Survivor Philippines: Episode 7 - Drying the Clothes

Back at camp after TC, Penner was surprised to see his name come up.  Jeff K. told him Katie was just determined to get him out. He also said that he can get Penner before he goes after Jeff.

At Tandang, Michael makes the observation that they are at the same day when he fell into the fire in Australia.  They respond for him to stay away from the fire.  Then we see a boat arriving telling them they are merged and they have 10 minutes to gather the stuff they want to bring along.  They are excited.  At Kalabaw, they also have a boat show up with the same message.  Jeff K. says that he has two priorities, get rid of Penner and Skupin.  Denise wants to stay with both alliances she has, Kalabaw and with Malcolm.  Abby encourages RC to get info, but RC says she will but they aren't a big happy family.  Skupin says he and RC are free agents.

At the merged tribe's camp, Lisa feels the need to be helpful while the guys build the shelter and lays out everyone's clothes and finds Malcolm's idol.  He takes her aside and she says that she won't tell anyone and didn't find it on purpose.  Malcolm tells her that him, Denise and her will be the final three.  Lisa isn't sure about that.  Then Lisa and Penner have a chat and he recognizes her but says he won't rat her out.  Penner approaches Skupin about joining forces, thinking he has the 4 Kalabaw strong.  Skupin and RC are receptive.  Jeff K. talks to Pete and the gang and talk about taking out Penner or RC and splitting the votes, just in case Penner plays the idol.  This could get interesting.

At the immunity challenge a very tough challenge in holding 25% of their weight.  Denise and Carter lasted the longest, each winning immunity.  Carter and Jeff were the final 2 and Jeff let go with the understanding that Carter owes him one.  Artis says the vote will split and Penner or RC will go.  Somehow I don't think that is going to happen.

RC and Skupin are switching to Kalabaw.  Jeff and Carter are talking strategy and Penner walks up.  Penner assures them that he is with them until the end along with Skupin and RC.  Jeff tells Pete he is with them. Which way will it go.

At TC there was lots of talk and Lisa is very well spoken.  It came down to Pete and RC, because Penner played his idol.  Penner got 5 votes, that didn't count, RC got 4 votes and Pete got 2 votes, sending RC to the jury.  The vote was as follows:  For Penner (Abby, Skupin, Denise, Malcolm and Lisa ), RC (Artis, Pete, Jeff and Carter), Pete (RC and Penner).

The preview shows Penner as betrayed and determined and it will be interesting to see if he can form another alliance or if he will be sent home next week.  The edit of the preview makes it look like he may win immunity, but that doesn't mean he will.

Here are the alliances that I see:

Pete, Artis, Lisa and Abby

Malcolm and Denise, but Malcolm is in with Pete.

Skupin voted with Pete, but is on his own.

Penner is on his own.

Jeff and Carter are together and voted with Pete.

So where does that leave everyone in terms of the game.  Pete's four should be strong for now and my guess is that Malcolm will also stay strong and bring Denise in.  Jeff and Carter made a bad move by switching because I think they will be left out on this, but Pete may not say anything until after Skupin and Penner are gone.  So here is my predicted order of boot, barring any immunity wins that mess it up.

Penner
Skupin
Carter
Jeff

Then the question will be will Lisa stay strong with Pete or will she go with Malcolm and Denise.  I think it is too early to tell, but I would say that Lisa is the bottom of that alliance and she could make final 3 with Malcolm and Denise.  The tough part is that Malcolm and Abby have idols and that could throw a wrench into things, as well as Malcolm, Denise and Pete all can win immunities.  Penner is also a threat and skupin not as much.

As far as the final, there were 11 going into tonights episode and RC is the first member of the jury, so that means there will either be a final 3 with 8 jury members or a final 2 with 9 jury members.  Neither of which have been done before.  We have historically had 9 jury members with a final 3 or 7 jury members with a final 2.  I don't recall any other ones.  8 for 3 or 9 for two make more sense, since it totally eliminates any possibility of a tie (well not all, because the 8 could vote 4-4-0).  It will be interesting to see.

So until next week... the Tribe has spoken.

Survivor Philippines Episode 6 - Blindsides are the way to go

After TC back at camp Katie is concerned about being the weekest link with her girls gone.  The next day Katie and Denise discuss who has the idol and both assume Penner has it.  They agree that they need to get him out next.  That should ensure they both make the merge.

At Tandang, Skupin has been eating too much of the rice.  He is expendible according to Artis and Pete.

So at the challenge the two tribes go for reward and the first tribe to get three points by rolling a ball into their goal gets a nice lunch.  The first group out there go for over an hour and then they start talking and in the end Kalabaw is giving their rice to Tandang in exchange for the win.  Kalabaw will now have to fish to eat in less than ideal conditions.  Artis was against the deal and it seemed like some others were too.  Abby and Lisa left it up to Mike and Pete and they decided to do it.  It will help Tandang since they are low on rice, but I think Mike has hurt his game even more by accepting it. I think the same goes for Penner too.  The preview was a misdirection and Penner was reaching between Skupin's legs, but only to grab onto the ball, not to do anything crazy, as they edited it to seem.

After the reward challenge Kalabaw was confident.  Jeff K. said that in a couple days without the rice it will hit them, but it was a good move by Penner for his tribe.  With the little rice they had, it wouldn't have lasted and this gives them some much needed energy for the immunity challenge.  Plus they got the letters from home which also gives them an emotional boost.

At Tandang, Artis and Abby are pissed and it looks like Kalabaw only had a days worth of rice, at least at the amounts that they have been eating.  They are blaming Skupin, but according to the conversation between Skupin and RC it was a group decision.  Mike asked everyone and they all said yes, except Artis.  Morale was low and Lisa described it a double low because you gave up and you didn't win.

At Kalabaw, Carter is expressing his displeasure and Katie is agreeing with him.  Penner tried to go fishing and caught two very small fish.  Penner said they must win or it will be bad.

At the immunity challenge Kalabaw starts off strong with Jeff's baseball skills paid off, but then Skupin told Lisa to send it to Malcolm and he caught 3 in a row to give Tandang the come from behind win.  That sends Kalabaw back to TC.

Back at camp Jeff K. is thinking Penner should go, but is thinking Katie is a no brainer too.  He first decides on Penner but then has second thoughts.  Penner tells Katie it's Denise right off the bat and of course she is suspicious of it.  Jeff tells her that it is Penner.  Carter also had a tough time with going with Penner.

At TC, there was a lot of talk about blind sides and everyone knew one was coming.  It is easier than the confrontation, they said.  In the end, Katie came up short and was voted out.  Jeff P. concludes that if the four of you are strong, then you never know what can happen.  The preview for next week show a twist.  Is it the merge?  Is it something else.  Mike says it is new territory for all of them.  That is true for a merge, for him, but it may be something else.  Kalabaw better hope it is the merge, because it is not looking good for them.  I think the twist is that it will be the merge, but they are going to a new beach.  It will either be a neutral location or it could even be Matsing's old beach.

Also this leaves 11 in the game and usually when there is a final 3 there are 9 jury members.  Jeff did not say that Katie was the first member of the jury, so that makes me think that they are doing a final 2 and only 7 jury members.  They could do a final 3 with 7 or even 8 but that hasn't been done so far.

so that is all I have for this week, so until next week... The Tribe has spoken.

Survivor Philippines Episode 5 - Two is the magic number

Back at the Matsing camp Denise and Malcolm talk about a possible tribal swap (or splitting of them to each other tribe) and how cold it is. Then the next day they realize this may be their last day at camp and decided to look for the idol.  They looked everywhere but figured it out.  Malcolm ended up finding it.

At the reward challenge, the Matsing tribe was split and Malcolm went to Tandang and Denise went to Kalabaw.  The challenge was one of balance, skill and timing and the tribes exchanged wins until Tandang pulled it out 5-3.  Mike Skupin had the best play as he threw his idol in the air and went for Penner's and got it and Penner's hit the ground first.  It was a smart move.  After the challenge they show Penner saying he likes Denise but would rather have had Malcolm, as they may have had the cookies now.  It shall be interesting to see how well Malcolm and Denise do being split on different tribes.  Malcolm does stand a better chance at the moment, because of his idol.

Back at the Tandang camp almost everyone loved Malcolm.  RC was the only disappointed one and that was just because she saw Malcolm and Pete talking and she knew that wasn't good for her.  Pete talks to Malcolm in private and says him and Abby have the idol and that now they can get rid of Skupin without fear.  Malcolm likened himself to the star football star from the other team that everyone wants to get to know.  That made him feel good.  It looks good for him, at the moment.

At Kalabaw, Denise said that she was happy to be on the tribe and Katie was glad they got Denise so the women's alliance can hopefully have 4 and she won't listen to the guys.  So this could be good for her too.

Now Kalabaw has a challenge in the fact that Dana is sick.  Her stomach hurts, fever and can't keep anything down.  Jeff Probst and the medical team show up.  Medical says with more fluids she may be ok and they give her at least 12 hours.  Now it is up to her if she can continue.  She decides she is too sick and she gets pulled from the game.  Katie is mad because Dana was one of her biggest allies.

At the Immunity challenge, Tandang led the whole way but Kalabaw came from behind and almost won.  Katie really slowed Kalabaw down in the first two parts of the challenge.  Tandang's win gives them a two person advantage since Kalabaw is going to TC.  Skupin once again showed he does good and Malcolm did well.  The tribe worked very well together untying the ropes and doing the puzzle.

Back at camp Kalabaw discusses who should go.  Katie apologizes for her poor performance and Dawson says they just need to get past that.  Denise is safe because she is stronger than both Katie and Dawson.  Laying around camp, Dawson starts to talk sports, just to get under Jeff's skin.  It works and he pushes for her to go.  She probably should have kept her mouth shut, but it still may not have saved her.

At TC Probst asks why Denise should stay and asks Kent what this vote is based on.  It was pretty clear that Denise was not going and it was between Katie and Dawson.  Dawson gets all the votes except the one she cast for Denise.  Denise was obviously a Jeff Probst fan because she gave him a hug after he snuffed her torch.  In her confessional she says should could have outed Kent, but said maybe he could win the game.  If he does then she said he owes her big time.

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So going forward we see at the next challenge someone gets personal in the challenge and it is either Penner or Kent.  Since we haven't seen anything like that from Penner before, my guess is it may be kent.  You see Artis saying he doesn't want any of that and Jeff Probst says he is pretty sure they are in uncharted waters.  My guess is it was a bad move and it will affect that person's game, but who really knows in this game.

So Tandang looks good, with Pete, Abby, Artis, Malcolm and Lisa in a solid alliance.  Skupin thinks he is still in that alliance with Pete, RC and Abby, but that is obviously not the case.  RC is on the outs with pretty much everyone. Malcolm seems good, but he could be the first to go once they get rid of Skupin and RC (if that happens).  They are working well together in challenges and that can only help them out.  We'll see if they can keep their lead or if Kalabaw will win the next couple immunities and tie it up.

Kalabaw looks good for the most part, with Katie being the obvious weak link and definitely the next to go unless whomever does the "personal" thing during the challenge has that held against them and they go.  Again I'm thinking it is Kent, but it could be Carter too.  We'll have to see.

There are 12 people left in the game.  Assuming there is a final 3, which has been the norm lately, there will be a jury of 7 or 9.  If it is 9, then the next person voted out is the first member of the jury.  If that is the case, I can see a merge happening in the next 2 or 3 episodes.  Here is how I'm hoping it turns out.  I'd like to see Tandang keep their winning streak, especially in the immunity challenges and I would like to see kalabaw go to TC again.  Before the merge though I think Tandang should go to TC once and it is pretty obvious that RC will probably be the first to go, but Pete may decide Skupin should go.  I hope it is RC.  Her story has been told and I really do want to see Mike go far.  My guess is the merge will happen in two episodes (not next week but the week after).  I really want to see Malcolm and Denise get back together and I want to see Pete go down.  I have nothing against Pete, but he is the most cocky at the moment and I always like to see the cocky players get it handed to them.

Of course they could do a final 2, which always has only 7 jury members so that may push the merge back an episode or two.  Fun season so far and I think this season will really take off once the merge happens.  So until next week... the Tribe has spoken!

Survivor Philippines - Episode 4 - I'd write you a check to go along with the million to help cover taxes.

Back at camp at Matsing it was raining the next morning and the fire was out.  Malcolm tried to start the fire later but everything was too wet.  The tribe seems to be in pretty good spirit in spite of the situation and all are determined to mount a comeback.  Denise is worried and is looking to protect herself, which is smart.  Russell and Malcolm didn't mention their thinking on the alliance.

At Tandang Peter is complaining about the weather and Artis was able to start a fire, despite the rain.  Next we see Abby finding the clue in RC's stuff and now she knows that RC wasn't honest with her.  Little did she know that Peter took the clue and stashed it there to create a stir and of course RC knew nothing about it.  Peter is playing an intense game, somewhat like Russell Hantz, but more like Jeff Varner.  Jeff V. was the master of stirring up trouble but no one realizing it was him.  Peter so far is doing the same thing.  Great move, as it brings Abby even closer and alienates RC.

At Kalabaw the three guys are getting clams and talking strategy and they form a three person alliance.  First Jeff K. and Penner are talking and then Penner and Carter.  Meanwhile the girls know that something is up because the guys are gone for so long.  Dana says we'll stick together and get some other girls in the alliance and we don't need them.  Girls can do it.

At Matsing, Russell starts looking for the clue and Denise comes up on him while he is looking.  She knows he's looking for it, but plays along with his story.  She then tells Malcolm and they look through his stuff and of course don't find it.  Malcolm says the only thing they can do is blindside him.

At Tandang, RC tries to confront Abby to talk about it but Abby wants nothing to do with it.  Peter plays it off like he doesn't know anything and RC thinks he is lying.  Then Lisa and RC are talking and Lisa doesn't know anything but says she is going to fan the flame a little and let them burn each other out.  Lisa is finally playing this game!

At the challenge Matsing got off to a quick lead and Kalabaw was behind early.  By the middle of the challenge both Matsing and Tandang were leading, pretty close to each other and Kalabaw was way behind.  Artisan did a good job of smashing the pots and actually got two on one shot.  Tandang finished first.  Jeff K. was a master at the pots and beat out Malcolm to send Matsing back to TC again.  Russell loses it again and is talking to God and smashing pots.  Jeff confronts him on it and says that everyone will fail, surely you can't be perfect.  Russell says it pisses him off but he understands that.  The other tribes get a kick out of it, but I think they also had some sympathy for him.

Fun at Matsing as they get ready for TC.  Everyone saying to vote the other out, but the way it appears, Russell will be gone and I think that is the best move for Malcolm and Denise.  If they can stay together or at least survive until the merge, then they could have a shot.  It obviously would be better for them if they can stay together and the producers don't decide just to split Matsing between the other two tribe, so both stay the same plus one.  That isn't real fair, so hopefully it will be a random shuffle.

At TC Jeff asked questions and at least the way it was edited Jeff didn't ask Russell why he should stay, but instead why Malcolm or Denise should go.  I love Russell's passion for excellence and I'm sure that takes him far in life, but sadly he is not meant for this game.  As expected Malcolm and Denise voted him out.

The previews show both Malcolm and Denise tearing the camp apart looking for the idol.  Of course if they don't have the clue, then it will be tougher.  Someone from Kalabaw gets medical attention and it seems bad.  Will someone be pulled from the game?  Wouldn't it be strange if it was Penner, for the second time or maybe Jeff K. and the knee gives out or something.  Hopefully it is nothing too serious.

Peter is in a great position for the game and Lisa is smart to stick with him.  I think Abby is too much a loose canon and I would get rid of her and keep Skupin.  RC is getting shafted, but that is the game.

Depending how the injury thing plays out, Penner, Jeff and Carter seem to be good and the girls seem to be good.  That is not ideal, because that becomes a tie.  You don't want your fate decided by a rock, so someone will have to flip.

I'm also assuming that they will do some sort of tribal swap next episode.  That will leave two tribes of 7.  If they do it early on, then the injured person may not be who we think and could be someone else that ends up on the Red tribe (Kalabaw, if it stays that name).  Again I hope they do a random mixup of the tribes so there is at least a chance Malcolm and Denise will end up on the same tribe.

So good show tonight and it should be interesting to see how next week plays out.  So until then... the Tribe has spoken.

Survivor Philippines: Episode 3 - Slip, Sliding away

Back from Tribal Council and Matsing seems to be good, but then Russell has his confessional and he agreed with Roxy's argument and hopes Denise doesn't side with Malcolm and Angie.  Too Late, at least that is what it seems.

At Tandang RC and Abby have another confrontation and then RC tells Skupin about it.  Then Abby tells Pete about the clue and Pete approaches Lisa about staying on and getting Michael voted out.  She goes along with it, reluctantly, but knows it is her only option.   At Kalabaw, everyone is around the fire and Dana notices the emblem is missing off the rice box.  Then Jeff K and a couple others say they need to blindside Penner at the first TC.

Demise and Malcolm confirm their alliance and say that Angie or Russell is next.  No clear cut decision yet.

Matsing stumbles again at the challenge where both Russell and Angie were useless at the challenge and they fell behind quick.  By the editing it looks like they were close doing the puzzle, but came up short.  Kalabaw finished first and Tandang finished second.  Third week in a row Matsing goes to TC.  Angie says Russell is the weak link, which is the pot calling the kettle black (no pun intended).

Penner approaches Jeff K and wants to bond with him so he tells him about the idol.  Jeff K agrees, sort of, to help each other out.

At Tandang Abby and Pete start looking for the idol and Abby finds it.  Now it is not looking good for Mike as Artis is now against him too.

At Matsing, Malcolm and Denise talk about who to vote out and then Angie shows up.  In front of her they say Russell, but we'll see what happens.

At Tribal Council both Angie and Russell both were passionate in their plea for staying and in the end Russell won out.  I think his physical strength is more important at this point, providing there isn't a tribal swap next episode.  I'm sure it was tough for Malcolm to let Angie go, because she would have been loyal.  Once again it is great to see that she took the result with class and is still rooting for them.

So many alliance shifts made this episode and nothing seems to be secure.  Sure it seems like Skupin is doomed and Lisa is saved, Penner and Jeff K appear to have an alliance now, at least by the preview, but I would not be surprised at all if a tribal swap happens next episode.  If not then, it will definitely happen in episode 5.  I'm thinking that it will happen next episode and the odd person will sit out the challenge and be on the losing tribe and may have immunity from the vote, but maybe not.  I would love to see a good mix up of the tribes so all the alliances are broken apart and new ones can form.  I also think next episode makes the most sense, because it is getting tough to come up with challenges for such different numbers on each tribe.

So far I like Malcolm's game along with Denise and if they can survive I think either one of them have a strong shot at winning.  I don't think the Penner/Kent alliance will last and I really don't see either of them winning. I think Pete has a strong head on his shoulders and if he keeps Lisa close and either Artis or Abby, then he could win too.  Skupin needs to stop doing stupid things and get a new alliance or he will be gone quickly.  This was a better episode tonight than the last episode and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

So until next week... The Tribe has spoken.