long afterward. LOL No, Mike, not the best idea.
The good feelings are still flowing over at the No Collar camp. Jenn loves everyone! And Vince is digging Jenn’s vibes. She is definitely his kind of girl. When the two of them head away from camp to collect water, he takes advantage of the opportunity to butter her up with genuine compliments – I do believe Vince is a very genuine guy – and lets her know that he thinks they can go to the end together. His attraction to women is his greatest weakness, by the way, ladies. What a breath of fresh air Vince is right about now after all that Rodney business… Jenn isn’t opposed to aligning with Vince, she’s open to being whatever her perceives her to be and it’s good to have allies this early in the game so she’s going to go along with Vince, for now. When they return, it’s shelter-building time and Joe is getting a little frustrated with Vince. Joe has worked in construction, he knows how to build things and Vince really isn’t listening to him. And Vince thinks Joe is being a little pushy and only wants to do things his way; he sees it as red flag behavior. Shelter-building is causing some friction at the Blue Collar tribe too. Dan is source of the frustration, but he’s really trying to do what’s best for everyone, he’s just having trouble with social skills, according to Kelly. When he leaves to collect firewood, Rodney, with the ladies, of course, remarks that they need to get rid of Harry Potter’s grandfather. Mike totally has Dan’s back, but he might be the only one at this point.
Back to the No Collar camp, Joe is getting ready to build fire. He watched a YouTube video and made fire every day before he came to the island. Wow! Imagine that! Someone that knew they were going to be on Survivor learned how to make fire before being flown to the island! What a novel idea that is! They don’t have any flint yet so Jenn is super impressed and this is something that she’s GOT to see; she’s such a nice girl that she even brings him some coconut husks. Jenn likes Joe and he’s a good-lookin’ dude and Jenn is a fun, friendly girl so as he builds the fire there is a little bit of flirting happening. Vince is not pleased and he’s wondering if Jenn doesn’t want to ride Joe’s “wave” instead of his; he doesn’t trust Joe so this is very worrisome for Vince. Alone in the jungle he asks if she has a connection with Joe and he asks if she finds him attractive, even a little and Jenn thinks, as I think, that Vince is jealous. She tries to sooth his ego by saying that yeah, she likes Joe as a human being and she likes him as a human being, she’s not playing the flirt game, she doesn’t prefer anyone over anyone. She’s on board with him to the end; it’s him and her, buuut… Vince is not buying this and neither am I. I think Jenn really likes Joe and I predict she swings over to his side of the hut eventually. They hug it out, a very long, smelly hug then it’s time for us to swing over to the White Collar tribe.
Life is rough for the White Collars. They barely have a shelter; no one knows how to make fire. They are having real problem adjusting the blue collars they have to wear in this game to maintain camp life, but they are doing their best. They are taking a very methodical, white collar approach to whole thing and everyone seems to be pulling their weight. Carolyn is doing some other kind of work as she works around camp; she’s got her eyes on Joaquin and So. She knows they got a clue to an idol so she’s been watching them to see where they could be looking for it. Carolyn knows from past seasons what to look for in a good Immunity Idol hiding spot and she happens upon a tree that looks a unique she pokes around and TA DA! Day two and the first hidden Immunity Idol has been found and I’m so happy Carolyn found it! I was worried about her getting voted out first, but this ensures that she will not… If she plays it… If her tribe has to go to Tribal Council… If they target her…
Come on in guys! It’s time for Immunity! For this challenge, players will race down a ramp; go through an obstacle to a large crate containing a ladder. To retrieve the ladder they can either untie knots or unlock locks then they will use it to go up, across and back down two platforms. Once over the platforms they have to push the ladder through another series of obstacles then use the ladder to retrieve bags of puzzle pieces, but they have another choice to make. There are three puzzles; the first only has five pieces, but it is the most difficult because you have to use “outside of the box” thinking to solve it. The second puzzle is visual and has ten pieces and the third puzzle has fifty, but it is also the most straight forward. All puzzles average the same solving time the outcome of the challenge really hinges on the tribe’s abilities to assess their individual strengths. I LOVE THIS! So many choices means that winning is less about luck and more about a thought process. It’s awesome! The first two tribes to finish will win Immunity and they are also playing for Reward: first tribe to finish receives a massive fire-making kit, second tribe gets a flint. Survivors ready… GO!
Down the ramp and through they hay they go then it’s time to high-step it over the bamboo grid to the ladder crate aaand… Everyone goes for the keys?! Why fiddle around with keys and locks when you can whip through those knots without an element of chance? DUH! As Vince, Lindsey and Joaquin are messing around with keys, Jeff reminds that they can switch anytime. Anytime, folks, you can switch anytime. HINT! HINT! Future Survivors: Sometimes you need to pay attention to Jeff during a challenge, especially if you’re getting frustrated with a tricky task. *wink* The White Collars are the first to switch to the knots; So is on it! Mike steps in to untie knots for the Blue Collars and Joe takes the reigns for the No Collars. So zips through the knots and the White Collars have their ladder first, followed by the No Collars and Mike is still working on knots by the time they are both over the platforms. We know what puzzles are at the end of long challenges like this, though: The Great Equalizer! No Collars are to the puzzle bags first and they choose the ten piece puzzle, White Collars go for the fifty. Jenn starts for the No Collars, but she starts feeling flustered so Joe steps in; Shirin is working for the White Collars. Finally the Blue Collars join them; they are doing the ten piece puzzle and shortly after Seirra has gotten started… NO COLLARS WIN FIRST IMMUNITY!
While the No Collars celebrate, Seirra and Shirin are working hard on their puzzles. The Blue Collars are helping Seirra as much as they can from the sidelines; Max decides to step in for Shirin and after Mike has a look at the puzzle, he swaps spots with Seirra and takes over for his tribe. Mike is working fast too. His tribe is cheering him on and so are the No Collars, but there’s no love for Max. He has made up a lot of ground, but Max has fifty pieces, Mike had ten and he’s speeding along quite nicely. As Mike continues to place piece and piece, Shirin is feeling the pressure. Max is only a third of the way finished and it’s like a countdown on New Years Eve with the Blue Collar tribe on their way to kissin’ time. With help from Dan, Mike flips his last piece around and BLUE COLLARS WIN SECOND IMMUNITY!
Well, well, well… I guess the straight-forward, White Collar approach was not the one to take with those puzzles, eh? So is sooo disappointed. They were ahead and she’s blaming Shirin and Carolyn for the tribe loss. When they return to camp, there is talk of coming up with a schedule to discuss what has to happen next, some people talk about getting water and Carolyn explains to us that one of the girls is definitely going home; they guys are stronger and the tribe needs them. While everyone else is off doing things, Max and So have a conversation about the upcoming vote; Max thinks it’s obvious where the challenge fell apart, but So isn’t thinking that way. So wants to target Carolyn because she is playing the safe role and So wants people on her tribe that are going to go for it and deliver. We are going to fast forward now. Basically So and Joaquin are voting for Carolyn. That is solid. Carolyn sniffs out the plan, though and Tyler confirms it; she tells Tyler that she has the Idol and he says, without needing to talk about it again before Tribal, that she probably doesn’t need to use it. There is some conversation between Carolyn, Shirin and Max; the ladies are voting for So no matter what. It all boils down to Max, who is loyal to the girls, and Tyler, the wild card… When we go to Tribal, we really don’t know which way Tyler is going to throw is vote.
After the White Collars dip their torches to set them ablaze, Jeff pulls out his big spoon and commences with the pot stirring. He brings up the choice Joaquin and So had at the top of the show and the two of them learn for sure that no one bought their story. So thinks it’s heartbreaking that the rest of the tribe had to find out this way; the four of them are really tight… Oh, So. So so so so so. Why do people think they are in a confessional booth at church when they are at Tribal Council? Why? Future Survivors: YOU CAN LIE to Jeff and the rest of the tribe, even to your own alliance members, when you are at Tribal Council. Lying at Tribal is totally allowed. If it will further your game to answer Jeff’s questions dishonestly, let your alliance members know and LIE LIE LIE. It could be a million dollar mistake if you don’t. You could be like So and have one little comment at Tribal Council be your total downfall in the game. Tyler was on the fence about her. He told us it could go either way and because she couldn’t lie when it counted the most. So despite all of the back and forth that ensued over So’s comment about the “four” between So and Carolyn… So long, So. So sad to see you go. At least Max got what he wanted from the Survivor Gods at his first Tribal Council! A wicked downpour and lots of drama! LOL
Survivor airs every Wednesday on CBS at 8/7c and from the look of it, it’s naked time at the White Collar camp next week! If you like my Survivor blogs, check out my King of the Nerds blogs and if you’re an Amazing Race fan, Hanne’s got you covered. We’ve got Dana on Bachelor blogs and recap videos and there’s plenty more here at Your Reality Recaps to enjoy for all you reality TV lovers.
1 Comment
Joaquin wins this season