Finale Survivor
China - Shakespeare and The Art of War
We are down to 4, the final four that is and a place
where any true survivor fan would like to be. Imagine watching the
game of survivor for so many years and wondering what it would feel
like after 36 days to find yourself in the final 4? Or, better yet,
how would it feel to be in the final 3 and preparing to face the
jury?
Our hero Maczog (Todd) and his gal Lady Maczog (Amanda) are about to
find out, along with Denise and Courtney. Courtney has made it to
this position as pointed out by Jean Robert at the merge tribal
council, she has slid through the cracks and was on nobodies radar.
Denise has been a likeable and loyal soldier, unwilling to jump at
several chances to align herself with PG and Erik.
Denise' first chance to jump ship was at the F9 TC when Maczog and
the Fei Long faithful opted to take out Jean Robert instead of PG.
She didn't jump then, but she also wasn't informed of the plans to
vote out JR, this should have been a big time indicator of where she
was on the totem pole. It was, Denise has mentioned several times
that she knows where she rates, and while unhappy about it,
she has been unwilling to change or adapt her strategy.
Denise will be voted out after losing the final immunity challenge
(I think Courtney is going to win the final IC and how ironic is
that?). Amanda and Todd will be vulnerable but they both know about
the luck of the purple rock, and they also know that they couldn't
beat Denise for the million. Courtney too realizes her only hope is
to take two people to the final 3 that have equal amounts of blood
on their hands.
So congratulations to Maczog, Lady Maczog, and Courtney for making
it to the final 3! Next up is how do you face the jury?
Courtney: Her only play is to convince what she hopes is a bitter
jury that Todd and Amanda are both schemers and backstabbers and
that she deserves their vote. Not much of a case to make, I'm not
even sure if she will garner her lover Frosti's vote.
Maczog: His play is simple, he tells the jury point blank that from
day one his game has been consistent and all about doing whatever it
took to get to the final 3 and win the money. His game was played
right out in front of them all, he proved he was a schemer, he was
in on all the action, he plotted and made the moves, he deserves the
million dollars. If he can keep his mouth at check when getting
questioned and not get emotional, then he should be the millionaire
at the reunion.
But alas, I don't think that Todd will hold his tongue. Like Twila
and Clay and others in the past "he is who he is" and
those emotions will surface when buttons are pushed. Lady Maczog
will be right beside him helping to keep that fire going, knowing
that it can only benefit her.
Lady Maczog: If you recall the ending to Shakespeare's Macbeth, you
know that in the end Queen Macbeth was able to get the kingdom by
doing away with her husband at the right moment. Amanda has been
plotting and scheming all along with Todd, but she has also done a
better job of remaining calm and politicking for the jury vote. She
has made amends with PG, Erik, and many of the others. She played a
strong game even as MB tried to hide it from us. In recent episodes
she has come on in her edit, finally.
Todd deserves the money, but Amanda will lift it from beneath his
very eyes as she smiles demurely at the audience in LA and gives
sister Katrina a huge hug. No blurs at the reunion, except the
blurry eyed tears at the newest Survivor crowned champion, Miss
Amanda Kimmel!
Episode 12- Hello, I am the
Last of the Original Zhan Hu
PG has put up a good fight. She has been strategic,
shown signs of weakness but rebounded nicely, and has outlasted the
remainder of her original tribe. She will meet her demise as much
because of Todd's gameplay and relationships as her own failure to
really break into the Fei Long Foursome's alliance. Try as she
might, the James boot was not a sign that Fei Long was not united,
it was only delaying the inevitable end of the pagonging.
The episode will be chock full of misdirection as always. While away
visiting the Great Wall of China for reward, Todd and Courtney will
bond which leaves PG and Amanda back at camp to do some bonding of
their own. Lady Maczog sets her plan in motion of sticking a knife
in King Maczog's back so that she may take the throne. She may even
convince PG that she is fully intending to blindside Todd. I think
Amanda is covering both her assets and that CBS is trying to put a
blur on these assets with their editing of the situation. Make no
mistake about it, Amanda is sharp and is playing for PG's jury vote,
just as she did previously for Erik's.
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Amanda started practicing her
jury speech the moment she sized up her Fei Long teammates and Zhan
Hu opponents, shortly after she memorized key quotes from Sun Tzu's
Art of War.
The immunity challenge is the Super Challenge, or SUCHA for short.
It is a chance for the survivors to redeem themselves for poor prior
performances in challenges. This challenge will be broken into 4
stages and will eliminate a player at each phase.
Phase 1- Throwing the Star (Todd is eliminated after NOT redeeming
himself from the previous time that he sucked at this challenge)
Phase 2- Gross Food (Denise is eliminated as she does NOT redeem
herself and still can't choke down the balut)
Phase 3- Bouncing Ball on Drum (Courtney falters and is eliminated,
she had nothing to redeem herself from, she may as well have sat out
this challenge originally as Frosti and Erik did all the work)
Phase 4- Puzzle: Remember the puzzle that Jaime and PG messed up on
to throw the challenge and eliminate Aaron? Well, let's just say
that Karma is a bizzle. The final puzzle will be between Amanda and
PG and since it is NOT sudoku, PG will lose and Amanda will be
crowned Queen...
Misdirection or not, PG will get ousted.
RC: Todd and Courtney
IC: Amanda
Boot: PG
Episode 11 Going for the
Oscar
6 are left and 3 episodes to go to find out who will
be crowned Miss China... Last week was an exciting episode as James
with two hidden immunity idols departed the game with a blindsiding!
This week the family loved ones come for a visit and to participate
in the reward challenge. Denise and her husband will be victorious
as they play "Marco Polo" blindfolded in a big maze. It is
always a touchy subject as to who to choose to take on reward.
Common sense would say that Denise would feel moved to reward PG as
a thank you to last week's trip to the Shaolin temple. PG might even
be the one who sheds the fake tears and is "going for the Oscar"
trying to get the winner to feel sorry for her.
But Denise decides that she has spent one reward with the game
goats, she needs to position herself with the power players this
week and opts to take Todd and Amanda instead. They get to spend the
day cruising in a boat on the river with their loved ones and a nice
meal.
The immunity challenge is a long course with mud pits and steep
burms. It starts with the players having to unlatch a box and answer
a question, if you get the right answer you take the key from that
side and at the end of the course you will be able to unlock a gate
that will allow you to raise your colored flag to win immunity. If
you don't get the right answer, well then you have the wrong key
which you won't find out until you reach the end and then you have
to hightail it back to the start and open up another box and try for
another answer and the right key.
Todd, PG, and Amanda are all strong possibilities of folks who could
win this immunity. In any case, Erik does not. Denise had been asked
to join Erik and PG last week, this week on reward Denise spends
time with Amanda and Todd and is pulled back in that direction. With
everybody but Courtney pulling Denise in a different direction,
Denise will feel in the middle and as a swing vote. In the end there
will be plenty of misdirection, but make no mistake about it, our
good ole boy from Tennessee is going to be sent to the Ponderosa
tonight and join the other jurors.
RC: Denise, Todd, Amanda
IC: Todd
Boot: Erik
Episode 9 "Just Don't
Eat the Apple"
At the end of the last Tribal Council Jeff announced
that "It looks like tribal lines have blurred", not true
and not so fast! Last weeks vote was a necessity, but now the
pagoning will continue, so long as it suits our hero Maczog and his
alliance.
The reward challenge involves bongo drums, balls, and an arena. It
looks like two teams yellow vs red. On yellow we have Amanda,
Frosti, and Erik, red is James, PG, and Todd. Courtney and Denise
are nowhere in sight, but it is assumed that one is on one team and
the other on the other. I think that Courtney is on Frosti's team,
and I think it is that team that wins reward and the boat trip.
Back at camp, James and PG get into it a little and play the blame
game. Maybe Todd chats with Denise to shore up her vote since she
was out of the loop in the last tribal council vote.
Frosti and Courtney are getting a little too chummy and flirtatious
as Amanda takes note and reports back to Todd. What to do about this
new showmance? Split it up of course! But all in due time, lets see
who wins immunity first.
At the immunity challenge the survivors will have a choice to
participate in the challenge or take part in a feast of burgers etc.
We know that at minimum Frosti and PG participate in the challenge,
as I would suspect Erik does too. James and Denise most likely will
eat. I would speculate that at least one old Fei Long will compete
in the challenge, just to try to make sure to represent.
Since Frosti broke into song last week, I figured it is my turn. To
the tune of "Tempted" by Squeeze and as it would be sung
by Frosti:
I was a Zhan Hu, a Fei Long
A Hae Da Fung at merge
Alliances, I had none
Talked to Todd just in case
It appeared in my reflection
“I need to solidify my place”
Won reward and the boat trip
And oh that was a thrill
Courtney and the strokings
Memories of it still
Keep calling and calling
But lose it all
I know I will
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
Whats been going on
By the old Fei Long
Theres no other
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
We all know it's OK to flirt and be tempted by the opposite sex,
Just Don't Eat the Apple
, jeesh! PG wins immunity, Frosti is too dangerous especially with
his newfound cuddler.
The previews circle around two people, James and Jean
Robert. Both can't go home this week so it is safe to say that one
is mis-direction. There isn't a whole lot of footage of the
challenges so I am not even going to try to speculate as to who will
win each of them.
The lead in to High Stakes poker "I'm all in, I've got an ace
jack and I ain't holding back", Jean Robert only wishes he had
such a strong set of hole cards, he doesn't. More like he is
grasping at straws with a Doyle Brunson. For those that don't know
Texas Hold em, a 10/2 offsuit is known as the Doyle Brunson hand,
named after the poker legend who won two World Series of Poker by
bluffing with this as his final hand. It is one of the worst
starting hands that a player could have.
Jean Robert was taken so completely off guard at tribal council last
week when he found out the existence of hidden immunity idols, he
let his face show it too, a distinct tell that showed "oops, I
guess Survivor is tougher than I realized, these guys are
good." He could have prepared himself before arriving in China
by actually watching a few episodes...
This week he scrambles and tries to find his own hidden immunity
idol. He doesn't know where to find one, or what it looks like, and
when he comes up short, he does the next best thing. He bluffs. He
tells James "I found a hidden immunity idol." Now this
should make for some funny television, who needs the TV script
writers when we have this stuff just flowing. James holds the only
two real idols, JR's bluff will fall flat!
But JR won't stop here, oh no, the Doyle Brunson hand is one you
must bluff at the pot repeatedly in order to get your opponent to
back down and fold. His next tactic is to play Godfather and bully
Todd again. Well guess what? Todd is holding a pair of aces (Amanda
and Courtney) and isn't about to be bluffed off his hand.
At tribal council JR has no choice but to take the bluff to its
limits, "I'm all in!". When the dust has settled and the
cards are revealed, all we see is JR getting up from the table with
no money in his pocket, and Amanda-Todd-Courtney sporting a Cheshire
cat grin on their faces as he gets his torch snuffed by Jeff.
Episode 7 "I'm Not
as Dumb as I look"
Fei Long holds the numerical advantage going into the
merge this week 6/4, if you count Frosti as loyal to the NuFei Long
then it is really 7/3, if you think that JR is in with Fei Long,
which remains to be seen.
Lots of focus on Hidden Idols this week, will James take two? The
answer is a resounding YES. He gets back to NuZhan Hu and goes right
for the HII. Seeing the blank place where the old idol was, Jaime
and Erik get suspicious and pull the other plaque down. Erik thinks
that maybe 3 idols are in play, but we can see that his plaque
doesn't have enough bat detail in the corners, and in a confessional
Erik says "I don't know, it looks idolish" which means
that his does NOT have the writing on the back that says
"Congratulations you found the hidden immunity idol moron"
The real idol:
Erik's idol:
On second thought how about this:
The tribes go to what they believe is going to be a reward
challenge, but instead are met with new buffs (black) and a new
tribe name Hae Da Fung which literally translates to "Ocean Big
Wind".
But before they can make their flag the contestants are transported
to an island for a feast with all sorts of delicacies and Cobra wine
and some entertainment. Yes, cobra wine has cobra snakes marinating
in the alcohol, yum! They don't realize they need to be paying close
attention to the details though, and that later they will be quizzed
on this stuff.
"Retention to Detail" means just that. The survivors are
quizzed on the details of the food and entertainment that they
witnessed at the feast. SurvivorSkills and TDT concur that Frosti
will remember the most.
Dani at Skills has had JR as the merge boot for quite some time, but
she has been wrong once this season and I think she is wrong this
time too. The tour of the base camp earlier this season gave us the
white board spoiler:
Why is Jaime not on this list of the final 10? Perhaps because she
gets booted this episode, so they rubbed off her name- no need to
transport her anywhere anymore. Before the season when this board
surfaced it didn't make sense that Jaime would be the merge boot,
but lately it makes perfect sense. She helped throw a challenge and
was edited in a poor light over it, vs PG who seems to have skated
in her culpability. Todd and Amanda will seek revenge for the Aaron
boot, payback is a bizzle.
Jaime is part of a love connection with Erik, Todd has already
mentioned that he wants to separate them.
Todd and Amanda stayed strong and got the numbers advantage last
episode, it makes absolutely no sense to boot JR this week with
James having two HII's and the potential to flip to the remaining ZH,
why risk it? They realize that they need one more ZH boot before
taking out the trash that is JR, Courtney will have to wait and bear
it.
We know from previews that the title line is uttered by Jaime, and
while it hasn't always indicated the bootee, it sometimes has. In
this case I think it does.
Erik has been shown to have no balls and is not a threat, PG and her
Sudoku powers has not appeared to be a threat, therefore our lil
miss southern belle Jaime is the only old Zhan Hu that makes sense
to get rid of. There will be lots of hype for a JR boot, and many
valid reasons, but not yet, that will happen next week.
By the way, now that the merge has happened, no more kidnappings, no
more hidden idol clues, once used (or what a grave mistake it would
be to possess two idols and not play one when you need to) they will
not be re-hidden.
Recap
Merge
IC: Frosti
Boot: Jaime
Episode 6 - Maczog
Act I Scene II
I have a new name for Todd, from now on he will be
Maczog which is a play on Shakespeare's Macbeth. For those of you
who haven't read Macbeth lately, might I remind you that in the
end it was Lady Macbeth who prevailed. So in order to be fitting and
proper about things, I will dub Amanda as the new Lady Maczog. From
time to time I will bring Shakesperean references into my prediction
articles as they relate to Survivor.
The swap has both tribes reeling and plotting, nobody moreso than
our leading man - Maczog. He needs to replace Aaron in his king's
court even though he doesn't know yet that he was booted, he must
stay ahead of the game. He also needs to keep the overall Fei Long
numbers high at merge. In the process he makes an alliance with
Frosti who is more than ready to find a new home. Maczog, Lady
Maczog, and Frosti will be shown so close to finding the Fei Long
idol, to no avail.
NuFei Long will win the reward challenge, an outhouse and all the
goodies that go with it. At this point they choose to kidnap James.
First, they are dying to find out what went down in the Aaron boot,
second, they figure he will give the clue to an original Fei Long
member. James decides to give the clue to devious Maczog and then
later catches him finding the idol. James implores Maczog to give
the idol to him in exchange for his undying loyalty. Since Maczog
can’t know if the Zhan Hu idol was found yet, and he is leary
about another NuZhan Hu plot to throw the IC, he agrees and a deal
is struck. All the while Maczog keeps his eye on the million dollar
prize and how best to get there.
When James gets back to the NuZhan Hu camp, he searches for and
finds the other hidden immunity idol. As strong as he is he can now
make the merge and have a back up plan. Things are looking good for
James. But Maczog has spies and two of them fill him in on the fact
that James has found the Zhan Hu hidden idol. Time for a Maczog
soliloquy:
Maczog Act I Scene III
Two idols are found,
As happy prologues to the devious act
of my diabolical scheme. -- I thank you, gentlemen. [Aside]
His superhuman challenge skills
Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill,
Why hath it given me a shield for my alliance?
He will be a brute, but I am the brains of Fei Long:
If good, why do I yield to that deception
Whose horrid image of unused idols and foul play
Makes my seated heart knock at my ribs,
Against the use of nature? Present plots
Are more than horrible imaginings:
My ally, whose ouster yet is but fantastical,
Could shake my scrawny frame into lack of function -
For He'll be smothered in surprise, and nothing is
But what is not.
At the IC we have some unique delicacies from China for the tribes
to feast on. To say that NuFei Long chokes at this challenge would
tend to indicate that they had a lead and blew it. In this case they
just literally choke. Peih Gee will not get the numbers she wants at
the merge, nice try. The misdirection will once again be Jean
Robert, but this would hurt Maczog more than help him. Since Frosti
is a new ally, that leaves Sherea as a candidate. She was an
outsider at Zhan Hu, she doesn't get into the NuFei Long majority
and therefore she will be sacrificed.
RC: NuFei Long
Kidnapped: James
IC: NuZhan Hu
Boot: Sherea
Episode 4- Ride the
Workhorse Til the Tail Falls off
There must have been a big ole
blue moon hanging around Survivorland last week.In a season so spoiled it happens once in a blue moon that
the source spoilers are wrong, last week they were and I went along
with it when I should have gone with my gut instead.In my own defense, I was preparing for a trip to
New England
and I was distracted, that and DaniB has been so spot on I got
complacent.But the
signs were there, the SeeBS misdirection clues all screamed of a Fei
Long double loss and for Leslie to be the first gone from her tribe,
I knew it and didn't heed those clues, my bad - I should have.No excuses, I messed up.
What bums me out is that because
I wrote about Dave being the boot last week, I didn't get to give
Leslie her props and give her the normal torch snuffing send off, so
the heck with it, I'll do it now, and what better way to do it
than to do it in song?(To
the tune of Sister Christian by Night Ranger)
Sister Christian
Though your time has come
Don't you know you were the only one
To pray, it's OK
You were Mama
To the munchkin kids
You know JR, Aaron, and James
Don't want to play no more with you
It's true
Now your flame is gone
Extinguished in the night
For finding Zhan Hu's tight
You'll be alright tonight
Todd and Courtney
They're growing up so fast
And mama's worrying
That they won't last
Til merge, they will
Sister Christian
There's so much in life Don't you give it up
Before your dream is due
It's true
It's true yeah
Now your flame is gone
Extinguished in the night
You'll keep it burning bright
You'll be alright tonight
I'll miss you Leslie, so glad that you didn't stop sending in
those applications until they finally discovered you!
Back to the present, the previews show us that Dave is still on the
hot seat over at Zhan Hu, but they are building up the possibility
of a Sherea boot as well.That
my friends is smoke and mirrors.Zhan Hu will not continue their new found winning streak,
they will nose dive at the reward challenge which will be held at
night at TC, it is after all the 4th of July the day the
RC is being filmed, so why not make the Survivors pine for home with
a challenge that includes fire works?Jeff Probst in an interview with TV guide spoiled a Fei Long
win here as he exudes about JR finally flipping his strategy from
lazy butt head to helpful reformed loser who gets to participate in
reward.TDT also spotted
the kidnapped player in a vidcap of a recent promo, it is Dave
standing with the Fei Long tribe as they learn how to fish.
The question is, once Fei Long is left to fish alone, if they
aren't successful in fishing with the birds, will they pluck the
feathers and get their protein that way?Surely nobody that starving would consider eating a sacred
bird for fortification of their bodies, would they?
The IC is an all out warrior battle complete with suits of armor
and maces.Looks pretty
fun!We see Todd in
vidcaps all dressed up so since he is competing here, my guess is
that he sat out the reward challenge so that they could sit Courtney
out of the IC which is most important.The strategy works and a Fei Long win sends Zhan Hu back to
TC.
With Dave gone for a day while kidnapped, the heart of Zhan Hu has
a chance to see what true peace is like around camp.No stressing, no bossy leader, no orders being yelled, just
peace and quiet.They
have had enough of their dysfunctional leader and are ready to axe
him, and so they shall.
Next week is a little swap meet, two for two and let me say that
Zhan Hu gets strengthened immensely in the deal.James is aided by none other than Todd in finding the first
hidden immunity idol at the Fei Long camp, this idol will be the
future demise of the strong giant James, so stay tuned for that.Imagine Todd's surprise when James in possession of the
idol is swapped to Zhan Hu, and just like that Mr. Devious will have
to scheme a plan B.I'm
sure he will entertain us when he does.
Last but not least I would like to give a shout out and a big Happy
Birthday to my little buddy Jake in
Marietta
Georgia
, wish I could be with you to celebrate and play with the trains and
the cars, but I'll be in Nashville
all next week.
RC:Fei Long
Kidnapped: Dave
IC:Fei Long
Boot:Dave the work
horse
Episode 3- I've Lost
Two Hands and Possibly a Shoulder
Clearly all is not peaches and cream at lake Zhan Hu,
but then we knew they were the second coming of Ravu or Ulong for
quite some time. I don't have to go too far out on a limb to say
with almost certainty- Zhan Hu will lose every Immunity Challenge
except for 1 before the merge. In fact, as in Fiji, the only thing
that will save a few original "Who's" is a tribe swap that
is forthcoming after 2 more players get the boot.
Most of the time when a tribe flounders so badly it is because of a
lack of leadership, not because of the presence of leadership.
Maraamu had too many chiefs and not enough Indians, Andrew had
illusions of being a strong tribe even though they weren't- but at
least Andrew had heart. Ulong had no leader by their own choice, and
Ravu had no leader.
What happened to the days of Pagong/Tagi, Ogakor/Kucha, Boran/Samburu
etc where even if the tribes were semi-dysfunctional, they were at
least a fairly decent match in challenges?
Dave was right about keeping Chicken, but lost out to the younguns
wishes. Dave was right about Ashley, she needed to go, too much
friction. Will Dave be blindsided by his own ineptness, or after IC
loss number three will he realize it is him and fall on the sword?
It doesn't really matter what sends him "cruising", he is
gone and Zhan Hu is reeling. At least they will get to keep the BBQ
pit as a reward.
RC: Zhan Hu
Kidnapped: Leslie
IC: Fei Long
Boot: Dave
Episode 2 "My
Mom is going to kill me, jeeze!"
Last season it was the battle of the haves vs the
have nots, well so is this one, seriously. Fei Long has the survivor
fans that know how to build alliances, keep a peaceful tribe, and
plot and scheme their way to the top, Zhan Hu has not. Fei Long has
a well thought out well executed camp, Zhan Hu has not. Fei Long has
the most athletic person to ever be on survivor (nope, I don't
mean Jean-Robert but I can see why you might be confused), Zhan Hu
has not. Fei Long has people who think things through and have more
than half a brain, Zhan Hu has not. Fei Long is a functioning
machine, Zhan Hu is not. I think you can see where I am going with
this.
We saw what happened to Fei Long's copy of Sun Tzu's Art of War,
they got it out, read it, and followed the instructions. In secret
never before seen footage from episode 1, we reveal what Zhan Hu did
with their copy:
Chicken: I think we should read this "Art of War" thingy that
Jeff gave us.
Erik and Frosti, roll their eyes and exchange a knowing look with
Jaime.
Ashley: We can use it on the roof of the shelter, that would be a
start.
Sherea chokes back a laugh.
Dave says very sarcastically: Great idea Ashley!
PG: No, I think Chicken is right, he is our elder and we should
listen to him, he can teach us a thing or two if we will only
listen.
Frosti kiddingly punches Erik in the arm and laughs, Jaime smiles.
Somewhere in the distance you can hear a rumbling of music, it grows
louder and sounds very familiar. It isn't anything ever before
heard on survivor, why it sounds like Pink Floyd...
Erik begins to dance and grabs a piece of bamboo and holds it to his
mouth like a microphone and starts to sing:
We don’t need no education, we don't need no 'Art of
War',
No dark sarcasm Mr. Cruser, Chicken leave us kids alone!
Hey, Chicken, leave us kids alone!
All in all you’re just a boot for us all,
All you are is just a boot for us all...
Erik, Frosti, Jaime, Sherea, and Ashley laugh and frolick in the mud
that is the Zhan Hu camp as they toss the Art of War in the air and
play keep away from Chicken, Dave, and PG.
What a dysfunctional tribe! So it will be no surprise this week at
the reward challenge (winners get blankets etc) when Fei Long (led
by James), after a knock down drag out mud wrestling match complete
with obligatory blurs of partially stripped bodies, returns to camp
victorious. The person who sits out this challenge is going to be
Todd, Fei Long must sit out a man to make the battles even between
male and female. As an avid survivor fan, this will kill him not to
be able to participate. I’m not sure, but I think the episode
title will be uttered by Todd in reaction to his sitting out the
challenge "My mom is going to kill me". Of course if the episode
title was "My mom is going to kill me, jeeze!", then I would
know for a fact it was Todd that said it.
This will be the first week with the kidnap twist. We have vidcap
evidence that Jaime is missing from the Zhan Hu camp, so she must be
the one chosen to go to Fei Long. But who does she give the secret
note to? My guess is Todd, he is cunning, cute, crafty, and
creative. He will be able to get Jaime to give it up to him.
The immunity challenge is going to have something to do with a
battering ram and look for James to be the hero yet again. This will
send the have nots back to TC and a date with Jeff Probst, as
forecasted by Chicken at the last tribal council. Since Ashley was
sick and has major friction with leader Dave (and yes I use the term
leader loosely here) and none of the other young 'uns want to lose
their place in the Zhan Hu camp, Ashley is the easy boot choice.
RC: Fei Long
Kidnapped: Jaime who gives note to Todd
IC: Fei Long
Boot: Ashley
Survivor China- Episode 1
Like a Chicken With His Head Cut Off
Thank goodness that we are back to what looks to be a cast with
fewer recruits and more "real" people, many of whom are real
Survivor fans! We don’t start the season with a quitter and it has
not been rumored (yet) that anyone quits mid-stream, and we don't
have an over abundance of Californians, woohoo. Kudos to the casting
department!
Inland China is an exciting location and a departure from the norm
once again as the filming was not a remote exotic island in the
South Pacific. With this the 15th iteration they are going back to a
simpler game more resembling earlier seasons. There is no more exile
island, there are only 16 castaways (yes there will still be a final
3 to face the jury, but I expect the jury will be 7 folks not 9),
there is a strong emphasis on the Chinese culture and the history-
this is very evident in Episode 1 when Jeff gives each tribe a copy
of Sun Tzu's Art of War, and the elaborate Tribal Council area.
The other key difference will be that in order to get clues to the
hidden immunity idols (which are "hidden" in plain sight at the
camps), a person from the losing tribe will be kidnapped and bring a
message to the winning tribe, they can choose which player to share
the message with.
The show begins at a ceremony at a Buddhist Temple, which of course
has different affect on each person. Denise "The lunch lady"
gets choked up over it and really feels at peace. Her Fei Long tribe
mate Leslie however, who is a Christian Talk radio host is really
put off by the whole thing because of her beliefs.
Other members of the Fei Long (Dragon) tribe with the red buffs are
John Robert (JR) a professional poker player, Todd an ultra Survivor
fan (I met him in Cocoa Beach in 2005 as we stood in line for over
an hour waiting for autographs, I can attest that he is
enthusiastic, knows the game, and is quite a personable young man!)
a flight attendant, Aaron a bartender, Amanda a model (but don't
let her beauty fool you), Courtney a model, and James a shy
gravedigger. This tribe is strong and athletic, and with 4 Survivor
fans (Todd, Leslie, Denise, and Amanda) they will have a head start
in this game. The tribe also has great chemistry and is full of
worker bees, reminiscent of the Rotu love tribe, many of these guys
will last deep into the game. Todd will have many nuggets for the
audience as he becomes the tribe narrator, which bodes well for his
longevity as a player, but he won't be crowned winner, even though
I am pulling for him to do so. Todd, Amanda, Courtney, James, Denise
and possibly JR will outlast most of their Zhan Hu counterparts.
The Zhan Hu (Tiger) tribe will wear yellow buffs and consists of WWE
Diva Ashley, Erik a musician, Frosti a stuntman, Peih Gee (PG) a
sales person, Sherea an elementary school teacher, Dave a model,
Jaime a student, and Steve "Chicken" a chicken farmer. This
tribe is doomed from early on as they are dysfunctional in a
non-functional way. That doesn't mean that you should write them
all off yet, Frosti and PG have potential to plot, scheme, and worm
their way through the game, Erik is a likeable strong guy that will
last til merge, and the jury is still out on if Jaime can stay under
the radar long enough. The others while early boot fodder, should be
entertaining.
The first challenge "Dragon Dance" is for flint and immunity,
the losers will attend tribal council and be given flint there. The
challenge is a work of art as the tribes maneuver an ornate dragon
and tiger through a series of gates. At one point the person leading
each tribe will have to put down the head of the beast and scale a
wall in order to unlock padlocks and drop a couple of draw bridges
so that the tribes can continue. Look for a boxer shorts clad Frosti
to make a cat like leap up the wall for his tribe, unfortunately he
will be behind at this point and it is too little too late. James is
the leader for Fei Long and he is exceptionally quick and strong, he
will lead them to the first of many victories.
There are several players that stick out as possible boot candidates
(Ashley, Sherea, and Chicken), but from pre-game interviews, video
clips and good old fashioned source spoiling it will be no surprise
when Chicken gets his head cut off. He is a BB clone, a hard worker,
is the oldest on his tribe, is not flexible or adaptable, and he
stubbornly will keep himself on the hot seat. The saving grace is
that up until China he had not even left his home state of Virginia
and is just happy to have made it as far as he had. The perfect
first boot!
