Survivor: Palau episode 12 commentary
Gregg. Gregg. Gregg. So that was your "big plan" -- to get voted out? You were a good player, just not smart enough. I can't say you didn't deserved the boot, but you should have seen that one coming. Well, well, well, this season might actually live up to expectations after all, even with a total loser tribe and a few black sheep who almost ruined the game by refusing to play and quitting, because in the end it did come down to a few good players and a few others who late as it were, started to you know, play the game.
I don't see Jenn as very vulnerable with Gregg gone. We know Tom and Ian are pretty tight, so unless the three women ally to boot one of them (and we all know how successful it would be, given that particular history), they're rock solid in the final four. Jenn is not so much of a threat because of the other two people we come down to, Katie & Caryn. Katie, given her history of wavering alliances, and the blowout with Ian we see from the previews next week, should be on the hot seat, and unless she somehow manuevers herself into an all-women alliance or weasel her way back into the fold of Tom & Ian, she'll likely be gone. Caryn, on the other hand, should also be worried because she is a threat now to Ian, who made promises to Katie but not to her, and it would be in his interest to boot Caryn first before voting for Katie in order to win Katie's jury vote. While the other two women fight it out, Jenn's best move would be to sit on the side lines and vote with the men, unless an all-women alliance holds, which incidentally is in all the women's best interests because none of them can win against Tom or Ian in the final two.
Last week it was still not entirely clear, but now Ian has truly shown himself to be the best player, outshining even Tom. From the realisation that Katie is not firmly on his side and hatching of the plan to boot Gregg, to its perfect execution in getting Caryn to act like she's the next one to go (who would've thought Caryn'd be such a good actress?), to keeping mum when Gregg and Jenn returns, to winning immunity, to telling Katie about their plan at the last minute so she has no way of outplaying him without drawing attention to herself, shows how much of a tactician and master of the game Ian has become. Even tribal council was a well-planned affair leaving all the jurors jaw-droppingly surprised. Rarely has such a plan been executed with such brilliance and perfection, even the booting of Rupert on Pearl Islands and Leann on Vanuatu had potential glitches. Furthermore, Ian is still sitting in the game's best position, even in a final two spot with Tom. Not to mention that he is playing with some of the best strategic players in the history of the game.
Steph was totally gorgeous, especially that hair of hers. I never imagined how much more attractive she would become with a shower, a feast, and a good night's sleep. Incidentally, she's never won any of those rewards, or any immunity either, and yet she survived eleven consecutive tribal councils? Unbelievable. She must have set some sort of record. She continues to get my love even on the jury, and I wished there was some sort of twist that can bring her back in the game. You know, I think Gregg really made a mistake in not being flexible enough to account for Steph in his plan. If Steph has stayed instead of Caryn, she and Katie would easily come over to Gregg's side, given her distrust and view of Tom as a threat. (OK, I know this shouldn't be about Steph anymore, but couldn't you just spare some space for her, for me and posterity?)
Next week: Ian and Katie re-enact Kelly and Sue's argument way back in the first season. And Caryn gets approached by Jenn and Katie for another round of Bitchfest: Palau. Who will be voted out? You know, this season might just end up with a deserving winner.
Survivor: Palau episode 11 commentary
Steph. Steph. Steph. It pains me to see you get sent to the jury box, even though I sort of accepted that it would be since the first 10 minutes of the show. There comes a point when I can quite easily predict who's going home each episode because of the way it was edited. The chosen one would get slightly more airtime than usual compared to the others, and we are shown more personal moments and how the game has affected him or her. This time it was Steph. Sigh. Well at least there are only 3 episodes left in this season and I'll get to see her for at least a few seconds every episode. Too bad the women's alliance didn't work out.
I don't know what Caryn is thinking. She really deserves to go next just based on the horrible strategic sense she has shown. In this case, none actually. She can join Coby as this season's worst strategic players, even Coby did show some promise in the early stages until he self-destructed. I can't believe she bought into Tom's story and promise of sixth place in a six-person alliance when they're down to seven. Maybe she thought she could weasel her way into final two with Tom, but ultimately she just reverted to being a unbelievably gullible pawn in Tom's game.
If Tom wants to win this, he needs to stop announcing the fact that he is strong. His "Don't vote me off because I am strong" speech came across as so desperate and ineffectual to the point that it set off several of his tribe members thinking about voting him out, if they haven't already did. (That speech seemed ironic when he refused to acquiesce to Steph's plea at last tribal council to not do exactly the same thing.) All he has to do now is to keep his mouth shut, be strong and win all remaining immunities and all the plans the others have of voting him out will go right out the window. Just by default, he'll be facing the jury.
I certainly didn't expect Katie to have the smarts or the mettle to be playing this game with that much scheming. It's like finding out that talkative popular girl in school who always hung around with the biggest jocks and bullies can actually win a boxing challenge without help from or care for her usual cronies. Oh well, I'm glad that another girl other than Steph is playing the game. Janu and Caryn and maybe Jenn all deserve to be pawned off at this point.
You know, I heard him mention countless times, but I've yet to understand what Gregg's plan is. Is it to get down to five with Jenn, Tom, Ian and Katie? If so he can't possibly be thinking that the alliance of Tom, Ian and Katie will bring him over Jenn into the final four. If he had wanted to engineer a coup against Tom, he couldn't do it at five or even at six with Caryn because that'll just force a tie, or even better Caryn will decide to vote him off instead to prevent a tie-breaker and at least buy herself a final four situation. He needed to do it at seven with Steph. And yet he claims Steph is disrupting the plan? I don't know, I guess I 'll have to continue watching, but I still think that the "Big Plan" will not amount to much for him.
Will Jenn really switch against Gregg if the women alliance had worked? I don't know. She doesn't seem capable of doing that, even if she did (or tried to) convince Steph she would. But now it does her no good of switching to any alternative plan. If she just follows the plan, final four is almost guaranteed for her, and from there who knows?
Ian is replacing Tom as the season's best player. Others seem to have forgotten Ian is almost as much of a physical threat as Tom is, even though he has proven himself so, winning the very first immunity on the first day, the most recent immunity, and being a key player in many of Koror's tribal challenges. Furthermore, he is popular and well-liked by most of the tribe members, as evidenced by the many scenes of tribal exchanges. He has a strong bond with Katie, who might just give him the pivotal vote bringing him into and winning the final tribal council. And he would not be viewed as a threat as long as Tom is around, so it would actually be in his best interests to keep Tom around for as long as possible until the last moment when Tom would have no way to turn against him. In fact I'm not sure that Ian doesn't have at least a 50-50 chance against Tom facing the jury, especially a jury with Coby "I hate Tom's arrogant and dictatorial ass" in it.
You know, I'm surprised that I actually sort of care who wins, despite the fact that Steph is gone? Gosh, I would never have thought.
Next week: Caryn pinpoints Katie as the traitor. Will she successfully save herself? Will Tom finally be betrayed? At least we'll get to see Steph again!
Survivor: Palau episode 10 commentary
Janu. Janu. Janu. Being the sucker that I am, I must thank you for saving Stephenie for at least one more week, even though you claimed to have done so for your own sake.
There has been a whole lot of talk about whether Probst manipulated Janu into quitting so as to save Steph. I'm sure that was probably one of the considerations he had. But to be fair, if you look at the careful analysis of the tribal council that we were shown, he had to ask the questions begging to be answered, based on what the tribe has told him. Being the good host that he is, he has to push the buttons of all these people, especially when they lay it all out for him like this, just like he has done past seasons. The question here is, should he and/or the producers be allowed this sort of interference bordering on outright manipulation in this game? I'm surprised that this question even came up, given how revisionist Survivor history has been. First alliances were taboo, then Richard Hatch won using alliances and everyone changed their minds. Then the Outcast twist was against the game integrity, but in the end nearly everyone loved it because Pearl Islands became one of the best seasons in terms of average level of strategic gameplay. Jonny Fairplay was downright evil with his dead grandmother lie, then by the end of the season they loved him for his theatrical antics. Everyone loved Rupert and gave him the million, then switched to loving Mariano instead.
My point is that people change their opinion of what is moral or ethical all the time, and I can say that by the end of this season they will accept that sour taste in their mouths and applaud Mark Burnett for his brilliant tweaking of the show. And it's not like they haven't done this before. Or that they could manipulate without the contestants' cooperation. Stacey was the first scandal, then it became legitimate with the Rotu 4 taking the bait during the Marquesas coconut-chopping challenge, to the compelling entertainment of Jenna & Heidi stripping for peanut butter. Probst just asked the right questions, and once Janu was placated with a jury spot, she willingly bought hook, line and sinker. So fortunately for us Steph fans, this happened.
And speaking of fair treatment, Steph didn't exactly come away with the better deal. Sure she survived another week, but I have a very bad feeling that with all the emotion prompted out of her during tribal council, she's going to come across as even more of a threat to actual behind-the-scenes controller of votes Gregg (who would have thought?). And with the all-woman alliance that we forsaw Steph trying to form next week, it only distances herself from her possible alliance partners Tom & Ian, who ironically she can probably assure herself a final four place with, along with Katie, now that they acutally have the numbers unlike this week's possible tie. I've been trying to come to terms with it, but I think Steph will not last another week. As always, the previews will probably be a curveball. Furthermore, strategically speaking, Katie & Jenn may not be better off in an all-woman alliance than in their present ones, and strategy dictates not to change your alliance if you don't see yourself achieving better than in the current alliance. Realistically speaking, Jenn will not desert Gregg and join archrival Steph, and neither she nor Katie has displayed any real capability of playing the game, other than being protected in their present alliance, to be bold enough to take such a chance. That means Steph is already out-numbered, simply because she is a much bigger perceived threat than Caryn (even though she has so far won not a single immunity challenge), unless she wins immunity.
I almost believe that Tom will probably just win all the challenges until he's the final two, at which point, he would win, maybe except against Steph, but even then he has a fighting chance.
But if this is the case this season would be much more boring than it seemed like it would be, which is why I somehow hope against hope that Steph manages to survive, because it's a shame that someone like her gets eliminated now when she'll outright win in a final two situation against almost everyone but Tom or possibly Ian.
Why shouldn't Janu be given the same treatment as Osten? No matter the circumstances of your quitting, it should not be condoned. It would have been interesting to bring back Bobby Jon, but I never really thought that would happen. That aside, the whole quitting thing has been blown entirely out of proportion, it was great with Osten, then horribly weird with both Jenna M. and Sue, then seemingly become legitimate with Ashlee and Jeff just because they were asked to be voted off. Now Janu being given a jury spot? It's no longer entertaining to watch people quit, and I don't know what's wrong that there appears to be an increasing number of quitters as the seasons pass. Did Osten somehow made it cool to quit? It's true that it drives home the fact that Survivor is more real than a reality show, but I'm feeling queasy about this trend here.
That's it for now. Will Steph survive? I can only hope.
Survivor: Palau episode 9 commentary
Stephenie, Stephenie, Stephenie. I know there are some who don’t get the whole Stephenie love, but when I see her breaking down during her last moments as Ulong, I was ready to rush out there and give her a shoulder, a handkerchief and a hug. She is such a strong woman, physically and mentally. How many people could still soldier on despite the adversity that is Ulong? When they have butted into dead ends all over? Janu would have just rolled over and died. We would no longer be subjected to Anonymous Jenn’s creepy laughter because she would have dissolved into a pile of dust in Gregg’s snuffed out torch. Steph didn’t give up. It was so difficult seeing her coming back to camp alone, keeping the fire alit alone, going fishing alone, struggling alone with coconut-picking. Some have criticized her for not thinking ahead and only plucking one coconut, but I wouldn’t even have made it halfway up that tree before deciding I preferred starvation, at least for the moment.
And then Steph quits the immunity challenge for a pizza? Oh boy, this is going to bother me. I don’t blame her for wanting the pizza; she’s had nothing but Pringles with Ulong unlike the luxury of shark steaks, MREs, giant clam feasts that are Koror (that’s why I have no respect for those Kororians who jumped off for food). I’ve thought and pondered and mulled over and came up with a few possible reasons. (1) She feels that there’s no way she can beat Tom, which she has mentioned during tribal council, and which is probably true. But I still think she could still have tried a little longer. (2) She trusts that Tom, Ian and Katie will be on her side. Well, she was right for this vote, but I think she needs to be more cautious about this as they haven’t really promised her a final four spot, and we all know where promises end up in this game. She needs to find the other weak points in Koror to secure herself in case this alliance fails and to go further than fourth place. (3) She knows that Coby is already going off with his suicidal game moves. For that, she has to trust Tom, Ian and Katie, and that goes back to the previous point, though you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see that Coby has just painted a target on his own back saying “Send me home!” even larger than Janu’s. I really hope they show us some more credible rationale why Steph gave up that challenge, as I still think she’s not a quitter, and that she rocks, and that she should still win, and that I still hope she wins this whole thing just like Chris did in Vanuatu. The way they’ve been portraying her seems like the right edit for an eventual final two spot, but they’re doing the same to Tom and Ian, and we all know what happened to Rupert on Pearl Islands too (not that I really want to mention him again, but he appears to be the best example). Steph, just for me, please win this game, OK?
For some reason, Katie is less annoying by the week. Maybe it’s the fact that she’s aligned with Steph that by default I don’t feel so much animosity towards her anymore. (OK I retract that view immediately after I said it.) And Caryn is really sliding under the radar big time after her earlier knock out with Katie. I don’t think she’s a free vote for the others at this point, since I think the other major alliances are more at each others’ throats now, and once that happens she has the ability to go much farther in this game than she seems now. At least, to give some unpredictability (and better entertainment value) to this season, that’s what I hope. And I really am starting to love Ian. I actually feel insulted that Probst didn’t take up Ian’s offer of parodying Jenna and Heidi because “no one wants to see that”. I’m sure there are many out there who find him cute and lovable. (I sure hope so for my own sake.) The more he stays around, the more I think he’ll win Tom in a final two vote just because of his likeability. As for Anonymous Jenn, we finally get to see more of her besides her creepy laughter, unfortunately she’s either proclaiming disgust at learning of Jeff and Kim’s hooking up, which I find completely ironic, given who she’s hooking up with herself; or she’s bitching about how Steph is a threat and needs to be eliminated immediately. Well, at least after Coby anyway.
Next week: Janu goes home after another bitchfest with Katie! Someone gets literally marooned? That would be an awesome challenge to watch. No prizes for guessing who it might be.
Survivor: Palau episode 6 revisited
James is pissed that Ibrehem was spared the vote, and lays it out for him. Bobby Jon doesn't appreciate it.
We finally learn that Ibrehem is Muslim.
Coby and Caryn bitch about Katie's laziness.
Reward challenge. Steph can shoot better than anyone else, and so remarkably, Ulong manages to enjoy their brief moment of victory with Pringles and jellyfish. Again, they promise not to suck anymore, but I doubt the powers that be are paying attention.
Janu feels her world has crashed down on her and was ready to quit after a particularly violent storm. Tom tries to lift her spirits while Katie observes that Janu was being over-dramatic.
Immunity challenge. Tribes have to make a box impenetrable with ropes and sticks. Ulong puts their trust in James when he knows of a special Navy knot which is, according to him, untieable, and so James prefers to mope around working on Palau fashion than actually contribute to the challenge tying more knots other than the one which is supposedly inassailable. Again, Ulong just cannot stop losing immunity, even when they're up against Janu, who seems just about ready to quit anytime and looks even thinner than a stick insect.
James is convinced Bobby Jon won't vote for him. Stephenie lies to Bobby Jon that she didn't vote for him but for Angie the last time. Bobby Jon and Stephenie then promise to go the end together. Stephenie feels stuck in the middle. James feel confident it will be Ibrehem because his God is better than Ibrehem's.
Tribal council. Probst cannot believe how much of a loser they are, and officially announces that they've set a record going down to three. James tries to come up with an excuse to account for their losing streak, but fails. In the end, Steph reads the writing on the wall and votes for James, finally sending him on the overdue trip home. About time.
Survivor: Palau episode 5 revisited
Rainstorm. Gregg & Jenn snuggle. Coby rolls his eyes and laments the start of the second "Bennifer" of the season. Koror instructs Willard to keep an eye on the fire, but he ignores them and goes to sleep on the hammock.
Ulong is lost trying to find their cave shelter. Angie sees the futility of wandering aimlessly around in the dark, and elects to go back to their beach camp, prompting James to label her as "quitter".
Next morning, Tom is unhappy that Willard failed to tend to the fire and let it extinguish.
Challenge. Probst announces that both tribes will vote out someone at tribal council, but the winning tribe will get to feast and observe the other tribe's tribal council. Ulong almost pulled off a much-needed victory, but when Ibrehem takes too long during his turn, Koror once again edges out with the immunity idol.
At Koror, everyone seems to agree that Willard would be booted, even Willard himself. Gregg approaches Coby with a plan that once Willard and Caryn are gone, he and Jenn will jump over to Coby and Janu and vote out one of the remaining three. Coby is excited, but Gregg interviews that he's just keeping options open.
Tribal council. Willard is snuffed. Koror partakes in the feast as Ulong comes in for their tribal council. Angie feels frustrated by the sight of food, and the fact that Ulong seem to suck no matter how much they try not to. Ibrehem is called out for his momentous ineptness during the challenge.
A surprised Koror is then asked to vote for someone from Ulong to receive immunity, and they pick Ibrehem. A flummoxed Ulong and Steph then wavers between Bobby Jon and Angie before sending the poor tattoo girl home. Why is James still here?
Survivor: Palau episode 4 revisited
Kim feels sad about losing boyfriend Jeff. Ulong resolves to rally for a win.
Both tribes told to select a representative for upcoming reward challenge. Koror picks Ian, to the chagrin of Coby, who volunteered but was not selected. Coby exposits the alliances in Koror: Tom, Ian, Katie, Gregg and Jenn in a five and himself, Janu, Caryn and Willard in the opposing four.
Ulong, after much hemming and hawing, failed to pick a representative, much to the disgust of Probst. They eventually select James.
Reward challenge. Both tribes are to select some tools to build an outdoor bathroom. Tom directs Koror to build a pretty decent aesthetically-pleasing bathroom, to the resentment of Caryn. James tries to be all-drill sergeant, and pisses off Angie, while Kim, who is of no use to no one, lazes around as usual. Unsurprisingly, Koror wins a majestic palace, as Survivor shelters go.
Immunity challenge. Sumo-wrestling on a platform. Tom dominated, the Ulong women shone (except for Kim), the Ulong men floundered, and Koror brought home the victory 4th time in a row, as usual.
James feels sore about being beaten by Coby, while Angie and Steph discuss the possibility of forming a women-alliance against the men.
Tribal council. Total lack of suspense as Kim is snuffed.
Survivor: Palau episode 3 revisited
Jeff and Kim did not appreciate being called up by Probst during tribal council, reassures everyone their non-alliance, which no one buys.
Caryn is displeased with Katie for something, which I get, but for some reason decides to confront Katie about it, which I don't get. Katie, unsurprisingly, thinks Caryn is crazy.
Reward challenge. No holds barred dunking-style wrestling. Angie scares everyone by attempting to almost drown Gregg. Ulong grabs reward of clothing and sewing kit.
Ibrehem doesn't sew. Bobby Jon is concerned about how lazy some of his tribe members are, particularly Kim.
Ian and Tom kills some snakes for dinner, then decides to go for the bigger prize and tries to lure in sharks with the carcasses. Gregg interviews that he's living with some really weird people.
Jeff injures his ankle on a coconut, limps around concerned.
Immunity challenge. Weight-carrying endurance contest. Jeff drops out due to injured ankle. Tom once again shows his superhuman strength by carrying more than anyone else. Down to Tom-Ian-Gregg vs Bobby Jon-Steph-Ibrehem. Koror brings it home three in a row.
Jeff implores his tribe to vote him out for his inability to contribute. Bobby Jon has other ideas, however, of demonstrated contribution, as he shows Angie how Jeff can still cut up a coconut with an injured ankle while apparently healthy Kim looks on.
Tribal council. Despite discontent with Kim, Jeff goes home.
Survivor: Palau episode 2 revisited
Tropical rainstorm. Koror has no fire. Caryn feels they selected the wrong beach, blames Tom for dictating campsite decision. Tom defends himself nicely. Katie thinks Caryn is a bitch.
Angie feels she has to step up her game to show her tribe that she's not physically weak after receiving 3 votes.
Reward challenge. One of the toughest ever. Against all odds, Angie inspired Ulong to victory and fishing gear.
Jeff and Bobby Jon go fishing. Brought back giant clam for a feast. Ashlee did not feel up to joining the crowd and did not eat. Everyone noticed the snuggling going on between Jeff and Kim.
Led by Ian the studmuffin, Koror retrieves their fire from the bottom of the ocean, to much rejoicing.
Immunity challenge. Underwater tug-of-war contest. Ulong could not hold it together enough and Tom, demonstrating ultra-human strength and underwater breathing abilities, single-handedly leads Koror to their second immunity.
Tribal council. Probst calls out the snuggling between Jeff and Kim, who deny any alliance despite widespread eye-rolling. Ashlee, who later revealed she asked to be voted out because she couldn't handle the emotional stress of the game, snuffed.
Survivor: Palau episode 1 revisited
Wow. The series started with a blast. Intriguing to watch as the castaways fight the battle between game strategy and immunity inside their heads. The moment when everyone started jumping off the boat and swimming frantically towards shore was one of the tensest moments ever in the series.
Ian & Jolanda snagged immunity, Jolanda nearly knocking over Jenn on the way, then announcing herself as the strongest woman there. Bad move.
Everyone split up to get water, make fire, build shelter. Coby's the gay pink-shirted hairdresser who appears to be the resident strategist of the new season. Angie's the tattoo girl. Both hit it off right away but Coby cautions not to make himself a bigger target. Coby goes around trying to get people to vote out Jonathan.
James is the redneck, Tom the NYC firefighter, Janu the Las Vegas showgirl. Tom, Ian, Steph and Katie makes an alliance. Gregg is nervous that they have not been divided into tribes yet.
Tribes divided into brown older Koror and blue younger Ulong. Stephenie survives her earlier mistake of jumping in too early, but Jonathan did not, and was sent home along with wacky singing Wanda. Koror: Ian, Katie, Tom, Janu, Gregg, Jenn, Coby, Caryn, Willard. Ulong: Jolanda, Bobby Jon, Stephenie, Jeff, Kim, James, Ashlee, Ibrehem, Angie. Angie feels betrayed by Coby and thinks she's on the wrong tribe.
Immunity Challenge. Jolanda makes the critical error of insisting that they bring along food and water but not fire, interesting strategy. Koror brings only fire. Koror easily wins immunity while Ulong can't even cooperate long enough to get their boat going.
Tom leads Koror to select a new beach for their home. Overjoyed about bringing home fire and immunity, they capsized, leaving their fire at the bottom of the ocean.
Tribal council. Jolanda, seen as a too bossy and too much of a threat, snuffed.
