The second episode of Survivor: South Pacific aired last night and yes, I watched it live. It seems I've just made a new tradition out of staying awake at 3 am and not care about sleeping all the way through work the next day just to be able to watch the episode when it airs and twitt live about it. I must admit a big part of that is reading Jeff Probst's tweets and watching his touts. The short recap of the episode is here, but let's go through the highlights more in depth.An idol was found. After Jeff's tease from last week, saying someone will find an idol, I kept thinking it would be someone from Upolu, mainly Christine, since she was the one looking for it relentlessly. But no, the idol was found on Savaii camp and they didn't even need to find the clue first.Let me just say - if I haven't before - that I'm a huge Ozzy fan. Despite his douchery, his arrogance and complete lack of social game, he is one of my favorite - if not the favorite - Survivor players ever. I'm one of those people who admires physical prowess more than flirting your way through, laying low and strategizing or anything else for that matter. That being said, Ozzy finding the idol wasn't necessarily a surprise. I mean, OK, it wasn't hidden in a tree that only he can climb, but it was hidden in a tree that John and Mark (which I refuse to call Cochran and Papa Bear for the obvious reasons) couldn't possibly climb. Nevertheless, seeing Ozzy go up in those trees with the same agility he had five years ago was refreshing, I've missed the monkey boy act. Now let's see if he is able to actually use it and not get voted out the same way he did in Micronesia, with an idol in his pocket. And must say... loved, loved his Jar Jar Binks impression!The "cool kids" hook up. Jim "initiates" what he calls the 3+2 alliance with Ozzy, Keith, Elyse and Whitney. Little does he know that Ozzy and Keith already had an understanding and he may just be the odd man out. However, Keith is aware that Ozzy is in it to win as well, so monkey boy shouldn't get too comfortable, not even with the idol in his pocket. But I'm amused by the fact that Jim thinks he's the mastermind.Cochran turns provider. Or, the way he put it at Tribal Council, the tribe's genie. While watching him handle that machete, I was screaming to my screen "listen to your mother, you fool!". It's only a matter of time before he slashes a thumb or something. And since we're on him, as I said before, I refuse to call him Cochran. He hasn't proven to be a strong player, as the likes of Rob and Colby , who, incidentally, never referred to themselves in the third person and by their family name during their Survivor appearances.Savaii found their inner strength. Luckily for Ozzyvaii, the men in red were stronger and better organized than the men in blue, so the advantage the women on Upolu had in the mixed challenge was to no use. I dare say, Cochran has a lot to thank for, since no doubt, after his performance in the challenge, where he got tied up in the ribbons, he would have been the one joining Semhar on Redemption Island.Coach 3.0. It took 4 days for him to be heard saying "dragonslayer" on the air. Coach has emerged into the leader of Upolu and he's making alliances with everyone except for Christine, Stacy and Mikayla. He has his CRABS alliance (which is the name Andrea Boehlke of Survivor: Redemption Island gave to Coach's five) and he also has Edna on his side. He also showed that he is capable of strategizing by directing the vote in order to flush a possible idol Christine and Stacey might have found. His performance at Tribal Council was as entertaining as it was meant to force Brandon's hand without actually revealing Brandon's intentions. Surprisingly, out of the two returnees, Coach is clearly sitting in the better spot at this moment.Brandon goes la-la. Lil' Hantz took a big leap of faith and revealed to Coach that he's none other than the nephew of his biggest nemesis. If trusting Brandon will bite Coach in the ass the same way as trusting Russell did in HvV, it remains to be seen. What I take from next episode's preview and the footage in the intro is that by the next challenge everyone on Upolu will know Brandon's last name.Right now, the 19-year old lad has a big problem on his mind and her name is Mikayla. Never mind that she hasn't even looked at him more than a couple of seconds or expressed any interest in him whatsoever, for Brandon she's the enemy. Apparently, being good looking and strong makes her Jezebel and he compares her to Parvati, which is why he wants her out at any cost. This is the kind of kid that, now that he has found religion, finds blame everywhere else but within him, so it's now Mikayla's fault if he can't keep it in his pants. He doesn't want her around because he's a married man and doesn't want to be tempted. Give me a break! Does that mean he stays locked inside his house for fear of seeing an attractive woman on the street and not being able to resist the temptation? This guy is like a train wreck waiting to happen, I wonder how long it takes him to hit rock bottom. From next episode's preview, it doesn't seem that it will be too long.The crazy gene seems to run in the family, but this guy is even more disturbed than his uncle. He tried to play the game honestly and the next minute lies to Coach about Christine and Stacy wanting to vote Mikayla out. How long will it be before his tribe figures out he's not reliable?The vote. I was surprised to see that Coach's plan actually worked. He forced Brandon's hand at tribal, who voted for Christine, as did Mikayla. But what was truly weird was that Christine and Stacey didn't vote for the same person. These two didn't even talk about who they were voting for despite being quite close. And, although Christine's vote for Edna made some kind of sense (for being the weakest player in the tribe), why in the world would Stacey vote for Sophie? There was absolutely no logic or strategy there.The editing. This show knows how to make the best out of a tricky situation and, though probably Brandon wasn't staring at Mikayla all the time, they made him look like a crazy stalker. If I were his wife, I would have given him a good beating after seeing last night's episode. Also, what was up with blurring Coach's crotch? Don't they know that the more they blur, the more that's the only thing people will be thinking about?There was a lot of Upolu in this episode, while a lot of Savaii's players were practically invisible. We almost haven't seen Dawn, Mark, Whitney or Elyse.Other nice shots: the crabs running away during Semhar's self-comforting with what sounded to me like some very depressing poetry. She needs to lose the duel, there's only so much of this shit that I can take, and I love poetry. Also, what was that disgusting animal that looked like a gooey snake? It was perfectly coordinated with Christine's confessional.Stayed tuned for more Survivor impressions next week, but until then, how much time do you give Brandon before he leaves this game and what do you think, will Upolu vote him out for being crazy, annoying and unreliable, or will he quit for fear of turning into a cheating bastard and put the moves on Mikayla?
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Survivor: South Pacific - He Has Demons. Bits and Pieces
Posted on the 22 September 2011 by Tvgeek @TVGeek_blogThe second episode of Survivor: South Pacific aired last night and yes, I watched it live. It seems I've just made a new tradition out of staying awake at 3 am and not care about sleeping all the way through work the next day just to be able to watch the episode when it airs and twitt live about it. I must admit a big part of that is reading Jeff Probst's tweets and watching his touts. The short recap of the episode is here, but let's go through the highlights more in depth.An idol was found. After Jeff's tease from last week, saying someone will find an idol, I kept thinking it would be someone from Upolu, mainly Christine, since she was the one looking for it relentlessly. But no, the idol was found on Savaii camp and they didn't even need to find the clue first.Let me just say - if I haven't before - that I'm a huge Ozzy fan. Despite his douchery, his arrogance and complete lack of social game, he is one of my favorite - if not the favorite - Survivor players ever. I'm one of those people who admires physical prowess more than flirting your way through, laying low and strategizing or anything else for that matter. That being said, Ozzy finding the idol wasn't necessarily a surprise. I mean, OK, it wasn't hidden in a tree that only he can climb, but it was hidden in a tree that John and Mark (which I refuse to call Cochran and Papa Bear for the obvious reasons) couldn't possibly climb. Nevertheless, seeing Ozzy go up in those trees with the same agility he had five years ago was refreshing, I've missed the monkey boy act. Now let's see if he is able to actually use it and not get voted out the same way he did in Micronesia, with an idol in his pocket. And must say... loved, loved his Jar Jar Binks impression!The "cool kids" hook up. Jim "initiates" what he calls the 3+2 alliance with Ozzy, Keith, Elyse and Whitney. Little does he know that Ozzy and Keith already had an understanding and he may just be the odd man out. However, Keith is aware that Ozzy is in it to win as well, so monkey boy shouldn't get too comfortable, not even with the idol in his pocket. But I'm amused by the fact that Jim thinks he's the mastermind.Cochran turns provider. Or, the way he put it at Tribal Council, the tribe's genie. While watching him handle that machete, I was screaming to my screen "listen to your mother, you fool!". It's only a matter of time before he slashes a thumb or something. And since we're on him, as I said before, I refuse to call him Cochran. He hasn't proven to be a strong player, as the likes of Rob and Colby , who, incidentally, never referred to themselves in the third person and by their family name during their Survivor appearances.Savaii found their inner strength. Luckily for Ozzyvaii, the men in red were stronger and better organized than the men in blue, so the advantage the women on Upolu had in the mixed challenge was to no use. I dare say, Cochran has a lot to thank for, since no doubt, after his performance in the challenge, where he got tied up in the ribbons, he would have been the one joining Semhar on Redemption Island.Coach 3.0. It took 4 days for him to be heard saying "dragonslayer" on the air. Coach has emerged into the leader of Upolu and he's making alliances with everyone except for Christine, Stacy and Mikayla. He has his CRABS alliance (which is the name Andrea Boehlke of Survivor: Redemption Island gave to Coach's five) and he also has Edna on his side. He also showed that he is capable of strategizing by directing the vote in order to flush a possible idol Christine and Stacey might have found. His performance at Tribal Council was as entertaining as it was meant to force Brandon's hand without actually revealing Brandon's intentions. Surprisingly, out of the two returnees, Coach is clearly sitting in the better spot at this moment.Brandon goes la-la. Lil' Hantz took a big leap of faith and revealed to Coach that he's none other than the nephew of his biggest nemesis. If trusting Brandon will bite Coach in the ass the same way as trusting Russell did in HvV, it remains to be seen. What I take from next episode's preview and the footage in the intro is that by the next challenge everyone on Upolu will know Brandon's last name.Right now, the 19-year old lad has a big problem on his mind and her name is Mikayla. Never mind that she hasn't even looked at him more than a couple of seconds or expressed any interest in him whatsoever, for Brandon she's the enemy. Apparently, being good looking and strong makes her Jezebel and he compares her to Parvati, which is why he wants her out at any cost. This is the kind of kid that, now that he has found religion, finds blame everywhere else but within him, so it's now Mikayla's fault if he can't keep it in his pants. He doesn't want her around because he's a married man and doesn't want to be tempted. Give me a break! Does that mean he stays locked inside his house for fear of seeing an attractive woman on the street and not being able to resist the temptation? This guy is like a train wreck waiting to happen, I wonder how long it takes him to hit rock bottom. From next episode's preview, it doesn't seem that it will be too long.The crazy gene seems to run in the family, but this guy is even more disturbed than his uncle. He tried to play the game honestly and the next minute lies to Coach about Christine and Stacy wanting to vote Mikayla out. How long will it be before his tribe figures out he's not reliable?The vote. I was surprised to see that Coach's plan actually worked. He forced Brandon's hand at tribal, who voted for Christine, as did Mikayla. But what was truly weird was that Christine and Stacey didn't vote for the same person. These two didn't even talk about who they were voting for despite being quite close. And, although Christine's vote for Edna made some kind of sense (for being the weakest player in the tribe), why in the world would Stacey vote for Sophie? There was absolutely no logic or strategy there.The editing. This show knows how to make the best out of a tricky situation and, though probably Brandon wasn't staring at Mikayla all the time, they made him look like a crazy stalker. If I were his wife, I would have given him a good beating after seeing last night's episode. Also, what was up with blurring Coach's crotch? Don't they know that the more they blur, the more that's the only thing people will be thinking about?There was a lot of Upolu in this episode, while a lot of Savaii's players were practically invisible. We almost haven't seen Dawn, Mark, Whitney or Elyse.Other nice shots: the crabs running away during Semhar's self-comforting with what sounded to me like some very depressing poetry. She needs to lose the duel, there's only so much of this shit that I can take, and I love poetry. Also, what was that disgusting animal that looked like a gooey snake? It was perfectly coordinated with Christine's confessional.Stayed tuned for more Survivor impressions next week, but until then, how much time do you give Brandon before he leaves this game and what do you think, will Upolu vote him out for being crazy, annoying and unreliable, or will he quit for fear of turning into a cheating bastard and put the moves on Mikayla?
