'Survivor: San Juan del Sur' (CBS)
NOTE: XFINITY TV is the place to go for “Survivor: San Juan del Sur” coverage with “all the fixin’s.” We’ll have Power Rankings with “Cagayan” fave Spencer Bledsoe, every Wednesday evening we’ll bring you a recap of the most recent episode, and every Thursday you’ll be able to watch the previous night’s episode and read an interview with the eliminated contestant. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for immediate updates.
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Last Week: Reed proved Keith had a clue, Jon flipped along with his boo, and poor Jeremy had to bid the game adieu.
39 Days, 18 People, 1 “Survivor” Blog
Let’s take a look at the tribe as it currently stands…
The #Huyopa Tribe (wearing blue)
Alec – 22, Student
Baylor – 20, Student
Jaclyn – 25, Media Buyer
Jon – 26, Financial Assistant
Keith – 53, Fire Captain
Missy – 47, Owner of Cheerleading Gym
Natalie – 28, Crossfit Coach
Reed – 31, Broadway Performer
Wes – 23, Firefighter
#Huyopa Beach is all a buzz after last week’s Tribal shocker. Reed gathers Alec, Wes, and Keith together and tells them that they all need to stick together. Dude, you dug into Keith’s bag and outted his idol last week. None of this makes sense.
Meanwhile, Jacljon, Missy, and Baylor are trying to get back on Natalie’s good side. Jon tries to prove he trusts her by telling her that he has the idol she already assumed he had. (Wow, that was quite a sentence.)
Later that night, Natalie goes out and starts looking for the idol that was planted on the beach after Rocker was voted out. Wait, is that right? I need a scorecard to keep track of all of these idols.
Reward Challenge Time: The players will be split into two teams. One by one they’ll jump into the water, retrieve a key, then collect some puzzle pieces. Once they have all of the puzzle pieces, they’ll use the keys to unlock the base of a tower. They’ll then use the puzzle pieces to complete the tower. The first tribe to finish their tower will get to deliver baseball equipment to some youngsters. They’ll then get to watch them play a game while enjoying baseball food.
Quick Aside: Yay, I love the help-the-community rewards.
It’s Reed, Jaclyn, Alec, and Jon (Team Yellow) vs. Missy, Natalie, Baylor, and Wes (Team Blue). Nobody selected Keith.
The challenge starts off and it’s relatively close. Yellow eventually takes a slight lead, but it isn’t by much.
However, it takes the blue team fooooooooorever to unlock the base. Yellow finishes their tower quickly and wins reward.
Afterwards, Baylor cries because her mother hasn’t had a reward yet. Reed decides to give up his reward for Missy. Oh man, I’m gonna miss Reed when he’s voted out in 40 minutes.
We meet up with Jon, Alec, Missy, and Jaclyn as they’re handing over the baseball goods to the kiddos. It’s pretty awesome. Huge smiles for everyone involved.
Hilariously, Jaclyn is still in her bikini. Those kids are having quite a day.
Jon and Jaclyn are having a blast with the kids. Jon tells us about Jaclyn’s inability to have children, but it’s cool because they can adopt. Good attitude. I can picture Jon serenading those kids to sleep with his Disney tunes.
Back at camp, Reed spills the figurative beans to Keith. The majority alliance thinks Alec and Reed are with them, so they’re going to split the vote to flush Keith’s idol. Buuuuuuut, Reed wants to vote with Keith and bounce Jon. Keith seems into it.
Natalie and Baylor go idol huntin’. They dig around and…find it! This isn’t surprising though as the camera person pointed right at it.
The duo then discussed strategy and decided that Reed should be their next target. See, never give up reward…
Another Quick Aside: There are nine people left in the game and three idols. We could go into a Tribal where four people are immune.
Immunity Challenge Time: Each player will balance on a perch while holding a handle. Last person standing wins immunity.
The challenge starts and Probst brings out a plate of candy. Nobody goes for it. Alec tells Probst he’ll have to do better than that.
Actually, he won’t as Jon steps down. Dude, hold out for pizza or something.
Alec says the challenge is just like Jesus on the cross. Yeah…just like it, Alec.
Missy drops out next.
Jaclyn and Baylor jump down for chocolate chip cookies.
Chicken wings are presented and Wes sprints toward them.
Keith thinks Natalie is the only one fighting for her alliance.
Wes admits to eating 58 chicken nuggets in five minutes for a contest. I wonder what he won, other than bad cholesterol.
Keith hangs in there until his feet become weird and purple. He smartly throws in the towel.
We’re down to Natalie, Alec, and Reed.
Alec’s out almost immediately.
For some reason, Wes brings up Probst’s nudity on “Two and a Half Men.” Wes admits to loving that moment. So, Wes and my mom have that in common.
After three hours, Natalie requests some food. Probst brings out wings, pizza, beer, and other goodies. She steps down giving immunity to Reed.
Politicking around camp has Reed continuing to target Jon. His plan is for the dominant alliance to split the vote, then him, Keith, Alec, and Wes to vote for Jon.
Jon doesn’t buy it though, he doesn’t think Reed will vote with them.
Jon says he won’t use his idol at Tribal because he thinks it should go to either he or Jaclyn depending on who goes the furthest.
That night at Tribal, Baylor thinks trust is difficult in the game. That’s deep.
Keith wonders if people feel comfortable and that’s why they’re not playing idols.
Natalie says an idol is a blessing and a curse because there’s pressure to use it at the right time.
Reed thought it was interesting to see who stepped down. He questions why Wes stepped down when he doesn’t have the numbers. Dude, chicken.
Keith thinks Reed should stick to the plan. Everybody freaks out after this statement. It’s like a record was scratched.
Jaclyn and Natalie whisper to each other, saying they don’t trust Reed.
Then everyone is whispering to each other. What the heck is going on?
Before Reed votes, he asks Jon if they’re still doing it. Jon says, “yes.”
Voting Time: No votes are shown. So drama.
As JPro tallies, Natalie urges Jon to use his idol. Probst returns and asks if anyone wants to play an idol and…
Jon plays his!
This encourages Keith to play his. He wants to use it for Wes, but Wes tells him to keep it. Oh man, Wes is a goner.
We’ve got three votes for Jon, two votes for Keith, one vote for Jon, and one vote for Keith. None of these votes count. We’ve got one vote for Wes and the tenth person to be eliminated from “Survivor: San Juan del Sur – Blood vs. Water” and the third member of the jury is…Wes.
Verdict: Wow. So…many…idols… Good on Reed though for trying to make a big move.
However, it’s odd that a season with so many big moments and interesting strategies just isn’t clicking.
Who’s Going to Win? Lookit Natalie! She’s survived Jeremy’s exit, she found herself an idol, and she’s tight with Baylor the perfect goat. This Twinnie could have a big winnie. (That was terrible.)
Power Rankings Results: Spencer and I both had Wes in spot seven. So, the current score is Team Farm Guy 79, Team Corinsanity 95.
Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter at @gordonholmes.
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