So, Ive got a deal Id like to make you.
And its a pretty sweet deal, if I do say so myself.
I promise this will be fair.
The cast of ‘Survivor: David vs. Goliath’.Credit: CBS
It seems like a lot Im giving up.
You have a counter-offer?
Youd prefer if I sat out a recap instead?
Well, first of all, I assure you that you are far from the firstSurvivorfan to wish that.
The only people that sit things out areSurvivorcontestants with million-dollar prizes on the line.
Lets start with the first immunity challenge.
Carl, Angelina, and Nick all opted for the food and booze rather than the competition.
And yet I say to them… WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!?
But seriously, very disappointed in them.
You came to playSurvivor.
And the challenges are a big part of that experience.
Thats not the main reason to keep playing, however.
Thats just my innerSurvivornerd making sure his voice is heard.
There are better and smarter reasons to play rather than eat.
You never know, so should always fight like hell for anything that can keep you immune from eviction.
The only thing nachos keep you immune from is staying regular.
Fair or not, it just doesnt match the narrative you are trying to present.
And we already saw how current and potential future jurors viewed this.
It is what it is.
Of course, this wasnt the only challenge sit-out of the night.
She would argue that she did.
I would argue otherwise.
I have no doubt that Angelina is a strong negotiator.
She is smart and tenacious and anal retentive and all the things you gotta succeed in that field.
But she really botched it here.
Thats becauseSurvivoris not a normal negotiation.
Heres the real deal: Jeff Probst and the producers do not want the contestants to starve.
For one thing, death tends to put a bit of a crimp in things.
For another, hungry contestants make for boring contestants.
They just sit in the shelter all day and dont really do anything.
And if the contestants eat too much, the producers will give them more.
This also has been proven.
Now, they cant just give them more fornothing.
Because then why did they limit the amount in the first place?
That would be a bad look.
So, as Probst likes to say, there has to be an invoice.
This brings us back to Angelinas flawed negotiating tactics.
With Probst, you NEVER, EVER, EVER make the first offer.
Because it will automatically be turned down.
Now, Angelina would tell you that the first offer issupposedto be turned down and that is normal negotiating.
True, but again, this is not a normal negotiation.
The fact is, I have seen Probst offer more food forlessthan Angelinas initial offer.
But heres where things got interesting.
Instead of asking for a tribe invoice to receive more food, Probst demanded an individual sacrifice.
To receive more rice, one person would have to agree not to compete in the individual immunity competition.
So huge win, right?
Because look at what Angelina sitting out does in terms of her narrative in the game.
First off, she just sat out two immunity competitions in a row for food.
Thats not good and could be spun against her at final Tribal Council.
Im not sure it will be seen that way and well get back to that in a second.
The new Mother Theresa, if you will!
People that make such grand selfless acts in this game are almost always punished for them.
By putting yourself up on a pedestal, you are merely incentivizing others to get rid of you.
And thats if they believe the gesture is genuine.
Now ask yourself this: Do you think the people playing this game honestly believe Angelinas gesture was genuine?
Remember how I awkwardlygave myself a shout-out last weekfor predicting how the Goliaths could guarantee Dans exit?
And Im not talking about strategy and flipping and backstabbing and all that nonsense.
Im talking about any attempt to make what Angelina described as a raw human moment.
Again, it doesnt matter if that is true or not.
Whether people playing think it is true is all that matters, which is why now Angelina cant win.
And thats pretty much it right there.
It doesnt matter if this was a true selfless move by Angelina or not.
But what about the rice, you ask?
To put this in negotiating parlance that Angelina can understand she should have walked away from the table.
She should have left the room and waited for that call that says, Okay, lets talk.
But she didnt, and I believe it cost her.
Okay, so theres 2000 words about people sitting out challenges.
Especially considering there are two episodes to get through, that was probably a bit unnecessary.
Lets hit up the other necessary kibbles and bits from this two-hour block.
Seems pretty simple to me.
A few hours before bedtime just make like my man Fishbach and start complaining about #SevereGastrointestinalDistress.
Again, seems pretty simple.
The Toes KnowIm just going to offer some free advice right now.
Head straight to the one about the letters from home.
Trust me, youll be happier that way.
That said, lets talk about reward challenge footwear!!!
I found myself mesmerized during the first reward challenge.
But rather by the contestants feet.
I think about it all the time.
Obviously, I would swim better without the shoes, but would I need them for climbing the ladder?
(Sorry, Andrea, Mara, Gordon, and Josh!)
Going across the rope bridge would seem to favor shoes while swimming to get there would not.
What would they do?
The excitement was palpable!
Heres what was interesting.
Davie, Carl, Nick, and Angelina all wore shoes for the purple team.
The only one who went barefoot for them was Kara.
Wait, it gets even more intriguing (read: boring).
That different strategy may have guided the footwear decisions for each tribe.
Little things like this can make a huge difference.
Do you wear shoes when you have to balance on something?
But other times shoes can be a hindrance, especially with limited space.)
Do you go barefoot when you have elements that also involve swimming?
Its up to each individual contestant and you often get very different answers.
Letters from HomeAll the reward winners from that contest got letters from home that made them cry.
I could write about it, but wont.
Hey, Im saving all my sap up for the loved ones visit next week.
Its literally the most Dalton recap decision I have ever made.
In Defense of AlecThis was an awesome first immunity challenge.
I mean, not for Nick, Carl, or Angelina, who sat out.
But it was awesome to watch.
In this one, payers had to balance on a narrow perch while holding a handle behind their head.
Seems simple, but it turned into an epic five-hour battle of wills between Christian and Alec.
And the approaches the final two took could not have been more different.
with Till I win.
No doubt viewers were also probably turned off when he told a crying Gabby Youre gonna drop.
Youre going to step off.
Bye, Gabby, or responded to Christians complement of You are a beast, by the way.
Youre amazing with Youre not gonna win.
Rather, this was Alec mumbling to himself as motivation to keep himself going… and it worked!
I have no problem with that whatsoever.
And what a huge win for Christian, proving his worth both mentally and physically in challenges this season.
The resume building continues!
Sorry, BroAlec didnt want to go unanimously.
He was super impressive in challenges but never fulfilled the strategic promise he showed at times.
All in all, a solid addition to the season.
I got no hate for the guy.
Although he should probably stop flashing the hang loose sign on the jury.
That could get old reeeeeeeeal fast.
But that time has apparently long passed.
I have no idea.
Too Much of a Good ThingThank you, Carl!
I dont care how bossy and entitled you were out there.
You have done the one thing I want from every singleSurvivorcontestant: You got wasted on a reward challenge.
I have a feeling you may find more than a few drunks around those parts.
It may have happened.
The goal was to do a bunch of obstacle course nonsense and then solve an 11-letter word puzzle.
And thats exactly what Carl did with Perceptions.
But that wasnt the word producers had in mind.
The word they were looking for was Perspective.
First off, lets be clear.
But its stillsuper dupersucks for Carl.
He was told to solve an 11-letter word and he did…
WHILE STILL HALF DRUNK, NO LESS!
I kinda think you have to give it to him.
He was given 13 tiles and told to come up with an 11-letter word and he did.
Sounds like a winner to me!
That said, I totally get why he was not.
They were looking for a specific word and that wasnt the word.
He did what I told him to do, so thats that.
And thats also how close Carl was to still being in this game.
I never really got a great feel for it.
Like so many before (and after) him, he got too comfortable in his position of power.
when he used the Idol Nullifier by providing their own Ding!
And holy moly we are almost done here!
Plus we have my exit interviews withAlecandCarlready for your consumption.
And for moreSurvivorscoop, you could follow me on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
