Wow. The beginnings of this season of Survivor have not been boring by any means, but when the merge hit this week things got Crazy, with an intended Capital C. Nothing played out how I expected and, all in all, I’m quite disappointed in the results.
Smarmy.
It should have been simple. The Kalabaw alliance of Penner, Kent, Carter and Denise would bring in Tandang outsiders Skupin and RC. They could rely on Malcolm for inside information and eventually bring him in as well. If they wanted to, then Kent, Carter, Denise and Malcolm could vote out the veteran players and compete for RC’s swing vote. It would have been beautiful. But it wasn’t to be.
Instead, Jeff Kent had a chip on his shoulder. He wants to outlast Penner, and that’s the only thing that matters to him right now. That’s a short-sighted game. He wasn’t thinking about the end game, and now I think he’s on the bottom of an alliance with people he doesn’t know and can’t trust. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Dirty Laundry
OK, let’s rewind. The merge happened! This meant Malcolm and Denise would be reunited, and all the problems Tandang has been having would come to a head. But first, everyone had to set up a new camp – both tribes had only had ten minutes to collect up their stuff and exit their previous beaches.
Malcolm was lucky because in that ten minutes he was able to run into the woods and dig up his Hidden Immunity Idol. But that luck only lasted so long, because at the new tribe sweet, innocent Lisa went through everyone’s stuff and hung up their clothes to air out. I’d love to think that was a strategy, but we all know better. She found Malcolm’s Idol, he asked her about it, and she said “I didn’t mean to!” and promised not to tell anyone. Least vicious Survivor encounter ever.
Speaking of Lisa, Penner also knew about her past on The Facts of Life. That means he and Skupin were the only ones to sniff that out. What, do they keep the DVDs in Ponderosa or something? I know they’re in the right age bracket, but it’s funny that only the returning players were aware of her acting career. I guess they both watch more 80s sitcoms than they do baseball.
#TeamVeteran
Even before Tribal Council, we had an idea of the two ways things could shake out. Skupin and RC were eager to jump ship and join forces with Kalabaw, but Jeff Kent was already speaking to Tandang about getting rid of Penner. I’ve never liked Jeff Kent, I find him smarmy. That move was very premature, I think. He didn’t take the time to get a read on the Tandang alliance and determine if there’s a place for him in it. He doesn’t know what these people are like. Abi-Maria is crazy, does he really want to get involved with that? He should have gotten to know them all better and then decided if he wanted to work with RC/Denise/Malcolm or with Abi/Pete/Artis. That’s what the decision was, but he let his dislike of returning players cloud his vision.
Double Immunity
This week there were two Immunity Necklaces up for grabs – one for the men and one for the women. The challenge was a strength competition, as everyone had to hold 25% of their weight for as long as possible. Before the challenge even started I called that Denise would win, because she is both tiny and strong.
Out right away were Skupin and Pete. It was no surprise to be when Penner dropped next – he gained a lot of weight to come on the show and was probably holding the most of everyone. Then down went Lisa, Malcolm, RC and Abi – just like that, Denise had won her first individual immunity. Yay! She’s a tough lady who never got to win a tribal immunity, so I’m glad she could prove her worth in the first individual competition. She looked like she could’ve held on a lot longer if she’d had to.
Artis fell out next, so the last necklace came down to Kent and Carter. Kent tried to make some kind of vague “I’ll owe you one” pact with Carter, but it didn’t go anywhere. Carter is a lean guy, so he probably wasn’t holding as much weight as the other men. He wouldn’t have trouble winning and Kent knew that, so he dropped out.
Jumping Ship
There was a lot of back and forth going on before Tribal Council, and lots of unpredictability – good for the show, but bad when you don’t agree with the decisions.
Is he high?
It was all coming down to Kent and Carter Kent, who would bring the brainless log of wood that is Carter along with him, wherever he went. His options were:
a) Stick with his original alliance and bring in Skupin and RC to vote out Pete, a strong competitor and one half of a power alliance
b) Jump ship and join Kalabaw in splitting the vote between Penner and RC, ensuring that either a man who looks like he ate the Jonathan Penner from Survivor: Cook Islands or a girl who will struggle to get votes in the finals because her whole tribe hates her will go home
I actually think Penner is very handsome, I’m just being snarky to illustrate why I don’t think it was important for Jeff Kent to vote out Penner this week. Like I’ve said already, I think Jeff Kent’s decision has put him at the bottom of a new alliance. Abi and Pete are tight. Artis seems to be very close with them as well. So Kent will get, at best, maybe fourth? But Lisa is still a factor, and Malcolm and Denise, and Carter. So his number could be much lower, like seventh. I think he had a better shot with the veterans.
I’m disappointed that Penner is in this situation. He was very smart to play his idol, and not just because it did end up saving his butt. He was able to sense that he was at least getting a few votes at Tribal Council. Even if things had gone his way, it would have been the right move to play it. Better safe than sorry. But now he is 100% on the outs, and he doesn’t have the protection of the Hidden Immunity Idol. I really hope he wins that necklace next week.
In the end, only two people voted for Pete – Penner and RC. I understand why Denise and Skupin went along with the majority, but I wish they hadn’t. Skupin, Denise and Malcolm voted for Penner. If they’d voted for Pete instead, he’d be out right now. It’s too difficult to say, I think, if that would have been a better strategy for them…but I would have preferred it as a viewer. RC seems like she would have been a great player if she’d just ended up on a tribe that liked her, it’s too bad she was out so soon.
I’m disappointed, but this was a great episode that has set the course for an unpredictable season. What do you guys think?
I really really cannot stand Kent. Like you said, he’s not thinking about long-term – he just has little man problems. Seriously, he chose to go from the top of a 6 person alliance to what, 7th, 8th? WHY. Ugh. That really annoyed me, and I was blindsided at tribal council too because I didn’t think anyone was stupid enough to make that decision.
Now I’m just hoping Penner and Denise make it through next week and we get a Marquesas-style switch-up at 9.
Wouldn’t it be great if Tandang disposed of Kent next week? Did we even see the new tribe name?
It would be great! Like you, I’m pulling for Penner and Denise. I think Denise has a good shot. Penner needs Immunity.
Fantastic and exciting episode (one of the best in recent seasons!), but such a disappointing end result. It’s near infuriating as a viewer to see poor Skupin and RC beaten down like that by their tribe, and then their ray of hope comes along… and damn Jeff Kent decides to be a complete tool letting the “bad guys” Pete, Abi, and Artis come out on top.
It’s a bit of a kick in the gut. Especially since RC was such a promising player! Her situation reminds me a lot of Kelly Bruno’s in Nicaragua where no matter what she did, she was a perfectly nice person, but her tribe had this completely baffling hatred for her. Real shame.
I really wish we would have gotten a better idea of where Malcolm and Denise’s heads were at with this decision. Though all this confusion still with who’s with who continuing to go forward at this point makes next week even more exciting.
I was never a massive Jonathan Penner fan. I like him well enough, but he was never my favourite. But I find myself really rooting for him to pull through this season, and even more now with him being on the MASSIVE outs. (I’m probably rooting for him more so even than I’m rooting for Denise now! And I love me some Denise. How lovely was it that she won immunity this week?)
Ugh. I do not understand Jeff Kent’s decision at all. He’s pretty much screwed himself now for being so short-sighted with his strategic planning. In a way, it gives me so much glee because you just KNOW his demise will be soon. And I look forward to it oh so badly. How he thinks he’s going to get further in the game with the craziness that is Pete/Abi/Artis, I have no idea. What a moron.
Good comparison. Kelly Bruno was also good in challenges, like RC. I’m disappointed. If they ever do a “gone too soon” season. (We should totally fantasy-cast a gone too soon season.)
Penner’s a huge underdog this season, which adds to his likability – especially since the people he’s up against are so unlikable. Does anyone like Kent?
I’d love to see your fantasy cast for that type of season
The SECOND I saw that challenge, before I was even told what it was, I picked Denise to win cause I could tell it was endurance based. I had her to win before they announced that one man and one woman would win. She is a major threat to win it every time. Who knew therapists were such physical powerhouses?
You’d think that out of anyone, Kent would be the one to hold the least amount of hate towards the returning players. He’s the baseball star who made millions. If anyone found out about that, he’d have the same kind of target on his back. Plus, since EVERYONE is on this anti-penner train, that makes him extremely valuable to take to the end. In what world does taking out an iron clad ally make any sense?
And poor R.C. She had the whole package, but got screwed over by a couple of nutjobs on Tandang. I can only speculate that there was some unseen reason why there was so much animosity towards her. If not, then she really got the raw deal here. As much as I didn’t want Penner to go, I wanted her to stay as well.
I really want to know where Skupin’s head is at as well. He ended up voting Penner, so was he trying to prove that he wasn’t teaming up with him? Was he ever really planning to jump to Kalabaw? I hope that gets explained.
If the axis of evil gets through this (Pete, Abi, and Artis), then Pete has to end up the winner. He’s played a hell of a game so far. He’s got a tight four alliance, convinced Kalabaw to vote against one of their own, and got rid of the loose cannon on his tribe as a backup. Skupin, without R.C. to egg him on, is much more likely to fall back into the fold, especially since he knows Kent is on a crusade against returning players. This gives them a solid six against four right now. Even if Malcom were to jump ship, it doesn’t look like anything will happen until they take out Penner, which would make it five on four. He’s put himself in a very strong position here. I hope his plans fall through, but he is certainly a deserving winner right now.
You’re right. Jeff Kent would be better off taking returning players to the end, but he has no long term plan.
I think for Skupin, when you know what the majority is voting and can’t change it, it’s best just to go along with it rather than further alienate yourself.
Oh. My. God. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole episode, which in only 42 minutes gave me the emotions that tens season of Celebrity Island didn’t. And the final outcome was such a disappointment. I did indeed see the elimination of RC coming; I can’t help but feel really sorry for her, who had the potential to be a great player but made the crucial mistake of budding with crazy Abi-Maria. While watching the debate on Tribal Council, I didn’t think that Penner would have been forced to play the Idol, and even if he played it, that it would actually have saved him. Jeff Kent should have taken him as his closest ally, at least until they got rid of Abi/Pete/Artis, since Penner has experience and that is why he is still in the game.
Instead, we got treated to see Kent repeating what he has consistently said since Day 1, “we don’t want a returning player to win”. Sadly for him, it seems that from the five persons that constituted that original “we”; the only one who’s sticking with him is Carter, whose stupidity is making him more and more annoying to my eyes with every episode that passes. I think that as soon as they can get rid of Penner, Skupin and other outsiders, the evil gang of Abi-Maria, Peter and Artis (that now seems to include up to six or seven persons) will vote them both out without any remorse. Then anything can happen, but for the moment, in my opinion Pete is playing the best game and is quite deserving to go to the end. I don’t know if Malcolm and Denise will benefit on the long term by staying with the main alliance; after all, they are two, and Abi, Peter and Artis (with possible contribution of Jeff, Carter and Lisa) outnumber them without any problems. But will the outsider of the alliance stick to it when the moment comes? I guess that’s what makes Survivor so exciting.
On a lighter note, the new name of the merged tribe is Dangrayne, which I think comes from a contraption of “dang rain”, and if it’s like this, I’m very proud to have been able to figure it out, since I’m not an English mother-tongue speaker. I think it’s hilarious
As you can see, it was shown in this cut scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAdfl9f7UWs
Thanks for sharing the new tribe name! I hadn’t caught it, that’s pretty funny.
Penner isnt a saavy player. Hes too emotional and it looks like his anger is getting the best of him in next episode. Not wise enough (or too emotional) to re-assess the situation and devise a strategy. Another not so bright player is Scoop. He is just too wreckless in such a cautious game. Most of these guys just mess up in some way be it in a challenge, devising strategy, or just by opening their mouth. They put the targets on their own back. At least early on, this seems to be the routine.
I disagree, I think your description of Penner suits Kent more.
This is turning out to be an awesome season. I’m glad Penner used his Idol. He’s a smart player and I hope he hangs on for a while but like Nowayjose said it looks like next episode he is going to dig himself deeper rather then try to fix the situation.
I don’t understand why so many people are sad to see RC go. Shes an investment banker. I’ve wanted to see her leave from day one purely based on that. That is a disgusting profession, they are professional parasites.
Also I think Artis is getting a raw deal just because he’s aligned with Abi and Pete who obviously are evil and I’m hoping to see them both lose.
I hope so too! Penner was very smart to use his idol, I hope he can figure out a new strategy. I liked RC’s personality, so I wasn’t judging her based on her profession very much.
Hopefully that’s all made up, because if not you’ve ruined it for many others. Thanks.
I’ve deleted a comment because it contained what could be spoilers, but was probably just bull. Please do not post in the comments with anything that may reveal the outcome of the show.
Wow another awesome show, Penner winning immunity was great. Then the chaos that broke out at tribal was epic. Lisa, Abi and Skupin don’t seem to have a whole brain between the 3 of em. Abi showed her alliance’s cards to everyone and even though he was on the very bottom of that alliance, Skupin still votes with them…wtf. Why did Penner vote for Abi? it seemed like a wasted vote unless he was afraid of a rock pull. Nobody should vote out Abi. Everyone hates her and she isn’t good at challenges so shes the perfect person to sit next to. I’m sure that is why Pete chose her. Next best person to sit next to would be Carter, the guy has no personality, nobody is gonna vote for him..
Is anyone else annoyed that Lisa wont turn on her evil tribe. After Abi made it so clear that Lisa is already at the bottom of her own alliance shes got nothing to lose really. At least Skupin finally wised up.