TVSquad

(S16E04) Holy eels, Batman! Er, wait. It's the Hulk, Joel, not Batman. But some of the castaways on Survivor Micronesia: Fans vs. Favorites do seem a bit cartoon-like, don't they? Or perhaps more along the lines of caricatures. At four episodes in, I'm still a bit iffy on some of the names of the fans tribe. But some of them seem larger than life. Joel, Mikey B., Chet, Krazy Kathy -- they're memorable. After tonight, I definitely have a firmer grasp on Tracy.

Of course, the favorites can be a bit caricature-esque, as well. Ozzy could be Superboy! Let's see ... Cirie could be Cat Woman. Eliza could be the Invisible Girl. Well, except that she's not all that invisible as she's become a sick layabout who is perhaps a bit too visible to folks like Jonathan.

On the favorites tribe we have a sick Eliza, a scheming Jonathan, a prissy Cirie and, for some bizarre reason, Ami the confessor. Why the heck did she tell Cirie that she voted for her? It was an odd vote to begin with, but my spider sense thinks it may have been best left a mystery. Am I missing something to her logic?

Both tribes have internal issues with separate tribes within the larger group. The favorites are now wondering why they didn't eliminate the weakest player (the smart thing to do before it becomes an individual game) and some are kicking themselves for listening to Cirie last week. Will they learn their lesson? I don't know. They all fell in line following her last week and she didn't play quite as prominently this week.

Over at the fans tribe, it still seems to be Joel against Mikey B. and the majority against Chet, Kathy, and Tracy. It seems that they have one of the last three sit out during each challenge. This week Chet was their big target of the three. I can't really say I fault them for that. He was lackadaisical, weak, and just plain out of it. If you go by getting rid of the weakest player, he's the poster child for the cause.

The rewards challenge was definitely a typical Survivor kind of challenge. It had them diving, retrieving lettered "coconuts" and solving a puzzle. Now, here's when I remembered what a tremendous competitor we have in Ozzy. He was the first one to dive in for the favorites and he can spend forever underwater. He moved most of his tribe's coconuts forward in the holding cage so that those who followed him had a quick trip. Even though the fans saw what he was doing, no one took the time on their time and it was a win for the favorites. Woohoo, Ozzy!

Three egg-laying chickens, a rooster, and some feed were the reward -- always a popular reward except for Kimmie that one year. Once again, the weaker Kathy was chosen to go to Exile Island, this time accompanied by Ozzy.

And, Ozzy was the star of tonight's episode. Not only did he really win the challenge for the team, but he found the hidden immunity idol on Exile Island. He even took a cue for Yau-Man and fashioned his own fake idol to put back in the hiding place. I really wouldn't mind if he won it all this time. The kid is amazing physically and he thinks ahead. You don't see that happen with too many on the show.

The immunity challenge was a difficult one for those who didn't get the hang of it early -- the fans. It's not exactly like any other challenge they've done in previous seasons. However, the maneuvering through the woods while stuck in a huge contraption isn't an easy task and it was all new to the fans. But the fans dropped the ball even before they had to maneuver. They didn't get into the harnesses as fast and had trouble with six locks and six keys. They doomed about two minutes in.

Then comes a woman twisting the vote to her liking once again. Like Cirie (but with less attitude), Tracy got Joel to listen to her to vote out Mikey B. -- one of the two huge hulking strong guys on the tribe! (Mind you, I'm not saying that Yau-Man was a hulking strong guy.) She did make valid points. The others claimed how weak Kathy, Chet, and she were, but they always had one of them sit out for the challenges. She conned her way right through it all to Joel -- it would be their best and maybe only opportunity to get Mikey out. All he needs is to get one vote besides himself and their three and they'll live happily ever after.

He bought it. It seems he also sold it to Eric. Mikey B. was blindsided. A wise choice? Well, we know from the promo that the tribes mix up next week. So, ultimately, it's a strong competitor gone when it's all about to change. Chet is kind of a non-entity. He's not strong enough to win anything and he's not popular with others so he's not really a threat at all.

But her game play and the way she thought it out and got him on her side tells me she's one to watch as the season progresses.