Survivor: The Soundtrack – 10/06/13

And………were back! It’s been a tale of two completely different tribes. The Veteran tribe has lived up to expectations as they have dominated every aspect of the game, including the final act and destruction of Colton, to the utter disgust of one Jeff Probst. It’s always great when Jeff Propst deservingly shames and kicks the person when their down like he did with Colton. Redemption Island was pretty entertaining, as we saw the Colton implosion and the seldom seen “F you” parlayed with saying the persons full name, “F you Brad Culpepper!” by Marissa. The Vets in a competition you would think they would be huge underdogs in, because the Rookie’s seemed to have more brute on their squad, but once again they were victorious, because the mothers absolutely dominated their daughters. Seriously, did they shoot up Katie and Ciera with Valium before they started the comp? I also liked Vytas comically acting like an old school wrestling bad guy with trying to cheap shot his brother, which of course immediately led to his demise in that comp. With the Vet’s securing another victory, the Rookies naturally weakened their tribe by voting out a dumbfounded John. This week my arbitrary comparison will be to compare each partnership to a famous(ish) movie soundtrack. If you go to youtube and look up any survivor player by name, their video is usually accompanied with some cheesy song being played with it. So let’s take that format, but choose movie soundtracks to symbolize each pair. Look, I’m going to prepare everybody now; I have Brad as Captain Jack Sparrow. I know this will be hard to take, and some death threats may ensue, but let’s get through this together. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose!

Without further ado, I give you Survivor the soundtrack:

·       Tyson/Rachel scored by the Last of the Mohicans:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pCv7k_Hzvg

This soundtrack was chosen because it fits Tyson well this season. Like the Daniel Day Lewis character in Mohicans, Tyson is a true, fully equipped survivor player, maybe a dying breed, with the singular focus of winning this game. I’m not trying to do a cheesy, NBC Olympics pre-taped video segment on the virtues of  Tyson like he is a saint or anything, but he has shown a more noble side to himself this season. Tyson this episode at Redemption Island, standing up and pointing at the rookie tribe, telling them to watch out, was fantastic. Tyson’s likability rating, I’m sure is going through the roof so far this season and he is emerging as the frontrunner in this game for me. It’s still early in the game and so it’s hard to foresee how the game will completely unfold, but I’m having a hard time seeing a scenario where Tyson doesn’t make it to at least the final 5. Rachel earned a lot of points in many males eyes I believe when she didn’t give Tyson the “you better get down here and take my place” look. I think it was selfless and showed a lot that she knows Tyson deserves this opportunity. It also probably helped that CBS hired Todd from Breaking Bad to stand behind her off camera with a creepy look and a gun pointed at her, in case she tried to get Tyson to switch places. In the end Rachel is done with Survivor, but Tyson had one more thing to say to her:www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpWWCTVbFfM

·       Laura/Rupert scored by Nell: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmJGT6hdCv0

Look, I don’t remember much about this movie, but I know that Jodie Foster was alone in the woods for a long time. Side note: has Jodie Foster had one good movie that she starred in since Little Man Tate? Anyways, Laura like Nell doesn’t seem to be seen or heard by anybody on her tribe. The only path for Laura that could work is the old and tired storyline of being seen as a non-threat and being dragged to the end. Laura seems to be a decent person, but she’s playing with the big dogs on the vet tribe and with Colton gone, could now be the first sacrificed if the Vets ever lose an immunity challenge.

·       Tina/Katie scored by Steel Magnolias: www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2qYOFy8R_s

This is a perfect score for this mother/daughter duo. Can’t you see Tina saying “Drink your juice” in a southern accent as Katie inevitably flounders at Redemption? I wonder what Tina’s true motivation was to come back to Survivor. Is it that she wanted to see if she could still play the game?  Maybe, but I think Tina came back solely to have this experience with her daughter. Regardless of why, Tina is showing that she truly is a hell of a player. She gets it done physically and her social game is so engaging. Katie on the other hand is in trouble. It’s never a good day when you lose a physical competition to a 60 year old woman. Like Julia Roberts in Magnolia’s she may not be meant to have a long life (on survivor). Since Katie is a liability on physical competitions and her social game appears to be to huddle up and look sickly with Ciera, she should just enjoy her time on the island until the Survivor Grim Reaper comes a calling.

·       Caleb/Colton scored by The Bodyguard: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qOcaBhLh3Q

So, not really a score here, but fitting none the less. Colton as the diva, emotional and irrational Rachel Banks and Caleb as the grounded protector who has to say goodbye as Colton fly’s away. I don’t want to pretend that Colton leaving Survivor is some huge travesty in the grand scheme of life, but it’s very lame that millions of people want to get on Survivor and you have somebody on there that quits when things don’t go exactly how he wanted it to go. Caleb has been quiet early on this season. I don’t think we have a good idea of what he’s thinking as far as game play. It seems like he’s at least slightly annoyed with Brad. I think Caleb with John gone now climbs the food chain on his tribe. He seems secure for the time being, but now without Colton, when the tribes do merge he will be in serious peril. Great players in Survivor play the hands their dealt and persevere, so we will see if Caleb is a great player or someone that was only brought on because he has a polarizing significant other.

·       Laura/Ciera scored by Edward Scissorhands: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uil_moZTQk

I don’t mean this meanly. Ciera, with her facial expressions, body language and tone of voice reminds me of an attractive, female Edward Scissorhands…There I said it.  Just like the movie where Edwards (adopted) mother just wants Edward to fit in to her world, Laura just wants Ciera to fit into the Survivor world and like the movie, it’s just not meant to be it seems. In an intense, head to head battle, Ciera is ahead of Katie for “least valuable player” so far. Again, very nice, seemingly decent person, just not meant for this game. Laura once again seems to be one of, if not the strongest females on the island, but once again her social game may do her in again. It’s tough to tell though because through three episodes we haven’t seen a lot of Laura’s social game, but we do know that she is not in the alliance of 5, which could make her expendable soon.

·       Gervase/Marissa scored by Stripes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7DRC9I5boA

One of the movies my father and I have watched together since I was 5(Ya my dad let me watch any movie I wanted, my mom went through a churchy-phase in the late 80’s/early 90’s that resulted in her having reservations about us seeing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because they quote “worshipped a rat”.) Like the movie, Gervase and Marissa have had a sloppy, disoriented unit, but both are still around and gaining steam, obviously Marissa has no room for error, but she has shown a lot on redemption. I can see a little of Bill Murray’s Stripes character in Gervase, like the way his personality rubs some people there the wrong way, how he looked out of shape early on, but looks to be getting stronger…ya it’s a reach. Gervase is in a good spot and he aligned with mostly all trust worthy people so the chance of a back stab feels unlikely for now. When the tribes merge and chaos ensues, will Gervase’s place in the “Vet 5” alliance be secure?

·       Brad/Monica scored by Pirates of the Caribbean: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFBBKfw59kA

Brad carries himself like Captain Jack Sparrow, as he thinks he’s in charge and should be treated as such, as everyone else looking on in somewhat disgust. Obviously, Brad lacks the traits that make Captain Jack enduring. Monica like the Keria Knightley character seems to know how to manage Brad and his behaviors. Brad if the editing was true to the reality of that time appeared to be in danger at tribal counsel. When you want to be the leader of the tribe on survivor and you play so aggressively, you’re going to be a target when your tribe (your fault or not) loses immunity challenges every week. Brad’s name has been permanently damaged in this game it feels like, so it may not happen next week, but when the tribes do merge its tough to see Brad surviving long as he will be an obvious first post- merge target. Monica will be in a really horrible position if Brad does make it to the merge, because she is in the best alliance so far, but everyone in her alliance will want to target Brad right away. Will Monica potentially sacrifice her game to feebly try and save Brad? Will this whole paragraph become moot with Brad getting voted off pre-merge next week?

·       Aras/Vytas scored by Top Gun: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl-ZqQ_InX8

Aras to Vytas when the tribes merge, “ Your still dangerous..(laughs to himself) but you can be my wingman in my alliance anytime”  Vytas responds “Bull Sh**, you can be in mine” as everybody claps. Watch out come merge, this will be the most interesting dynamic of the pairs. Aras is in a strong alliance, and Vytas is proving he has a good social game. Will Aras stick to the five members of his alliance like he is saying now? I say no, it’s clear he loves his brother very much strained or not, and therefore I think he will roll with Vytas to the end. Aras is a very impressive player and next to Tyson in my opinion is at the top overall in this games food chain. Vytas is in a more precarious position. If the format holds true and the rookies lose again next week, will he be the catalyst to oust Brad? I think leaving Brad in the game will benefit Vytas more than taking him out, because Brad will remain a target for as long as he is in the game.

·       Candice/John scored by Basic Instinct: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xreXeugQjdw

This is a dark movie and a perfect soundtrack for a somewhat dark couple on Survivor. Both Candice and John have seemed to play the game without any joy, granted Candice got sent to redemption right away. Like the movie characters neither has been incredibly likeable or made the viewers want to pull for them.  With both of them on Redemption now, it will be only fitting for Candice to send John home for wrecking her game by not taking her place when given the chance. Candice was seen as a villain from the moment she hit the camp by her tribe and it looks like she has no problem wearing the black cape.

·       Hayden/Kat scored by Gladiator: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yOZEiHLuVU

Did you see Hayden knock Tyson’s shoulder into his lower intestines? Hayden is a beast like Maximus and also respected by everyone around him. Kat like the women in Gladiator, whose name I don’t know, or even the actress that played her, is on the other team, watching as Hayden dominates the physical competitions. When the tribes merge and she naturally wants to go with Hayden, will Aras or Tyson pull her aside and tell her: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGVIwRLC3bQ

I feel like we still haven’t seen much of Kat this season. We know she is probably towards the bottom of her tribe’s power rankings and therefore would be in trouble if they decide to keep Laura instead of her, because of the lurking Hayden factor post-merge. Hayden like Vytas, needs to keep Brad around or risk the target getting pointed at him.

Unlike any season of Survivor before, when the merge happens we will have dynamics and chaos like never before. Survivor can always be seen like a chess game but this season especially. This upcoming week will be about setting up the next few moves in the game. The obvious targets will be Katie, Ciera or Brad on the rookies team and Laura and maybe Kat on the Vet team. The one benefit the rookies have in continuing to tank the competitions is that if their secure in their own spot in the game, they can then plot how to weaken the strong players on the Vet team by taking out their loved ones. This has been a very fun season of Survivor so far and I hate to admit it, but all the twists this season have added some real entertainment and made this season stand out as one of the stronger seasons potentially moving forward. Let me know if you have some soundtracks that would have also worked! Thanks for making it this far.