Survivor: Redemption Island Recap and Analysis 3/30/2011

“I hope you love Redemption Island as much as I love writing your name down.” -David

Zapatera is a tribe on the fritz. They were at one point very strong, but karma for throwing a challenge is coming back to get them. Ometepe has won 3 of the last 4 challenges and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. David the lawyer is proving to be an antagonist in the camp and it appears that it will be either he or Sarita at the next vote.

Meanwhile, on Redemption Island, Matt ushers in another contestant, Stephanie, to challenge him. Matt is obviously undefeated in duels and I don’t look for him to stop winning now. Stephanie apparently has a mouth that won’t quit, and by the power of God Matt is going to smite her!

Philip doesn’t trust Rob so he’s going to watch the Redemption Island duels with him so he doesn’t pull any funny business. What funny business you ask? How about enlisting numbers from the opposing tribe? Or hiding a hidden immunity idol from your alliance. Philip is right not to trust Rob, but he’s wrong in thinking he can be the one to put a chink in his armor. On the flip side, Rob feels like he has to go with Philip because he has a huge mouth and is “dangerous because of his stupidity.” I agree Rob, you got to keep a lid on that guy.

As Matt and Stephanie approach the arena, Jeff Probst tells us that Matt has spent 12 days on Redemption Island and won 4 duels! My math is shaky but that’s one duel about every three days. Some serious quality alone time is spent between both contestants on that island. I’m not placing this on Matt, but if ever there was a time for two Survivors to get busy, I’d think that would be the time. Anywho, back to the duel! Probst tells Matt and Stephanie they’re playing “memory” for their life. Matt and Stephanie both hit about a 1 in 400 long shot and match a pair sight unseen. Pretty incredible actually. Matt blows his advantage, but gives Stephanie gives it right back. The game becomes simple probability towards the end and not a guessing game, but neither contestant figure that out and Matt wins again! Stephanie cries and David, his sole defender on Zapatera, stirs in his seat. Stephanie goes out with a bit of bang bye enlisting Ralph’s help to take out Sarita and telling Rob Zapatera is gunning for him when the merge happens. Going to the duel proves once again profitable for Rob. He is living a charmed life right now. And with Matt’s latest victory, Philip dubs him samurai-esque. He’s, at the very least, sporting a pretty rad top knot.

After the duel, Philip suggests they withhold the information and Rob is ecstatic. Rob uses that tidbit to turn the tribe fully against Philip. Rob lays out the plan, that if they lose again, he’s the first to go. Notice Rob suggests nothing about throwing a challenge. Why? Because Rob is smart. I say that, and then he comes up with a very not smart phrase in saying that he’ll “frontside Philip.” Sorry Rob. Lost you there. I don’t need an image of you front siding Philip and his pink underwear.

Post duel at Zapatera is a bit of a different feel. Ralph and Dave lie to their tribe mates, saying Stephanie didn’t say much on her way out. Ralph told her he would stick around to take Sarita out, but he’s giving the tribe everything they need to succeed. I still contend that Ralph does one of three things with his hidden immunity idol: 1) Give it away. 2) Get voted out without playing it. or 3) Use it and get no votes cast against him. Long story short, I do not think he’s going to use it well because bluntly, he just isn’t very sharp. Ralph should take Stephanie’s advice and switch the tribe up and put him on top of the numbers. It’s not about keeping a happy tribe, it’s about winning. Speaking of winning, I don’t think David will be doing much of that this game. He’s annoying all of his tribe and me. I wouldn’t mind seeing him go. The only reason why I would mind is because it would be a very predictable vote. Survivor can’t get to the merge soon enough.

After some landscape shots that make me feel like I’m in the live action version of Land Before Time Philip goes on a childish rant that makes me beyond annoyed. He’s a self righteous ass with delusions of grandeur and a bizarre sense self entitlement. He has officially worn out his Survivor welcome in my eyes. Philip reminds me a lot of Sue Sylvester on Glee. Yeah, some of his rants are funny, but he’s largely out of place and insufferable. An Ometepe loss would be welcome and liberating as it would spell the end of Philip’s tenure on Survivor.

The immunity challenge is very physical in nature. This is a chance for Sarita to prove her physical worth. I also like that both tribes are even so we get to see every member participate. I look for Grant to make a huge impact on this challenge. Jeff forgets to mention the reward and the survivors react to hearing about food like they haven’t seen it since they last had it for a reward a few days ago. Apparently Natalie isn’t a drinker? Ok. Glad we now know that. This challenge is full of mud and that always provides for good title sequence shots. The challenge is quite exhausting as the lead fluctuates back and forth, but Grant pulls out a last second shot that seals the win for Ometepe. This was easily the most exciting immunity challenge yet. No one particular individual, aside from maybe Philip, held their team back. It was neck and neck from beginning to end, but Grant, once again is the difference in the game. Ometepe wins and Philip lives to see a few more days.

The helicopter ride that Ometepe takes is actually pretty breathtaking. They land in an active volcano and crush a picnic. Philip feels like a member of the tribe and Rob finds yet another hidden immunity idol clue that he doesn’t even need. I think my favorite part of this exchange is seeing Rob have to fake how delicious the biscotti is. “Oh man, all this other great meat, candy, and beer, but you have to try this! SOOO GOOD!” Then Rob tosses the clue in the volcano, like you would.

The music switches to dismal, so we must be at Zapatera’s camp. Hey look! There’s my pick to win, Mike the Marine, talking about how bad it sucks to lose. No one is positive on this tribe, except for Ralph. Zapatera will fizzle out in the merge unless they can convince both Philip and the Redemption Island winner to join in there cause. The vote looks to be between David and Sarita. Surprise surprise. Another predictable vote where I don’t care about the outcome. The only thing of note in the tribal council is that David is a way better arguer than Sarita. I mean, that should be clear because he’s a lawyer. Oh, and naturally Ralph doesn’t know what the word “cohesive” means.

Sarita is voted out at tribal council and realizes she didn’t bring her stuff. David with the dagger trash talk retorts, “Don’t get too confident.” Looks like we know where the next Zapatera vote is going.

Final Thoughts: Survivor needs the merge to come soon! All the votes are becoming predictable and the show is lacking the drama that it had at the beginning. If Ometepe loses, Philip is out. If Zapatera loses, David gets the axe. Ometepe is proving to be dominant and their success will lie in their ability to either retain Philip at the merge or enlist the Redemption Island castaway. I think they’d only need to get on of those two wild cards to run the game if they stick to their numbers.

My Pick to Win: Mike the Marine (though Grant is still my fashionable number 2.)

Survivor: Redemption Island Recap and Analysis 3/23/2011

“I’m the specialist. Rob is the mentalist. And Grant is the assassin.” -Philip

Matt and Krista meet each other on redemption island and the conversation moves quickly from prayer to business. Business at Zapatera is starting to get disrupted when Steve gets a little hurt that Stephanie and Krista voted for him. Steve, pray tell, who would you have suggested they vote for? If we’re talking poor strategic moves, you just left yourself in a position to get the question turned right back on you. Stephanie is going to try and start ingratiating herself with her tribe now. ABOUT TIME!!!

Oh dear goodness, back at Ometepe the ladies are trimming their armpit hairs with a pair of scissors. Survivor must be running out of stories to tell because spa life at Ometepe is a little unsettling. Ah but Philip is upset they aren’t pulling their weight around camp. It wouldn’t be Survivor if someone didn’t think they were doing more work at camp than someone else.

Krista and Matt continue to develop their religious relationship. Matt worries that it could be tough to face her. Trust me Matt, God does not have a problem smiting down the enemy. So smite her Matt! Smite her!!!! And smite her he does! He’s a master of the grappling hook and the ball puzzle maze. There’s not much this guy can’t do. Well, except grow brunette hair and avoid getting voted out at tribal council. It was a nice moment when Krista gave Matt her bible. Though let’s talk about precedent, can we now start gifting luxury items? Meanwhile, remind me to never date Andrea as she seems to be the jealous type. “He bonded with her more than me!!! Maaaaaattttt!!!!”

You see that Sarita. That’s what you get for trying to brush your teeth with a stick in the jungle. You need to learn to go full on sweater teeth. But wait! What is this? Dave is making a power play to get Stephanie on his side to upset the current numbers? A ha! Just as I predicted. That alliance is just to big on Zapatera.

We’re really paying a lot of attention to camp life this episode aren’t we Survivor? Oh man, I don’t like when we just hear about how people are slacking at camp. That’s a played out angle. But Philip adds an interesting angle to it, however he’s starting to become too ridiculous for me, and my threshold for characters on Survivor is high. Rob pulls Philip aside and tells him like it is. “Listen you idiot! If you’re the one who pulls your weight around camp, you get more votes for 1 million dollars! Team unity knucklehead!” Ok, I paraphrased a bit, but Philip is clearly not playing to win. No one will put his name down to win.

Stephanie is trying to mend her relationship with people in the camp. Thanks for playing the game the first 2 weeks it was a fin time. However, the alliance will be fine if they swap Sarita for Stephanie. The number is the same, and their team is stronger. It’s not a wedge being driven in the middle, just a strengthening move. And if the interviews are any indication, it appears everyone is cool with taking her out. I guess Russell was wrong when he pointed out that she was running things.

On to the immunity/reward challenge! It’s a water challenge, and I do love when people get exhausted during challenges. I’m not so sure what Jeff Probst is getting at when he asks if there’s animosity between the two tribes. Um, sure they don’t like each other, but really they don’t even know each other. Uh oh! Philip is using both the lion and the gorilla in this challenge. Better look out Zapatera. Grant and Rob just dominate the challenge physically. I’m not sure if Philip did one thing on this challenge, but no matter. Zapatera goes to tribal council again. Karma is coming back to get you for throwing challenges. I didn’t like seeing my pick to win, Mike, just get get crushed by Grant and have him resort to tearing his clothes off. Jeff mentioned Grant being an NFL player, I wonder if people knew that. Most people with good jobs, don’t want people knowing they have them because it gives people a reason to not vote for them to win a million dollars.

Just as the boys are trying to sneak off with the hidden immunity idol clue, Philip sees them and busts ‘em! The best part of this escapade is when the camera is turned on to Philip to do his confessional interview, he whispers like he’s got a bug in the room to the camera. He’s so serious, I just don’t understand what’s going on in his head. In fact, he has a name for his “alliance” with Rob and Grant. If you thought “Stealth R Us” you’d be right on the money! But Philip and the United States of America are not happy with the sneakiness going on! He threatens to kick a little ass at the right time.

Zapatera admits they just got smoked in the challenge and that they need to be strong in the challenges. The Stephanie for Sarita swap is in full effect. I’m ok with that. Stephanie is easier on the eyes. Steve claims both Sarita and Stephanie are a 1 out of 10 in challenges. I don’t think he’s paying much attention. No, Stephanie’s no Grant, but she is miles better than Sarita. And Sarita brushes her teeth with a stick.

Stephanie just comes out shooting bullets right at Sarita. Attacking her toughness, her drive, her want. Wow. She’s really laying into her. And it doesn’t seem, not surprisingly, that Sarita is going to put up a fight. I’d actually like to see everyone turn heel here and vote out Dave. Man, is he annoying. But in a bit of a twist they elect to keep Sarita. I’m not sure I agree with this move knowing what they know. Of course, we know Stephanie told Rob she’d join Ometepe come the merge. I’m on board with Dave here. You need to win at all costs here. First they throw a challenge and vote out Russell and now they vote out a true competitor. Zapatera does not seem to be playing a winning game here.

Bottom Line: We still are stuck in a holding pattern. But that is all soon to change as Zapatera is now out of excess members. David can’t be too happy that he wasn’t on the same page as his teammates. He’s now on the outside looking in. Meanwhile over at Ometepe, they still have a Philip problem, but if I were anyone, I want to take him to the end. No way anyone gives him the million dollars. I look for Ometepe to continue to win as Grant is proving to be a real game changer. The redemption island battle island between Matt and Stephanie is going to be a good one. As much as I like Stephanie, I’m still pulling for Matt.

Pick to Win: Ugh...MIke the Marine. Though I’d like to switch to Grant, but he could be too much of a physical threat. We’ll see. But I’m still going with my guy Mike.