Each week on this blog, I'll write up some thoughts paired with a short video on the latest episode of Survivor. Because Survivor is the most awesome reality show on television. Who's with me?!
The Survivor: Philippines finale is impending... and in my excitement and impatience, what better to do than watch all the Ponderosa videos back to back? RC, Jeff, Artis, Pete, Penner, Carter and Abi all get put under my Survivor-fan-oscope... and the winners for favorite are by far Penner, followed by Pete. And maybe, surprisingly, Abi.
All in all, I'm confident this jury will take their voting responsibility seriously and aside from RC, who has reserved all her bitterness for people who are now out of the game anyway, they can all remove their emotions from the vote and make reasonable decisions. Bring it on, Survivor!
Favorite quote of Ponderosa: "Recognizing yourself is very powerful." -Pete
It's the episode before the finale, and we're left with the Final Four that committed to each other: Malcolm, Denise, Skupin and Lisa. Lisa is back in it to win it; Skupin is showing his physical prowess is not to be disregarded; Denise shows she's a fighter - and a graceful one at that - and Malcolm is laying it all out just when it matters.
We've got four amazing contenders for the title, with one clear favorite in Malcolm, and there are several possible outcomes ahead, which in my mind all involve Malcolm getting voted out if he doesn't win the next Immunity Challenge(s). So what's next? There's only the finale to go and I'm still sitting on the edge of my seat...
The Immunity Idol that magically protects the
contestant most in need...
The big question at hand in this episode was: strategy or morale? It's a tough one and while as a viewer (in my most level-headed moments at least), I'm mostly voting for strategy (with a bit of heart, always!), Abi makes these polarities particularly difficult to juggle.
Now Carter is a bit of an enigma to me as a viewer. It seems people on the island connect with him quite well in person -- albeit not enough to keep him in a final alliance -- and yet he seems very simplistic about his game to me. I do believe he's a physical threat, but it doesn't seem like he's been particularly strategic throughout the game. That said, his "benevolence" during the Survivor auction and his lack of enemies do make him a social threat too. Making it to the end means he checks the "outlasting" box too. With all that laid out this way, I see why it was indeed the right move to vote him out over Abi, but I feel like the threat he poses is a fact beyond his conscious control, so that takes away from his game play for me.
Back to the vote, choosing strategy over moral here is all the more impressive when you realize how hard it was to do too, just knowing that you'll have to withstand Abi for an additional three days (though I bet she thinks they made it because of her 'brilliant' fake idol game play). Just check out this article on how listening to people complain is bad for you and can actually "make you dumb." Turns out, season 25 has become about outliving, outplaying, outlasting... and outbearing Abi's presence. So far into the game though, why not bear her a little longer and take her to the end? Now that will be the question for next episode!
A priceless screenshot of how Abi's "social skills" and
"charm" have seduced the gang.
As the season progresses, the potential outcomes begin to dwindle... but that doesn't mean this season isn't still exciting. Abi proved her worth as a perfect Survivor casting choice again this episode by kicking up her game a notch and playing hard. Her actions definitely seemed obvious from a viewer's perspective, but other contestants may not see through her the way we do and if they don't, she just bought herself another 3 days on the island. Nicely done missy!
[Fun Fact: Check out Abi's bio on the CBS Survivor page. It'll make you chuckle and scoff -- guaranteed. Hint: You'll find words like "charming," "social skills" and "motivator."]
I was definitely disappointed to see Penner go -- he must be one of my favorite all-stars and though I find his moves fall short of my expectations at times, his counter-moves are often brilliant. He's a great player and if his game were more consistent, he could definitely have made it all the way.
All that said, I'm so glad that Malcolm and Denise are still in it -- and boy are they in it to win it. I think Skupin is their biggest competition at this point, and Skupin's best option moving forward would be to get rid of them and go with Lisa and Carter to the end. He would win by a landslide. But because I'm rooting for Malcolm, I'm hoping that won't happen. I think that as long as Malcolm can make it to the Final Tribal Council, he will win.
Check out my video below, which goes into a bit more depth on these budding thoughts above, and let me know your reactions in the comments!
The outcome of this episode may not have been as scandalous as previous episodes, but what makes this season so great is that it could have been... There are so many options, potential twists and strong contestants that nothing is predictable even when the 'most predictable' outcome comes to pass.
For this video, I've broken it down by contestants, starting with Miss Abi, who I think is a true villain (I mean, Parvati, Sandra and Candice were hardly villains!) and also a true Survivor gem. As much as I dislike her behavior on a personality level, I love her completely on a Survivor level. Scoring her was casting gold and I wouldn't be surprised to see her return in future season -- though I don't think she'd do well, but hey, she could learn and actually turn out to be an incredible returning player.
Other things on my mind this week are: Penner's idiotic response to a potential Final Three with Skupin and Lisa, Malcolm's risky but rewarding move (he is the only remaining contestant with an active Idol!) and Skupin's game and why he didn't choose to eliminate Malcolm.
That was a SUPER hard challenge (that I would've
loved to try). Go Skupin for killing it!
Another solid episode today! I didn't hear what I expected from Jonathan and Skupin regarding their votes from last episode... Nevertheless, some interesting plays went down and ultimately, the evil trio was separated! YES!
I think Penner is at the top of his game right now (despite some questionable moves throughout the season), and I love that Pete recognized that when he wrote Penner's name down. It's refreshing to have Jeff and his tunnel-vision on returning players out and to see the game go down with decisions made because they make strategic sense rather than to fulfill some egotistic need.
I was also really excited to see a group of players that don't hold unnecessary grudges. That's going to make for one of the most interesting and fair Final Tribal Councils in a while!! Malcolm's reaction towards Lisa was on point, and well ultimately also strategic. Clearly she still needs some buttering up, but I hope she'll come around by the next episode. Penner's also played his cards right in moderate reactions -- despite several moments where I was concerned he would flip out at his alliance. And even Pete didn't overreact at Malcolm's betrayal -- though I'm sure he was disappointed. You could see it in his face last week.
So what's next now? How are the dice going to fall? Who will end up at the end with a chance of winning? All things on my mind this week... and in my video below.
Holy moly, what a great episode!!! This season is just full of great moments, and this ep was among the best I've seen, no doubt. Tribal Council was ridiculous, and so many outcomes were on the table. Turns out the least exciting (but maybe that'll make for the most exciting moves next week?) happened, but the process was amazing to watch nevertheless.
It looks like this season could go any which way and there are still a great number of variables that could swing things left, right or diagonally. My biggest question mark right now is WHAT THE HELL WERE PENNER AND SKUPIN THINKING!??? Their votes are what changed everything at Tribal and I wonder where they came from. Any theories?? I'd be curious to hear them. I'm going to say they concerted with one another beforehand and orchestrated this strategically, and if that's the case, I cannot wait to hear what their end game was.
While missing out on voting Malcolm out may be several people's demise, it's not over yet -- and well I certainly can't say I'm disappointed it didn't work out. I'm definitely definitely rooting for Malcolm the most, and Denise very closely after. And though I think it's a long shot for him, if Penner can make it to the Final Three, he certainly deserves to win too.
On my mind in images this week: Lisa's move, blow opportunities and their consequences, Malcolm's move with the Idol and future alliances...
Watch as this great big ball of complexity unwinds...
My my, how times flies...! We're already at the end of Episode 6 of the season, which means.... the merge is imminent! Every decision counts! (Well, every decision always counts, but they're even more important at this point in the game.)
I can't say this episode was the most exciting of the season, but it's a solid continuation of a strong season, and in that respect, it's still very much worth watching. There are really only two main things to discuss from this episode: the deal struck between Kalabaw (read: Penner) and Tandang (read: Mike Skupin), and Penner's actions which led his name to be thrown around preceding Tribal Council.
Things I'm looking forward to are Abi (hopefully) digging herself into a hole with her actions, RC picking herself up and getting back into the game (she's grown on me, what can I say?), the merge and seeing Malcolm and Denise reunite.
And here are my thoughts in 120 seconds... Go! [Note: I talked about the "Immunity Challenge" at the top of the video when I meant the "Reward Challenge..." Oops!]
Maybe we'll see these two warriors facing off again at the end... *fingers crossed*
How refreshing to have such a solid season of Survivor! I'm bummed about certain series of events, but only because I'm invested -- not because they're a result of lackluster candidates or lame [or worse: no!] moves. Welcome back, Survivor!
Speaking of welcomes: welcome back Reward Challenges! I was waiting and waiting, and finally, they are here. I suppose they were delaying them in order to give more air time to the contestants (which failed in many ways... right Kalabaw?), but I'm excited to see some more of those signature Survivor challenges back in action!
On my mind this week are my disappointment at Matsing's decimation, a.k.a. the separation of Malcolm and Denise, how they've played their cards as a result, how Dawson made a huge mistake that definitely cost her the game, and how I would totally have hugged Jeff Probst had I been in her position. Also, and this isn't in the video, I'm very impressed and relieved to see that Penner has his game face on and is kicking butt as far as I can see. It was a rocky start, but somehow, he managed to make most of his bad moves in one go at the start when he had several free Tribals to buy himself time and make amends to climb his way to the top. Well done!
Without further ado... my latest video... in 130 seconds. Note at the end: first Jeff mentioned = Jeff Kent, last Jeff mentioned = Jeff Probst. Obvi.
What were your thoughts? Excited at the twist? Disappointed? How about that leap across the pit that Carter landed in the Immunity Challenge... rad, right?! Any predictions for the next episode? The preview sounded exciting... Yay Survivor!
Someone needs to tell Dawson that is not a
Survivor-appropriate bathing suit.
It's getting harder and harder to get my videos under 90 seconds, so I might have to rethink my strategy... but there were a lot of things that made my wheels turn and overall I really enjoyed this episode as well.
First thing: the way the Hidden Immunity Idol is in plain view. That brings up a whole set of new questions about how to go about "finding" it. Do you take it and hide it like other Idols? Or do you rather hide all the clues and leave it where it is to avoid other people noticing its absence and asking unwanted questions? I feel like I would have been so excited to find it that I might not have made the right call on this -- and I don't think Penner did.
Other things on my mind: RC vs. Abi-Maria and the debate of who I dislike the most; Malcolm and Denise continuing to kick butt despite being on a losing tribe, and Angie being eliminated over Russell.
PS. I made a mistake at the top of the video and called the red tribe Tandang instead of Kalabaw, so please disregard that!
Matsing does it again... Get all the air time, that is.
Hey there Survivor fans! I'm trying something new for the blog, so let me know what you think. Instead of 15 second reactions plus a longer written blog post, I'm going to go with 90 second video commentaries, followed by a written blog post if there's something that requires more diving in to (you'll agree not all episodes have particularly noteworthy events to write about!). I went a little long with this one so it's 100 seconds rather than 90 -- and maybe I'll stick with 100, or maybe I'll tighten it to 90... It's a work-in-progress so let me know your thoughts and I'll definitely take them into account!
Things and people on my mind this episode include: Matsing (namely Malcolm and Angie's cuddle situation, Denise and of course Roxy), Jonathan Penner and Abi-Maria's outburst with RC.
People definitely not on my mind this week: Carter? Artis? Who are these people? Hell, I don't even know what tribe they're on! Let's hope air time gets shared more evenly in eps to come...
