Kalabaw
This season of Survivor has been consistently exciting, but it’s been incredibly uneven for the tribes. First one tribe of three was absolutely decimated, and now Tandang is creaming Kalabaw! At this rate, one person will completely dominate the challenges post-merge. (Hi, Malcolm!)
The episode kicked off with members of each tribe targeting someone. On Kalabaw, Katie knew she was in hot water and started to target Penner. She told Denise she’s sure he has the idol and tried to make the case that Penner was a threat who should be voted out before the merge. Strategically, maybe, but physically? I think the biggest physical threat on Kalabaw is Denise herself.
Over on Tandang, Peter was practically salivating at the thought of voting out Skupin, who has apparently been depleting the tribe’s rice supply by munching on it uncooked. Skupin! Did you learn nothing from Survivor: Australia? I know you got sent home early but you must have watched. They ran out of rice and it was very, very bad! Rations, man! Rations!
Ballin’
Mud wrestling
The reward challenge was…interesting. I’d love to know how that challenge played out when the show’s producers did a run through, because for the tribes it was a total deadlock. They were supposed to score on one another with a giant ball, but it ended up coming to a complete halt. Either they were too evenly matched, or no one was creative enough to figure out how to score.
After an hour of just sitting there, Skupin and Penner began to negotiate. Skupin knew his tribe was low on rice and suggested a deal – Tandang would concede if Kalabaw would give them their remaining rice. I thought it was a great deal for Tandang. The reward – a picnic lunch – would be tasty, but leave their system pretty quickly. Rice would sustain them for a couple days and give them much needed energy before the Immunity Challenge. They made the deal, and I thought it was to Tandang’s advantage, not Kalabaw’s.
Gone Fishin’
Kalabaw did get one big benefit from the reward, other than delicious looking sandwiches. (BTW, there was a HAIR in the sandwich I bought at lunch today, and I couldn’t eat it. So those Survivor sandwiches were looking pretty tasty to me.) They also got letters from home, which always seem to give a big emotional boost to players in the game.
Letters and sandwiches only go so far, though. After a while back at camp, people were hungry again and it was up to Penner to make good on his pledge to sustain the tribe with fish. Had Penner been a great fisherman, the move might have been classified as brilliant. Giving away the rice would make him the sole food provider in the tribe, and people would be hesitant to get rid of him. But he only caught a couple of measly fish, so people – mostly Carter -were hungry and angry.
Kalabaw wasn’t the only angry tribe. Over at Tandang, Artis was fuming over Skupin’s decision to make the trade, even though he had ample opportunity to voice his disagreement as the trade was being made. I still think it was a good deal. The rice goes further than the sandwiches. It’s not like they were playing for Immunity.
Slingin’ in the Rain
OK, I know it wasn’t raining. But, seriously, Survivor? It rains for a week straight and then the one time I can make a really good pun the weather is pleasant? Not cool.
Pole Dancing?
The Immunity Challenge was a classic – one person from each tribe slingshotting balls into the air and the rest catching them. Lisa Welchel was very good at launching, as was Denise for the other tribe. It was a tight race. Jeff Kent grabbed some points for Kalabaw, as one would expect from a former professional baseball player. But the real star was Malcolm, who pulled out the victory again for Tandang.
I can’t believe Tandang ever considered not having Malcolm play in that challenge. He and Skupin played rock-paper-scissors for it! If it had gone the other way, I definitely think Kalabaw would have won. If you have Malcolm on your tribe, you should not be sitting him out unless you have to. He’s the strongest person in the game right now.
Once again, Jeff Probst made a point of picking on the girls during the challenge. First Abi, for sitting out yet again. Then Katie, who was again a weak link for Kalabaw. But Carter was just as miserable (more so, considering he was guarding Malcolm) and Probst’s jabs towards him didn’t seem to sting as much. Maybe it’s just because Katie was my player for the office pool.
Tribal Council, Again
Poor Denise. Things just won’t go her way. This is also a testament to what a great social player she is, though. She’s gone to every single Tribal Council so far this season, and she’s still around. Her name was barely thrown around this week. And really, if the rest of Kalabaw was worried about who would be a threat after the merge, their heads should have been turning towards Denise. She’s physically fit, she’s easy to like, and she could potentially have a rock solid alliance with Malcolm to return to. It would have made sense to vote her out, yet they didn’t. She’s playing a strong game, and I’d love to see Denise continue on and win.
Instead, Penner and Katie were on the chopping block. Katie because she’s weak in challenges. Penner because he’s a strategic threat, has an immunity idol, and is a returning player. Jeff Kent was pushing for the tribe to axe Penner, but Carter wasn’t so sure.
I was torn watching the show, because I really like Penner on the show, but Katie was my pick in the pool. (I didn’t get drawn out of the hat very high this year.) So I didn’t know who I wanted to see go.
In the end, the tribe voted out Katie. It’s too bad, really. Katie at least showed some smarts – she immediately knew everyone was lying when they told her they were voting Denise, and she tried to stay in the game. She sucked at challenges, but her strategy went to hell in a handbasket when Dana got sick and unexpectedly exited the game. I’d have much rather seen Katie stay in the game than Carter, who seems to have all the brains and personality of a paint chip.
Next week’s previews appear to indicate a merge. So exciting! Denise and Malcolm will be reunited! I’m hoping that RC can tag along with him into a cool new alliance, because I do not want to see the Grumpy Gang of Abi, Peter and Artis go to the end. What do you guys think?
I got so frustrated when they made that deal at the reward challenge. Those sorts of challenges are always so fun to watch so it was disappointing to see it cut so short, and not even for any good reason (poor decision, Kalabaw).
It’s been a great season so far, but it’s disappointing that Tandang haven’t had to really play yet – and I’m sure it would be explosively enjoyable to see them going to tribal. Whilst the preview seemed to indicate a merge it seems really strange to have a merge at 11 people; I can’t remember that happening before.
I’d love to see Denise form a solid alliance and go far, but I’m not convinced that the best move for her will be to join with Malcolm straight away – probably wait until 9 or 7 players to have less people who could flip. Whatever happens I’d be crushed to see her go out early!
I think the rain and mud kind of ruined the challenge and it wasn’t going anywhere, so I’m not sad it was cut short. I think the lucky thing about Tandang is that Abi-Maria is such a loose cannon that there’s still been some drama despite no tribal council. But I’m excited to see them merge and have to vote.
So Katie didn’t become a part of the Jury and now there are only 11 players left. Do you think it means we’ll have a Final Two this season? I hope that’s what it means; it would be SO awesome.
I did think that bargain at the RC was a bit anticlimactic. The challenge started out so promising and in the end they didn’t even finish it. But I’m glad RC (the player) is starting to work with Skupin and hope something will happen that will result in Abi getting voted out. She is crazy.
Also, if there’s a merge next week, I wish that they won’t all play the Idols at the first Tribal… I can’t believe there still are three in play. Way too many, imo. Why don’t they just bring back Exile Island? That was so much better than hiding Idols at camps…
I REALLY hope so. A final two is way better, and the final three has become predictable. The whole reason the producers introduced that was to avoid predictability, so it makes sense to shake it up.
I only managed to view the episode right now, so here’s my review. When I was watching the Reward Challenge and Penner proposed the deal, I instantly thought that it was going to be a good move. Tandang would lose the challenge as a forfeit, and it would have been a great moral blow for them. Plus, they would indulge in a HUGE picnic lunch with sandwiches, and I’m gonna agree with you upon the fact that they seemed very tasty. (I had too a bad experience with a sandwich I bought last week after the university at the snack vending machine of the train station, btw.)
The problem is, this is the first season of Survivor that I happen to watch, and I didn’t immediately think that rice would be a much more needed energy supply on the long term. And when Penner went out fishing after the Immunity Challenge (what a bad loss for Kalabaw, seriously! From 4-2 to 4-5!) and Carter began to complain about them running out of food, I immediately thought that Jonathan was in serious trouble, thought that was only confirmed when Jeff and Carter started discussing on the possibility of voting him out. Loved that moment when Carter told Penner of their plan by mistake, and Jeff made such a face.
I’m kind of disappointed with the elimination of Katie, which in my opinion was definitely a likable player, surely more than Carter, who I firstly thought to be a quiet and shy person but is proving to be just dumb. I’m even more disappointed with the fact that Tandang has not gone yet to the Tribal Council, but considering that they surely would have voted out Skupin (or in the best of the cases, RC) I think it’s for the better. And I’m sorry for your office pool, too.
Overall, considering that it’s the first season I watch, I think that it is shaping pretty well. I like almost everyone in the cast (it never happens) with the honourable exception of Abi-Maria. I was a little disappointed by Artis as well, this week. Keep up the amazing work!
You weren’t wrong either, David – sometimes tribes have other food sources than the rice, like a lot of fish, coconuts, or plantains (like bananas). But Penner overestimated the ability to get fish, which is difficult in stormy weather like they’ve been having.
I also dislike Carter and wish he’d been eliminated instead.
I thought the reward challenge was poorly designed. They were stuck there for an hour? And the original idea was to score three goals? How long would that have taken? Plus, I think someone could have been seriously injured. An idea that I had was that Jeff could have called for each team to send one fresh player in to shake things up (as evenly matched as possible) before the players even got to the point of making a deal.
Skupin has been eating the rice raw? What is he thinking? It is stupid, plus it makes him a scapegoat.
I was really rooting for Kalabaw in the IC. Tandang has never gone to TC! They really, really need to clean house, starting with Abi-Maria. Jeff’s baseball skillz really came in handy, as he scored 3 points. Malcolm brought his team over the top, and I was happy that he was able to prove his worth.
I get a Napolean Dynamite vibe with Carter. It’s kind of funny. He is lucky to be in an alliance with strong, smart guys.
I still don’t know if Katie was the best one, strategically, to vote out. I mean, now Penner is still around, with the immunity idol. But I do like the guy, and Katie sure doesn’t help with challenges. I don’t know.
Like everyone, I still love Denise and Malcolm, and hope they make it to the next merge.
I agree. They’ve done that challenge before and it’s been fun, but the rain and mud made it impossible.
I was surprised that Skupin would be so dumb as well. Especially for a veteran player.
I agree with you on Katie. Post merge, she wouldn’t be a threat at all. I might have kept her.