Last Episode: Chase made bad reward challenge picks, Sash chose the side with which he best clicks and Benry is gone so now there are six…
39 Days, 20 People, 1 ‘Survivor‘ Blog
Here is the tribe as it currently stands…
The Libertad Tribe (wearing red with white highlights)
• Chase – 24, Race Car Jackman/Country Singer
• Dan – 63, Real Estate Executive
• Fabio – 21, Student
• Holly – 44, Swim Coach
• Jane – 56, Dog Trainer
• Sash – 30, Real Estate Broker
Quick Note: So far this week we have inducted Parvati Shallow, ‘Boston’ Rob Mariano and Russell Hantz into the ‘Survivor’ Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010. Be sure to check back tomorrow and Friday for the final two members.
We meet up with the Libertad tribe after Tribal Council. Sash pulls Fabio aside and lets him know that Benry had been gunning for him. Fabio pretends to believe him. Fabio lets us know that he can’t wait to prove to everyone how smart he really is.
We’re waiting, Fabs.
Tree mail arrives the next day in the form of an EVO cell phone from Sprint. And true to form, the phone contains videos of the castaways’ families.
Sprint…The Now Network.
Whoa…Jud’s mom is kind of hot.
(Where’s that delete button…)
Jud takes Chase aside to discuss the upcoming reward challenge. They both agree that they should take each other and Sash on the next reward. Yeah, we know how that turned out for Sash last week.
Speaking of reward…
Reward Challenge: It’s family time. J-Pro brings in Chase’s mother, Fabio’s mother (Rawwwr), Sash’s mother, Dan’s son, Jane’s daughter, and Holly’s husband.
Dan totally breaks down when he gets to see his son. Argh! I said I was going to get through a stupid family episode without getting teary. After weeks of being immobile, Dan finally moved something…he moved my heart.
OK, the players will run off a plank and jump into the pool that Fabio peed in to retrieve a bag of letters. They’ll then hand that bag off to their loved one and go back for a second bag. Once the loved ones have both the bags they’ll unscramble a phrase. First team to get the phrase wins a boating outing and a delicious meal.
Fabio jumps out to an early lead (he must not be grossed out by his own pee). Fabio and Chase hand off both of their bags before Dan gets his first. All of the players eventually hand over their bags.
Chase’s mother Connie unscrambles the words first, winning the reward.
Chase is given the opportunity to take one person on the reward, he chooses Sash. He’s then allowed to take another person and chooses Holly.
Wow, Chase is racking up the points. Dan even calls him a “Scumbag.”
A heartbroken Chase asks what will happen to the rest of them. Probst doesn’t miss a beat and deadpans, “They’ll be executed.”
Meanwhile, a recapper on a couch in Philadelphia spits southern ice tea across his living room.
Fabio breaks down a bit, telling Chase that he would’ve taken him on the reward if he had won. Fabio’s mother talks him down and tell him to keep his head in the game.
Beautiful and a strategist. Cast Mrs. Fabio for next season.
Dan, Jane and Fabio are livid back at camp. Apparently Chase had told Jane and Fabio that he was going to take both of them on the reward.
Meanwhile at the reward, Chase announces that he, Holly and Sash are going to be the final three. Chase realizes that he’s lost Fabio’s vote and states that he wants Fabio to go home next.
Ahem…Boooooooooooo!
Go Team Fabs.
Afterward, Chase finds a clue to a hidden immunity idol.
Wait, what? Doesn’t this alliance already have like 40 idols? They could open a gift shop on the beach and sell them.
When Chase returns to camp, Fabio gives him the business. Fabio makes the point that Holly lives with her husband and Fabio only gets to see his mother a few times a year. Chase doesn’t do a good job explaining himself at all.
Fabio reasons that it isn’t wise to hold a grudge in “Survivor” and he will just have to win immunity.
Speaking of immunity…
Immunity Challenge: All of the players will be blindfolded. They’ll have to make their way over and under some posts. Once they get to the end they’ll find a shield with symbols on it. They’ll have to feel the symbols to remember where they go on the shield. They’ll then grab three bags of puzzle pieces.
Always puzzle pieces…always.
They’ll then make their way back to the beginning and put the pieces in the same places on a different shield. First person to get their pieces in the right places wins immunity. To add a degree of difficulty, some of the bags have incorrect pieces in them.
A lot of stumbling to start off. I don’t want to shock you, but Dan is the last person to make it to his puzzle. Probst thinks it’s because 36 days in the wilderness is taking its toll on Dan. I disagree, as Dan was slow on day one.
Fabio is the first person to make it back to his shield. Holly and Jane are behind him. Holly drops a bag and has trouble finding it. Sash and Chase eventually make it back to the beginning too.
Fabio is the first to finish his puzzle, but one of the wrong pieces is in place. He figures it out quickly, fixes it and wins immunity.
Politicking around camp centers around Jane and Dan. While they’re trying to bring the fire back to life, Fabio tells Chase that he wants Jane to go home. Chase disagrees.
Later during a strategy session with Chase and Holly, Sash makes the point that if Jane gets to the end that she’ll win the million dollars.
Jane comes up to Sash, Jane and Holly as they’re talking. She asks if Dan is going home and none of them respond. She puts two and two together and realizes that they’re voting for her.
Chase throws Sash and Holly under the bus saying he doesn’t want to vote Jane out so it’s up to them. Sash admits that they don’t think they can beat Jane in a final three. Jane responds by giving him the middle finger.
Later on at camp, Jane snaps at Sash for even looking at her. She follows that up by pouring water on the fire that she started.
Note to Self: Never cross Jane.
That night at Tribal Council, Jeff asks Dan to tell him what happened at camp. Dan starts talking, but then decides to hold his tongue. J-Pro isn’t having any of that, so Dan tells him that Jane doused the fire.
Jane asks to have her say, Probst is more than happy to oblige. Jane claims that her alliance was full of liars and backstabbers. She says that Holly claims to be a coach and a mentor, but that she destroyed $1,400 worth of property (Dan’s shoes). Apparently where Jane comes from you go to jail for that.
Damn!
Chase admits that voting Jane out is their best bet for winning the money.
Probst asks who’s next to go. Chase says whoever doesn’t win immunity. He asks for Sash and Holly’s thoughts on the matter. They take longer to respond then Chase would have liked.
Jeff asks Fabio, Dan and Jane the question he thinks his own mother would ask; why don’t they form their own alliance? Best of all, Jeff does so using his impersonation of his mother.
Note: If you just read my recaps and don’t watch the show. You need to watch the show. Jeff’s Mama Probst impersonation is twelve shades of awesome, my friends.
Probst then states that this Tribal Council is the last time people can use their hidden immunity idols. Both Sash and Chase admit to having them.
Voting Time: And…none of the votes are shown again!
Jeff tallies and returns. He asks if anyone would like to play a hidden immunity idol. Both Sash and Chase decide to hand their idols over…hanging Holly out to dry.
Three votes for Jane…and the fifteenth person to be eliminated from “Survivor: Nicaragua” and the seventh member of the jury is…Jane.
Verdict: I think there are two different shades of “Survivor.” You’ve got your “Springer” and you’ve got you “Strategic.” Springer involves big, bold characters who freak out and yell and cause a fuss. Strategic is where players make smart moves to win over jury votes and advance in the game. The best seasons of “Survivor” are a mixture of both.
This season is pure Springer.
Between Holly, NaOnka and Jane’s bizarre behavior, Chase playing one of the worst strategic games in recent memory and Sash being the only real strategist left, it’s an off-balance season.
Who’s Going to Win? If it’s a final three of Sash, Chase and Holly…the biggest bachelor in New York is going to have a million bucks to put toward real estate.
Power Rankings Results: Team Dragon Slayer called it again. Coach had Jane in spot six while I had her in spot five. The current score is now Team Dragon Slayer 138, Team Truth Seeker 139. Could I blow a lead in the final episode again? It’s shades of Tamara ‘Taj’ George all over again!
Follow me on Twitter for breaking “Survivor” news: @gordonholmes
What Do You Think? Was Jane right to douse the fire? Should they have kept Jane until the final four? Who’s your pick to win the million?
Dude, I loves me some Christmas movies. Whether it’s Randy freaking out over his new zepplin or Clark W. Griswold talking about his Yule log, I’m into it.
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