The contestants partake in a disgusting food challenge that’s one for the books.
I ate a bowl of soup once when I was kid.
It was probably Campbells and I was probably around 8 or so.
Credit: CBS
I actually didnt eat a whole lot of soup back in my formative years.
But for whatever reason, on this day, it was soup.
I took a bite…or a slurp…or however the hell one eats soup.
But I decided it needed a lil somethin-somethin.
As youve probably guessed by now, my house was not exactly considered the height of culinary cuisine.
(Swanson TV dinners were also on the menu.
And pretty much any other food processed within an inch of its life.)
So when I talk about adding a lil somethin-somethin, I mean I grabbed a saltshaker and started pouring.
Clearly at this stage of my life I was unfamiliar with the term a pinch.
So then I went back to my soup and ate a few bites.
Lets just say the concoction was less than agreeable.
(Note to self: Do not puke on laptop.
Do not puke on laptop.
As the above story may have illustrated, I have a pretty weak stomach.
I would be beyond terrible in this challenge.
In fact, I alreadyhavebeen terrible in it.
Those jabronies Holmes & Wigler destroyed me in a boiled scorpion-eating contest once.
But there is something delightful about watching other people having to suffer through such shenanigans.
with his mouth full of bug bits.
And, for a while, the food eating contest seemed to disappear altogether.
Well, thats not entirely true.
Then I would go back to a final 2 and get rid of the new final 5 fire-making tiebreaker.
AndthenI would implement my idea about hiding an individual immunity idol in the tribe immunity idol.
I love food challenges because they get to the essence of whySurvivoris so amazing.
And I wouldnt have it any other way.
Fish eyes!!!
They had to eat fish eyes!
Did you see Wendell attempt to pick one of those up?
AND I DONT BLAME HIM!!
There were also sea slugs.
You see these things on the ocean floor out there and they are not small.
Shes a crazy person, plain and simple.
Sea Bass was right, thatwasgagoriffic.
And then I have no idea what that last item was.
Maybe that shows a lack of fortitude.
Perhaps it signals I am not the true competitor you always assumed me to be.
But heres the thing: YOU NEVER ATE THE OVERSALTED SOUP!
It still haunts me to this day.
Which is why what Angela did is even that much more impressive to me.
(As long as others are failing spectacularly at the same time.)
And instant puke-o-rama by others.
Id love to see how they are considered by the contestants of season 37.
Okay, lets get into all the other notes and nonsense from the latest episode.
(Recap continues on next page)
A Tale of Two DomsDomenick is a really good player.
But he also cant help himself sometimes.
Getting a Legacy Advantage!
Defeating his arch-nemesis!)
and lows (That opening blunder!
The nonsensical and confusing fake idol situation!
Getting blindsided with the Morgan vote!).
And Domenick was refreshingly candidin his merge interviewabout his hits and misses in the game so far.
At last weeks Tribal, it was all about Domenick the showman.
He gave a long, entertaining presentation that even earned him literal applause from Jeff Probst.
He offered up color commentary as Chris went up to vote.
He yelled his vote for Chris so that everyone could hear.
Quite simply, he made a spectacle of himself.
And for us viewers, it was entertaining as hell.
So back at camp right after Tribal, we saw the other Dom in his Jekyll and Hyde act.
Im not gloating tonight, he told his tribemates, somehow without laughing.
I have a lot of respect for Chris.
Again, without laughing.
Doms a smart guy.
Its just that sometimes he cant help himself.
He pretty much said exactly that in our merge interview.
On the other hand, I dont want him to rein himself intoo muchbecause hes so damn entertaining.
Zip the Lips!NEWSFLASH: Laurel is smart!
The point is, Laurel knows what shes doing out there.
I mean, I know why he did it.
Hes trying to build trust and show her she can trust him.
But what makes Wendell think he can trusther?
Sure, sometimes the sharing of such information can strengthen bonds.
Also, there are other ways to build connections with people besides telling them you have an idol.
Also, you are already doing damage controlnowbecause you didnt tell her already.
As Laurel told us: I think hes shown that I can only trust him to a certain point.
So youre doing damage control at some point no matter which option you choose.
All of a sudden folks like Jenna and Desiree seem a lot more appealing.
Laurel and Donathan did not flip on Wendell here, but we saw at least Donathan seriously considering it.
Did that conversation ultimately cost Wendell a million dollars?
And poor Fishbach is reminded of it as well because I make it a point to constantly remind him.
but is also simple to follow.
(Seriously, just listen to the man:Taaaaaaaacos.
Burriiiiiiiiitos, quesadiiiiiiiiillas, margariiiiiiiiiiitas.)
Of course, someone also had to be sent to Ghost Island.
Ghost IslandNOPE.NOT TODAYNO GAME FOR YOU.
(Sorry, Jenna.)
Angela Gets Her Game On (Or Does She?
)As we illustrated already with Wendell, you have to be very careful what you say to people.
At the same time, you sometimes have to be considerablylesscareful when you are most likely the next target.
Which brings us to Michael.
He had to attempt to change the game.
Angela was not in the loop on the last vote to get the Noble One out.
Naviti even tried to get rid of her weeks ago.
If anyone would be open to flipping, it should be her.
It was a risk Michael had to take.
And what did Angela do with all of this?
She immediately went and told Kellyn and Wendell.
She made it seem like it was a plan of hers all along.
But is that what really happened, or was this revisionist history?
Heres a fun littleSurvivorfact.
There definitely is a bit of revisionist history that goes into many of these interviews.
In essence, these players are often unreliable narrators.
A glaring example would be Allan last season.
We saw him freaking out and making JP strip naked to prove he didnt have a hidden immunity idol.
He also did a lot of other wacky stuff.
I didnt buy a single second of it.
Im not so sure that what happened here with Angela was not some of the same.
Now, Angela did not run off and do anything crazy.
But Im not sure did anything so genius as she is suggesting either.
But again, that happens on this show ALL.
I mean, whywouldntpeople want to present the best possible version of themselves for millions of people to watch.
But it makes separating fact from fiction difficult.
They are playing this game very well and I will tell you why.
Now Laurel and Donathan had the numbers!
They could go on cruise control for a few votes and not have to worry about a damn thing.
But that would have been shortsighted.
Instead, they played a long game.
They made a secret alliance with Domenick and Wendell, and heres why that was so genius.
Well, now Laurel and Donathan were protected because they had some moles within the majority alliance.
Either way, they were now protected.
And now Laurel and Donathan seem to be on everyones side.
We never hear their names as potential people to vote out.
And we never hear their names as huge threats that need to be taken out at some point either.
They are the true stealth assassins of this season, and I couldnt be happier about it.
(More on that in a minute.)
As for what they should have actually done like them, Im split.
A good opportunity to take one of the out.
But what if they did use an idol and blocked the big play?
Then Laurel and Donathan would have lost their comfy, cozy protection moving forward.
(Remember: They never appeared close with Michael, Jenna, or Libby in the original tribe.)
Its a tough call.
Does Not Count.Why do I love it so much when Jeff Probst says those words?
And the more times he says them, the better it is.
Does not count…Does not count…Does not count…Does not count.
I feel like Im been hypnotized hypnotized by awesomeness.
This time it was Michael using his idol and nullifying seven SEVEN!
A few other quick notes about Tribal Council.
Whenever someone gives Probst a fake idol, he throws it in the fire.
(It was ultimately fished out later by EP Matt Van Wagenen.)
But what if they decide to do another season of Ghost Island at some point?
Do they really want to risk burning and breaking potential future props for aGhost Island 2?
Are the days of Probst throwing fake idols into the fire finally over?!?
Only a complete moron would spend sleepless nights worrying about such things, and I am that moron.
Libbys Last StandThe other thing I want to address from Tribal Council is Libbys vote.
I dont get it beyond pure self-preservation, that is.
Michael was voting for Wendell.
But this never happened.
For some reason, Libby and Jenna voted for Michael.
Knowing she was in danger, did Libby push hard to do something else?
Im also curious because I would have liked to have seen more of Libbys game.
So that will pretty much do it.
Another solid installment in what is shaping up to be a very strong post-merge season.
Cant wait to see where it goes next.
But I can tell you whereyourehopefully going next.
Youre going to read myweekly Q&Awith Hostmaster General Jeffrey Probst.
And hopefully youll be going to read my exit interview with Libby once that comes in on Thursday.
Did Wendell err by giving away too much intel?
Did Laurel and Donathan make the right move?
Should Libby have tried to shake things up more?
Hit the message boards to weigh in and Ill be back next week with another scoop of the crispy!
