Nothing Can Stop us now![/caption]
The recap started with Jeff saying: “Brawn, Brains and Beauty were no more. They were divided into 2 tribes, the new Solana tribe and the new Aparri tribe.
Sarah was heard saying: “I am the only original Aparri member on a tribe with 3 Brains and 3 Beauties.”
The former Beauty tribe began to turn on each other … and the former Brain tribe used it to gain control.
Spencer in confessional: “The fact that they are this divided shows that we can play them against each other.”
Meanwhile, over at Solana, the former Brawn tribe enjoyed a 5-2 advantage over LJ and Jefra … but it couldn’t mend old feuds.
At the last immunity challenge, Solana lost.
Facing Tribal Council, the former Brawn tribe was focused on getting rid of LJ … But Trish and Tony saw a chance to take out an even bigger threat.
It was Tony’s confessional that was shown, the one where he said that Cliff was very influential which made him dangerous.
At Tribal Council, Trish and Tony got their wish, blindsiding Cliff and his allies.
This recap is amazing in how it spun the previous episode, giving a lot more importance to Tony than Trish by using his confessional to set up Cliff’s blindside. It’s as if he never really considered eliminating LJ; that the whole plan was as much his idea as Trish’s.
The recap wasn’t kind to LJ, Jeff forgetting that he had made a big gamble by keeping his idol, trusting Tony. It paid off but since it wasn’t emphasized it probably won’t amount to much in the end.
We heard thunder when the players left Tribal Council and they were greeted by war drums when they arrived in camp.
Trish wanted to explain her move but Lindsey wouldn’t hear, saying flatly that they had screwed up majorly.
Trish had a confessional: “We totally bamboozled Cliff. He had no idea that he was going home tonight.”
Trish told Lindsey she didn’t like her which ignited Lindsey who told her she was annoying and disgusting. Woo, LJ and Jefra looked uncomfortable at the scene but Tony was enjoying it, probably remembering the last time he arrested two drunken girls after closing time. He stepped in like a good cop and told them to stop.
Lindsey went off on her own first to give a confessional: “Trisha is a bully; she’s got a mouth that is as big as a horse…”
Then the tribe realized she was still out there, alone during a cold night. We soon saw Jeff walk down the beach to join Lindsey who had asked for him because she wanted to get out of the situation before flipping out. She didn’t want her daughter seeing her act like that.
Jeff, who must have thought that his job was done for a day or so, didn’t put much of an effort to change Lindsey’s mind. Instead he seemed happy about a Survivor first: A player removing herself from the game before doing something she would regret.
(Well, Kathleen considered chopping off one of her fingers to force a medical evacuation. She asked to be removed from the game before doing something she would regret, but it didn’t make it on air so, for Jeff, it doesn’t matter.)
He walked over to Solana with the news that Lindsey had quit.
Trish had a confessional in which she told us she wanted to go look for Lindsey because she didn’t want her to injure herself.
It’s funny that she can say she was worried about Lindsey when we saw that she was sleeping in the back of the shelter.
Tony also had a confessional: “Just as we expected: We turn the head, the body always follows. She was the body, Cliff was the head, she followed right behind him out the exit door and it was a beautiful thing: Two for the price of one.”
While Tony is much more honest than Trish about his feelings, we can’t say that it paints him in a nice color. Even if Lindsey wasn’t a likeable character, we still can say that we have found our two villains.
LJ compared the situation (or was it Lindsey?) to a huge, volatile zit waiting to pop and once it did … Woo picked up the sentence by saying that now they could start fresh.
Woo had the last confessional of the night: “Prior to Tribal Council I was aligned with Cliff and Lindsey so … now it puts me in a really tough position. If we were going to Tribal Council, I could definitely project myself going.”
The Reward Challenge:
The reactions from Aparri were priceless.
First, Sarah’s smile after seeing the new Solana was a dead giveaway. Jeff noticed that she couldn’t contain herself: “This is insane.”
The only one with a bigger smile than Sarah’s was Alexis who told Jeff: “I’m happy to see our Beauties still standing. You know, I’m happy of course.”
If Alexis wants an explanation for her elimination, she simply needs to look at this moment. Her emotions took the heat off Sarah who could have cost herself the game when she shared a fist pump with Trish but Alexis outdid her, making it so obvious that the alliance of the Beauties had to be dismantled.
Spencer was also asked for his thoughts: “Two people are out of the game and I didn’t have to do anything. It bothers me that someone quit, I really don’t like that but I am going to take it. My odds just got better and I didn’t have to do a thing.”
With these words, Spencer is talking for the viewers who don’t like quitters either but they will take it since Lindsey wasn’t their favorite. In this brief comment, Spencer told us how he could make it to the end: He simply has to let them knock out each other. It takes brains to play like that!
It’s funny that they ran the challenge with the same rules as the last time considering Skupin broke this challenge: You don’t have to keep your idol in place; you just have to make sure it lands on the sand after your opponent’s. The best way to win is to throw your idol up in the air and lunge at your opponent. Only Spencer used the trick in his first battle with Woo but the martial arts expert didn’t give him a second chance, pouncing before Spencer expected.
It was strange to hear Jeff say that Trish was swatting Tasha away “like a little gnat”.
Morgan didn’t appreciate the joke that LJ made, warning Tony not to be distracted because, like Jeff pointed out, he would get sucked in.
When Woo and Tony were selected for the raid, the Jersey cop told Jeff: “I know Aparri inside and out, that’s why I am going.”
If Tony gets blindsided by this tribe this will be a marvelous quote to remember. He may have known that Old Aparri tribe but this is a new Aparri with some Brains in there. I think we have been told how the merge vote will turn out: Tony will be confident that he has the numbers because he knows Aparri inside out but Sarah will surprise him, choosing the new Aparri.
As for the raid and the major blow Jeff said it would inflict on the losers, let’s not forget that Jeff knew they were only a few days away from the merge. This raid was more for the interactions than the reward. On that point, Tony and Woo could have used the time to create bonds like Danni did when she got production to let her have a birthday party, but the two men chose to cause trouble.
Tony had a voice over confessional while we saw the tribes leaving the challenge arena: “There is so much energy now that Cliff is gone and now that Lindsey’s gone. We went in there and made a statement: We are less in numbers but we are high in morale and we showed it in there. We won the challenge.”
Aparri – Day 15
The war drums were back, telling us that this wouldn’t be a friendly visit.
Tasha in confessional: “… When Tony and Woo came, our hearts dropped. I came from Luzon and we were living in pretty bad conditions but when we got to Aparri, this was like the lap of luxury. Who knew (or was it Woo knew?) that it could be so short lived?”
Tony read the instructions telling them what they were allowed to take. He then took the second message which was a clue to the idol back at their camp, the one that LJ found.
Tony in confessional: “Woo and I read it and it didn’t pertain to the Aparri beach, it pertained to the Solana tribe where we have a wall of rocks.” Immediately, Tony came up with the idea that they should pretend they had to give the clue to someone. He chose Jeremiah, hoping the target would get him voted out. His confessional continued: “I think it would be great to oust one of these people, to stir up the pot and the strongest person on the Aparri team right now is Jeremiah.”
As ingenious as the idea appeared, if it had been a clue to the idol, wouldn’t Tony and Woo have given it to Sarah? They made it look like Aparri doubted Jeremiah when he told them that it was Solana’s clue but it seems that only someone like Alexis would fall for it, that smart players like Spencer, Tasha and Kass would eventually figure out that it was a trick.
Tasha in confessional: “Tony and Woo decide to give a clue to a hidden immunity idol to Jeremiah. So, honestly, I think they are sending a signal to Jeremiah saying that: We want to work with you.”
Tony in confessional: “I give Jeremiah the clue and I’m sure it is going through everybody’s mind; why is Jeremiah getting the clue? What’s going on? Their wheels are spinning.”
Giving us Tasha’s immediate reaction creates suspense, makes us think that Tony will get his way again. It also shows that, like Sarah, Tasha fell for Tony’s lies.
Jeremiah had a confessional after reading the clue: “It’s the exact same clue that we had at the Beauty tribe … Tony and Woo, they don’t know me from Adam. They just said we are going to give it to him. I’ve got six people watching me, watching every move I make. I might be the next one voted out.”
Solana – Day 15
Just before the raiders returned, we saw that someone wrote a message in the sand for Lindsey: “Shame on you, Lindsie” it read.
Jefra gave us a confessional: “Tony and Woo brought back tons of comfort items … Things that LJ and I haven’t gotten to enjoy from the very beginning.” So proud of his prank, Tony was quick to tell everyone that he had put “a big, illuminated target” on Jeremiah’s back. Jefra’s confessional continued: “Tony is playing this game full out, hardcore, balls to the walls, every way possible. He’s lying, stealing and cheating. I’m just glad he’s on my side. ”
If even Jefra can tell that Tony is playing too hard then it’s easy to realize that Tony made a mistake. Yet, he was about to outdo himself!
Tony told everyone that he really was a police officer; that he had lied about being in construction.
Tony (solo): “I was on the Aparri tribe for 13 days and I had nothing for them, nothing. No feelings for any of them except for Trish. I come here to the new Solana tribe and we just bonded. It’s just harmonious now.”
While Woo and Trish were impressed, LJ put his finger on Tony’s mistake.
LJ in confessional: “So, to solidify that he is trustworthy, Tony exposed that he lied. Different. I didn’t peg him as a smart guy but he has a lot on his mind and he’s not a dummy by any means and I realize with him revealing all this stuff that I do have to be on my toes at every single point in the game.”
With Tony telling us that he had no feelings for his old tribe, that he likes this new tribe, we see another example that it is bad to mix your emotions with the game. This theme was first mentioned in episode 1 when LJ told us that Morgan was calm and collected. Lindsey said that Tony and Trish made a major mistake by playing with their emotions and we know that Alexis hurt her own game when she showed her emotions at the reward challenge.
This season saw a poker player get eliminated during the premiere so it’s funny to think that we are looking for a player with a good poker face to be our winner. Spencer had a confessional where he told us that he had to keep his calm around the women. It takes a much deeper significance under this angle. His simple reaction at the reward contrasted with all of his tribe mates. He acknowledged that it was good but didn’t make a big deal out of it.
Jefra was the first to propose that this five should stick together. Tony agreed to it immediately.
Aparri – Day 15
Alexis was still talking about the raid: “Tony and Woo … picked Jeremiah which got so many minds thinking and really stirred stuff up over here. I need to clean it up and make things more clear cut. The one person that I think is the most untrustworthy is Jeremiah.”
She took a walk in the woods with Spencer in order to throw Jeremiah under the bus.
Spencer in confessional: “Alexis came up to me and it was almost as if she had planned what she was going to say which suggests to me that she could be playing us a little bit. I think Alexis is a little smarter than she likes to let on. I like girls who own how smart they are and what they can do. Alexis is pretty phoney to me and that hurts her. She’s not to be trusted as far as making moves.”
Luckily for Spencer, Alexis wasn’t always shown as a dummy; she had that scene where she got everyone to agree on her plan to split the vote. We can’t say that Spencer completely misread the situation even if his opinion may have changed after watching the egg discussion. It would have been better to say that Alexis understood the game enough that she shouldn’t be trusted but this still works as a way to tell us that he isn’t being fooled by her.
Spencer was next seen cutting wood with Jeremiah and Alexis. He went straight for the flaw in Tony’s scheme, asking the male model: “Why do you think they gave the thing to you instead of Sarah?”
Jeremiah made a great argument when he said: “We lost so why would we get a clue?”
Even when he told them that it was the same clue they had back at Solana, Alexis said it didn’t make sense, but Jeremiah insisted that Tony was calling him out, hoping to get him voted out.
Jeremiah in confessional: “The clue that I got from Tony was the same that we had at the other tribe. He said he had to take it back with him so I handed it back to him and he took off. Tony’s made a mess for me now I’ve got to work my way through it.”
Spencer also had a confessional: “Jeremiah’s story is tough to buy. I think that Jeremiah got a new clue. It was wrapped, it was a new clue. It looked like a clue to an idol that is actually here. He’s not fooling anyone.”
Spencer was shirtless when he gave us this confessional but he had been wearing his green shirt when he asked Jeremiah why he thought he had received the clue. Spencer had been shirtless right after the challenge so I believe these scenes were inverted to make us think that Jeremiah was in more danger than he really was. When he first saw the clue and heard Jeremiah’s original explanation, Spencer, like Tasha, thought that Jeremiah was lying to them but they had time to realize that it didn’t make sense to give it to him instead of Sarah. Granted, it doesn’t take long to remove a T-shirt but the afternoon had passed and it would be weird for anyone to remove a shirt that had just been put on. I believe that Spencer was now convinced that Tony was putting a target on Jeremiah’s back. We didn’t hear more talk about the idol from any of the Brain tribe because it probably became a moot point.
The Immunity Challenge
Despite an early lead after placing their poles, Aparri got to the end of the maze tied with Solana. Tony lost some ground to Jeremiah on the keys so Spencer and Sarah had a lead when they started on their puzzle. It wasn’t enough because LJ was the first to figure out the second number. If you looked carefully, you could see that Trish was going to join Woo on the puzzle! They moved too early so Jeff had to call them back until everyone was on the mat. Thankfully for them, LJ was now the one going with Woo. I do have to ask though: Why did the combination have to be the same for both? Wouldn’t it have been better to give them a different combination so that they couldn’t simply copy each other?
While Jeff did credit LJ for figuring it out, he also said that the horse trainer sank deep in the mud and took a big fall in the end. It makes me wonder if a big fall is in his future.
As soon as their flag was raised, Tony started showing his emotions again, yelling “Top Five! Top Five, baby!” Everyone could hear, including Sarah.
Sarah in voice-over confessional as a dejected Aparri headed back to camp: “Tony shouting out “Yeah! Top Five! We made the Final 5!” I counted five people over there and I wasn’t standing over there. I think that is a pretty tell-tale sign that I am not included in their future plans so I guess I am moving on and I am making a new alliance.”
Well, it would have been a great way to help Sarah avoid the vote if Tony had been thinking of protecting his Cops R Us ally but we heard him say that he had no feelings for anyone besides Trish on his old tribe. Tony is slipping more and more into the “Dumb Player” role.
Solana – Day 16
Following a familiar pattern, the player about to be eliminated had the first confessional of the scrambling phase. Alexis told us she hated Tribal Council.
Jeremiah told everyone that Tony made the dumbest mistake on Earth.
Spencer agreed, saying they would still be 6 against their 5.
Alexis talked more in confessional, saying that she thought Tony was celebrating because they thought they had Jeremiah on board.
Alexis talked to Morgan, Spencer, Sarah, Tasha and Kass in the ocean, telling them that Jeremiah had to be Solana’s sixth; that he needed to be voted out.
Spencer in confessional: “Alexis tried to convince us that we need to blindside Jeremiah. Alexis is trying to make us think that Jeremiah will flip.” We heard Sarah promising everyone that she would not flip. Spencer went on: “The Brain tribe could really go either way right now. In a merge situation, Jeremiah is a liability. It’s a question of who is the bigger liability. Jeremiah or Alexis? Both have connections on the other side, both could potentially make deals that could hurt us. We’ll say yes to Alexis’ plan, we will tell her that Jeremiah getting blindsided makes sense for us and then we will make the decision of what actually makes sense for us.”
We then saw the brain trust (the final 3!?) sitting on a log. The music was suspenseful, the moment dramatic…or so it seemed.
Kass had a confessional: “For tonight, it does seem like the Brains are in control. Everyone knows that we are three tight people and we are going to vote as a bloc. We could go with Alexis and get rid of Jeremiah or we can just vote out Alexis. Everyone is going to follow our lead. So I think the Brains are in a great position. We just needed people to boss around. The Brain needed a body. We found our zombies now we’re in.”
Could this foreshadow that the Brains have peaked too early? If everyone knows that they are tight, Kass should see the warning signs. What could she have done? Maybe start laying the groundwork with either Sarah or Morgan that she isn’t planning of going all the way to the end as a tricephalous entity. However, this confessional was too funny to pass up, even containing the episode’s title quote so I wouldn’t read too much of a warning sign into it.
Tribal Council
For those that compared Sarah to Denise, Jeff reminded us that she still didn’t have a torch, that this was her first Tribal Council.
Jeff looked at the seating arrangements and asked Kass if Sarah was seated in the middle.
Kass agreed that it was indeed Sarah sitting in the middle.
Jeff now asked Morgan if she was tight with the Beauties.
Morgan said that Jeremiah used and abused her.
Jeremiah admitted to cheating on Morgan so he had to give her some space.
Kass told Jeff that she was happy to hear that the Beautiful people were on a soap opera. She added that what the Brains went through brought them together whereas what the Beauties went through drove them apart.
Spencer said they had to fix the fractures and go forward with a unified tribe.
Sarah told Jeff that she figured out she was alone because of Tony’s actions at the challenge. She added: “They moved on without me so it’s time for me to cut ties with them.”
Alexis said it was good to hear Sarah say that but that there was still room for someone to reconnect with the other side.
Tasha told Jeff directly that the Beauties were in trouble.
Asked about the raid, Alexis told Jeff that Jeremiah was pulled aside by Tony and Woo.
Jeremiah told Jeff that it put a huge target on his back.
Morgan pointed out that both Alexis and Jeremiah could flip after the merge.
Jeff noticed that Tasha was really interested to hear that.
Sarah said she was good with anything that removed the heat from her and that she was solid with this tribe. She added: “There is one person here that will go with the other side.”
Alexis agreed with that because she thought her word was good contrary to Jeremiah’s.
Spencer talked about the future of the game when he said: “If we make the wrong move we are 11th, 10th 9th, 8th and 7th place …It is probably the most important decision we’ve made so far.”
Receiving a third vote shocked Alexis. Morgan smiled and Jeremiah exhaled when Jeff read the 5th vote. Alexis could barely look at Jeff when he snuffed her torch. She started crying as soon as she reached the steps.
Jeff sent them back to camp after telling them: “It was a big vote and you were unified in your decision to vote out Alexis. The lingering question as you head back to camp: How deep does that unity run?”
Well Jeff, that practically told them to expect a merger, didn’t it?!
The Story
There is a trend that sticks out this season I think more so than in any of the previous ones: We have had many players realizing they were on the bottom of the pecking order at one point or another. It started with Morgan and Trish after the initial twist, then it Kass’ turn after David’s elimination. Tasha and J’Tia realized they were on the bottom when Garrett revealed that he had a deal with Kass. That blunder led to Spencer’s trip to the bottom where he stayed up to the swap. Tony also felt alone when Cliff had the tribe wrapped around his fingers. LJ, Jefra and Sarah realized the cruelty of the game when they went from a comfortable position in their original tribes to obvious targets in their new ones. Lindsey and Woo felt they were on the bottom after Cliff’s elimination and Jeremiah saw his situation change drastically when he was targeted by Tony and Woo.
What is even more amazing is that, except for J’Tia, none of these players have been voted out. Granted, Lindsey has left the game but she wasn’t voted out.
We know that editors don’t waste time with unimportant story lines; that everyone playing Survivor feels that their game could end at any moment when they go to Tribal Council, but we don’t usually hear about everyone’s fears. The clutter would render the episodes unwatchable so the edit cuts to the chase and usually presents us with only a couple of boot options. Often, when one doesn’t leave one week, they are gone the next. However, there is more than just editing here; these players seem more aware of their situation than many of the previous ones. (Think of Edna and even Oscar in South Pacific)
The importance attached to players that have been on the bottom has not only made for a lively narrative, it has led us on our search for the long term players and the eventual winner. Of course, if everyone makes a trip to the bottom of the pecking order we aren’t taking a big risk by saying that the winner will have been portrayed as being in danger at some point.
We have to differentiate between these players, find something in their story that enables us to say why that person got out of trouble and made his way all the way to the winner’s circle. I feel that LJ’s “Calm and Collected” comment is the key. Not all players that have been on the bottom have reacted the same way so we should turn our attention to those that didn’t panic but made smart decisions to get out of trouble. Those that were shown playing emotionally are probably destined to fail at some point.
The Characters
The Emotional Players:
Trish: She fell to the bottom of the Aparri pecking order right off the bat and while her decision to take the extra rice was well received, we can’t say that it was smart because Tony immediately told us it was the wrong one. Anyway, she was still on the bottom when Tony’s lies saved her so we can’t even say she got herself out of trouble. If that wasn’t enough, she even admitted that she was playing with her emotions. Her fist pump at the reward challenge when Aparri saw that Cliff had been voted out showed everyone that she was responsible. That should put a target on her back sooner than she thinks and she won’t know how to get out of trouble this time.
Tasha: Tasha didn’t stay long on the bottom: She realized she was in trouble, that something was wrong, as soon as Garrett didn’t want to talk strategy. Her emotional reaction worked but, editing wise, it makes me think that she won’t handle the stress of the end game very well. She had a minimal role in the episode where the Brains finally got some control over the game so it tells us that it isn’t Tasha’s game.
Tony: How can someone ruin a brilliant game so quickly? Simple: One starts believing that they cannot fail, that they are smarter than everybody else. Tony’s original plan was to hide that he was a huge schemer but now even Jefra sees through him. LJ said it best: Tony didn’t find the best way to make himself look trustworthy. His screams of Top Five could have worked if they were part of a plan to save Sarah but that would have been needed only if it was LJ who had been voted out and Jefra had quit as a result. We have to believe that it wasn’t part of a plan: Tony was so excited with his new team that he forgot which game he was playing.
Sarah: The scene at the reward challenge told us that Sarah isn’t a very clinical player. Cliff’s elimination was good for her because it showed her new tribe mates that the Brawn tribe wasn’t a solid group. However, it would have helped her even more if she could have convinced everyone that this vote wasn’t what she wanted, that she had been with Cliff.
However, if an emotional player were to win this season, it would be Sarah. The biggest problem with her story was her gullibility. We frequently saw that she fell for all of Tony’s lies so, for someone that was proud of her ability to see the truth, we couldn’t reconcile her portrayal with a winner’s edit. Now that the scales have fallen from her eyes enabling her to make plans that won’t include Tony, we could say that she is on the right path.
There is still the matter of the thrown challenge though. It is especially damning considering that this police officer immediately thought that a black man was guilty and she didn’t even give him a chance to prove his innocence. We know that the editors protected Tom in Palau, deciding not to air his talk with Gregg about throwing the last Tribal Immunity Challenge to get rid of Coby. Much like with Aparris’s plan, Stephenie and BJ were so terrible at puzzles that Coby won it on his own even if Gregg went as slow as he possibly could. Since her plan failed, I have to believe the editors would have removed all the evidence, covering up their winner’s mess. .. if she was the winner. For me, Sarah will be the enabler, the one that decides which way the game goes but she will reach a point where she will have to realize she should have done things differently. Sarah’s story, like all journey edits, is sending her towards a realization rather than a million dollars.
The Lucky Ones
Jefra: She is probably the only one left that didn’t have an “I’m all alone” or “I’m next” confessional. She was in danger before Trish’s power play (yes Jeff, Trish’s power play, not Tony’s!) and she made a smart decision by talking to Trish, agreeing with her that Cliff was shady and that the storm had been terrible. That was enough to create a bond and now she sees herself in the top five.
Woo: He seems to be made of Teflon because nothing sticks to Woo. He certainly was in trouble after Cliff’s elimination and he was well aware of his situation but we can’t say that he made anything to get out of trouble. Even if he did nothing but hold up the puzzle pieces for LJ, he suddenly found himself in Tony’s Top Five.
Jeremiah: I know I wrote that he was smart to point out they couldn’t have earned a clue to the idol because they lost the challenge but it wasn’t edited that way. Instead we heard an out-of-sequence confessional by Spencer to make us think that Jeremiah hadn’t convinced anyone. The montage made us feel that Jeremiah was simply lucky that everyone saw Alexis as a bigger risk. It wasn’t even close though as Sarah’s comment and Morgan’s vote confessional revealed. Alexis didn’t stand a chance.
LJ: The horse trainer knew he was in danger during the previous Tribal Council but the way it was edited and knowing how untrustworthy Tony actually is, we can say that LJ was extremely lucky that he didn’t leave with an idol in pocket. No one will say it was smart to keep that idol. Incredibly courageous but courage isn’t a sign of intelligence. He is in a weird position, seemingly content to be in a strong group of five even if that group is in the minority and he’s not even able to trust the man in charge of his alliance. Where can he go now that the other side has eliminated his cuddling buddy? LJ is smart enough to realize that Alexis was voted out because of their connection so he has very limited options.
The Smart Ones
Morgan: It was a very quiet episode for a hot girl but she got her way. After so many episodes where she was in trouble but stayed calm, she had a moment to rejoice. The smile she flashed when Alexis got her torch snuffed had to come from picturing the next time LJ will see the new Aparri tribe. The “Hot Girl with a Grudge” got rid of LJ’s island girlfriend, the time to take care of him is approaching and now Morgan has more than one ally. That confidence could very well be her downfall but I continue to think she will last close to the end, so that the audience will wonder if Spencer will blow it all by going with the hot girl instead of the moms.
Kass: I’m not sure if Kass fits in this group because she certainly wasn’t always calm and collected, especially when she made the last minute decision at Tribal Council to keep Spencer over J’Tia. Still, she didn’t panic when she saw David get the boot. Instead, she listened to Garrett and Tasha’s offer and went with what she thought was her best option. She is still keeping her calm even if the Brains are finally taking control of the zombies. The trouble is that her calm will soon be mistaken for lack of involvement.
Spencer: We have to go back to his episode 3 confessional to see that Spencer was calm and collected when he found himself in the bottom. “It’s weird being the only guy in the tribe. I have to be patient; I have to manage my emotions. I can’t get too down and take my shot to get out of this tribe alive.” He got out of Luzon and he is now thriving. To those who wonder why Spencer would win in a Final 3 against Kass and Tasha, this episode gave us more clues: The editors use him much more than the other two to present the story. It was Spencer that told Jeff what it meant to see two players leave from the other side. His confessionals about the crucial decision between Alexis and Jeremiah were much more detailed and his interventions at Tribal Council showed that he clearly had his eyes turned to the future, looking many steps ahead. More than that even, we see that the other players talk to him, not Tasha and Kass: Alexis talked to him to plead her case and it was Spencer that went to Jeremiah to get an explanation that seemed to satisfy everyone because they voted in unison. Kass and Tasha look a lot like Stephen in Tocantins: They prefer to stand back, letting Spencer gather the information and discuss it all between them. The problem is that the other players are dealing with Spencer so they see him as the decision maker, the others as followers.
