This episode was cray cray, but damn was it entertaining. I don’t even know where to begin from. First off, when I get on survivor (hopefully next year) apparently I need to take a masters level class on puzzles beforehand. But the highlight of the night was obviously tribal council. When Brad got evicted and everybody had a look on their faces that was a combination of horror, slash “what the hell is the guy going to do right now”. Like I tweeted our editor and chief here, it was the most awkward exit from a social gathering since Ronald Miller got outed by Cindy Mancini for paying her to go out with him in Cant buy me love (for that comparison fast forward to the 3:50mark….Your welcome): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B12Gq3zKiH0
(Quick other highlights from that clip that have nothing to do with survivor but everything to do with what’s great in the world: 1. 50 second mark of clip- the best “white people dancing” scene ever! 2. 1:03 mark-The guy who was also in Teen Wolf and other 80’s classic I can’t name and who has never been seen from again. That guy was the Brando of 1980’s teen movies. 3. The whole clip-Every actor in the clip being 32 or older in high school. )
The episode was great. For me, there is so much anticipation for the merge. I’m not a survivor savant so I don’t know when the tribes merge, but I hope it’s one of the next two episodes. Normally when one tribe does so horrifically bad, the producers shake up the game by either merging or shifting around the tribes (Which obviously they won’t do in this case). Lets move on to America’s favorite new weekly contrived, grammatically flawed comparison to movies/tv/pop cultural survivor blog. I know its early October but let’s start the trend now and be the first Halloween centric theme blog for survivor out there. Comparisons will be made individually and in some cases as pairs. Once again, some of these will work and some of these will be huge reaches that will only make sense to me and people that are nice and want to humor me out of pity or sympathy.
· Caleb/Colton as Candyman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryn4mIo9gAM
One of the more underrated scary movies of its time. The comparison here is that apparently like Candyman, if you say Caleb’s name or he thinks you’re going to say his name at tribal you get killed! I mean who saw that coming at tribal council? Caleb really showed a lot with that aggressive play. Like Candyman, he took Brad and stuck a hook right into his heart. It was a great, pro-active move. The trap that Caleb now has to avoid is to not get to over confident now moving forward. We have seen this happen time and again in Survivor were somebody makes a great move and then in their mind they become invincible and then a week or two later their making the walk of shame. Caleb would be smart to immediately circle the wagons with Hayden and Vytas, avoid be perceived as the “leader” of the rookies tribe and make the vibe more about the group then himself. It needs to be said again though, what a great, ballsy move Caleb made.
· Vytas as The Shining: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60WR8dB0H-s
Can’t you Vytas talking to creepy/ wrinkly face Lloyd saying “I never would harm Aras”. We know Vytas has a dark side that may always be lurking in the dark shadows of his subconscious. You could see a wolfish half smile come out when he saw that Caleb wanted to vote out Brad. Vytas most certainly is going to make it to the merge. Once the Merge happens he will become a huge target, because of his bloodlines with Aras. You would think though, that Vytas would survive as Aras will be the bigger target to the smarter, more cunning players left in the game. Vytas’s “arc” this season seems to be to get out of his brother’s shodow. During the head to head comp last week, we saw Vytas once again get dominated by his brother and look petty as he tried to cheat. If this was a literary story you would then think that the next act would be Vytas in the end somehow getting the upper hand and doing something to show his brother and himself that he can be successful, noble and heroic. Vytas just can’t let his “dark side” take over redrumredrumredrumredrumredrumredrumredrumredrumredrumredrumredrumredrumredrumredrumredrumredrum
(doing that “redrum” thing maybe me think about how much I hate hashtagging, as it’s so corny and cheesy, people are doing it now on Facebook and Instagram and its always awful. Please stop hashtaging!!! #hashtaggingiscorny!)
· Hayden as Army of Darkness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xAGIqVzu6k
Another underrated gem of a movie. Like the character Ash, Hayden is in a world that is foreign to him, a world slightly more evil and gritty then the first class Big Brother world. Like the movie, Hayden has found a way to survive and thrive in this world as he continues to be in a very good spot in the game. Hayden obviously was conflicted with how to Vote in this episode and it appeared he casted the vote for Ciera twice, which shows he was unsure about what to do. If the tribes don’t merge next week, I still think Hayden will be fine, but they have to get one of the (no offense) “dead weights” off their team..aka Katie or Ciera. Once the merge happens, I’m starting to get the feeling that Hayden might be targeted right off the bat by Tyson, Gervase, but with the caveat that he would be the target if they don’t go for Aras/Vytas first. I think if Hayden can survive the first week of the merge he will be fine, because he has shown the ability to fit in and be popular among social groups. #HastageteamHaydenyesiknowisaidihatehashtagsbuthisisdifferent
Next will be the overlapping of both tribes:
· Laura and Ciera in When a Stranger calls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWh0PKTD2m8
Like this creepy movie, Ciera has been stuck in a closed space, not knowing when her time will come. There has been “phone calls” made by the “killer” taunting her that her time is up, but she has survived up until now, but her time may be up next week. Laura is like the helpless parent, unable to save her daughter (from getting to Redemption Island).Laura has sat back and watched helplessly as her daughter has struggled to survive tribal council, struggled in all the competitions and started to look like an extra from the Walking Dead. Ciera needs to bring it next week. She also looks like she is a pint or two short of blood. Ciera needs to show some fight in the next competitions to prove that she does deserve to be here. Ciera’s ultimate redemption may in fact be at Redemption Island, where she can compete solo and show what she is truly made of.
Laura as her own entity has not been shown much on the Veteran tribe, which would lead you to believe that she is towards the lower end of her tribe’s power rankings. If Survivor continues to be a weekly puzzle competition, Laura apparently will continue to thrive, as puzzles appear to be her bread and butter. Like I have said all season, Laura’s ultimate destiny I would think will be to take Ciera’s place at Redemption Island when that time comes.
· Tina and Katie in Carrie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uctR8A0vQ8
First off, that trailer was really creepy. Before Tina and Katie came on this season did Tina grab Katie and chant “They’re all going to laugh at you, they’re all going to laugh at you”? Does Katie have pigs blood on standby at Tribal Council, ready to use if/when her name is written by other people? I don’t remember seeing Tina in this episode; did Katie snap and use her powers for evil like in the movie? Katie, like Ciera must have some likable qualities that the other members of her tribe are cool with and maybe her social game isn’t that bad, but to me it seems like Katie is being used more as a pawn then as a person by the males at the tribe, as Katie and Ciera are being used as smoke screens for backstabbing.
Tina seems to be continuing to do Tina things and it’s hard to tell what the hell is going on in the heads of that tribe, because we haven’t seen the Vet team uncomfortable yet. I don’t have much to add here so let’s talk about the fact that there is a new Carrie movie coming out soon, except they made a crucial mistake by casting the Carrie role with a really hot girl. In the history of high school, there has never been a hot girl outcast…it’s just science, you can’t argue that point. Even if the hot girl is a monster and carry’s around Mein Kampf she still won’t be treated as an outcast, it’s the law of high school. That’s all I have to say bout dat.
The purely Vet tribe individual comparisons:
· Tyson in A Nightmare on Elm St 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9MuBVyB34A
My favorite horror movie character for my favorite current survivor player this season! A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 is my favorite of the series, as it’s a great combination of creepiness and humor. Like Freddy, Tyson takes some enjoyment with occasional evilness. The Coconut shadiness is brilliant. I might be completely off, but Tyson has the “look” this season, meaning I think the stars are aligning this year and he’s going to have a Boston Rob like dominance to the end and win. With so little information around the Vet tribe due to their overall dominance, all this theory is based on the little we have seen and a gut feeling I have. Losing Rachel looks like it could be a blessing in disguise, as now he doesn’t have the stress of worrying about her and maybe it makes him less of a target for the time being with everybody else. As captain of #TeamTyson I can see the path to victory much clearer now that the people I feel who would have targeted him the most are at Redemption Island, Candice, Brad and John. I don’t see anybody on his tribe except for possibly Aras targeting Tyson in the near future.
· Gervase in Mr Boogedy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3exFT0fRM4
Ok since 98 percent of you are asking, “what’? Mr. Boogedy was a horrifically scary, made for TV movie, I think made by Disney. It was scary for 7 year old Scott. Like Gervase, watching it now it’s kind of silly. I think Gervase is pretty silly this season. Not meant in a bad way, I mean his over exuberance this season. Look, he has picked the right horse to roll with this season in Tyson. I think with that decision alone he is going to make a deep run in the game, I’m thinking final 5 at least. Like his fellow coconut brother, I think losing his “loved” one is actually a benefit for him, because I think he will also be viewed as less of a target during the early stages of the merge. What do other people think?
· Aras in The Fog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOZwnivtLbc
Like The Fog, Aras has a way of engulfing people with his will. Aras is very powerful in both his physical skills in competitions and in social gameplay. I think the issue for Aras is Vytas. When the tribes merge, the brothers will be viewed as the biggest threats in the game. I also think Aras might very well take Vyta’s place at Redemption Island if it ever came to that. I just have a feeling he really wants his brother to be successful. I might be wrong about that, but it just seems like one of the biggest focuses of this season is the relationship with the two brothers and because of that, it feels like something dramatic will happen at some point with the two. I think it will also be very fun to watch the head to head match up with Aras and Tyson if/when it comes down to that point in the game. Both of them are really strong players that are very similar yet very different. It’s like Han Solo(Tyson) going against Luke Skywalker(Aras). When the merge happens, Aras will need to be focused and ready to make some moves.
· Laura/Rupert in Misery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zzg3UP-x8k
This is what Laura did to Rupert’s game this season. That is all I basically have to say about this topic. I don’t think Laura has a chance to do anything in this game other than to be used as a pawn by a bigger player in the game.
· Kat in Childs play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uS826wS848
Kat as the humorous and evil Chucky! Chosen, because I see Kat as having the ability to be evil, but also easily able to be vanquished because after all, it’s just a doll. Kat is not a major player on her current tribe, so when the merge happens will it be a benefit or a hindrance to her game? I’ve been conflicted on that question, as I think obviously Hayden is the bigger threat, but Hayden also seems to have the stronger social game. With the merge happening soon, I see Kat’s days numbered, unless another unforeseen alliance takes shape in which she is a part of.
Combo of Vet tribe and Redemption island player:
· Brad and Monica in The Frighteners: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgmByxj6mk8
Underrated, hardly seen horror movie starring Michael J Fox. The killers in the movie are a brash bull in the china shop man (Brad) and a seemingly, sweet innocent women (Monica) who gets turned to evil and murder by her boyfriend. Brad got blindsided and his exit was certainly…awkward. You got to give it to him; he handled the exit with class. How Monica will react and forge along remains to be seen. I don’t think Brad is going to let Monica take his place and unless I’m mistaken I don’t see Brad having a master’s degree in puzzles, so he may be gone completely by next week. Monica may have served her “arc” this season as she got redemption with Colton with his implosion last week. I don’t see Monica as a potential winner in the game, but I can see her making a deeper run in the game if Brad is gone completely.
Redemption Island: Candice and John in Captain EO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAvMkZQBIXk
Basically going to Redemption Island and facing Candice and John is like facing the evil queen and her henchman in this classic 3D clip above. To succeed and advance you better bring what M.J brought in EO, which I guess is Love and the magic of dance? I really want Brad to show up and reenact this whole movie while John and Candice look on in horror and confusion. Wouldn’t it be the best moment in TV history if Brad started dancing like M.J and freed Marissa, Rachel, Rupert like Michal did in Captain EO!! Anyways, it’s crazy but I can see Candice running the table at Redemption and making it back to the game (cue to next week when she loses immediately). John is pretty boring. I hope he loses next week. Every time I see John, I think 1997 late night cable soft-core adult movie, as he looks like the main character in a plot where he plays a life guard that stumbles onto a mystery of sensual desires.
So another week has gone by and I feel the game keeps getting better and better. There were many other Horror movies I wanted to use, but couldn’t find a place for, so let me know what you guys would have used! Hit me up on twitter at @Scotty07