I was feeling rather conflicted about Survivor last night. On the one hand, I usually like when someone shakes up the game and breaks up a dominant alliance. So I should have been rooting for Troyzan last night. But I couldn’t, for a few reasons.
First of all, as some of you know, I have Kim in my mom’s office Survivor pool. So obviously, I didn’t want her voted out. Second, I like Kim so much more. I’m rooting for Kim, Chelsea and Sabrina to make it all the way to the end. I enjoy their personalities and I want to see an all girls alliance make it. Too often these all girls alliances turn on one another before the end of the game, and I’d love to see them stay strong. And third of all, I can’t stand Troyzan.
His behavior last night? Atrocious. I understand he’s competitive, I understand he’s angry, I understand he’s all fired up. But he’s SO OBNOXIOUS. I hate it. Dude! YOU are a HUGE part of why you’re in the position you’re in now! Yes, those girls lied to you. Be angry. But you let Kim manipulate you, you let them vote out guys knowing that this might happen. You were an idiot! And now you’re prancing around yelling “This is my island?” Please. Shut up.
Troy was fuming when they returned from Tribal Council after voting out Jay, but what good did all that yelling do him? Why did he try and turn Christina to his side in front of everyone else? Control your emotions, man! A hissy fit is never a good strategy. Yes, Troy had the right to be angry with the women who betrayed him. But that’s the game, and he got played. Stop crying and plot your next move.
And while we’re at it, maybe you could curb the disgusting sexist remarks as well? Saying that the women in the game are just like women everywhere and “They get their food, they get their house, and as soon as they don’t need you anymore, they’re done,” does not endear you to me, Troy. Leave your hurt feelings about your divorce at home.
Auction Time!
Now, as much as I hate Troy for being a raving jackass, he did have one thing right. When it’s Survivor Auction time, you best be savin’ your money for an advantage in the game. The way the women spent their money in the auction was almost as annoying as how they all bailed on that last immunity challenge for food, and the biggest offender was Christina.
The auction was pretty basic. People blew their cash on things like doughnuts, margaritas and BLTs containing “surprise” bacon. Kim managed to score a shower for only $40 because I guess everyone just wanted to watch her wash that luscious hair, and then spent most of her cash on a giant bowl of peanut butter and some chocolate.
Tarzan said he was holding out because he, a plastic surgeon, wanted the $500 to fix his car back home. What? This guy is so so weird. $500 is nothing in the scheme of this game! Anyone who walks away with a full envelope of cash is a moron. But when letters from home were brought out, both Tarzan and Alicia threw down all their cash to see theirs. Alicia sobbing over a letter from her dad might have been touching if she weren’t the world’s second most atrocious person. (Hi, Colton.)
And then it came: a secret advantage for the next immunity challenge. Both Tarzan and Christina had their full $500, but despite the pleas from the women to bid all her money Christina let it go to Tarzan. What was she waiting for? Christina was just as wishy-washy in the auction as she’s been throughout this game, walking away without making a single purchase.
Search Party
Troy knew an advantage in the immunity challenge wouldn’t guarantee him a win, so when they returned to camp he began looking for another Hidden Immunity Idol. Kim, once again proving that she’s the smartest lady out there, told the women that they should also be looking. With eight of them and one of Troy, if there was an idol to find they’d have a better chance finding it. But there likely isn’t, because Kim’s already holding one.
Troy tried the classic “watch me rustle around in this tree and stuff something into my cargo shorts” trick when Kim was nearby, since he didn’t find anything. I don’t know if Kim bought it or not – after all, it’s always better to play things safe.
Targeted
The immunity challenge was a classic that incorporated a few things from past challenges we’ve seen. Troy’s purchased advantage was that he got to automatically advance to the second stage of the three-stage challenge.
The first stage was untying a large tangled rope, and three people could advance to join Troy – they were Tarzan, Kim and Christina. Next, they had to bounce coconuts off a trampoline to break targets, and only two players would advance from that round. Troy and, surprisingly, Tarzan, moved on. It was the battle of the ‘Zans! I never thought I’d be rooting for Tarzan in a challenge, but Troy was behaving so obnoxiously that I really didn’t want him to win. The final stage was to slingshot coconuts to smash targets tic-tac-toe style. Troyzan won, and rubbed it in everyone’s face like a guy who doesn’t realize he’ll be asking them to give him a million bucks in a couple weeks.
…But You Can’t Make Them Drink
With an immunity necklace hanging around his neck, Troyzan went to work trying to convince people to vote out Kim. He’d need Leif, Tarzan, Christina and Alicia to join him. And the thing is, he was making a very solid argument. Christina is pretty clearly on the bottom of the female alliance, and she has to know it. Alicia perhaps thinks that her place is higher than it is, but she must know that the Kim-Chelsea-Sabrina trio is pretty tight.
The thing is, even though Troyzan’s argument was logical, I don’t think he did a good enough job selling the new alliance to Alicia and Christina. They’re #4 and #5 right now. What would they be with him? He needed to straight up offer them final three, and I’m not sure that he did that.
Tribal Council was volatile, but I felt pretty confident that Kim wouldn’t be going home. So did she, because she never even mentioned playing her idol. Only two votes went Kim’s way, coming from Troyzan and Leif. The rest were split between Leif and Tarzan, a strategy employed just in case Troy did have an idol and gave it to one of the other fellas to use.
Leif was voted out, and his closing remarks were a prime example of why he got hardly any screen time this season and was an overall terrible Survivor player. He was bland, rambling and dull.
So what did you guys think of the episode? Do you think Troyzan still has a shot of breaking up the female alliance? Are you rooting for him? I’m not, but I certainly understand why some people might be. Sound off in the comments!
Personally, I loved Troyzan in this episode. None of his comments really bothered me, in fact they amused me. He was just angry when he said them, he feels it’s him against 8 other strangers whose only goal is to get him out… those are good enough excuses for me. I also don’t feel like throwing those tantrums hurt him in any way. I mean, they wanted him gone before that and that thing wouldn’t have changed, so…
Honestly, him trying to stir the pot is the best thing that happened to this show in… what, 3 seasons? And it’s the most interesting thing that happened all season, imo. Nobody did anything so far – not that they’re doing anything now. I just can’t understand why no one does anything. From this episode, I gathered it’s sort of known who the dominant alliance is. Yet no one does anything. Ever. It’s so frustrating. :/
And another thing, I just cannot believe how dumb Kat is. And how far she’s going to make it. Unbelievable.
Anyway, I hope Troyzan manages to avoid being voted out for as long as possible, so I can keep having something to look forward to.
Whoa, this turned out to be a mini-rant.
I’m rooting for Troyzan! You are right that the tantrums don’t help, but I am tired of Kim’s smug smirks during tribal councils, and of that alliance always getting their way. Besides, I like that he is not meekly accepting that he is toast, even if I could also do without the taunting. I wanted his 5-4 strategy to work, since, as you said, Christina and Alicia have to know that they are on the bottom half of that alliance, and it is so logical, and potentially puts them in a better position. Can’t they see that? (Especially Christina.) Or do they have something else up their sleeve? And why does Tarzan keep voting with that alliance? Like Aidan said, why don’t people DO anything in these situations? Big alliance switches are one of the best things that can happen on Survivor. I’d love to see them more often. Many years ago (don’t remember the season) there was a huge alliance shift and it was AWESOME!!
Another thing I thought of: If I’m Alicia or Christina, it just might not be a bad idea to go to final with Troyzan. If indeed everyone hates him and thinks he’s a total jerk, they sure aren’t going to vote for him in the final. (Admittedly, he’d have the sympathy of Jonah, Jay, and the other guys.)
I didn’t get Chelsea’s insistence in the TC that Troyzan would have to win immunity every time for his plan to work. And Kat’s the one who is dumb?
I bet this was Troyzan’s best chance. I just don’t know if he can break it up at this point.
I thought the exact same thing about Alicia’s tears with her letter. You almost wonder if she was putting on an act there, trying to show a softer side? It just didn’t jibe with what we know about her.
I loved your line about the “surprise” bacon. That was so weird and funny when Kat said that!
Hmm, it’s a tough call. Troy would easily have the votes of the four people on the jury right now. So he’d be joined by…four more girls. So I think for any of the girls, going to the end with Troy is still a dangerous move.
I don’t think Chelsea realized that Troy was suggesting that her alliance should abandon her, so she was trying to argue that to get to the end he’d have to win every immunity. But he meant people should permanently flip, not just for one vote. It was dumb.
Also rooting for Troyzan, Agree with Aiden, it is the first time things got interesting and I actually wanted him to win and wanted to see an awesome blindside and power switch, But they just keep wasting opportunities.
I feel like he’s the only one worth roothing for now, And Kim is way too smug for someone who isn’t actually as clever as she thinks she is… Sorry Jill, know you like her…
*rooting
Kim is showing that she is the best player EVER
LOVE TROY! I can’t help but root for the underdog. Why did Tarzan vote for Leif? Makes zero sense. Perhaps he forgot Kim’s name.
I would’ve been confused why Christina didn’t go with Troyzan had she not stopped bidding on the immunity challenge prize before leaving the auction with nothing. She isn’t as intelligent as I thought she was 9 episodes ago. I think Alicia (however horrid) is at least thinking strategically. She knows that she’s top 5, so why flip? It’s much easier to make a move top 5 than top 6 (Christina, remember how impossible it was for Edna last season or Ami in Vanuatu?).
I’m totally shocked by most of the comments above. I’m loving the Kim-Sabrina-Chelsea dynamic, and I don’t find Kim cocky at all. She seems very in tune with everything that’s going on around her, and she’s great fun to watch. I want Kim to make the final 3/2 (when was the last time they did that – Tocantins? I miss it). Troy has absolutely no shot of winning after his obnoxious performances this episode, he’s not getting any jury votes from that, and I want him gone next.
I’m loving how split people are on Troy vs. Kim! This is the kind of stuff that makes for a fun season to blog, when people don’t agree. Personally, I don’t find Kim smug. At least not compared to a lot of other players. But Boston Rob was The Smuggest, and I still loved him. And Troy keeps saying the island is his island! That’s more smug!! :p
What I find interesting is how often people clamor for an all girl alliance to make it, and no one seems to notice that there hasn’t been a single successful male alliance. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but still interesting.
Troy had every right to act the way he did, but acting that way was a damned foolish mistake. He made himself a villain in their eyes, and had very little chance to convince anyone to join his side. I think the thing that pissed me off the most was that Chelsea tried to shame him for speaking out by questioning his manhood. Just a low blow.
I’m very torn about a flip though. I don’t care much more Chelsea or Kat, but I care even less about Alicia or Tarzan. If I had my way, none of them would make the top four. And the longer the Kim vs Troyzan battle plays out, the better.
You’re right – I thought there had been more successful all-guy alliances, but when I looked through the Survivor seasons it seems they’ve all fallen apart before the end. There had been more mini-alliances of two dudes working together.
I agree with you – I understand why Troy was mad, I get that, but I just thought it was stupid and potentially damaging to his game. I kind of got what Chelsea was saying though – I felt like she was telling him to man up, like suck it up and play the game rather than pouting about it. But, I definitely think the girls should have just said “Yeah, we lied to you. Yeah, we outplayed you. That’s the game,” and left it at that. If Troy respects the game, he should vote for the people who outwitted him at the end, and that’s Kim right now.