Survivor: Worlds Apart Episode 04+05 quick recap:
We were treated to 2 hours of Survivor on 3/18. As an extra treat, we now get reward challenges again. Here's the basics of what happened. Lots to talk about, but I'll try to keep it short.
Reward Challenge #1:
One caller gives directions to a pair of blindfolded teammates to get them to retrieve objects, then the team and a 3rd blindfolded person raise the object to the top of a platform. This challenge was last used for the Brains vs Brawn vs Beauty season. Somehow this season the players decided to drop the platform from the top, causing it to swing wildly and risk injury. This risk became reality when Kelly on the Blue Collar tribe gets nailed in the forehead and bleeds through her blindfold and buff. Medical checks her out, wraps her in bandages and she continues in the challenge.
No Collar finishes first and wins 3 hens and a rooster.
White Collar finishes second and wind 10 eggs.
Immunized Chicken:
At the No Collar camp, we find out it is Will's birthday. Joe decides they will celebrate by eating a hen. Jenn is vegetarian and doesn't even want to watch this happen. She abandons camp and decides she might as well use this time to poke around for the hidden immunity idol. This ends up being a great decision, because she finds it.
Immunity Challenge #1:
Great new challenge. Ends with single tribe members using ropes attached to a game piece that can raise a ball on a steep incline with holes. It's like a vertical version of Labyrinth. No Collar finishes this one first. White Collar edges out Blue Collar.
Tribal Council #1:
For Blue Collar, it's between Lindsey and Rodney. Lindsey & Sierra want Rodney gone. Rodney wants Lindsey gone. The others have to decide which way to swing and how it will impact the rest of the game. The vote is a 2-2-2 tie (Lindsey, Rodney, Sierra). The revote sends Lindsey home 3-0.
Reward Challenge #2:
Drop Your Buffs!
Here are 2 new tribes, with the names shown in their former tribe colors.
New Blue (Escameca) tribe: Sierra, Dan, Mike, Rodney, Joaquin, Tyler, Joe
New Red (Nagarote) tribe: Carolyn, Max, Shirin, Will, Hali, Jenn, Kelly
Big slingshot to launch balls that people must catch with lacrosse sticks. The physically superior Escameca tribe wins 5-2 to get some food and all of the previous rewards won by the White Collar tribe (since their camp will no longer be used).
Immunity Challenge #2:
Teams of 2 push a sled through obstacles and mud and place giant pots on stands. Once all the pots have been placed, one person uses a makeshift wrecking ball to destroy the pots.
Escameca uses their superior brawn to finish the first part of this challenge way ahead. Dan, who looks more like a wrecking ball than anyone else on his tribe, does the wrecking and completes the challenge before Nagarote can start the last part.
Tribal Council #2:
Max and Shirin are happy to be here and looking forward to a blindside. They get their wish, as Max is voted out 5-2. (They thought Will was going home.)
In the Best/Worst moves section, note that 3 of them refer to the same subject but just opposite sides.
Best Moves:Best
#1: No Collar eats a chicken.
Best
#2: Jenn capitalizes on her vegetarianism and finds the hidden immunity idol.
Best #3: Mike tells Dan to apologize to Sierra for the previous vote and what was said at camp afterwards. He's trying to keep control since they should have the numbers.
Best #4: Nagarote blindsiding Max & Shirin to get rid of an annoying know-it-all.
Worst Moves:
Worst
#1: No Collar eats the wrong chicken. Note to future survivors: eat the rooster first.
Worst #2: Everyone who was holding ropes in the first challenge. Don't drop things on your heads - that could have been a game ending move for someone.
Worst #3: Dan doesn't apologize to Sierra. Instead he blames her for doing the same thing that he should be apologizing for. Way to deepen the rift.
Worst #4: Nagarote voting out Max instead of Shirin. That is, unless they don't want to win any more challenges.
Top 4 Prospects:
Last week I listed Carolyn, Hali, Tyler, and Joe. No revisions to the people, only the reasons.
1)
Carolyn - Nagarote. Finally got her chance to get rid of Max. She's still in the majority of her new tribe and still has a hidden immunity idol.
2)
Hali - Nagarote. Part of the majority alliance. Likely to make it to the merge, then could skate through for awhile.
3)
Tyler - Escameca. Got lucky in the tribe mix-up thanks to an alienated Sierra willing to join him, Joe, and Joaquin.4)
Joe - Escameca. Got even luckier in the tribe mix-up. He was the only No Collar but manages to wind up in the majority alliance.
2nd week without an original Blue Collar in the top 4.
Bottom 4 Prospects:
Last week I listed Mike, Will, Shirin, and Rodney. Lindsey and Max were voted out - first time I haven't had the exiting player(s) in my bottom. Here's my new bottom.
13) Shirin - Nagarote. Her only real ally was blindsided and she's almost certainly next.
12) Kelly - Nagarote. Her first appearance in my bottom 4. She's not bad, but her tribe may be losing more challenges and she'll be gone before Carolyn due to an immunity idol.
11) Rodney - Escameca. Sierra is the swing vote, and she doesn't like him.
10) Dan - Escameca. Sierra is the swing vote, and she doesn't like him either.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Keys to Survivor Worlds Apart Ep03
Survivor: Worlds Apart Episode 03 quick recap:
--Shirin (White Collar) watches howler monkey procreation, then relays the play-by-play to her tribe, who aren't interested in the subject matter.
--Dan (Blue Collar) argues with Rodney and eventually indicates that Rodney's mother gets paid to sleep around. Rodney takes huge offense to this and won't let it go, until...
--Mike (Blue Collar) is still upset that people aren't working hard enough at camp, and it causes arguments with both Rodney and Lindsey.
--Nina (No Collar) is still feeling left out until Joe has a real heart-to-heart conversation with her and lets her know that the game isn't over and that she should keep fighting.
The Immunity challenge is a minor obstacle course that the team must go through while carrying a large bucket with as much water as they can in order to fill up a larger bucket at the other end. The catch is that the bucket they are carrying has holes in it, so they must plug as many as they can, move as quickly as they can, and not miss the target bucket at the end.
No Collar, led by Joe, decides to send Nina up ahead instead of having her help plug holes the whole way. This interesting strategy proves to work wonderfully ... at cementing them in last place for this challenge. No Collar loses. Blue Collar squeaks out a victory, giving them first place for the first time. Blue Collar gets comfort items including chairs and a tarp. White Collar just gets a tarp.
Slight scrambling at No Collar. Looks like it will either be Nina or Will. Nina hasn't been fitting in, but Will seems to have trouble with his breath at each challenge. At tribal, we find out that Nina doesn't feel like she fits in and the younger girls back up that story. Hali even indicates that if Nina wants to stay, she needs to learn to fit in with the No Collar way of life. Interesting - seeing as how they pitch themselves as being able to just go with whatever comes their way, except of course for Nina who they just can't seem to flow with. In a 3-2 decision, Nina is voted out, just after a heartfelt plea that she has learned a lot at this tribal council and she thinks she can do better fitting in. Hali is the dissenting vote, so she must have agreed with that assessment.
Next Week ***** 2-HOUR EPISODE *****
That's right. We get twice the fun this Wednesday, 3/18/2015.
We were teased with what the challenge will be (presumably the first challenge), and that someone female might be bleeding from an injury sustained during it.
I predict the 1st hour will be normal, but then we'll hear the famous words "Everybody drop your buffs". All 3 previous seasons with 3 tribes have mixed things up after 4 people are removed and they consolidate to 2 tribes. Also of note - someone from the team with the fewest players in these seasons has made it to final 3.
Best Moves:Best #1: Joe talks with Nina and gives her hope about the rest of the game.
Best #2: Dan picks a dumb fight with Rodney. This counts as a good move because Rodney is a hothead and responds accordingly, making a scene. Don't mistake this as a simple insult.
Worst Moves:
Worst #1: This one has to go to Joe. In a challenge where hands make all the difference he sent Nina off ahead where should couldn't hinder, but couldn't help either.
Worst #2: Rodney scores here by letting everything get to him. Why fight with Mike? Everyone thinks he is out-of-line already. Why fight with Dan? He made an off-color remark that didn't actually mean any harm. Rodney takes the bait, and takes one of the worst moves.
Worst #3: Mike wants everyone to work all the time. He needs to realize that everyone wants to enjoy some of their awesome vacation in Nicaragua.
Top 4 Prospects:
Last week I listed Carolyn, Hali, Joe, and Sierra. Here's my revision for this week.
1) Carolyn - White Collar. Still doing just fine, anchoring her alliance with a hidden immunity idol.
2) Hali - No Collar. Part of the majority alliance. Proved she can survive by being willing to vote to keep Nina despite their differences.
3) Tyler - White Collar. He's now in a position of trust with Carolyn and Joaquin. The more people that want you on their side, the better.4) Joe - No Collar. Dropping a spot. He made a bad move in the challenge, but made the more important social move when he connected with Nina. But one more bad move and he won't keep one of these top spots.
Note this is my first week without a Blue Collar in the top 4.
Bottom 4 Prospects:
Last week I listed Mike, Dan, Nina, and Shirin. Nina was voted out. Here's my new bottom.
15) Mike - Blue Collar. Everyone hates this guy. He might be useful in challenges, but if they lose (an intentional loss would not surprise me if he keeps his attitude) then his number is up.
14) Will - No Collar. Dude gets winded during every challenge. His team is on a losing streak. He's not part of the main alliance.
13) Shirin - White Collar. Still the best odds for getting voted out if White Collar goes to tribal council. Joaquin should thank her for taking his place at the bottom of this tribe.
12) Rodney - Blue Collar. He's legitimately strong in challenges, but his temper will be his demise. To win in Survivor you need to have way more control than he does.
--Shirin (White Collar) watches howler monkey procreation, then relays the play-by-play to her tribe, who aren't interested in the subject matter.
--Dan (Blue Collar) argues with Rodney and eventually indicates that Rodney's mother gets paid to sleep around. Rodney takes huge offense to this and won't let it go, until...
--Mike (Blue Collar) is still upset that people aren't working hard enough at camp, and it causes arguments with both Rodney and Lindsey.
--Nina (No Collar) is still feeling left out until Joe has a real heart-to-heart conversation with her and lets her know that the game isn't over and that she should keep fighting.
The Immunity challenge is a minor obstacle course that the team must go through while carrying a large bucket with as much water as they can in order to fill up a larger bucket at the other end. The catch is that the bucket they are carrying has holes in it, so they must plug as many as they can, move as quickly as they can, and not miss the target bucket at the end.
No Collar, led by Joe, decides to send Nina up ahead instead of having her help plug holes the whole way. This interesting strategy proves to work wonderfully ... at cementing them in last place for this challenge. No Collar loses. Blue Collar squeaks out a victory, giving them first place for the first time. Blue Collar gets comfort items including chairs and a tarp. White Collar just gets a tarp.
Slight scrambling at No Collar. Looks like it will either be Nina or Will. Nina hasn't been fitting in, but Will seems to have trouble with his breath at each challenge. At tribal, we find out that Nina doesn't feel like she fits in and the younger girls back up that story. Hali even indicates that if Nina wants to stay, she needs to learn to fit in with the No Collar way of life. Interesting - seeing as how they pitch themselves as being able to just go with whatever comes their way, except of course for Nina who they just can't seem to flow with. In a 3-2 decision, Nina is voted out, just after a heartfelt plea that she has learned a lot at this tribal council and she thinks she can do better fitting in. Hali is the dissenting vote, so she must have agreed with that assessment.
Next Week ***** 2-HOUR EPISODE *****
That's right. We get twice the fun this Wednesday, 3/18/2015.
We were teased with what the challenge will be (presumably the first challenge), and that someone female might be bleeding from an injury sustained during it.
I predict the 1st hour will be normal, but then we'll hear the famous words "Everybody drop your buffs". All 3 previous seasons with 3 tribes have mixed things up after 4 people are removed and they consolidate to 2 tribes. Also of note - someone from the team with the fewest players in these seasons has made it to final 3.
Best Moves:Best #1: Joe talks with Nina and gives her hope about the rest of the game.
Best #2: Dan picks a dumb fight with Rodney. This counts as a good move because Rodney is a hothead and responds accordingly, making a scene. Don't mistake this as a simple insult.
Worst Moves:
Worst #1: This one has to go to Joe. In a challenge where hands make all the difference he sent Nina off ahead where should couldn't hinder, but couldn't help either.
Worst #2: Rodney scores here by letting everything get to him. Why fight with Mike? Everyone thinks he is out-of-line already. Why fight with Dan? He made an off-color remark that didn't actually mean any harm. Rodney takes the bait, and takes one of the worst moves.
Worst #3: Mike wants everyone to work all the time. He needs to realize that everyone wants to enjoy some of their awesome vacation in Nicaragua.
Top 4 Prospects:
Last week I listed Carolyn, Hali, Joe, and Sierra. Here's my revision for this week.
1) Carolyn - White Collar. Still doing just fine, anchoring her alliance with a hidden immunity idol.
2) Hali - No Collar. Part of the majority alliance. Proved she can survive by being willing to vote to keep Nina despite their differences.
3) Tyler - White Collar. He's now in a position of trust with Carolyn and Joaquin. The more people that want you on their side, the better.4) Joe - No Collar. Dropping a spot. He made a bad move in the challenge, but made the more important social move when he connected with Nina. But one more bad move and he won't keep one of these top spots.
Note this is my first week without a Blue Collar in the top 4.
Bottom 4 Prospects:
Last week I listed Mike, Dan, Nina, and Shirin. Nina was voted out. Here's my new bottom.
15) Mike - Blue Collar. Everyone hates this guy. He might be useful in challenges, but if they lose (an intentional loss would not surprise me if he keeps his attitude) then his number is up.
14) Will - No Collar. Dude gets winded during every challenge. His team is on a losing streak. He's not part of the main alliance.
13) Shirin - White Collar. Still the best odds for getting voted out if White Collar goes to tribal council. Joaquin should thank her for taking his place at the bottom of this tribe.
12) Rodney - Blue Collar. He's legitimately strong in challenges, but his temper will be his demise. To win in Survivor you need to have way more control than he does.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Keys to Survivor Worlds Apart Ep02
Survivor: Worlds Apart is really shaping up well.
This season has quite the cast of characters. Plenty of personalities butting heads about perfectly dumb things. Episode 2 certainly delivered more of this. Here's the quick rundown on what happened on Wednesday night.
Episode 02 Quick Rrecap:
-Mike (oil driller) from Blue Collar gets all upset that people aren't working enough around camp. Nobody seems to agree with him, and he's getting annoyed.
-Vince (coconut vender) wants Joe to validate Vince's contributions to the tribe.
-Max (media consultant) from White Collar decides he's the next Richard Hatch (and/or Tyson Apostol) and starts walking around and swimming naked.
-Shirin (Yahoo exec), also on White Collar, won't be outdone and starts going bottomless.
-Dan (postal worker) from Blue Collar somehow loses his man-panties while he's in the water on the beach, so he fashions an awkward shirt-diaper.
-Nina (hearing advocate) on No Collar wants to be included, but the younger women on the tribe don't invite her to go skinny dipping and she starts feeling left out.
At the challenge, teams must individually swim out, maneuver a ball along a rope over and through obstacles, then score 5 in a goal, basketball style. White Collar does much better, surprisingly excelling at this physical challenge as opposed to last week's partial mental challenge. They win. Blue falls behind for a bit, but No Collar drops behind when Will gets tangled and/or tired while untangling the rope for the ball in the water. It comes down to a shootout between Blue and No. Blue had the lead and No never makes a shot. No Collar loses and will go to tribal council.
No Collar camp has plenty of scrambling. Nina wants to join forces with Will and Vince to vote against the younger faction of Joe, Hali, and Jenn. Joe wants Will to vote with them so they can split the vote between Nina and Will. Will is the swing vote. Vince questions if Will should stay though, because he didn't look good in the challenge. Nina agrees to ask him about it. This only makes Will suspicious of Vince. The vote ends up 3-2-1 (votes for Vince, Jenn, and Nina). Vince is the 2nd person voted out of Survivor: Worlds Apart.
Best Moves:
Best #1: Dan lightens up thanks to the lost underwear. This might be too little too late though, as the girls think he may have done it on purpose.
Best #2: Blue Collar ignores Mike's pleas for them to all work. They play makeshift basketball instead. It turns out to be great practice for the challenge a few days later.
Honorable Mention: Max starts a nudist movement. Who knows if this will help, hinder, or do nothing for him in the future. But it does help to alter the mood at camp, for better or worse.
Speaking of worse ... Worst Moves:
Worst #1: Mike is annoyed and keeps telling everyone to do more at camp. If you want to work, go ahead. Don't get on the nerves of all your tribe-mates.
Worst #2: Nina asks Will if his health is good and blabs that Vince is concerned about it. This man is your best chance to stay in this game, so you shouldn't give him reason to distrust anyone in your alliance.
Worst #3: Nina thinks she's being left out because she is disabled. She's being left out because the 2 other women on the tribe are 27-29 years younger than she is - it's a generational thing.
Top 4 Prospects:
Last week I listed Carolyn, Max, Will, and Lindsey. Not a bad group.
Here's my new top - quite different. It's hard to zero-in on the best this early on this season.
1) Carolyn - White Collar. She didn't get much air time because she isn't doing anything controversial or stupid. Expect her to last longer.
2) Hali - No Collar. Part of the majority alliance and not the one directly butting heads with anybody. She has a good chance of fitting in with the other tribes after a merge or mix-up.
3) Joe - No Collar. Had him in the bottom last week. I was wrong - the bad mojo was all Vince. He's well liked and has skills, despite his shooting in the challenge.
4) Sierra - Blue Collar. Performing well in this latest challenge, she may continue to stand out this season. She's overly skeptical of people's stories, so let's hope she can eventually trust someone.
Bottom 4 Prospects:
Last week I listed Dan, Joaquin, Vince, and Joe. Vince was voted out. Here's my new bottom.
16) Mike - Blue Collar. Has alienated his entire tribe and replaces Dan at the bottom of the list.
15) Nina - No Collar. This lady is a ticking time bomb. She felt left out when she still had allies, so she's going to feel even more alone next week. Expect more tears - never good in Survivor.14) Dan - Blue Collar. Although episode 2 went better, his team hasn't fully come around.
13) Shirin - White Collar. Odds are good that if they lost a challenge again, she's the most likely target as the weakest. Plus I don't think anybody on the tribe was into her performing chores wearing only a bra. I've seen it compared to Donald Duck online. Poor Tyler and Joaquin were having a tough time with it.
This season has quite the cast of characters. Plenty of personalities butting heads about perfectly dumb things. Episode 2 certainly delivered more of this. Here's the quick rundown on what happened on Wednesday night.
Episode 02 Quick Rrecap:
-Mike (oil driller) from Blue Collar gets all upset that people aren't working enough around camp. Nobody seems to agree with him, and he's getting annoyed.
-Vince (coconut vender) wants Joe to validate Vince's contributions to the tribe.
-Max (media consultant) from White Collar decides he's the next Richard Hatch (and/or Tyson Apostol) and starts walking around and swimming naked.
-Shirin (Yahoo exec), also on White Collar, won't be outdone and starts going bottomless.
-Dan (postal worker) from Blue Collar somehow loses his man-panties while he's in the water on the beach, so he fashions an awkward shirt-diaper.
-Nina (hearing advocate) on No Collar wants to be included, but the younger women on the tribe don't invite her to go skinny dipping and she starts feeling left out.
At the challenge, teams must individually swim out, maneuver a ball along a rope over and through obstacles, then score 5 in a goal, basketball style. White Collar does much better, surprisingly excelling at this physical challenge as opposed to last week's partial mental challenge. They win. Blue falls behind for a bit, but No Collar drops behind when Will gets tangled and/or tired while untangling the rope for the ball in the water. It comes down to a shootout between Blue and No. Blue had the lead and No never makes a shot. No Collar loses and will go to tribal council.
No Collar camp has plenty of scrambling. Nina wants to join forces with Will and Vince to vote against the younger faction of Joe, Hali, and Jenn. Joe wants Will to vote with them so they can split the vote between Nina and Will. Will is the swing vote. Vince questions if Will should stay though, because he didn't look good in the challenge. Nina agrees to ask him about it. This only makes Will suspicious of Vince. The vote ends up 3-2-1 (votes for Vince, Jenn, and Nina). Vince is the 2nd person voted out of Survivor: Worlds Apart.
Best Moves:
Best #1: Dan lightens up thanks to the lost underwear. This might be too little too late though, as the girls think he may have done it on purpose.
Best #2: Blue Collar ignores Mike's pleas for them to all work. They play makeshift basketball instead. It turns out to be great practice for the challenge a few days later.
Honorable Mention: Max starts a nudist movement. Who knows if this will help, hinder, or do nothing for him in the future. But it does help to alter the mood at camp, for better or worse.
Speaking of worse ... Worst Moves:
Worst #1: Mike is annoyed and keeps telling everyone to do more at camp. If you want to work, go ahead. Don't get on the nerves of all your tribe-mates.
Worst #2: Nina asks Will if his health is good and blabs that Vince is concerned about it. This man is your best chance to stay in this game, so you shouldn't give him reason to distrust anyone in your alliance.
Worst #3: Nina thinks she's being left out because she is disabled. She's being left out because the 2 other women on the tribe are 27-29 years younger than she is - it's a generational thing.
Top 4 Prospects:
Last week I listed Carolyn, Max, Will, and Lindsey. Not a bad group.
Here's my new top - quite different. It's hard to zero-in on the best this early on this season.
1) Carolyn - White Collar. She didn't get much air time because she isn't doing anything controversial or stupid. Expect her to last longer.
2) Hali - No Collar. Part of the majority alliance and not the one directly butting heads with anybody. She has a good chance of fitting in with the other tribes after a merge or mix-up.
3) Joe - No Collar. Had him in the bottom last week. I was wrong - the bad mojo was all Vince. He's well liked and has skills, despite his shooting in the challenge.
4) Sierra - Blue Collar. Performing well in this latest challenge, she may continue to stand out this season. She's overly skeptical of people's stories, so let's hope she can eventually trust someone.
Bottom 4 Prospects:
Last week I listed Dan, Joaquin, Vince, and Joe. Vince was voted out. Here's my new bottom.
16) Mike - Blue Collar. Has alienated his entire tribe and replaces Dan at the bottom of the list.
15) Nina - No Collar. This lady is a ticking time bomb. She felt left out when she still had allies, so she's going to feel even more alone next week. Expect more tears - never good in Survivor.14) Dan - Blue Collar. Although episode 2 went better, his team hasn't fully come around.
13) Shirin - White Collar. Odds are good that if they lost a challenge again, she's the most likely target as the weakest. Plus I don't think anybody on the tribe was into her performing chores wearing only a bra. I've seen it compared to Donald Duck online. Poor Tyler and Joaquin were having a tough time with it.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Keys to Survivor Worlds Apart Ep01
Welcome back Survivor fans! SEASON 30 has begun!
For anyone who isn't watching (yet), here's some quick info.
Survivor: Worlds Apart is the 30th season of my favorite show. (Note that fall and spring are counted separately. Season 1 aired in the summer of 2000.)
The Worlds Apart theme pits 3 teams against each other. White Collar, Blue Collar, and No Collar.
The abbreviated premise is that White Collar people make the rules, Blue Collar people follow the rules, and No Collar people break the rules. So how will these groups interact? Which type of profession is best suited to succeeding at a social game?
What You'll See From Me This Season:
My blog for this season will be putting out my opinion on the best and worst moves of each episode and who are my picks for making it deep into the season. Maybe a top and bottom 4 each week - something like that. So I'll give a very brief recap of the essential points (challenges, voting results, injuries, etc.) to set the table.
Ep01 Basic Recap:
Each team chooses a leader. That leader chooses any other team member. They later get the private choice of "Honesty" or "Deceit" - choose to bring back a large bag of rice for the tribe, or bring back a small bag and get a clue to the hidden immunity idol.
Blue and No Collar choose honesty. White Collar chooses deceit.
The Blue Collar team hears the story and suspects that it's a lie and their 2 guys took the smaller bag. Admittedly, the large bag isn't as big as they have been provided in other seasons.
The No Collar team is happy with the honesty.
The White Collar choosers say there was a 3rd option of Neutral which had no stipulation, but both honesty and deceit had unknown stipulations that they decided were too risky. Their team doesn't buy it for a second.
The immunity/reward challenge starts with either untying knots or unlocking locks. All 3 teams start with the locks then switch to the knots. This unlocks a ladder which must be navigated over and through a few things and to retrieve puzzle pieces. The puzzle is a choice of 5, 10, or 50 pieces which are either abstract, visual, or straightforward in nature. White chooses 50, Blue chooses 10, and No Collar chooses 10. The visual puzzle is wooden pieces fitting into a tree and we've seen this one before. The straightforward puzzle is square wooden blocks that spells out a message. No Collar wins immunity and a great fire making kit. Although Blue was way behind, White can't figure out this straightforward puzzle in time. Blue wins immunity and flint. White wins nothing (they're also the only team to have not made fire on their own) and must go to tribal council.
Sounds like everyone on White Collar would have chosen deceit so they're deciding based on strength in challenges and a woman is going home. One is older and doesn't step up to things. One screwed up the puzzle. One was part of the deceit choice in the beginning. The deceitful one, her name is So, ends up going home in a 4-2 vote (the other deceit chooser was the dissenting vote).
Best/Worst moves (keep in mind, these are my opinions):
Some of this depends on your game playing philosophy. Do you play for team or for individual at the beginning? The choice they had to make resulted in 3 different outcomes even though there were only 2 choices.
Best move #1: Choosing honesty and getting more food. This worked fine for No Collar. The worst outcome here was seen for Blue where there was suspicion that this was the smaller bag of beans. Easy way out is to be very open about anything you're doing in the coming days. Don't go off alone. Allow people to freely follow you so they can confirm you're not idol hunting.
Worst move #1: Choose deceit and come up with a terrible lie. What were So and Joaquin thinking? They're on a tribe of people who would probably make the same move. You'd need to be either more clever, or come up with a back-up plan.
Missed strategy #1: So didn't want to choose deceit as much as Joaquin. She could have agreed, told their lie, then privately sold him out to the rest of the tribe and shared the clue with everyone else, possibly saving her skin.
Missed strategy #2: Better lie. Admit that deceit was the better option, but say you did it in a way that the produces didn't expect. You're going to share the clue with everyone on the tribe so that someone can find it and it can be used strategically against the other tribes later. Provide a semi-phony clue that sounds good. Something like "Near to your water and almost in sight, look for an item to bring you delight. It might involve digging somewhere near a tree, and if you are lucky you'll find immunity." Just say it was written on the box so you couldn't bring it back.
Best move #2: Carolyn watched where So and Joaquin were searching and figured out the general idea of where the idol might be hidden. Absolute genius. And she finds it without anyone seeing her, so she can hold onto it secretly and nobody should suspect anything.
Worst move #2: Carolyn tells Tyler about her hidden idol, ruining what could have been the best kept secret for the entire season. On the plus side, there's a chance that Tyler will work with her more willingly because of this information. But Max, who also voted with Carolyn, was one of the people readily admitting that he would have chosen deceit at the beginning, so I wouldn't trust them too far.
Worst move #3: Vince - the feather hair guy from the No Collar tribe - decides he wants Jenn to be his girlfriend instead of just his alliance. What the feather? Dude, play the game and work on getting the lady after filming ends. Didn't anyone ever tell you that trying to date someone during the season just puts a target on your back?
Worst move #4: Mike from the Blue Collar tribe decides to eat a scorpion. When would anyone think that was a good idea? I highly doubt that SCORPION is the only source of protein out there. Try some snails and worms instead.
Personal gripe:
This one goes out to Dan Foley from the Blue Collar tribe. You are correct that juggling isn't the hard part. You are, however, incorrect that the hard part is not watching your hands. A seasoned juggler would know that you never need to look at your hands while juggling, and that it would actually make things harder. The key is just seeing the top of the arc and letting your brain calculate the rest of the path. Hey Survivor Casting - cast me for a future season if you want a true juggler. Juggling is essentially my form of meditation.
Top 4 prospects:
Here's who I currently think has the best chance of making it far this season - whether I like them or not. These are in no particular order despite what it looks like.
1) Carolyn (White). She's in a good place and could easily go far if she makes it to the merge.
2) Max (White). Thinks well so far. Plus he has a great beard.
3) Will (No). Great attitude. I don't think anybody is going to dislike this guy.
4) Lindsey (Blue). She looks like she'll get along well with folks on the No Collar tribe later. Just a hunch.
Bottom 4 prospects:
Here's who I think will be exiting sooner than later. Also no particular order.
17) Dan (Blue). People don't trust or like him already. Probably not a challenge powerhouse either.
16) Joaquin (White). Bottom rung of the ladder on a tribe that seems doomed to lose immunity again.
15) Vince (No). He might think he's on The Bachelor. He won't be getting a rose.
14) Joe (No). Butting heads with people on the most peaceful tribe in ages. That won't last long.
*Correction was made to "Worst move #2" several hours after the original post. I had incorrectly stated that Carolyn told Max that she had the idol when she had in fact told Tyler. Thanks to Max himself, via twitter, for pointing this out to me.@fymaxwell
For anyone who isn't watching (yet), here's some quick info.
Survivor: Worlds Apart is the 30th season of my favorite show. (Note that fall and spring are counted separately. Season 1 aired in the summer of 2000.)
The Worlds Apart theme pits 3 teams against each other. White Collar, Blue Collar, and No Collar.
The abbreviated premise is that White Collar people make the rules, Blue Collar people follow the rules, and No Collar people break the rules. So how will these groups interact? Which type of profession is best suited to succeeding at a social game?
What You'll See From Me This Season:
My blog for this season will be putting out my opinion on the best and worst moves of each episode and who are my picks for making it deep into the season. Maybe a top and bottom 4 each week - something like that. So I'll give a very brief recap of the essential points (challenges, voting results, injuries, etc.) to set the table.
Ep01 Basic Recap:
Each team chooses a leader. That leader chooses any other team member. They later get the private choice of "Honesty" or "Deceit" - choose to bring back a large bag of rice for the tribe, or bring back a small bag and get a clue to the hidden immunity idol.
Blue and No Collar choose honesty. White Collar chooses deceit.
The Blue Collar team hears the story and suspects that it's a lie and their 2 guys took the smaller bag. Admittedly, the large bag isn't as big as they have been provided in other seasons.
The No Collar team is happy with the honesty.
The White Collar choosers say there was a 3rd option of Neutral which had no stipulation, but both honesty and deceit had unknown stipulations that they decided were too risky. Their team doesn't buy it for a second.
The immunity/reward challenge starts with either untying knots or unlocking locks. All 3 teams start with the locks then switch to the knots. This unlocks a ladder which must be navigated over and through a few things and to retrieve puzzle pieces. The puzzle is a choice of 5, 10, or 50 pieces which are either abstract, visual, or straightforward in nature. White chooses 50, Blue chooses 10, and No Collar chooses 10. The visual puzzle is wooden pieces fitting into a tree and we've seen this one before. The straightforward puzzle is square wooden blocks that spells out a message. No Collar wins immunity and a great fire making kit. Although Blue was way behind, White can't figure out this straightforward puzzle in time. Blue wins immunity and flint. White wins nothing (they're also the only team to have not made fire on their own) and must go to tribal council.
Sounds like everyone on White Collar would have chosen deceit so they're deciding based on strength in challenges and a woman is going home. One is older and doesn't step up to things. One screwed up the puzzle. One was part of the deceit choice in the beginning. The deceitful one, her name is So, ends up going home in a 4-2 vote (the other deceit chooser was the dissenting vote).
Best/Worst moves (keep in mind, these are my opinions):
Some of this depends on your game playing philosophy. Do you play for team or for individual at the beginning? The choice they had to make resulted in 3 different outcomes even though there were only 2 choices.
Best move #1: Choosing honesty and getting more food. This worked fine for No Collar. The worst outcome here was seen for Blue where there was suspicion that this was the smaller bag of beans. Easy way out is to be very open about anything you're doing in the coming days. Don't go off alone. Allow people to freely follow you so they can confirm you're not idol hunting.
Worst move #1: Choose deceit and come up with a terrible lie. What were So and Joaquin thinking? They're on a tribe of people who would probably make the same move. You'd need to be either more clever, or come up with a back-up plan.
Missed strategy #1: So didn't want to choose deceit as much as Joaquin. She could have agreed, told their lie, then privately sold him out to the rest of the tribe and shared the clue with everyone else, possibly saving her skin.
Missed strategy #2: Better lie. Admit that deceit was the better option, but say you did it in a way that the produces didn't expect. You're going to share the clue with everyone on the tribe so that someone can find it and it can be used strategically against the other tribes later. Provide a semi-phony clue that sounds good. Something like "Near to your water and almost in sight, look for an item to bring you delight. It might involve digging somewhere near a tree, and if you are lucky you'll find immunity." Just say it was written on the box so you couldn't bring it back.
Best move #2: Carolyn watched where So and Joaquin were searching and figured out the general idea of where the idol might be hidden. Absolute genius. And she finds it without anyone seeing her, so she can hold onto it secretly and nobody should suspect anything.
Worst move #2: Carolyn tells Tyler about her hidden idol, ruining what could have been the best kept secret for the entire season. On the plus side, there's a chance that Tyler will work with her more willingly because of this information. But Max, who also voted with Carolyn, was one of the people readily admitting that he would have chosen deceit at the beginning, so I wouldn't trust them too far.
Worst move #3: Vince - the feather hair guy from the No Collar tribe - decides he wants Jenn to be his girlfriend instead of just his alliance. What the feather? Dude, play the game and work on getting the lady after filming ends. Didn't anyone ever tell you that trying to date someone during the season just puts a target on your back?
Worst move #4: Mike from the Blue Collar tribe decides to eat a scorpion. When would anyone think that was a good idea? I highly doubt that SCORPION is the only source of protein out there. Try some snails and worms instead.
Personal gripe:
This one goes out to Dan Foley from the Blue Collar tribe. You are correct that juggling isn't the hard part. You are, however, incorrect that the hard part is not watching your hands. A seasoned juggler would know that you never need to look at your hands while juggling, and that it would actually make things harder. The key is just seeing the top of the arc and letting your brain calculate the rest of the path. Hey Survivor Casting - cast me for a future season if you want a true juggler. Juggling is essentially my form of meditation.
Top 4 prospects:
Here's who I currently think has the best chance of making it far this season - whether I like them or not. These are in no particular order despite what it looks like.
1) Carolyn (White). She's in a good place and could easily go far if she makes it to the merge.
2) Max (White). Thinks well so far. Plus he has a great beard.
3) Will (No). Great attitude. I don't think anybody is going to dislike this guy.
4) Lindsey (Blue). She looks like she'll get along well with folks on the No Collar tribe later. Just a hunch.
Bottom 4 prospects:
Here's who I think will be exiting sooner than later. Also no particular order.
17) Dan (Blue). People don't trust or like him already. Probably not a challenge powerhouse either.
16) Joaquin (White). Bottom rung of the ladder on a tribe that seems doomed to lose immunity again.
15) Vince (No). He might think he's on The Bachelor. He won't be getting a rose.
14) Joe (No). Butting heads with people on the most peaceful tribe in ages. That won't last long.
*Correction was made to "Worst move #2" several hours after the original post. I had incorrectly stated that Carolyn told Max that she had the idol when she had in fact told Tyler. Thanks to Max himself, via twitter, for pointing this out to me.
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