Gooood evening. I trust you all had a ghoooulishly good Halloween.
In Survivorland it's not Halloween...its just Night 16. Kalabaw is home from Tribal Council minus Katie who was blindsided. Denise is happy that she survived her 6th consecutive Tribal Council and Penner is miffed that someone had the gall to write his name down. He forgets, he tells us, that others are lying.
The next morning at Tandang, Mike is recalling how this is the day that he fell in the fire 24 seasons ago. For him this is new territory. Mike's reveries are interupted by an approaching boat carrying news about an upcoming merge. Survivors have exactly 10 minutes to collect what they want to bring with them. Over at Kalabaw they are receiving the same news, sending Malcolm scurrying to dig up his hidden immunity idol. Both tribes are carried to their new beach on the outriggers that brought the news of the merge. They are greeted by baskets of fruit and other food, along with bottles of wine. The merge sets everyone's mind to working (only slightly clouded by the wine). Denise is hoping she can resume her alliance with Malcolm. Mike decides that he and RC are free agents and that they owe no loyalty to their former tribe. When Abi suggests RC should act as a spy, RC says she is reluctant to do so since they "aren't exactly one big happy family". RC does think she might be able to connect with Denise, though. While all this chit chat is going on, Lisa decides it would be nice to hang up everyone's wet clothing. She goes through Malcolm's bag and finds his immunity idol. Denise sees it happen and tells Malcolm who promptly rushes Lisa off into the jungle. She immediately begins apologizing and swears she will keep his secret. "You, me and Denise to the final three", promises Malcolm. Hmmm. Maybe. Maybe not. thinks Lisa.
The following day finds more strategizing. Penner and Lisa hit it off. He knows she was a child actress but promises to keep her secret. He thinks Lisa might go far in the game, given that she is non-threatening and likely to go under the radar. Penner is also trying to find cracks in the former Tandang tribe. He approaches Mike to see if he is ready to slit the throats of his former tribe. Mike assures Penner that he and RC are solid but that neither are loyal to Tandang. While Penner works the crowd out on the water, a faction led by Jeff and Pete are figuring out how they can get rid of Penner. They suspect he has an idol so decide to split the vote with four votes going to Penner and four to RC. If Penner plays the idol RC is gone and they can get him next time. Of course, for all this to work neither Penner nor RC can win immunity.
They are in luck. At the immunity challenge there are two individual immunity necklaces up for grabs...one for the men and one for the women. Each survivor has a bucket filled to weigh 25% of their body weight. The bucket is slung over a bar with a rope. The end of the rope is wrapped around a metal roller. The Survivors must hold on to the roller to keep it from turning and releasing the bucket. Mike is out almost immediately, followed by Pete and Penner. They continue to drop out until Denise is the last woman. A very happy Denise has just received immunity for the very first time. The men continue to duke it out until it is down to Jeff and Carter. Jeff makes an attempt to deal with Carter but Carter is halfhearted about throwing the challenge. In the end Jeff gives up and Carter wins the jewellery.
And so the plan to split the votes between Penner and RC can proceed. RC is feeling secure, but Mike knows he is a target. He promises to vote with Jeff and Carter if it means Penner goes home. Of course Penner is busy professing his loyalty and thinks Pete should go home. They finally head off to Tribal Council where the members of the former Tandang Tribe learn that they have made Survivor history. Never before has a tribe avoided Tribal Council until after the merge. The votes are cast, Penner plays his idol (negating any votes cast for him), and Dimples (in green tonight!) tabulates the votes. It turns out that Penner got 5 votes, but all it means is that Penner is going to be pretty pissy back at camp since the votes don't count. Instead it comes down to a race between RC and Pete with RC getting 4 votes to Pete's 2. And so RC and our own Pam are heading over to become the first members of the jury. Pam and Grace both voted for RC to win the million. Sorry, ladies. Not this time.
Until next week,
Outplay, Outwit, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi I'm not the most likeable Survivor of all time Gomez)
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Survivor Phillipines - October 24/12
Night 13 sees Kalabaw returning to camp minus Dawson. Katie realizes that she is at the bottom of the totem pole now that her "girls" are gone. All she can do is work her magic. She sets off to discredit Penner by convincing Denise that Penner has the immunity idol. A guy with an idol, by Katie's reckoning, is a bigger target than a lazy but beautiful woman who does poorly in challenges.
The next morning Tandang discovers they are low on rice. The reason? It seems Mike has been eating handfuls of raw rice. Apparently he thinks it will cook inside of his body due to the hot environment. Mmmmm. The others comment on Mike's rice consumption but Artis is downright angry. He says his tribe is Tandang + 1 (Mike) and that Mike is expendable.
At the Reward Challenge, tribes must go out three-on-three and try to move a giant wicker ball across a field and into a goal. The winning team needs to score three goals. The field is actually a mud pit and within seconds the contestants are all but unrecognizable. They pin each other down in the mud and the ball moves nowhere. The challenge has become an endurance event based on who can last the longest with their nose buried in the mud. After an hour Penner floats a suggestion. If Tandang agrees to give Kalabaw the victory, they will give them all their rice. Not everyone on Tandang is happy with the plan (especially Artis) but in the end the deal is done. Kalabaw heads off to a hut where they shower, enjoy a picnic of sandwiches, juice and brownies and also get some letters from home (something that wasn't mentioned when the deal was done).
Back at camp Artis is angry with the decision to concede the challenge. He says that the deal was a brilliant move by Penner. Meanwhile Mike and RC try to convince the others that the deal was a good one. RC and Mike have also decided that Artis is too negative and that he should be the one to go if Tandang ever actually gets to Tribal Council.
On Day 16 Kalabaw is home from their reward picnic. Not everyone on Kalabaw is happy with the deal made at the reward challenge either. Apparently the food from the reward is all digested and hunger is setting in. There is no rice...nor food of any kind. No problem. They have fishing gear and Penner is going fishing. He tries to spear a stingray who niftily eludes the spear. Next Penner dons the snorkelling gear and goes into deeper water. He returns with two tiny fish. The tribe wonders how they are going to divide what amounts to about 6 ounces of fish. Penner tries to stay positive in front of the others but admits that they need to win the upcoming immunity challenge.
The aforementioned challenge arrives right on schedule. One tribe member must shoot a ball from a giant slingshot. Three other tribe-mates must try to catch the ball in a net. They can catch a ball of any colour. Abi sits this challenge out again, meaning that she has sat out 6 of 8 challenges (a fact pointed out by Dimples, of course). Lisa and Denise both do an admirable job launching the balls from the slingshot. Jeff does well catching for Kalabaw and Malcolm shines as he catches for Tandang. Katie is ineffective (also pointed out by Dimples). Tandang wins the challenge, sending Kalabaw back to camp to think about who they are going to send home.
There is nothing like losing a challenge to bring out the worst in people. Jeff questions his alliance with Penner because he doesn't want a veteran to win (I'm with ya there Baseball Boy). On the other hand Katie is worthless. On the other other hand Carter thinks it might be better to go into a merge with Penner than with Katie since he is a bigger target. Jeff thinks it might be wise to blindside Penner so that he doesn't play his idol. Carter is willing to follow Jeff's lead. Penner believes everyone is voting for Katie. Katie believes everyone is voting for Denise. Denise is worried everyone is voting for her. But when Dimples earns his millions by tabulating the votes at Tribal Council, it is Katie who is heading home. Along with Katie goes Lorelee from the pool. No one voted for Katie to win the grand prize so Lorelee is alone in her suffering.
We are in a countdown to a merge. Will it happen next week? I'll never tell!
Until then,
Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi I might be a little hotblooded but I'm still in the game Gomez)
The next morning Tandang discovers they are low on rice. The reason? It seems Mike has been eating handfuls of raw rice. Apparently he thinks it will cook inside of his body due to the hot environment. Mmmmm. The others comment on Mike's rice consumption but Artis is downright angry. He says his tribe is Tandang + 1 (Mike) and that Mike is expendable.
At the Reward Challenge, tribes must go out three-on-three and try to move a giant wicker ball across a field and into a goal. The winning team needs to score three goals. The field is actually a mud pit and within seconds the contestants are all but unrecognizable. They pin each other down in the mud and the ball moves nowhere. The challenge has become an endurance event based on who can last the longest with their nose buried in the mud. After an hour Penner floats a suggestion. If Tandang agrees to give Kalabaw the victory, they will give them all their rice. Not everyone on Tandang is happy with the plan (especially Artis) but in the end the deal is done. Kalabaw heads off to a hut where they shower, enjoy a picnic of sandwiches, juice and brownies and also get some letters from home (something that wasn't mentioned when the deal was done).
Back at camp Artis is angry with the decision to concede the challenge. He says that the deal was a brilliant move by Penner. Meanwhile Mike and RC try to convince the others that the deal was a good one. RC and Mike have also decided that Artis is too negative and that he should be the one to go if Tandang ever actually gets to Tribal Council.
On Day 16 Kalabaw is home from their reward picnic. Not everyone on Kalabaw is happy with the deal made at the reward challenge either. Apparently the food from the reward is all digested and hunger is setting in. There is no rice...nor food of any kind. No problem. They have fishing gear and Penner is going fishing. He tries to spear a stingray who niftily eludes the spear. Next Penner dons the snorkelling gear and goes into deeper water. He returns with two tiny fish. The tribe wonders how they are going to divide what amounts to about 6 ounces of fish. Penner tries to stay positive in front of the others but admits that they need to win the upcoming immunity challenge.
The aforementioned challenge arrives right on schedule. One tribe member must shoot a ball from a giant slingshot. Three other tribe-mates must try to catch the ball in a net. They can catch a ball of any colour. Abi sits this challenge out again, meaning that she has sat out 6 of 8 challenges (a fact pointed out by Dimples, of course). Lisa and Denise both do an admirable job launching the balls from the slingshot. Jeff does well catching for Kalabaw and Malcolm shines as he catches for Tandang. Katie is ineffective (also pointed out by Dimples). Tandang wins the challenge, sending Kalabaw back to camp to think about who they are going to send home.
There is nothing like losing a challenge to bring out the worst in people. Jeff questions his alliance with Penner because he doesn't want a veteran to win (I'm with ya there Baseball Boy). On the other hand Katie is worthless. On the other other hand Carter thinks it might be better to go into a merge with Penner than with Katie since he is a bigger target. Jeff thinks it might be wise to blindside Penner so that he doesn't play his idol. Carter is willing to follow Jeff's lead. Penner believes everyone is voting for Katie. Katie believes everyone is voting for Denise. Denise is worried everyone is voting for her. But when Dimples earns his millions by tabulating the votes at Tribal Council, it is Katie who is heading home. Along with Katie goes Lorelee from the pool. No one voted for Katie to win the grand prize so Lorelee is alone in her suffering.
We are in a countdown to a merge. Will it happen next week? I'll never tell!
Until then,
Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi I might be a little hotblooded but I'm still in the game Gomez)
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Survivor Phillipines - October 17/12
Night 10 at Camp Matsing finds Denise and Malcolm returning to their lonely little camp. Russell is gone and they are the last two Matsingers standing. They speculate about what will happen next. Will one of them go to each tribe? Or will there be a complete mix- up of tribes. They don't have to wait long to find out. Along with more rain and flies, the dawn brings tree mail announcing a reward challenge. Before they head off for the challenge though, Malcolm and Denise decide that it is now or never to find the immunity idol. They don't have much by way of camp furnishings and keep coming back to the rice basket. They look in the basket. They look under the basket. They look around the basket. Finally, on the verge of giving up, Malcolm pulls the handle off the basket to (finally) discover the idol. Denise is ecstatic but knows that if she and Malcolm go to different tribes, the idol will be of limited value to her.
At the Immunity Challenge, Dimples asks Malcolm and Denise to drop their buffs and pick new ones. Based on the drawing of the buffs, Denise goes to Kalabaw and Malcolm joins Tandang. They then move on to the challenge itself, the winner of which gets coffee and tea with all the fixings, as well as biscuits, cookies and muffins. Malcolm shines for his new team in a challenge where, one on one, Survivors must try to knock a little statue off the other guy's tray. Malcolm is delighted at the win. He has found an idol in the morning and won a challenge in the afternoon. His new tribe is happy too. Lisa tells us that Malcolm brings a wonderful energy to the tribe. The only one who doesn't seem thrilled is RC, who feels she would have fared better if their team had gotten Denise. Malcolm is busy bonding with Pete and Mike and RC feels things slipping even further out of her control. RC needs to pull out all the stops and stop #1 is flirting shamelessly with Malcolm when he lights the fire. "Ooooooh Malcolm, you are such a manly man. Hug hug". Gag gag. Meanwhile Pete is so taken with Malcolm that he tells them he has the idol. Pete is happy that Malcolm has arrived, his reasoning being that, now that another strong physical player has arrived, Pete can now get rid of Mike.
At Kalabaw there is no victory and no reward but Denise is still happy to be in her new tribe. Dana, Dawson and Katie are hoping to get her on board in their girl alliance but the guys are also impressed with her competitiveness. But speaking of Dana, she seems to be a little under the weather. She is a tiny thing and she is cold. In fact she can't stop shaking. Then she begins vomitting. She has a fever. She curls up under a tarp on Penners lap. Medics are called. It isn't judged to be life threatening and they are willing to let her stay another 12 hours. Dimples leaves the decision up to Dana....do you want to stay or do you want to go? A tearful and distressed Dana decides she can't stay any longer so the rest of the tribe is brought in to say their goodbyes. She keeps apologizing for letting her team down but her tribe mates are kind and supportive, particularly Jonathan Penner who is particularly...well...nice. Back stage Katie is feeling a little tense. Her best ally is going home. How will she survive?!
The immunity challenge consists of the tribes helping each other through an obstacle course, co-operatively untying 4 sets of knots to release a drawbridge, going through the drawbridge to get an ax which they use to chop through a piece of wood to get to a peace of rope. Cutting through the rope releases puzzle pieces which must then be assembled into a five word phrase. My Abi Maria sits out for Tandang, causing Dimples to ask her how many challenges she has actually competed in. Two, says Abi. Is Dimples prepared to let this go? No. He is not. Normally I would be all for pointing this fact out ad nauseum, except that Abi is my girl. Yikes. Abi and I are in a heap 'o trouble. Fortunately for us, Katie has trouble on the obstacle course, slowing Kalabaw down. Then Dawson gets a little possessive with the puzzle pieces at the end, helping Kalabaw lose by just a second.
Katie is embarrassed. She apologizes profusely for her performance in the challenge. Helpfully, Dawson assures her that, yes, she did suck. While Katie is busy apologizing, Jeff is recruiting her girl Denise for the guy's team.Denise is still worried, though. She is the new kid on the block and she wonders whether the tribe will vote on the basis of logic or loyalty.
In spite of her concern, Denise is safe. The tribe's only question is whether they should send Katie or Dawson home. In the end Dawson is blindsided. She has a pretty obvious crush on Dimples though, and after he snuffs her torch she gives him a long lingering hug. As she walks away from Tribal Council her only comment is "Wow". "Wow I have just been sent home?" or "Wow I just hugged Jeff Probst?" We may never know. With Dawson goes Donna from our pool. I hope you enjoyed the hug Donna, cause you ain't getting the money this time.
Until next week.
Outplay, Outwit, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi Maria oh crap I'm doomed Gomez)
At the Immunity Challenge, Dimples asks Malcolm and Denise to drop their buffs and pick new ones. Based on the drawing of the buffs, Denise goes to Kalabaw and Malcolm joins Tandang. They then move on to the challenge itself, the winner of which gets coffee and tea with all the fixings, as well as biscuits, cookies and muffins. Malcolm shines for his new team in a challenge where, one on one, Survivors must try to knock a little statue off the other guy's tray. Malcolm is delighted at the win. He has found an idol in the morning and won a challenge in the afternoon. His new tribe is happy too. Lisa tells us that Malcolm brings a wonderful energy to the tribe. The only one who doesn't seem thrilled is RC, who feels she would have fared better if their team had gotten Denise. Malcolm is busy bonding with Pete and Mike and RC feels things slipping even further out of her control. RC needs to pull out all the stops and stop #1 is flirting shamelessly with Malcolm when he lights the fire. "Ooooooh Malcolm, you are such a manly man. Hug hug". Gag gag. Meanwhile Pete is so taken with Malcolm that he tells them he has the idol. Pete is happy that Malcolm has arrived, his reasoning being that, now that another strong physical player has arrived, Pete can now get rid of Mike.
At Kalabaw there is no victory and no reward but Denise is still happy to be in her new tribe. Dana, Dawson and Katie are hoping to get her on board in their girl alliance but the guys are also impressed with her competitiveness. But speaking of Dana, she seems to be a little under the weather. She is a tiny thing and she is cold. In fact she can't stop shaking. Then she begins vomitting. She has a fever. She curls up under a tarp on Penners lap. Medics are called. It isn't judged to be life threatening and they are willing to let her stay another 12 hours. Dimples leaves the decision up to Dana....do you want to stay or do you want to go? A tearful and distressed Dana decides she can't stay any longer so the rest of the tribe is brought in to say their goodbyes. She keeps apologizing for letting her team down but her tribe mates are kind and supportive, particularly Jonathan Penner who is particularly...well...nice. Back stage Katie is feeling a little tense. Her best ally is going home. How will she survive?!
The immunity challenge consists of the tribes helping each other through an obstacle course, co-operatively untying 4 sets of knots to release a drawbridge, going through the drawbridge to get an ax which they use to chop through a piece of wood to get to a peace of rope. Cutting through the rope releases puzzle pieces which must then be assembled into a five word phrase. My Abi Maria sits out for Tandang, causing Dimples to ask her how many challenges she has actually competed in. Two, says Abi. Is Dimples prepared to let this go? No. He is not. Normally I would be all for pointing this fact out ad nauseum, except that Abi is my girl. Yikes. Abi and I are in a heap 'o trouble. Fortunately for us, Katie has trouble on the obstacle course, slowing Kalabaw down. Then Dawson gets a little possessive with the puzzle pieces at the end, helping Kalabaw lose by just a second.
Katie is embarrassed. She apologizes profusely for her performance in the challenge. Helpfully, Dawson assures her that, yes, she did suck. While Katie is busy apologizing, Jeff is recruiting her girl Denise for the guy's team.Denise is still worried, though. She is the new kid on the block and she wonders whether the tribe will vote on the basis of logic or loyalty.
In spite of her concern, Denise is safe. The tribe's only question is whether they should send Katie or Dawson home. In the end Dawson is blindsided. She has a pretty obvious crush on Dimples though, and after he snuffs her torch she gives him a long lingering hug. As she walks away from Tribal Council her only comment is "Wow". "Wow I have just been sent home?" or "Wow I just hugged Jeff Probst?" We may never know. With Dawson goes Donna from our pool. I hope you enjoyed the hug Donna, cause you ain't getting the money this time.
Until next week.
Outplay, Outwit, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi Maria oh crap I'm doomed Gomez)
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Survivor Phillipines October 10, 2012
Day 9 in Survivorland. It's cold and rainy...a continuing theme for this season. At Camp Matsing there are only three lonely souls left and hunky Malcolm has lost his snuggle buddy. However will he keep warm? Russell? Denise? No, Malcolm just has to shiver like everyone else (especially since he is unable to get a fire lit). But talk is cheap and Malcolm tells us that they just need one win to turn things around. Russelll, who is just a tad bit more delusional than Malcolm says that his plan is to mount the greatest comeback in Survivor history. Malcolm feels that Russell "lacks self-awareness" but that Malcolm needs him for "muscle mass". As time goes on Russell is becoming (rightfully) concerned that no one is talking to him and that he may be in danger. He needs to find the idol but when he begins hunting around camp, Denise catches him poking around under the shelter. Denise knows something is up but thinks Russell may have already found the idol. When she shares her concerns with Malcolm they decide to go through Russell's possessions. Of course, they don't find the idol because Russell doesn't have it. But Malcolm still feels that the safest option is to blindside Russell and get rid of him.
At Tandang they are somewhat better off, but their roof is leaking and their fire is also out. Artis manages to get a fire going, leaving Peter free (and warm) to plot. He wants to create chaos in camp. His handiwork shows up almost immeditately when the clue to the idol slides out from among Roberta's (RC) possessions. Now you will recall that RC found the clue, shared it with Abi, who then went on to tell Pete about it without RC's knowledge. Pete has now planted the clue among RC's stuff, hoping it will be seen. RC has no idea how it got there, Abi is pissed at RC for "betraying" her (now remind me who told Peter about the clue??) and Pete is smug about his accomplishment. It would appear that any friendship between Abi and RC is over as Abi goes into full blown "don't talk to me" mode. Lisa sees the opportunity in this, and tells us that she hopes to blow 02 on the fire and let both Abi and RC "flame out".
At Kamp Kalabaw Jeff and Jonathon are bonding. Carter is with them so he throws his lot in with the older men (cause, like, ya know, it's, like, probably a good idea). With the three men in an alliance the women of the tribe are on the chopping block. Not being stupid women, they are sitting on shore, watching the men talk for hours on end, knowing full well that they will be one of the topics. They decide to stick together and to try to round up more women after the merge. Thus a girl alliance enters its embryonic stage. Dana warns that the men of the tribe should never underestimate a woman.
For the Immunity/Reward challenge the tribes must, one at a time, carry two pots full of rice on a bamboo pole balanced across their shoulders. They must take the pots over an obstacle course and place them atop a bamboo post, then return to the start before the next person can go. Once all six pots have been properly placed, one team member must break all six pots by swinging a wrecking ball. Matsing takes an early lead and it looks like Underdog might finally win a challenge. However, their lead slips a bit when Denise has to carry the rice (the other two tribes both sat out all their women) and Malcolm has trouble breaking the last pot. When all the rice grains have settled Tandang has won (winning immunity along with some steaks, veggies and spices) and Kalabaw comes second (winning immunity along with some veggies and spices which they decide to trade for a tarp). At the end of the challenge there is the sound of pots smashing. All three tribes turn to find the source of the ruckus. It is Russell. He is breaking pots and ranting at God wanting some clarification on why he didn't let them win. Dimples tries to tell Russell that he isn't superman, just a guy. I want to tell him that maybe God is busy working on world peace or something and wasn't really that concerned about a flippin Survivor challenge. But perhaps I have a skewed notion of religion. Anyhoo, Russell is pissed and Dimples tries to reason with him while the other tribes look on with a mixture of embarassment and amazement. Back at camp Denise and Malcolm agree that Russell will go, but want him to feel secure so that he doesn't play the idol he doesn't have (I never said this wasn't complicated). Denise tells Russell that they will vote for Malcolm, while Malcolm tells Russell they will vote for Denise. When Dimples tabulates the votes (all three of them) Russell is gone. With Russel goes Lisa from the pool. Rick voted for Russell so he is disappointed too *See editor's note below*.
Until next week,
Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi Maria don't even talk to me. No. Don't. Talk. Gomes)
Editor's note - Rick voted for Russell to win. As tonight's episode drew to its inevitable conclusion he asked if he could change his vote. I said that if he got me a glass of wine I would enter into an alliance with him and exercise my considerable power to alter his vote. He got me the wine. I'm not changing his vote. That's Survivor, Babe.
At Tandang they are somewhat better off, but their roof is leaking and their fire is also out. Artis manages to get a fire going, leaving Peter free (and warm) to plot. He wants to create chaos in camp. His handiwork shows up almost immeditately when the clue to the idol slides out from among Roberta's (RC) possessions. Now you will recall that RC found the clue, shared it with Abi, who then went on to tell Pete about it without RC's knowledge. Pete has now planted the clue among RC's stuff, hoping it will be seen. RC has no idea how it got there, Abi is pissed at RC for "betraying" her (now remind me who told Peter about the clue??) and Pete is smug about his accomplishment. It would appear that any friendship between Abi and RC is over as Abi goes into full blown "don't talk to me" mode. Lisa sees the opportunity in this, and tells us that she hopes to blow 02 on the fire and let both Abi and RC "flame out".
At Kamp Kalabaw Jeff and Jonathon are bonding. Carter is with them so he throws his lot in with the older men (cause, like, ya know, it's, like, probably a good idea). With the three men in an alliance the women of the tribe are on the chopping block. Not being stupid women, they are sitting on shore, watching the men talk for hours on end, knowing full well that they will be one of the topics. They decide to stick together and to try to round up more women after the merge. Thus a girl alliance enters its embryonic stage. Dana warns that the men of the tribe should never underestimate a woman.
For the Immunity/Reward challenge the tribes must, one at a time, carry two pots full of rice on a bamboo pole balanced across their shoulders. They must take the pots over an obstacle course and place them atop a bamboo post, then return to the start before the next person can go. Once all six pots have been properly placed, one team member must break all six pots by swinging a wrecking ball. Matsing takes an early lead and it looks like Underdog might finally win a challenge. However, their lead slips a bit when Denise has to carry the rice (the other two tribes both sat out all their women) and Malcolm has trouble breaking the last pot. When all the rice grains have settled Tandang has won (winning immunity along with some steaks, veggies and spices) and Kalabaw comes second (winning immunity along with some veggies and spices which they decide to trade for a tarp). At the end of the challenge there is the sound of pots smashing. All three tribes turn to find the source of the ruckus. It is Russell. He is breaking pots and ranting at God wanting some clarification on why he didn't let them win. Dimples tries to tell Russell that he isn't superman, just a guy. I want to tell him that maybe God is busy working on world peace or something and wasn't really that concerned about a flippin Survivor challenge. But perhaps I have a skewed notion of religion. Anyhoo, Russell is pissed and Dimples tries to reason with him while the other tribes look on with a mixture of embarassment and amazement. Back at camp Denise and Malcolm agree that Russell will go, but want him to feel secure so that he doesn't play the idol he doesn't have (I never said this wasn't complicated). Denise tells Russell that they will vote for Malcolm, while Malcolm tells Russell they will vote for Denise. When Dimples tabulates the votes (all three of them) Russell is gone. With Russel goes Lisa from the pool. Rick voted for Russell so he is disappointed too *See editor's note below*.
Until next week,
Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi Maria don't even talk to me. No. Don't. Talk. Gomes)
Editor's note - Rick voted for Russell to win. As tonight's episode drew to its inevitable conclusion he asked if he could change his vote. I said that if he got me a glass of wine I would enter into an alliance with him and exercise my considerable power to alter his vote. He got me the wine. I'm not changing his vote. That's Survivor, Babe.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Survivor Phillipines - October 3/12
Night 6 finds Matsing discussing the loss of Roxy. Angie is happy she is gone. "She wanted to go out with a bang so she threw Malcolm and I under a bus". Russell is mourning her loss for strategic reasons, and says that Roxy was absolutely right when she said that Angie and Malcolm are dangerous because they are too close.
The following morning we find RC and Abi Maria lying on the Tandang beach. RC has found the clue to the idol's whereabouts and confided that fact to Abi Maria. You might think that would secure Abi's trust but nuh-uh. Abi Maria says she isn't trusting RC much any more and RC feels that Abi's paranoia is getting to her. While RC is confiding her problems to Mike, Abi Maria is confiding in Peter - in fact, is telling him that she and RC have the clue. Together they set off to find the idol before RC has a chance. Abi Maria tells Peter that she would like Lisa gone but Peter has a soft spot for Lisa and would prefer they send Mike home. Lisa, on the other hand would prefer to see RC go, but is willing to follow Peter's lead and vote for Mike.
Over at Kalabaw, someone notices that the handle of the rice container is missing. Jeff deduces that the decoration on the lid was also the idol, and that Jonathan probably has it. He undoubtedly figures this out because, while everyone is skittering around concerned about the missing decoration, Jonathan is calmly sitting by the fire looking like the cat that swallowed the canary. Jeff is disgusted that they all missed something so obvious. The job now is to blindside Jonathan so that he doesn't play the idol.
At camp Matsing their misery continues when they realize that their raft has floated away. How fortuitous is it that the cameraman was able to get an overhead shot of the raft drifting away? Denise and Malcolm have a chat. They are still tight and agree that either Angie or Russell must be the next to go. Denise isn't convinced that Malcolm will vote for his snuggle buddy.
The Immunity/Reward challenge rolls around (good thing Matsing didn't have to go to the challenge by raft!). Four members of each tribe must, one at a time, dive into the water and retrieve a puzzle wheel tethered to the ocean floor on a rope. Each wheel is deeper than the previous one. The wheels (pardon the pun) fall off for Matsing early. Angie has trouble retrieving the first wheel which is only two feet under water. She tells the tribe she can't do any more. When Russell's turn rolls around he has difficulty climbing back onto the platform, losing several seconds. On his second turn he gives up and returns without the wheel. Denise turns in an amazing athletic performance and she and Malcolm end up getting six of the eight wheels. However they are in dead last place. Kalabaw wins the challenge and gets immunity as well as a huge fishing kit, a canoe and a paddle. For their second place finish Tandang gets a smaller fishing kit and immunity. This, in spite of the fact that the team's diving mask shattered on Mike's face, leaving him with blood streaming down his face.
After the challenge all the tribes return to camp. Jonathan knows that Jeff is wary of him and decides to confide that he has the idol. Jeff agrees to "ride in Jonathan's boat" for a while, but the game is about me, not we, he tells us. At Tandang Artis is upset that they didn't win the challenge. He claims that Mike dived with the mask on after telling others not to do that. The incident has put Mike squarely in Artis's sights. Meanwhile, while everyone else goes crab hunting, Abi Maria and Peter go looking for the idol. Abi Maria makes the discovery on the top of the rice container (though Peter kind of acts like it is his idol). Peter thinks he can get Lisa and Artis on board to help him get rid of Bloody Mike. At Matsing, Malcolm is wondering how he got stuck with the "goon squad". The only bright light is Denise. Angie is busy telling everyone that she never once said she couldn't do the challenge (she did) and that she would never give up on a challenge (she did). But Russell also did poorly in the challenge so the poor decimated Matsingelians have a tough decision to make. Russell heads off to Tribal Council after telling us about his ancestors who came before and suffered so much more than him. The speech is wasted on the viewing audience. He should be talking to his tribe-mates! In the end, though, Russell gets off lucky. Angie is determined to be the weakest link and is sent on her way along with Lynn from the pool (everyone wave to Lynn!).
The Matsing tribe is down to three members while the other tribes remain intact. Stay tuned to see if Matsing continues to dwindle or whether one of the other tribes will slip into the basement. Until then,
Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi Maria I found the idol I found the idol I found the idol Gomez)
The following morning we find RC and Abi Maria lying on the Tandang beach. RC has found the clue to the idol's whereabouts and confided that fact to Abi Maria. You might think that would secure Abi's trust but nuh-uh. Abi Maria says she isn't trusting RC much any more and RC feels that Abi's paranoia is getting to her. While RC is confiding her problems to Mike, Abi Maria is confiding in Peter - in fact, is telling him that she and RC have the clue. Together they set off to find the idol before RC has a chance. Abi Maria tells Peter that she would like Lisa gone but Peter has a soft spot for Lisa and would prefer they send Mike home. Lisa, on the other hand would prefer to see RC go, but is willing to follow Peter's lead and vote for Mike.
Over at Kalabaw, someone notices that the handle of the rice container is missing. Jeff deduces that the decoration on the lid was also the idol, and that Jonathan probably has it. He undoubtedly figures this out because, while everyone is skittering around concerned about the missing decoration, Jonathan is calmly sitting by the fire looking like the cat that swallowed the canary. Jeff is disgusted that they all missed something so obvious. The job now is to blindside Jonathan so that he doesn't play the idol.
At camp Matsing their misery continues when they realize that their raft has floated away. How fortuitous is it that the cameraman was able to get an overhead shot of the raft drifting away? Denise and Malcolm have a chat. They are still tight and agree that either Angie or Russell must be the next to go. Denise isn't convinced that Malcolm will vote for his snuggle buddy.
The Immunity/Reward challenge rolls around (good thing Matsing didn't have to go to the challenge by raft!). Four members of each tribe must, one at a time, dive into the water and retrieve a puzzle wheel tethered to the ocean floor on a rope. Each wheel is deeper than the previous one. The wheels (pardon the pun) fall off for Matsing early. Angie has trouble retrieving the first wheel which is only two feet under water. She tells the tribe she can't do any more. When Russell's turn rolls around he has difficulty climbing back onto the platform, losing several seconds. On his second turn he gives up and returns without the wheel. Denise turns in an amazing athletic performance and she and Malcolm end up getting six of the eight wheels. However they are in dead last place. Kalabaw wins the challenge and gets immunity as well as a huge fishing kit, a canoe and a paddle. For their second place finish Tandang gets a smaller fishing kit and immunity. This, in spite of the fact that the team's diving mask shattered on Mike's face, leaving him with blood streaming down his face.
After the challenge all the tribes return to camp. Jonathan knows that Jeff is wary of him and decides to confide that he has the idol. Jeff agrees to "ride in Jonathan's boat" for a while, but the game is about me, not we, he tells us. At Tandang Artis is upset that they didn't win the challenge. He claims that Mike dived with the mask on after telling others not to do that. The incident has put Mike squarely in Artis's sights. Meanwhile, while everyone else goes crab hunting, Abi Maria and Peter go looking for the idol. Abi Maria makes the discovery on the top of the rice container (though Peter kind of acts like it is his idol). Peter thinks he can get Lisa and Artis on board to help him get rid of Bloody Mike. At Matsing, Malcolm is wondering how he got stuck with the "goon squad". The only bright light is Denise. Angie is busy telling everyone that she never once said she couldn't do the challenge (she did) and that she would never give up on a challenge (she did). But Russell also did poorly in the challenge so the poor decimated Matsingelians have a tough decision to make. Russell heads off to Tribal Council after telling us about his ancestors who came before and suffered so much more than him. The speech is wasted on the viewing audience. He should be talking to his tribe-mates! In the end, though, Russell gets off lucky. Angie is determined to be the weakest link and is sent on her way along with Lynn from the pool (everyone wave to Lynn!).
The Matsing tribe is down to three members while the other tribes remain intact. Stay tuned to see if Matsing continues to dwindle or whether one of the other tribes will slip into the basement. Until then,
Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi Maria I found the idol I found the idol I found the idol Gomez)
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