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Stephen and Shamar start out talking about Shamar Thomas’s medical evacuation in tonight’s episode of Survivor: Caramoan due to sand in his cornea. Stephen thinks it was a case of terminal crybabyitis– in other words, a disguised quitting of the game. Rob wishes they could have at least tried out having Shamar in an eye patch. Stephen wonders if Shamar somehow willed himself to get injured because he was so ready to leave the game. Rob thinks medical and production threw Shamar a bone here, by letting him go with a seemingly minor injury– in contrast to ruling that Dana Lambert was fine to continue playing on last season. Stephen is disappointed that he doesn’t get to see how the Shamar dynamic would have played out in the tribe, as so much effort was put into trying to keep him. Stephen asks Rob if he ever considered quitting in Survivor: Amazon and Survivor: All-Stars, and Rob says he never did.
Stephen Fishbach says the #1 “SF Rule” is “Never allow anyone to be completely outcast.” He said he learned this from Rob’s game in Survivor: Amazon. Rob and Stephen discuss the decision to go with loyalty (keep Laura) or tribe strength (vote out Laura). Stephen emphasizes that Eddie and Reynold are the least loyal tribe members. They also talk about the potential of a tribe swap, since now the Fans tribe is down 6 members to 9. Stephen thinks that the Fans would have some options given the dynamics of the Favorites tribe– they could potentially team up with Erik, Brandon, or Brenda. Stephen and Rob analyze whether the decision to vote out Laura Alexander was the best decision. Rob thinks if Sherri can bring Eddie and Reynold into the fold, it’s a could decision. But if they can’t work together as a group, it’s the wrong decision.
Stephen thinks the bad blood is running too deep within this tribe and Reynold and Eddie are very likely to flip on their tribe. Rob predicts that at least a couple fans will get star-struck after a swap or merge, and align with the Favorites, only to be picked off. Stephen thinks it still could happen that a fan could win.
Next they talk about the Reward Challenge, where the Favorites won a visit from a bushman named Tata who cooked them a feast and helped them at camp. Stephen says it feels like the Favorites are on a different TV show than the Fans. They also discuss how Phillip gave nicknames to all of the remaining members of the tribe: Brandon Hantz = The Conqueror, Erik Reichenbach= The Silent One, Brenda Lowe = Serenity.
Stephen thinks it’s commendable that Phillip is unifying all of his tribe. Rob diasgrees, thinking there’s a benefit to building an “us vs. them” mentality within their own tribe. He thinks it worked to Phillip’s disadvantage because he was alienating Andrea. Stephen thinks she was just being a little bit of a diva about it, but really wasn’t that bothered. Rob gets Stephen’s take on the new nicknames.
The Know-it-alls then talk about the Immunity challenge, which ended with Phillip Sheppard and Reynold Toepfer in a throwing match. Stephen, as a viewer, is a fan of watching the carnival game challenges. He thinks they are more dynamic than puzzles.
In the viewer question segment, they discuss Matt’s position in the game, Reynold’s idol play, Shamar’s sand injury, Sherri’s game going forward, and Andrea Boehlke’s paranoia. Then Stephen wants to know if Rob thinks it’s a good season so far. Rob says he has noticed an online backlash, and wonders if maybe they’ve been overhyped on this season. But Rob puts it in perspective by saying they’ve only seen 25% of the season so far, and it looks like it’s going to be picked up next week. Stephen says he has liked it so far, but he’s looking forward to seeing more people, such as Corinne Kaplan, getting airtime.
To wrap up the show, Rob announces another player from Reality Game Masters, the first ever RHAP original web series. Survivor winner Sophie Clarke will be joining Stephen Fishbach, Matt Hoffman, and Eric Stein.
