Ah, to be the first to comment on 11-8 Survivor. Now that was a shocker, for sure. Not the switched tribes. Saw that coming. Not dumping Silas. Saw that coming. But the lingering shot of the impala taking a shit? Didn’t see that one coming, not by a long shot. They weren’t kidding when they said it was a Survivor first.
And the hint that Jeff dropped about the merger not being when they expected it, that’s a bit of a surprise also.
Well, that was a curveball. And kinda sudden if you ask me.
I’m not surprised at all that Silas got the boot. He practically painted a target on himself with that silly chest-thumping after Linda got voted out. There’s a difference between confidence because you have a good strategy and can adapt to anything and confidence because you’re just too damn egotistical. Unfortunate that he didn’t see the difference, but, well, the smart prey upon the not-so-smart.
So where does that leave us? Hmm…why don’t I just list the ones who I think have no chance:
Lindsey - Doomed, doomed, doomed. And I might add, doomed. Not only is she pretty much useless right now, she’s irritating. That’s an absolute no-no on Survivor. If you tick people off, your head is on the block. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday. Irritation is the kiss of death. Ask Jerri.
Kim P. - Amber to Lindsey’s Jerri. And just as doomed. I really see no reason for anyone to keep her around.
Kim J. - Don’t think that the other contestants have forgotten Tina’s unlikely victory. She may look weak in immunity challenges (hence not a threat come the merger), but nearly everyone’s wise to this now, and it won’t save her.
Frank - His time is coming. Switching sides bought him time, but once the “necessary” eliminations are done with, his bossiness…and powerful drive a la Colby…will do him in.
Other than them, the picture is too hazy to make any bold pronouncements. Maybe after the merge…whenever it happens…I’ll have a better idea.
Taped it, only watched the 1st 20 min last night. Glad to hear Silas got booted. How clueless could those fucks be after the prior TC. That would have been an incredibly ugly place to be.
And wasn’t it amazing how quickly the 3 new sambucas sized up the youngsters? You wonder how much of this is effective editing. Can they be that worthless? “Oh yeah - we do a lot of lounging” “Feel free to look around for wood.” Do you think they are embarassed to see themselves now when watching the show?
What did they do about the water?
The shitting impala was pretty impressive! I couldn’t believe it!
Good episode. Silas got he just desserts. I couldn’t believe the way he was carrying on after the TC: “How dare you vote agains me!” was his attitude. The oldsters were playing the only strategy they had. He saw it as revenge. Someone said Silas may be very likeable in the real world. I don’t think so. I’ve known people who act the way Silas did on the show, and I didn’t find them likeable at all. The guy’s an idiot. And he’s too egotistical to know he’s an idiot.
And Lindsey. “Boo hoo. This is a game. I’m supposed to win. The whole world is against me.” She propbably insists on putting money into Free Parking when she plays Monopoly (which everyone I know – including me – does BTW, even though it’s not in the rules) and then gets upset when someone else wins it. Too bad. What was she thinking? That she’s the best competitor, and then she has to deal with people who have the temerity to be better? That it’s somehow her right to win? My god, what a whiny bitch! I wonder if she’ll slit her wrists after the final show?
I think the part I liked best was after the semi-merger. The Boran tribe came over and were as disgusted by the state of the camp as the Slum-boo-hoo oldsters were. “The camp looks like they sleep all day.” Hahaha! I liked Tom’s comment that the Necklace Gang (BTW good name, whoever came up with that) was thought that an artesian spring would appear in the camp and that firewood would fall from the sky. Bob would be proud of those slackers. Maybe the Necklace Gang counts on Lex (?), since he’s in their age group? No. He was as disgusted as Tom was at the state of the camp.
Some-boo-boo Necklace seem to be keeping Lindsey’s vote count secret. Why? Doesn’t she irritate them as well? I didn’t catch who ex-Boran thinks has the most votes. Were I in their place, I’d forget about vote counts for the nonce and vote against Lindsey just because I can’t abide whiners. It looks as if the Necklace Gang is still pretty tight – they’re scheming to keep themselves together – so I can’t see them voting off Lindsey. If there’s a defection, I think it might be Brandon. He at least sees that the Necklace Gang’s strategy of voting out the oldsters was ill-advised.
I don’t remember who has the most votes. If Samburu lose the immunity challenge, the votes will be three-to-three. If Lindsey is irritating enough, she will be gone. If it comes down to a quiz show, who knows? If the Necklace Gang wins, then I can see them voting ex-Boran out one-by-one – unless, again, Lindsey is too whiny even for the remaining two, in which case they may keep one of the ex-Boran.
On the other side. Distrust still lingers because of Clarence’s indiscretions, but he’ll be useful as long as the teams are not merged. Frank is a good warrior, but his attitude doesn’t fly outside of the army. If ex-Samburu prove themselves in the challenges, Clarence my be the next out. Frank is just too undiplomatic to last very long though.
I didn’t really care for the challenges, but the intrigue made this one of the better episodes.
Hee-Hee
I loved this show. The team swapping was great. Lindsey really did some Olympic-level whining about it. Of course they’ll never be able to pull that off exactly the same again, but there could be other twists.
Watching the slow self-destruction of Silas was a joy. Again, it was probably crafty editing, but every step of the way Silas just kept sticking his own head further up his ass. And you have to believe that even if he was voted out next week, Frank will feel vindicated. I may not agree with any of his personal or political views, but I goota admire Frank for some reason.
I think Burnett and Co. need to re-think their editing styles though. The minute Boran lost the immunity challenge, the show started focusing on how Clarence was doomed. Every shot seemed to be of people plotting against Clarence. Which of course means that the one person guaranteed not to be voted out was Clarence. My favorite shot of the night was after Probst told Silas to start the voting. The did a close-up of Clarence who had the most evil, shit-eating grin on his face. He knew what was going down, and at that moment I knew Silas was toast.
Well, I will say this for Brandon. He showed SOMETHING. His strategy is sound. He knows not to change horses midstream. Plus, he knows to ham it up to throw off the new member’s scheming. It looks like next week, he will let the others “overhear” him say he had a vote (I thought I caught that from the teaser). Nice move. Tom’s homophobia already has himn thinking the “queer” has a vote. He probably thinks Frank voted for him.
Clarence. WAS there any bad vibes or was it just a smoke screen? I don’t recall anyone badmouthing Clarence to anyone instead of Silas. (Except maybe Ethan?). No one dogged him in interviews did they? What makes me say this is the fact that Clarence voted against Silas as well. AND PUMPED HIM UP IN TC! What I regret is that we may not see the resolution of the Tom/Clarence subplot. It appeared they bonded, but voting indicated Tom held a grudge. Like the Tootsie Roll dilemma, the world may never know.
Lindsey. Didn’t she just say that it was just a game earlier in the episode? Later she is crying because it is so unfair! Losers. I would even hate Kim if she didn’t have a bit of a Parker Posey look going.
And is it just me or has Kelly become hotter as the weeks roll on?
I wonder if the necklace gang realized how stupid they would look? I am enjoying this edition of Survivor for dramatically different reasons than the last.
I would have voted Silas out just for eating those damn nuts and talking with his mouth full. I had to turn on the closed-captioning just to figure out what he was saying, because I couldn’t get past the nut shards spewing out of his mouth with each word. Not only should he have been voted out just for being gross, tacky and classless, he should have been banished to live with the Cape Buffalo for it. I understand it’s a survival situation (sort of), and there’s no table so table manners aren’t really held to. But… eyeeewww
And he should take Lindsay with him – she needs to be punished. I’m sure she’s dead meat with all that whining and crying.
I had to miss the show last night, and the CBS website won’t update until later today. Tell me what happened! What was the luxury challenge, and who won, and what did they get? What was the immunity challenge? Who had to switch tribes?
If you really want spoilers you should visit the message board at http://www.survivorsucks.com
They have forums for general discussion, spoilers, updated info one what contestents are doing now and really funny show recaps.
And by all means, you should be reading our own David B.'s excellent site Reality News Online for a great recap of everything that went on this week.
Brandon - Him whining about the girls’ whining was a classic Survivor moment. But I agree that at least he has a Plan B, which the other two don’t seem to have.
Ethan - He has an incredibly handsome face. He looks a lot like what I picture Jesus looking like. Wouldn’t mind becoming his Mary Magdalene. He He.
Silas - Spewing about how immature the older people were was hysterical. Too bad he didn’t PLAY NICE or he’d still be there. And how STUPID was he to admit to Kim that he and the other 3 necklace wearers were an alliance, clearly making him the biggest threat to Boran?
Frank - I love Frank. He works hard, he’s smart, has an attitude. Would be at home here. He’ll go far, I think.
Boran Kim. I’m so glad she’s got a chance for a second life. If Silas is this week, it very well may be Clarence next.
Teresa - Like Teresa, too. She and Kim and Frank may team up.
Lindsey. She sure has a bug up her ass. Or should I say ON her ass? hahahaha. She’s awful and needs to die.
Kelly - Redeeming to see a 20ish woman who doesn’t act like the Necklace wearers.
Quiet Girl with Obnoxious Pigtails (Kim?) - hmmm, flies under the radar. She won’t be voted out in the foreseeable future.
Tom - Was he a refrigerator repairmen in his previous life? Will someone PLEASE give this man a pair of shorts that FIT?
Clarence - he’s doomed. He’s too strong and he has 3 votes against him.
Lex - Like him, too, even though the necklace wearers may vote him out next time.
Zumba the Cat and Why A Duclk, thanks for the links. I’ve read up, and feel all caught up again. Yay!
CBS’s site also makes it clear that Boran threw the immunity challenge. Heh heh heh.
Just a few thoughts to add:
I have Survivor Insider, so I have seen some additional footage which sheds some interesting moments. Among them:
Yes, Lex and Tom were PISSED about the state of the Samburu camp and the laziness of KimP, Brandon and Lindsey. But (man, it really is all in the editing) they stress how happy they are in their new camp and that they really like the new people as people. They think they got the better part of the bargain, split wise. Tom calls Frank a “butthole” and Lex calls Silas and Frank “jerks”. Lex: “I would rather work hard and live with good people, than not work and live with jerks.” This is all from what they get from the Mallrats, obviously, as they have not yet met Frank or Silas (at least outside of compeitition). They were also really happy to have food that was different than the corn mush.
The question I am most curious about is, if Boran goes back to IC next week, not knowing when the merger will take place, will they go after Clarence and finish off the untrusted wildcard, or go after Teresa to destroy any Boran/Samburu alliance and remove a weak link.
I can’t wait to see the look on the Mallrats’ faces at the next Reward Challenge when they see no sign of Silas. 
I was thinking that as well.
My first thought is what would have happened if both Kims had ended up on the same tribe? Kim 1 and Kim 2? Old Kim and Young Kim? Weak Kim and Dumb Kim?
Second, my opinions of Silas and Lindsey are unchanged. Silas seemed oblivous to how much his transparent plotting was alienating everyone. This week’s episode has to be the first time a tribe intentionally lost a challenge just so it could vote someone off. And what can be said about Lindsey? She’s an emotionally disturbed Jerri; not a winning image to project. I’m standing by my prediction that she leaves the show via a breakdown.
Samburu Kim seems to have clinched the role of Amber to Lindsey’s Jerri. Brandon wins the most-improved performance this week; he’s smart enough to realize his situation has changed and he needs to adapt.
Overlooked in how the swap saved Frank and Teresa is the fact that it probably saved Boran Kim as well. Seemingly no one discussed prior to the tribal council her poor performance in past challenges. Maybe the belief that they were close to a merger helped her; the ability to win challenges would be a liability not an asset in the eyes of others in that case. If so, the hinted at merger delay might change opinions back against her.
Am I the only one who thinks the hinted-at merger delay is a bluff? That it is just Mark Burnett’s psychological ploy to try to discourage Boran from “throwing” another immunity challenge?
A few more random thoughts.
I was surprised when a goat herding challenge came up, there was no mention of the fact that Tom’s a goat farmer. From what we’ve seen, he must have had something to say about it.
Maybe this is just my impression based on their general demeanor but I got the feeling the reason Lindsey, Kim, and Brandon stayed behind when Samburu split wasn’t due to any strategic planning or random choices but just because they felt like hanging around the camp rather than walking anywhere.
Wasn’t it unusual that when Lindsey got a tick on her ass, she didn’t go for help to her old buddies Brandon or Kim nor to the new woman Kelly. Instead she invited Lex and Tom to work on her ass. Was this a desperate ploy to ingratiate herself with the two men?
http://www.survivorsucks.com ? Nope, I have seen them makeup stuff that never happens. That occured for Survivor I, dunno about II since I didn’t pay any attention to them after finding out they make up crap. Probably to get more hits so Im not paying attention to them now either.
I haven’t watched any of this third installment, but I still keep up with the very funny and extensive play-by-play recaps on Salon.com
While sitting idly at my desk this morning, I thought about the Ethan’s disgusted comments about the camp site - ash piled high, fire not tended, no firewood, and his disgust at the laziness of the necklace kids.
Then I thought - what would he think of my desk if he saw it?
Then I thought - My God! Am I a middle-aged slacker??
And I spent a busy day getting things done and working as hard as Tom, Frank or Lex. And feel a lot better about things now.
Thus is demonstrated the wonderful power for good that TV has in our lives. Especially Survivor. I think this Barnett fellow is a damn smart cookie!
Redboss
PS Also, gay men all over the world have voted and the result is it’s perfectly okay for anyone to call Brandon a queen. Like, he’s one of the ones we don’t want.
PPS same goes for Team Guido