"Survivor: Caramoan" (CBS)
Quick Note: We’re going to be bringing you all kinds of “Survivor” fun this season including episode recaps, exit interviews, and Power Rankings with Michael Skupin. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for up-to-the-minute news and info.
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Last Week: An idol was found, Hope was lost.
39 Days, 20 People, 1 “Survivor” Blog
Let’s take a look at the tribes as they currently stand…
The Bikal Tribe (wearing purple)
Andrea – Entertainment Host and Writer, 23
Brandon – Chemical Disposal, 21
Brenda – Paddleboard Company Owner, 30
Cochran – Harvard Law Student, 25
Corinne – Pharmaceutical Sales, 33
Dawn – English Professor/Power Rankings Champ, 42
Erik – Comic Book Artist, 27
Malcolm – Bartender, 25
Phillip – Chief Executive Officer of Enter Software Sales, 54
The Gota Tribe (wearing orange)
Eddie – Firefighter/EMT, 23
Julia – Racecar Driver/Student, 21
Laura – Administrative Officer, 23
Matt – Brand Manager of Two BMX Brands, 38
Michael – Event Planner, 44
Reynold – Sales, 30
Shamar – Iraq War Veteran, 27
Sherri – Fast Food Franchisee, 41
The evening’s fun starts off after Tribal over at Casa de Gota where…
(OK, if you’re not sitting down, I’m going to need you to sit down.)
…Where people are arguing! Shocking, I know. This time however, it’s Sherri, Michael, Laura, Eddie, and Reynold. Remember when everyone thought the Faves were going to be mega dysfunctional?
The next morning, Phillip is giving the members of Stealth Rn’t Us nicknames so they don’t feel left out. Henceforth, Brandon will be known as the “The Conqueror” and Erik will be known as “The Silent One.” Andrea does not approve of all of this unauthorized nicknaming, but she’ll deal with it as long as Brenda doesn’t receive a nickname.
CUT TO: Phillip giving Brenda a nickname. She’ll be known as “Serenity.”
Quick Aside: During the nickname montage, a clip is shown of Andrea giving Brandon a headlock takedown. Why wasn’t more of this wrestling match shown?! Give people cool nicknames and all the sudden they start acting like Hulk Hogan.
Reward Challenge Time: Six members from each team will run out to a platform where a tribe member is stranded. When they get there, they’ll untie steps, then hold the steps so the stranded member can walk across them to a second platform. On that second platform is a second stranded member. The two stranded members will then use the steps to get to a third platform. From there, the first tribe to get everyone onto a tower wins an afternoon with a bushman.
Cochran will sit out for Bikal.
Not a ton to describe here, except for some nervous, dainty stepping. It’s very even in the beginning, but the Faves eventually grab the lead and win it.
In an odd moment, Shamar starts screaming as if Gota had won. Phillip doesn’t have a problem telling him he’s wrong.
When the bushman arrives at Bikal, Brandon refers to him as a “little guy.” Do we need a joke there? Can we move on?
Oh, Brandon wasn’t kidding. Tata the bushman is teeny tiny. He gets to work immediately and starts showing them how to prepare food and improve their shelter.
Later on, Tata got his dance on with the ladies of Bikal. They even gave him a five-way kiss. Man, that’s a foursome of lovely ladies. I’d try not to think about the fact that they haven’t brushed their teeth in weeks.
Over at Gotavia, King Shamar pronounces that he will stay in the game if someone brings him rice once a day. Sure enough, Sherri does it. Seriously, the Boston Rob/Phillip thing has got to be a new red flag. People are going to see it in future seasons and want to break it up like they do showmances.
Somehow during his busy afternoon of lounging and eating, Shamar managed to scratch his eye. Medical is brought in and they find two divots in his eye. The doctor wants to pull Shamar from the game and he doesn’t seem to have much of a problem with that.
And then there were seven…
Immunity Challenge Time: Players will swim out to a platform, climb to the top, jump off, and break a tile. The tile will release a key. The players will grab the keys and swim back. Once five keys are returned, two tribe members will unlock a chest to retrieve sandbags. First tribe to use the sandbags to knock all of their blocks off of a beam wins immunity.
Man, no puzzles this season?
Corinne and Dawn will sit for Bikal.
The Faves jump off to a huge lead when Sherri is unable to break her first tile. Embarrassing. The Faves are able to maintain the lead throughout the key-gathering portion of the challenge.
Phillip and Cochran are the lock team for Bikal. They release their bags and Phillip starts knocking down the blocks.
Reynold and Laura eventually get their keys. However, Laura seems to be winded by the task of unlocking a crate. That can’t be good. Reynold starts tossing for Gota and makes up some serious ground, but it’s too little too late as Phillip wins it for the Faves.
Oh, and for those of you scoring at home, the Fans are now 1-and-5 in challenges.
Politicking around Gota beach starts off with people gunning for Eddie and Reynold. However, Matt appreciates that they’re dead in the challenge water without those guys. He proposes getting rid of Laura.
Michael doesn’t love this idea because he trusts the alliance they already have.
Matt approaches Reynold with this plan, but Reynold is giving him grief because he doesn’t trust him. Reynold, what choice do you have? When someone offers a starving man a BLT, he shouldn’t complain because he doesn’t like mayo.
Sherri doesn’t like this plan for obvious reasons. She just lost her Phillip, don’t try to get rid of her Natalie.
That night at Tribal Council, Matt thinks the tribe has less tension now that Shamar is gone.
In other news, “Duh.”
Sherri misses Shamar because he was a part of her alliance. Remember when “alliance” was a dirty word? The worst thing Richard Hatch did was start an alliance. Now it’s a necessity.
Laura thinks tonight’s vote comes down to strength versus loyalty.
Reynold doesn’t think trust matters when your tribe keeps losing.
Sherri isn’t sure keeping Eddie and Reynold will help them win because they haven’t been winning with them.
Eddie thinks Sherri and Laura are the weaker players. He thinks Julia is one of the stronger females. Who the hell is Julia?
Laura thinks Reynold and Eddie might not be loyal if there’s a tribe swap.
Eddie says he’ll like the tribe better if he’s still around in twenty minutes. What, during “Criminal Minds”?
Voting Time: Eddie votes for Laura, Laura votes for Reynold, and the rest of the votes will wait for some quality JPro tallying.
Probst does that tallying and returns. He asks if anyone would like to play an idol…and Reynold does.
Alright, we’ve got two votes for Laura, one vote for Reynold, one vote for Laura, and the fifth person to be eliminated from “Survivor: Caramoan – Fans vs. Favorites” is…Laura.
Verdict: The Fans made the right move in getting rid of Laura. They’re already at a major disadvantage playing against an experienced tribe, they simply couldn’t afford to lose any more challenge strength.
And Shamar…well…I don’t get Shamar. He was one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet during the pre-show interviews. Sometimes the game just gets the best of you.
As for this season, it’s getting a little boring watching the Fans suck. But, if next week’s trailer is anything to go on, things are about to pick up…
Who’s Going to Win? Whatever is “The Silent One” going to do with all that money?
Power Rankings Results: Michael and I both had Shamar in spot seventeen. Michael had Laura in twelve, while I had her in spot thirteen. So, Michael gets 29 total points, and I get 30. That brings our current score to Team Skupin: 50, Team Lighting Punch: 66.
Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter: @gordonholmes
Tags: jeff probst, survivor, survivor caramoan, survivor fans vs favorites
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