"Survivor: Second Chance" (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 Jenn Brown and Max Dawson. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for up-to-the-minute news and info.
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Last Week: Monica wished she could trust Spencer Samoa while Abi sent Varner Outback.
39 Days, 20 People, 1 “Survivor” Blog…
Let’s take a look at the tribes as they currently stand…
The Angkor Tribe (wearing yellow)
Abi – Philippines
Andrew – Pearl Islands
Tasha – Cagayan
Woo – Cagayan
The Bayon Tribe (wearing pink)
Jeremy – San Juan del Sur
Kelly W. – Borneo
Kimmi – The Australian Outback
Monica – Samoa
Spencer – Cagayan
Stephen – Tocantins
The Ta Keo Tribe (wearing teal)
Ciera – Blood vs. Water
Joe – Worlds Apart
Kass – Cagayan
Keith – San Juan del Sur
Kelley W. – San Juan del Sur
Terry – Panama
We start things off back at Angkor beach where Woo is happy to have survived his fourth challenge. Quite a switch for a former Brawn member.
Savage says Varner is in a better place. Wha-huh? Ponderosa? He’s not dead, Savage. No wonder he takes this game so seriously.
The next morning at Bayon, the women folk are out a-fishin’. They manage to find some crabs and some clams. They’re halfway to an Admiral’s Feast.
Monica, however, is worried that they’re depleting the supply. Dude, you’re only there for 39 days and the way things are going you could be swapped to Angkor at the next challenge.
Kimmi is starving though and believes they should eat while they can. She thinks Monica should chill out and condescendingly calls her “pumpkin.” Ooo…sarcastic and seasonal.
Reward Challenge Time: One player from each tribe will stuff themselves in a barrel while other tribe members roll them around a course. At different intervals, they’ll hop out to retrieve bags of balls. Once that have all of the balls, they’ll roll them up a ramp and into some holes. The first tribe to sink all six of their balls will win comfort items like chairs, pillows, blankets, a tarp, and some refreshments. The second tribe just gets a tarp.
Fun Fact: I won two challenges in one day when I visited the set of “Survivor: Blood vs. Water.” This was one of them.
Terry and Kass will sit for Ta Keo while Stephen and Kelly will sit for Bayon.
Woo, Monica, and Kelley pull barrel duty and I have nothing but sympathy for them. That looks crazy uncomfortable.
Woo and Kelley do well during the first portion, but Monica has serious trouble retrieving her tribe’s balls. C’mon, be a Monican not a Monican’t! #Gellerjokes
In the second half, Woo and Keith go to work rolling for their respective tribe. Jeremy eventually joins them.
Jeremy isn’t having any luck, so Spencer tags in.
Keith is the first to sink all six balls. Spencer manages to catch up, but it’s too little too late as Woo wins it.
Angkor must be psyched, that tarp looks delicious.
Back at Ta Keo, Ciera pitches a final five while Terry is out fishing. Kelley’s elated that her throw-Terry-under-the-bus strategy has paid off. SneakyX2!
Joe then said something, but I couldn’t hear it over the sound of America sighing.
Keith’s so excited to be included in an alliance that he refers to himself in the third person. Gordon isn’t sure if he likes that.
Over at Bayon, Jeremy and Spencer go fishing in the weird, giant bowl. Hmm..a fire fighter and a chess champ go fishing in a dish…there’s a joke in there somewhere…
At Angkor, Woo is happy that his time playing skee-ball at Chuck E Cheese has finally paid off. That’s true. Do you know how many tickets you have to win to get a tarp?!
The mood absolutely changes when he gets emotional while talking about his mother’s heart transplant. Aw…Woo…
Abi of course takes this as Woo’s way of getting sympathy from the others. She feels bad for him, but she did have knee surgery. So…uh…yeah.
Tasha lets us know that she’s learning the same lesson Shirin and Varner learned about how much work it is to be in an alliance with Abi.
Immunity Challenge Time: A player from each tribe will race up a tower through a series of obstacles. When they get to the top, they’ll launch sandbags toward targets. First two tribes to knock down all of their targets will win immunity.
Fun Fact: Joe lost this challenge in “Worlds Apart.” Wait, Joe lost a challenge?!
Ciera and Kelley will sit for Ta Keo. Jeremy and Monica will sit for Bayon.
Bayon jumps out to an early lead, but it’s pretty close across the board until Fishbach accidentally hits an Angkor target.
Oh man. That may have been the most Stephen Stephen-thing ever.
This flub lets Angkor claim the easy win.
It’s neck-and-neck between Bayon and Ta Keo for second, but Keith manages to win it for Team Teal.
Quite an episode Keith is having.
Over at Bayon, Jeremy is wondering which of the two former Ta Keons he trusts the most. He and Monica have a chat, and she doesn’t think either has the idol.
Later, Spencer touches base with Fishbach and Jeremy. They both tell him they’re targeting Kelly.
Monica isn’t sure if she wants Kelly gone because she has hopes for a female alliance. Kimmi tells her they need to stick with classic Bayon.
Kimmi lets us know that she’s worried that Monica could be a flipper. She tells Jeremy and Stephen about Monica’s female alliance comment. That does not make them happy…you know…cause they’re not female.
Before they head to Tribal, Stephen makes a good point about it sending a bad message to classic Bayon if they send Monica home. He does know-it-all.
That night at Tribal, fire equals life for like the hundredth time this season.
Stephen says that Tribal helps you prove trust.
Monica thinks that the former Ta Keons are in trouble.
Kelly is under the impression that it’s either her or Spencer.
Spencer admits that he’s new-school and always playing hard, but he finally feels like part of a real tribe.
Jeremy is happy to hear that, but Kelly is loyal too. He plans to vote based on loyalty and challenge strength.
Kimmi believes the original Bayon ten were close and as long as they get rid of a former Ta Keo, they’ll be good.
Monica thinks the vote is locked in. #famouslastwords
Stephen finishes it up by saying you need to build real bonds to build real alliances. Ooo…that’s good. Like a campaign slogan.
Voting Time: Monica votes for Kelly, Kelly votes for Spencer, Spencer votes for Kelly, and no other votes are shown. Oof…goodbye, Monica.
Probst tallies and returns. We’ve got one vote for Kelly, one vote for Spencer, one vote for Kelly, two votes for Monica, and the fifth person voted out of “Survivor: Second Chance” is…Monica.
Oh man, you knew Monica was a goner when they showed her vote.
Verdict: Nice to finally see a non-Abi team go to Tribal, but for some reason this season isn’t clicking for me just yet. Maybe I’ll feel better once we see more from the people that’ve yet to vote someone out.
Who’s Going to Win? Team Wentworth, yo.
Power Rankings Results: Jenn had Monica in ninth place, Max had her in fourteenth, and I had her in thirteenth. The current score is Team Jenn 57, Team Max 58, and Team Gordon 49.
Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter: @gordonholmes
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