Day 26-28
Post tribal. This week it’s Jay again the one who’s salty after tribal council. First Michelle and now his sicky sicky mate Taylor is gone. Who else is salty? Hulk-man Chris. He’s still salty with GenX Jess who betrayed him about 5 weeks ago… He wants her out next!
Next morning and it’s a beautiful sunrise scene between Hannah and Ken. Hannah admits to have flirted with the gorgeous KenDoll and wonders if he would have feelings for her too… AWW.
#KennahForevah [Image credit: CBS]
Knowing he’s on the outs, Will wants to be on #TeamZeke and tells Zeke about Jay’s idol. And WOW, unsurprisingly news spreads like wildfire! Pretty much every single person now knows JAY HAS AN IDOL. The rumour mill ends with Zeke and Chris chatting and Chris is still gunning for Jessica. They want Jay to think he’s the next to go to flush out his idol. Zeke is definitely in control of this game right now.
Zeke’s hair is NOT full of secrets… [Image credit: CBS]
REWARD CHALLENGE
Two teams of 5, swim out of a raft, and pull yourself to a platform. Climb up ladder, retrieve keys and slide down a pole. Unlock the cages on shore and stack the building blocks making sure there are no repeating colours on any side. Reward is a floating pizza restaurant, say whaaat?! And it will be close to camp as well, so the losers can watch.
Everyone will draw for rocks, and one person will sit out and not partake in the reward. David puts his hand up straightaway saying he’s not confident in swimming and doesn’t want to be blamed for losing. The rest of the tribe tell him to be brave and draw a rock with them. Poor Jay picks the odd rock and sits out. Orange (Ken, Will, David, Chris and Jess) v Purple (Zeke, Adam, Hannah, Bret and Sunday). Orange take the early lead, but yet again it’s down to the puzzle. Zeke and Adam absolutely smash the blocks and win reward!
Another win from behind. [Image credit: CBS]
Hello, floating pizza restaurant!
This looks like a fun reward and Hannah is freaking out that the losers back at camp can hear them. Bret doesn’t really gives a rats ass, and frankly, they won fair and square, so if they want to make noise, make some noise! A guy then comes out with letters from home, so touching! Adam’s reaction is priceless, and we know a letter from his family means the world, the rest of the tribe have no idea his mum is sick.
A few words from home makes Adam’s day brighter. [Image credit: CBS]
David and Ken reconnect and I love their weird bro-ness. He also has Jess on their side and they want to target Chris, as they don’t like the threesome of Chris, Bret and Sunday. David is certain he has Zeke on side to get Chris out. Jess is over the moon with this decision and calls Chris her arch-nemesis. If anything, I think Chris has been carrying a massive grudge since the Paul vote-out! David also talks about his fears in life and the game; I’m guessing he would’ve joined Hannah and NOT jumped!
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Stand on a narrow beam, balancing a statue holding a long pole. Last person standing wins immunity.
Needless to say, I would be out within 30 seconds. [Image credit: CBS]
Jess shows us again that she’s a force to be reckoned with and is the last woman standing. Alas she can’t hold on and it’s down to Zeke and David. David wins his first immunity!
Zeke ‘agrees’ to vote with Chris in getting Jess out. Zeke meets with David and they ‘agree’ to vote out Chris. He also tells David that Chris is trying to get Jess out. Jess approaches Adam letting him know that they are sending Chris home, and that they all need to trust Zeke’s word. Zeke is doing a fantastic job pitting the Gen Xers against each other, and will hopefully flush out Jay’s idol. He has a knack for connecting with everyone in this game.
TRIBAL COUNCIL
Discussion quickly moves from the topic of voting blocs and alliances to Hannah’s new term “trust cluster”. Probst is impressed with the new term and Hannah starts to fan-girl at the host using it. I think the word ‘trust’ is mentioned about 50 times this tribal!
Chris says there are a couple of groups working together, but that trust should not be an issue in tonight’s vote. Ruh roh. Jess brings up her past Gen X issues, and Chris assures her not to worry about it at all. Everyone seems to be 100% with who is going home tonight, except for Jay. This guy is suddenly sitting in a very good spot though, no one is talking about him at all. The votes are a close one and Chris goes home becoming jury member #3. Chris-7 , Jessica-4.
Another blindside bites the dust, bye Hulk! [Image credit: CBS]
Day 29-30
Post tribal. Bret approaches Zeke and is quick to jump on the #TeamZeke bandwagon, like Chris never existed! Zeke is rallying his troops to make his next move, and that’s to vote out David.
Funnily enough the next day, David chats with Bret and Sunday and wants to target Zeke next! This is bad news for David, already having Bret take Zeke’s side. And unsurprisingly, Bret tells Zeke about David’s plan. A war is about to erupt between the two ring leaders. Zeke is pretty pissed off and tells Bret about David’s idol. Let’s see if Adam’s hidden idol is actually kept a secret throughout this game!
Zeke has an eye on everyone at this point. [Image credit: CBS]
Hannah is torn between working with Zeke and David, they are both in her geek alliance. She is very similar to David and gets along with him so well, but her main alliance in this game has been with Zeke. Girl, you gotta make up your mind soon!
REWARD CHALLENGE
One of the most humiliating challenges I’ve ever seen in this game. Divided into 3 teams of 3, feet are tied together, arms bound to their sides and each person must slither in the sand through the obstacle. Awesome snake puzzle to end the challenge with. Reward is a helicopter ride and picnic including fried chicken & mac and cheese! Again, everyone draws a rock and the odd draw automatically goes on reward this time. That person is David. Lucky bugger!
As the contestants begin to ‘slither’ their way through the course, I am thinking, gosh, this is the worst challenge I’ve ever seen! For someone who can’t stand sand, it would be incredibly awful!! Whose idea was this?! I felt terrible for Jess and was just hoping she would actually make it to the end of her course section.
Will looks like he’s been dacked, bound and gagged! [Image credit: CBS]
Team Green (Will, Ken and Jay) make it to the puzzle first and have a very early lead. Team Orange (Bret, Zeke and Sunday) get to their puzzle second, with Team Purple (Jess, Hannah and Adam) in dead last. Not sure what the green team were doing, but they should have slayed the puzzle a long time ago. Orange win reward in another huge comeback.
Another reward where Bret and Zeke get to bro-chacho down. But this time, the discussion gets a bit deeper. Bret opens up to Zeke and lets him know “you’re not the only gay man out here”, and that the Boston Cop wasn’t going to tell anyone. I guess after a few beers he felt a bit more comfortable opening up to Zeke. The difference between coming out in Bret’s time compared to Zeke’s millennial time is a stark comparison. It’s a pretty great scene to watch, and finding out that Bret worked in the military in the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell era is amazing in itself. Much kudos to these boys.
Back at Vinaka, Hannah wants to talk to David and she has made her decision. She lets David know that Zeke is gunning for him, and he becomes a nervous wreck. David tells Hannah about his idol and that it’s for the both of them. Hannah tells David not to get all neurotic on her, and I can’t help but laugh. These two are as bad as each other!
The neurotic team trust clusterfuck O_O [Image credit: CBS]
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Stand behind a cage door, maneuver a handle through a maze (blind), once free, unlock the door and complete a slide puzzle.
Now I thought this was a brilliant challenge and one we hadn’t see before. Unfortunately, no one could actually figure it out, except for our boy Jay! You could see Jay working backwards through the maze. He frees himself first, and completes the slide puzzle pretty quickly. No one even comes close!! Jay deserves this immunity.
Take that, bitches! [Image credit: CBS]
Scrambling starts again at Vinaka and David, Ken and Jess make a pact to vote out Zeke. Zeke is making sure he has his troops in line and goes for a water run with his mate, Hannah. Zeke explains how much of a threat David is at the moment with his idol, and the biggest threat in the game thus far, then asks Hannah her thoughts on the matter. She looks up to the sky, stutters, and I’m thinking JEEZ this girl cannot lie. At all. No poker face, whatsoever! Zeke sees right through her and she still can’t even give him a straight answer. Zeke can no longer work with Hannah, so she’s next on the chopping block. Talk about being cut throat. This is great viewing!
Hannah goes from ally to foe within 30 seconds. [Image credit: CBS]
Zeke accepts it’s his army versus David’s army and gets his troops to vote against Hannah.
Hannah tells David that she feels like it’s her tonight and wants to play his idol. He doesn’t seem keen at all. Adam also is nervous about Hannah and the plan to vote out Zeke. Get ready for a crazy tribal!!
TRIBAL COUNCIL
Dopiest smile award goes to Jay. [Image credit: CBS]
Jay is the only one who raises his hand tonight when Probst asks if anyone feels safe. My boy is in a fantastic spot right now. With the other alliances battling each other, he’s sitting pretty in the middle and he can slide right through the next few tribals if he plays his cards right.
David tells Probst they are in a “trust cluster muck”, and Bret calls him out on all the trust bullshit. To prove a point David asks those in Zeke’s alliance to raise their hand, then Bret HAS to have a go at David’s anxiety and mocks him about crying. Even Zeke joins in the action and I don’t like it at all. Sure, I’m not there to experience David’s neurosis first hand, but the way the two boys acted (after having such a great bonding scene earlier), was disgusting. No one wants to see personal attacks, and it’s funny to see Sunday tell Bret off. The boys do shut it down pretty quickly though.
Mama Sunday has spoken! [Image credit: CBS]
While Ken is speaking, Sunday tells Will to “stick to the plan”. Keith Nale would be pleased! Hannah eavesdrops and asks what the plan is. It is SO obvious that Sunday lies when she says “Ken”; huge pause there!
Ken can’t understand why people are getting confused with people whispering to each other, and Bret has a dig at him too ‘Welcome to the game, bro!’ THINGS ARE HEATING UP TONIGHT! Couldn’t agree more, Jess…
Now, I really do like Bret, but OMG he is really testing me tonight. After everything he’s said, he then tells Probst that they should go vote! NO BRET. Only Jeff tells YOU when to vote. Anywho, first round commences – David plays his idol, incorrectly, for Ken. Zeke-5, Hannah-5. We have a tie! So now there’s a re-vote, without Zeke and Hannah’s vote, and everyone can only vote for those two. While everyone is voting, Hannah begs Jess not to vote for her, why is all the pressure on Jess not to flip her vote?! Outrageous!
Second round of votes and it’s a tie again Zeke-4, Hannah-4. Probst then explains they need to figure out who they want to send home in a unanimous vote. And if they can’t, they go to rocks. Zeke and Hannah become immune, Jay and Ken are safe with immunity. Will makes a great call and says everyone should agree that no one wants to give up their game for one of Hannah or Zeke and shouldn’t go to rocks. Jess really doesn’t want to draw rocks, but doesn’t want to vote out Hannah. It is a complete shambles! Probst explains that because they can’t come to a decision, Will, Bret, Sunday, Adam, Jess and David are drawing rocks. A black rock means you’re going home.
Rocks are drawn and the camera pans across, until they show Jess holding the black rock. ABSOLUTELY GUTTED!! Seeing Jess’ reaction is actually heartbreaking, and she didn’t even want to go to rocks in the first place. Unfortunately being given seconds to react, you don’t always make the right decisions for yourself, and in this case, it turned out to be the wrong one for my favourite Pinkeye!! So devastating to go out that way, and it’s not like the other 5 weren’t putting themselves on the line either. Jess drew the short straw, and I’m NOT happy! Seeya Lewis, been a pleasure. She becomes the 4th jury member, and before we forget, wills her Legacy Advantage to Ken.
So. Many. Tears.
Here’s a happier gif…
Watch Jessica’s “Ponderosa” here
“NEXT TIME ON… SURVIVOR”: Will is playing a flip floppy game and wants to join David’s army, or does he? And the family visit is happening.. Will Adam steal a loved ones reward?
ALL IMAGES USED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE COPYRIGHT CBS. THIS IS A PERSONAL BLOG AND ALL VIEWS ARE MY OWN.
SURVIVOR JULIAN’S THOUGHTS
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“Drawing rocks in Survivor is the ultimate ‘ALL IN’ move. This rest of this game is going to be INSANE”
Wow, just wow! There was no way I went into this double episode thinking it was going to be that action packed. Episode 10 and 11 definitely elevated the season from enjoyable, to one that definitely is among the best in terms of tribal council drama.
Let’s not bury the lead. Jeff said it himself: drawing rocks is the ultimate move in the game. The fact that this was only been third time in the history of the show makes this season stand out as a season where people were willing to lay it all out there. Just like a returning player season. The fact that there will still be so many people left when rocks were drawn (at 10 players) gives this season a distinct first. Millennials versus Gen X is also the first season with a legacy advantage, first season with a reward steal advantage and the first season where the entire cast was evacuated from the game. Whew! Season 33 is standing out among the pack.
As for the choice to go to rocks, it’s easy to criticise Jess for going to rocks in hindsight given the result, but other players also could have flipped if they really didn’t want to take a chance. If Jess had of flipped and changed her vote to Hannah, her future in the game likely wasn’t secure as she didn’t have many friends in Bret and Sunday who were already gunning for her. She literally had seconds to consider her options, and with so many people drawing rocks her odds were favourable in this vote.
Alas, she drew the short straw or the black rock and what an emotional exit. Flabbergasted Jeff. Shocked jury. Even tears from Jay. I really respected Jess and have to say, I wish it had of been someone else. Only two ladies left now in the game, and it definitely seems unlikely that Hannah or Sunday could win the season. Glad Jess offered the legacy advantage to Ken. You two as a power couple will live on!
So back to the first episode, which was exciting in its own right, but seems like old history after the rock drawing incident. With Taylor taken care of and the Millennial numbers dwindling, it seemed like the Gen X’ers thought they now needed to focus on the threats on their own side. With rumbles from Sunday, Chris and Jess, it was clear old fractures still ran deep and it quickly become a Chris versus Jessica situation.
I can only guess Zeke decided to turn on his ally in Chris because he definitely represented more of a threat than Jess. This blindside alone was one of the best episodes of the season with tension running super high as the votes were read out – and I had no way of thinking Jess’s luck would finally run out next episode
Kudos also have to be given to Jay who sat on his idol once again. It’s a little ironic after being on the chopping block, he’s now faded into the background with the whole Zeke versus David story line, and he’s one of the players best set up to win the game.
So many great character moments these two episodes. Zeke and Hannah at the well. Hannah and Ken watching the sunrise. David’s emotion at the reward challenge.
While I find David a great character and endearing, personally his neuroticism is wearing thin, and while it wasn’t a great look for Bret and Zeke to deride him at tribal council, I can only imagine how grating David’s constant dithering can be.
Adam’s emotion at getting a letter from home made me tear up, leading into next week when it looks like he might. And wow, Bret is gay? Never saw that one coming. What a great example on what the differences between generations are when it comes to the experiences of being a gay. This was probably the strongest example of the generational differences between the different tribes this season. Not to mention great challenges. Loved the blind maze challenge where Jay smoked his tribe mates as well as the brutal slither snake in the sand challenge. Also like the water relay challenge and where blocks were stacked in order of colours.
Such a great showing from my favourite show this week. On Thanksgiving, all I can say is give thanks to the Survivor gods for serving up such a delicious helping of Survivor. And not one serving, but two! Everyone loves seconds, and there was nothing sloppy about these two episodes!
