Survivor: Caramoan, aka Fans vs. Favorites 2.0 premiered on Wednesday night, and it couldn’t have been a better early Valentine’s Day gift for me. I’ve missed all this strategy and backstabbing in my life.
If you want to know what I thought of the returning “favorites” (who would be better described as people in need of a second chance, if you’re being generous), check out this post from a while back. And click on through for a review of the premiere!
Well, let’s cut right to the chase: Poor, poor Francesca. I feel for her, I really do. She went on Survivor, she’s a smart and funny gal, and luck didn’t go her way. She was voted out first. But she was charming enough to be asked back a second time! And boom – out first again. That is rough. I feel like it’s what would happen to me, if I were ever given the chance to play.
Once again, it felt like Francesca played her heart out and got the short end of the stick. I guess her downfall is that she plays too hard right out of the gate. But she also has some seriously bad luck. Phillip had it out with her, and her outside-the-game friendship with Andrea was a disadvantage rather than an advantage. Instead of aligning, Andrea and Francesca couldn’t trust one another. It’s like each woman knew just how smart the other one is. But I’ll write more about Tribal Council and the vote later – let’s take it from the top.
A Lot Of Hoop-la
Malcolm vs. Reynold. I expect we’ll see this rivalry continue.
I like seeing the fans’ reactions as the favorites arrive. There was a lot of cheering for Dawn, almost none for Corinne – is that because she played too long ago, or because she was mean? We went straight for the excitement, and things kicked off with a very physical reward challenge. Players had to wrestle, two on two, for a hoop. Shamar, from the fans, got off to an… aggressive start by yelling “Break her wrist!” during the challenge. He meant “break her hold”, but still. Dial it back a notch or two, bud.
Malcolm scored the winning point for the favorites, which was great. I like Malcolm and want to see him go far here, and it was great to see him prove himself right off the bat. He’s quite obviously the biggest physical asset on the favorites team, so that should help him make it to the merge.
Fandamonium
This is a large human. I did NOT expect to see him stretch like a tween ballerina.
Things got off to a rocky start for the fans. First, Shamar and Mark had a pretty heated disagreement over whether building shelter or making fire was a bigger priority. Like, guys? You have TEN PEOPLE on your tribe. There should have been a way to accomplish both. But instead of actually doing something, Shamar sat around criticizing and complaining. To give credit where credit is due, he did a fantastic job making the fire once he got started. But his first impression hasn’t been the best.
(Clockwise from top left) Allie, Reynold, Hope and Eddie
The first impressions are even worse for the Hot Alliance, which literally formed overnight. First, Reynold recruited Allie to be in his alliance. He thought no one would suspect they were aligned because she’s “not the cutest” girl. Well, maybe not – but they sure as hell suspected something once they were practically making out in the shelter all night. Cuddles equals trouble, people! When will you learn?
Eddie and Hope also aligned, because apparently it’s a written requirement of the two most attractive people on the tribe. (Does this mean Andrea and Brenda will have to fight to the death over Malcolm?) Never trust an alliance that’s based entirely on physical appearance.
Obviously, those couples have aligned and, bizarrely, think they have it made as a foursome. They actually called themselves the cool kids, and proclaimed that they wouldn’t let anyone else at the cool kid table. First of all, I hate these people. Second of all, oh, you poor, pretty morons. You are an alliance of four in a tribe of ten. Your votes do not count for double just because you’re beautiful. This means you have no control! The rest of the tribe was already feeling uneasy about the cuddling and the coupling up. They need the men for strength in challenges, so their boos should get ready to say sayonara.
Favorite Mistakes
Over at the favorites’ camp, things were more hectic than simply using mating as a way to form alliances. First, Francesca, Dawn and Andrea decided to team up. This was a smart, sassy lady alliance that I could get on board with. But it didn’t last long.
Phillip. It always comes back to Phillip. He’s already “annoying me greatly”. Phillip – I’m serious now – compared being on Survivor to Iwo Jima. HE COMPARED A REALITY TELEVISION SHOW TO WAR YOU GUYS. I mean, check with Clint Eastwood, but I’m pretty sure none of those soldiers were wearing hot pink Underoos.
Francesca tried to make amends with Phillip, but he just ignored her. The guy is a lunatic, I’m not even sure why she tried. Phillip quickly assembled his own alliance, as he’s now playing with the “BR Rules” (Boston Rob Rules) to Survivor. This should be interesting. Is Rule #1 “Keep Phillip on a very short leash because he’s crazy”? Phillip pulled in Corinne first, and then Andrea, Malcolm and Cochran. He tried for Erik and immediately got on Erik’s wrong side with his aggressive “my way or the highway” pitch. Erik is not a man to be trifled with anymore! He actually called Phillip a “combative idiot loser who makes everyone crazy”, which is just the best.
I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge Cochran’s sunburn. That poor little ginger just can’t catch a break, can he?
Immunity Challenge: Beanbag Toss
I expected the Immunity Challenge to be more exciting than it was. Teams had to race, two at a time, up a large structure and drop crates to the ground. Sure, the climbing was physical, but how hard is it to drop a crate? Not hard. Then, when all the crates had been broken, someone would collect the beanbags that had been inside of them and one player would try to land them in six targets. So… it basically came down to a carnival game where, usually, one person wins a large stuffed Tiger.
The favorites had a pretty big lead, and Malcolm was doing a decent job of tossing. But Reynold made up major ground and ended up winning for the fans – I mean, the guy barely missed! I have several reasons to dislike Reynold, but near the top of that list is the fact that his name is Reynold.
Friends or Foes?
The Favorites camp, post-loss, was nuts. There are so many overlapping alliances, betrayals and backup plans.
Francesca vs. Andrea
Andrea and Francesca’s alliance fell apart faster than it began, which left Dawn as a swing vote – once again tied to Cochran, because who wants to learn from their mistakes? Francesca wanted Phillip gone, which seemed like a non-controversial idea. Phillip is annoying, wears inappropriate underwear, is not physically beneficial and is a strategic loose cannon. I would absolutely not want him on my tribe or in my alliance. But Andrea did, and she began campaigning to get Francesca voted out.
At first, it looked like Francesca solidly had Erik and Brandon on her side, and possibly also had Brenda, Malcolm, Cochran and Dawn as well – and she thought she still had Andrea. A plan to split votes between Phillip and Corinne was tossed around (dumb – there was no evidence that anyone had a Hidden Immunity Idol) but pretty soon everyone became suspicious of Andrea. Next thing you knew, people were talking about voting her out instead. It’s so interesting to me how quickly two women who are friends outside the game became pitted against one another. I really think it’s because each knows how smart the other is, and therefore couldn’t trust her.
It all came down to Cochran and Dawn – a pair that finds themselves in this swing vote position more than most seem to. I really thought they’d opt to go with Francesca. She’s smart, funny, a lawyer and an underdog. How could Cochran not want to align with her? And why would anyone want to align with Phillip?
But surprisingly, when it came time to vote, it was poor Francesca who was booted off first – again. Francesca, Brandon, Erik and Brenda had voted for Andrea. The rest voted for Francesca. (I’m surprised Brenda ended up on the wrong side of the alliance. She’s a savvy player, and seemed to be flying a little under the radar this time. Considering her reputation that could be for the best, but hopefully she can recover and make her way into a stronger alliance.)
Like I said, poor Francesca. This would statistically make her the worst Survivor player ever, but she absolutely is not. Survivor‘s an art, not a science. Stats don’t tell you much. But still, how awful to be the first person eliminated both times you play.
I’m interested to hear what you guys think of this episode and how the alliances are playing out so far. I really am surprised that so many of the favorites are willing to work with Phillip. Sure, he went all the way to the end last time and was often useful to Boston Rob. But Rob kept him on a very short leash and worked hard to maintain a relationship that would ensure Phillip’s compliance. There’s no guarantee that someone could make that happen again. Phillip’s behavior last season revealed him to be paranoid, easily offended and unpredictable. Even if you take his awful personality out of the equation, he’s still a far from ideal partner in the game. I wouldn’t want to work with him for the same reasons I wouldn’t want to work with Brandon. It’s always better to align with people who won’t freak out over nothing and either jump ship or stupidly screw up a vote. What do you think?
Poor Francesca. Two appearances, and she hasn’t been on the island a whole week yet!
I like what Phillip did. Somehow, he seemed to really set himself up in a power position. I don’t know how, and that intrigues me. Whether or not he can maintain it remains to be seen. Also, did you notice the insane amount of Boston Rob references? It’s almost as if he were back again!
Did they really have to go with four blonde women out of five for the fans tribe? I spent a good portion of the episode trying to tell them all apart. I started to really like Julia simply because she was more easily recognizable.
I think this was a good start. Hopefully the craziness can continue. We certainly have plenty of strong personalities.
I can’t believe how everyone went along with Phillip, knowing what a nut job he is. He’s not even good in challenges! Why keep him?
Maybe they just want to keep around to guarantee a win?
Damn…. that is just so unfair! Francesca is far from being the worst player ever, she’s far from being even the worst player this season. I just… it’s so unfair!
As if I needed yet another reason to hate Phillip. I want him gone and never to return to Survivor again, ever. Ever.
Oh, also… did she end up having to eat that rock?
+ Brenda’s comment on how Cochran was their ‘little pregnant lady’ was hilarious.
Haha yes, I’d forgotten that Brenda can be quite funny!
Wow, Jill. I must say that it was a pretty complicated show and I wouldn’t want to have your job of trying to sum it all up. Nice work!
It sure was sad, considering the presence of Phillip, Brandon, and Cochran on the Favorites tribe, that it came down to Francesca and Andrea to be voted off.
What a strange game Survivor is. We disagree about Cochran being a sympathetic figure, but I couldn’t agree with you more on Phillip. It’s a theme we’ve seen before though, that players are willing to let a bullying sort of person run the show on a tribe. I guess because they don’t want to be assertive themselves and upset people. Phillip couldn’t care less about upsetting people.
Neither Favorites “alliance” is very appealing to me. I still like Andrea and Dawn, but I agree they are foolish to be going with Phillip/Cochran. I don’t know the Fans well enough yet to really form an opinion, but I’m liking the lasses.
Thanks, Frank! I agree with you on Phillip and Brandon, they’d be my first two picks to go home. It was disappointing to see it come down to two players I really like.
After reviewing my tape of the show, I decided to post my early impressions of the Fans. I think they seem a pretty nice group of people, with the exception of the selfish Shamar and the cocky Eddie. I don’t mind the “Cool Kids” enjoying themselves and having confidence, but Eddie’s “I don’t think anybody else is going to be at our table”, though said in private, was both mean and stupid. The cuddling by Reynold and Allie wasn’t good strategy, but I think it’s sweet. Reynold seems a fine man, and I don’t understand why people dislike him, or the two “cool” gals. There seem to be two other natural alliances in the tribe: the three “left out” ladies and the three “not so cool” men. Laura is a young and smart beaut and it seems strange that she isn’t with the Cool Kids, but perhaps she’s playing a better strategy. Michael & Matt are an interesting pair, while Shamar may wish to remain a lone wolf. The question seems to be which two of these groups will ally against the other, but who knows how complicated it could get.
I agree, Shamar and Eddie seem to be the worst on that tribe. But I’m not so sure about Reynold, he strikes me as a little arrogant. I *really* hope Michael and Matt decide to go with the others, not the “cool kids”.
Wow, I can’t stand about 90% of the Fan tribe. Definitely don’t like the four self-proclaimed cool kids. How stupid can you be to think that you can dominate the tribe as a closed-off alliance of four? The Iraq guy seemed like a total jerk too. I liked the girl with the short hair and I thought the girl who works in DC seemed too conceited about her own smartness from the preview, but maybe not being included in the cool-kid group will bring her down to earth. I really liked the red-headed, long-haired, bearded guy especially because he is from Cincinnati! I’m unsure about the guy with the glasses at this point.
As for the Favorites, I was very intrigued by the group they chose, because out of the entire group, the only person I probably would have seen as an “all star” would have been Malcolm (maybe Andrea too). I think the smartest thing for that tribe would have been to decide that no matter what Phillip and Brandon would be the first two out because they are crazy and cannot be trusted to keep their emotions and opinions in check. Beyond getting those two out first, I have no idea what I would do, Malcolm is one of my favorite players of all time, and Cochran is still the perfect underdog, so I want both of them to go far. The problem is I also like Brenda, Dawn and Andrea. I didn’t form much of an opinion of Francesca her first season, but this episode she grew on me, so it’s too bad she’s already gone. Unfortunately, I didn’t see Corrine or Erik’s first seasons, so I don’t know much about them either, but Erik is quickly growing on me with his Napoleon Dynamite looks which take me back to high school.
UGhhhhhhh I just feel like this is going to be an awesome season! Why can’t I be in the game??!
I can’t stand the “cool kids” either, I really hope that alliance gets broken up quickly.
The “favorites” definitely seems more like a collection of people who need second chances, rather than all-star players. Which isn’t a bad thing, but calling them favorites isn’t quite accurate.
Corrine was funny, but bitchy in her season. Erik was soooo young and naive, and easily swayed by pretty women. I think he’ll play much better this time.
PS Who do you have in the office pool?
I haven’t made my list yet, but I might write up a post if I have time! Otherwise, I’ll let you know in next week’s review. We choose on Wednesday.
I’m so disappointed for Francesca! Even though the editing made it seem like she was going to be voted out, I thought they were making it too obvious and someone else would be voted out (Phillip, then Andrea based on where I was in the episode), so I was surprised when she got voted out.
Seriously, did nobody learn anything from playing with the same people twice? Andrea wanting to align with Phillip and Dawn choosing to align with Cochran were both decisions that stumped me.
Also the wrist comment in the reward challenge. Remember the last time someone yelled at someone to break something Stephanie ended up with a dislocated shoulder, eek.
& I’m also curious about your preference order for your office pool! Who’s in your top five?
I agree, Andrea’s decisions were weird. Maybe she was trying to align with weaker players, since she got outsmarted by Boston Rob her first time out?
I’ll find out who I get in the pool on Wednesday! Haven’t made my preference list yet, but I’m thinking the favorites will place higher than the fans.
I’m disappointed in Reynold for “cuddling” Allie, since he had another girlfriend at this time. So much for Allie and Reynold “playing it cool” and not making it look like they’re in an alliance together -_-
Hi Jill! I’m back for the ride!! I’m sorry for being late and I really hope you manage to see my comment anyway, but I was stuck with a LONG strip of impediments and managed to sit my mother down to watch Survivor with me only on Sunday evening
This was a great episode, many things happened and I am still trying to sum up what happened, so I’m pretty like making my mind up while writing.
First of all, this is the first Survivor season that I happen to watch from the beginning! What an emotion to watch the Favorites jump out that elicopter! And the Fans are a very nice bunch of players. I want Matt to go out quickly, but only because he hushes everything he says and I can’t really make out what he says. I don’t really like Reynold, either, but he reminds me a lot of Brian Heidik (yes, I studied a little Survivor history during the off-season!), mainly because of his similar occupation but for their similar look too, so probably he’s bound to go far in this game.
I was surprised to see the Fans winning the Immunity Challenge, because we’d had already seen a lot of them. I had seen the Challenge preview on the CBS website and I immediately thought that it would come down to the bag toss, as it actually was. Reynold did a WONDERFUL job with these sandbags and in my opinion established as the biggest physical asset of Gota.
After the whole discussion before Tribal Council I honestly hadn’t a clue about what was happening. It seemed like ten or a dozen different alliance had formed and disbanded in that last hour! I had actually seen the departure of Francesca, but I honestly didn’t want her to go. I liked her because she’s smart, snarky and witty, and it’s too sad that she was the first to be voted out again. Yes, she made Survivor history, but who would like to be a part of that story?
I’m quite surprised by Phillip and Brandon, that seem to be behaving quite differently than last time. Is it an act? Or is it real? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Oops, I forgot…good luck to both you and your mother for the office pool!
Hi Davide! So glad to see your comment! Love the Brian Heidek reference. He was a good player, but a snake! I’m so excited for tonight’s episode. I have Dawn in the office pool!