You just can’t trust nobody in this game! Once again my favourite Melbournian and Super Fan, Annabel Fidler, joins me with her Spice Rack, featuring a special guest!
To the recap…
Episode 8: Days 19-20
THE FIRE-MAKER GOES? SO DOES THE FIRE!
HELLO JERICHO!
Man I love a Survivor who goes over and beyond to sabotage camp life. It reminded of the spice Jane (Bright) brought to Survivor Nicaragua when she put out the fire… It was pretty much a “F**K YOU ALL” moment. She was all “things ain’t going my way so go make your own darn fire!” Jericho was pretty much the same, get rid of the fire-maker Mark, the fire goes with him. He doesn’t care if everyone starves. This brings me to the next point – why does NO ONE (except Luke) know how to start a fire?! That is like one of the top things you should know, or at least have an idea of going into the game. Yes, it was hilarious watching Ben try and make fire, but at least he had a go!
Pretty hilarious Luke refused to make fire in spite of Henry and co. Eventually he did and he’s been strategising behind the scenes all this time without anyone really knowing. Only now have Henqui picked up on his clever antic and want him gone ASAP!
PICNIC AT SLIDING ROCKS
What a beautiful natural spa reward, complete with waterfalls, champagne, cheese & crackers and the opportunity to shave your pubes!
Kent was the MVP of the reward challenge this time. He lived up to his “Clark Kent” name being the super man of ball throwing!
Princess Michele and Jacqui are over the moon! Then came the very suspect idol clues. Especially when there were two, right in front of the mirrors. I was also surprised they gave them mirrors so early in the game. Anyway the lack of ‘REAL’ idol clues gave that reward a lack-lustre finish!
TAKING DOWN THE TOP DOG
Locky claims he’s never on the bottom of anything… He’s a top, ladies 😉 And he just can’t stand AK being Top Dog over him. Locky’s plan is to get Ziggy on board.
But that only makes it 4-4. He needs 5. Lucky for him, this turns out to be a pretty good move, as AK and co decide to split the votes: Girls vote Tara, boys vote Locky. AK wants Anneliese in on their vote as well, just in case an idol is in play. She says yes to voting Tara, but wants to play both sides and understandably doesn’t want to be bottom of a new six alliance. Anneliese and Ziggy have a pow-wow and Ziggy does a fantastic job of lying to her. Anneliese wants to vote AK. Ziggy also ‘chooses’ to vote AK. News gets to Tara and Locky. Tara is bloody excited. IT’S PRETTY MUCH A DONE DEAL! And we soon see how dangerous manipulators and splitting votes can be.
COMEBACK KINGS OF ASAGA
This challenge was all kinds of awesome. I love, love, love the door handle maze. First seen in MvGX (Jay, you legend!), it is a real winner and brain f*ck at the same time, shown by Peter and Ziggy’s performance. They were totally stumped!
Henry (who keeps on proving he’s a challenge beast) and Jericho, flew through the door maze helping Asaga make a huge comeback! And to top it off it we saw Princess Michelle be towed to the finish line in her chariot. Masterful!
TRIBAL SURPRISE!
We started Tribal Council with Jono being devastated Samatau was spending the night with him again, Peter confessing he and Ziggy did a shit job at the immunity challenge, and Tara showing off her special belt I had never seen before! Fast forward through that drawn out chat-fest and you can tell that Locky and Tara are looking pretty jolly for being on the bottom. Alas, they vote and instead of an expected 4-2-2 vote (4-AK, 2-Tara, 2-Locky), it ends up being a 3-3-2 vote (3-AK, 3-Tara, 2-Locky). Shocks come from both sides… Anneliese glaring at Ziggy. AK glaring at Anneliese. Tara glaring at AK. Ziggy smirking at Anneliese. Locky thinking ‘bring me HENRY NOW!’. It’s then a revote between AK and Tara and they sit out. It’s then obvious Tara is the one sent packing, but instead, Jono assigns her a seat. Here’s a facial reaction timeline gif:
LET’S VOTE AGAIN! At this point Anneliese is completely shitting herself. She goes up to vote first, and just as she asks the camera how it could get any worse… BAM. Ziggy goes for the kisser.
OUCH! What a strike. Then Anneliese gets punched in the face a couple more times by Tessa and AK who follow suit. Ziggy, you genius. Hahaha. It was a perfect move to make though; they can’t afford a flipper in the ranks, and keeping Locky around for strength is a win. If only it wasn’t a non-elimination!! As much as it was fun to watch, the twist did take away from the actual vote and how good it would have been had the two girls went home. What a way to leave, I’d actually be excited about it! Haha. Anyway, Anneliese and Tara are sent to Exile Beach… They’re not out of the game just yet!
Thanks Australian Survivor, Samatau are rewarded nothing for winning immunity. But the audience at home get rewarded dramatic TV!
Episode 9: Days 21-22
SURVIVOR SWAPSIES
At Exile Beach, Anneliese and Tara look down in the dumps and express their struggles spending the night alone… Nek minnit, Anneliese is ready to get this party started. Thank goodness, coz the tribe swap is happening! A little bit funny when Asaga walk in having no clue who Anneliese is. Jono asks for volunteers to swap tribes and Ben puts his hand up! With no one else wanting to sacrifice their game, Henry makes the very bold move of putting himself forward, giving Jacqui a Survivor heart attack! SHE IS PISSED. And the others in Henry’s alliance are not happy. Rightfully so…
Ladies and gentleman, welcome Henry, the most arrogant player of the season (so far)! Wow. Yes, I have read his interview on him justifying his move and there is an air of over-bearing self-confidence. The fact he *thinks* he has ALL the power at Asaga to take himself out of that tribe and can do the same at Samatau is ludicrous. Who does he think is? Boston Rob?! Asaga ain’t no Ometepe. Throwing Jacqui under the bus like that… I know Survivor is a game, but jeez he had nicer things to say about his hair (yawn) than her in the interview! Yikes. It’s still too early to say whether this was a good move or not and if he can make the merge and potentially jury, I’ll be impressed. Not enough people take risks in the game, but is it a calculative one? We shall see!
NEW SAMATAU v NEW ASAGA
I see a potential Pagonging (refer Survivor Borneo) happening here… !!
Henry the snake, charmer gets to work. Girls be wary!! AK and Henry lie to each other about the tribe dynamics, which I loved! Locky is SO excited and wants Henry on board. Everyone is enamoured by the new yoga guy! I am worried for AK’s game at this point in time, if he doesn’t watch out, Ziggy might flip over to the dark side…
Over at Asaga, Jacqui’s eyes have opened up about Henry leaving and taking the idol with him! She is not happy one bit. As for Tara and Anneliese, they are done with Samatau are ready to make some new friends. Luke thinks the girls are “mouldable”, and I totally agree! He tells Tara that Jacqui can’t be trusted and that she’s got no one now she’s lost Henry. Funnily enough the guys at Samatau had a feeling Jacqui was running the joint.
SFL – SURVIVOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Did anyone else realise Ben was standing in the dark shadows of the tribe flag trying to look non-existent when Jono was explaining the challenge?! HAHA! Another fantastic new challenge with a nice Aussie Football touch – for those viewers from overseas. AK was a particular stand out, showing off his skills to maybe one day be a rookie for the best AFL team out there, the Adelaide Crows 😉 Ziggy was also put to work in her beloved water; I don’t think we even saw her take a break this challenge. And Ben showed off his junior footy skills too with a shot on goal! Brilliant, guys!!
THE MAD SCRAMBLE
Jacqui’s plan: Keep Asaga strong. Which is also what Henry was SO sure of too. But with the flamingo-shirt guy gone, it’s suddenly Kent’s mission to get Tara out and things seem to be going peachy. Michelle says yes to Kent, and then runs to Luke and Jericho saying “Asaga strong, my ass!!” Michelle then tells the freelancers that she’s closer to them than she ever was to Jacqui… LOL. Jericho tries to get Sarah, who starts debating with them on whether it’s a good move or not. Jacqui catches her talking with the others and sends Kent down to keep watch. They think Sarah is head of the snake. NOT LUKE! Ha! Sarah being so dismissive towards Kent was really odd though; careful girl!
At tribal, Jacqui starts to feel under pressure and says Henry going shows they’re NOT a power couple. Michelle retaliates perfectly by saying Henry must feel safe enough at Asaga to leave the tribe and thinks he’s got enough power that he can come back later to rejoin. Also chipping in is our little sabotager Jericho who sees the newbies as a positive gain. Why not use them to your advantage with their bitterness towards Samatau. Jacqui goes and throws coat-tail riders under the bus, not realising she was on Henry’s the whole time; she even had Kent gather troops for her. Jacqui relied on Henry a little too much and didn’t even question him hanging on to the idol. She was entertaining though and provided some great quotes. If only she hadn’t found that darn idol…!! Jacqui-6, Sarah-3.
CRUSH OF THE WEEK
Short and sweet this week. #GettinZiggyWithIt. Easy peasy pick with Ziggy at the top of my Crush list for her epic tribal performance and showing off her physical prowess in the challenges. Also, I need to see more PETER! Where are you???
THE SPICE RACK: WEEK FOUR (feat. Taylor Swift)
Follow Annabel on Twitter
It wasn’t just the tribes that suffered a pretty significant shake up this week – my crush list is all over the place too. So many feelings, so much to discuss, such a short word-count. To make things easier, I have enclosed a glossary at the end of this segment for those of you who don’t speak fluent Aussie-Millennial. The most divisive character for me this week was Henry, and in my struggle to describe my feelings without memes, I think the only way I can put it is that he is the kind of guy Taylor Swift sings songs about. So, this week I have divided the Spice Rack into three sections, with the help of Tay Tay.
I Knew You Were Trouble
Last week Henry and Jacqui topped my crush list; after all, they had their tribe pretty much under control, plus they are cute. But at the same time, there was an uneasy feeling I couldn’t shift – my well-tuned f**kboy radar was blaring, and I needed to see some raw human emotion before I started fan-girling hard. Then came the surprise twist. Henry didn’t blink twice about leaving a sweet setup: solid Survivor wife, loyal mates, disempowered enemies. Fortunately, his new family seemed to find a spot for him in the bed, and a more than willing snuggle buddy in Locky. But ghosting Jacqui left her, and their allies, in a vulnerable position.
We are Never Ever Getting Back Together
I want to flash over to my dream team Luke and Jericho. I love that they have teamed up with Michelle and Sarah, and I think this is an alliance that could go far. I was so impressed with the way Michelle and Luke approached the two newcomers; they immediately looked to bond on a personal level. This stood in stark contrast to Kent and Jacqui, who treated the newbies like junior employees. Jacqui and Kent were screwed over by Henry’s decision to jump ship, but they agreed to let him leave, and didn’t handle things smoothly in the aftermath. I would have loved to see Jacqui as a major player post merge, and really hope she gets an opportunity to play again. But like Tay Tay, while I say I’m sworn off the f**kboys this season, I am easily reeled back in, and it is only never for now.
Blank Space
So, I have space up top for some sweet new Season 2 Survivor AU crushes, and I am looking at Anneliese and AK. I mostly love Anneliese because we would probably be one of those couples that slowly morph into each other until it’s impossible to tell you apart, plus it would be extra creepy because we have similar names. I obviously really rate myself and this would be an appealing set up. I have high hopes for Anneliese – maybe things would have been different for her if she had time to talk to her tribe mates before the sneaky second vote, and I think she has a much better shot at integrating with her new tribe than Tara. Plus, if she makes it to another tribe swap or the merge, she still has Locky, and less bad blood with the rest of original Samatau.
I have liked AK from the start, but I think we are moving into crush territory now. He’s the full package at this stage: great TV, solid strategy, hot in challenges (I don’t even care about the challenges and am basically allergic to exercise myself, but for some reason it is still really hot when contestants are good at them), and is always butting heads with the male contestants I can’t stand. I’m also of the opinion that he has the best man-bun this season, but as I am no man-bun expert, I have asked my saucy housemate Brianna to rank all the Survivor man-buns she has seen (she has only seen this season + Survivor Game-Changers). Brianna is drawn to man-buns as a moth is to a flame, so she is more than qualified for this study. She deducted points from Jarrad on the grounds he doesn’t really wear his hair in a bun, but included him because she is so impressed with how lush and silky it still looks out there. Her extremely scientific results revealed: Malcolm (Freberg) > Ozzy (Lusth)> AK > Jarrad > Henry. This settles the debate.
Glossary
F**kboy: can be used as an adjective or noun. Probably spends more time on his hair than you, messages you an hour after you were supposed to hang out telling you he isn’t coming, talks at length about his daddy issues, but never asks how your day was, will almost definitely ghost you once you start to really like him. You will probably drunk message him at 3am four months later, never hear back, and then dwell in self-loathing.
Ghosting: when you have been dating someone and then suddenly disappear: ignore all their messages and calls, unfollow them on social media, and never see them again. Love is so cruel.
Taylor Swift/ Tay Tay: an American pop singer with a lot of feelings about f**kboys.
Memes: cartoons for Millennials. Pictures with words, humorous.
Blog by Lynda Olson. Guest writer Annebel Fidler.
ALL IMAGES USED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE COPYRIGHT CHANNEL TEN & ENDEMOL SHINE. THIS IS A PERSONAL BLOG AND ALL GIFS AND VIEWS ARE MY OWN.
