Survivor: Blood vs Water

[Bernnie Federko]

New season kicks off 2013-09-18. This thread shall host a run down of returning cast + their familia, and as always, recap's by P via my office pool as they come available...

Name (Age): Aras Baskauskas (31)
Tribe Designation: Returning Player
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Vytas’ Brother
Previous Season: Survivor: Panama – Exile Island, winner
Current Residence: Santa Monica, Calif.
Occupation: Musician
Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? I want to play Survivor with Vytas because I know we'll have a great shot at winning. More importantly, I know an experience like Survivor will bring us closer together. Early in our lives, we had a very rocky relationship. Taking on adventures as adults gives us the chance to make up for lost time.

Name (Age): Vytas Baskauskas (33)
Tribe Designation: Loved Ones
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Aras’ Brother
Current Residence: Santa Monica, Calif.
Occupation: Yoga Instructor/Math Professor
Personal Claim to Fame: Beating heroin addiction, yoga discipline and receiving a graduate degree in math.Name (Age): Aras Baskauskas (31)
Tribe Designation: Returning Player
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Vytas’ Brother
Previous Season: Survivor: Panama – Exile Island, winner
Current Residence: Santa Monica, Calif.
Occupation: Musician
Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? I want to play Survivor with Vytas because I know we'll have a great shot at winning. More importantly, I know an experience like Survivor will bring us closer together. Early in our lives, we had a very rocky relationship. Taking on adventures as adults gives us the chance to make up for lost time.


Name (Age): Candice (30)
Tribe Designation: Returning Player
Relationship to Significant Castaway: John’s Wife
Previous Season: Survivor: Cook Islands-13th out, 5th jury member; Survivor: Heroes vs. Villians-13th out, 5th jury member
Current Residence: Washington, D.C.
Occupation: Physician, Anesthesiology Resident
Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? We are both successful in our individual lives, but we never get a chance to be competitive and play together on a team. I can’t think of anybody I would trust more to be on my side as a teammate. I’m very proud of my husband and I want to show him off!

Name (Age): John (30)
Tribe Designation: Loved Ones
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Candice’s Husband
Current Residence: Washington, D.C.
Occupation: Physician, Army Orthopedic Surgery Resident
Personal Claim to Fame: Being a West Point grad, graduating from Georgetown Medical School and training at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for my Orthopedic Surgery residency.

Name (Age): Colton Cumbie (22)
Tribe Designation: Returning Player
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Caleb’s Fiancé
Previous Season: Survivor: One World – medically evacuated on day 16 due to illness – 6th out
Current Residence: Collinsville, Ala.
Occupation: Student Teacher
Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? I probably wouldn't have said yes to returning if not for this specific twist. Last time I played I was extremely homesick and missed Caleb like crazy. He is my best friend and probably is the one between the two of us who should've been on Survivor in the first place. While I'm a highly emotional person, Caleb is very logical. He also keeps me calm in stressful situations. Having him with me will give me the emotional stability I need to combine with my already strong concept of strategy.

Name (Age): Caleb Bankston (26)
Tribe Designation: Loved Ones
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Colton’s Fiancé
Current Residence: Collinsville, Ala.
Occupation: Post Office Manager/Farmer
Personal Claim to Fame: Shooting a 12 point buck on my first deer hunt.

Name (Age): Gervase Peterson (43)
Tribe Designation: Returning Player
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Marissa’s Uncle
Previous Season: Survivor: Borneo – 3rd jury member
Current Residence: Philadelphia, Pa.
Occupation: Cigar Lounge Owner
Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? I wanted to return to Survivor because I felt that I could win the game if given another chance, and what better way to play than to play with my niece, Marissa. She is just as driven, focused and competitive as me. This is the ultimate experience and I get to share it with her.

Name (Age): Marissa Peterson (21)
Tribe Designation: Loved Ones
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Gervase’s Niece
Current Residence: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Occupation: Student
Personal Claim to Fame: Putting myself through college.
Inspiration in Life: Tia and Tamera Mowry. They were the first black girls I saw on TV and that gave me confidence.

Name (Age): Kat Edorsson (23)
Tribe Designation: Returning Player
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Hayden’s Girlfriend
Previous Season: Survivor: One World – 6th jury member
Current Residence: Orlando, Fla.
Occupation: Full-time student/Sales
Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? I couldn't ask to play a better game with a better man. Survivor has change my life in more ways then one, so to return for a second season and to compete for a million dollars with someone I love is a dream. Living states away for a year now, winning Survivor would change our lives. Besides, who doesn't want to see what their man is made of!

Name (Age): Hayden Moss (26)
Tribe Designation: Loved Ones
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Kat’s Boyfriend
Current Residence: Springtown, Texas
Occupation: Real Estate
Personal Claim to Fame: Winning Big Brother 12.

Name (Age): Laura Morett (43)
Tribe Designation: Returning Player
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Ciera’s Mother
Previous Season: Survivor: Samoa – 3rd jury member
Current Residence: Salem, Ore.
Occupation: Co-owner of Morett construction
Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? So that Ciera will understand what I went through. Now for the rest of our lives we’ll always have this experience to remember and share.

Name (Age): Ciera Eastin (24)
Tribe Designation: Loved Ones
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Laura’s Daughter
Current Residence: Salem, Ore. Occupation: Cosmetology Student

Name (Age): Monica Culpepper (42)
Tribe Designation: Returning Player
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Brad’s Wife
Previous Season: Survivor: One World – non-jury, 5th out
Current Residence: Tampa, Fla.
Occupation: Former NFL Wife, homemaker
Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? I wanted the chance to redeem myself from my early exit on One World and there is no better way to do that than with the love of my life and lifelong tribe mate, Brad. He's my guy and having my "shield" out there is an adventure in itself.

Name (Age): Brad Culpepper (44)
Tribe Designation: Loved Ones
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Monica’s Husband
Current Residence: Tampa, Fla.
Occupation: Attorney and retired NFL player. Played for the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears.
Personal Claim to Fame: My 21 year marriage.

Name (Age): Rupert Boneham (49)
Tribe Designation: Returning Player
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Laura’s Husband
Previous Season: Survivor: Pearl Island – 2nd jury member; Survivor: All Stars – 6th jury member, won $1 million for fan favorite; Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains – 7th jury member
Current Residence: Indianapolis, Ind.
Occupation: Mentor for Troubled Teens
Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? Survivor has been one of the most exciting experiences in my life. And to have the chance to share that with my wife is amazing. To have Laura out there on the island with me, we will have the chance to share one of the greatest adventures one can have. You can describe what Survivor is like, but until you've lived it, it is hard to understand. To be able to go out and play with my best friend will be a dream come true.

Name (Age): Laura Boneham (44)
Tribe Designation: Loved Ones
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Rupert’s Wife
Current Residence: Indianapolis, Ind.
Occupation: Merchandiser
Personal Claim to Fame: Raising a bright, independent, beautiful daughter who is now 13 years old.

Name (Age): Tina Wesson (52)
Tribe Designation: Returning Player
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Katie’s Mother
Previous Season: Survivor: Australia – winner; Survivor: All Stars – non-jury, 1st out
Current Residence: Robbinsville, N.C.
Occupation: Motivational Speaker
Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? Survivor gets in your blood. It is a thrill and an honor and a quest to get to play! Then to be able to share the experience with my daughter who happens to also be my best friend, what a gift!

Name (Age): Katie Collins (25)
Tribe Designation: Loved Ones
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Tina’s Daughter
Current Residence: New York, N.Y.
Occupation: Hedge fund support
Personal Claim to Fame: Raising thousands of dollars for the American Lung Association by climbing 55 flights of stairs at Penn Plaza.
Inspiration in Life: Anaïs Nin was a strong independent woman who paved the way for women writers, especially in regards to sexuality. She was a bi-coastal, man-eating tigress.

Name (Age): Tyson Apostol (34)
Tribe Designation: Returning Player
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Rachel’s Boyfriend
Previous Season: Survivor: Tocantins – 2nd jury member; Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains – 6th voted out.
Current Residence: Provo, Utah
Occupation: Former Pro Cyclist/Shop Manager
Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? I returned to Survivor to play with my loved one so we could make some sweet cash, have a rad experience and an excuse to take all life’s responsibilities off for a couple months.

Name (Age): Rachel Foulger (33)
Tribe Designation: Loved Ones
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Tyson’s Girlfriend
Current Residence: Provo, Utah
Occupation: Cocktail Waitress/Graphic Designer
Personal Claim to Fame: Starting and owning my own business that landed sales with Target and QVC.
Inspiration in Life: Tyson. I’ve never met someone so strong and confident. He truly is my rock. I don’t know what I would do without him.

Survivor Cast 2013 - CBS.com

 

[Bernnie Federko]

When it comes to Survivor twists, none have been as controversial as the Outcasts twist in Survivor: Pearl Islands, which allowed contestants that had been voted out — and subsequently enjoyed plenty of food and shelter — a chance to return to the game. But the Redemption Island twist was pretty gosh darn close. Introduced in the Survivor: Redemption Island season as a safety net mechanism to keep returning players Russell Hantz and Boston Rob in the game for longer should they be voted out, it sent contestants that had been kicked out of their tribe to another location, where they would then compete to reenter the game at a later point. It was used again in the following Survivor: South Pacific season and then was put out to pasture. Or so we thought.

Redemption Island is back for Survivor: Blood vs. Water (which premieres on CBS Sept. 18 at 8pm), and Jeff Probst explained exactly how it would work this time out right here. While I am a guy that believes once you are voted out of a game you should stay out, I have less problems with Redemption Island than the Outcasts on the basic issue of fairness. I do, however, believe that the twist neuters the show’s signature dramatic moment — the vote off — which is something you just do not want to do. For Redemption Island to really work, it needs to create enough incredible drama to compensate for the decreased punch that Tribal Council now packs as a result, and quite simply, it hasn’t. (To be fair, the twist certainly gave us more memorable moments the second time around when Ozzy sent himself there on purpose, then twice fought his way back into the game.)

Survivor host Jeff Probst — who has openly stated his support for the twist — talked about why they brought Redemption Island back from the graveyard. “Well, so first of all, to be clear, the fact that I like something doesn’t mean I think it’s the end all be all,” says Probst. “It just means my personal opinion. I like Redemption Island. As a kid that grew up playing baseball, I like the losers bracket. I like the fact that you can lose on Saturday but still be playing on Sunday and have a shot to get back into the championship. I just like that format. But for people who say it tarnishes the game, I say, “Says you!”
Probst also makes no bones about the fact that Redemption Island offers a chance to keep popular players on screen. “What I like about Redemption Island most is that it keeps good characters in the game longer. To me it’s not about your second shot, which is a story I like. But it’s about Ozzy getting voted out, and now instead of being out of the game, he’s on Redemption, where he’s fishing and he’s vowing to get back in and win. I like that story. So this year when we realized we’re bringing returning players back and we’re gonna have someone like Rupert or Colton back. I like it that Rupert and Colton can stay in the game longer if they’re voted out.”

 

[awwnaw]

I still don't understand the point of the recaps if we're obviously in the thread cause we just watched the show ourselves. They're always too long for me to bother reading as I just watched, but you mentioned before that there's a point but didn't say what. What am I missing?

 

[Bernnie Federko]

The universe revolve around you. Deal with it.

 

[mitsuko souma]

I need the recaps! Missed about a third of last seasons eps. due to
work/whatever, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. keep em comin.

 

[Bernnie Federko]

the world she lives in is very small minded

 

[awwnaw]

Dood I wasn't being sarcastic. I didn't understand if they were strictly recaps or there was some hidden hint and your guy had an inside scoop and there were show spoilers or something like Reality Steve posts. I know there's a thread every season but I had only just started watching this past one. No other show thread here has recaps so I thought there was something to it that started a bajillion seasons ago I didn't get.

Based on your defensiveness I got it: just recaps. I'll continue to ignore them.

 

[Bernnie Federko]

Took ya long enough. Your comprehension skills are incredible.

 

[awwnaw]

Ok it's settled. You're being a dick (over a tv show no less) and your recaps are long an pointless.

 

[Bernnie Federko]

 

[mitsuko souma]

I LoL

 

[basketballjones]

the one dude cant do math at all, even using his fingers...lol

 

[mitsuko souma]

get it together Colton. No crying on the 1st day

 

[Bernnie Federko]

Well, last night was the premiere of Blood vs Water and at first it seemed like a horror movie as what appeared to be blood was dumped into water.

We begin with all the pairs of returnees and their loved ones travelling by themselves and then dumped off in various jungle/beach locations. We get a variety of interviews which pretty much sum up to: returnee – “I’m experienced, well prepared and am going to win”; loved one – “They had their chance, now it’s my turn.” The pairs are left by themselves to spend an uncomfortable night in the jungle/beach location.



First thing, the next morning, everybody gathers with Probst who asks them how excited everybody is to be playing with a loved one. They’re all thrilled. Too bad for them they won’t be playing with their loved one, they’ll be COMPETING AGAINST THEM! DUN DUN DUN! I don’t get how everybody didn’t just expect that would be the case. They’re split into returnees and loved ones, and Jeff asks how everyone feels. Culpepper the football guy blathers on about winning a tarp, but maybe his wife would be better served having the tarp, and wow is this a stupid thing to be saying. Anyway, now comes the real twist. We’re voting right now “for someone to leave their tribe”. Jeff used this awkward word construction multiple times, so stay tuned for more shenanigans.



Everybody votes and Laura B is very quickly out on the loved ones side. Rupert is fuming, because this is clearly a shot against him … and not say, getting rid of the oldest and seemingly least-in-shape person. I really missed Rupert the Martyr, I did. But don’t worry, we’ll get plenty of him. On the other side, it’s coming down to Laura M and Candice … and it’s Candice. As a note, Candice was a last-minute replacement for RC, who’s father had a medical emergency the day before filming began. It’s been about two minutes, so it’s time for another twist. Laura and Candice aren’t out of the game (see, told you), instead Redemption Island is back. Bleh. And now it’s time for yet another twist … Jeff begins to tell Rupert that he can switch places with his wife, and he’s already moving before Jeff has finished his first sentence. Rupert and Laura discuss it, but Rupert’s definitely doing it, because he’s a martyr. Every time they bring him back, he seems to get less and less likeable. And no smarter. On the other hand, Candice discusses with her husband John and they ‘jointly’ decide that he won’t switch. It sure looked like he decided that himself, though. Then he cries in the interview after, so that’s ok then. Rupert and Candice are off to Redemption Island.



On to the tribes, where the returnees are super-efficient building shelter and starting a fire without flint (thanks to Tyson). Good job there. Over with the returnees, we’re not getting fire but we are getting Culpepper insisting that he wouldn’t throw a challenge and blah, blah, blah. The guy likes to talk. A lot. We also get to learn that Ciera was a teen mom, and Vytas was a heroin addict. Neither of these skills are starting a fire though. But that’s ok, because it’s alliance time. Culpepper gets the never-before-thought-of idea to band the guys against the girls. In describing the idea to the camera, he seems to lose track of how many fingers he has and what 4 fingers look like compared to 5. This guy’s a genius.



Back at the returnees camp, Colton is attempting an image makeover by revealing how tough it was for him growing up, and how he’s lost family because he’s gay. He breaks down crying and everybody’s sympathetic. I personally would feel more sympathetic if this didn’t feel like he was playing for the cameras, especially given earlier interviews where he specifically referenced improving his image.



On to redemption island, where Rupert is doing nothing and Candice is doing everything around camp. This is completely intentional on Rupert’s part as he’s sick of being the chump who provides and is then exhausted for challenges. So, he’s just going full-on villain at this point, although I guarantee he won’t see it that way.



On to the immunity challenge. 6 from each tribe swim through obstacles to a boat, paddle back to shore where the remaining 3 solve a puzzle constructing a ship wheel, or whatever they’re called. Gervase is a grotesquely terrible swimmer, and then the returnees are terrible boat paddlers. At one point Colton threatens to hit Cat with his oar. And then insists he’ll do it. So, that image do-over is really going well, then. The returnees are way behind at the puzzle, where it’s mainly a battle between moms and daughters. Tina, Laura and Monica utterly destroy the other side on the puzzle and it’s not even close. Katie was particularly bad, not seeming to do much of anything. With the win, Gervase starts shouting “Don’t let that fool you!” Don’t let what fool you? Your terrible swimming? Um, ok then. Also, Colton’s crying and it’s not clear why. He may think Caleb is in trouble, since he was on puzzle duty.



Back at camp, Culpepper has latched on to Gervase’s poor winning as a reason to target Marissa (who was very quick to denounce Gervase). The other target is Katie because she was terrible. So, the choice is someone who was specifically responsible for the tribe losing vs someone who is tangentially connected to an opponent who celebrated too much. And of course, they don’t make what seems the clear choice and Marissa is off to Redemption Island.

 

[Bernnie Federko]

So, episode 2 is in the books. We begin with Marissa arriving at Redemption Island, and she’s naturally bitter. She blames Gervase for his excessive taunting at the challenge. Candice points to Marissa having called out Brad right off the bat, and I think she’s absolutely right. It was Brad who’s had it out for Marissa since the very beginning. Candice is a very smart player, too bad she’s almost certainly doomed.

At the returnees camp, peace and harmony reigns … and Colton hates it with every fiber of his being. It took exactly one episode for his natural personality to reassert itself. He immediately starts to sow discord amongst everyone in sight, accusing Monica of … something. Aras shuts him down cold saying flat out he doesn’t believe him. Aras (and later Tyson) point out that you can only hide who you are for so long on Survivor. I don’t know if I believe that about everybody but it’s definitely true in Colton’s case.

On the loved ones’ tribe, John and Rachel have formed a tentative proto-alliance, and Ciera is noticing it right away as a problem. You’d think the actual alliance of 5 guys would be even more concerning for her, but what do I know? On to the Redemption Island duel (truel?) and even before the competitors arrive, there is so much crying going on. Most of the women and John are notably teary-eyed. Marissa enters and she is definitely unhappy with her tribe, calling them out for not taking out their non-performers, and also calling out Gervase for over-celebrating. Gervase is as far from apologetic as you can be, promising to continue his behavior. Does he realize he may need votes from these people? Guess not. He also is not willing to switch with Marissa. As a note, apparently you can switch with your loved one at any time, it’s not just a one-time thing. The challenge is to navigate spools through an upright wire maze and then place them at the top on a little platform. The whole thing is balancing, so your spools can fall off if you hit the maze. You need to place all ten spools to finish. Rupert and Candice are off to fast starts, even with Rupert having knocked off his very first spool. Candice and Rupert are very close at around 7 … and then Rupert places his 7th spool terribly and the whole stack falls. Candice easily wins, allowing her to give a clue to a hidden immunity idol to her husband John. Marissa steadily finishes second and Rupert is eliminated. Gee, that’s too bad, ok, bye now. Back at the loved ones’ camp, Vytas has a strategy that they pick players to vote off that they think the loved ones’ returnee would switch with. Rachel is the suggestion, with the hope that Tyson would switch and weaken the returnees’ tribe. It’s a smart plan, but John doesn’t like it. 1. He is quasi-allied with Rachel and B. If Tyson did switch, that would put Candice in greater jeopardy. John is clearly hesitant and starting to make his allies nervous. Also, he’s definitely not sharing the idol clue with them.

Meanwhile, at the returnees’ camp, Colton is actively lying about people to just about everybody it seems. This scattershot lying is ridiculous, it’s bound to blow back on you. Tina talks to Kat, and Kat approaches Colton, to try to tell him that what he’s doing is not a good idea. After one sentence, he leaps all over Kat insisting she tell him exactly what Tina said. When Kat won’t, Colton drags Tina over to try to make Kat look bad. It’s brutal and it only gets worse when Colton brings it up with everybody later. Aras again shuts him down, saying that most of them don’t care about this. Aras, Tyson, Gervase, Tina and Monica discuss Colton’s bad behavior and seem to form an alliance. Until I actually see them vote together, we’ll see if that sticks.

The immunity challenge is three people rolling a fourth in a barrel, with that person retrieving bags of balls and then a final person rolling those balls into holes on a slanted board. At first the returnees are ahead, but eventually the loved ones pull ahead for the ball rolling. It’s Hayden vs Gervase and Hayden gets out to an early lead but Gervase closes and then wins it. He is very cocky in his celebrating again, but at least this time he earned it.

Back at the loved ones’ camp, the guys are pressing ahead with voting Rachel and John is still very hesitant, but eventually he agrees. He held out just long enough to make everyone very suspicious of him, good job there. We also get Brad threatening repeated physical harm to Gervase in an upcoming challenge. Bleh. John tells Ciera that Rachel is the target but that Rachel will be told Ciera is the target. Ciera is now paranoid that John will save Rachel and Ciera will go home. This would be a stupid use of the idol. We go to tribal thinking it’s either Rachel or John. There’s blathering with Jeff as they discuss events (especially the fact that the guys are obviously allied), but when it comes time to vote, Rachel votes for Ciera, Ciera and Katie vote for John, and the five guys vote for Rachel.

In next week’s preview, it appears that Tyson may in fact switch with Rachel and that Colton may be quitting. Which should mean that neither of these things will happen.

 

[Bernnie Federko]

Bonjour de Montreal! You’re in for quite the treat, a long-distance recap. I suppose I could try to write it all in French, but that wouldn’t be much fun for anyone involved. There’d be yelling and the next thing you know, Colton would be crying. No wait, that’s this episode.



Well, let’s get to it and right to the redemption island arena because that’s where all the action takes place. Everybody enters and Tyson is unhappy to see that Rachel has been voted out. He realizes this is probably a shot at him, but offers to switch with Rachel anyway. Rachel says no, that they’re better off as a whole where they are (which is pretty smart). Tyson takes a shot at Brad identifying him as the likely culprit. Brad starts talking back, making some kind of point that I don’t care about. Then Marissa starts yelling at him too, to the point where she just swears at him. Gervase tells her not to do that, and it’s quite the free for all. And here’s where Colton starts crying. Jeff sees this and asks why he’s crying. Colton doesn’t want to be here anymore, he wants to quit. At this point, Jeff is relentless calling Colton selfish, accusing him of faking his medical injury in his first go-round, and even saying the show got what it deserved in bringing back a quitter. Colton runs over to Caleb to sit in his lap and cry. Caleb makes a token attempt to convince Colton not to quit, but Colton’s not having it. He’s done and out of the game.



On to the ‘duel’ finally. They have to line up dominos on inclined planks and have them all be knocked down in one go. As usual, Candice is very good at this and wins. She gets a second clue to the hidden immunity idol and gives it to John again. It’s down to Marissa vs Rachel and it’s about as tense as you can get when you’re talking about dominoes. There’s multiple screwups and after 45 minutes, they’re both exhausted. They each try their line at roughly the same time but Marissa is quicker and she wins.



Tyson’s sad that Rachel has been eliminated. Brad continues to be surprised that people are ganging up on him and calling him out as the ringleader. He claims to be the ringleader but that he’s doing it in a way that nobody notices. You know how you can tell that’s not true? The fact that everybody keeps accusing him of being the ringleader! Yeesh. We see John deciding to tell Brad about the clues. But then John doesn’t want Brad to help him look because it will be too suspicious. So, that makes Brad suspicious. John just keeps shooting himself in the foot over and over.



On to the immunity/reward challenge, and it’s another doozy. It’s the sumo style competition where you take a big padded, um, pad and try to knock your opponent off the platform. Comparing the two teams, the loved ones should dominate and they do get out to an early lead with the guys winning. But the women keep losing and keeping the returnees in it. Kat beats Ciera with what looked like the lightest tap possible. We also get both moms beating both of their daughters. The match of the day though, is Aras vs Vytas with Aras wanting revenge for childhood bullying and Vytas wanting to beat the golden boy. At one point Vytas is down on his knees and Aras backs off to let him get up and start again. Vytas takes a cheap shot and tries to surprise him, but it fails. Aras wins and with this and the women, they win 5 and immunity. Tyson did have an injury where he ‘slightly’ popped his shoulder and maybe tore something too.



Back at the loved ones’ camp, it looks at first like it will come down to Ciera or Katie, the last two women. John thinks it should be Ciera because she doesn’t do anything at camp. But as soon as John leaves, Brad has decided it should be John because he’s scared that John will flip if Candice makes it back. This is insane for many reasons. For one, even though Candice has been good, she still has a long way to go before she can get back to the tribes. And for another, Brad is essentially destroying his alliance of five. Come the merge, if you don’t have five, you’re toast. So, we get many of Brad’s other alliance-mates looking at him as a possible target now. What’s even funnier is that Brad suggests that he not vote for John so that he could win him back over if John makes it back from redemption island. Wow. He wants to engineer his ouster but not take responsibility for it. That’s terrible. And it’s not subtle at all.



Ultimately at tribal council, there’s just the usual thing where the guys claim not to have an alliance (which is more true now), and then John was voted out by everybody.



In next week’s preview, it’s Candice’s turn to yell at Brad, apparently.

 

[AdamAnt]

I am NOT enjoying this season and I'm a pretty big Survivor fan. I think they've taken it too far by adding the complication of having family members on opposing teams. I understand that they have to keep the show fresh but this isn't working for me.

They have to get back to basics.

 

[Bernnie Federko]

Almost all the pre merge game is filler, IMHO. Let's see what happens once they get together.

That said, Redemption Island can take a long walk off a short pier.

 

[AdamAnt]

Almost all the pre merge game is filler, IMHO. Let's see what happens once they get together.

That said, Redemption Island can take a long walk off a short pier.

Well said.

Might have been more interesting to have family members on the SAME tribe. Spread out the experienced players a bit more that way also.

 

[Krzysiu]

I have 10 bucks on Brad in our work pool.

 

[DJ Vuvu Zela]

I have 10 bucks on Brad in our work pool.

To win the entire thing? No chance. Say bye-bye to your 10 bucks

 

[mitsuko souma]

Did Colton actually fake his previous injury or was that just Probst ad libbing?

 

[Krzysiu]

Unfortunately, we didn't get to pick our players - it was a lottery draw pool after we paid to play.

Oh well... it's fun to have something to discuss around the water cooler other than so-and-so hooking up at such-and-such event.

 

[Bernnie Federko]

Did Colton actually fake his previous injury or was that just Probst ad libbing?

What they determined was he didn't have appendicitis, which Probst was using to manipulate the big little sucky baby.

 

[Bernnie Federko]

Quite the episode last night with an exciting Tribal Council involving an ouster engineered right there at Tribal. But I get ahead of myself. We open the episode at the loved ones’ camp, where Brad is bragging about his engineering John’s ouster. Meanwhile at redemption island, Candice and John are reunited. Candice is glad and not glad simultaneously. She’s with her husband which is nice, but as far as we (and they) know, there’s only one person getting back into the game.



On to the Redemption Island duel where maybe this time Brad won’t be singled out … nope, there it is. Candice comes in flipping Brad the least nice finger. It’s apparently Candice’s turn to lay into Brad, although oddly it’s less about what he did to John and more about his general treatment of women. Candice accuses Brad of not letting women speak and shushing them. Brad interrupts Candice to say he doesn’t do that, and I’m not sure the best way to prove your point is to interrupt the woman making the accusation. John just looks uncomfortable with the topic. Anyway, it’s yet another argument.



The duel itself involves navigating a key along a rope winding through a horizontal ladder-like thingy which they have to crawl across, then unlocking a bag of puzzle pieces and solving a puzzle. John and Marissa are out to an early lead and Candice looks like she’s in trouble. John’s pretty easily handling the puzzle and Marissa is making some progress while Candice is just sorting out her pieces. And then Marissa just falls apart. She starts panicking and stops making any progress whatsoever. John easily wins (with Brad shouting him advice because he thinks he can get John to like him again), while Candice calmly passes Marissa and finishes the puzzle. Marissa is out after some sort-of-consoling words from Gervase about how her struggle gives him strength to go on (yeah, bully for you). John gets to give a clue to the hidden immunity idol and Candice tells him to give it to Monica, looking to paint a target on Brad’s wife. Monica clearly doesn’t want it, and Brad shouts across to throw it in the fire, which she does. Candice turns this into wifey doing what her husband says, and Brad shoots back that she did the same thing with John. Neither side comes out of this looking very good.



After the duel, we’re back with the loved ones where people are defending Brad. Brad starts talking about needing people that have their partners on the other side, to create some sort of mega-alliance, I guess. He interviews that this singles Caleb out as a possible next target. Wow, Brad is not to be trusted. The guys are all nervous about getting ‘johnned’, heh. Over at the returnees’ camp, Monica is upset that her husband keeps getting targeted, she thinks it’s just because he’s a natural leader and provider. That’s not it. Gervase tactfully broaches the possibility that Brad may not be playing as heroically as she thinks (which he says is perfectly fine given this is a game). We also get an amusing bit with Tyson and Gervase stealing coconuts and fooling Monica and Laura into thinking it’s crabs.



On to the immunity challenge where the tribe must row out, collect 5 big blocks, make a staircase out of the blocks (that spell out Blood vs Water), and then solve a puzzle. Tyson with only one good arm is taking part while Kat and Tina sit out. The returnees are not very good in the boat and the loved ones again get out to a decent lead. They’re still ahead by the time we get to the puzzle where it’s Ciera and Vytas against Tyson and Laura M (mother vs daughter yet again). Once again, the returnees blow through the puzzle and win immunity. Yeesh, this is embarrassing.



Back at the loved ones’ camp, the guys except for Brad go off to ‘get water’, but Brad stays behind to say it’s going to be Caleb. Brad joins the guys and they agree it should be Ciera. Brad’s comment to the girls was just to sucker them, it looks like. But at tribal council, Jeff brings up how Brad is constantly being targeted, and would it make sense to target someone who has no loved one over on the other side? Astoundingly, Brad agrees. And Caleb (being the one guy left without a loved one on the other side) sees this as a shot at him, and he can no longer trust Brad. So, right then and there, he tells Ciera and Katie that they should vote for Brad, and that the guys in the back can do what they want. Brad is stunned, and tries to recover but Caleb’s mind is made up. We get a first vote that’s tied 3-3 between Brad and Ciera. On a revote, Brad and Ciera don’t vote. We see Hayden begin to write down Ciera, then cross it out. Then, he does it again. On the re-vote we see that Hayden has voted for Ciera, but Vytas has flipped so Brad is out 3-1. Whoo, that was fun. As Brad is leaving, he says over and over again how he has no hard feelings. Caleb brushes him off.



In next week’s preview, we get the tease of Monica asking if she can switch with Brad. Will Brad agree? That seems like a terrible decision for both parties. Stay tuned!