First off… thanks to everyone who joined in on the “live tweets” on both coasts. What a blast. Let’s do it again next week. If you aren’t on twitter, sign up and follow me @Jeffprobst. We tweet live together in a “virtual living room.” Okay now to the blog…
LIFE AFTER RUSSELL
Well, I’ll admit that there is a hole now that Russell is gone. It’s kinda like having a really funny friend leave your big summer party a few hours too early. You miss him. The party misses him. It takes a moment to adjust.
But… if it’s a good party, you won’t miss him for long.
CAN ANYONE STOP MATT?
Thus far Redemption Island has given us everything we could have hoped for when we started the season. Dramatic duels, lots of surprising and game turning information revealed, and a hero emerging in faith-based Matt.
How do we keep getting so lucky? Of all the people that could have been our first Redemption Island representative we couldn’t have hand picked a better one than Matt. He’s humble, he’s competitive, he’s kind, he has a strong moral compass, he’s handsome and as of yet, he can’t be beat.
Thank you Matt for doing us right! The question is how long can he continue to dominate? How long before the person on Redemption gets to come back into the game and continue their pursuit of the million dollars?
ROB CONTINUES TO DOMINATE AT OMETEPE
From a macro view, Ometepe is in very good shape. Since winning the challenge that Zapatera threw, their confidence is up and it shows.
But no matter how good you have it, as Americans know far too well, there is always something to complain about. For Ometepe, it’s Phillip.
WHY PHILLIP IS A STAR
Ometepe’s complaints about Phillip are a great example of why Phillip is both a pain in the ass (if you’re an Ometepe member) and a “star” (if you’re CBS).
They walk around camp muttering things you are probably saying yourself as you watch from home:
This Phillip guy is nuts!
Former Federal Agent, my ass!
Dude, what is up with that salmon colored underwear?
For crying out loud, would ya quit chasing the crabs with a stick!
A lion and a Gorilla? Come on.
Phillip…. please shut up!!!!!
Just like with Russell or Coach, the louder you scream the more we know we have a star. Phillip is a star.
And while the others are complaining that Phillip should be voted out, Rob is working hard to make sure Phillip doesn’t go home. He realizes what the others don’t – Phillip is worth more to him in the game than he is being sent to Redemption Island. For now anyway…
FISHING AT ZAPATERA
I love seeing the tribes catch fish and do other domestic chores around camp. I wish we could more of these types of scenes in the show, but we just don’t have enough time. Whenever we show the Survivors truly earning their keep, it reminds the audience that this is a major adventure. It is no joke. There are no commercial breaks where you can grab another slice of pizza from the fridge. These guys earn every single thing they get on this show. I always respect the people who choose to partake of the Survivor adventure because there is nothing else like it on television.
KRISTA & STEPHANIE GO TO REDEMPTION ISLAND
Julie really showed how little she understands the game when she said that “Krista and Stephanie” are just pawns in this game and are not a threat any longer. Anybody that is in the game is a threat and anybody who is low on the totem pole within a tribe is a MAJOR threat What if we have a tribe switch coming up? Or an early merge?
I’m not foreshadowing anything (or am I?) but I am making the point that you can NEVER let your guard down in this game. The moment you lay your sword against the tree while you go take a leak, is the moment your sword ends up in your back mid-stream.
An experienced player would view Krista and Stephanie as potential problems and that person… would be right.
WHAT YOU DIDN’T SEE DURING THE DUEL
What you didn’t see was that Kristina nearly passed out during the challenge. Literally. It was so hot, she was so tired, the puzzles pieces were so heavy and the pressure was so much… that she nearly fell flat out.
It was also a much longer challenge. The puzzle was created by resident Survivor genius, Dan Munday and it proved much more difficult than it appears when finished. Both Matt and Kristina had trouble with the puzzle – the difference was Matt never lost his mind or got frustrated. He just kept studying it until it finally became clear.
Finally, there was also a much longer discussion between Boston Rob and Matt where Matt quizzed Rob about why he voted him out. Redemption Island continues to deliver.
I THINK YELLOW MIGHT LOOK GOOD ON ME
This is what I’m talking about. When Stephanie told Boston Rob that she and Krista were no longer loyal to Zapatera, she gave away so much information that Rob and Ometepe can now use.
He now knows there are two people on the outs, which tells him that the tribe has drawn lines in the sand. He now knows there are two people that might come to the other side if a switch or a merge happens. Those two pieces of information alone can swing the game completely in his favor. Krista and Stephanie are not just pawns, they are still players in this game.
REWARD/IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
I loved this challenge. It was very exciting on the day. I like challenges that put someone in the “hero” or “goat” role, it almost always produces good drama.
Chaotic challenges always reveal so much and reminds how important it is to remain calm. Panic never helps. Ah but it’s so easy to say “don’t panic” yet much tougher to actually remain… calm.
Grant is the unsung hero for Ometepe. He’s a talented athlete and if they let him last deep into this game he is going to move from the “quiet dude with dreadlocks” to a major threat to win the game.
I gotta give Stephanie credit. The girl does not shy away from asking for responsibility. Say what you want but Stephanie has never backed off of a challenge. She wants the ball and when there is no time left on the clock, she’s the one who wants to take the shot. When your ass is on the line, it’s the only play you have.
I GOTTA SAY IT
Zapatera has a bit of a bitchy attitude toward most everything. First it was Russell being a bad seed and in last night’s episode it was Stephanie not being smart enough at the challenge. Does it all go back to throwing the challenge to get rid of Russell? Have they simply given Ometepe too much confidence?
And most amazing of all is that after losing another challenge, they still managed to find a bright side, however misguided it may be:
Julie: Even though we lost the challenge today, we really won. It’s going to be between Krista and Stephanie.
Don’t you guys watch this show? What are you thinking? This is not good news. You didn’t really win by losing. Losing another member of your tribe at this point in the game does not make your tribe stronger. There are so many cons that come with losing a tribe member, not the least of which is the more Ometepe wins, the more unified they become. This is a potentially disastrous situation come the merge.
Someone has to step up and gather the troops or Zapatera is going to continue to fall apart day by day.
I loved Sarita and David getting into it, can’t resist a juicy throwdown. Sarita hit David’s sweet spot and he lit her up:
David: I do very well under pressure! My entire life is based on being under pressure!! There’s no butts, I’m the only one who is doing puzzles from here on out!!! Period!!! Point blank. No questions.
And then Mike says without a hint of irony –
Mike: We just need to win a challenge.
LET’S FAKE THEM WHILE I FAKE YOU!
When I saw the first early cut of this moment I was laughing so hard I couldn’t stay in my chair. Rob often approaches Survivor like an organized game theory expert and other times he plays it like a 5-year old. This was old school playground shenanigans. Grant covering for Rob while Rob is double-crossing Grant. Wouldn’t surprise me if Rob had his fingers crossed the entire time.
Rob is so in control I think he even yelled to our camera operator, “We gotta move” as if to say — if you want to get the shot of me trading out the idol notes, then you better start running, because I have no time to waste!
IT WAS CLEAR…KRISTA OR STEPHANIE
There wasn’t much else to the story –you knew it was going to be Krista or Steph and truthfully all we could hope for is that Stephanie stayed longer than Krista, only because she is significantly lippier and therefore a more interesting character.
Krista is gone but not out. Krista is a farm girl and is a legitimate threat to beat Matt in a challenge. This may be Matt’s biggest competition to date.
NEXT TIME ON… SURVIVOR
A great duel, a great challenge, and a great tribal council!
