Survivor is back for 2018!! And what better way than to treat us all with a double episode; aww shucks CBS, you shouldn’t have! Two of my favourite Ramblers are here, with Simon Knyvett taking over the reigns of the recap and Annabel is back with her Spice Rack – Who’s your crush pick?! I know y’all have been waiting for some light reading 😉
INTRODUCTION
Two episodes, two boots and no Lynda. I’ll forgive you for thinking it is the apocalypse. But at least while Lynda is bed ridden by crippling ailments, (insert your illness), the show must go on. At least she has what appears to be a great season to check out in her time out. The premier episode was superb, full of great TV, terrible but justifiable decision making and I cannot get enough of it. Even if Jacob and Gonzalez were your preseason faves (they were mine), and even if Fan Favourite Game Changer Sierra Dawn Thomas got more air time than four of the cast I am adamant we are in good hands. Right of the bat we have seen some game play of the god, bad and the ugly categories.
REWARD CHALLENGE
We open the season with a challenge (for all those over maroonings). Each team “picks” out a leader. I say “picks” because while Malolo seemed to unitedly choose Brendan, Naviti’s Chris was like that kid who says “I’ll do it” on his walk to the stage. I am not going to argue with their picks first and foremost.
First impressions are all you have to go by. I mean how can you tell someone is good at puzzles. However, I think you have to stand by your troops even at the risk of losing fishing gear (Bad move Chris). To add further bad gameplay in the Naviti tribe right off the bat is construction supervisor Domenick. It appears like we have a Garrett versus David Samson battle right off the bat between these two.
Overall it is a great opening challenge that has already set us up for some tribe dynamics right off the bat. While all the prizes and logistics may have been confusing it is my belief that the more chances for players to dig themselves a hole the better.
DAY 1-3
Malolo- We head back to camps and get those initial scenes of interactions on the tribes. Michael tells his tribe he is 23.
The tribe seems really cohesive under the leadership of Brendan. Donathan and Laurel seem to find comfort in one another despite their buff tribemates. Otherwise the tribe seems to have have an air of kumbayah. All except Jacob.
Jacob appears to be on the outs, not quite fitting in with his tribe. He goes off on idol hunts, oh and pulls a Dan Foley and lets waves wash away his clothes.
Gonzalez promises viewers to get ready for the greatness to come from her … more on that later.
Naviti- It is anything but harmonious on the Naviti tribe though. Aside from calling out Chris after the challenge, and there being not much sightings of Angela, Bradley and Chelsea.
Domenick appears to be ingratiating himself with the tribe. He even goes as far to call Sebastien, Sea Bass.
Chris and Sea Bass then both go off and bond over Floridian things and believe it is best to go after Domenick. When Sea Bass approaches Wendell about these plans, Wendell deflects and tells Sea Bass to think a bit more.
Eventually Wendell goes back Domenick and relays the information to him. He and Domenick seem close and Bradley’s in the water too.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
First immunity challenge of the season and it involves a big block puzzle to be retrieved and some running over mesh nets (How’d that work out for you Chris?)
Overall this challenge cracked me up with the overall absurdity of Chris. Check him out trying to pull the huge amount of weight all by himself before Morgan says “maybe it’ll be better if we count to three and pull”.
Unfortunately for Malolo they have their own issues. Puzzle pieces fall out of the trolley and eventually when they get to the puzzle a problem of too many voices. Naviti wins immunity (which is such a shame).
The win of the challenge does not just give them immunity but they also get to choose someone from the other tribe to make immune and sending them to Ghost Island. They promptly choose Jacob because of some reverse, reverse psychology shenanigans from Jacob.
Ghost Island
Yes that’s right Ghost Island!!! First came Exile, then came Redemption and now Ghost Island. Personally I don’t think it could be any worse than Redemption (famous last words).
First of all I do not think Ghost Island could have gone any better for producers to have someone like Jacob going there first. It was great to see his child like sense of bewilderment at all the relics on Ghost Island like the snuffers and James Idols.
He also gets to play a game where we get to see the return of Sierra Dawn Thomas for the third time in the shows history (thank god not as a player). All be it it is in the form of her legacy advantage which then Jacob wills on to Morgan. It is great that Jacob got the chance to come to Ghost Island as it also appeared he was on the chopping block giving him some chance to scheme instead of being the first boot.
PRE-TRIBAL
So we return to Malolo who are now stumped having to go against their kumbayah ideals. What is the best way to get around this. Vote out the weak, setting up Donathan to go home. However, Stephanie makes a point to say that Donathan is also great around camp while Gonzalez could be pulling a bit more weight (pretty sure she just wants there to be one Stephanie).
Donathan also tries his heart out so he is not the dreaded first one out.
TRIBAL COUNCIL
The tribe attempts to remain kumbayah and actually are doing a good job of keeping coy while also displaying some great answers. Brendan and Michael appear to be leaders, while the tribe rues the fact they cannot just boot off Jacob. Towards the end though Gonzalez takes a page from the Hali Ford book of not consenting and does her best to get into the inner group of her tribe before she leaves the island as the First One Out. At least she fulfilled on that first promise.
Alas it was not enough, as we lose our Puerta Rican angel, gone too soon. Maybe she would have gone in the second hour had Jacob not been on Ghost Island, or maybe she would have gone on to win the whole thing. Unfortunately it was not to be. Making this writer immensely sad. Donathan 1 Gonzalez 8.
DAY 4-6
Naviti- We open the next three days on the Naviti tribe who are all getting a good nights rest. All except for Domenick that is.
Chris is starting to get paranoid like our fellow spy shack, spy bunker idol hunting enthusiast. And much like Tony, Domenick finds the Hidden Immunity Idol in the darkness of the night. What’s more is that it’s Andrea’s idol from Survivor Caramoan and we proceed to see Andrea more than we saw her in the first half of Survivor Game Changers. Domenick then promises us he will not reverse the curse.
The next day Morgan randomly goes to look in her bag in the middle of the bushes, just cause she likes being suspicious. This is how she finds the legacy advantage Jacob willed to her from Ghost Island.
Domenick believes he is beginning to gain a better rapport with his tribe and in attempt to appease everyone he comes across… this guy.
Chris asks Domenick if he has an idol which he denies. He then proceeds to create a fake idol even though he has a real idol just to toy with the male model. Somehow even Chris sees through this.
Malolo– Before heading back to his tribe we see isolated Ghost Island Jacob in his new home. He isn’t just lounging around, he is having an arts an crafts session.
We then see Jacob return to his tribe and it is all too apparent how quickly he steps his foot in it. He tells pretty much the whole story excluding the legacy advantage and instead saying he finds his idol. Jacob does a classic oversell and Brendan is having none of this BS.
Jacob believes they took the lie hook line and sinker. Brendan and his group then go away to plot against Jacob who has isolated himself once again.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
This involves swimming and going through some obstacles before eventually playing some basketball (No Uncle Cliffies of Scot Pollards this season. The two tribes appear to be neck and neck up until Donathan and James run out of breath. The challenge than takes the back burner while Jeff attempts to create a fabulous moment for TV by getting Donathan to dig deep.
While Jeff praises Donathan’s challenge heroics Naviti are two balls deep and by the time Stephanie J arrives at the platform, their chances are slim to none. “Naviti wins immunity, and Donathan wins our hearts,” Jeff says. I may have made that last part up. Naviti now seeing the challenge beast that Donathan has become have no choice but to send him to Ghost Island.
Ghost Island
We then go to check out how Donathan is going at GI. He has been a big character across these first 6 days and it is heart not to have a soft spot for the gay Eastern Kentuckian. Like Jacob before him he takes in the sites of Ghost Island before going off to play a game with the Survivor gods.
PRE TRIBAL and TRIBAL
Back at the Malolo tribe they are preparing for their second go at tribal council. That is for everyone but Jacob of course. Jacob believing that his idol reveal will change his fortunes is sorely mistaken. Back at camp he is played like a fiddle by Stephanie. After spilling his guts to her she then begins to ponder whether to keep Jacob around just because he seems to wrap so easily around her fingers. Brendan also begins to get paranoid the badass mama maybe playing them.
However, there plans go forward. A vote split between James and Jacob from Stephanie, Jenna, Libby, James, Michael, Laurel and Brendan sends Jacob home at his first tribal 4-3-1.
SPICE RACK Week 1: Pick-a-Crush
Follow Annabel on Twitter!
Welcome to the first Spice Rack of 2018! Make sure you have your lotion ready like Chris, because things are about to get steamy. If you are a Spice Rack virgin, welcome. It is a long-held misperception that the only measure of contestant-dateability is whether they make the merge – WRONG. Here we use cutting edge crush technology to make precise calculations, which are totally science, to identify worthy crush picks. This, combined with my expertise in crushing, will help you decide on the true winner of Survivor Ghost Island: the new Spice Rack Crush Hall of Famer. Having run the data collected from the preseason material, and the premiere episode, through my Crush Science machine, I can now tell you who you should be lusting after so far. Let me know who your match was!
If you need someone who will tolerate you sharing your history of traumas on the first date
Kellyn will sit there and politely listen, nodding sympathetically while you bemoan the time daddy missed your football game when you were eight. Maybe this is why she has been so popular as a winner pick. She is certainly my number one preseason crush pick – there is nothing sexier than someone who lets you warble on about yourself.
If you like people who are way out of your league but can delude yourself into thinking you have a shot anyway
Cannot wait to see more of Desiree. I hope her tribe isn’t intimidated by how obviously she is better than anyone.
If you like being tied to a stake and tortured lightly with crystals
There is little to no evidence that Chelsea will fulfill your frankly disturbing desires, but I still get the vibe she could be in the running for freakiest freak this season. A more flexible Melisandre, I personally cannot wait to see who her first sacrifice is.
If you like abs, intelligence, and money, but you’re also a lowkey masochist
Bradley will almost definitely ask you if you’d like to go for a juice, and will only take a break from talking about himself to brag about how rich his mate got off cryptocurrency. You likely already slept with him in your first year of law school, and now evil-eye him whenever you see him at parties, but let’s be honest, you’d still probably go there a second time given the chance. I’m only slightly judging you.
If you like abs, intelligence, and money, but you want to do most of the talking
I can’t tell if it his body, or a first glimpse of potential self-esteem issues at that second tribal council, but I am hot for James. If you are an ego-centric extrovert, I smell marriage material here.
If you like them all shine but no sparkle
It seems only natural that Chris was drawn to Sebastian as an ally: he immediately identified the other tribe member with a strong affinity for wax strips. Chris is my ironic crush pick this early in the season.
If you have impeccable taste
Oh Wendell, we are not worthy! Smart enough to get a law degree, but decided to pursue an artistic career anyway. Not awful. Incredibly good looking. What more could you possibly want in a man?
Writers: Simon Knyvett and Annabel Claire.
ALL IMAGES USED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE COPYRIGHT CBS. THIS IS A PERSONAL BLOG AND ALL VIEWS ARE MY OWN.
