Welcome to your favorite social distancing party -- one that started long before the virus hit! I hope you're all safe and well. As for the show, I can't help but think that because we're down to three small tribes, the merge will be coming soon. Perhaps next week?
As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be updating this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest news! As always, the real party is in the comments area. Please feel free to join in on the fun!
The Luverly Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool and here are the latest standings --
DAKAL
Denise Stapley - Becky, Jennifer
Jeremy Collins - Sharon N
Kim Spradlin-Wolfe - Dr_Celine
Tony Vlachos - Karen in CA, Donna in Alabama
SELE
Michele Fitzgerald -Terry is a Texan
Nick Wilson - Barbara BW, Judi Sweeney
Parvati Shallow - Donna in FL
Wendell Holland - Nic+F10:F30kelpeed, PDX Granny
Yul Kwon - Ed in Ohio
YARA
Adam Klein - Lifeguard Laurie, Petals
Ben Driebergen - Rbennie, Shannon
Sarah Lacina - SueGee, Cheryl in NC
Sophie Clarke - ChicMc
Extinction Island
Natalie Anderson - Nana in the NW
Amber Mariano - Delee, Glenn Allen
Danni Boatwright - Jennasmom
Ethan Zohn - Rochelle, Jackie
Tyson Apostol -Janice
Rob Mariano - Auntie Leigh
Sandra Diaz-Twine - tbc
Survivor fans ready?
We're starting out tonight on Extinction. Sandra tells them exactly how it went down with her. Whoa ... Sandra is already saying she will quit because Extinction just isn't for her. (Of course, those who leave before the filming is over actually stay in a nice hotel for the duration.) Sandra does indeed quit, saying she's still the queen and will always stay the queen, but she's gone.
On his tribe, Wendell is under the gun from Yul. Now Yul has a bit of distrust going on. Wendell bristles when Michele offers him advice. He didn't do that with Yul. Yul picked right up on that. How to win friends and influence people!
Back to Extinction and Ethan talks to us. It's depressing. He feels defeated and there's no hope. He says he just had a moment. Parvati pep talked him out of his incoming state of funk. He gets something with one scroll for each -- one clue for each. Four fire tokens scattered at the top of the island. They're all on the hunt.
Tyson finds the first one. Rob hides the fact that he found the other three.
Tony thinks he's sitting fairly pretty even without his ally Sandra in the game. He thinks Denise will be more of a target than he is. He doesn't realize that Jeremy thinks Tony is the biggest target. And, Kim thinks that Tony is more the odd man out. It looks like Tony is going to need them to win Immunity or the merge to come on to remain in the game.
While they're still celebrating peanut butter and jelly, Yara definitely has issues. They all think Adam has an idol. Adam is sure Sarah has an idol. Meanwhile. it's Sophie who has it. Adam is still convinced they're lying to him about neither Ben or Sarah having an idol. Silly boy. He continues to alienate himself.
Immunity challenge time, carrying large saucer, fill with water, run to fill well with water, puzzle.
YARA wins the first immunity! Dakal wins the second. Sele will be going to Tribal Counci, losing by perhaps a second. Yul tells us that Wendell may have dug his own grave. We'll have to wait and see.
Nick thinks Wendell screwed up the challenge by showboating and trashtalking. That's the same thing Yul said. Wendell tries to convince Michele to vote Yul. He thinks he can get Nick on board with that. Yul wants to backstab Wendell and get his fire tokens. Uh-oh -- that sets off red flags for Nick, thinking Yul wants to run everything. Whatever ... it will end up being Yul or Wendell.
It's off to Tribal a few minutes earlier than usual. What will go down? Yul tells Jeff he's smirking. Wendell says that the group made a decision. Jeff points out to Yul that he's the remaining old school. Yul says he's lied more in this game so far than he did his entire season. Then he talks fire tokens. Jeff brings up pre-existing relationships and Jeff brings up Michele/Wendell. Wendell says he wants to win and will work with anyone to get to the end. Now, that doesn't set all that well with Michele. Nick claims the four are his final four. He would come back and work with them. Wendell says no. Yul says it might be his only option.
Time to tally the votes. No idols played.
Yul, Wendell, Yul, Yul.
No real surprise, but I'm sorry to see him go.
And, yes ... the merge is on for next week.
I hope everybody is dealing with the virus as best as one can deal with it. Hang in there!
Now on the show we have three tribes and only the one tribe winning Immunity will be safe. So, two castaways will be leaving us. I think that kind of shows that we're not all that far from the merge.
As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be updating the blog with the major events. Refresh the page to get the latest happenings! As always, the real party is in the comments area -- please feel free to join in on the fun!
Lifeguard Laurie has been so kind as to go with the shuffle and update our blog pool. Here are the latest standings --
DAKAL
Denise Stapley - Becky, Jennifer
Jeremy Collins - Sharon N
Kim Spradlin-Wolfe - Dr_Celine
Sandra Diaz-Twine - tbe
Tony Vlachos - Karen in CA, Donna in Alabama
SELE
Michele Fitzgerald -Terry is a Texan
Nick Wilson - Barbara BW, Judi Sweeney
Parvati Shallow - Donna in FL
Wendell Holland - Nic+F10:F30kelpeed, PDX Granny
Yul Kwon - Ed in Ohio
YARA
Adam Klein - Lifeguard Laurie, Petals
Ben Driebergen - Rbennie, Shannon
Sarah Lacina - SueGee, Cheryl in NC
Sophie Clarke - ChicMc
Extinction Island
Natalie Anderson - Nana in the NW
Amber Mariano - Delee, Glenn Allen
Danni Boatwright - Jennasmom
Ethan Zohn - Rochelle, Jackie
Tyson Apostol -Janice
Rob Mariano - Auntie Leigh
Survivor fans ready?
Ben is thrilled Rob is gone. Adam is a bit worried about his own position on his smaller tribe.
Rob hits Extinction. Tyson found a log message which pretty much instructed them to turn stones to find a fire token. "The more stones you turn over, the better your chances are." Tyson thinks it's something to do with the tide because there's a time reference. Sure enough, he finds his first fire token. It's an idol nullifier he can sell for a token with the castaways. He purchases peanut butter with his token garnered from Parvati.
Immunity Challenge time. Lots of "oohhs" when Jeff pointed out Rob is gone. Swim to boat, retrieve three bags of rice, get them back and retrieve three balls, then table maze. Reward is peanut butter and jelly. The losing two tribes will go separately to tribal councils and each will lose a person.
YARA wins Immunity!
Parvati is very worried. While she has the idol nullifier, it's numbers she needs. However, Michele is trying to turn the tide against Wendell. On Dakal, Jeremy thinks he might have to use his walk out of tribal advantage. Sandra is pointing out that Tony is missing. Of course, he's been up in his "bunker." Hmm ... will Denise be targeted? Or, will it be Jeremy? Sandra offers her immunity idol for two fire tokens ... to Denise. Hmm.
The first tribal is Sele. Wendell thinks it's a season of pre-existing relationship. He touts backstabbing while Nick thinks that approach won't work as well with all. Uh-oh, now Wendell is on the hot seat. Now they're talking exchanging fire tokens for votes. Yul says the situation reminds him of watching parents bicker. It's not obvious who will be voted out at this point.
The tally:
Parvati, Wendell, Wendell, Parvati, Parvati
Well, yeah. Parvati is a big threat for the win. But it's too bad. She leaves her fire tokens to Michele.
Time for Dakal tribal council. They start out talking about who's a threat and those who aren't -- even though they all won their own seasons. Tony claims they all came to a consensus. He seems to be pointing out Denise. Sandra is sitting there like a calm Queen remaining the Queen.
Denise plays an idol, then asks for a minute more. She plays the second one for Jeremy!
The tally:
Denise, Denise, Denise, Denise, SANDRA
Whoa! The Queen is no longer the Queen! She gave her fire token to Yul.
Well, well, well ... it's time for Shuffle the Tribes.This will indeed change the dynamics for all of the castaways -- some for the better, others destined to have their torches snuffed. A lot of the play we're seeing so far has to do with old school and new school. I think that the old school folks might be in trouble -- while they're good at manipulation and outwitting, they don't really have hidden idol experience and, of course, they're older and perhaps not as strong in physical challenges.
I'll be updating this entry with the major events as the show airs here on the East Coast -- refresh the page to get the latest happenings! As always, the real party is in the comments area. I hope to see you there!
But first ... here's the latest pool standings from our very own Lifeguard Laurie:
DAKAL (Red tribe)
Kim Spradlin-Wolfe - Dr_Celine
Nick Wilson - Barbara BW, Judi Sweeney
Sandra Diaz-Twine - tbe
Sarah Lacina - SueGee, Cheryl in NC
Sophie Clarke - ChicMc
Tony Vlachos - Karen in CA, Donna in Alabama
Wendell Holland - Nickelpeed, PDX Granny
Yul Kwon - Ed in Ohio
SELE (Blue tribe)
Adam Klein - Lifeguard Laurie, Petals
Ben Driebergen - Rbennie, Shannon
Denise Stapley - Becky, Jennifer
Jeremy Collins - Sharon N
Michele Fitzgerald -Terry is a Texan
Parvati Shallow - Donna in FL
Rob Mariano - Auntie Leigh
Extinction Island
Natalie Anderson - Nana in the NW
Amber Mariano - Delee, Glenn Allen
Danni Boatwright - Jennasmom
Ethan Zohn - Rochelle, Jackie
Tyson Apostol - Janice
Survivor fans ready?
Nick thinks, since Tyson gave him a fire idol. they might work together if he returns. Yeah, sure.
Yul talks about Jonathan Penner's wife having ALS and wants to raise awareness. A brief clip of Yul and Jonathan, plus a spot in the first commercial break.
Right to the new tribes -- three of them. Sele and Dakal mames remain with the addition of Yara. I'll have to do the breakdown a bit later. I can't type fast enough!
Added in -- the new tribe breakdown:
Yara
Rob, Sophie, Sarah, Adam, Ben
Sele
Michele, Wendell, Yul, Parvati, Nick
Dakal
Tony, Sandra, Denise, Kim, Jeremy
Adam, Ben and Rob remain on the same time.
Now it's a matter of seeing who is in with whom and who's on the outs, Tony tells Sandra that there are lions and hyenas in the game. He thinks they should stick it to the hyenas. Nick tells Parvati that she was his high school crush. Michele and Wendell previously dated and it didn't end great. Will they be able to work together? Will they be targeted? Lots of getting to know and re-know each other.
Sophie found one of those share half idols and shared it with Sarah.
To Immunity Challenge is a bit of a Rubik's Cube of stacked blocks after running through obstacles and throwing sandbags at targets to knock the blocks down.
Sele wins Immunity first! Then Dakal. Yikes ... Yara (sp?) with Rob. Ben, Adam, Sophie and Sarah.
Rob is trying to run the vote because he doesn't want to be voted out. He works with Ben and Adam. Adam tells them that one of the girls have an idol. They decide Sophie is stronger in challenges so they need to vote out Sarah. Rpb dictated the three guys had to stay together in camp. Ben is chomping at the bit. Will he stick with the buudy system Rob has laid down?
They don't know that Sarah has the Steal a Vote advantage.
Heading to Tribal, then commercial time!
Jeff asks how this season differs from others. Sophie says many smaller groups rather than two sides. Ben mentions other seasons have someone dictating. ... hmm. The women talked about the three men sticking together all day. Sarah tells the guys that both women are willing to work with them. Ben talks about it being a numbers game.
Time to vote ...
No idol played.
Sarah, Rob, Rob, Rob ... three is enough.
He tried his hardest at his Robness, but it didn't work. His Buddy System only works with better buddies. He leaves his fire token to Parvati - no surprise there. Next week two people will be voted out. Only the first winning tribe is safe.
Will we go another week keeping Rob, Sandra and Parvati in the game? True, having them around after the merge makes them bigger targets for the less manipulative players. However, that's the point. All three are manipulative. Of course, manipulation is a valued skill in these competitive reality shows -- cases in point besides these three: Richard Hatch, Will Kirby (BB), Dan Gheesling and more. In Survivor, it's a huge part of Outwitting the competition.
As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be updating this entry with the major events. Refresh the page to get the latest updates! As always, the real party is in the comments area -- I hope to see you there!
But first ... here's the latest blog pool update from the Lovely Lifeguard Laurie:
DAKAL (Red tribe)
Kim Spradlin-Wolfe - Dr_Celine
Nick Wilson - Barbara BW, Judi Sweeney
Sandra Diaz-Twine - tbe
Sarah Lacina - SueGee, Cheryl in NC
Sophie Clarke - ChicMc
Tony Vlachos - Karen in CA, Donna in Alabama
Tyson Apostol -Janice
Wendell Holland - Nickelpeed, PDX Granny
Yul Kwon - Ed in Ohio
SELE (Blue tribe)
Adam Klein - Lifeguard Laurie, Petals
Ben Driebergen - Rbennie, Shannon
Denise Stapley - Becky, Jennifer
Jeremy Collins - Sharon N
Michele Fitzgerald -Terry is a Texan
Parvati Shallow - Donna in FL
Rob Mariano - Auntie Leigh
Extinction Island
Natalie Anderson - Nana in the NW
Amber Mariano - Delee, Glenn Allen
Danni Boatwright - Jennasmom
Ethan Zohn - Rochelle, Jackie
Survivor fans ready?
Back from Tribal, Rob tells them "well-played" while Adam is under the gun for playing all sides. He thinks he needs to apologize. I think he needs a pocket of idols myself. Ben is still determined to focus on Rob and Parvati although he no longer trusts Adam at all.
Dakal is having fun on the surface due to their wins, but things might be smoldering a bit beneath the happy faces.
On Extinction, they each have a chance to win a fire token, with tremendous effort. They have to take twenty trips up and down the mountain, retrieving a log each time. It must be done by sundown. Such fun!
Natalie is a powerhouse in the task. She tells us she has 35 fire tokens -- this is only for one token! Ethan is in pretty bad shape. Even so, he refuses to stop. But then the medic comes in. Uh-oh. She advises him not to continue the task. With only four more trips to go, he rests. But then he decides to go for it once again. Natalie finished first and they all finished before Ethan -- and celebrated with him when he finished. They each earned one fire token.
Adam is sucking up to all, waiting on them, offering to keep helping out. Ethan sent Parvati his fire token. Rob and Parvati know they're on the bottom and are trying to trip up Adam. Since Adam isn't playing along well with them, they lie about him, telling the others he's still coming to them, etc.
Dakal is having too much fun. Tyson, not trusted by some, is a hit with a few. He knows people are suspicious. He thinks Wendell, Nick, Yul and Sophie are playing under the radar. Meanwhile, Sandra thinks Tyson should go because he committed the ultimate crime of targeting her.
Immunity challenge time. Four tribe members tied to a boat, pull boat out to ramp, one climbs up and jump for suspended key falling in the water. They need three keys, puzzle. The reward is chickens. As usual, Sandra sits out -- this time joined with Tony.
SELE comes from way behind to win Immunity (finally)!
Tyson thinks their loss was the two puzzle people. (It was.) He wants to target Nick. Sandra will go with the majority vote as long as she's not targeted. Tyson thinks this is coming along too easy. He's right. A contingent want to target him. Tony likes hiding behind Tyson so he isn't the target.
Tribal Council and Jeff's Probsting questions. They talk about groups. Sandra claims she will vote with the main group. They talk of fandom coming into the game. Nick says he feels responsible for the loss. Uh-oh. The fact that there's a "plan" is mentioned.
The tally --
Nick, Kim, Tyson, Tyson, Tyson, Tyson, Tyson ...
Tyson is headed to Extinction. Although he thinks Nick orchestrated his demise or helped to do so, he gives his fire token to Nick because Nick said Tyson was his idol.
Next week they drop buffs and switch up the tribes!
