Survivor: Caramoan - Episode Thirteen

All smiles... for now.

Just when I thought the season was out of surprising twists and blindsides... here we are.

Let's recap a little here: for the past twelve episodes, I've been pretty frustrated with Brenda's gameplay, aside from her impressive physical strength and hotness. She was playing the 'lay-low' card, hoping that'd bring her the million dollars. While that's a possible outcome, I like to think that Jury members in general value taking risks and making moves and showing strength more than just liking a person, and luckily, it seems like this Jury is going to take its job seriously -- at least I hope. [That means that if Eddie makes it to the end somehow, I hope Malcolm won't necessarily just vote for him because he was his amigo... Reynold, let's not even go there.]

Then, we find ourselves in an episode where all of a sudden, the unthreatening, non-strategic Brenda becomes this huge threat to win, by continuously showing strength in challenges and then pulling the sympathy card by giving up her time with her Dad to offer up extra special time to 4 out of the 6 remaining contestants -- a twist which I found totally excessive by the way. Taking two additional people with you is huge already, and I think she should have done that. No one could have said she did the wrong thing. I mean come on, her reunion with her Dad made Jeff cry! Not to mention that she did peg Cochran as a threat and was planning to eliminate him after voting out Eddie. Which DAWN ESSENTIALLY TOLD COCHRAN.

So, while really hard to watch and borderline cruel, voting out Brenda was the best move for Cochran to win. Getting Dawn on board for that was huge, because I think Dawn would stand a better chance to win against Brenda than Cochran... and not at least letting Eddie know to vote for Brenda for that extra name was a big gamble too. If Dawn hadn't flipped, that would have been the end of Cochran. Brenda's exit interview was certainly the most difficult and heart-wrenching to watch I can remember, but ultimately, she should have played a more strategic game -- while still being humble if that's what she was aiming for.

I talk about all this in greater detail, and a few more things, in my video below... Can't wait to hear your thoughts. Next up.... the finale!!!

Survivor: Caramoan - Episode Twelve

From Survivor Top 8 to Survivor Top 6... Families next!

Double elimination this episode, with one predictable (and self-fulfilled) outcome and one "stealthy" blindside. We've got our traditional stupid and short-sighted Eddie/Reynold moves, some Stealth R' Us strategy with Andrea and Cochran, and some good ol' fashioned "I've got the power" talks that don't actually mean anything. Ultimately, a decent episode I'd say, though still up to par with the two-three we saw in past weeks.

Another thing I talk about in this vid is Malcolm's Survivor After-Show episode (thanks for the must-watch tip, Kevin!), which makes me feel a little better about his elimination and less like he dropped the ball by not looking for the Idol further. I'd highly recommend watching if you have a 'mo (even if the intro is a bit corny, haha). It also confirms a lot of things I said about Malcolm's gameplay in the past few weeks, teehee.

In other news, I met Andrea last week! She was at the same yoga class as I was, practicing about 3 mats away from me. We chatted very briefly after the class and it was perfect timing given her stellar balance performance at the challenge that aired just a couple of days later. Can I please meet Malcolm next???!!

Looking forward to your comments... and don't forget to check out the Ponderosa videos too! Here's Andrea's first one, and here's Reynold's.

Survivor: Caramoan - Episode Eleven

I love this tribe flag!

So... it happened. What I feared, but what I knew was coming. No one can say Malcolm didn't play a great game, and it'd be hard to suggest he could have played any better. He was just up against some very strong players, and one in particular who I believe should take it to the end and win it all, this time: Mr. John Cochran.

In my latest video, I go over why I think Cochran not only deserves the Player of the Week award, but also the title of Sole Survivor; how I feel about Malcolm's exit; whether Erik and Sherri made the right moves for their respective games; and a little bit on what's next.

I fear the most exciting episodes of the season are now behind us, but I hope the season will still end strong. In the meantime, we now have Ponderosa videos to enjoy in between eps, and Malcolm's vids are now up! I love how in this one, he admits to having a slightly too large ego and having learned humility in the game. I do believe winning would have been a walk in the park for him had he been a little luckier. In Philippines, he had a terrible losing streak with his first tribe, forcing to play hard much earlier than he needed to, and this season, he was surrounded by some true greats and his tricks just ran out.

Most underrated best part of this episode: Eddie's blurred out crotch when he's just strolling around unawares. It looked hilarious on TV.

Best one liners still go to Cochran. I think he'll hold that title for all-time:

Jeff: How often does that happen? [referring to Cochran licking peanut butter off of Sherri's fingers]
Cochran: More often than you think.

(You have to see it for full effect.)

Survivor gods bless you, Cochran.

And without further ado:

Survivor: Caramoan - Episode Ten

You know this challenge was just made to get sexy
people covered in mud.

For a season that really started off slow, this one just popped a second epic Tribal Council in a row! Can't say the rest of the episode was great, though. Dawn's breakdown, which was completely overhyped, didn't really go anywhere, and then absolutely nothing exciting or strategic happened at the Reward...

THEN another Idol came into play, and Malcolm pulled another fast one on just about everyone, which thankfully played out in his favor this time. The question is: how many more tricks can Malcolm pull out? He's running out of resources, and I'm not sure just trying to get people to flip will work out for him...

All that and more in the video below!

PS. And because I forgot to do it in my video: here's a shoutout to all my Survivor friends, fellow fans, and vlog viewers/blog readers everywhere, all the way to the wonderful land of Australia!

PPS. Brenda got her first confessional this episode! For a full 3 seconds! Because I think she deserves some more time, here's another behind-the-scenes one of hers (I suppose that if they were all like that, I wouldn't have used valuable air time for that either... but who can be sure?)

Survivor: Caramoan - Episode Nine

Classic Fans vs. Favorites challenge! 

OMG WHAT AN INCREDIBLE EPISODE! This seriously makes every boring and stale episode of the first half of the season OK. There's so much to say, it's hard to talk about this step-by-step, but that's what I've tried to do in my video. Maybe I'll be more successful here...

I think this episode showed three big things: skill in strategy, the power of paranoia, and luck.

Malcolm took advantage of the Reward Challenge loss to talk to who he thought was on the bottom. Originally, I thought this was great... until I saw he was approaching Dawn and Sherri. HUGE mistake. It really surprises me that Malcolm was so oblivious to Dawn's role in voting out Corinne. It's a big shame... but great for Dawn and it's nice to see her really play (even if it seems it's not going to last...). I still think Brenda and Erik would have been a better choice

Then, we have Andrea, who is also playing hard and very strategically. I'm not her biggest fan, but I do like how she gives it her all. That said, the minute she heard her name was being thrown around, her game fell apart. Her paranoia led her to make the less smart move in voting for Michael, but ultimately, that was the lucky choice which keeps the Stealth R Us alliance in the majority.

Let's go back to great strategy when Tribal Council continues to go in the same direction we've seen with people yapping away, and Malcolm realizing his move may have been compromised. He was very impressive in his quick thinking and though I still think he's in a terrible position right now, he's also not  yet shown how good he is in challenges, and the Stealth R Us'ers won't see it coming when he starts winning Immunity Challenge after Immunity Challenge. (Well, that's my ideal turn of events, ha.) Now is the time for Malcolm to step. it. up. If he makes it to the end, he will truly be a worthy winner and in for the title of Best Survivor Ever in my book. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, here...

I talk about a lot more in the video below, including Brenda's potential strategy, Eddie and Andrea's "rapport" and if voting for Reynold has a chance in helping Malcolm argue his case in the tribe moving forward... Ultimately though, the only takeaway you should note from this post is: WATCH. (...that stands for both my video below and the episode!) It's possibly the best Tribal Council I've ever seen. Now we're talking, Survivor: Caramoan.

Survivor: Caramoan - Episode Eight

Hi Mom! I'm on Survivor!

Finally! An exciting episode this season!!! It was definitely a game-changing one and I loved how clearly we could see the two potential directions in which the game could go. Plus, we got a beautiful blindside out of it.

Objectively, I can't say I was leaning towards one side or the other (I have my favorites for the win on each side), so I'm not sad to see Corinne go. But I do salute her efforts to change things up for herself. She tried to make a move, which could have been beautiful, especially with Malcolm on her side, but she made a huge mistake in talking to Dawn, and it cost her big time -- and unfortunately, it cost Malcolm too.

Another big thing that happened this week is we had our first non-physical Immunity Challenge! However excited I was about that, I was NOT excited to have to sit through another Disgusting Food Eating Challenge. I can barely stand watching them, let alone think of having to play one. MAJOR PROPS to Cochran who absolutely KILLED it. I'm so happy he won. Well earned! Now I don't ever want to think about this again.

I'll let you watch the video below for more thoughts on the strategy we saw in this episode and my prognosis for eps to come, but to lay it out black on white here, my current projections is we'll either have (and I think this is the most likely scenario at this point) Cochran, Phillip and Andrew in the Final Three, or Malcolm, Eddie and Reynold, with Cochran and Malcolm winning respectively in each scenario. I'd be more than happy to see Malcolm pull it off, because it'll mean he really earned it, and I feel the same way about anyone else stepping up too, but I think option one is the most likely outcome.

Watch, and please: comment away!

PS. My thoughts definitely go out to Gerald Babin and Thierry Costa's families... The French Survivor who passed away last week on the first day of the season, and the physician from the show who let the pressure of accusations and questioning get to him... No one can blame these people or producers for being negligent. This was clearly a freak accident, and though it's a huge tragedy, I hope people won't just go the "find someone to blame" route and pin it on Survivor.

PPS. My merged tribe's name if I have a say: Enna, or Divad. Sounds pretty cool actually...

Survivor: Caramoan - Episode Seven

What's behind Cochran's calm stance...?

It's episode two after the tribe swap, and we're already done and moving to the merge next week. But let's not jump the gun! I'm here to talk about this week's episode.

In the video below, you'll find my thoughts of the moment on Phillip, Cochran, Corinne and Malcolm, including how pathetic, subtle, unsubtle and dangerous they all are, respectively.

A bit underwhelming this week overall, so I'll keep this short. But clearly, the hope never dies.... and maybe the merge will inject some strategy into these people! We're already more than halfway through the season now, come on!

Best quote of the episode: "I'm tempted to say that [Julia] has a vanilla personality, but that would be doing a great disservice to the flavor of vanilla. I mean, people actively seek out vanilla-flavored products. [...] Nobody's clamoring for anything Julia-flavored." -- John Cochran

Survivor: Caramoan - Episode Six

I'm rooting for Brenda, Malcolm and
Cochran to pick things up.

We made it to the mix... and things are still underwhelming. Now, we've still got two uneven tribes but in a different way -- rather than experience vs. newness, we have extremely strong vs. just not strong enough. I'm not saying strength is everything, but challenges have been very brawn heavy this season, and it's not doing the new Bikal any favors.

The Fans are overall very disappointing and not trying to make big moves at all -- just saving their skin for 3 more days. I love the Favorites obviously, but I didn't want it to be quite this much of a landslide in their favor. There are definitely cracks in the Favorites armor that the Fans could have taken advantage of, but instead everyone just decided to blurt out everything they could think of, which is a clear sign of playing to stay a few extra days rather than playing to win. I'm not saying it's never possible for "3 more days" (as Sandra would put it!) to turn into a million dollars, but in the Fans case and given the game of the remaining ones until now, I think it's very unlikely.

I didn't talk about Phillip in this video, but it's clear to me he also stands no chance of winning. Clearly everyone finds him ridiculous and annoying, but they all know it's in their best interest to humor him, at least for now.

What I do touch on -- and we talk about this too in the podcast I did with a fellow fan (see below) -- is how Tribal Council has turned into a therapy free-for-all where everyone just blurts out everything. Corinne did just that this episode, and I think that really could hurt her. Not to mention, I found her unnecessarily bitchy and just annoying too. Once Favorites start turning on themselves, it's obvious she's on the bottom of the totem pole. I'm surprised she was up for Player of the Week this week!

Anyway, here's my video below! Take a look and let me know what you think about the season so far, how the mix might be a good and/or bad thing, and who you think has it in him or her to win it. Parvati endorsed Cochran in her latest Survivor After-Show, and I'm rooting for either Brenda, Malcolm or... Cochran too.

In other news, as I mention in the video, I did an awesome podcast with a fellow fan on Talkshoe.com. It's a full season recap until last episode, and it's really long. A bit self-indulgent, but it'd be awesome if you joined in on the convo and took a listen! We're looking into doing more of these each week.

Survivor: Caramoan - Episode Five

Do we even want to know what's
going through his head?

Well, we finally saw it: Brandon Hantz's meltdown. What did you think? Was it what you expected? Better? Worse?

I should start by saying I'm relieved it wasn't worse. Yes, losing the beans and the rice in a game where you already have very little food has got to be very scary and difficult. And sure, witnessing someone's mental instability and eventual breakdown when you're isolated on an island with him must be very trying on the nerves and morale. But given some of the shots we saw in the preview last week, and considering the comparison made with Skupin's fire incident, I was actually worried that someone was going to get seriously injured. So I'm relieved that wasn't the case.

As for the meltdown itself -- I was caught between laughing in incredulity and feeling some of the dread these guys were clearly showing. For the most part, I was really impressed with how everyone handled it -- Jeff included. Most of them obviously knew -- and more importantly were able -- to brush their discomfort under the rug for as long as possible in order to calm Brandon down in his outbursts. Corinne's announcement on behalf of the tribe was very put together and controlled, while still saying it like it was, and I appreciated that, though it might bite her in her in the butt if she did that without the whole tribe's actual consent... Phillip on the other hand was absolutely egotistic and borderline idiotic in his reactions. He is the epitome of a tautologist who finds many ways to say nothing at all -- or at least nothing helpful. There is no doubt he contributed to Brandon's downward spiral, and I'm actually quite tired of watching him at this point, pink undies and all. More on that in the video.

Speaking of which, this video is slightly longer than my usual length -- but there was clearly lots to say. In it, I talk a little bit about the Russell vs. Brandon comparisons we've been hearing, the integrity of the game (and Jeff) in handling the situation and how this might affect the Faves moving forward, among other things. I also touch on Reynold finding the Idol -- again -- and whether or not there should be another Idol in play in general, and finally, the tribe mixup next week!

Looking forward to your comments -- below or straight on the YouTube page.

PS. Just saw this tweet by Russell.... Seeing how proud he is, I wonder whether I should even bother defending him! (But #enHantzed is pretty cool, I hate to say it...) (Ok, after some research, found out enHANTZed is actually a thing... View at your own risk.)

Survivor: Caramoan - Episode Four

Did anyone figure out what they were looking at??

OMG guys, great episode, right!?? This is the first episode I've been super excited about so far this season -- especially given all the hype about how awesome this season is, even better than last season, etc. There's lots to talk about in this episode, like Shamar's evacuation, the Stealth R Us expansion, the ultimate elimination and what other scenarios could have gone down, which I always love to go over -- all in the video below.

In other news... Remember when I said we didn't get to see a lot of the Fans after episode one?! Well that's definitely changed! Obviously it all depends on who loses, and the Fans have definitely been losing too much for a balanced season. I'm looking forward to when the tribes mix -- it'll give new life to some of the players [*cough* Eddie and Reynold *cough*] and also mix up this ridiculous Stealth R Us alliance. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely great to see the Favorites coasting -- they are the favorites after all -- but while I've been impressed with some of the Fans, overall their tribe has been wearing to watch (I say this from my comfortable and cozy room...) and I want to see more Faves! (Clearly I will get my wish next episode... Yikes.)

Watch the video and let me know what you thought! I was definitely surprised that the whole tribe voted for Laura... Didn't see that one coming though I guess it's a good thing the remaining alliance stuck together in the vote at least, but I think it was mistake on the long run, even if they win the next challenge.

What about you? Surprised/Disappointed/Glad at the outcome of the vote? Relieved about Shamar's med evac? Thoughts on WTF happened to make Brandon turn psycho next episode? (Let's face it, that teaser almost took all of the attention off of the episode...)

Survivor: Caramoan - Episode Three

Run for it!

We're getting deeper into this season of Survivor: Caramoan, and getting to know these contestants a little better - particularly the fans, as they lost the Immunity Challenge again this episode.

Before I get into detail, has anyone else noticed how the tribe colors this season are exactly the same as the original tribe colors in Micronesia: Fans vs. Favorites?! Malakal - the Favorites tribe - was purple, and Airai - the Fans tribe - was orange, too! Coincidence? I don't think so. Now we just have to see if the merged tribe color will be green...... Bets, anyone?

So, back to the episode! While I'm happy that the Favorites are winning challenges and not getting voted out, I wish we'd see more of them... I wanted to see just how obvious Malcolm and Corinne were being to attract Andrea's eye, because if they were that obvious about it, that's really a shame. It could also just be Andrea's paranoia, and the fact that she clearly feels threatened by Corinne and was just looking for a reason to vote her out. We'll see where that goes, but I for one hope that Malcolm and Corinne take each other far. The other thing I'd like to see is Brenda and Erik making more moves to stay on the ins of the tribe and break up this Stealth R Us alliance... But I suppose I'll see more of that when the time comes for them to actually scramble.

In terms of Gota - the Fan tribe - I'm still quite impressed with Sherri. Her makeup has remained intact for 9 days!! But seriously, I think she's done a great job at claiming control of the game on her tribe without ruffling any feathers - for instance asking Laura last week who she would vote out, rather than saying the name herself. And this week, she basically orchestrated the split vote AND prevented Shamar from quitting so they wouldn't risk being two extra people down. That said, and I go over this in my video, how strong is a tribe that is as dysfunctional as they are?!

Bouncing off of that, if I see a supposed 'Fan' quit the game, I'm going to be so pissed. I don't like Shamar, and would love for him to go, but he needs to go by getting his loud mouth and lazy butt voted out, not by quitting because he claims everyone is sucking him away from his 'happy place.'

Watch the video to find out more on my thoughts, particularly how I could have seen other scenarios go down for the vote, had some contestants been a little bit more strategic, namely Hope and Laura.

Favorite moment of the episode: I don't know if it was the editing or if Phillip really just felt like working out immediately after seeing Brenda doing it further down the beach, but it was hilarious to watch him go on about how pro and physically apt he is against men double his height, as he just repeated the motions Brenda was doing before. Though, to be fair, he has performed quite well in challenges so far.