More Whatnot

QUICK NOTE: XFINITY.com is the place to be for all of your bug-eatin’, back-stabbin’, “Survivor” coverage. During the season we’ll have insightful weekly Power Rankings with Aubry Bracco, exit interviews, and full episode recaps. Follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for up-to-the-minute updates.

Last Week: Cole’s big mouth made Jessica Howell, Lauren was in trouble, but her tribe decided to Skipper, and the Hustlers got rid of their Ginger.

39 Days, 18 People, 1 “Survivor” Blog

Alright, let’s take a closer look at these tribes…

The Levu Tribe (AKA: The Heroes – Wearing Blue)
Alan, 31 – NFL Player
Ashley, 26 – Lifeguard
Ben, 34 – Marine
Chrissy, 46 – Financial Analyst
JP, 28 – Firefighter

The Soko Tribe (AKA: The Healers – Wearing Yellow)
Cole, 24 – Wilderness Survival Guide
Desiree, 27 – Physical Therapist
Jessica, 29 – Nurse Practitioner
Joe, 34 – Probation Officer*
Mike, 43 – Urologist
Roark, 27 – Social Worker

The Yawa Tribe (AKA: The Hustlers – Wearing Red)
Ali, 24 – Celebrity Assistant
Devon, 23 – Surf Instructor
Lauren, 35 – Fisherman
Ryan, 23 – Bellhop

*Has an immunity idol

Post-Tribal Shenanigans

No post-Tribal shenanigans again?! Why’d I even make subheads?!

Buff Droppin’ Time

JPro brings them in and gives them brand new stretchy, brightly colored fabric.

The Levu Tribe – Wearing Blue
Alan, 31 – NFL Player
Ashley, 26 – Lifeguard
Desiree, 27 – Physical Therapist
Devon, 23 – Surf Instructor
Joe, 34 – Probation Officer*

The Soko Tribe – Wearing Yellow
Ali, 24 – Celebrity Assistant
Chrissy, 46 – Financial Analyst
JP, 28 – Firefighter
Roark, 27 – Social Worker
Ryan, 23 – Bellhop

The Yawa Tribe – Wearing Red
Ben, 34 – Marine
Cole, 24 – Wilderness Survival Guide
Jessica, 29 – Nurse Practitioner
Lauren, 35 – Fisherman
Mike, 43 – Urologist

*Still has an immunity idol

My Initial Thoughts

• Ugh…those are the tribe names? They sound like trendy NYC neighborhoods.
• Cole and Jessica must’ve tripped over a horseshoe embedded in patch of four-leaf clovers.
• Ooo…will Ryan get to let Chrissy know that he’s her secret admirer?
• Do we know if the idol clues are different? Should Joe and Cole be digging around their new water wells?
• Bad news for Ben and Lauren. The only tribe where duos don’t need a swing vote.
• There’s no way Lauren wears a red buff on her head.

Reward Challenge Time: Three members from each tribe will be tethered together. They’ll need to untangle their ropes, go through an obstacle course, then use the ropes to lasso a sled of puzzle pieces. Then the other two members will do the puzzle. The first tribe to complete the puzzle wins peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Result: Yawa (er…the red tribe) wins reward, while Alan pulls a Patrick and doesn’t let anyone tag in while he was failing miserably at the lassoing portion.

At Yawa Beach

Jessica finds a secret advantage in her bag of chips. It will allow her to cancel someone’s ability to vote at the next Tribal. If she doesn’t go to Tribal, she’ll have to assign it to someone on the losing tribe.

All that in a bag of chips? (I’m not proud of that.)

Anywho, she shares this info with her Healer buddies. Cole, knowing that sharing secrets can result in kisses and alliances,  proceeds to share that information with EVERYBODY.

Seriously, he immediately tells Ben and Lauren. Lauren promptly takes that information and uses it to try to get Mike to break away from the lovebirds.

CUT TO: Mike telling Jessica and Cole that the others know about the advantage. Cole tries to downplay it for a bit, but he eventually admits that he shared it with Ben.

Jessica plays it cool, but she’s really hurt by Cole. It’s like that kiss on the cheek meant nothing.

At Soko Beach

Sure enough, Ryan lets Chrissy know about his idol maneuver. She takes this to mean that he cares about her. Really? You don’t think his true intention was…you know…trying to save the weakest member of that tribe. She wonders if she reminds him of his mother. Yikes, if my mother played “Survivor” the way she plays Facebook, she’d be the first one out.

At any rate, they’re besties now.

At Levu Beach

Ashley and Alan agree to put their past behind them and work together. Like a power couple?

Everybody immediately sizes up Devon as the swing vote. The Healers approach him first, with Joe telling him that the Heroes are already targeting him. This concerns Devon, but his Spidey senses are telling him not to trust Joe.

Immunity Challenge Time: The teams will move a platter of puzzle pieces across an obstacle course. From there, they’ll unlock a second box of puzzle pieces. The first two tribes to complete the weird, Lincoln log-esque puzzle will win immunity.

Fun Fact: Probst referenced six Foo Fighters songs during this challenge. I’m thinking “Monkey Wrench,” “My Poor Brain,” “The Colour and the Shape,” “In Times Like These,” “Everlong,” and “Long Road to Ruin.”

Another Fun Fact: The table maze they used is a wonderful way to smash a finger. Trust me.

Result: The Yawa tribe took first place, the Soko tribe claimed second.

Pre-Tribal Politicking

Ashley takes Devon aside and lets him know that the former Heroes want him on their side. Devon tells her about his previous conversation with Joe, and she assures him that our favorite probation officer was lying.

Desi witnesses this moment and tips Joe off.

So…Joe decides to blow everything up. He tells everyone that he’s going to target Ashley and then he and Alan get into it.

Maybe Alan and Joe on the same tribe is the spark this season has been waiting for?

They battle it out and Desi’s name gets thrown out in the process. As you’d imagine, she is not pleased with this revelation. When the dust has settled, Joe tells Desi that he’ll play the idol for her if it looks like the vote is headed in that direction.

Also, Devon receives a secret advantage before they head off to Tribal. He’s very excited by this. Oh Devon…it’s an advantage…but it’s not to your advantage…

Tribal Time

The names being tossed around are very vague due to Joe’s idol.

It doesn’t seem like Devon has committed to either side.

Advantage Time

Oh man, I was right…Devon doesn’t get to vote. He hilariously says, “That is not an advantage.”

Idol Time

Joe plays his idol for himself.

Voting Time: Alright, we’ve got two votes for Joe, one vote for Alan, and the fourth person voted out of “Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers” is…Alan.

Verdict: What a better nickname for Joe; Faux-ny or Vlach-clone? One reads better but the other sounds better.

I thought Ashley’s number was up. Part of me thinks Alan dueling with Joe at camp was due to overconfidence that they had the numbers, but it’s also possible it was just Alan being Alan.

Like I said above, I hope the Alan vs. Joe spark was enough to get this season going, because it still feels like we’re in the middle of a light jog.

 

	Ryan – You’ve really made the most of that super idol. Chrissy, Devon, and Ali are all great people to have on your side. Chrissy – You needed friends on your new tribe and found them quickly. Well played. Ben – I don’t know if you did this on purpose, but letting Lauren be the one to blow up Cole’s spot was smart. You get all of the benefit with none of the possible repercussions.
	Ashley – Sometimes you can do everything right and still lose. Desi – Solid job letting Joe know that his strategy put you in very real danger.
	Devon – Did Desi and Joe know which way you were leaning? For your sake, I hope not. Lauren – You had to have known you were in danger on a tribe of five. Way to shake things up. Mike – I don’t know if you did this on purpose, but not accusing Cole was smart. The truth was going to come out, you didn’t need to point fingers.
	Joe – I hate giving you a bad grade considering how you just saved yourself and Desi, but man did you dig yourself a hole for the rest of the game. Too big, buddy. Jessica – How’s that saying go? “Fool me once, shame on you…”
	Cole – You seem like a good guy. But, you’re bad at this.
	Roark, JP, Ali, – I can’t give you full credit if you don’t show your work.

Power Rankings Results: Aubry Bracco had Alan in spot 6, I had him in spot 13. The current score is Team Bracco 34, Team Holmes 37.

Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter: @gordonholmes

Tags: survivor, survivor heroes vs. healers vs. hustlers

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