(S18E05) "The tribe has spoken." -- Jeff Probst
I'll be the first to admit that I thought the first episode of Survivor Tocantins didn't exactly rock my world. But now that we're a handful of shows in, I'm entertained. That's all I ever ask of a television show -- entertain me! One thing that's bothering me is that I still don't have a handle on some of the castaways. Sure, we know all about Coach, Taj, and a few selected others.
Who is Debbie? ... Spencer?
It's rhetorical, mind you. I know her by sight on the show. She's the older blond woman. However, I have to stop and think which tribe she's on. She's barely getting any air time at all. Does that mean that the editing just focuses on more colorful characters? Or, is she flying that low under the radar? Her name never comes up in Tribal Council and she does neither tremendous nor horribly in challenges. If she's as invisible to her tribe members as she is to me, she could sneak her way right into the finals.
Then there's Spencer. He's had very little air time so far this season. That is, until tonight. We went through a crash course on the kid tonight. The "I don't want to come out of the closet to them" discussion regarding Taj was shown. He was seen making a miserable effort in the Immunity Challenge. Unless I'm mistaken (a mind is a terrible thing to lose), he hasn't been shown as that weak in previous challenges. With tonight's edit, such as it was, it was obvious that either Taj or Spencer would go home long before JT and his crew even talked about them. So long Spencer, we barely knew you. On a happier note, Spencer is dating Todd Herzog from Survivor: China.
The challenges
Finally, we saw something kind of sort of new in the challenge. They've used dizziness before, but not in that manner -- sitting them on a disc, pulling a rope to spin them, then making them walk a balance beam. Product placement reigns supreme once again. What made me snicker is that the winners of the Charmin' Cafe reward (Jalapao) went wild about the food and the soap, not even mentioning the toilet paper! I thought it seemed a bit early for letters from home, but that didn't stop them from getting all teary-eyed.
The Immunity Challenge was a bit similar to some done in the past. Lacrosse sticks, catching balls, and so on. The set-up was a bit different and they were in water. Oh, well. It's better than more puzzles! JT was almost maniacal in his gameplay in the challenge. I know he wants to win, but they're all going to want him gone once the merge hits.
Shh ... secret alliance time
Despite trying to mislead us in the promos, the inter-tribal alliance of four is even more set. Stephen went to Exile Island and got chummy with Brendan there. Stephen is also the hiding place for Taj's found hidden idol. Now, Stephen doesn't put all of his trust into Brendan, but played along very well. Stephen also considered letting Taj go on home and not giving her the idol to save herself if the situation came up. I think Stephen is one who's going to use whichever path is best for himself. The others might want to watch their backs.
The tribe has spoken
With Taj acting out after they lost immunity, it looked like the power players on Jalapao would send her home. All in the editing. I guess we won't know for a while if Stephen is going to pony up that idol to her if she's really in danger. The vote was unanimous -- with the exception of Spencer's vote for Taj, they all voted for him.
- NEW YORK - MAY 11: Winner Parvati Shallow attends the Survivor: Micronesia Finale and Reunion Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater on May 11, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Parvati Shallow Getty Images NEW YORK - MAY 11: Survivor contestant James Clement attends the Survivor: Micronesia Finale and Reunion Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater on May 11, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** James Clement Getty Images NEW YORK - MAY 11: Survivor contestant Jonny Fairplay attends the Survivor: Micronesia Finale and Reunion Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater on May 11, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jonny Fairplay Getty Images NEW YORK - MAY 11: Survivor contestant Ozzy Lusth attends the Survivor: Micronesia Finale and Reunion Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater on May 11, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ozzy Lusth Getty Images NEW YORK - MAY 11: Survivor contestant James Clement attends the Survivor: Micronesia Finale and Reunion Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater on May 11, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** James Clement Getty Images NEW YORK - MAY 11: Survivor contestant Amanda Kimmel attends the Survivor: Micronesia Finale and Reunion Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater on May 11, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Amanda Kimmel Getty Images NEW YORK - MAY 11: Survivor contestant Amanda Kimmel attends the Survivor: Micronesia Finale and Reunion Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater on May 11, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Amanda Kimmel Getty Images NEW YORK - MAY 11: Survivor contestant Eliza Orlins attends the Survivor: Micronesia Finale and Reunion Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater on May 11, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Eliza Orlins Getty Images NEW YORK - MAY 11: Survivor contestant Eliza Orlins attends the Survivor: Micronesia Finale and Reunion Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater on May 11, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Eliza Orlins Getty Images NEW YORK - MAY 11: Survivor contestant Ami Cusack attends the Survivor: Micronesia Finale and Reunion Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater on May 11, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ami Cusack Getty Images
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-13-2009 @ 2:43AM
KTR3 said...
This season is really shaping up to be excellent. I'm still not all that wowed by the location choice but the drama between tribes definitely makes up for it. Just a few things:
-What was with the promo for next week?! Part of me recognized that we'll get to see the crazy antics of Coach and Tyson, and the other part expects a very early clip show, which I know wouldn't happen after five episodes.
-It's interesting that there probably won't be a tribal switch up. With only 11 left I can't imagine them doing anything too drastic with the tribes. Perhaps the Secret Alliance is shaking things up enough to keep them from shuffling the tribes.
-I'm nervous for what next week brings: Brendan seems to be the target for Timbira and Taj is starting to rub her tribe the wrong way. The merge can't come any sooner for the secret alliance; how many times can the same four people go to Exile before the others start to realize it??
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3-13-2009 @ 3:35PM
codamelis said...
There is no show next week. On the 25th, there is a recap episode with unseen footage. Survivor resumes with new episodes on April 2nd.
3-13-2009 @ 10:12AM
Trippa said...
J.T. is from Samson, AL. That is where the mass shooting took place earlier this week. As small a town as it is, I would be surprised if he didn't know all or at least most of the people who were killed.
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3-13-2009 @ 12:04PM
djbuhhda said...
i didn't want spencer to go home, as much as i like the cross alliance i want stephen to go home, and i dont know if it was mentioned earlier in the season but when spencer said he was gay i was kinda shocked, im sad to see him go.
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3-13-2009 @ 3:42PM
Todd said...
"With Taj acting out after they lost immunity, it looked like the power players on Timbira would send her home."
Isn't Taj on Jalapao not Timbira ;-)
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3-13-2009 @ 3:12PM
makb said...
Enjoyable episode ... good challenges ... minimal 'Coach' ... some alliance strategy thrown in - good mix.
I was on the edge of my seat at the end wondering if Taj was going to go. I think she played the rest of Jalapao nicely by not saying ... until tribal council ... that she did NOT have the idol. I think they obviously still had doubts about that and decided it would be safest to vote off Spencer and then get Taj later if they can confirm she doesn't have the idol. And I think she wanted them to have that doubt. It certainly worked in her favor.
But I still don't understand why she flipped out after the immunity challenge. I mean this was the woman who said earlier that she did not want to deal with anyone's DRAMA and here she is - sabatouging herself big time with that tantrum.
As for Spencer being voted out ... oh well ... he was under the radar anyway so I didn't know much about him.
I've seen enough of Debbie to know that I'm not sure how I feel about her. There hasn't been much talk of alliances on Timbira but you can tell that she's acting as if she has a strong one with 'Couch' and Tyson. She does seems smart (apart from the 1st ep when she actually bought Sierra's lie that Brendan dug a fire pit for the tribe). She's already spotted that Brendan and Sierra are close and she knew enough to warn Jalapao not to totally leave her tribe without food last week during the camp raid. She also works hard during most challenges (i.e. the holding the sandbags challenge - she really tried). The only challenge she's really blown is the one when she had to be the caller for her blindfolded team. But at times she's annoying. I hated how she ran and tattled to 'Couch' when Candace was trying to offer him up as a possible vote choice. And she was kind of mean to Erinn at tribal council when she implied that she was totally 'in good' with her tribemates when it's obvious that Erinn is on the outs. Debbie just reminds me of THAT HS girl who schemes and steps on others and sides with the jocks because they are so awesome and powerful so it's best to allied to them to ensure she'll always come out a winner. I think she'll go far in this game.
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