There were several surprises on this week's "Survivor". The players got an opportunity to switch tribes - and Brad became the first member of the jury. What an episode!
I love a good twist like the next person. I actually was starting to feel that this season of "Survivor" was getting stale. I think I even said something to the effect in my last recap.
Oh well! If "Survivor" has taught me one thing this season it's that I'm not that much of a "Survivor" expert, after all. I'm just going to go back to enjoying the show and writing what I see. No more conjecture.
Yeah, sure. Let's see how long that lasts!
While Ozzy sleeps, the rest of his tribe - Candice, Jonathan, Becky, Yul & Sundra - discuss that if they lose the immunity challenge, he's next. Yeah! Big surprise, right? Jonathan swears he's with this "five 'til the end." He's sooooooooo believable. Is he a fiction writer?
Candice, however, has other plans. She can't wait to get back together with Adam and Parvati. Awww! She misses her wittle, itty bitty fwiends. Poor Candice! Later, Candice took Jonathan aside and told him where her true allegiance lie. Jonathan said he'd go along with her because he wants him and her to make it to the final two. Sure, Jonathan! I bet you haven't said the same thing to Yul, Becky or even Adam.
At least Candice is smart enough to see through Jonathan. For her part, she tells the camera that she can't wait to see him go. I can't imagine why she's not fooled. I mean Jonathan's about as sincere as Boston Rob without being anywhere near as attractive or interesting.
Has anyone figured out that there's a "WHITE ALLIANCE", for lack of a better term? I mean - I'm waiting for Yul and Nate to get a clue, but ... well, let's see what happens later on in the episode first.
At Raro, we're hearing the same old song. It's entitled, "Brad Sucks. We Want to Send Him Home." I think it's a country tune.
Luckily, Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst and the rest of the powers-that-be on the show have figured out that his batch of contestants isn't nearly as interesting as they should be. They've decided to switch up the game not by making the competitions any different. I mean - why do that? Let's just swim and solve puzzles 50 different ways. Instead, they're adding twists to the game a la "Big Brother".
The first twist is announced when the tribes show up for the reward challenge. Jeff says they have ten seconds to decide if they want to switch tribes or not. No one does anything at first. Then, Candice steps on the mat. Jonathan steps on right behind her. Aitu is stunned and hurt. They've lost two members of their tribe. Ozzy remarks that "instant karma's gonna get them" or something with a similar meaning.
Yul had to pick his jaw up off the floor. This is when he caught his clue. Yul's cute and looks great in glasses, but...he's not as good with people as he is with business, it seems. He trusts too much. I bet he was really upset that he didn't follow Cao Boi's 'Plan Voodoo' a few weeks back, as well he should be.
Aitu won the reward challenge pretty easily, however. It seems that Jonathan and Candice's defection has made them more united. They have a common goal, to survive and see Jonathan and Candice destroyed. Of course, a challenge that involves swimming does favor Aitu since Ozzy is part fish or something. The boy could've been an Olympic contender.
Aitu won a great reward. They got food, coffee and letters from home. They also bonded with pictures of each person as they were growing up. Sundra cried when she read her little boy's words. I could really feel for her. I have a little boy and a little girl. I wouldn't want to be away from them, either. Yul looked like a geek growing up. Sorry, but he did. He's definitely improved since then. Ozzy was always a cutie, but that's hardly surprising, and Becky was channeling her inner club girl in some of her pics. She cleans up very well.
The great thing was that Aitu sent Candice to Exile Island! Haha! Meanwhile, at Raro, Nate is ticked off at Jonathan. No one is happy with his disloyalty. It's strange that Raro doesn't seem so upset with Candice, but then again she's pals with Parvati and Adam. I guess that makes a big difference.
Nate went to chat with Adam about voting off Jonathan. Adam was like, 'Dude, he's doing all this cool stuff for us. He's chopping wood, gathering wood, cooking, shucking clams, etc. Let's keep him as our workhorse for a bit. We should still let Brad go.' (That was a paraphrase - not a direct quote, y'all!)
Apparently, Nate'll do whatever Adam says 'cuz he did a 360. His turn-around was so quick I got whiplash. He decided to buddy up to Brad so Brad wouldn't catch wind of the fact that he was going home. Better to blind-side one of your own than to let the traitor go. I see how it goes.
At the immunity challenge, Raro had a bit of a lead until Yul figured out a better way to line up the targets. Instead of using the bottom of the glass boat to do it, he used the cannon itself. Aitu pulled it out in the end 'cuz Jonathan doesn't play well with others. The unified Aitu went home to relax and bond some more. They are thrilled to be sharing this experience together and are a real family now. I got some warm fuzzies. No, really. I did.
Raro went back to camp with the newly-returned Candice. She and Parvati had a convo. Candice was like, 'are we still cool?' Parvati's like, 'yes, of course. You know we're friends.' Then, Parvati's like, 'What's the deal with Jonathan?' Candice is all like, 'We're not that close. He's a real jerk. I don't trust him.'
Candice then tells Adam that it was Jonathan's idea to send Adam to Exile Island and that Jonathan was best buddies with Yul over at Aitu and he talked smack 'bout Adam to the Aitu tribe.
Adam almost considers voting Jonathan out instead of Brad. Nate is like, 'Whatever you want, Adam.' That made me so mad. I wanted to smack Nathan. Have an opinion of your own and stop sucking up to Adam. You're a strong man in your own right. Puh-lease!
At the tribal ceremony, Brad, who is rumored to be currently dating Cook Islands cast-off JP Calderon, had some strong words for Jonathan and Candice. He also said that trust was a big deal to him, and he didn't trust everyone on his tribe. Then, they voted him out. Jeff shocked Brad - and the rest of Raro - by announcing that Brad had made it to the jury. By the numbers, the jury should've been a few players off. There's definitely going to be more changes to the game. Maybe they'll let the viewers be on the jury too and have one vote to go towards the winner of "Cook Islands". That'd be sweet!
We'll just have to wait and see. Hasta la semana que viene! (Until next week!)
