I apologize for not giving you guys a 100% recap of the goings-on of last week, but as I said, my wonky DVR is to blame for me missing the first fifteen minutes of the episode. Though a lot of what happened early on was clarified in the rest of the episode, there were a couple of noteworthy events that I neglected to mention. We know that NaOnka was planning on quitting the entire length of the episode; what we didn’t know what that before she left, she decided to give Chase (of all people) a gift: her HII. Which kind of pisses me off, because first of all, it originally belonged to Sash, and I was sure that it was Sash, not Chase, that bonded with NaOnka first. And speaking of Sash, it’s looking much more bleak for him, considering that pretty much his entire alliance has either been voted out or quit in the last two shows.
So after the first double-quit in Survivor history, we are left with four young, strong guys (Sash, Chase, Fabio, Benry), two older women (Holly, Jane) and Shoeless Dan, who I remember talked about quitting himself a bunch of episodes ago, but has quietly limped under the radar ever since. At this point, if I had to put money on who would make the Final Three, it would be Dan, Holly and either Benry or Fabio. Jane deserves to be there, and that is why she won’t be. And I figure Sash and Chase will be the two alpha males on the outside looking in. But we’ll see. The endgame is always the most exciting part of the season. And with the chaff successfully culled from the wheat (and now making up a pretty significant portion of the jury), off we go.
Libertad, Night 28. Holly is like me, still indignant that anyone lucky enough to be on Survivor wouldn’t’ have the gumption to tough it out. In a hysterical turn, the group decides to name their one remaining chicken “Kelly-nay”, in honor of the two who chickened out. Nice. Sash, however, is worried that he may be the next victim in the ever-changing game of musical chairs: with Holly, Jane and Chase on one side and Benry, Fabio and Dan on the other, he’s worried he’ll be targeted next, so now may be the time to play his HII. Um, two things… when did Dan end up on the outs with Holly and Jane? Did I miss that? And does Sash not yet know that Chase has the HII? Cripes. Miss ten minutes and the show’s compass just goes all to hell.
The next morning, Sash puts his cards on the table by telling the other young men that he’ll be playing the HII at the next TC, so I guess that answers that. Chase tells Sash that aligning with Jane and Holly might be the right move to go further, and Sash replies that he thinks Jane is the only one who Chase might lose to in a jury vote. Sash tells us in interview that he hopes both he and Holly get to partake in a food reward before too much longer, as those two have gone the longest without any meaningful sustenance.
Apparently that’s all the footage from Day 29 that the show’s editors deemed worth keeping, because we go right from there to Day 30, and a Reward Challenge. And, just like in seasons past, this one is an obstacle course consisting of different stuff cobbled together from previous challenges. The prize is a good one: a night at a resort, complete with hot shower, soft bed, and, presumably, food. I won’t go through the exact details of the obstacle course, so I’ll just give you the Monday morning sports page blurb: Fabio, Dan and Sash fail to make it past the first round.
Both ladies are eliminated in Round Two, leaving it between Chase and Benry, and Chase wins the final round easily. Jeff gives Chase the chance to take two people with him, which is cool. He takes Holly with his first pick, which she deserves considering she threw herself on the reward sword last time. I was sure he was going to take Sash with his second pick, but he instead chooses Jane. Hmmm. Guess that Carolina connection is still strong. Sash is stupefied by Chase’s reasoning: he figures that Chase already has Jane’s vote should that scenario arise, and considering that Sash still has his HII, it’s not the smartest move he could have made. But then, Chase has made more than a few boneheaded plays already, hasn’t he?
Sash is talking very fast as he, Fabio, Benry and Dan return to camp. He knows that he’s looking at no better than fourth place no matter which alliance he goes with, so he hopes the three guys will keep him in their loop. Dan, probably speaking for the group, says that trusting Sash is not the best strategy, given that he’s already thrown Marty and Brenda to the wolves. Of course, it IS 3-3, and Sash’s swing vote is a necessary evil.
At the reward, a plush little spacious hut somewhere far far away from the dingy camp, over running water, soft cushions and juicy watermelon, Chase is beginning to realize his blunder by picking Jane over Sash. And Holly agrees, because this concerns her too. For with the swing vote not there, there is a strong possibility that this entire alliance will be the next three to go. We pan out from the trio getting some awesome-looking massages, with Chase’s voice telling us that the next day will have to be all about “damage control.”
Just to accentuate Chase’s mistake, we cut to Benry, Fabio and Dan confabbing. It is true that they don’t really need to trust Sash; it’s just common sense that taking either Jane or Chase to Final Three would be a bad move, so allying with them is the better move, period. While they pick over the bones over the now deceased Kelly-nay, we ominously go to commercial.
Day 31. The trio has returned from reward, and Jane is bawling her eyes out because the others decided to partake of Kelly-nay without telling her. Apparently she had been quite attached to the bird, and is quite upset. She even builds a little makeshift cross and sticks it in the earth where the bones were buried. Oh, boy, this could get ugly. Chase begins his damage-control recon by telling Holly and Jane that their only chance to get Sash on their side is to somehow convince him unequivocally that they want to take him to Final Three and blindside Jane. Yeah, good luck with that.
A whirlwind of conversations ensue. Benry tells Chase that he wouldn’t mind if his ally Fabio goes next, which I’m fairly certain is a lie, and Sash explains that to Chase and Holly later on. They then consider taking out Benry because he is a viable threat to win the remaining Immunity Challenges. Benry then comes up on them and they put their game faces on and tell Benry that Fabio is going next. Yeah, I know, it’s tough to keep all these fish stories and Machiavellian double-dealings straight on paper.
Immunity Challenge. And let me tell you, Top Seven IC’s tend to be dogfights, because they are also among the most strategically significant in the game. And this is no exception, because the entire complexion of the Final three could ride on who wins this. And, just like this episode’s Reward Challenge, it’s a multi-round affair. The first half is physical, involving throwing oneself over and under a hitching post trying to untangle a rope that is attached to both the person and the post, until they have enough rope to run and pick up a bag of fake gold coins. It ends up being Sash, Benry and Fabio that move on to Round Two, which involves putting the gold coins, which have been glued into different-shaped stacks, together in a cubical block of coins. Benry quits early, and Sash just beats out Fabio for Immunity. So he won’t be using his HII after all, unless he decides to donate it to someone else. This should be interesting.
Back at camp, Sash is feeling a lot more comfortable. Fabio, for the first time this season, looks legitimately worried. All are wondering which way Sash will bend, and everyone in both alliances is trying to get him on their side. Suddenly and inexplicably, the tide turns away from Jane, and now it seems that it will either be Fabio or Benry going home, and even Dan, who has had almost nothing to say for the last five episodes, seems to agree. (Is it possible that Dan is still in a quiet alliance with Holly and Jane to get ride of the young people? Because if he is, that would be AWESOME, especially if it turned out that the cameras never picked it up.) Of course, I’ve kind of grown to like both Fabio and Benry a little bit, so I’m of mixed feelings about this.
Probably the one thing that puzzles me is why Jane isn’t being mentioned. Every one of the five remaining men has stated, repeatedly, that they don’t want to take her to the Finals. So what are they waiting for, exactly? The longer they wait, the fewer chances they’ll have. She’s proven more than capable of winning challenges, so underestimating her would be a terrible mistake. But no, Benry tells Fabio that Holly is the choice of the day, in order to mollify him just long enough to blindside him. Sash, meanwhile, tells Jane that he’s made his choice, and that he’d rather go with her side. Smoke and mirrors? We’ll see.
Tribal Council. The five-strong jury, including the much-refreshed Quitters Brigade, takes their seats. Jeff opens the Q&A by asking Chase how strategic the decision about who to take on Reward was. Chase responds that it’s very strategic, because no matter how you slice it, you’ll have three people happy and four people unhappy. Jeff then asks Chase if it’s reasonable to assume that he’s a threat because of his strength, to which he nimbly replies that he may be a threat, but it’s ironic that he’s yet to win the necklace. Benry adds that he’s concerned that that’s how he’s perceived as well. Jane says that Fabio should be included in that group as well.
Jeff brings up that this is the time in the game when the biggest moves are made, and asks Benry how confident he is in his position, and Benry response affirmatively. Sash says that having Immunity is the best feeling, because not only are you safe but suddenly you’re a sounding board for everybody. Fabio says his strategy is to sit back and not make waves, to which Holly replies that communication is essential, and not taking part is what gets you kicked out. This may be a prophetic statement.
Voting time. All seven vote, and interestingly, not one of them is sneak-previewed, which gets my attention, big time. This usually means that it’s either a landslide or a complete surprise. Jeff collects the urn and out come the slips. Holly. Fabio. Fabio. (In the jury box, Marty says “What the hell?”) Benry. Benry. Benry. And… Benry. Huh. This actually surprises me. Benry’s torch is snuffed, and off he goes, still shocked at the outcome. Marty just shakes his head. (As it turns out, it was indeed Sash, Chase, Jane and Holly that voted for Benry, while Dan and Benry voted for Fabio. And now I am extremely worried for Fabio, who now officially has no friends left. Time to either win immunity or get off the sidelines, kid.)
Next week: a humongous food reward challenge where the winners feast and the losers are “executed”. (Jeff’s words, not mine.)
