The Amazing Race 33: What's Up With This Season?

This season of TAR will be like none other. It started filming pre-pandemic and made it to the third pitstop. Then it stopped for what Phil is calling "the longest pitstop ever." At the beginning, the cast was the usual eleven teams of two racers each. However, over a year went by before they could pick up the filming and two teams couldn't reschedule their lives to return. So, post-pandemic (although we are not only still in a pandemic but it's getting worse again), only seven teams returned instead of nine. 

Another big "post" change is now they have their own jet plane so they won't be scrambling at airports. Teams also could no longer use public transportation and could only mingle with tested and/or vaccinated locals. The countries visited were cut down and limited to Mediterranean countries with low infection rates.

I hope they all know how to drive cars with manual transmissions! I'm thinking public transportation could include taxis. If that's the case, then no team will lose due to a bad taxicab ride. 

Here are the eleven teams who start the race ...

Akbar Cook Sr. (45) and Sheridan Cook (44) - Married educators from Martinsville, N.J.

Anthony Sadler (29) and Spencer Stone (29) - Childhood friends from Sacramento, Calif.

Arun Kumar (56) and Natalie Kumar (28) - Father and daughter from Detroit, Mich.

Caro Viehweg (23) and Ray Gantt (25) - Dating from Los Angeles and Toms River, N.J., respectively.

Connie (37) and Sam (39) Greiner - Married couple from Charlotte, N.C.

Kim (45) and Penn (47) Holderness - Internet personalities from Raleigh, N.C.

Marianela “Lulu” (37) and Marissa “Lala” (37) Gonzalez - Twins and radio hosts from North Bergen, N.J.

Michael Norwood (36) and Armonde “Moe” Badger (42) - Singing police officers from Buffalo, N.Y.

Raquel Moore (31) and Cayla Platt (30) - Flight attendants from Chicago, Ill. and Gulf Breeze, Fla., respectively.

Ryan Ferguson (37) and Dusty Harris (38) - Best friends from Columbia, Mo.

Taylor Green-Jones (38) and Isaiah Green-Jones (31) - YouTube personalities from Portland, Ore.

*************************

First, let's just say it now, loud and proud ... NEW JERSEY IS IN DA HOUSE! (Had to get that out of my system.) I'll be exploring each team a bit in upcoming posts. The season premiere is next Wednesday, January 5 at 8PM ET/PT.

If you want in on the blog pool, you need to sign up right now at this here linked link. If you leave your name here on this here post you're reading, it will NOT make it to the blog pool!

The Amazing Race 33: Blog Pool OPENS!

Come one, come all! The Amazing Race Blog Pool is now OPEN!

 Okay, here's how the blog pool works:

*Names are matched up randomly with the teams.

*You get to cheer on your chosen team until they're Philiminated or win it all.

*If your chosen team is creepy, fights, fusses or cries a lot, we won't hold that against you personally.

*Not much, anyway.

*Heehee

*There is no wagering of monies.

*The winner(s) of the blog pool retain bragging rights until the premiere of the next season while we all bow to them and lament on what could have been.

How do I get involved? 

Sign up right here on this post! If you're posting anonymously, you need a sign off name on your comments. We don't care if you're a boy named Sue, we have to know something other than anonymous. The cut-off for entering is this coming Tuesday, January 4, 8pm ET/5pm PT. 

REMEMBER - YOU NEED TO SIGN UP ON THIS VERY POST YOU'RE READING! 

If you sign up on another post or Twitter or the Facebook page, your request might be missed.

The Stupendous SueGee (affectionately known as SqueeGee at times) will be the lifeguard here this season. Please don't test her patience by running with scissors around the pool!

Over the next few days I'll be posting about the teams. Here's a taste for y'all --

  

The season premiere is next Wednesday, January 5 at 8PM ET/PT. Be here or be square!

Survivor 41: Season Finale Blog Party

 

Tonight, tonight ...

Yes, it's finale night for the season. The final five aren't quite the ones I would have predicted from the start, but there they are. Tonight's show will be two hours of actual gameplay and then an hour of well, um, mingling with the jury, I guess. The winner will be announced on site after the votes and the after-show is also set there due to the pandemic. It will be different!

I will be updating this entry with the major events as the show airs here on the East Coast -- 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!

But first, Lifeguard Laurie has submitted her last blog pool update of the season. Thank you so much, Laurie! Are you still in the pool?

Deshawn, Heather, Xander, Erika, Ricard

Deshawn Radden - Kelsey NY, PDX Granny, Jlaf
Erika Casupanan - Petals, Pam Arceneaux, Margo
Heather Aldret - Debbie, Joanne Victoria
Ricard Foye - Mikes Girl, GiLLL
Xander Hastings - Donna in FL, April

Jury
Tiffany Seely

Naseer Muttalif

Evvie Jagoda

Shantel Smith

Liana Wallace

Danny McCray

Survivor fans ready?

We start out with Jeff at night on a beach. Two Immunity challenges, two Tribals and a fire challenge. The votes will be read out on voting night.

It's Night 23 as the five head off to a new beach with bare minimum supplies. Deshawn is trying to make amends with Erika, but she's not hearing it. He had tried to turn Heather and Erika against each other to better his own game. She turns to Ricard. Let's see how that goes.

Ricard is thrilled that Deshawn kind of blew his chances to work with anyone while Ricard is still in with them. Meanwhile, Deshawn thinks Ricard needs to go. Of course, anyone with a brain would want Ricard out. If he stays to the end, he will win!

Deshawn and Erika come across a final advantage clue box. There's one for all. They each have to unscramble words, come up with the phrase answer and then have a chance to win the advantage. Xander deciphers it first, something to with the treasure hanging where the trees love to dance. They all eventually decipher it with Erika last ... and she finds it! It will aid her in the Immunity Challenge. She tells Ricard and they let Deshawn (and others) keep on searching.

Immunity Challenge time! Erika speaks up about it. Jeff explains the challenge first. Build a rope ladder, build another one, bring puzzle pieces up, 75-piece puzzle. Steak, veggies, bread and wine reward. Erika's advantage is that she starts with four rungs already up on each ladder. Heather is doing poorly, surprise, surprise.

ERIKA WINS IMMUNITY AND A SPOT IN THE FINAL FOUR!

She can choose one person to go with her for the meal. She chooses Heather.

At their little feast, they both blame Deshawn for their problems. BFFs again. Neither want Deshawn to go to the end although they both know Ricard would beat them in the end. Ricard and Deshawn are voting for each other. Ricard is reading Erika's face and is bothered that she claims to be on the fence. Now Heather is telling him it's complicated. Xander says he will vote with him against Deshawn. But Xander told us Ricard has to go. Now he's conflicted! Xander tells Ricard that he might be able to save him with the idol. Hmm.

First Tribal Council! Jeff asks Deshawn about the emphasis about taking out Ricardo. Oooh ... Ricard goes for the heartstrings and in tears talks about his baby due next week, could even be here already. Oh my. Jeff says he normally feels a blindside coming but doesn't feel that this week -- hinting he thinks Ricard will be voted out.

The tally -- Xander saves himself! Deshawn, Ricard, Ricard, Ricard.

It was the smart choice. Ricard played an amazing game.

Night 24 with the Final Four. The only one I cannot see winning at all would be Heather. There they are in a thunderstorm without a shelter. Xander is the only one not bothered by the weather.

Daytime comes and they are practicing making fire. Erika knows she can because she did it on Exile (or whatever they're calling it this season).

Day 24 and time for the last Immunity Challenge. Navigate a curved walkway while stacking blocks spelling FINAL THREE wins.

XANDER WINS THE FINAL IMMUNITY! It's emotional.

Xander goes to each person feeling them out. Deshawn says he can't make fire. He tells Erika that he's taking her. He tells the other two they will be making fire. So they need to practice. In practice, Heather builds a fire while Deshawn has problems. Oooh, Erika is having problems and Xander notices! He talks to Heather who tells him she could win and he should take her out. Hmm.

Final Tribal Council. Jeff and Xander talk about perceptions. Xander thinks that the jury thinks Heather's the goat -- not the G.O.A.T. goat, mind you. He doesn't think so. Xander sticks with taking Erika even though he knows she cannot make fire. Heather and Deshawn will do the making fire challenge.

Fire Challenge is ON. Heather ALMOST had it, but DESHAWN WINS THE THIRD SPOT IN THE FINAL THREE!

The Final Three gather watching the sunrise. And, then they get their feast. We get to hear each of them telling us about their game and why they should win. They head off to the jury questioning.

Evie - Congrats all. Diversity. However, no questions.

Danny - Pro athlete. Breaking down game plan going in and then adapting. Xander - wanted to do something different, take big risks, team dynamic at the start, then marketing himself, at the end, keep Ricard as shield, had to turn on him. Naseer tells him he's got a kind heart. Deshawn - Social game build relationships at first, then those saved him. Ricard confronts him about Sydney, wrecking Danny's game, throwing others under the bus. Deshawn denies. Erika - Had expectations being sweet, on winning team, Exile, down and out, flipped the game, joined up with others on the bottom. Ricard tells her that it's a shame she didn't make bonds with all like Deshawn did (then betrayed them). She speaks up about using Heather not as just a number but a partner.

Tiffany - Xander, going into the merge. Friends, but had to adapt. Liana asks about his social awareness. He talks about the Tiffany vote and reading the room. Evvie - asked about him holding the idol and not playing it. Ricard - bromance with Xander. Kept the number two threat, Erika. Did we have a real relationship? We did. You would have won against anyone. Heather brings up that she told Xander that the only one who could win against him was Erika.

Shan - Deshawn, emotional breakdowns and tantrums. Win for the Black community. Capitalizing to win on a movement? Out of bounds. He says it was not his intention to sell out his people.

Danny - Erika, did amazing. Allowed people to underestimate you but you're a real competitor. 

Liana - Asks Xander if he has an idol. Heehee.

Time for the jury to vote. Jeff says that the last time they read the votes at Tribal was Season One.

Erika, Deshawn, Erika, Erika, Erika, Erika ... all the rest are hers, too.

ERIKA WINS!

Congratulations to blog pool winners Petals, Pam Arceneaux, Margo!

We then get into an after show party with champagne and pizza. Now I might slack a bit on blogging this. But I will be here.

I am indeed here. So far it's just been Jeff asking Probsting questions and the Final Three talking about their games. Going on to talking to Naseer and Liana about the phrase and Knowledge Is Power advantage, respectively.

Survivor 42, same location. Looks like they will be keeping a lot of the happenings and pace from this season. Expect it in the spring.

No Sia award announced but it might be coming. I don't know.

Survivor 41: Ponderosa Videos!

Most of the Ponderosa videos are now up on YouTube. However, I note a few are missing. I'm adding them here from another source on YT, but they may disappear. So, catch them while you can!

I wasn't all that keen on Tiffany. I think that part of it is that she comes across as leading a bit of a sheltered from the reality of the everyday world. Does she not know any gay people? Does she not know any Black people? At least she questions rather than be unfriendly. I think I'm taking it as a bit of an affront as she is one of their "older" people. I can't help but wonder what it's like to be the sole person for a few days at the Ponderosa, though. While we think of it as a week, it's only two to three days before arrivals.

 

Now, these two I liked, Naseer more than Evvie. I think they both played good games. Naseer's enthusiasm, ability to provide and friendliness won me over on his first night. To think ... he learned English watching the show and, even though he didn't win, he actually lived his dream of getting on! And then there's Evvie. I think she's the first castaway responsible for the show retiring a puzzle! 

Time for my blog pool person Shan to join them! True, she played a villain kind of game. She played it too hard, too. But she was loyal to Xander although a bit iffy at times. Had Ricard not targeted her first she would have been loyal to him until she wasn't. And, she does deserve some kudos for doing the show so soon after chemotherapy and having MS. 

Here come the first of the fireworks -- the Shan/Liana debacle. Now, Liana would probably still be there had she not put her sole focus on getting Xander out. Xander, mind you, was Shan's biggest real ally. (I don't count Ricard as such.) That said, I totally understand what Liana is saying about race. I know that everywhere I go I don't feel I have to represent white people. The life experience of a Black woman is very different. The race is always there. At this time in this world, people really need to be more accepting of others. If we were all alike, it would be one boring world!

The most recent juror and arrival on the Ponderosa was Danny. Rats. I liked the dude! I know that, with the allies and the numbers the way they were, it would be either Danny or Deshawn. I would have preferred Deshawn go. However, he did run around bonding with all, a move Danny didn't make and that proved fatal to his game. Of course, the real fireworks at the Ponderosa went down between Danny and Shan. But they smoothed it over. Good. Rather than either Deshawn or Danny going, I would have rather seen Heather gone. On a side note -- look how quickly Naseer's hair grows!

Heather who? There's a Heather on the show?

Survivor 41: December 8 Episode Blog Party

 

Good evening. I hope everybody is doing well. Do you realize that tonight's show is the penultimate episode? Yep. The finale is NEXT WEEK, with all three primetime hours being Survivor. So, make sure you have an ample supply of snacks and beverages for it!

But, of course, we have to get through tonight first. I'm not sure who I want to win this season with the castaways we have left. I like Danny and Xander. Ricard is sneaky but is playing a good game. The other three? Eh. I have to keep remembering that someone named Heather is in it this season.

I will be live blogging, updating this entry as the show airs here on the East Coast. Refresh the page to get the latest news. Tomorrow I plan on posting the available Ponderosa clips with the jury members. That will be in a separate post. The real party tonight is in the comments area -- please feel free to join in on the fun!

Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool and here's the latest:

Danny McCray - Cheryl in NC, Nickelpeed, Jennifer
Deshawn Radden - Kelsey NY, PDX Granny, Jlaf
Erika Casupanan - Petals, Pam Arceneaux, Margo
Heather Aldret - Debbie, Joanne Victoria
Ricard Foye - Mikes Girl, GiLLL
Xander Hastings - Donna in FL, April

Jury
Tiffany Seely

Naseer Muttalif

Evvie Jagoda

Shantel Smith

Liana Wallace

Survivor fans ready?

We open on Night 21 as they return from Tribal. Deshawn is still a bit emotional as he lived through the Do or Die and Liana went home. Danny is confused why Xander didn't vote for Ricard to go. Xander is honest with Danny, telling him that he thought Ricard was a shield for himself in the game -- otherwise he (Xander) would be the one who others wanted out the most.

Oh. There's that Heather person. She's talking race with Deshawn. She thinks this season is her time and she needs to be there. Um. Okay. Heather who?

Erika talks with him next, about her guilt in voting out another woman, Liana. Deshawn talks about how things aren't just about color, there is gender and more.

Day 22 has a Reward Challenge. Two teams of three. Dive down, retrieve buoys one by one (three). They can get chicken and vegetables or candy and cake. Deshawn pipes up that it should be time for a visit from home. Nope.

Yellow team: Deshawn, Xander, Erika / Blue team: Ricard, Heather, Danny.

YELLOW WINS REWARD! They choose the chicken and vegetables. Deshawn tells us he wants to work on Erika and Xander to get Ricard out.

The leftovers on the island are more interesting than the ones eating. Danny went off looking for an idol. Ricard thinks he has one. 

Deshawn talks more with Erika. Will they really bond? Deshawn told US that he doesn't trust that Erika and Xander will really work with him. Deshawn and Erika talk about Heather. Who?

Time for the Immunity Challenge. Spin to unspool a coil of rope, over obstacles, untie puzzle pieces, puzzle. The spinning has its "drunk" effect as it should. Ricard starts on the puzzle first. Seven word phrase. Don't Make This Next Vote Be Your Last.

RICARD WINS IMMUNITY ... AGAIN!

Heh. They're all congratulating Ricard but they don't mean it. Danny is ticked that they voted out Liana last week when they could have gotten Ricard out. Ricard mentions to Danny that he thinks he has an idol. Danny tells us he didn't find one but thinks he should take advantage of the fact others think he has one. Erika wants to keep Deshawn for her own purposes although everyone would think he's a bigger threat than is Danny. Ricard thinks Deshawn should go as he gets along well with both women. Deshawn works on his bonds with others as he thinks that is Danny's weak point.

Tribal Council time with 15 minutes left. Jeff wonders why Deshawn is grinning. He thinks he's the target, he or Danny. He thinks the "four" will vote together. Deshawn and Danny talk about how Ricard should have been voted out last week. Erika defends her vote last week as Liana had put her name down and Ricard never did. Heather also says it was for her game.

Deshawn decides he will throw out some information. He tells Heather that Erika won't take her to the end. Woo. As Danny says, that's personal with the Truth Bomb and Deshawn turning on Erika. 

Time to vote. Xander votes Deshawn.

The tally ... Deshawn, Danny, Danny, Deshawn, Deshawn, Danny. Tie, re-vote, can only vote for Danny or Deshawn.

Danny, Danny, Danny ... aw, rats.

The final five will be taken to a new island to start over, minimal supplies and lots of game ahead with little time.

Survivor 41: December 1 Episode Blog Party

 

Good evening! Well, as I said in comments before, the folks in the Black alliance on this show were lacking the strong motivation of having the first Black winner as the ones on BB23 had. So, like most other alliances made early in a season, they have already fallen apart targeting not one, but two, of their four members last week. Thus, for those folks all riled up that they had an alliance based on race, it was like any other alliance based on something they had in common -- not unlike male alliances, young alliances, etc. Now, I don't want to be that person who says, "I told you so." But ...

My blog pool pick got the boot last week, so I'm a free agent. Hmm. I'm not sure I have a personal pick this season. I'd like to see Xander do well but he has made a few foolish moves. I kind of like Danny, but he gets all paranoid. I don't care much for Ricard, but he is playing a good cut-throat game. However, I can see him being targeted for his game. I guess we'll see.

The blog pool is updated and here's where we stand:

Danny McCray - Cheryl in NC, Nickelpeed, Jennifer
Deshawn Radden - Kelsey NY, PDX Granny, Jlaf
Erika Casupanan - Petals, Pam Arceneaux, Margo
Heather Aldret - Debbie, Joanne Victoria
Liana Wallace - Terry is a Texan, ChicMC
Ricard Foye - Mikes Girl, GiLLL
Xander Hastings - Donna in FL, April

Jury
Tiffany Seely

Naseer Muttalif

Evvie Jagoda

Shantel Smith

I will update this entry 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 ... I hope to see you there! Survivor fans ready?

We open on Night 19 as they return from Tribal. Liana is ticked -- she was blindsided with votes, no one in her alliance told her what was going on as they followed Ricard's plan to oust Shan. Deshawn is upset that Shan called him a snake on the way out. Not only that, but she told Ricard will have her vote for the million.

Meanwhile, Xander, Ricard, Heather and Erika, the underdogs have the largest alliance. Danny is taking things better than Deshawn. Now Liana is gunning for Deshawn.

Day 20 -- remember they only have 26 days this season. Aw, it's the 25th anniversary of Danny's father's death. He was eight years-old. Notice we're getting a little backstory segment on each of them this season.

Eep ... already to Day 21. New twist afoot! Participating in the Immunity Challenge comes with a deadly risk? Oh my. 

Use handles to balance a ball on a wooden cylinder, additions added as time goes on. First person out must be in Survivor Do or Die, if they win they're safe. If they lose no one is voted out and they are gone. They each get two rocks. Grey means they sit out Do or Die. Red is competing. Heather and Liana sit out, the rest participate.

Deshawn is almost immediately out. He will do the challenge tonight. The rest are now playing strictly for immunity. Erika out. It's Xander, Danny and Ricard playing for immunity. Ricard and Xander out almost simultaneously. DANNY WINS IMMUNITY!

Danny and Deshawn think they need to target Ricard if Deshawn stays. They approach Xander with the plan. Xander wants to keep Ricard but doesn't say that to them! Erika suggests to Xander that they should vote Ricard because he's a big threat to win the game. Xander thinks Liana, also not popular with Erika. He thinks of Ricard as a bit of a shield for him down the line ... a bigger target. Ricard doesn't really trust Erika. Liana is worried about her own safety. Will she use her Shot in the Dark at Tribal? Hmm.

Time for Tribal Council! Jeff tells Liana that the challenge was all about relationships. Heather and Liana both say they would have lost the challenge and it wasn't that they felt safe. Xander says this season you need to gamble a bit. Tonight is the last night they can take the Shot in the Dark. All of this going on is making me dizzy! Oh geez, now Deshawn is crying because he wanted to represent the Black community with integrity and thinks he failed. This leads into a rather intense discussion of race relations.

Deshawn is at his challenge. Three boxes, one has fire symbol (safe), two have a skull. He has to choose one box. Jeff opens a box -- skull. Offers to let Deshawn trade. Deshawn wants to go with his first choice. He got flame! DESHAWN IS SAFE! Ricard looks worried.

Time to vote.

The tally -- no idols played. Ricard, Liana, Ricard, Liana, Ricard, Liana, Liana, Liana.

Bye-bye, Liana!

Survivor 41: November 24 Episode Blog Party

 

Good evening! It's the night before Thanksgiving. In the earlier days of the show, this would be the clips night. Not so these days. It's a new episode and it's quite likely it won't be a priority for so many folks. Lots of people will end up streaming it online at a later time. Thus, it will probably be a quiet night here. That's okay with me. I'm in a quiet kind of way tonight.

I will update this post with the major happenings on the show as it airs here on the East Coast. 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!

Last week we saw both popular (with the castaways and show fans) Naseer and game-savvy Evvie get the boot. Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool and here is where we stand --

Danny McCray - Cheryl in NC, Nickelpeed, Jennifer
Deshawn Radden - Kelsey NY, PDX Granny, Jlaf
Erika Casupanan - Petals, Pam Arceneaux, Margo
Heather Aldret - Debbie, Joanne Victoria
Liana Wallace - Terry is a Texan, ChicMC
Ricard Foye - Mikes Girl, GiLLL
Shantel Smith- Marthalight, Jackie
Xander Hastings - Donna in FL, April

Jury
Tiffany Seely

Naseer Muttalif

Evvie Jagoda

Survivor fans ready? On with the show ...

It's Night 17 and they return from Tribal. Shan voted with her extra vote thus making her voting moot. She's a target but they worry because she has an idol. Of course, Xander is on their hit list. Shan doesn't trust Deshawn as he walked off with Erika. Could they be talking a blindside? He defends himself to Shan, but to no real avail. 

While they have a bit of a BB Cookout theme going on with their four in Survivor, they are nowhere near as driven. They want to play an individual game much more. Danny cries about the dilemma they face. Oh, well.

Time for a Reward Challenge. Attached to a rope which weaves through articles, solve puzzle. Reward is Survivor Sanctuary, pizza under the stars, overnight with blankets and pillows. RICARD WINS!

He can choose one to join him. He chooses Shan -- she hasn't received a Reward yet and they've been together. Another person -- Heather, no rewards. Another -- Xander, gave up his own game a bit to get them all rice. Uh-oh ... of course, this leaves those not picked a reason to target him. That's okay with me. Ricard does not rock my socks.

Danny thinks this gives him the opportunity to make a big move while the others are out on Reward. He suggests taking out Ricard. They need to do it without Shan knowing it will happen. Liana is not thrilled with the plan as she is close with Shan. However, she thinks it will strengthen her relationships with others.

Now at Day 19. Shan tells Liana she doesn't really trust Deshawn. Liana cries to us. She has love in her heart. She tells Shan the others want to blindside her, targeting Ricard tonight. The two decide they need to blindside Deshawn. Shan goes to Ricard, tells him and says they must get together and vote out Deshawn (with Xander, too).

Immunity Challenge time! Stand on narrow beam balancing a ball on a disk on a pole, moving to more narrow parts of the beam and balancing the ball higher up as time goes on. 

Liana out first. Danny out. Into the second round. Erika out. Heather out. Third round. Shan out. Deshawn out. It's between Ricard and Xander. Xander out. 

RICARD WINS IMMUNITY!

Shan is relieved. Now it makes Deshawn less of a target and Erika is the new target. Ricard is a bit leery about Shan and her four. He decides that tonight is the night that Shan needs to go. Oh my! He goes to Deshawn and rats out Shan telling him that plan. Deshawn denies he ever tried to get them to target Ricard. Now he's leery of Shan.

Danny is so impressed by Erika's super slick plan to vote out Shan that now he's thinking they need to vote out Erika.

Off to Tribal Council and Jeff's Probsting interrogation. Xander is his first target. Heather feels at the bottom. With Erika he hints at a bottom revolution. Lots of discussion about trust, truths and lies. No whispers and it's time to vote.

The tally ... no idols played.

Erika, Erika, Shan, Liana, Shan, Liana, Shan, Liana. Liana and Shan are tied. Revote on just those two.

Shan, Shan, Shan, Shan ... bye-bye, blog pool girl. She calls Deshawn a snake.

Survivor 41: November 17 Episode Blog Party

 

Good evening. I'm a bit off my game this week, so it probably won't be the best of my live blogging. I believe I saw a promo which said two people would get the boot tonight. However, with the way this past week has been, I could be wrong.

Lifeguard Laurie has updated the pool and here are the latest standings:

Danny McCray - Cheryl in NC, Nickelpeed, Jennifer
Deshawn Radden - Kelsey NY, PDX Granny, Jlaf
Erika Casupanan - Petals, Pam Arceneaux, Margo
Evvie Jagoda - Sharon C, bizaro22, Indiana Jane
Heather Aldret - Debbie, Joanne Victoria
Liana Wallace - Terry is a Texan, ChicMC
Naseer Muttalif - CherryPie, Tammy M
Ricard Foye - Mikes Girl, GiLLL
Shantel Smith- Marthalight, Jackie
Xander Hastings - Donna in FL, April

Jury
Tiffany Seely

I will do my best to at least get the major happenings covered here in the blog entry as they air here on the East Coast. My apologies in advance. As always, the real party is in the comments section. Please feel free to join in on the fun and, if you can, perhaps post some of the happenings that I might not be covering tonight. Thank you!

Deshawn is calling Tribal a train wreck and blaming it on Heather. He is also ticked that Shan keeps telling others what to do. Shan knows there are issues and tries to mend fences with Deshawn. Oops. Backfired. This ain't gonna be no Cookout for sure! Naseer thinks Heather voted for him while it was really Xander. Xander is watching their argument.

Liana still wants Xander gone. She also wants Erika out.

Immunity Challenge time. Balance on narrow perch holding onto a handle behind head. Two groups, go to Tribal separately, two people going home. Reward is chicken and beef stew.

Erika, Shan, Ricard, Heather, Naseer - Yellow

Deshawn, Danny, Xander, Liana, Evvie  

Evvie first out. they all come down quickly.

Erika last up for Yellow, safe with Immunity but no stew. Blue is down to Deshawn and Xander. Deshawn down! Xander wins Immunity and Reward for his team.

Since Erika and Xander won Immunity and blew the plans, it looks like Heather and Naseer are in trouble on Yellow. Ricard is pushing for Naseer. Shan tells him she will cast the extra vote. Hmm.

On Blue, Liana is trying to get Xander's idol while Xander is considering giving it to Evvie.

Tribal starts for Yellow. The discussion makes it seem that Heather will go. We'll see. I hope Naseer uses his idol. I think he will need it. Ricard votes Naseer, Naseer votes Heather. No idols played -- Tally - Heather, Naseer, Heather, Heather, Naseer, Naseer. A tie. A re-vote in play. Can only vote for Heather or Naseer. 

Re-tally -- Naseer, Naseer, Naseer. Sigh. I liked that guy, he should have played his idol!

Blue comes in. Liana votes Evvie. Xander votes Liana. No idol played. The tally - Liana, Evvie, Liana, Evvie, Evvie. Another good player down and the third member of the jury.

Survivor 41: November 10 Episode Blog Party

 

Good evening! I hope everyone is doing okay tonight. After all, we're at the merge now. We're talking individual games with all kinds of convoluted twists going on. At least we saw what Shot in the Dark can do ... or, more accurately, what it cannot do. To be honest, I won't be missing Sydney. She was way too full of herself and how much better she was than everyone else. Too bad, so sad.

Lifeguard Laurie has gathered the pool together once again -- at least without tribes, it makes things a bit easier! Here's where we stand:

Danny McCray - Cheryl in NC, Nickelpeed, Jennifer
Deshawn Radden - Kelsey NY, PDX Granny, Jlaf
Erika Casupanan - Petals, Pam Arceneaux, Margo
Evvie Jagoda - Sharon C, bizaro22, Indiana Jane
Heather Aldret - Debbie, Joanne Victoria
Liana Wallace - Terry is a Texan, ChicMC
Naseer Muttalif - CherryPie, Tammy M
Ricard Foye - Mikes Girl, GiLLL
Shantel Smith- Marthalight, Jackie
Tiffany Seely - David, Dr_Celine
Xander Hastings - Donna in FL, April

OUT
Sara Wilson
David Voce
Brad Reese
Jairus Robinson (JD)
Genie Chen 
Sydney Segal

I'll be updating this entry with the major happenings as the show airs here on the East Coast. 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!

We open with night 14 and get a quick replay of Xander handing off the fake idol. Liana tells us her relationship with Evvie is fractured. Evvie knows how close she came to going home. Her eyes have opened and now she feels she needs to rebuild relationships after playing too hard.

Tiffany is working on people. Xander is, too. They're scrambling, the Yase Three. 

We're thrown into a challenge. Jeff tells us there is an advantage hidden at the bench. The castaways come by boat. It's a Reward Challenge, leap off ramp, dive down, puzzle pieces and people in boat, two solve the puzzle. Five on each team, one sits out. Blue/Yellow -- Erika gets the odd rock and sits out, with no chance of Reward. Xander offers to take her spot because she hasn't eaten. The Reward is grill cheese sandwiches. (I would give that up, too. Not a grill cheese fan!)

Blue wins -- Evvie, Ricard, Deshawn, Erika, Danny 

Xander did NOT find the advantage at the bench.

The six not eating are whining. Well, except for Xander who is schmoozing and Naseer who goes off and gets papaya. They are scheming against Evvie because she put the puzzle together in seconds remembering it from a previous season. Ricard ticks off Shan as he came back from reward and wanted to try papaya.

Day 16 brings us the Immunity Challenge. Balance on toes with a block of wood balanced between your head and frame. Last one standing wins. Two options, any player feeling safe enough can opt out for rice or as a group, multiple people can win enough rice for everybody for three days.

Shan suggests five and steps out, Naseer joins her. Xander proposes four and steps forward if one more will. Ricard joins them.

Deshawn, Erika, Tiffany out quickly. Danny out. Liana, Evvie and Heather remain. Liana down. Heather out.

EVVIE wins Immunity ... the shortest the challenge has ever gone -- around four minutes.

Liana is not happy that her oust Evvie plan is busted. She wants to flush out Xander's idol. Hmm ... Naseer trusts Shan and Ricard. Tiffany is the new target? Dehawn and Danny are talking Naseer but Shan is going on about Xander not being a number for them and being a big threat. Of course, she is putting a target on her own back by not listening to them.

Shan tells Xander and company the target is Naseer. Xander hears Naseer, Tiffany and Heather's names as targets. Tiffany is worried. Heather is worried that Shan is putting her out there and trying to run the show. 

They head off to Tribal and it looks like just about anything can happen.

Jeff talks about food being such a big issue this year. He asks Shan why she stepped forward. She said for the group to eat. Xander also talked for the group. Naseer says he has flat feet and chicken legs, would have won the challenge but wanted the group to eat. The rest talk about being a bit nervous heading into this tonight.

Heather gets up and whispers to push the vote to Naseer which gets a group wanting to push it to Heather. Ricard whispers to Xander to please play his idol ... now, Xander's name wasn't in the whispers.

With no idols/advantages played, the tally is: Xander, Xander, Heather, Heather, Naseer, Tiffany, Tiffany, Tiffany, Tiffany, Tiffany ... first member of the jury is Tiffany.

Survivor 41: November 3rd Episode Blog Party

 

We were left with no Tribal Council and a cliffhanger last week on the show. Now, those who know me know I'm just going to have to go there -- we were left between a grey rock and a hard place. Heh.

While this season is moving along quickly, as it should seeing as it was filmed in 26 days rather than the usual 39, it's getting all kinds of convoluted up in here. I'm still not quite really understanding the twist they can pull at Tribal to save their butts (individually) but lose a vote. Until I see that one go down, I'll continue to be a bit befuddled. That's not even mentioning the three part idol between tribes and the various trips out to wherever with risks and rewards. Twist overload alert!

Now we have the latest. The tribes were issued random rocks consisting of five yellow, five blue and two grey. The two grey didn't participate in the Immunity Challenge. One (Naseer) joined the winning "team" -- Blue. The other grey rock person, Erika, had to go off to a sort of Exile Island. There Jeff met up with her and has given her a choice to break an hourglass to set time back so the other team wins (and she is safe) or to do nothing which would most likely leave her to be cast off.

And, there we are at the grey rock and hard place. Either way she choses she will make enemies. If she reverses the win, she alienates most of her previous tribemates. Of course, she was pretty much at the bottom of the pecking order there anyway. Tonight we will see her decision and someone will be cast off.

I don't know how long it will last, but here are the teams currently in play --

Yellow - Liana, Heather, Xander, Shan, Tiffany, (Erika?)

Blue - Ricard, Danny, Deshawn, Evvie, Sydney, Naseer

I will be updating this entry as the show airs here on the East Coast. Refresh the page to get the latest news. As always, the real party is in the comments area. I'd love to see you there! Let's get this show on the road!

We start out with all three of the sentence-saying idols in power. Liana reads her advantage about asking it someone has an idol and taking it. Gah. It's a ball of confusion!

Night 13 on Exile with Erika. A beautiful dawn on Day 14 after a stormy night. She's feeling renewed and will realize her true strengths. Hmm. She knows whatever she does some will not be happy with her.

All castaways are brought together in a challenge place when Jeff brings in Erika. At Jeff's prompting she explains that she could change history. Jeff explains that she could switch the game up. She decides to play for herself and changed history. Now the ones who didn't have to compete for immunity (Blue) do and Yellow can sit back being safe for the night.

The new bunch has to drop their buffs as they are not guaranteed a spot in the final eleven. 

Using feet only drop blocks, put in a three level circle with flag in middle.

RICARD wins Immunity! All will go to Tribal tonight and vote. However, the only ones who can be voted out are Evvie, Sydney, Deshawn, Danny and Naseer.

Day 14 after the challenge. Liana is thrilled -- she's safe and still can use her advantage (asking for idol). Danny is upset but Deshawn is taking it all pretty mellow. They start talking about Evvie being the target. Xander would be on board for that. Liana is not too happy with that as she thinks she can work with Evvie.

Huh? Xander promises Evvie his idol? Hmm. Evvie found out all about Liana's steal an idol and tells Xander. He knows that he has to have it in his possession for it to be stolen by her.

Ricard tells Erika they are thinking Evvie. Xander tells Danny that Evvie will be safe no matter what and about Liana's idol. He thinks that he's creating paranoia but doesn't realize that Liana is an ally of Danny's. She realizes that Tiffany told everyone.

Xander tells Liana in front of Evvie that he is playing the idol for Evvie and will have it with him until he hands it to her. Now Deshawn is worried that HE will be going home. Sydney wants to redirect any votes off of her. Liana is sure she will be taking the idol from Xander. We'll see about that.

They're heading to Tribal now.

So many people there, many who never were there before. Jeff is asking his typical questions. Will the Shot in the Dark come into play? Talk of relationships and trust now. Evvie gives Xander credut fir saving her. And, he does have it and is giving it to Evvie. Deshawn tells them that Evvie had told him about the idol.

Liana reads her advantage. HE HANDS HER A FAKE IDOL!!! Perfect! Tiffany has his real one!

Now the whispering starts. Will they target Sydney? Oh my. Deshawn's name is coming up, too. Danny is saying Evvie. 

Xander voted Deshawn. Erika voted Sysney. Danny uses his extra vote.

The tally ... Sydney is taking her Shot in the Dark. She sacrifices her vote. She is NOT SAFE. Eep. Evvie tells them not to play the idol for her.

Deshawn, Evvie, Sydney, Deshawn, Sydney, Deshawn, Evvie, Evvie, Sydney, Evvie, Sydney, Sydney.

Bye, Sydney. 

The rest have made the merge.

Survivor 41: October 27 Episode Blog Party

 

Good evening! I hope everyone has made it through the weird weather all over the country okay. Our nor'easter here dropped about five or so inches of rain over two days and all day today has been strong winds. Lots of flooding, lots of power outages. Thankfully, I was affected by neither.

Tonight's episode promo from last week is that we'll have a tribe shuffle or merge. I think it will be a shuffle of some sort. But don't hold me to that or make any wagers. I'm just guessing. I refuse to be held liable if I'm wrong.

I'll be live-blogging tonight's show with the major events as it airs here on the East Coast. Refresh the page to get the latest updates! As always, the real party is in the comments area. I hope to see you there!

Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool. She rocks like that, right? Are you still in the pool?

LUVU TRIBE BLUE

Danny McCray - Cheryl in NC, Nickelpeed, Jennifer

Deshawn Radden - Kelsey NY, PDX Granny, Jlaf

Erika Casupanan - Petals, Pam Arceneaux, Margo

Heather Aldret - Debbie, Joanne Victoria

Naseer Muttalif - CherryPie, Tammy M

Sydney Segal - Joyce Erickson, Laurie

UA TRIBE GREEN

Ricard Foye - Mikes Girl, GiLLL

Shantel Smith- Marthalight, Jackie

YASE  TRIBE YELLOW

Evvie Jagoda - Sharon C, bizaro22, Indiana Jane

Liana Wallace - Terry is a Texan, ChicMC

Tiffany Seely - David, Dr_Celine

Xander Hastings - Donna in FL, April

OUT

Eric Abraham

Sara Wilson

David Voce

Brad Reese

Jairus Robinson (JD)

Genie Chen

Survivor fans ready?

We start out with Ua returning from Tribal on Night 11. Shan feels bad that she had to go for Genie to leave because she needed Ricard's strategy skills. He's upset with her because she wanted her extra vote just before Tribal. He gave the vote back but not the advantage, claiming that he would give her it tomorrow. Ricard doesn't think she should have two advantages in this game. I don't know. If I were there, no one would touch any idol or advantage I had. I don't care if they trust me or not! Now because she used the advantages as collateral, they're squabbling.

Yase Day 12 -- Tree mail. Milestone, it sounds like it might be the merge coming. So they think, anyway. They have to gather all their personal items and such to take with them. Xander thinks the four are locked solid and could shake up the game. However, Liana thinks of Xander as a big threat. 

Luvu - Naseer is trying to gather them all together as an alliance going into the merge.

Jeff meets with us. He says no one is going home tonight and it will be a two part episode. 

Jeff calls them in. He tells them tribes are no longer, it's an individual game. Drop your buffs. He says they are not merged, they have to earn their way in. Draw for two teams, dig up massive boulder, push boulder through course to key stations, retrieve keys, climb up a tower, word puzzle -- earns a merge buff and a meal, will be safe at Tribal Council. Two players will draw grey rocks and their fate will be decided by the winning team.

ACK! Naseer has grey! Erika also has grey. The teams are determined by blue and yellow rocks. Right now I can't keep up with both teams members live. I will add them in later. Blue is ahead and Yelllow seems to be more women.

Yellow - Liana, Heather, Xander, Shan, Tiffany

Blue - Ricard, Danny, Deshawn, Evvie, Sydney

BLUE wins! They have to choose either Erika or Naseer to be with them. The one not chosen has to go off to like an Exile Island dealie for two days. YAY! Naseer joins them for the merge feast at the sanctuary.

Oh my -- that is some feast! It comes out that the worry is the men keep being eliminated which is why they chose to bring Naseer aboard. Evvie denied they were targeting the men.

Erika is on the island. She has a bit of rice. She has water. Now we get her backstory about being different from others and not having much. Yet her parents instilled good personal values in her. Hmm. My head was turned looking at the computer monitor but I caught a glimpse of something that looked like a key. I may be wrong.

Yellow goes to their assigned camp. Xander is worried that he might have to play his idol or win immunity to stay in the game. Liana has that "you must give me your idol"advantage. She tells Shan about it. Tiffany prods Liana for intel and learns about the advantage. Tiffany is suspicious (with good cause) about Liana even though Liana told her she wants Xander to go.

It's still Day 12 when the feasting Blues join the Yellow at camp. Naseer tells Xander he has his back. Xander knows he could very well be a target. Sydney thinks Erika will get an advantage on the island and should be targeted. Liana wants to team up with Danny and Deshawn. Okay, they are aligning and, like BB last season, it's the blackness. But a major difference is that they don't have the singular goal of first Black winner and I doubt they will be as cohesive.

Erika is still on the island. A boat pulls up with Jeff on it. He asks her about how it feels to be left alone He tells her they gave her tremendous power. An hourglass will allow her to go back in time, can change history, can go back to yesterday and change the results. If she wants to do it, she needs to smash the hourglass. She can save herself. She is worried because the six that would no longer be safe are her own ex-tribemates for the most part.

Survivor 41: October 20 Episode Blog Party

 

Yessirree ... we're back for more schemin' demons ... er ... castaways. The tribes are getting down so low that you know a shuffle or merge has to be upon us soon. So, what are we in for tonight? Will Shan hum again? She's reminding me of Omar's whistling 'The Farmer in the Dell' as he walks with his shotgun in The Wire.

I will be live blogging the episode as it airs here on the East Coast. Refresh the page to catch the latest major updates! As always, the real party is in the comments area. Please feel free to join in on the fun!

The Ever Efficient Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool. Are you still in it?

LUVU TRIBE BLUE

Danny McCray - Cheryl in NC, Nickelpeed, Jennifer

Deshawn Radden - Kelsey NY, PDX Granny, Jlaf

Erika Casupanan - Petals, Pam Arceneaux, Margo

Heather Aldret - Debbie, Joanne Victoria

Naseer Muttalif - CherryPie, Tammy M

Sydney Segal - Joyce Erickson, Laurie

UA TRIBE GREEN

Genie Chen - SueGee, Laura in GA, Bren

Ricard Foye - Mikes Girl, GiLLL

Shantel Smith- Marthalight, Jackie

YASE  TRIBE YELLOW

Evvie Jagoda - Sharon C, bizaro22, Indiana Jane

Liana Wallace - Terry is a Texan, ChicMC

Tiffany Seely - David, Dr_Celine

Xander Hastings - Donna in FL, April

OUT

Eric Abraham

Sara Wilson

David Voce

Brad Reese

Jairus Robinson (JD)

Survivor fans ready?

Ua - Day 10! The tribe of three. Genie is feeling solid with the three of them. Genie is looking for JD's recycled three-part idol rehidden. And, she finds it! Argh. She tells Shan and Ricard about it. Shan doesn't want it opened, tells us she doesn't want anyone to have more power than her. She talks to Ricard, neither trust Genie. They decide to hide a fake idol in its place before opening it. It is the three-way one. If the third part isn't used by the merge, it expires. Ricard, the one behind the fake idol idea, tells Genie they need to say Brad's speech just to see if Luvu has found theirs.

Luvu - Erika is out there catching fish. The men are getting worried about men on other tribes are getting voted out. Naseer doesn't want to throw challenges. He is feeling good because Danny and Deshawn have accepted him. They haven't really, though. They just feel they need him.

Yase - The women are making Xander feel like he has the power. Tiffany and Evvie don't trust his relationship with Liana. They go in his bag and find the extra vote. He tells Tiffany that he has the three part.

Day 11. A very hot day. Whoa! Naseer comes up with the third line for the three-part idol! Immunity Challenge -- also Reward, rope and giant tarp for 1st, 2nd smaller tarp. 

Up and over net "ramp," one person untangle knots after all tribe mates up and over, release key, machete to release bags, fire at targets with giant slingshot doohickey.

YASE wins 1st Immunity! Luvu wins 2nd! Uh-oh ... Ua will be down to two? Yase sends two in a journey, must choose a Ua -- chooses Shan. One more -- Liana.

Liana and Shan travel together. Shan rats out Xander to Liana. They agree to work together after the merge. Shan also tells her that if she's not here tomorrow, Ricard can't be trusted because he's her ally. We get the backstory on both. Shan used to be in a gang but is now a pastor. Liana is just getting to know her mother. Shan doesn't risk her vote. Liana says she needs to risk her vote. The Knowledge of Power Advantage. She can ask others if they have an idol or advantage, they cannot lie to her. Then she can take it.

Ua - Ricard and Genie. Ricard tells her that he thinks Shan will vote him out. He tells us he plans on convincing Genie to vote out Shan while he and Shan vote out Genie. Genie doesn't really trust Ricard. She's not a dummy and she tells us she and Shan would vote him out.

Shan returns and tells us she will tell them all that happens. She does tell them that she did not risk her vote. All three decide to pitch themselves. Shan wants one on one meetings with both. Genie tells her she's with her. Shan trusts her. She wants to snag the extra vote back from him. Ricard tells her he won't vote her out. He thinks if he gives her the extra vote back she will vote him out. They argue-ish. He tells her he will give it back tomorrow. Shan is down to trying to decide between the strategist or the loyalist.

Tribal Council time and Jeff's Probsting questions. Ricard is taking a lot of credit for himself. Hmm. All are nervous.

The tally -- no idols played -- Genie, Ricard, Genie.

Aw, I was getting to really like her.

Next week -- Drop your buffs. But it's not really a merge. I assume it will be a tribe jumble of some kind. Either two tribes or people drawn from Luvu to fill out the other two tribes.

Survivor 41: October 13 Episode Blog Party

 

Good evening! I hope everyone is doing well. Are you ready for another episode of this rather new-fangled twists season? I'm getting a bit befuddled with all these bizarre idol twists and walks through the countryside. I guess we'll find out tonight if Brad's now lost part of the three part idol will be re-hidden. I would think so. Otherwise three people won't get an idol each. We know how the show pushes the idols.

Lifeguard Laurie has updated the pool and here's where we currently stand:

LUVU TRIBE BLUE

Danny McCray - Cheryl in NC, Nickelpeed, Jennifer

Deshawn Radden - Kelsey NY, PDX Granny, Jlaf

Erika Casupanan - Petals, Pam Arceneaux, Margo

Heather Aldret - Debbie, Joanne Victoria

Naseer Muttalif - CherryPie, Tammy M

Sydney Segal - Joyce Erickson, Laurie

UA TRIBE GREEN

Genie Chen - SueGee, Laura in GA, Bren

Jairus Robinson - Sydney, Brandi

Ricard Foye - Mikes Girl, GiLLL

Shantel Smith- Marthalight, Jackie

YASE  TRIBE YELLOW

Evvie Jagoda - Sharon C, bizaro22, Indiana Jane

Liana Wallace - Terry is a Texan, ChicMC

Tiffany Seely - David, Dr_Celine

Xander Hastings - Donna in FL, April

OUT

Eric Abraham

Sara Wilson

David Voce

Brad Reese

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 news! As always, the real party is in the comments area. Please feel free to join in on the fun! Survivor fans ready?

Ua - Coming back from Tribal. Genie feels all alone because Brad went and he was her only ally. She says she will not help them anymore. Shan tells her about Brad's advantage that he had kept secret from her (Genie). She ends up giving JD his advantage back.

Oh my ... we're already into the Immunity Challenge? Yikes! Oh. It's a pure Reward Challenge. First two tribes to finish -- 1st gets a local visitor who will aid them in how to survive. 2nd gets a fish. They have to toss a ball up and let it roll down a raised platform over their heads, run to catch it on the other side. Then they must dig to go under a pole. Then toss the balls on a beam to balance them.

GENIE made the final shot for Ua and they win. Yase wins second. And Luvu has their first loss. Heather is hysterically crying because she just couldn't get through the first part. Her tribemates are consoling her and trying to cheer her up. After all, it was just Reward.

Yase - They are loving their fish! Tiffany is actually (seemingly) thriving. They find a whole bunch of turtles. Baby ones, that is. They cheer the turtles on as the babies head to the ocean.

Ua - The local Nathan shows them how to climb coconut trees. It's a bit reminiscent of Ozzy. He gives them advice on catching fish. Uh-oh, now Ricard is thinking they don't need Genie again!

Luvu - Erika doesn't feel bad about losing ... she's just happy to be there. She observes that Sydney's emotions might be the downfall of the tribe. But when she voices her thoughts to Deshawn, it kind of puts her in the spotlight. Ohh ... he tells us he thinks she's sneaky. Deshawn runs to Sydney to tell her what Erika said about her.

Then Deshawn tells Danny. Now the target is on Erika if they lose. Heck, they're talking about throwing the challenge! Danny does not want to do that!

Immunity Challenge time. Race through water, collect three bags of logs, push through a tunnel, find key on one log, unlock the ring, toss three on pegs. Deshawn is going very slowly. He's retying the knots on the logs bags instead of untying. Heh, Naseer's efforts to win thwart Deshawn's efforts to lose.

Yase wins Immunity! And, despite Deshawn, Naseer wins the 2nd Immunity for Luvu. Ua will go to Tribal tonight.

Genie tells JD she is thinking of doing the Shot in the Dark, rolling the die. They lose their votes when they do that. JD thinks Genie should go because if she doesn't, it could very well be him. Shan wants to put Genie's focus on JD to protect Ricard. Oh my. What a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive. Oh geez ... JD falls for Shan's trust speech and lets her hold his advantage of the extra vote. What a gullible kid!

Tribal time! Jeff points out that Genie's body language seems exhaustion, defeat? She says she's playing from the bottom. She is sure the tribe is just placating her to keep her from using the Shot in the Dark -- which is another confusing thing introduced this season. Emotion is big on all of them.

JD votes Genie. No others shown.

The tally -- Genie, JD, JD, JD.

Oh, silly boy. His childhood dream blown in a minute. Not to mention, Shan still has his extra vote advantage for herself now. You KNOW she won't be fool enough to give it to someone to hold to prove their trust.