Well, well, well … we're seven episodes in (yes, last week was two episodes) and all of the castaways are still in it one way or another. From the promo shown at the end of last week's show(s), we're in not only for the merge tonight, but all of those on Extinction come trooping in as the Immunity Challenge is about to start. It's my understanding, although I might be wrong, that only one from Extinction will rejoin the castaways and continue playing the game. How they'll whittle the number down, I have no clue. Nor do I know if Extinction will end as the show is named after it. Hmm. However, I predict lots of folks out of the pool after tonight!
I did find out the status of Aubry's idol and advantage, though. Nope, no good. The clue that came with the idol read that it's no longer any good if she is voted out. I don't know if the advantage (extra vote given to her by Chris) had the same wording. But, Jeff Probst has said online and in articles this past week that neither is any good at this point because she was voted out.
As the show airs here on the East Coast I'll be live-blogging the major events and some events possibly not as major. Refresh the page to get the latest news. As always, the real party is in the comments area. Feel free to join in on the fun!
But first … the latest pool update from Lifeguard Laurie!
Manu Tribe
Eric Hafemann - Bizaro22, Pinky, Shannon
Gavin Whitson - Brenda, KelseyNY
Victoria Baamonde - Indiana Jane, Karen in VS, SueGee
Kama Tribe
Aurora McCreary - Ed in Ohio, marthalight
Joe Anglim * - Carol C., Kismet
Julia Carter - Donna in FL, Monty924, Jennifer
Julie Rosenberg - Delee, MikesGirl
Ron Clark - Cherry Pie, Judi Sweeney, Rochelle
Lesu Tribe
Dan DaSilva "Wardog" - Jackie, Nana in the NW
David Wright * - Dr_Celine, PDX Granny, Renee Buck
Kelley Wentworth * - Donna in NY, Jenna G.
Lauren O'Connell - Brian, Krista Gibson, Sharon N.
Limbo/Extinction
Reem Daly - David, Terry is a Texan, Sharon C
Keith Sowell - Donna in Alabama, meb, Skyriverblue
Chris Underwood - Glenn Allen, Laurie
Rick Devens - Auntie Leigh, Merrilee
Aubry Bracco * - Cheryl in NC, Margo, Petals
Wendy Diaz - Janice, Jennasmom, tbc
Let's get it ON!
We're starting with … drop your buffs. The merge is on. Jeff starts talking about iconic Survivor moves and then yells "Come on in!" All of the Extinction crew arrives. One of the six will earn his/way back into game. Race through obstacles, untie bag, build bamboo pole, retrieve key, maneuver pole to long track to move ball up track, first one through wins. Some earned advantages on Extinction. Chris had won bamboo and string. Keith gives a thirty knots disadvantage to Chris. Oh my gosh, Wendy is leading!
Whoops! Wendy dropped it, has to start again!
RICK DEVENS IS BACK IN THE GAME!
One of my questions answered -- Jeff tells them that Extinction will begin once again. It will continue.
Whoa … Who wants to go back to Extinction Island? They ALL jump at the chance! I guess our blog pool peeps will all sort of be in it still.
The Merge Feast is on. Now, if original Kama stays tight, they have eight strong. Rick is trying to bond with people so he won't be the easy vote out because he had already been voted out. (Cue Big Brother)
On Extinction, some raise the white flag. Uh-oh. Reem, Aubry and Rick remain. I think.
Back at camp, Joe is worried about being targeted while others are indeed talking about taking the easy Rick vote.
Rick finds something in his bag. Note -- two halves of an immunity idol. He keeps one half, gives the other to someone else. He has to get through the first vote without it. If they both make it through the vote, it will become the power of one idol. He tells his closest ally and to-be recipient of the other half David about it.
Time for the first individual Immunity. Stand on narrow beam holding statue. As time goes on, go down the beam to a narrower area. Last one standing with statue wins.
Wind … Ron is out at the start! Gavin out. Wardog out. Rick out. Victoria out. Aurora out. Kelley out. Twenty minutes in and they go to the most narrow. Eric out. Julia out. David out.
Julie, Joe and Lauren remaining. Ack! Joe out. Lauren out.
JULIE WINS IMMUNITY!
Kelley knows that the current plan is for the "easy vote." But she is concerned enough that she is considering that she might have to use her idol.
Julie is scheming to take Kelley out. She tells Rick that he's a target and he and David need to vote with them, no questions asked. Joe is worried that he might be a target. Ron thinks the Kama Six should vote him out while they can.
So, it seems to be targeting Joe and Kelley more than Rick. How strong will the six be in the vote? And they hike off to Tribal.
Reem, Chris and Aubry are members of the jury? Jeff tells the others that they chose to return to Extinction.
Jeff asks about original Kama, threats, idols and other Probsting questions, After Ron makes a statement about Kama being so strong, it's time to vote.
The tally:
Kelley does NOT play her idol.
Rick, Kelley, David, Rick, David, Kelley, David, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe.
Jeff tells them Joe is the fourth member of the jury. Of course … Joe finds the Extinction stand and grabs the torch. He's not quitting!
He greets the other three back on Extinction. Hugs all around. Hmm … I guess this means no Ponderosa this season?
In the promo for next week, someone gets hurt. See you then!
Ah, the mysteries …! We're going into the fifth episode and all of the castaways are still on the show. Sure, some are in the Limbo stage called Extinction. We still have no clue what's going to happen there. It's believed one will make it back to the tribes, but how? Will we wait for the others to perish? What's up with Extinction? And, an even bigger mystery … why does Jeff Probst call Kelley Wentworth "Wentworth" all the time instead of using her first name? He did that with Cochran and a few others. But I don't recall him doing that with any other female castaway. What's up with that, Probst?
Hopefully, tonight's two-hour show will give us some more insight into how Extinction will actually work. I doubt we'll find out why Jeff calls Kelley by her last name, though.
As tonight's show airs here on the East Coast I'll be live-blogging and constantly updating this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest news. As always, the real party is in the comments. Feel free to join in on the fun!
Every time the tribes shuffle, Lifeguard Laurie has to shuffle the blog pool accordingly. She does it without complaint because she's cool like that. Here's the latest standings in the pool --
Manu Tribe
Aubry Bracco * - Cheryl in NC, Margo, Petals
Eric Hafemann - Bizaro22, Pinky, Shannon
Gavin Whitson - Brenda, KelseyNY
Victoria Baamonde - Indiana Jane, Karen in VS, SueGee
Wendy Diaz - Janice, Jennasmom, tbc
Kama Tribe
Aurora McCreary - Ed in Ohio, marthalight
Joe Anglim * - Carol C., Kismet
Julia Carter - Donna in FL, Monty924, Jennifer
Julie Rosenberg - Delee, MikesGirl
Ron Clark - Cherry Pie, Judi Sweeney, Rochelle
Lesu Tribe
Dan DaSilva "Wardog" - Jackie, Nana in the NW
David Wright * - Dr_Celine, PDX Granny, Renee Buck
Kelley Wentworth * - Donna in NY, Jenna G.
Lauren O'Connell - Brian, Krista Gibson, Sharon N.
Limbo/Extinction
Reem Daly - David, Terry is a Texan, Sharon C.
Keith Sowell - Donna in Alabama, meb, Skyriverblue
Chris Underwood - Glenn Allen, Laurie
Rick Devens - Auntie Leigh, Merrilee
Here we go … I hope you brought two hours worth of snacks and adult beverages!
Yes, of course Rick is going to go to the edge of extinction. He seems to be going in knowing it will be a rough ride. Is he up to the challenge? They do look kind of miserable out there.
Ohh … right into a Reward Challenge. Obstacles collecting bolos, land the bolos on the target. Sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly and bread. Second tribe wins just some PB&J sandwiches.
KAMA wins Reward! MANU takes second place. Once again, the folks on Lesu who lost as the other tribe before shuffling, loses.
Joe, claiming going into this he was going to play more lowkey, is still showing the comp beast side. And, yeah … he's a target. The women are saying he has to go. But Joe has grown on Ron -- he says he's a workhorse and helps them win comps. According to him, it's not the time for Joe to go.
Oh my, lots of buzz about getting out the returning players. They also want Aubry out, even over Wendy, on Manu. Aubry wants to work with Victoria to get out one of the "big dog" guys.
On Lesu where Kelley said playing with David on the tribe of four is like three women and Wardog. David keeps searching for an idol. The others notice he's gone. Lauren feels both Wardog and Kelley are on her side, plus she does have an idol. Even though she's sick, she is thinking she's safe. Kelley trusts Wardog although she likens him to Tony. "It's Survivor. It's kill or be killed."
Extinction has news, something for each of them. Map, stars align, get back in the fold, get back in the game. They decide to go together. Whoa … Keith who told us he was clueless with the map and the others deciphered it, took off on his own. The others are chasing him. Rick pushes him aside and grabs three rods and a note that says PRACTICE. A second note gives one an extra vote to give to a player. Chris got that one.
Immunity Challenge. Swim, dive to release puzzle pieces, up on small platform. Kelley is really poor at this. You'd think she's non-swimmer Keith! Lesu is WAY BEHIND once again. The other tribes are working on the puzzles and Lesu doesn't even have one puzzle piece. Finally they're heading to shore to do the puzzle. Neither other tribe has solved it yet.
KAMA wins first immunity! HEY … LESU won second immunity! It's the first time any of them have won it! They were so far behind, but did the puzzle in a snap.
Manu will lose someone tonight.
Supposedly, the plan is to vote out Wendy. Aubry is talking with Victoria about getting with Wendy to vote out one of the guys. Aubry thinks Eric will be a threat once they merge. They talk to Wendy. She can't decide even though she thinks she's a target. What is with that girl? She might have just undecided her way to Extinction.
Aubry has her idol. AND Chris sent her the extra vote!!! She doesn't have a clue who did it. Of course, she thinks someone IN the game sent it and she has an unknown ally. She has until there are seven left to play it. Now, she's the undecided one.
Tribal Council time. Argh! Gavin is one of those people who says "whenever" instead of "when." That's it. Vote him off.
Ahem. Wendy is clueless and smiling. The tribal is fairly mellow. Time to vote.
The tally:
Aubry, Wendy, Aubry, Aubry … goes out with an idol in her pocket. She's blindsided. I wonder if the idol still holds up if she comes back from Extinction? Hmm. Of course, that's where she's headed. It's a no-brainer according to her.
Right into a Reward Challenge. Leap over tables, lever, sandbags, get to target, hit targets to rotate to raise two flags. First -- coffee, pastries spread. Second -- iced coffee and cookies.
KAMA wins first (due to Joe). MANU wins second place. LESU is back to losing.
Joe thinks seeing Aubry got voted out shows him that he has no one to rely on. He's teary about it. He doesn't think anyone really wants to work with him. He is trying to go around making the rest of his tribe think they will ALL be targets after the merge because they're ALL big threats.
The talk on Lesu is to vote out Lauren because she's been sick. They don't know she has an idol. Wardog is also a target because he's bad in challenges and very bossy. David is even willing to work with Kelley to oust him. Hmm …
Five maps at Extinction. Aubry follows their lead in folding, but she's clueless. Devin thinks it's by the mast, but he's wrong. Keith actually finds it. It's knots to give to his biggest threat. Reem is upset. She saw it first but Keith touched it first. She says she follows the rules. Aubry thinks it's a dysfunctional family there. She also calls it a train wreck and says people are losing it. She said all of this in confessional to us, not to them.
Immunity Challenge time once again. Climb ladder, bag attached to rope through frame, Survivor slide puzzle.
UH-OH -- Jeff takes away an idol! The two losing tribes will go to Tribal and only one tribe will be safe tonight.
What a shocker! KAMA wins Immunity! Both tribes will go together to Tribal and one person will be voted out. They're worried about having to draw rocks with a tie. Eric is excited. He trusts Eric and Victoria and is willing to draw rocks if need be. Victoria is not really willing to do rocks. On Lesu they think the other team will go for rocks and they are worried. They want to go in four strong. Wardog is again getting under Kelley's skin about it. Wardog goes off looking for an idol. He thinks Lauren is expendable. That only brings the other three closer together. Lauren hasn't told anyone that she has an idol. Whoa! Kelley finds an idol! Lauren knows Kelley has an idol, but not vice versa.
Tribal Council time!
They're talking about staying tribe united of course. Both tribes talk about sticking together. Kelley tells them they're willing to take someone aboard. So, the other tribe speaks up. Wendy thinks she's in the middle. Ohh … Kelley is whispering to David. Talk about veterans not wanting to go to rocks before merge. Wardog whispering to David. David whispers to Wendy away from everybody else. Too much whispering going on!
The tally: Can't be rocks, too little time left. No one plays an idol.
Wendy, Lauren, Wendy, Lauren, Wendy, Lauren, Wendy, Lauren.
Re-vote time, can only vote for Wendy or Lauren. More whispering.
Re-tally:
Wendy, Wendy, Wendy, Wendy.
Wendy is out and is excited happy about it. She scoots away singing "cheeseburger, shower." She is even giddier heading off to Extinction.
Next week is the merge and all of Extinction is joining them!
Okay, we now (since the last episode) have three people in Extinction. I believe only one can return to the game. How will the herd be thinned? Wait until they starve? Hopefully we'll find out more about how Extinction works in tonight's episode.
As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be live blogging and constantly updating this post. Refresh the page to get the latest news. As always, the party is in the comments area -- feel free to join in on the fun!
Before we get started … here are the latest standings in Lifeguard Laurie's blog pool:
Manu Tribe
Dan DaSilva "Wardog" - Jackie, Nana in the NW
David Wright * - Dr_Celine, PDX Granny, Renee Buck
Kelley Wentworth * - Donna in NY, Jenna G
Lauren O'Connell - Brian, Krista Gibson, Sharon N.
Rick Devens - Auntie Leigh, Merrilee
Wendy Diaz - Janice, Jennasmom, tbc
Kama Tribe
Aubry Bracco * - Cheryl in NC, Margo, Petals
Aurora McCreary - Ed in Ohio, marthalight
Eric Hafemann - Bizaro22, Pinky, Shannon
Gavin Whitson - Brenda, Kelsey NY
Joe Anglim * - Carol C., Kismet
Julia Carter - Donna in FL, Monty924, Jennifer
Julie Rosenberg - Delee, MikesGirl
Ron Clark - CherryPie, Judi Sweeney, Rochelle
Victoria Baamonde - Indiana Jane, Karen in VS, SueGee
LIMBO - Extinction
Reem Daly - David, Terry is a Texan, Sharon C.
Keith Sowell - Donna in Alabama, meb, Skyriverblue
Chris Underwood - Glenn Allen, Laurie
Survivor fans ready? Let's get the show going!
Facebook has been glitchy for all most of the day (as evidenced by posts on Twitter). I can't post my usual links to here to there. Hopefully folks will remember the show is on!
To Manu where the flint thief Wendy is blowing her own game. She thought hiding the flint was funny and the rest of the tribe sure didn't!
Rewards Challenge time? Kama is shocked that Chris was voted out of Mana. One Mana said Chris carried that tribe. Oh, snap! "Drop your buffs. It's going to three tribes."
Blue, Yellow and Green
Getting through with "previously on." Chris joins Reem and Keith. Reem is a bit surly because Chris is one of the ones who did her dirty. "You're not coming to a freakin' Holiday Inn."
Wendy is the only one not with her original tribe. She's with four members of previous Kama. She still can defend her chickens, now to a new crowd.
Joe, still on Kama, is happy the numbers are cut. He wants to be solid with Ron and Aurora. Ron tells us that he looked through Joe's bag for an idol and he wants Joe out ASAP. He had Julia in there with him on that.
Aubry is using Wendi as intel. Her new tribemates have their eyes on the chickens. They say if they don't start laying eggs, they'll eat them. Nighttime comes. She releases the chickens. She's thrilled with herself. Hmm.
To Extinction. It's storming. They have no real shelter, just a haphazard one and Keith is thinking of raising the flag. He might be more bitter about Chris than Reem is. Chris isn't happy himself. He thinks he's failed. He actually catches a fish and the other two soften.
Sure enough, they all suspect her. Eric says that if he catches one, it's getting cooked. They confront her about it to a degree. They're nicer than I would be.
Time for the Immunity Challenge. Two tribes will be safe. Race over A frames carrying rope, pull crate, solve puzzle. Apparently no Reward.
Kama wins first! Manu wins second. It's the new Lesu (?) loses. It has Lauren, David and Kelley on it. They're sad because they were all together all along. David still wants Kelley out and thinks she has an idol. Meanwhile, Laure (who is the one who has the idol) has been sick so all of a sudden she's the target. She gets along with Kelley. Kelley thinks that Wardog is going to control the vote. Rick seems to be in the middle. "Who can get the Wardog closer to a million dollars?" He talks about himself in third person nickname. There has to be some sort of psychological glitch in that.
Tribal Council time. The five are good friends. Kelley is in tears because it's so hard to vote someone out when they're all so close. She doesn't know David has been gunning for her to go from the get go. Lauren seems to be the quietest. We're talking a sentimental council tonight. And, they know it. Oh, well. time to vote. Rick votes Lauren voted Rick. Both were sorry to do so.
The tally … Lauren doesn't play her idol.
Lauren, Rick, Lauren, Rick, Rick.
Oh, my. Rick is out. I didn't expect that! He goes out still loving them.
Then he heads to Extinction (of course).
So, here we are entering the third episode and we're still relatively clueless about how Edge of Extinction will work. We don't even know if Keith chose to go on with the game. Although, I can't really imagine him NOT going on. But, then again, he's a superfan of the show who chose not to learn to swim before going on that show. I guess we'll learn more tonight.
As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be live blogging and constantly updating this post. Refresh the page to get the latest happenings! As always, the real party is in the comments area -- please join in on the fun!
Here are the latest blog pool standings from that luverly Lifeguard Laurie:
Manu Tribe
Chris Underwood - Glenn Allen, Laurie
Dan DaSilva "Wardog" - Jackie, Nana in the NW
David Wright * - Dr_Celine, PDX Granny, Renee Buck
Kelley Wentworth * - Donna in NY, Jenna G
Lauren O'Connell - Brian, Krysta Gibson, Sharon N.
Rick Devens - Auntie Leigh, Merrilee
Wendy Diaz - Janice, Jennasmom, tbc
Kama Tribe
Aubry Bracco * - Cheryl in NC, Margo, Petals
Aurora McCreary - Ed in Ohio, marthalight
Eric Hafemann - Bizaro22, Pinky, Shannon
Gavin Whitson - Brenda, Kelsey NY
Joe Anglim * - Carol C., Kismet
Julia Carter - Donna in FL, Monty924, Jennifer
Julie Rosenberg - Delee, MikesGirl
Ron Clark - CherryPie, Judi Sweeney, Rochelle
Victoria Baamonde - Indiana Jane, Karen in VS, SueGee
LIMBO -- Extinction?!?!?!
Reem Daly - David, Terry is a Texan, Sharon C.
and maybe, probably …
Keith Sowell - Donna in Alabama, meb, Skyriverblue
Okay, let's watch us some Survivor!
Keith is still over acting his indecision, but goes ahead to Extinction. Reem is thrilled to see another person. She tells him she hasn't eaten for days and they have to get food themselves. She's feeling all motherly and his appearance seems to give her new incentive to stay. Ohh … they got mspd leading them to steps that Reem never saw. Sure enough, they find them. They lead to rice! They have to repeat the strenuous climb each day to get any rice at all.
Back on the mainland, it's time the Reward Challenge.
Assemble wheelbarrow, sandbags, disassemble wheelbarrow, use parts to slingshot sandbags.
Comfort or chickens -- three hens, one rooster. Hmm … I don't recall Jeff saying "immunity." I'll correct that if this isn't a combination immunity/reward. Chris better watch it -- he's shining too much in challenges. MANU finally wins a challenge! And, it's just purely Reward, not Immunity. They choose chickens.
Wendy twisted her ankle. Uh-oh!
Wendy wants to set the chickens free. Oh, no … shades of the early Kimmie! Of course, they don't have to eat any other than maybe the rooster. They can have eggs from the hens if they let them live.
Over on Kama, they're talking about targeting either Joe or Aubry. Joe is nearby when Victoria and Ron were talking about targeting them. Now Aubry thinks she needs the idol. And, lo and behold, she finds it! Woot for her! It was on her Survivor bucket list!
Back to the chickens. The others are talking about killing them, not saving some for egg production. They think they need the protein … which they could also get from eggs. Wendy is digging a hole for herself with this one, though.
Immunity back up for grabs.
Pulling (swimming) a boat with four swimming, rest in boat, to towers, retrieve three keys by jumping off and grabbing them, puzzle pieces, spin wheel, raise flag.
KAMA wins Immunity once again. And, unfortunately for returnees -- David and Kelley totally sucked at the puzzle part. David thinks it's a perfect time for them to target Kelley. He better watch out or it could be him.
Wendy is sure she's going home because of her ankle. The others are talking about killing a chicken. Yipes, they can't find the flint. Wardog thinks Wendy took it to save the chicken … and he's totally right. David and Chris go to ask her about it. She denies taking the flint. David thinks that Wendy will be loyal to him and they need to pull in Chris to target Kelley. He doesn't want Wardog to know. Meanwhile, Chris is close to Wardog. A dilemma! He talks to Wardog. Hmm... Wardog tells us he's trusts Kelley more than he trusts Chris and thinks Chris should be targeted. He runs to Kelley. Now Chris is a target.
Wardog goes to Rick and now Rick is all nervous. Oops! Rick goes to David. David thinks it's going to be a rough Tribal Council. I think he's totally right.
Tribal time …
Sure enough, chicken talk. David says tonight is probably about getting rid of the social threat, not necessarily the weakest in challenges.
Time to vote. The tally:
Kelley, Chris, Kelley, Chris, Chris, Chris …
And Chris is outta there!
No indecision from him -- "Screw those guys, I'm getting back in the boat."
Next week -- drop your buffs! And, they're going into three tribes, not two.
