Last week, Espada stole the momentum from the younger La Flor, Marty and Jill found the Hidden Immunity Idol (HII), and with the exception of Holly briefly going bats**t crazy and venting on Dan’s uber-expensive alligator shoes, all seems right with the world. Meanwhile, La Flor’s armor is already cracking. NaOnka mouthed off at Jud after stealing his socks, Brenda claimed ownership of Chase’s manhood and father of three Shannon turned out to be a homophobic tool who became the first young ‘un to get his torch snuffed this season. Eighteen remain.
(Personal note: I’m in my 40’s, so I’m obviously hoping that Espada excels. At this point, the only La Flor tribe member that I’m actively rooting for is Kelly B, and not just because of her prosthetic. I just admire the hell out of what she’s been able to overcome, and plus, she seems like a great lady. I truly hope that Kelly B, Alina and Jud – who I’m going to continue to call by name despite the fact that everyone on the show calls him “Fabio” – can survive Shannon’s meltdown last week. It seems clear that NaOnka, Sash and Brenda are a tightly-knit group, and Brenda’s already got Chase by the balls, so their only hope is to convince Benry and Kelly S to join them and get rid of NaOnka, who is poison. I haven’t been able to get a read on Benry or Kelly S yet, given that they’ve gotten virtually no face time in the first two episodes, but I can’t imagine they’re that jazzed about allying themselves with her either. She’s the best choice to go, since getting rid of the strongest guys is not in La Flor’s best interest right now. But anyway, back to the show.)
There was bound to be some fallout from last week’s TC, and La Flor returns to camp with their heads hanging. Kelly B and Alina do a less-than-convincing job of opining to their tribe-mates that they need to unify themselves, trying to distract them from the fact that they are in serious jeopardy… a fact that NaOnka delights in telling us to our faces. God, I hate her. I despise arrogance above all other facets in people. I can still respect it in someone like, say, Gordon Ramsay, who has achieved the pinnacle of his profession. But when people get arrogant and self-righteous after they’ve already proven themselves to be morally repugnant, I just want to stab them in the face with a meat prong.
Day 7 finds Espada’s fruit-gathering sojourn being watched from up on high by a bevy of howler monkeys. Jimmy J hysterically tries to mimic the monkeys’ sounds, and then makes my week by saying that communication would be much easier if he had Terry Bradshaw with him. Ooh, burn! Everyone seems to love the guy, except of course Marty, who is still secretly seething that Espada got stuck with the celebrity. He shares his opinion with Jill, who thinks that they should reveal the HII that they found the day before. Marty doesn’t seem all that jazzed about that idea, but he eventually does just that, which incurs the admiration of all, especially Jimmy T, who says that the tribe’s unity just got a lot stronger. Tyrone still has misgivings about Marty’s motives, however. Cut to the next morning, which finds Shoeless Dan dragging ass a little bit. He’s a tough hombre, but when you’re 63 with a messed-up knee, it’s tough to have your game face on 24/7. Yve has certainly noticed, and is worried about Dan’s stamina.
At La Flor, Jud has to get the fire going again, and gets a face full of smoke. He tries to make light of it, laughing goofily. A few others join in, which of course irks NaOnka, who continues to hate on Jud in interview, and I thank God that my remote has a “mute” button. Day 8 sees Kelly S firmly in bed with Sash, NaOnka, Brenda and Chase, so I guess that answers that question. This alliance certainly seems solid for at least a few weeks, and they collectively agree that La Flor’s next TC will see the departure of Alina or Kelly B. Now remember, it was Alina and Kelly B that found the clue to the HII in Episode One, and while they didn’t share that clue with anyone, neither have they really spend any time looking for it.
Immunity/Reward Challenge - This week, the challenge has the two tribes running through a sandy expanse to retrieve ten barrels that match their tribal colors. The barrels are then stood up on platforms in a 4-3-2-1 pattern, and the tribe members take turns trying to toss small bags of sand on top of the barrels, and the first one to get a bag on each of the ten barrels wins. Apart from immunity, the winner tribe will also win an “herb garden”, along with a selection of fruit and spices. La Flor, who currently has the MoP, is given the option to have a two-barrel head start, but they decline.
Both tribes collect their barrels quickly enough, and they also get them set up at virtually the same time, so it comes down to which tribe is more accurate. Tyrone decides to be the sole tosser for Espada and grabs an early lead, but goes stone cold just over halfway through. Jimmy T offers to jump in, but Tyrone just keeps missing. Finally, he comes out, but before Jimmy T can get the momentum back, Benry hits his tenth barrel and claims victory for LaFlor. Which at least means Kelly B gets to stick around for one more episode, so I’m kind of glad. And then my bubble bursts a little: Kelly B reaches down to pick up the basket of fruit, and sees what is obviously another HII clue hidden within. Unfortunately, NaOnka sees it too, so it’s going to be a race to who can find it first.
Immediately upon their return to camp, NaOnka and Kelly B get into a scuffling match for the clue, which NaOnka wins. She gloats in another in an increasingly annoying series of interviews, and hey, show, can we please see someone else’s face besides NaOnka’s? Honestly, it’s Episode Three, and I already can’t bear to hear one more word (especially the numerous “B”-bombs) coming out of her ghetto mouth. She’s even got the Jerry Springer audience member neck-shake/finger-snap. The only person she shows the clue to is Brenda, and the hunt begins. To be continued.
At Espada, Jimmy T is still sore at Tyrone for not coming out during the challenge. Tyrone responds that he was just trying to win, and that he felt only he could manage that. Uh, yeah, Ty, that might work if your name is Kobe, but if you take ten shots in the fourth quarter and miss them all, you’re not helping your team win.
So down to strategy. It would seem that the ones on the chopping block are Jimmy J, Dan and Holly. Jill doesn’t care which of the three goes, but Marty is insisting that Jimmy J is biggest threat, even going so far as to tell us in interview that without Jimmy J around, Espada will come to him for leadership. He is definitely this season’s Russell, minus the overt antagonism. Marty gets, in turn, Dan and Jimmy T on board with voting Jimmy J out. Meanwhile, Yve, Jane and Holly, who are probably the closest to Jimmy J, favor voting out the still-struggling Dan. Which means Tyrone will be the swing vote. Hmmm. Marty approaches Tyrone to try to get him to vote Jimmy J out, but the combination of his admiration of Jimmy J, his distrust of Marty and his concern for Dan’s lack of well-being will obviously be the deciding factor.
Tribal Council. Jeff opens the Q&A by asking Jimmy T if he’s frustrated by the tribe’s failure at the challenge, and Jimmy T reiterates that he is being underutilized. Holly explains that Jimmy J is the tribe’s most natural leader, to which Jimmy T half-assedly agrees, but adds that he hasn’t really taken the time – in eight full days together – to get to know Jimmy J, which Jeff isn’t buying, and neither does Tyrone. He thinks that Jimmy T sees Jimmy J as a threat to his leadership. Jimmy T congenially dismisses this, but I can’t help but think Tyrone might be right.
The focus then switches to Dan and his general lack of fervor. He knows he’s a target, but says he’s doing his best. Jeff asks everybody what the strategy is, and Jimmy T says that it’s still about keeping the tribe strong. He then adds that there are four weak players, but won’t name names. Jeff leaps on this and asks everyone, in turn, if they consider themselves weak, and of course everyone answers “no”… that is, except for Jimmy J, who says that he is indeed the weakest, because he’s also the oldest.
Voting time. Jimmy T votes for Jimmy J. Jimmy J votes for Dan. Dan fingers his knee scar. Jeff collects the urn, and out come the slips. Jimmy J. Dan. Jimmy J. Jimmy J. Jimmy J. And… Jimmy J. (I’m a celebrity, get me out of here!) Well, I can’t say I’m surprised that this happened. Three things you can’t be on Survivor and really hope to win are old, rich AND famous. Coach gives one last “go, team” to his former tribe, and gracefully exits. Jane and Holly wistfully watch him depart. (Final note: it turns out everyone voted for Jimmy J, even his fan club. Ouch.)
Next week: the weather turns bad, and NaOnka continues to think she’s all that. I begin to wonder, with the number of truly likable people dwindling by the week, if this 21st season is even salvageable.
