Fiddlesticks:
That's my ultimate reaction to Episode 5. Great episode, but still - fiddlesticks. This will make more sense by the end.
Reward? Think again. Mix-up time:
As the teams gather at the reward arena, they get the news we were teased with last week. Drop your buffs. We're making new teams. Each team is given a set of concealed buffs that are split evenly between Coyopa and Hunahpu colors. So we will have 4 original Hunahpu and 3 original Coyopa on each tribe.
Let's cut to the chase. Here are the new teams - originals first, followed by new members.
Coyopa: Dale, Jaclyn, and Baylor, joined by Kelley, Jon, Missy, and Keith.
Hunahpu: Reed, Jeremy, Natalie, and Julie, joined by Wes, Josh, and Alec.
Coyopa ends up with 3 couples and 7th-wheel Keith.
Hunahpu ends up with 1 couple (Josh and Reed) and a bunch of individuals.
The only couple still split up are Keith and Wes, who swapped places with each other.
Food Issues and Social Issues:
For the new Hunahpu, the drama was food issues. As it turns out, they had been way overeating and running their rice supply until it was just about gone in 12 days. Jeff posits that this could explain their dominance in challenges. Reed asks Jeff if they can do some sort of trade for more rice. Jeff agrees, but says he'll stop by the day after tribal, and warns them that it will be a steep trade.
For the new Coyopa, food is plentiful, but there is some social drama. If I may go all teenage-girl on this...and believe me, it sounds better if you read it as if it's being spoken by a gossiping teenage-girl.
Keith is worried because he's the only single. Jon and Jaclyn are constantly kissing, making it look like a honeymoon or something. Baylor notices, and they notice her noticing, but she says it's fine, even though she sounds jealous since she's a single 20 year old. Baylor and Dale never really got along since they have both voted for each other. Missy doesn't like Dale because Dale has targeted Baylor. Kelley doesn't like Baylor because Balyor had targeted Dale. Dale also doesn't like Missy because she's cooking too much rice and he's an old stubborn guy who usually speaks his mind. Missy doesn't like that Dale is speaking his mind. This all equates to Jon and Jaclyn being in between the two couples, along with Keith.
Immunity Challenge:
The team must dig up a bag of keys. Then use 1 key to open a gate so that everyone on the team can crawl through a soggy mud pit under low wooden beams. Once all are through the mud, the team shakes a tall wobbly tower to get 20 sandbags to fall out. When all the sandbags have fallen out, collect them and have 2 people start tossing them onto a wobbly 2-foot diameter hanging target. The first team to get 10 sandbags on the target wins immunity.
Hunahpu, though newly formed, starts out in the lead. They make it through the mud first, and get their sandbags first. Coyopa is not only behind, but also has trouble getting their sandbags to fall down because they tried for smaller shaking movements instead of big swinging movements. Hunahpu gets all 10 of their bags onto the target before Coyopa can even start.
For the record (mainly for anyone who reads this either way after it happens or who didn't see the episosde), after winning immunity and after Coyopa heads out is when Reed asks Jeff about trading for more rice. So they get to share their last 2-3 handfulls either tonight or tomorrow, then Jeff will stop by to "negotiate". Seeing as how Hunahpu won most of the rewards, I'm going to guess that Jeff will want just about everything they have won. This really stings for the former Coyopa members who walked into this terrible situation.
Tribal Council:
I'm skipping straight into tribal because I already talked about Coyopa's social drama. So if you read that section above, you know the main story leading into the vote.
Basically, there are 3 teams and Keith. 2 teams can't stand each other, so the 3rd team - Jon & Jaclyn - get to decide which team they want to advance with. Since Keith is just 1 vote, he really doesn't factor into any of this. Jon & Jaclyn will side with another couple, which makes a 4 vote majority. At least it makes tonight easy for Keith. That is, unless he gets targeted as being the odd man out. Good thing for him though that he has a hidden immunity idol, and thanks to the tribal mix-up his previous talk of Jeremy having it seem to have faded from memory.
There is, however, minor fear that Kelley went looking for an idol. So Baylor and Missy think that votes may need to be split, at least if they end up with the numbers. But then, Keith's vote could become a factor if he wants it to.
Cutting to the chase, the 1st 6 votes are: 2 for Baylor, 2 for Dale, and 2 for Kelley. The final vote sends Kelley out of the game. Here's the fiddlesticks. She was my day-1 pick to win this season. So much for those bragging rights. So anyway, you'd think that Keith must have been the deciding vote. Makes sense given the break-down. But wait. During Kelley's 30-second goodbye at the end, we see that he and Jon voted for Dale, while Jaclyn, Baylor, and Missy voted for Kelley. I guess he must have been on the same page, because if he wasn't then their whole plan could have backfired.
What If, Version 1:
So the split vote was to protect against if Kelley had found an idol. They were betting that it would have been played to save Dale, and with 3 votes on Kelley she'd go home instead of it being a tie vote. But what if Keith had decided to play differently. Knowing he was vote #2 against Dale, he could have voted for Baylor, forcing a 3-3-1 tie. Then, if Kelley had the idol and had played it for herself, it would be Baylor going home and they'd have an even power situation of 3 vs. 3 as they move forward. But, he didn't do that, and Kelley didn't have an idol so even if he did, the revote would have sent Kelley packing anyway.
What If, Version 2:
This one is much better, which is why I saved it. Jon and Jaclyn were in the middle, needing to pick sides based on what could get them further in the game, but had limited time to make that decision and really know who they could or couldn't trust. Each had seen half of the other 2 couples, but they were finally seeing how they work together, how they act, how they strategize. What if they agreed to vote with one team, but then worked with the other team to vote out Keith instead? Keith is an older guy who doesn't bring much to challenges. A few of them saw him throw Jeremy under the bus, saying he had the immunity idol. Why not take out Keith now and save the true decision about which team to join for next time? This gives you more time to feel out both couples, who you know aren't about to make nice with each other, so you're guaranteed to still be the important swing votes. I think this would have been a much better strategy, as long as Keith didn't catch on and play his idol.
Hey, Survivor Casting.
Yes, you. If you're reading this, that last paragraph is exactly why you should choose me for this show. I'll talk through all these possible decisions instead of just taking a simple choice. That's kind of what I do - over analyze things that require decisions.
Editor's Note:
I fully understand Dale's reaction to Missy cooking too much rice. My dad is similarly stubborn and willing to speak his mind. Given that, I honestly believe that how Dale was reacting was indeed holding back. It's easy to watch and say "Dale, just zip it. Don't let it bother you, not outloud. Complain about it behind their backs to other people if you must, but pretend to ignore it while it is happening." But he can't do it. That's not him. Sadly for him, it helped to get his daughter kicked out of the game because he seemed like the more obvious target. Kelley being voted out is effectively an unintended consequence of the existence of hidden immunity idols. Without the, Dale would have been gone in a heartbeat.
Next Week:
I don't even remember the previews for episode 6. But here's my 2 cents. Coyopa kept Dale instead of Kelley. They already, and still, couldn't win an immunity challenge. They'll be visiting Jeff again on Wednesday. Thankfully, due to poor rice rationing, we'll get to see Jeff interact with Hunahpu at the top of the episode.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Survivor SJdS Episode 5 speculation
Speculation on Survivor: San Juan del Sur (SJdS) Episode 5
I semi-promised to give my thoughts on potential winners and losers in the case of a tribal mix-up for tonight's episode. I just remembered that. So this will be quick.
Tribes get mixed up. Most usual method - randomness. So anyone could be on either team. We could have an entire team of men. We could have an entire team of couples. We could have the exact same teams, just wearing opposite colors and living at each others camps (that practically happened in season 8, with only Amber staying the same).
Having not seen any previews other than the one immediately following last week's episode, this is all pure speculation.
Possible Winners:
Baylor: She has had votes cast against her at every tribal council.
Dale: He's been a perpetual target on his tribe, and with dwindling numbers this could help big time.
Keith: Jeremy would be gunning for him, so a mix-up may provide some distraction from that plan.
Julie: Another recent target, though for unusual reasons (not having a loved one there anymore).
Possible Losers:
Wes: He's well liked and nobody has targeted him on his current tribe.
Jeremy: Also well liked and in good control where he is.
Wild Card:
Josh: He's proven to both go with the wind and sometimes create his own. Look for him to be pivotal in his new tribe's direction.
Now, let's see how this all shapes up. New episode starts right about now.
I semi-promised to give my thoughts on potential winners and losers in the case of a tribal mix-up for tonight's episode. I just remembered that. So this will be quick.
Tribes get mixed up. Most usual method - randomness. So anyone could be on either team. We could have an entire team of men. We could have an entire team of couples. We could have the exact same teams, just wearing opposite colors and living at each others camps (that practically happened in season 8, with only Amber staying the same).
Having not seen any previews other than the one immediately following last week's episode, this is all pure speculation.
Possible Winners:
Baylor: She has had votes cast against her at every tribal council.
Dale: He's been a perpetual target on his tribe, and with dwindling numbers this could help big time.
Keith: Jeremy would be gunning for him, so a mix-up may provide some distraction from that plan.
Julie: Another recent target, though for unusual reasons (not having a loved one there anymore).
Possible Losers:
Wes: He's well liked and nobody has targeted him on his current tribe.
Jeremy: Also well liked and in good control where he is.
Wild Card:
Josh: He's proven to both go with the wind and sometimes create his own. Look for him to be pivotal in his new tribe's direction.
Now, let's see how this all shapes up. New episode starts right about now.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Keys to Survivor San Juan del Sur Episode 4
Gloating:
Thank you to those who read my posts. The page view counts have been high enough to rule out just my mom reading them. Sure, she could click in and read it multiple times. Or she could check it twice daily waiting for an update. But I'm betting she doesn't have the time for that.
Humility:
Then again, I'm only getting double digit views. We're talking less than 30 per post (so per week). It's nothing to write home about. But I suppose it must be worth blogging about. Anyway, on the the reason you come here: Survivor!
Revelations of Dale:
Dale somehow felt too comfortable in the game. With John getting voted out, he has realized he needs to focus. Not sure why he would have felt comfortable, but he did. Editing likely plays into this. When 2-3 days go by, I'm sure he chats with people and feels somewhat included.
Two Times the Flint, Four Times the Embarrassment:
Who's surprised? Hunahpu found their lost flint. It was less than a foot from their fire pit, just barely under the dirt. If they had lost it any closer than that, they probably would have found it quite a bit sooner in grand fashion. Drew decides to reverse bargain with Jeff Probst to get something for their unused new flint. Nobody else wanted to even ask. Kelley seemed downright embarrassed that it was even happening. Sorry, Kelly. You're on Survivor. People do stupid things. You're not guilty of their stupidity just because it is happening right behind you. No harm - just let it go. Jeff was not interested in making a deal, also to no surprise.
Editor's Note: Four (from the title to this section of the post) was just a semi-random number. Please, no comments or questions about it's significance. It has none.
Reward - Battle Michigan:
Hunahpu won rock/paper/scissors and put Jon up to face Jaclyn. Retrieve 3 bags of balls using a grappling hook. Launch 5 balls into 5 different buckets by jumping on a wooden lever with varying amounts of force. 4 buckets are larger, in a square pattern. 1 bucket has a fairly small opening at the center of the square. Jon gets his balls back first, but Jaclyn is close behind. It comes down to the final middle bucket. Both miss a few times, hitting the top rim. Jon connects first. Jaclyn is sent to Exile Island along with Drew, who was both chosen and volunteered at the same time. For reward, they turn down a great cook-out meal and take the "comfort" of pillows, blankets, and a tarp.
Barely Noteworthy Exile:
Drew gets the clue to the idol, but reads it aloud so Jaclyn knows the info too. She was told by Alec that Drew is a charmer and Drew doesn't disappoint. Drew goes as far as telling her that he may throw the Immunity challenge so Coyopa won't have to visit tribal again and Hunahpu can get rid of some dead weight. Will it happen?
Hidden Idol Issues:
Keith goes looking, but can't find the idol. He figured Jeremy must have it. Someone sees him maybe searching. He throws Jeremy, possibly his best ally, under the bus. Not a bad move if it can earn you new allies. These potential new allies go right to Jeremy, who never backs down from speaking his mind. Keith's plan backfires and Jeremy is just upset. Thankfully for Keith, he later finds the idol. This could make him look even worse, but if it saves him then who cares?
Challenge Throwing Digression:
Is it ever a good idea to throw a challenge? I do have a coworker who thinks that it was the right move just once. She agreed with the move to get rid of Russel Hantz. I see her logic, but even in that case I don't agree. Russell was a known quantity with only 2 allies and no idol. I would have cut off his allies and utilized his experience in challenges. Other times? Pearl Islands? Bad move - killed their whole momentum. Cook Islands? Looks okay on the surface, right? Ozzy's idea and he finishes a close 2nd and becomes a fan favorite, despite an intentional loss to kick out Billy. But due to being split up, a direct result of that loss, their original tribe gets voted out 3 of the next 5 tribals, leaving only Ozzy. Caramoan? Wow, okay, special case. If a player, *cough, Brandon, cough*, is going to harm himself or others then that's totally different. Ultimately, I can't put my stamp of approval on this sort of plan.
Note that nobody has ever, EVER, thrown a reward challenge. Which is more important, reward or immunity? That logic seems good enough for me. Don't expect me to throw any challenges when they cast me.
Immunity:
Four people run/climb/swim out and back to retrieve 4 rings. Two of these retrievers continue retrieving while two other people throw the rings, attempting to hang them on Survivor-themed hat-rack. Who is throwing? Julie and Drew for Hunahpu, who have the early lead, but it's a slim one. Drew/Julie start by alternating throws until Drew takes over full time, missing wildly at times. Coyopa manage to eek out a 'victory'. Wonder if they were less enthusiastic while watching it at home last Wednesday?
Scrambling:
This gets complicated. Let me try to break it down.
1) Jeremy wants Keith out. Keith lied about Jeremy possessing an idol instead of working with him.
2) Jon wants Julie out. If too many 'singles' are around at a merge later, they'll start targeting couples, so best to ditch someone who's loved one is already gone, especially if they sit most of the challenges.
3) Drew wants Kelley out. She's quietly flying under the radar and running the show. If you talk to her you know she's never missed an episode of Survivor. The girls are going to kick out all the guys.
Editor's Note: What!? Don't you expect anyone playing this game to have seen every episode? How can she run the show if she doesn't have the numbers and is under the radar? How can the girls kick out the guys if there are only 4 girls and 5 guys?
4) The girls aren't really solidly together, but they're way more organized than the guys. Kelley hears Drew throwing her name out there, so decides she is best to target him for that, for general laziness, and probably for asking Jeff to trade them something for flint.
Let's Tribal Council like it's 1999 (+1 year):
Everyone is confused. There isn't any solid game plan. Nobody knows who to vote for. Nobody, that is, except the girls, who are playing smart. But that's still just 4 votes. Is it enough? It is when Jeremy votes with them to get rid of the true dead weight - Drew. Jon votes for Keith, thinking he was the target. Drew votes for Kelley. Keith and Reed thought they were gunning for Julie.
Take Home Messages:
A) Don't throw an immunity challenge. It isn't a good idea.
B) Have a plan going into tribal council. If you don't, somebody else does.
C) Try not to let your lasting legacy on Survivor be that you launched a self-fulfilling prophecy with you as the immediate victim. The women on this tribe suddenly have even numbers and could manipulate themselves into a position to ditch all the guys. Unless...
Next week:
Drop Your Buffs.
We have a tribal mix-up on Wednesday. Who ends up playing alongside their loved ones? Which tribe winds up strong or weak?
I avoid all Survivor commercials to limit spoilers. So these questions may already be partially answered, but I'll find out during the episode. Call me a purist.
Stay tuned. I'll try to put out a post by Tuesday night with my thoughts on who the biggest potential winners and losers are in this tribal mix-up.
Thank you to those who read my posts. The page view counts have been high enough to rule out just my mom reading them. Sure, she could click in and read it multiple times. Or she could check it twice daily waiting for an update. But I'm betting she doesn't have the time for that.
Humility:
Then again, I'm only getting double digit views. We're talking less than 30 per post (so per week). It's nothing to write home about. But I suppose it must be worth blogging about. Anyway, on the the reason you come here: Survivor!
Revelations of Dale:
Dale somehow felt too comfortable in the game. With John getting voted out, he has realized he needs to focus. Not sure why he would have felt comfortable, but he did. Editing likely plays into this. When 2-3 days go by, I'm sure he chats with people and feels somewhat included.
Two Times the Flint, Four Times the Embarrassment:
Who's surprised? Hunahpu found their lost flint. It was less than a foot from their fire pit, just barely under the dirt. If they had lost it any closer than that, they probably would have found it quite a bit sooner in grand fashion. Drew decides to reverse bargain with Jeff Probst to get something for their unused new flint. Nobody else wanted to even ask. Kelley seemed downright embarrassed that it was even happening. Sorry, Kelly. You're on Survivor. People do stupid things. You're not guilty of their stupidity just because it is happening right behind you. No harm - just let it go. Jeff was not interested in making a deal, also to no surprise.
Editor's Note: Four (from the title to this section of the post) was just a semi-random number. Please, no comments or questions about it's significance. It has none.
Reward - Battle Michigan:
Hunahpu won rock/paper/scissors and put Jon up to face Jaclyn. Retrieve 3 bags of balls using a grappling hook. Launch 5 balls into 5 different buckets by jumping on a wooden lever with varying amounts of force. 4 buckets are larger, in a square pattern. 1 bucket has a fairly small opening at the center of the square. Jon gets his balls back first, but Jaclyn is close behind. It comes down to the final middle bucket. Both miss a few times, hitting the top rim. Jon connects first. Jaclyn is sent to Exile Island along with Drew, who was both chosen and volunteered at the same time. For reward, they turn down a great cook-out meal and take the "comfort" of pillows, blankets, and a tarp.
Barely Noteworthy Exile:
Drew gets the clue to the idol, but reads it aloud so Jaclyn knows the info too. She was told by Alec that Drew is a charmer and Drew doesn't disappoint. Drew goes as far as telling her that he may throw the Immunity challenge so Coyopa won't have to visit tribal again and Hunahpu can get rid of some dead weight. Will it happen?
Hidden Idol Issues:
Keith goes looking, but can't find the idol. He figured Jeremy must have it. Someone sees him maybe searching. He throws Jeremy, possibly his best ally, under the bus. Not a bad move if it can earn you new allies. These potential new allies go right to Jeremy, who never backs down from speaking his mind. Keith's plan backfires and Jeremy is just upset. Thankfully for Keith, he later finds the idol. This could make him look even worse, but if it saves him then who cares?
Challenge Throwing Digression:
Is it ever a good idea to throw a challenge? I do have a coworker who thinks that it was the right move just once. She agreed with the move to get rid of Russel Hantz. I see her logic, but even in that case I don't agree. Russell was a known quantity with only 2 allies and no idol. I would have cut off his allies and utilized his experience in challenges. Other times? Pearl Islands? Bad move - killed their whole momentum. Cook Islands? Looks okay on the surface, right? Ozzy's idea and he finishes a close 2nd and becomes a fan favorite, despite an intentional loss to kick out Billy. But due to being split up, a direct result of that loss, their original tribe gets voted out 3 of the next 5 tribals, leaving only Ozzy. Caramoan? Wow, okay, special case. If a player, *cough, Brandon, cough*, is going to harm himself or others then that's totally different. Ultimately, I can't put my stamp of approval on this sort of plan.
Note that nobody has ever, EVER, thrown a reward challenge. Which is more important, reward or immunity? That logic seems good enough for me. Don't expect me to throw any challenges when they cast me.
Immunity:
Four people run/climb/swim out and back to retrieve 4 rings. Two of these retrievers continue retrieving while two other people throw the rings, attempting to hang them on Survivor-themed hat-rack. Who is throwing? Julie and Drew for Hunahpu, who have the early lead, but it's a slim one. Drew/Julie start by alternating throws until Drew takes over full time, missing wildly at times. Coyopa manage to eek out a 'victory'. Wonder if they were less enthusiastic while watching it at home last Wednesday?
Scrambling:
This gets complicated. Let me try to break it down.
1) Jeremy wants Keith out. Keith lied about Jeremy possessing an idol instead of working with him.
2) Jon wants Julie out. If too many 'singles' are around at a merge later, they'll start targeting couples, so best to ditch someone who's loved one is already gone, especially if they sit most of the challenges.
3) Drew wants Kelley out. She's quietly flying under the radar and running the show. If you talk to her you know she's never missed an episode of Survivor. The girls are going to kick out all the guys.
Editor's Note: What!? Don't you expect anyone playing this game to have seen every episode? How can she run the show if she doesn't have the numbers and is under the radar? How can the girls kick out the guys if there are only 4 girls and 5 guys?
4) The girls aren't really solidly together, but they're way more organized than the guys. Kelley hears Drew throwing her name out there, so decides she is best to target him for that, for general laziness, and probably for asking Jeff to trade them something for flint.
Let's Tribal Council like it's 1999 (+1 year):
Everyone is confused. There isn't any solid game plan. Nobody knows who to vote for. Nobody, that is, except the girls, who are playing smart. But that's still just 4 votes. Is it enough? It is when Jeremy votes with them to get rid of the true dead weight - Drew. Jon votes for Keith, thinking he was the target. Drew votes for Kelley. Keith and Reed thought they were gunning for Julie.
Take Home Messages:
A) Don't throw an immunity challenge. It isn't a good idea.
B) Have a plan going into tribal council. If you don't, somebody else does.
C) Try not to let your lasting legacy on Survivor be that you launched a self-fulfilling prophecy with you as the immediate victim. The women on this tribe suddenly have even numbers and could manipulate themselves into a position to ditch all the guys. Unless...
Next week:
Drop Your Buffs.
We have a tribal mix-up on Wednesday. Who ends up playing alongside their loved ones? Which tribe winds up strong or weak?
I avoid all Survivor commercials to limit spoilers. So these questions may already be partially answered, but I'll find out during the episode. Call me a purist.
Stay tuned. I'll try to put out a post by Tuesday night with my thoughts on who the biggest potential winners and losers are in this tribal mix-up.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Keys to Survivor San Juan del Sur Episode 3
Recharged and ready to blog:
To lead out my post this week I'm giving a huge thank you to the RPI Office of Alumni relations for an awesome Reunion and Homecoming weekend #RPIRHC. I thoroughly enjoyed the live astronaut Q&A via the ISS on Friday afternoon. Fan fest was lots of fun with fantastic weather. An evening of A Cappella with all 4 of RPI's vocal-only groups in addition to Voice Play made for a great ending. It made me late in posting my thoughts on last week's episode of Survivor, but it was well worth it to me. My (currently) few blog followers probably don't mind either.
Previous Vote Logistics:
Josh reveals he switched his vote at tribal council. It was going to be 3-3, but he realized Val/Jaclyn were going to vote for Baylor. So he swapped his vote to make it 4-2 so that once the other 2 girls voted it would be 4-4 and he could guarantee to force the idol out.
How is it that Josh was the only person wise enough to see where that vote was going and act decisively to maintain control? Don't these people watch countless (ok, so you could count them) seasons of Survivor before walking out on the beach? Anyway, my respect for Josh goes way up with that knowledge.
Reward Tactics:
The reward challenge is done on an unstable bridge. Transport plates from 1 side to other and get a stack of 6. Coyopa wins rock/paper/scissors and chooses Wes as he thinks he can beat his dad, Keith. He does, with a come from behind victory. Finally their losing streak ends.
Keith goes to Exile Island. Wes sends Josh because they get along so he hopes his dad will get along with him too. Coyopa chooses the abandoned fishing gear from last week instead of blankets.
Exile Strategy:
Keith gets Josh to agree to share the clue either way. Keith gets it. They share info. Keith thinks Jeremy may have it. Josh thinks John may have it. New clue adds 3 more symbols: Steps, 1 that I can't remember, and 1 that we couldn't really see. They didn't focus on it because one was already found and the other didn't get any air time on this episode.
Drama:
Jeremy was upset that Val was voted out. John says he tried to save her, but couldn't make it happen. His tribe was caught off guard by that, and Jeremy doesn't buy it anyway. Probably not a great move to mention that out loud.
Immunity Challenge:
For immunity, each team makes pairs which are tied together to race through a tangle of bamboo poles to retrieve a ball, then move to the center to shoot the ball into a vertical shaft before the other team. First team to some arbitrary number of points wins. As usual for immunity challenges, Hunahpu wins. Jeremy tells everyone about John's past comments (years ago) that were racial and homophobic. Natalie really yells at him for that and for being a poor sport. John offers to fight her after she said she would fight him. Hunahpu all tell Coyopa to get rid of him since he's a jerk and he's running the game (even though he really, really isn't - he's just starring in it right now).
New Voting Logistics and Hat Tipping:
The plan is to vote out Baylor and stay strong with the guys alliance. But Coyopa's insistence on voting out John gets them to start thinking about alternative options. Wes/Josh/Jaclyn/Baylor decide they could take John out now. Alec is on board too. Now they would just need to make it happen.
Key points at tribal council are shown. Jaclyn pretty much lets the cat out of the bag that something is awry. Why should she sound so confident unless people have a) been talking to her, and b) giving her hope by saying someone otherwise unexpected is being voted out.
Editing and Aftermath:
Editing makes many moments more clear. Editing makes it seem obvious that John could be in trouble. Jaclyn sounds confident. John hasn't heard anything before now to make him suspect anything, but hearing something now should be a huge red flag - unless she's bluffing. Jaclyn's an idiot - at least with this edit. Don't give away that there is a plan. Say you hope there is, but that you're not sure if things could go your way. Prove to me that you watch this show and you didn't just respond to a casting call for a beauty queen!
So John hears all this, and even reacts to it to indicate this is troubling to him. The last thing he wants is to be voted out with an idol in his pocket. He's already a step ahead of poor Garrett from last season who left his idol at camp and couldn't use it to save himself. This season's chiseled physique of a man surely will redeem all chiseled men.
NOPE!
Again, editing may play strongly into this, but John doesn't play his idol. He's voted out 5-2, leaving just Dale in the dark. The first true blindside this season, despite what they put on the screen in past episodes with a hashtag next to it, hoping we excitedly tweet about it.
I fully believe that if John sincerely meant that the last thing he wanted was to be voted out with an idol in his pocket, he had one way of ensuring that - playing his idol. I guess the last thing he wanted was to play an idol unnecessarily and look like a fool. Sadly, he gets to look like a fool AND be removed from the game.
Editor's Note:
Maybe it's time to cast me on a season instead of a dumb jock who will get kicked out early and disappoint.
Preview:
Looks like Drew thinks he's a god. Looks like Jeremy thinks Drew is a moron. Looks like Drew decides to tell Jeff something on behalf of his entire tribe that they supposedly wouldn't ask. We can only guess what that's all about, but it sure sounds like a bad idea which will cause wonderful new drama to spice up episode 4, coming up in less than a day.
To lead out my post this week I'm giving a huge thank you to the RPI Office of Alumni relations for an awesome Reunion and Homecoming weekend #RPIRHC. I thoroughly enjoyed the live astronaut Q&A via the ISS on Friday afternoon. Fan fest was lots of fun with fantastic weather. An evening of A Cappella with all 4 of RPI's vocal-only groups in addition to Voice Play made for a great ending. It made me late in posting my thoughts on last week's episode of Survivor, but it was well worth it to me. My (currently) few blog followers probably don't mind either.
Previous Vote Logistics:
Josh reveals he switched his vote at tribal council. It was going to be 3-3, but he realized Val/Jaclyn were going to vote for Baylor. So he swapped his vote to make it 4-2 so that once the other 2 girls voted it would be 4-4 and he could guarantee to force the idol out.
How is it that Josh was the only person wise enough to see where that vote was going and act decisively to maintain control? Don't these people watch countless (ok, so you could count them) seasons of Survivor before walking out on the beach? Anyway, my respect for Josh goes way up with that knowledge.
Reward Tactics:
The reward challenge is done on an unstable bridge. Transport plates from 1 side to other and get a stack of 6. Coyopa wins rock/paper/scissors and chooses Wes as he thinks he can beat his dad, Keith. He does, with a come from behind victory. Finally their losing streak ends.
Keith goes to Exile Island. Wes sends Josh because they get along so he hopes his dad will get along with him too. Coyopa chooses the abandoned fishing gear from last week instead of blankets.
Exile Strategy:
Keith gets Josh to agree to share the clue either way. Keith gets it. They share info. Keith thinks Jeremy may have it. Josh thinks John may have it. New clue adds 3 more symbols: Steps, 1 that I can't remember, and 1 that we couldn't really see. They didn't focus on it because one was already found and the other didn't get any air time on this episode.
Drama:
Jeremy was upset that Val was voted out. John says he tried to save her, but couldn't make it happen. His tribe was caught off guard by that, and Jeremy doesn't buy it anyway. Probably not a great move to mention that out loud.
Immunity Challenge:
For immunity, each team makes pairs which are tied together to race through a tangle of bamboo poles to retrieve a ball, then move to the center to shoot the ball into a vertical shaft before the other team. First team to some arbitrary number of points wins. As usual for immunity challenges, Hunahpu wins. Jeremy tells everyone about John's past comments (years ago) that were racial and homophobic. Natalie really yells at him for that and for being a poor sport. John offers to fight her after she said she would fight him. Hunahpu all tell Coyopa to get rid of him since he's a jerk and he's running the game (even though he really, really isn't - he's just starring in it right now).
New Voting Logistics and Hat Tipping:
The plan is to vote out Baylor and stay strong with the guys alliance. But Coyopa's insistence on voting out John gets them to start thinking about alternative options. Wes/Josh/Jaclyn/Baylor decide they could take John out now. Alec is on board too. Now they would just need to make it happen.
Key points at tribal council are shown. Jaclyn pretty much lets the cat out of the bag that something is awry. Why should she sound so confident unless people have a) been talking to her, and b) giving her hope by saying someone otherwise unexpected is being voted out.
Editing and Aftermath:
Editing makes many moments more clear. Editing makes it seem obvious that John could be in trouble. Jaclyn sounds confident. John hasn't heard anything before now to make him suspect anything, but hearing something now should be a huge red flag - unless she's bluffing. Jaclyn's an idiot - at least with this edit. Don't give away that there is a plan. Say you hope there is, but that you're not sure if things could go your way. Prove to me that you watch this show and you didn't just respond to a casting call for a beauty queen!
So John hears all this, and even reacts to it to indicate this is troubling to him. The last thing he wants is to be voted out with an idol in his pocket. He's already a step ahead of poor Garrett from last season who left his idol at camp and couldn't use it to save himself. This season's chiseled physique of a man surely will redeem all chiseled men.
NOPE!
Again, editing may play strongly into this, but John doesn't play his idol. He's voted out 5-2, leaving just Dale in the dark. The first true blindside this season, despite what they put on the screen in past episodes with a hashtag next to it, hoping we excitedly tweet about it.
I fully believe that if John sincerely meant that the last thing he wanted was to be voted out with an idol in his pocket, he had one way of ensuring that - playing his idol. I guess the last thing he wanted was to play an idol unnecessarily and look like a fool. Sadly, he gets to look like a fool AND be removed from the game.
Editor's Note:
Maybe it's time to cast me on a season instead of a dumb jock who will get kicked out early and disappoint.
Preview:
Looks like Drew thinks he's a god. Looks like Jeremy thinks Drew is a moron. Looks like Drew decides to tell Jeff something on behalf of his entire tribe that they supposedly wouldn't ask. We can only guess what that's all about, but it sure sounds like a bad idea which will cause wonderful new drama to spice up episode 4, coming up in less than a day.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Survivor San Juan Del Sur episode 2
My thoughts on the 2nd episode of this season of Survivor follow. They may not mesh with your thoughts. Too bad, their mine.
Stray Vote:
Josh immediately reveals to Baylor that he was the one who voted for her. He claims it was a ploy to make sure the rest of the group doesn't think they're too close. He also claims that this makes their 2-person alliance even stronger.
Baylor doesn't agree and neither do I. Baylor will never trust him like she may have before.
It may have the intended effect on the rest of the tribe, but also an unintended effect where they see him as someone who doesn't stick to the voting plan.
Reward Challenge:
I enjoy these loved ones head-to-head challenges. Adds way more spice than a full team challenge. I applaud John for choosing himself to represent Coyopa, but I'm amused that he seems to think any game involving a ball should be one he, as a former pitcher, should dominate at. If you saw the episode you know that Julie destroyed him due to two things: a smaller stature to help her navigate obstacles, and patience to complete the obstacles slowly to ensure she doesn't make a mistake.
Exile Related Thoughts:
I liked Julie's choice of sending Jeremy to Exile with John.
I liked Jeremy sharing his clue with John. Why not? Any move that curries favor, and especially one that doesn't hurt your own chances of finding the idol at your camp.
The clue is essentially the same as last week except they provide 2 more symbols and their translations. We see a symbol that translates to "7", and another that translates to "North".
Immunity Challenge:
Perfect! No complaints from me about recycling this challenge from the last Blood vs Water. American Gladiator style push the other person off the platform with a padded weapon. Physical battles are always great, and throw in some head-to-head loved ones battles and it's even better. I loved how close this one came, even if it was due to editing down from a larger subset of battles. If my memory doesn't fail me, John disappointed. Baylor vs her mom Missy was interesting. A harmless injury led off their battle, with Baylor getting a split lip from their heads banging. Neither took advantage of this shock, so Jeff counted them back in once Baylor agreed she was fine, but Missy's energy was gone. I would have put money on the farm girl, Kelley, standing victorious over the beauty queen, Jaclyn. I was wrong on their first match-up, but Kelley reigned supreme in the rematch which sealed the victory for Hunahpu.
Thinking:
Val and John discuss the clue to the idol. Val claimed she found an idol at camp and on Exile and would use them to save both her and Jaclyn. Excellent thinking - get them to target someone else completely. John buys it, tells others, a decision is made to split the vote. John and Jeremy had promised to look after each other's significant others. So John does his best, given the situation, and tells Val to play her idol and save herself.
Hidden Idol
Meanwhile, somewhere in there John thought about his idol clue: Water, Dig, 7, North. He didn't try to decipher the lid to the well, much to my dismay. Instead he took a stab at it and took 7 paces north of the well, into the low-lying brush, and started digging. I laughed at him. Then he found it. I stopped laughing. I simultaneously A) disapproved of the clues leading to the discovery of the idol so easily, and B) applauded the fact that nobody without a clue would have had a shot in hell of finding this idol by just looking in typical idol hiding places. I really wanted nearly the full message written in code around the well lid to need to be deciphered before someone could take a stab at it. But I also recognize that someone finding the idol earlier leads to more chances to use it and better TV. So ultimately, bravo to the Survivor producers for this season's idol hiding. Heck, we still have another whole team which has yet to discover their idol.
Overthinking
Back to Val. So naturally, the best move to make at this point is to fess up to John and tell him she doesn't really have an idol. This in turn makes him need to revise his voting strategy in order to keep his word to Jeremy. Sadly, Val does no such thing. Ok, so it would be even better if she prays on John's willingness to believe her and offers to share the idol with him as an unknown alliance, later in the game, if he can cause Baylor to be voted out instead. Alas, she doesn't fess up, and she doesn't make any secret deals. She instead hopes that the boys and Baylor split their vote 3-3, allowing Val and Jaclyn to vote for Baylor and have everything work out. I know Jeff Probst loves big moves and probably appreciated what Val is trying to do here. But the plan is already partially backfiring, so why tempt fate and go all in? I think the bigger play here would have been to try to manipulate John and change the outcome.
Tribal Council:
Let me sum this up quickly, if I can. The majority weren't dumb. They split their vote 4-2 (4-Val, 2-Baylor, and who knows if Baylor knew she was the backup plan or not, but I'm guessing not). They knew that Val and Jaclyn would either vote for a guy (ensuring Val goes home) or would vote for Baylor (forcing a tie and a revote). Val & Jaclyn vote for Baylor as they planned, but the vote ends up 4-4. Our 1st tie vote of the season. 6 people go back to revote, excluding Val and Baylor. John, still fully believing Val has an idol, switches and votes for her in the revote, saying "I told you to play your idol." The revote goes down 5-1 with Val being the 2nd person voted out of the game.
So it could be that her 'idol' was her downfall. If she actually had one, but didn't play it, voting her out and removing it from play was the wisest thing for her tribe mates to do.
Going Forward:
Jaclyn is in a tough spot as the obvious odd person out. How will she try to save herself? Maybe she won't have to. In the previews for next episode, we see a huge argument involving Jeremy and John at a challenge. Everyone (instead of the 4-5 people who already know) is about to know about John Rocker and his past. And good ole type-A John isn't taking it lying down. Wednesday night will be fun.
Stray Vote:
Josh immediately reveals to Baylor that he was the one who voted for her. He claims it was a ploy to make sure the rest of the group doesn't think they're too close. He also claims that this makes their 2-person alliance even stronger.
Baylor doesn't agree and neither do I. Baylor will never trust him like she may have before.
It may have the intended effect on the rest of the tribe, but also an unintended effect where they see him as someone who doesn't stick to the voting plan.
Reward Challenge:
I enjoy these loved ones head-to-head challenges. Adds way more spice than a full team challenge. I applaud John for choosing himself to represent Coyopa, but I'm amused that he seems to think any game involving a ball should be one he, as a former pitcher, should dominate at. If you saw the episode you know that Julie destroyed him due to two things: a smaller stature to help her navigate obstacles, and patience to complete the obstacles slowly to ensure she doesn't make a mistake.
Exile Related Thoughts:
I liked Julie's choice of sending Jeremy to Exile with John.
I liked Jeremy sharing his clue with John. Why not? Any move that curries favor, and especially one that doesn't hurt your own chances of finding the idol at your camp.
The clue is essentially the same as last week except they provide 2 more symbols and their translations. We see a symbol that translates to "7", and another that translates to "North".
Immunity Challenge:
Perfect! No complaints from me about recycling this challenge from the last Blood vs Water. American Gladiator style push the other person off the platform with a padded weapon. Physical battles are always great, and throw in some head-to-head loved ones battles and it's even better. I loved how close this one came, even if it was due to editing down from a larger subset of battles. If my memory doesn't fail me, John disappointed. Baylor vs her mom Missy was interesting. A harmless injury led off their battle, with Baylor getting a split lip from their heads banging. Neither took advantage of this shock, so Jeff counted them back in once Baylor agreed she was fine, but Missy's energy was gone. I would have put money on the farm girl, Kelley, standing victorious over the beauty queen, Jaclyn. I was wrong on their first match-up, but Kelley reigned supreme in the rematch which sealed the victory for Hunahpu.
Thinking:
Val and John discuss the clue to the idol. Val claimed she found an idol at camp and on Exile and would use them to save both her and Jaclyn. Excellent thinking - get them to target someone else completely. John buys it, tells others, a decision is made to split the vote. John and Jeremy had promised to look after each other's significant others. So John does his best, given the situation, and tells Val to play her idol and save herself.
Hidden Idol
Meanwhile, somewhere in there John thought about his idol clue: Water, Dig, 7, North. He didn't try to decipher the lid to the well, much to my dismay. Instead he took a stab at it and took 7 paces north of the well, into the low-lying brush, and started digging. I laughed at him. Then he found it. I stopped laughing. I simultaneously A) disapproved of the clues leading to the discovery of the idol so easily, and B) applauded the fact that nobody without a clue would have had a shot in hell of finding this idol by just looking in typical idol hiding places. I really wanted nearly the full message written in code around the well lid to need to be deciphered before someone could take a stab at it. But I also recognize that someone finding the idol earlier leads to more chances to use it and better TV. So ultimately, bravo to the Survivor producers for this season's idol hiding. Heck, we still have another whole team which has yet to discover their idol.
Overthinking
Back to Val. So naturally, the best move to make at this point is to fess up to John and tell him she doesn't really have an idol. This in turn makes him need to revise his voting strategy in order to keep his word to Jeremy. Sadly, Val does no such thing. Ok, so it would be even better if she prays on John's willingness to believe her and offers to share the idol with him as an unknown alliance, later in the game, if he can cause Baylor to be voted out instead. Alas, she doesn't fess up, and she doesn't make any secret deals. She instead hopes that the boys and Baylor split their vote 3-3, allowing Val and Jaclyn to vote for Baylor and have everything work out. I know Jeff Probst loves big moves and probably appreciated what Val is trying to do here. But the plan is already partially backfiring, so why tempt fate and go all in? I think the bigger play here would have been to try to manipulate John and change the outcome.
Tribal Council:
Let me sum this up quickly, if I can. The majority weren't dumb. They split their vote 4-2 (4-Val, 2-Baylor, and who knows if Baylor knew she was the backup plan or not, but I'm guessing not). They knew that Val and Jaclyn would either vote for a guy (ensuring Val goes home) or would vote for Baylor (forcing a tie and a revote). Val & Jaclyn vote for Baylor as they planned, but the vote ends up 4-4. Our 1st tie vote of the season. 6 people go back to revote, excluding Val and Baylor. John, still fully believing Val has an idol, switches and votes for her in the revote, saying "I told you to play your idol." The revote goes down 5-1 with Val being the 2nd person voted out of the game.
So it could be that her 'idol' was her downfall. If she actually had one, but didn't play it, voting her out and removing it from play was the wisest thing for her tribe mates to do.
Going Forward:
Jaclyn is in a tough spot as the obvious odd person out. How will she try to save herself? Maybe she won't have to. In the previews for next episode, we see a huge argument involving Jeremy and John at a challenge. Everyone (instead of the 4-5 people who already know) is about to know about John Rocker and his past. And good ole type-A John isn't taking it lying down. Wednesday night will be fun.
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