Survivor: Caramoan - Episode 8
Blindside Time
By Ben Willoughby
April 4, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
When Bikal returns to camp, they all congratulate Michael on being the last “fan” standing on their tribe of losers, and for being “a true Survivor." Corinne is happy – she “made sure I got the gay!” I realize that it’s Standard Operating Procedure for Survivor to cast stereotypes like the entitled douchebag who’ll get what’s coming to him and the angry black man, but does Corinne have to buy into it so much? Does she think that Andrea is a ditzy blonde or that Cochran is the whiny guy who’s going to get everyone killed?
Anyway, Phillip literally cannot wait to share his news with Corinne and Dawn. He pulls them aside right in front of Cochran and Michael, and explains to them how clever he was to have thrown the challenge. “No way in Hell would I go there having gotten rid of only one person,” like it was a classic power play only a Survivor genius like he could have planned, and the four favorites on the other tribe wouldn’t have gotten rid of one of the three “fans” had they lost the challenge instead. I think Phillip is not only imagining himself winning this game, but being coronated with a RedSox cap by Boston Rob himself at the reunion.
Corinne and Dawn are stone-faced while he tells the story, and understandably sceptical that he really did throw the challenge. “Just say that you blew the challenge. It’s annoying,” says Dawn after Phillip has left. “It’s really embarrassing for him,” Corinne cannot keep the glee off her face.
Corinne interviews that Phillip is “so coo-coo for cocoa puffs, there’s no question that Phillip has to go!” and telegraphing that Phillip will be sticking around for a few episodes yet. Thanks Corinne!
After the credits, Corinne is urging Phillip about Michael. Not only is Phillip not interested, but Corinne is feeding Phillip the worst possible information about Michael. “I don’t think most of the fans have a brain. Only Michael does... they’re not savvy players, it’s remarkable” argues Corinne. Why would Phillip want to play with someone who has a brain? Or a savvy player? Phillip suggests that when the merge happens, Corinne should “try to avoid any one-off conversations” because “we’ve got a beautiful thing going on right now." He wants the alliance to be “hyper-viligant" (sic) and to “keep it fun."
Dawn interviews that this is a tough time for her. It is Day 20, and on her last season, this was around the time that her game completely fell apart. It fell apart due to Cochran flipping, and also because she had some inside info about numbers and didn’t tell her alliance and let Cochran flip. Dawn goes to collect water alone so she can cry in private. After commenting about how often she cries, she says that a million dollars would be life-changing for her family, and to win that million dollars you “need to be a decision-maker. You can’t let the game happen to you."
We don’t have to wait long for something different to happen. A boat arrives at Gota with a note that tells them to pack up and move to their new home. Andrea interviews that it’s great to me at the merge but at the same time it’s an individual game now and she hasn’t seen a lot of her alliance in a long time.
The first news Bikal gets of the merge is seeing the boat filled with Gota people pull up at their beach. They all wave, and Corinne interviews about how relieved she is, because she is tired of talking to the same people all the time. Reynold, who is still believing anything anyone tells him, talks about what a nice warm welcome they got.
The newly-merged tribe opens a chest with food inside, and green buffs, and Dawn starts to make sandwiches for everyone. Michael interviews about how Dawn was cutting the cheese and then has to explain he meant it literally.
After the “favorites” tell the “fans” what losers they all were, losing seven times in a row, they have to decide on a new name. Stanley and Douglas are both discarded, and Malcolm suggests Enil Edam which Andrea says means “new beginning." I don’t know where she got that from because Malcolm interview’s that it is really his mother’s name spelt backwards. Did you know Malcolm loves his mother? A lot? Corinne interviews that it’s the “dumbest name ever."
Phillip is quick to reconnect with Andrea, confirming that “I believe in my peeps," and that the two of them plus Cochran and Dawn are a tight four. He goes on. “When you’re laying in bed tonight, pretend you are Boston Rob, because that’s what I do.” Phrasing, Phillip. Anyway, he says that one of that four can win, and the next step is to target the powerful men from the “fans”.
Andrea interviews that this first vote shouldn’t really be a big deal because it’s eight “favorites” against four “fans”, but it’s scary because now it’s an individual game people want to start making moves. We cut to Corinne talking with Malcolm about how awful Phillip is to them. After listening politely, Malcolm cuts to the chase. He doesn’t plan on sticking around for the six. He has Eddie and Reynold, and thinks Erik could come along with them. Corinne has Michael. That makes six, though Malcolm interviews that it’s “a fragile six” out of 12, which is not “a clear-cut majority”. “If we can get through this one vote and keep our numbers intact” then they can move to control the game. He wants to vote for Sherri because she is weird, and Corinne says if they get rid of Phillip next “that whole organization will crumble”.
Corinne interviews about how efficient it was talking with Malcolm and says “I’ve yet to be involved in a blind-side. It’s time. Blind-side time!” while impatiently tapping a non-existent watch. Then we cut to commercial. So much foreshadowing!
I refuse to call the merged tribe by its name, but it has treemail. Cochran announces that it’s a food thing, and some poor misguided fools (probably the “fans”) are looking forward to it until Malcolm says it will be gross, and Brenda is telling everyone about how there’ll probably be bugs and tarantulas.
Reynold interviews that disgusting food is his “one weakness." Why did this challenge have to be disgusting food - Reynold’s kryptonite - of all things? Eddie is more worried that girls won’t want to kiss him, because what else does he think about? Ever? Cochran is more optimistic, interviewing that a gross food challenge could give him an element of danger. It could even be the shot in the arm his love life needs!
Probst sighting! The castaways arrive at the challenge, where Probst trashes the old immunity idol and reveals the immunity idol necklace. He says the castaways will be eating local delicacies – and even though Filipino cuisine is already famed as one of the worst in the world, they’ll be eating things only the most desperate can think of as food. There will be elimination rounds with the fastest winning, until there are two left.
The first round of six is Andrea, Sherri, Corinne, Eddie, Erik and Malcolm. The first three will be going through to the next round, and they will be eating beetle larvae. The larvae are alive and wriggling. “It’s running off the plate," complains Malcolm. “Is it going to bite me?” asks Eddie. Anyway, Andrea, Malcolm and Eddie finish first and make it through to the next round, and Sherri has to go have a drink of water afterwards. You’d think a fast-food franchisee would have more stomach for this challenge.
The next round of six is Reynold, Brenda, Phillip, Mike, Cochran and Dawn. They’ll be eating the same thing as the other six, and Brenda is looking even less impressed now it’s right in front of her. Dawn has to be told by Probst to wait for the word “go” before she can start eating. Cochran wins easily, followed by Phillip and Mike – who has to struggle to keep it down.
The next round will have all six remaining castaways and again three will move on to the next round. This time they will be eating shipworms, which Probst informs us are not really worms, but part of the clam family. He then confuses the issue by comparing them to termites. Malcolm gives a very weary look, while Phillip puts up some bravado. “And they have bones?” asks Andrea, who probably spent natural history class drawing red hearts on her Trapper Keeper. Anyway, they dig in and Malcolm and Eddie are pretty much tied for first. Cochran just scrapes in at third, leaving Andrea with a “shipworm moustache”.
The next round has the final three, with the two winners going to the final round. And the mystery food is balut – duck embryos. Eddie looks confused at what’s on the plate in front of him. Malcolm says he can see the feathers. Probst says “Go!” and Cochran wins in a walk. He has probably been practicing eating balut back home. He starts to strut, and continues until the challenge is over. Eddie spits his up – because he ate it beak first, he explains later – and he has to find it and eat it, and ends up cramming it in his mouth with two fingers. Unless he’s trying to throw up. Anyway, Malcolm swallows and moves on. And any girl stupid enough to have ideas about kissing Eddie should remember they might as well be kissing that still-born baby duck.
“Cochran, in the final of an immunity challenge,” says Probst disbelievingly. Malcolm refers to Cochran as “Ginger Kobayashi” – which has bad news for Malcolm, as Kobayashi specialises in eating offal and the final round food is pig brains. It looks big in close up but it’s really only a palm sized slice. Cochran wins and immediately goes into a triumphant “Rocky at the top of the art gallery steps” dance. “I’ve waited my whole life for this,” he says. Probst is in utter wonder. “Cochran is safe and cannot be voted out of this game. Everyone else is fair game.”
After the break, the castaways arrive back at camp and Cochran immediately apologizes for his “excessive celebration” as there are “very few challenges I have a chance of winning." No one seems to mind anyway, but Cochran is surviving by being the butt of everyone’s jokes and he doesn’t want that to change. At least until final Tribal Council, anyway.
In interview, Cochran is still excited about his immunity win, saying it is unbelievable that he “the pipsqueak” beat Malcolm “the golden god”. He says that if anyone else had celebrated like that, it would have rubbed them the wrong way, but because no one sees him as a threat (or seems to dislike him personally) it was no problem.
Malcolm is just as surprised that Cochran “of all people” won, but he’s glad Cochran can go “check one off the bucket list” before he is voted out. We see him conferring with Eddie about how they have their six, including Erik, but in interview he’s worried about the “free thinkers” who will have to fall in line for this to work.
Phillip and Corinne are discussing which way the vote should go. Phillip wants to split it between Eddie and Reynold, “sending one of the two power bases home” and hopefully flushing any idol. Corinne tells him she is not “a big fan of the split vote” and she wants to get rid of Sherri. Which is probably the dumbest thing she’s said so far this game. What was the problem with saying “Sure Phillip, we’ll split the vote” and then having your six vote for Sherri anyway? Or voting for Phillip? But Phillip wants for a “big fish” to go home. He says it’s what Boston Rob would do, but I think it has more for revenge at being better in challenges than him.
Corinne interviews that Phillip is an “idiot” which is pretty big talk from someone who didn’t recognize the biggest break to happen to her all game, and instead of “frustrated” and “furious that he would not listen to me”. Anyway, she shares her concern about having the vote split go horribly wrong by sharing with Andrea, Dawn and Cochran. They all seem on board with voting out Sherri.
Only Cochran – or so the editing suggests – seems concerned that Corinne is so adamant against voting off Eddie or Reynold. Sherri’s an easy vote, but he’s nervous that Corinne and Phillip actively dislike each other. Anyway, he wants to keep the vote on one of the “fans” because he doesn’t want them to see how dysfunctional the “favorites” really are.
Corinne talks with Eddie and Reynold about the upcoming vote, and says that Dawn is “probably on the outs." Of course, if she pretended to go along with the split vote, she wouldn’t need to bring Dawn in. Reynold is all for getting rid of “Lord Phillip of the High Shelter. This is amazing!” Corinne talks on and on about how she wants to throat-punch Phillip.
Reynold interviews that “Eddie and I have been delusionally optimistic," but this time they’ll be “in an alliance that’s calling the shots and I’ll definitely be back in business." Cut to commercial. How much more foreshadowing can this episode have? Has Reynold learned nothing from his past interviews? I think Reynold is aiming for some record as “most duped Survivor ever."
After the break, we see Corinne and Dawn talking in the jungle about how Sherri is the easiest to get rid of (presumably because they think Eddie or Reynold has the idol). But Corinne wants to talk about how their alliance isn’t a democracy thanks to Phillip treating everyone like an idiot, and after this vote she wants Phillip gone. Dawn’s initial response is a deflated look, and then she starts rubbing her face. Then Corinne spills that she is with Malcolm, Eddie, Reynold, Mike and Erik (the afterthought) and does Dawn want in? Presumably, Dawn says she does.
However, after a confessional where she talks about how not sharing information really screwed her over last time and she can’t make the same mistake again, she goes to Cochran and informs that “Corinne has the ‘fans’ to do it”. Dawn says that “if I had the numbers, I’d vote her out tonight.” “I’d love that,” Cochran agrees. They put together their own numbers to vote – Dawn, Cochran, Andrea, Phillip, Brenda and Sherri to make it six against six.
Cochran interviews condescendingly about how he “thought Corinne didn’t have a strategic bone in her body,” but has somehow put together the numbers for a game-winning alliance. “If we don’t come up with a plan, it could be devastating to my game and the games of my allies.” “I seriously underestimated her,” he does not say.
Cochran goes to talk with Andrea about the situation. “If we’re on the wrong side of the numbers, we’re dead,” he says. Andrea agrees. She is up for orchestrating a blind-side. Andrea says it’s possible - Sherri will vote with them, and her assessment of Erik is that he’s wishy-washy and could probably be convinced by her and Cochran. It’s telling that for the really important stuff, Phillip is not brought into the loop at all.
But in interview, Andrea is less optimistic, as she is counting on Sherri, a “fan”, and Erik, who never talks strategy with anyone. Andrea tells Phillip about it, and asks Phillip if they should get rid of Corinne tonight. Obviously he is down with that, and interview takes credit because his “core alliance is working for him." How dare she vote for the Specialist! “I am the one who originally brought her in to Stealth R Us!” He tells Sherri to vote for Corinne and change her fate. “It will tell me I can use you again."
Sherri interviews she wants to make a big move, but also that she can’t stand Phillip because he is “so arrogant.” Andrea is pow-wowing with Erik while they pretend to pay attention to the new tribe flag. “Just point to the name,” Erik pleads.
We get a quick word from each camp before Tribal Council. Paraphrasing, but Cochran: “Sherri will do anything, but Erik does not like strategy and is incompetent.” Malcolm “It’s happening like we have the numbers already.” Erik: “I have no idea what’s going on. Looks like I’m the swing vote. I’m a valuable player. That’s so cool. I’m confused. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Tribal Council. Twelve are left, and they’ve brought out the extra-long bench to sit everyone on. The early questions are easily dealt with. Michael lies that the “favorites” are sticking together. Probst asks Corinne that as a returning player, she must know what it is like to feel a little helpless. Corinne’s answer is that there’s never a helpless situation on Survivor. “I’m not about problems but solutions. If you come to me with a good idea I’ll probably listen.” Which is her answer why? Even Phillip facepalms.
Probst asks Dawn (when he should have asked Phillip) about Corinne’s answer, and Dawn says that it’s an individual game and everyone’s trying to make moves. Cochran does a better job of smoothing things over by explaining that Corinne is “open and honest” and he would be “more worried” if Corinne was saying she “wasn’t open to this.”
Probst asks Reynold what he should do, so he makes a pitch to the “favorites”, saying that if you’re at the bottom of the alliance, now is the time to make a move. Erik gives a non-answer that this is the dynamic going on right now.
Probst says to Andrea that the good news about being a returning player is that you’ve played before, and the bad news is that you’ve played before. Given how this season is working out, I’d say that’s more good news than bad. Andrea says that she is “so much more paranoid this time around” because the standard of deception is higher.
Does Corinne agree with that? She says “everybody’s got a plan, until they are punched in the face. Every one of the ‘favorites’ is waiting to get punched in the face."
Probst asks Sherri if there’s anything she can do at this point. She rolls over completely, saying, “I think the fans don’t have a shot.” Probably the right answer. But Reynold doesn’t want that to be the story. He says there has been more maneuvering going on than you see at Tribal Council, and trouble will come up soon. “Tonight’s vote won’t be a shocker, but I think there’s some shockers on the way." Why does he think he’s a better player than everyone else when he's so clearly telegraphing his plans? Anyway, it’s time to vote.
Phillip, unsurprisingly, votes for Corinne, calling her one of the most selfish people he’s ever met, which is big talk from someone who insists that no one should have conversations without his knowledge and that everyone should take his ludicrous ideas seriously. Corinne votes for Sherri, saying that she’s not taking applications for new friends, which is weird as we haven’t seen Corinne even talk to Sherri. Andrea is voting for Corinne because she is “dangerous,” while Mike gives the “sorry to write your name down, just trying to stay in the game” speech to camera as he votes for Sherri.
Probst goes to “tally the votes,” and after bringing back the urn, he reads out Sherri. Sherri. Sherri... There’s some misguided excitement here from the people who still haven’t caught on to Probst’s vote-reading fake-outs. Sherri. Sherri. But, Corinne. Corinne. Corinne’s eyes tighten. Corinne. Corinne. Corinne. “Oh my God,” says Corinne with her head in her hands. Corinne. And Corinne is the ninth person out of Survivor: Caramoan. She hangs her head and picks up her bag.
Probst informs Corinne that the tribe has spoken and it’s time for her to go. “This was anything but a straightforward vote,” he says to the castaways.
So, that was what I’ve been waiting for all of this season. It’s not likeable characters or personal story arcs or even good gameplay that makes for a good season of Survivor. It’s shifting alliances that change every episode resulting in a series of blind-sides. And Corinne’s blind-side was executed to perfection. She herself was over-confident that she had the numbers, and seemed to know nothing about the move to vote her out instead. And if she had played just a bit better herself – by going along with Phillip to split the vote knowing it would make it easier for her six, she wouldn’t have had to approach Dawn and the whole plan would not have been blown – it probably would have been just as satisfying a blind-side.
Next time on Survivor, it’s time for Malcolm to make a move. Unfortunately, it looks like he approaches Dawn with this idea. Bye bye, Malcolm. Meanwhile, Eddie tries to flirt his way back into the game, which should yield hilarious results.
Corinne’s final words are about how in Gabon she played with people she liked, but she didn’t really like anyone except Mike and Malcolm. She did like the “awesome paradise,” though.