More Whatnot

Welcome to MoreWhatnot.com, my personal blog where I’ll be posting “Survivor” episode recaps all season long. For exit interviews with all of the eliminated players and the RETURN of the “Survivor” Power Rankings with Owen Knight, be sure to check out my YouTube channel!

Last Week: Bruce was taken from the game in a medical boat, Lauren was outed by her lack of a note, and Maddy was eliminated by a single vote.

39 26 Days, 18 People, 1 “Survivor” Blog

Let’s take a look at the tribes as they currently stand…

The Ratu Tribe (wearing orange)

• Brandon, 30 – Security Specialist
• Jaime, 35 – Yogi
• Lauren, 31 – Elementary School Teacher
• Kane, 25 – Law Student
• Matthew, 43 – Barbershop Owner

The Soka Tribe (wearing green)

• Claire, 25 – Tech Investor
• Danny 32 – Firefighter
• Frannie, 23 – Research Coordinator
• Heidi, 29 – Engineering Manager
• Josh, 34 – Surgical Podiatrist
• Matt, 27 – Security Software Engineer

The Tika Tribe (wearing purple)

• Carolyn, 35 – Drug Counselor
• Carson, 20 – NASA Engineering Student
• Helen, 29 – Project Manager
• Sarah, 27 – Management Consultant
• Yam Yam, 36 – Salon Owner

Post-Tribal Wrap Up

Matthew is very excited with how things went last week. He wanted Brandon to stay, but lose his idol. And, he wanted Maddy to go home, but he didn’t want to have to cast a vote in either direction. All for the low, low price of one Shot in the Dark die.

Lauren admits to the tribe that she has an extra vote. Which doesn’t seem like a terrible idea in such a small group, because it’ll probably pull people to her side.

Brandon calls out Kane for voting for him. Which Kane does a good job of playing off, saying it wasn’t personal. He claims that Brandon was the last name he was told. Brandon acts like he’s cool with it, but he clearly is not.

At Soka Beach

Matt tells the tribe about his recent breakup where apparently not only did his ex pull the trigger, but she also kept the dog?! Monster.

CUT TO: A montage of Matt and Frannie being adorable together.

Well, finding a new girlfriend on national television might be decent revenge.

And apparently they’re close enough that he can tell her that he lost his vote for the next two Tribals. Frannie lurves that he trusts her enough to make that confession, but she is wary that they may seem like a couple.

The duo makes a decision to separate for the rest of the day. And then proceeds to not do that.

Later on, Danny finds the key to his tribe’s cage. He cracks it open and claims the idol. He then leaves the bag in the cage so nobody knows he has it.

He swears to keep this idol a secret, which might make him the smartest man in the show’s history.

At Tika Beach

The quintet decides that it’s time to find their cage key.  During the hunt, Carolyn climbs a tree and comes face to face with a snake. Yikes.

She recovers and tells us a story about how her son swallowed his first loose tooth, so she dug through his poop to find it.

National TV, Carolyn. Those big cameras following you around will take that footage to editors who will put the things you say on national TV.

But, that poop-level persistence pays off and Carolyn manages to find her tribe’s key.

Fun Fact: If I was a producer, I’d absolutely hide the key under the cage. I used to hide my sister’s Christmas gifts under her bed.

Carolyn retrieves her idol and runs away with the bag without checking to see what’s inside. She eventually thinks better of this strategy and returns the bag. The rest of the tribe visits the cage and it’s clear to all of them that something is different. However, none of them really seem to suspect Carolyn.

Immunity Challenge Time: Players will race over an obstacle and then empty sandbags until they find a ball. They’ll then lift a ladder, climb up to a platform, then raise and cross a bridge. They’ll slide off of the platform, then one member will need to use the ball to complete a snake maze. The first two tribes to complete the maze will win immunity. The first tribe will receive fishing gear, the second will receive slightly less fishing gear. The last tribe? Heartbreak.

Sitting Out: Claire, again.

Result: Matthew pulls off the come-from-behind win for Ratu as he absolutely dominated the maze. And Josh claims second place for Soka. 

After the challenge, we learn that Matthew had built a replica of the maze in his backyard back home.

Note to future players: PRACTICE CHALLENGES!

Another note to future players: Don’t tell everyone that you’ve practiced the challenges.

Pre-Tribal Politicking 

Back at camp, Helen asks, “How are we supposed to beat a guy who has one of these built in his backyard?” Off the top of my head? Build one of your own.

Sure enough, we cut to Carson showing us the puzzles he 3-D printed back home.

Early discussions focus on if it’s better to keep Yam Yam’s strength vs. Carolyn’s…spirit? 

Anywho, everyone except Carolyn seems like they’re on the same page, so it won’t matter that Sarah doesn’t have a vote.

Buuut…Yam Yam is loyal to Carolyn, He tells her what’s up and they decide to target Helen. They also had a hilarious method of deciding who to vote for without saying a name. They turned away from each other and made a letter with their hands. Ridiculous. 

They bring Carson into the fold and he seems to be into it…which makes Carolyn very nervous. She can’t figure out why Carson would work with her over Helen and Sarah. And that’s actually some impressive, next-level thinking. Color me impressed.

So, heading into Tribal it seems like Sarah and Helen are voting for Carolyn while Yam Yam and Carolyn are voting for Helen with Carson being the swing vote. However, Carson is the person that’s saying this. So, apparently he doesn’t know that Sarah doesn’t have a vote no matter what.

Tribal Time

Things are pretty vague with the only really interesting thing happening is Carolyn breaking down in tears while Carson is talking. Is that her tell? Tears?

Voting Time: Helen votes for Carolyn, Sarah gets no vote, and the rest of the votes are lost to the magic of editing.

JPro asks if anyone wants to play an idol and…nobody does. We’ve got one vote for Carolyn, two votes for Helen, and the third person eliminated from “Survivor 44” is…Helen.

Verdict: My goodness. There was no trip to the Island of Excessive Advantages, but half of the episode was spent focusing on keys and cages. Show me more relationships.

Other than that, talk about booting someone who didn’t do anything to deserve it. Her big flaw was not being more open with Carolyn last episode.

Power Rankings Result: Yikes…I had Helen in spot three while Owen Knight had her in spot two. So, the current score is Team Holmes 3, Team Knight 2. Check out my YouTube channel for the full episodes!

	Danny – Hey, you’re the only person to pull off the idol switcharoo without being caught. Yam Yam – Good on you for realizing that you’d be the next to go if Carolyn got booted. Lauren – I’m usually against talking about your advantages, but I think this is the right move. An extra vote isn’t a game-wrecker like an idol. It’s just a way to ensure your alliance makes it through the next vote.
	Carson – I’m not quite sure what your reasoning was for jumping, but it was probably the right move. I’m going to assume you figured out Carolyn has the idol. I do worry that you’re leaning on the things you learn in books too much. These are real people. Matthew – Big points for stepping up and winning that maze. Point deductions for letting everyone know how much you prepared. Josh – Maze winner! That’s all I’ve got.
	Brandon – Keeping your cool after Tribal was the right thing to do. There’s no reason to start anything with Kane until you’re both headed to Tribal.  Jaime – We didn’t see much of her, but it seems like she’s doing a better job buddying up with her tribe. Carolyn – I can’t believe I’m giving such a “meh” grade to someone who did so well this episode. It’s like she does the best possible things in the worst possible way.
	Matt and Frannie – Oh, we know a showmance is a bad look. We should spend time apart. (Proceeds to not spend time apart.) Kane – Yeah, it’s probably not good news when you’re looking for idols instead of mending fences. Sarah – Hard to see this as anything other than a loss for you. And there’s no idol to save you next week.
	Claire and Heidi – I can’t grade you correctly if I don’t see your work.

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

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