A tribe swap and a blindfolded immunity challenge shake up the game
Im a bit of aSurvivorhypocrite.
And I sense I am not alone.
But its not my fault.
Credit: Robert Voets/CBS
The show turned me into this.
If you find yourself with a little free time, go back and watch some earlySurvivor.
Take in an episode from season 1 and see how it feels.
Why is everyone hitting a stupid gong when they walk into Tribal Council?
And who left that ridiculous trunk of cash just sitting there?
But beyond all these long-gone flourishes, the show feelssooooodifferent.
What kind ofSurvivordo we want?
The old-school original with no bells and whistles and advantages and idols and constant tribe swaps?
Or the new-school version with all of the above?
You may think you know your preference.
Remember all those Ben Bombs?
Or that time when five out of six people had immunity at Tribal because of various idols and advantages?
It was too much, I yelled into the endless abyss that is mySurvivorrecap.
It didnt used to feel that way.
WhenSurvivorwas at its biggest, we had none of that stuff.
There was not a single hidden immunity idol or advantage in the first 10 seasons of the show.
(I also loveMarquesas.
We have actually been rewired as viewers.
Now when we have a normal Tribal Council with a normal vote, it feels underwhelming.
It has become the rule rather than the exception.
And you could easily extend this to the tribe swaps as well.
Which makes me hypocritical and contradictory and confusing all at the same time.
And I have a feeling I am not the only one.
Anyway, your reaction to all this is likely one of the following.
My guess is most of you fall into that third or fourth category.
The results are pretty interesting.
(Recap continues on next page)
Tribe SwapaloozaDrop.
First off, someone needs to make a techno song using only those words throughout.
Cmon, we can all go meet up with Molly and just get weird with it.
Why at 15 and not 18?
I have no idea.
In this case, Malolo had been losing and the next two going home were obvious.
Maybe a swap would change that up!
(It didnt.)
Each of the new tribes featured three original Naviti and two original Malolo.
The breakdown was as follows.
Plus, they had the brilliance just ask him!
Chris Noble
I mean, Iwouldntknow so I guess I believe him.
To which I say, SUCK IT UP, FELLOW YANUYA MEMBERS!
Your disrespect will not stand, Yanuya members!
You are in the presence of greatness and you will act accordingly.
Especially after Chris Noble took such a risk in bragging about his modeling career to you all.
Thats exactly right, Chris Noble!
It might not bebenificeraryat all with these super jealous know-nothings.
First off, what could possibly make people think that about you?
What would bebenificeraryto them is to stop being a bunch of stupid jerk-faces, if you ask me.
And what would bebenificeraryto viewers is to get our own Chris Noble spin-off.
Honestly, Id watch either.
And he was also thrilled to pat himself on the back for a game well played.
People will no doubt jump on that and continue to jump on Bradley as insufferable.
Not in the game, necessarily.
I have no idea if hes actually any good at this.
But he knowsexactlywhat hes doing in terms of exactly what he says and exactly how he will be perceived.
Bradley wants to be aSurvivorvillain.
He is completely self-aware and loves playing up his cockiness.
Hes clearly just having fun with it.
He knows its going to rub a lot of people the wrong way, but he doesnt care.
To him, that is part of theSurvivorexperience.
Thats what makes the two so different.
Im not saying you have to like Bradley at all.
In fact, I think hes happier in a way if youdontlike him.
So why is Dom talking her up as the devil in an angels body.
Libby is out for blood?
Well, whom else is he going to target?
So whos the only person in this new Naviti tribe that Dom is NOT aligned with?
Make no mistake, Im not dissing and dismissing Libby.
But we certainly have not seen anything to put her even remotely in the same conversation as Parvati.
At least not yet.
Blind AmbitionGod, I love blindfolded immunity challenges.
Its not because I want to see contestants enhancing other senses when one of them is taken away.
Its not because I enjoy witnessing players overcome adversity to succeed in less-than-optimal conditions.
No, I just like watching people run into things.
And make no mistake, the challenge is designed to give us exactly that.
Why would there be bars and poles situated at perfect crotch level throughout the course?
So I say dont fight the feeling!
Just embrace the carnage from the safety and comfort of your living room.
After all, these reality stars are there to suffer for our enjoyment, so let them suffer!
And suffer they do.
She then went on to prove herself correct.
he crowed while showing the host the completed puzzle.
Anyway, this was a fun one to watch as their pain was our gain.
I do remain hopeful that G.I.
Thats fine, but I want more.
And hopefully we get it.
Basically, Im here because of Malolo, she explained at one point.
Angela definitely seemed in play.
But it didnt appear like Angela had necessarily bonded with James either.
So it was off to Tribal Council to find out which way the Army vet would go.
He then proceeded to mock them right to their collective face.
So we all know the headline, he began.
Malolo may be one of the worst tribes in terms of challenge performance that weve ever had.
You may never win aSurvivorchallenge as a tribe.
Hey, thats not fair!
At least let them have that one!
Remember how happy Kellyn looked when she ran over to get the tarp that came with it?
WHY WONT YOU LET THEM HAVE THEIR ONE MEASLY VICTORY, PROBST?!?!
Yes, unanimously, as Michael clearly in cover-my-ass mode the past two weeks voted him out as well.
You could see the genuine shock on James face.
It was one thing to not get Angela, but to even lose Michael?
(I wonder if James knew that Michael and Jenna also voted against Stephanie at the previous Tribal.)
But did James scream, bitch, or moan on his way out?
Great blindside, guys.
Its been a true pleasure playing with you all.
Good luck, he said after having his torch snuffed.
So he should leave happy, and Im happy for him in that sense.
Andyoumust be the happy one at this point because were almost at the end of another recap.
But theSurvivorcoverage keeps on rolling.
Weve got an exclusive deleted scene from this weeks episode as well as some other video goodies sprinkled throughout.
Dont forget to read this weeksQ&A with the Hostmaster General, Jeff Probst.
Plus, check out theresults of the fan pollwhere you all ranked all 35 completedSurvivorseasons from first to worst.
And for moreSurvivorscoop, follow me on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
Are you loving Chris Noble as much as he loves himself?
Sad to see James go?
Surprised by the swap to three tribes?
Hit the message boards to weigh in and Ill be back next week with another scoop of the crispy.
