Previously on ‘Survivor’: The cross tribe alliance found both of the hidden immunity idols, JT lost a tooth, and Spencer was voted out of the tribe while remaining in the closet.
This Week: Coach burns the beans, Tyson burns JT, and Joe burns a bridge…
39 Days, 16 People, 1 “Survivor” Blog
Here are the tribes as they currently stand.
Timbira (wearing black)
• Coach – 37 – Soccer Coach
• Brendan – 30 – Entrepreneur
• Debra – 46 – Middle School Principal
• Erinn – 26 – Hairstylist
• Tyson – 29 – Professional Cyclist
• Sierra – 23 – Model
Jalapao (wearing red)
• Joe – 26 – Real Estate Sales
• JT – 24 – Cattle Rancher
• Sydney – 24 – Model
• Taj – 37 – Former Pop Star
• Stephen – 29 – Corporate Consultant
We start off with Sydney sharing her concerns about being the next to go. She thinks if Jalapao loses again it’ll come down to her or Taj. Joe lets her know that she’s safe because he has a thing for her. Didn’t she say she had a boyfriend last episode? Is this “The Real World?” Don’t let a show-mance make you take your head out of the game, Joe.
At Timbira, Coach isn’t happy with the way the beans are being cooked. You see, Coach likes the beans to be cooked longer. He plays this off as patience being a virtue. Very Zen, Coach. Well played.
Anywho, this leads to the beans burning. As you can imagine, the rest of the Timbiricans are not pleased.
BEANGATE!
Will Beangate have the long-lasting impact of “Survivor: Gabon’s” Cookiegate? Only time will tell.
Back at Jalapao, Stephen and Taj are debating whether or not to let JT know that they have the hidden immunity idol. Stephen doesn’t approve of this plan because he likes being the go-between for Taj and JT. Stephen is scary smart. Go Stephen.
Reward Challenge Time: Mr. Probst welcomes us to the afternoon’s reward challenge, and I’ve got to tell you, he looks a lot like a cashier that works at my nearby grocery store.
For today’s challenge, each tribe will have to build a barricade inside the opposing tribe’s frame. When they’re done, the opposing team will have to throw ceramic pigs through holes in the barricade to their teammates. The team with the most unbroken pigs wins a picnic.
I’ve got to say, the challenge design team has done an amazing job this season. This challenge was fresh and a ton of fun. Perhaps the highlight was the way the only hole JT could fit a pig through was so low that he had to chuck the pigs as hard as he could toward Sydney. And, way to go Sydney for playing Johnny Bench to JT’s Nolan Ryan.
As if that wasn’t funny enough, whenever a pig would collide with the barricade, the receiving team member would be bombarded with pig shrapnel. Good times.
The tribes exchanged the lead a few times, but when it was all said and done, Timbira won the reward.
Timbira chose to send Joe to Exile (not an) Island, while Joe invited Erinn to come along with him. Joe lets us know that this was a strategic move as he knows they have to get someone from Timbira to switch after the merge.
We meet up with Timbira at the reward and they’re having a grand time. There’s food, a waterfall, inner tubes, the works. Tyson sums up the mood around the picnic by saying, “I’m going to eat enough to puke, and then I’m going to have room for hamburgers after that.” So that’s how he stays so thin…
At Exile, Erinn and Joe come up with a brilliant plan to get the idols for themselves and create a cross-tribe alliance. Too bad they didn’t come up with that plan a few episodes ago.
Staying a few steps ahead, Taj and Stephen decide to create and plant a fake idol for Joe to find. Somewhere, Runaround Bob is smiling.
While Taj is crafting her masterpiece, JT accidentally stumbles over Taj’s (not so) hidden immunity idol. When JT goes to tell Stephen, Stephen quickly covers by saying she must’ve just found it. Stephen tells Taj to tell JT she has it so he doesn’t think she’s keeping things from him. She does, even promising to give it to JT if he ever needs it.
Stephen = Smart.
Immunity Challenge Time: Each team member will designate someone to try to shoot out tile targets with a slingshot. Each time a tile is shattered, a bag of puzzle pieces are released and a new tile is revealed. Once three puzzle bags have been retrieved, two other tribe members will put together a puzzle. The first tribe to solve their puzzle wins immunity.
JT will be the slingshotter (slingshotist?) for Jalapao, while Tyson will shoot for Timbira. They go back and forth a bit, with neither team getting a clear advantage, until one of Jalapao’s tiles doesn’t reveal itself properly. Tyson takes advantage of this to retrieve all of his bags first. Erinn and Brendan start working on Timbira’s puzzle.
Joe asks JT is he wants someone else to take a shot, JT lets him know that he thinks he has it. Tyson responds to this by saying, “I’ll come over and do it if you want.”
Fun Fact: Tyson is my new favorite player this season. Congratulations, Dauber.
JT finally takes out his third target, but it’s too late for Joe and Stephen to catch up. Timbira wins immunity again.
When we return to Jalapao, we learn that Joe’s got a colorful leg injury. I know this because they showed a disgusting close up. Sometimes HD is not your friend.
Despite the injury, Joe manages to find an excuse to look for the idol. He makes his way to tree mail and finds it immediately. (And for those of you wondering how anyone would fall for a fake idol after Gabon, remember, they were filming this when Gabon was airing.)
The politicking at Jalapao mainly revolves around Taj vs. Sydney. JT and Stephen want to keep Taj around while Joe wants to continue to put the moves on Sydney. Adding a bit of drama to the proceedings is the fact that Stephen has physical possession of Taj’s immunity idol.
That night at Tribal Council, Sydney tries to raise suspicions over the time Taj has spent with members of Timbira while at Exile. While Taj thinks her relationships with Timbira will help the Jalapaoatarians.
Voting Time: Sydney votes for Taj, Taj votes for Sydney, and the rest of the votes are for Cashier Probst’s scanner only.
Jeff reads the votes: one vote for Sydney, one vote for Taj, a second vote for Taj, a second vote for Sydney, and the sixth person voted out of “Survivor: Tocantins” is…Sydney.
Verdict: I think this season has lost some steam, but I enjoyed tonight’s episode. The challenges were original, the strategy has been sound, and Tyson is hysterical.
Who’s Going to Win? If there is a merge next week (they’ve fooled us before) then an alliance of JT, Brendan, Stephen, Taj, and Sierra will clean house. I’ll stick with Taj to win it all, but Stephen is looking good…
What Do You Think? Who’s walking out with the million? What kind of challenge do you prefer? How long do you cook your beans? Leave a comment…I lurve them.
Tags: survivor, Survivor: Tocantins
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