Survivor 48 - Brooklyn South Update #4

 

First, a reminder of who has whom following our redraft:

Available lifelines:  Kamila, Cedrek, Bianca, Star, Chrissy, Charity

 Second, NO ONE got bonus points.  The line “Meet the new loss, same as the old loss” is paraphrased “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss” from The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”.  That line follows one of the iconic screams in rock history.  Check it out!

We pick back up with the Cursed Vula tribe who, despite having all new members, found themselves at Tribal again and saw Littlefinger voted out following Kyle’s perfect hidden immunity idol play.  Shauhin is upset that the Golden Girls alliance didn’t last a single tribal (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Shauhin] to Stephanie!) .

Kyle says he would have voted with them but saw that someone went through his bag and that sketched him out.  Wow, a totally brutal play by Kyle there, making Lord Baelish’s demise the fault of his allies.  Brilliant!  (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Kyle] to Tom!)

At the season’s first Reward challenge, they have to throw sandbags at a rotating target until it releases a bag of balls, then bounce the balls off a trampoline into a net.  Once complete, they have to roll a ball onto a target.  Since the tribes are uneven, we have sit outs.  (2 points for “Volunteer to sit out a challenge” [Charity, Sai] to nobody and me!)

As they progress through the first stage, Jeff reminds us that Survivor is just like real life – when your balls drop you enter a new stage.

That's definitely a meeting with HR

Though Civa hits puberty first, Vula and Lagi quickly tie at 2 sunken balls (I heard it) while Civa is hopeless. Jeff blames Cedrek, calling him an abysmal failure (3 points for “Jeff says something negative about you in a challenge” [Cedrek] to no one!).  Civa falls behind until Mitch takes over and sinks all three balls in rapid succession.

They’re all on stage three together, but Lagi makes quick work of it, winning a trip to the Sanctuary. Right behind them, Vula takes 2^nd. (3 points each for “Win tribal reward” [Eva, David, Mary, Joe, Shauhin, Kyle] to Kyle, George, Will, Jo, Stephanie, and Tom!). 

Mary’s victory excitement is too much for Sai who thinks she should win with more tact.

Wait, I thought they were friends now?

Back at Civa, Bianca is freaked that her #1 Littlefinger is gone. Chrissy sees Sai’s “I’ve done every challenge” excuse as the weak-sauce it is, and thinks Sai is digging her own grave.  Now that Littlefinger is gone, Mitch says he thinks the “weaken old Lagi” target logic is fading from Bianca. Really, it’s Sai driving him crazy – and his getting to know Bianca is a nice person - that’s taking priority. Bianca sees the options of playing the middle against Chrissy/Mitch and Sai/Cedrek as a safe way forward (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Bianca] to nobody!)

She acts like she wrote this book

Sai continues whining about how Chrissy is used to telling people what to do and thinks her Cedrek/Bianca threesome will be enough to get her out.

Vula bonds over pastries, coffee and as much milk as David can drink to the point that Kamila sees the 2-2 vote being a thing of the past and would love to keep them with her.  That’s all well-and-good until someone loses a challenge….

At the immunity challenge they must swim to shore while towing a boat as a tribe), then carry a heavy chest up the beach and unbraid 3 ropes to get a key.  Then they dig out the sand to get under a log and get to a chest. The key unlocks a chest containing four balls. Then each tribe member must navigate a ball through a table maze.

First two to finish have a night off. Losing tribe gets mocked by me in the Tribal Council portion of the update. Let’s get it on!  As Civa and Lagi still have extra people, we have more sit-outs (3 points each for “Volunteer to sit out a challenge” [Star, Cedrek] to no one!)

As in the reward challenge, Civa quickly falls behind as Lagi and Vula finish unbraiding the key about the same time. Kyle gets stuck in the sand allowing Civa to catch up. Though Lagi got through first, they are all on the table maze at about the same time.

Vula crushes the table maze, earning immunity!

THE CURSE IS BROKEN!

Civa and Lagi tie up at 2. Mary makes it look easy, giving Lagi a 3-2 lead, leading Jeff to think Sai feels pressure. When she denies feeling it, Jeff says she should! Sai taps out and allows Chrissy to sink her ball putting them even 3-3. 

We see Joe several times watching from the side as Eva gets increasingly flustered. It’s honestly difficult to watch.  Just when it looks like she might completely cr. le, she sucks it up, picks up the speed and lands Lagi’s 4^th ball, earning them immunity (3 points each for “Win tribal immunity” [Eva, David, Mary, Joe, Shauhin, Kyle] to Kyle, George, Will, Jo, Stephanie, and Tom!).

As primal as screams get

But the story of this competition is about what happened afterword.

We, the audience, know Eva is autistic and one of her triggers is overstimulation.  The frustration she felt, followed by the elation at winning is too much for her. She cannot calm herself down and bursts into a crying fit.  Watching her struggle leaves Joe visibly pained, like the protective father he is.  When Jeff finally asks him to give her a hug, they race to each other, and he helps her regain her composure. While it is clear Joe revealed his game by giving her public comfort, he thinks it’s more important to be the man his kids want him to be. (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Joe] to Jo!). 

Eva has no choice but to tell everyone about her autism, how doctors told her she would never live alone, never have a job or any type of normal life but that her parents refused to listen and helped her to the point she’s at.  (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Eva] to Kyle!). 

This is one of the greatest moments in 48 seasons of Survivor, and it’s even got Jeff tearing up.  Eva is a hero. Joe is a hero. The only thing missing is their capes and spandex.

Back at Lagi camp, everyone recognizes that moment for what it was, and its brought Star around on Eva. She does a total 180 and is now completely, vocally on Eva’s side, finally telling her about the Beware advantage (which Eva already knew about, but still).  Star took Eva’s story so deeply to heart that it makes me wonder if Eva reminds her of someone in her own life.

Now that it is out in the open, her new tribemates help Star decode the Beware advantage.  Once they have all the letters, it is Eva who comes up with the word that opens the Cryptex.  (2 points for “Complete Stage 1 of Beware Advantage” [Eva] to Kyle!)  and Star finally lands her idol! (5 points for “Find hidden immunity idol” [Star] to nobody!)

But then, in the most shocking moment of the season so far, Star publicly gives her idol to Eva!

This is my favorite episode.

We don’t have a category for “Someone gives you a hidden immunity idol”.  I’ll add it next season. I scored it as if Eva had found it. (5 points for “Find a hidden immunity idol” [Eva] to Kyle!)

Over at Civa, Chrissy thinks they did great despite the loss which makes me wonder if she knows that moral victories lead to “The Tribe Has Spoken”

 

5 points if you tell me this character’s secret identity name. 

5 more points if you tell me who he’s saying “We don’t do that here” to. 

Message me directly. 

No Google, ChatGPT or internet sleuthing. 

You know it or you don’t!

The wheels at Civa begin spinning as voteless Bianca pits the twosomes against each other. Chrissy and Mitch try to turn Cedrek on Sai but he didn’t buy it.   When Chrissy tries to “convince” Bianca to vote Sai, the small-but-mighty one keeps her lips shut about not having a vote. That’s smart but it doesn’t last. 

Bianca finally talks herself into telling Cedrek that she has no vote.  Seeing this new information, Cedrek needs to do what’s best for him (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Cedrek] to nobody!). This move is so dumb even Bhanu wouldn’t do it.

At tribal, Jeff asks Cedrek if attending so many tribals helps you get better at navigating them to your advantage.  Memo to Jeff: Last time Cedrek was at tribal, he voted for his entire tribe (and Sai twice! And she is still here!). I guess getting better at each tribal is not a thing, for Cedrek at least.

Mitch jumps in when talking about how Bianca is in the center of the storm (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Mitch] to Bobby!)  but that the vote is more complex than “We are all twos, she’s a one”.  Sai thinks she can slither into a crack in the other tribe, which is weird because all she does is complain about them.  (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Sai] to Scott!). 

While Sai is first to vote (3 points for “First person chosen to vote at tribal” [Sai] to Scott!), it is Chrissy who thinks the voting booth is cool.  I wonder if she’ll feel the same way if she’s voted out.  I suspect so.

At the vote, Sai and Chrissy each receive a vote but in a shocker it’s Bianca who gets the other two! She’s voted out 2-1-1 as Cedrek and Chrissy both went for her.  I get why Cedrek did. I don’t understand Chrissy’s vote at all!   (1 point each for “Received vote against” [Sai, Chrissy] to Scott and nobody!), (2 points for “Received vote against” [Bianca] to no one!), and (-1 point for “The tribe has spoken” [Bianca] against no one!)

Farewell, Mighty Mouse 

So,  what does this mean for our scores? Kyle and Tom continue their fight for supremacy atop the leaderboard, with Kyle holding an 11-point advantage thanks to Eva.  Miles below and separated by 5 points, Will, Stephanie, Scott and Jo remain in place occupying 3^rd through 6^th. Bobby is still holding onto 7^th but George has almost caught him.  If chugging milk were a category, George would be rolling in points! Alas… 

1. Kyle	102
2. Tom	91
3. Will	59
4. Stephanie	58
5. Scott	56
6. Jo	54
7. Bobby	45
8. George	42

Survivor 48 - Patchogue Medford Update #4

 

First, a reminder of who has whom following our redraft: 

Second, 5 bonus points to Carol for knowing “Meet the new loss, same as the old loss” is paraphrased “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss” from The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”.  That classic song contains one of the iconic screams in rock history.  Check it out!

We pick back up with the Cursed Vula tribe who, despite having all new members, found themselves at Tribal again and saw Littlefinger voted out following Kyle’s perfect hidden immunity idol play.  Shauhin is upset that the Golden Girls alliance didn’t last a single tribal (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Shauhin] to Lia!) .

Kyle says he would have voted with them but saw that someone went through his bag and that sketched him out.  Wow, a totally brutal play by Kyle there, making Lord Baelish’s demise the fault of his allies.  Brilliant!  (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Kyle] to Angela!)

At the season’s first Reward challenge, they have to throw sandbags at a rotating target until it releases a bag of balls, then bounce the balls off a trampoline into a net.  Once complete, they have to roll a ball onto a target.  Since the tribes are uneven, we have sit outs.  (2 points for “Volunteer to sit out a challenge” [Charity, Sai] to Sheila and Dylan!)

As they progress through the first stage, Jeff reminds us that Survivor is just like real life – when your balls drop you enter a new stage.

That's definitely a meeting with HR

Though Civa hits puberty first, Vula and Lagi quickly tie at 2 sunken balls (I heard it) while Civa is hopeless. Jeff blames Cedrek, calling him an abysmal failure (3 points for “Jeff says something negative about you in a challenge” [Cedrek] to Sheila!).  Civa falls behind until Mitch takes over and sinks all three balls in rapid succession.

They’re all on stage three together, but Lagi makes quick work of it, winning a trip to the Sanctuary. Right behind them, Vula takes 2^nd.  (6 points each for “Win tribal reward” [Shauhin, Mary, Eva, Kamila, Kyle, Star] to Brian, Lia and Angela!).  (3 points each for “Win tribal reward” [Charity, David, Joe] to Sheila, Iyasah, and Carol)

Mary’s victory excitement is too much for Sai who thinks she should win with more tact.

Wait, I thought they were friends now?

Back at Civa, Bianca is freaked that her #1 Littlefinger is gone. Chrissy sees Sai’s “I’ve done every challenge” excuse as the weak-sauce it is, and thinks Sai is digging her own grave.  Now that Littlefinger is gone, Mitch says he thinks the “weaken old Lagi” target logic is fading from Bianca. Really, it’s Sai driving him crazy – and his getting to know Bianca is a nice person - that’s taking priority. Bianca sees the options of playing the middle against Chrissy/Mitch and Sai/Cedrek as a safe way forward (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Bianca] to Dylan!)

She acts like she wrote this book

Sai continues whining about how Chrissy is used to telling people what to do and thinks her Cedrek/Bianca threesome will be enough to get her out.

Vula bonds over pastries, coffee and as much milk as David can drink to the point that Kamila sees the 2-2 vote being a thing of the past and would love to keep them with her.  That’s all well-and-good until someone loses a challenge….

At the immunity challenge they must swim to shore while towing a boat as a tribe), then carry a heavy chest up the beach and unbraid 3 ropes to get a key.  Then they dig out the sand to get under a log and get to a chest. The key unlocks a chest containing four balls. Then each tribe member must navigate a ball through a table maze.

First two to finish have a night off. Losing tribe gets mocked by me in the Tribal Council portion of the update. Let’s get it on!  As Civa and Lagi still have extra people, we have more sit-outs (3 points each for “Volunteer to sit out a challenge” [Star, Cedrek] to Angela, Sheila!)

As in the reward challenge, Civa quickly falls behind as Lagi and Vula finish unbraiding the key about the same time. Kyle gets stuck in the sand allowing Civa to catch up. Though Lagi got through first, they are all on the table maze at about the same time.

Vula crushes the table maze!

THE CURSE IS BROKEN!

Civa and Lagi tie up at 2. Mary makes it look easy, giving Lagi a 3-2 lead, leading Jeff to think Sai feels pressure. When she denies feeling it, Jeff says she should! Sai taps out and allows Chrissy to sink her ball putting them even 3-3. 

We see Joe several times watching from the side as Eva gets increasingly flustered. It’s honestly difficult to watch.  Just when it looks like she might completely cr. le, she sucks it up, picks up the speed and lands Lagi’s 4^th ball, earning them immunity. (6 points each for “Win tribal immunity” [Shauhin, Mary, Eva, Kamila, Kyle, Star] to Brian, Lia and Angela!).  (3 points each for “Win tribal immunity” [Charity, David, Joe] to Sheila, Iyasah, and Carol)

As primal as screams get

But the story of this competition is about what happened afterword.

We, the audience, know Eva is autistic and one of her triggers is overstimulation.  The frustration she felt, followed by the elation at winning is too much for her. She cannot calm herself down and bursts into a crying fit.  Watching her struggle leaves Joe visibly pained, like the protective father he is.  When Jeff finally asks him to give her a hug, they race to each other, and he helps her regain her composure. While it is clear Joe revealed his game by giving her public comfort, he thinks it’s more important to be the man his kids want him to be. (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Joe] to Carol!). 

Eva has no choice but to tell everyone about her autism, how doctors told her she would never live alone, never have a job or any type of normal life but that her parents refused to listen and helped her to the point she’s at.  (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Eva] to Brian!). 

This is one of the greatest moments in 48 seasons of Survivor, and it’s even got Jeff tearing up.  Eva is a hero. Joe is a hero. The only thing missing is their capes and spandex.

Back at Lagi camp, everyone recognizes that moment for what it was, and its brought Star around on Eva. She does a total 180 and is now completely, vocally on Eva’s side, finally telling her about the Beware advantage (which Eva already knew about, but still).  Star took Eva’s story so deeply to heart that it makes me wonder if Eva reminds her of someone in her own life.

Now that it is out in the open, her new tribemates help Star decode the Beware advantage.  Once they have all the letters, it is Eva who comes up with the word that opens the Cryptex.  (2 points for “Complete Stage 1 of Beware Advantage” [Eva] to Brian!)  and Star finally lands her idol! (5 points for “Find hidden immunity idol” [Star] to Angela!)

But then, in the most shocking moment of the season so far, Star publicly gives her idol to Eva!

This is my favorite episode.

We don’t have a category for “Someone gives you a hidden immunity idol”.  I’ll add it next season. I scored it as if Eva had found it. (5 points for “Find a hidden immunity idol” [Eva] to Brian!)

Over at Civa, Chrissy thinks they did great despite the loss which makes me wonder if she knows that moral victories lead to “The Tribe Has Spoken”

5 points if you tell me this character’s secret identity name. 

5 more points if you tell me who he’s saying “We don’t do that here” to. 

Message me directly. 

No Google, ChatGPT or internet sleuthing. 

You know it or you don’t!)

The wheels at Civa begin spinning as voteless Bianca pits the twosomes against each other. Chrissy and Mitch try to turn Cedrek on Sai but he didn’t buy it.   When Chrissy tries to “convince” Bianca to vote Sai, the small-but-mighty one keeps her lips shut about not having a vote. That’s smart but it doesn’t last. 

Bianca finally talks herself into telling Cedrek that she has no vote.  Seeing this new information, Cedrek needs to do what’s best for him (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Cedrek] to nobody!). This move is so dumb even Bhanu wouldn’t do it.

At tribal, Jeff asks Cedrek if attending so many tribals helps you get better at navigating them to your advantage.  Memo to Jeff: Last time Cedrek was at tribal, he voted for his entire tribe (and Sai twice! And she is still here!). I guess getting better at each tribal is not a thing, for Cedrek at least.

Mitch jumps in when talking about how Bianca is in the center of the storm (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Mitch] to Carol!)  but that the vote is more complex than “We are all twos, she’s a one”.  Sai thinks she can slither into a crack in the other tribe, which is weird because all she does is complain about them.  (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Sai] to Dylan!). 

While Sai is first to vote (3 points for “First person chosen to vote at tribal” [Sai] to Dylan!). Chrissy thinks the voting booth is cool.  I wonder if she’ll feel the same way if she’s voted out.  I suspect so.

At the vote, Sai and Chrissy each receive a vote but in a shocker it’s Bianca who gets the other two! She’s voted out 2-1-1 as Cedrek and Chrissy both went for her.  I get why Cedrek did. I don’t understand Chrissy’s vote at all!   (1 point each for “Received vote against” [Sai, Chrissy] to Dylan, Iyasah!), (2 points for “Received vote against” [Bianca] to Dylan!), and (-1 point for “The tribe has spoken” [Bianca] against Dylan!)

 

Farewell, Mighty Mouse!

 

So,  what does this mean for our scores?

Carol remains in the lead, but 2^nd place Brian has narrowed the gap from 15 to 8! 3^rd place Angela is close behind, just two points out of 2^nd. It’s a 19-point gap to 4^th place Iyasah who lost quite a bit of ground, thanks to Angela’s Kyle naming the episode and Star FINALLY opening her Beware advantage. 5^th – 7^th place Shelia, Lia and Dylan all remain in place, though Dylan fell a bit further into the abyss despite Sai’s voting first and Bianca’s votes.   Pairing players from the same tribe can pay off…but it’s a risk!

1. Carol	99
2. Brian	92
3. Angela	91
4. Iyasah	72
5. Sheila	66
6. Lia	65
7. Dylan	57

Survivor 48 - Champions League Update #4

First, a reminder of who has whom following our redraft:

Available Lifelines: Cedrek, Chrissy, Charity, David, Star, Mary

Second, 5 bonus points to Carol for knowing “Meet the new loss, same as the old loss” is paraphrased “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss” from The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”.  It follows one of the iconic screams in rock history.  Check it out!

We pick back up with the Cursed Vula tribe who, despite having all new members, found themselves at Tribal again and saw Littlefinger voted out following Kyle’s perfect hidden immunity idol play.  Shauhin is upset that the Golden Girls alliance didn’t last a single tribal (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Shauhin] to Roberta!) .

Kyle says he would have voted with them but saw that someone went through his bag and that sketched him out.  Wow, a totally brutal play by Kyle there, making Lord Baelish’s demise the fault of his allies.  Brilliant!  (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Kyle] to Ricky!)

At the season’s first Reward challenge, they have to throw sandbags at a rotating target until it releases a bag of balls, then bounce the balls off a trampoline into a net.  Once complete, they have to roll a ball onto a target.  Since the tribes are uneven, we have sit outs.  (2 points for “Volunteer to sit out a challenge” [Charity, Sai] to nobody and me!)

As they progress through the first stage, Jeff reminds us that Survivor is just like real life – when your balls drop you enter a new stage.

That's definitely a meeting with HR

Anyway, Civa hits puberty first. Vula and Lagi quickly tie at 2 sunken balls (I heard it) while Civa is hopeless. Jeff blames Cedrek, calling him an abysmal failure (3 points for “Jeff says something negative about you in a challenge” [Cedrek] to no one!).  Civa falls behind until Mitch takes over and sinks all three balls in rapid succession.

They’re all on stage three together, but Lagi makes quick work of it, winning a trip to the Sanctuary (3 points each for “Win tribal reward” [Eva, David, Mary, Charity, Star] to Dalphyne, and 4 nobodies!).  Right behind them, Vula takes 2^nd (3 points each for “Win tribal reward” [Joe, Shauhin, Kyle, Kamila] to Carol, Roberta, Ricky and Marissa!)

Mary’s victory excitement is too much for Sai who thinks she should win with more tact.

 

Wait, I thought they were friends now?

Back at Civa, Bianca is freaked that her #1 Littlefinger is gone. Chrissy sees Sai’s “I’ve done every challenge” excuse as the weak-sauce it is, and thinks Sai is digging her own grave.  Now that Littlefinger is gone, Mitch says he thinks the “weaken old Lagi” target logic is fading from Bianca. Really, it’s Sai driving him crazy – and his getting to know Bianca is a nice person - that’s taking priority. Bianca sees the options of playing the middle against Chrissy/Mitch and Sai/Cedrek as a safe way forward (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Bianca] to Kristyn!)

She acts like she wrote this book

Sai continues whining about how Chrissy is used to telling people what to do and thinks her Cedrek/Bianca threesome will be enough to get her out.

Vula bonds over pastries, coffee and as much milk as David can drink to the point that Kamila sees the 2-2 vote being a thing of the past and would love to keep them with her.  That’s all well-and-good until someone loses a challenge….

At the immunity challenge they must swim to shore while towing a boat as a tribe), then carry a heavy chest up the beach and unbraid 3 ropes to get a key.  Then they dig out the sand to get under a log and get to a chest. The key unlocks a chest containing four balls. Then each tribe member must navigate a ball through a table maze.

First two to finish have a night off. Losing tribe gets mocked by me in the Tribal Council portion of the update. Let’s get it on!  As Civa and Lagi still have extra people, we have more sit-outs (3 points each for “Volunteer to sit out a challenge” [Star, Cedrek] to no one!)

As in the reward challenge, Civa quickly falls behind as Lagi and Vula finish unbraiding the key about the same time. Kyle gets stuck in the sand allowing Civa to catch up. Though Lagi got through first, they are all on the table maze at about the same time.

Vula crushes the table maze, earning themselves a night off. (3 points each for “Win tribe immunity” Joe, Shauhin, Kyle, Kamila] to Carol, Roberta, Ricky and Marissa!)

THE CURSE IS BROKEN!

Civa and Lagi tie up at 2. Mary makes it look easy, giving Lagi a 3-2 lead, leading Jeff to think Sai feels pressure. When she denies feeling it, Jeff says she should! Sai taps out and allows Chrissy to sink her ball putting them even 3-3. 

We see Joe several times watching from the side as Eva gets increasingly flustered. It’s honestly difficult to watch.  Just when it looks like she might completely cr. le, she sucks it up, picks up the speed and lands Lagi’s 4^th ball, earning them immunity. (3 points for “Win tribe immunity” [Eva, Star, Charity, David, Mary] to Dalphyne and 4 nobodies!)

As primal as screams get

But the story of this competition is about what happened afterword.

We, the audience, know Eva is autistic and one of her triggers is overstimulation.  The frustration she felt, followed by the elation at winning is too much for her. She cannot calm herself down and bursts into a crying fit.  Watching her struggle leaves Joe visibly pained, like the protective father he is.  When Jeff finally asks him to give her a hug, they race to each other, and he helps her regain her composure. While it is clear Joe revealed his game by giving her public comfort, he thinks it’s more important to be the man his kids want him to be. (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Joe] to Carol!). 

Eva has no choice but to tell everyone about her autism, how doctors told her she would never live alone, never have a job or any type of normal life but that her parents refused to listen and helped her to the point she’s at.  (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Eva] to Dalphyne!). 

This is one of the greatest moments in 48 seasons of Survivor, and it’s even got Jeff tearing up.  Eva is a hero. Joe is a hero. The only thing missing is their capes and spandex.

Back at Lagi camp, everyone recognizes that moment for what it was, and its brought Star around on Eva. She does a total 180 and is now completely, vocally on Eva’s side, finally telling her about the Beware advantage (which Eva already knew about, but still).  Star took Eva’s story so deeply to heart that it makes me wonder if Eva reminds her of someone in her own life.

Now that it is out in the open, her new tribemates help Star decode the Beware advantage.  Once they have all the letters, it is Eva who comes up with the word that opens the Cryptex.  (2 points for “Complete Stage 1 of Beware Advantage” [Eva] to Dalphyne!)  and Star finally lands her idol! (5 points for “Find hidden immunity idol” [Star] to nobody!)

But then, in the most shocking moment of the season so far, Star publicly gives her idol to Eva!

This is my favorite episode.

We don’t have a category for “Someone gives you a hidden immunity idol”.  I’ll add it next season. I scored it as if Eva had found it. (5 points for “Find a hidden immunity idol” [Eva] to Dalphyne!)

Over at Civa, Chrissy thinks they did great despite the loss which makes me wonder if she knows that moral victories lead to “The Tribe Has Spoken”. 

5 points if you tell me this character’s secret identity name. 

5 more points if you tell me who he’s saying “We don’t do that here” to. 

Message me directly. 

No Google, ChatGPT or internet sleuthing. You know it or you don’t!)

The wheels at Civa begin spinning as voteless Bianca pits the twosomes against each other. Chrissy and Mitch try to turn Cedrek on Sai but he didn’t buy it.   When Chrissy tries to “convince” Bianca to vote Sai, the small-but-mighty one keeps her lips shut about not having a vote. That’s smart but it doesn’t last. 

Bianca finally talks herself into telling Cedrek that she has no vote.  Seeing this new information, Cedrek needs to do what’s best for him (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Cedrek] to nobody!). This move is so dumb even Bhanu wouldn’t do it.

At tribal, Jeff asks Cedrek if attending so many tribals helps you get better at navigating them to your advantage.  Memo to Jeff: Last time Cedrek was at tribal, he voted for his entire tribe (and Sai twice! And she is still here!). I guess getting better at each tribal is not a thing, for Cedrek at least.

Mitch jumps in when talking about how Bianca is in the center of the storm (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Mitch] to Jay!)  but that the vote is more complex than “We are all twos, she’s a one”.  Sai thinks she can slither into a crack in the other tribe, which is weird because all she does is complain about them.  (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Sai] to Scott!). 

While Sai is first to vote (3 points for “First person chosen to vote at tribal” [Sai] to Scott!), it is Chrissy who thinks the voting booth is cool.  I wonder if she’ll feel the same way if she’s voted out.  I suspect so.

At the vote, Sai and Chrissy each receive a vote but in a shocker it’s Bianca who gets the other two! She’s voted out 2-1-1 as Cedrek and Chrissy both went for her.  I get why Cedrek did. I don’t understand Chrissy’s vote at all!   (1 point each for “Received vote against” [Sai, Chrissy] to me and nobody!), (2 points for “Received vote against” [Bianca] to Kristyn!), and (-1 point for “The tribe has spoken” [Bianca] against Kristyn!)

 

Farewell, Mighty Mouse!

So, what does that mean for our scores? Marissa, who’s finding the bonus points somewhat harder this year, remains in the lead but Ricky has closed the gap to 3 points, thanks to Kyle’s naming of the episode.  Carol is right behind in 3^rd. It’s a 10-point gap to now-4^th place Dalphyne who drops Jay to 5^th.  The bottom three of Roberta, Scott and Kristyn remain in place.  Maybe the NEXT redraft will help us get out of the cellar!

1. Marissa	84
2. Ricky	81
3. Carol	79
4. Dalphyne	68
5. Jay	58
6. Roberta	55
7. Scott	47
8. Kristyn	37

Kristyn has chosen Mary as her replacement for Bianca

Survivor 48 - Brooklyn South Update #3

 

Before we get started, a reminder of who has whom:

Second, 5 bonus points to Will for knowing the man holding the knife saying “I told you not to trust me” was Lord Petyr Baelish, aka Littlefinger from Game of Thrones. Thomas looks and acts so much like him that henceforth, we shall refer to Thomas as Littlefinger, or Lord Baelish.

Third, the redrafts are going on now.  Your new players will begin earning you points on the 3/27 episode.

Enough administrivia. On with the show!

We pick back up at Vula where it’s pouring and Cedrek whines about having to choose between his two closest allies (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Cedrek] to Bobby!).  I’m not sure if anyone ever voted for their entire tribe in one night before.  Congrats to you, Cedrek?  Sai sees Cedrek as “You got me out of something you got me into”, which is one of the first rational things she’s said all season.  She also softens with Mary, and the two form a bond. 

Just in time for buffs to be dropped!

Eva is shaken, Vula is ecstatic and Littlefinger is upset that everything he knows about Lagi is useless.  Newsflash to Littlefinger: That’s why they do it.  We draw new buffs, and the tribes come out:

-          Lagi: David, Eva, Charity, Star, Mary

-          Civa: Chrissy, Mitch, Cedrek, Sai, Bianca

-          Vula: Joe, Shauhin, Thomas, Kyle, Kamila

At first glance Lagi looks strong, the new Vula tribe is packed with muscle (and has no original Vula’s on it!) while the new Civa tribe looks a little weak.  But Survivor isn’t about muscle.   It’s about relationships and Shauhin is about as comfortable as could be - his California Girls alliance with Joe and Thomas is intact on the new tribe.  (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Shauhin] to Stephanie!)

At the new Lagi tribe, at least Star is at the same camp – she could’ve been at Civa or Vula. Maybe she can finally solve her Beware advantage and earn her vote back! Mary feels like she’s hit the lotto while Eva panics on what she’ll do without Joe.  Her reaction is almost cliché: She bonds with David, the next biggest guy on the island, over their love of jet skis.   She also sells Star out to her new tribemates, saying she’d have no problem voting Star out. 

For his part, David – who has all sisters at home - feels right at home on a tribe of women.  Mary sees him as a gentleman, but Charity sees him as playing house while she’s playing Survivor. She sees David as smart, but not strategic – a chess piece she can move around.  Meanwhile, David tells Eva he sees Charity as playing too hard and someone he’d vote out without thinking twice.  Maybe Charity needs to employ some….

Get it while it’s hot!

At Civa, Sai and Cedrek see what camp life is like when you win challenges, and they love it.  Sai may be Cedrek’s #1, but Cedrek is not Sai’s favorite.  She wanted away from him. Chrissy wasn’t working with Mitch on the old Civa, but she is now that they’re the only two. Voteless Bianca is acting confident but she’s panicking inside when she approaches Sai about working together with Cedrek. 

What Bianca doesn’t know is that Cedrek just voted for Sai twice in one night, and that’s not something Sai easily forgives.  She’s reluctant to include him – a response Bianca rightly interprets as a crack.

Team Bianca logo

Cedrek pairs up with Mitch, and they bond over having speech impediments.  He wants to work with both Mitch and Sai, who he sees as totally loyal. We know better though, don’t we?  And Bianca does too as Sai fills her in on the crazy tribal.  Lastly, Chrissy tells Cedrek and Mitch she wants everyone to team up against Bianca as Lagi was too strong a tribe.

Finally, the Vula’s are dismayed when they arrive at the old Vula camp and see what it’s like when you lose. It’s like showing up at the house party after mom and dad have come home.  (5 points for “Say the title of the episode” [Joe] to Scott!).   Littlefinger complains about not having a map but he’s happy to be in the majority with Shauhin and Joe against two “Civa stragglers”.  He really has no respect for anyone else out there. 

Kyle is internally ecstatic at his #1 ally Kamila being with him, and she’s right there with him (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Kamila] to Tom!).  She saves him from sharing too much, by lying that she was on the bottom of Civa and doesn’t really know Kyle well, which Shauhin totally believes.  There’s definitely a “Man underestimates small woman” bias at play here.  Kamila tells Shauhin and Joe that Littlefinger lied about his journey, which rattles his two allies.  Lord Baelish denies it, of course, but it’s not clear if Joe and Shauhin believe him. Kamila is now his #1 target.  If only he had a Valyrian steel knife to plant….

At the immunity and reward challenge, they are playing for a large / smaller plate of fruit and for immunity.  Vula is imposing to look at, and their confidence is off the charts.

Thehave to free up a cube by removing sandbags, then roll the cube under a structure to get two more sandbags.  Then they must throw the sandbags through a frame to land on a barrel.  One done, they can dig up a puzzle piece and solve a huge pyramid puzzle.

Vula (Joe, Shauhin, Thomas, Kyle and Kamila) finish stage 1 first, with Lagi (David, Eva, Charity, Star and Mary) right behind. Civa (Chrissy, Bianca, Sai, Cedrek and Mitch) is close, but distinctly behind until Mitch lands two bags in quick succession to catch them up. He’s terrific at these kinds of challenges.  Eventually, Vula gets to the puzzle first but confusion reigns as they think they’ve solved it, but they’re wrong.

Lagi catches up as Civa begins the puzzle.  Vula progress has completely stopped, and they are stumped as Kamila tries to guide them from atop Shauhin’s shoulders.  Lagi earns immunity and reward. Vula can’t seem to get the puzzle to fit and Civa takes advantage of the delay to finish, earning the 2^nd immunity and reward!   (12 points total for “Win tribe immunity” and “Win tribe reward” [Eva, Chrissy, Charity, Sai] to Jo and Will!).  (6 points total for “Win tribe immunity” and “Win tribe reward” [Mary, Cedrek, Bianca, Star, Mitch, David] to Tom, Bobby, Stephanie, Scott, Kyle and George)

Despite having all new members, Vula will attend tribal council again!

Meet the new loss, same as the old loss. 

5 points if you can tell me what song that line I’m paraphrasing comes from.  

Message me directly. No Google, ChatGPT or other internet sleuthing! 

You know it or you don’t.

Back at loser tribe, Littlefinger thinks this is a tale as old as Vula, and while Shauhin believes keeping Kamila out of the puzzle costs them, the California Girls plan is solid: They have the numbers, use them. But who should they vote for? Shauhin wants Kyle to give up some info, but there’s nothing Kamila hasn’t already shared.

The California Girls can’t align on a target, which makes Littlefinger paranoid since he knows Kamila can ruin him.  He even considers playing his steal-a-vote advantage.  Meanwhile, Kamila and Kyle agree that Kyle will play his idol. Then it’s just a matter of going after Shauhin or Littlefinger.  You can feel a solid blindside is coming.

At tribal, Shauhin definitely didn’t want to be here but he’s happy it’s 3-2 in his favor.  Kyle and Kamila play the part of voting against each other to curry favor, with Kyle adding a little guilt about only getting to play for 9 days. It’s solid bullshit – and good gameplay - a lot of words that sound relevant to the conversation but mean nothing and betray no secrets.  Kamila says she feels underestimated too, which felt like a mistake to say.  Plenty of tribal plans have been blown up by a misspoken word or poorly timed glance.  Lord Baelish ends tribal saying it’s tough to crush someone’s dream but it’s the game.

Kyle is chosen to vote first (5 points for “First person chosen to vote at tribal” [Kyle] to Kyle!). At the vote, Kyle plays his idol, which Littlefinger can’t believe. The votes come in: 3 for Kyle (which don’t count on him, but do count as points!), and 2 for Littlefinger, who is voted out with an advantage in his pocket.

The face you make when you know you're busted

(3 points for “Received vote against” [Kyle] to Kyle!),

(2 points for “Received vote against” [Littlefinger] to Bobby!),

(-1 point for “The tribe has spoken” [Littlefinger] against Bobby),  and finally  

(-5 points for “Voted out with an idol or advantage in your pocket [Littlefinger] against Bobby!)

 

Never saw it coming

 So, what does that mean for our scores?  Kyle jumps back into a 6-point lead over Tom as they have opened a huge gap on the rest of the field. The scoring below the leaders is extremely tight, and tremendously volatile!

 I move into 3^rd, a mere *30* points behind!  I have a one-point lead on 4^th place Will, who has a 1-point lead on 5^th place Jo, who has a 1-point lead on 6^th place Stephanie, who has a 2-point lead on 7^th place Bobby.  Don’t sweat it, Bobby! You’re one Journey away from 3^rd place again!  Playing with only one person for the first time, George still lags but surely his upcoming draft pick will save his season.  How’s Kevin doing again 😉?  I kid, I kid …

1. Kyle	85
2. Tom	78
3. Scott	48
4. Will	47
5. Jo	46
6. Stephanie	45
7. Bobby	43
8. George	30