"Survivor: Worlds Apart" (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 Josh Canfield and Reed Kelly. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for up-to-the-minute news and info.
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Last Week: What do buffs, Lindsey, and Max have in common? They all got dropped.
39 Days, 18 People, 1 “Survivor” Blog…
Let’s take a look at these tribes as they currently stand…
The Escameca Tribe (wearing blue)
Dan – Postal Worker, 47
Joe – Jewelry Designer, 25
Joaquin – Marketing Director, 27
Mike – Oil Driller, 38
Rodney – General Contractor, 24
Sierra – Barrel Racer, 27
Tyler – Ex-Talent Agent Assistant, 33
The Nagarote Tribe (wearing red)
Carolyn – Corporate Executive, 52
Hali – Law Student, 25
Jenn – Sailing Instructor, 22
Kelly – State Trooper, 44
Shirin – Yahoo Executive, 31
Will – YouTube Sensation, 41
The festivities kick off the morning after Tribal at Nagarote beach. Shirin asks Carolyn if they can still work together, but Carolyn doesn’t seem into it. She accuses Shirin of being Max’s puppet. Aww…if Max were still playing he’d have the perfect “Survivor: Fiji” analogy.
Later on, Hali tells Shirin that the others found her annoying. This reminds Shirin of her childhood where it was a struggle to get people to like her. Aww…Shirin… If it makes you feel better, I used to introduce myself to everyone as “Gordon Wood Holmes the Third” and then they’d call me “Gordon Wood Holmes the Nerd.”
We then head over to Escameca where Dan is telling his disappearing underwear story again. Rodney is sick of hearing these stories. He’s psyched that East Coast Joaquin is someone he can bro-down with. They vow to work together and vote for each other in the end. Ummm…so we’re not aligning till the end? These guys need to watch more “Survivor.”
Rodney then tells Joaquin that he doesn’t trust Mike because he doesn’t have sex. So that’s why nobody trusted me in college.
Reward Challenge Time: The teams will scramble to the top of a tower. Then they’ll launch sandbags at targets. The first tribe to hit all six of their targets wins a trip to a turtle sanctuary to watch a turtle migration and dinner.
Note: Joaquin was psyched that Max was gone.
Dan will sit for Escameca.
The challenge starts off and Rodney is a house of fire! He wants to see some turtles, bro. Escameca reaches the top of the tower first and starts launching.
Nagarote eventually joins them and it’s pretty even. In fact, it’s tied five to five when Jenn hits the winning shot for Nagarote.
As they celebrate, they chant “I believe that we can win.” It’s possible they were going to chant their tribe name, but they probably didn’t remember it.
Note: There’s a piece of paper at my side that reads “Nagarote = red, Escameca = blue.”
We meet up with the Nagarotans at their picnic lunch. They’re enjoying beef stew, macaroni and cheese, and other accoutrements.
Shirin is happy to get a chance to bond with the group and breaks out a solid Rodney impersonation. Coulda used about 12 more “bros” though.
That night, they watch the turtles lay their eggs. It would’ve been so cool if production could’ve arranged for the turtles to lay an idol.
At Escameca, Sierra lets Joaquin know how much she dislikes Dan and the other previous Escamecans. He tries to get her to align with Rodney, but she isn’t sure if she can work with him. Hmm…so she holds herself to a higher standard than Joaquin…
Rodney swings by and seems to make peace with Sierra. He tells us that he can see his hand being raised in the end like Rocky Balboa. Um…back up there Rodney. You can have Tom Brady, but as a Philly guy, I’m going to need you to leave the Italian Stallion alone.
Fun Fact: “Rocky III’s” theme song was played by the band Survivor.
Later on, Rodney pitches the idea of throwing the next challenge so they can get rid of Joe. Mike is considering it as a way to keep Kelly safe. Wow.
Immunity Challenge Time: The players will have to memorize a series of items, then recreate it. First tribe to win three rounds gets immunity.
Round One: Carolyn beats Rodney.
Round Two: Hali bests Sierra.
Round Three: Joe defeats Will.
Round Four: Dan tops Shirin.
Round Five – Part One: Kelly and Mike both get it wrong.
Then, Mike admits to Kelly that he’s throwing the challenge.
Round Five – Part Two: They both get it wrong again.
Round Five – Part Three: Kelly finally wins immunity for her tribe.
Yikes, that was like a slow-motion trainwreck. Although, I’ll give Kelly a break because she had a recent head injury.
Back at Escameca, Mike and Rodney sneak out to talk strategy and it looks like they’re going with the get-rid-of-Joey-Amazing plan.
After that, Rodney and Joaquin hug about a dozen times.
Mike and Dan approach Joe and let him know that Rodney is gunning for him. Joe says he thought Sierra was the swing vote, but that she hates Dan. Dan claims that he’s been trying to get back on her good side. Is that what it is when you accuse her of being terrible at challenges and then give her crappy apologies?
Later on, Mike and Dan pitch getting rid of Joaquin to Sierra.
That night at Tribal Council, Joe says that the old Escameca wasn’t a big happy family.
Dan agrees that there was dysfunction within the old tribe.
Tyler thinks the bad blood centered around Sierra.
Sierra felt like she was being picked on. Mike makes it a point to say that he didn’t pick on her.
Rodney admits that there were problems, and he’s going to look for his best opportunity.
Joe thinks he’s on the bottom because he doesn’t have anybody.
Sierra brings up Dan attacking her after their last Tribal.
Mike hopes that he can believe in the people he trusts. That’s deep.
Voting Time: Joaquin votes for “Joe Cool,” Joe votes for Joaquin, and the rest of the votes are secret.
Probst tallies and returns. We’ve got one vote for Joe, one vote for Joaquin, one vote for Joe, one vote for Joaquin, one vote for Joe, one vote for Joaquin, and the sixth person to be eliminated from “Survivor: Worlds Apart” is…Joaquin.
Verdict: Well, that was…odd.
This season, man. It’s awesome because so many big, entertaining things are happening. Strategies and counter-strategies and blindsides…oh my!
But, who are we rooting for here? Joe? Shirin? I need a little more positivity from this bunch.
Who’s Going to Win? The merge is next week, which means Joey Amazing will be back with his surfer babes. I’m thinking Jenn for the win.
Power Rankings Results: Josh had Joaquin in spot ten, Reed had him in spot twelve, I had him in spot nine. The current score is Team Josh 47, Team Reed 52, Team Gordon 53.
Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter: @gordonholmes
Tags: jeff probst, survivor, survivor worlds apart
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