Here we are, back for episode two. We ended last week with the demise of Vytas. Dare I say he was one of the favorites on paper to possibly win? That’s what makes all-star formats so enticing– the fact that the players know the game and don’t fool around. The first episode was just a formality, window dressing for us because the players came ready to play from the get-go, almost like the line-up in The Usual Suspects:
The first half of the episode, which in a normal season of Survivor, is the most docile moment of any season, but with this cast everybody who has real potential to win the game was already two or three moves ahead. The only thing that still kind of makes me pause is the chemistry factor. It’s so hard to predict who is going to get along, who is going be that “annoying” person (I mean not counting Shirin, as she plays that role better than De Niro playing Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull), and who are the others going to look at as the leader at camp. It just all comes down to chemistry; some people are going to like you and some people are just going to think you’re an incredible douche. That’s just life.
Would Vytas still have been voted out if the two tribes had been split up differently? I always think about stuff like that. If you ever have read one of blogs on this, I just get obsessed with how one difference in who ends up on what tribe can completely give you a different outcome potentially. When you have players who, generally speaking, have a way higher Survivor IQ than a rookie, I feel that who gets put where to start with really does determine a large part of who is going to win the game.
Now obviously, there are going to be probably 50 other incidents that transpire that will ultimately decide who wins the game, but it all starts with who gets put on a tribe to start the game, as the foundation is put in place then. Maybe if Vytas were on the other tribe his yoga-ness would have played much better and he would still be alive. With all that said, the path that is going to lead us to this season’s winner has now been set. The Survivor gods have made it so, which leads us into tonight. Last week from the start, the targets appeared to be Abi, Stephen, and Vytas, so we shall see if there is any change tonight. Here we are. It’s game time, 8pm Portland, Oregon time.
8 pm
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but these players are here for a “second chance”. It’s almost like Probst has to say the phrase “second chance” a minimum amount of times or else his family is going to be harmed.
8:01
Pour out a little bit of your 40 oz. for Vytas…
8:02
Kelly Wig starts us off tonight, lamenting the fact that she is at the bottom of the food chain. She can’t be taken out before Shirin…That just feels wrong.
8:03
Kelley Went slinks off to verify that her hidden idol is not a fake and it appears that it is authentic…There have been a rash of stories about fake idols being around, so no harm in her looking to make sure.
Next we get, what I guess is the power of this tribe, Jeff, Shirin, Kelley Went, and Spencer discussing who should go next. Jeff shares privately that he is pretending to align with them, but he really wants to turn on Shirin and Spencer.
8:04
Jeff then gives a pep talk to Terry. He tells Terry that he wants to play with the old-school players and take out Shirin or Spencer.
Side note: Please, let it be Shirin….Please, let it be Shirin!
8:05
Commercial break: Actually, right now I’m horrible luck to anything I root for. I have a death fog that has singlehandedly ruined the Oregon Ducks football team, the San Francisco Giants’ baseball season, the San Francisco Niners’ football season, and Vince Vaughn’s movie career. I mean, I picked Spencer to win this season, so basically he should probably hide until my death fog passes.
8:08
Back from commercial and we join Joe. Joe is making camp life comfortable for everybody by building hammocks and other cool contraptions.
Stephen points out that he is too good and promptly tells us that Joe will have his throat slashed come merge time…Tough to argue with his logic there.
8:10
We hear from Abi for the first time tonight and she is sticking with her coping skills to manage her emotions. A little crack shows again as she can’t stop herself from controlling her hatred towards Peih-Gee.
Spencer shares his apprehension about aligning with her and I can empathize as it seems like it would seem like being in an alliance with Linda Blair from The Exorcist right before she fully turned into a demon:
Seriously, I would have holy water on standby anytime I was engaging with Abi if I were Spencer.
8:13
Andrew shares with the tribe that he works with Playboy and that his wife was/is a model. All the girls make a silent pack to immediately make sure he is the next to go…Okay, I made that up, but would you be shocked?
8:14
Whoa…I forgot that Jeremy was weird, as he reminds us of this when he starts hitting himself and starts crying…He, at times, gets a crazy look in his eye.
Stephen points out that Jeremy is probably looking for an idol. Andrew is disgusted and immediately goes to Jeremy to tell on Stephen. Once again, it seems like Stephen is not longed for this game… (As I get a verbal warning from Rob not to disparage Stephen again…kidding).
8:17
Commercial break:
Wow, that new Jurassic Park movie is already coming out on video…or DVD or BlueRay or whatever the hell it’s called now. I can tell you the exact moment I gave up on the Jurassic Park franchise (look at the end of this clip):
First, Jurassic Park is obviously a classic…then they went for the money grab. You see, a little bit of Jeff Goldblum went a long way in the first movie, but then they decided that his character could carry a whole movie. Please, nobody argue with me on this issue…I can’t take another demoralizing argument about this like last week’s with Lost…
8:20
Back from commercial we join Peih-Gee venting to Shirin about Abi not helping out at camp. Abi, I guess, is literally five feet away and either she is like Dracula and can float from place to place, or this is completely staged because it looked like Abi walked right to a mark where she was supposed to stand and then both of them adlibbed a fight.
Abi realizes that she is alone in this game and she sheds some tears. She might as well go full Exorcist on everybody right now.
8:23
Terry has seen enough of this and decides to comfort her. The benefit of this is that he appears to now have swung her towards his side or team.
8:24
Next, we get Jeff and Abi bonding with the creepiest color picture being used, which makes their pupils look dark black…Is that a real color? They look like they are infected with the vampire gene from The Strain.
8:27
Commercial break: Another commercial for the new Supergirl show. Let’s be real honest here: gun to your head, does that show make it past the first season? I say no. I’m not a comic book guy, so I don’t even know if Supergirl is from an actual comic or if CBS is just making up their own thing here? I think we’re almost getting to that point where superhero stuff is so overly saturated in TV and in movies that it’s going to get to get played out. Plus, I’m not sure yet how I feel about Ben Affleck playing the Dark Knight…..
8:29
Immunity challenge time. Jeff shares that Vytas was voted out and everybody acts overly surprised…always a fun moment to watch.
8:30
The comp is kind of chaotic as bodies are flopping over walls…People are going down left and right. Let’s just say that nobody out here is exactly Scott Baio from Battle of the Networks Stars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv-3a4AsCIw
8:35
A very entertaining puzzle makes the ending come down to the finish, but Bayon wins…Honestly, I should learn the name of the other team….
Jeff V takes us to commercial, telling us it will either be Spencer or Shirin going home tonight….Again, please let it be Shirin….I can’t lose my pick to win it all already…..I forget who I picked last season to win it, but I know they were one of the first five out….My death fog is strong right now….
8:37
Commercial break: While we’re waiting for the show to come back on, can I please take a moment to address an issue that I have talked about before, but is only getting worse?…Instagram photos of nature or family that are supposed to be “deep” and are parlayed with a “deep” quote. Please, just stop it…Take your picture– that’s great…Why the need to quote it up? Why? Why? Is it because you need to show us how “deep” you are, or are you just showcasing how awesome your filter usage is? Or what? Please stop. Hikes are cool. I’m with you there….Even pics of your toddler chasing giant bubbles are fun for everybody to see, but just don’t staple on that Oscar Wilde quote with it, please.
Sincerely,
Everybody
8:40
Back from commercial, we join the Takeo tribe (I learned the name). Spencer tells us that he relates to Shirin more than anybody…Yuck…Why Spencer? Why?
8:41
Jeff tells us why Spencer or Shirin needs to go. Jeff starts going person to person to decide who goes. Kelley Went tells Jeff that she is with him. She shares with us, the viewers, that she hates it, but knows she needs to blend in right now and stick with the majority of the tribe.
8:43
Shirin and Abi talk, with Shirin apologizing to Abi for not speaking up for her. Abi reads Shirin the riot act for not having her back. Abi then shares to Shirin that she and Spencer are the targets and gives her an evil laugh…highlight of the show so far.
8:45
Spencer and Shirin briefly talk about the damage control they need to do. Shirin starts with Woo, who is not buying what Shirin is selling.
8:47
An emotional Spencer cries about having to screw over Shirin….Everybody at home is rethinking their Spencer pick to win it all…And by everybody I mean me….Can I get a mulligan?
8:48
Tribal Council begins with a distraught Spencer and Shirin.
We go around the block a little with everybody, then Spencer makes an impassioned speech that he will work harder on building relationships with people….No fist bumps were given afterward, so we can’t call that speech a success.
8:52
We go to the votes….Please, let it be Shirin (In case you were wondering which person I’m pulling for)….
8:53
The votes: Spencer…Shirin…Shirin…Shirin…Spencer…Spencer…Spencer…Shirin…Shirin…
8:45
Shirin is voted out. I won’t kick her while she’s down, so let’s just move on and pretend she never played this season….cool?
Recap:
The tide completely turned this week with Spencer and Shirin going from the top of the food chain right to the bottom and Shirin voted out. Did all this happen because of the Abi fight, or is Jeff V the catalyst for this? It seems like Jeff does have serious sway with his tribe and used that to completely swing things another way. Who knows what would have happened had Shirin gone to Abi to comfort her right after the initial fight with Peih-Gee. Had she had gone to her, would that have kept everything status quo? I guess we will never know.
I guess the producers didn’t like the direction the season was going since we are getting the two tribes split into three tribes. I guess they put their money on Spencer too, so maybe I don’t feel so bad for picking him…Anyways, I don’t know where this season is going, so maybe some of you can tell me which players are in the best positions to win the game as of this moment because I have no f***ing clue…Help me….and thanks for reading!
