Survivor: Cagayan Episode 2
Cops R Us
March 6, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com
To recap last week, we started with three tribes, Beauty, Brains and Brawn. Beauty - yes. Brawn - definitely. Brains - not so much! Last week had two horrible challenge performances, one hidden idol found and one broken down shelter, along with two Tribal Councils, one empty pot of rice, no side conversations and one of the worst Tribal Council performances in the history of the show - all on the Brains tribe! Aside from that, we have the beginning of a power alliance on Beauty and another idol and a #spyshack on Brawn.
Previews for this week (and our episode title) seem to suggest that the two cops on the Brawn tribe (Tony and Sarah) might do some bonding over their occupations. And I really hope they call their alliance Cops R Us and it's not just the Producers doing the call back to Phillip Sheppard. Also, the Cagayan forecast calls for torrential downpours and plenty of them. You have to wonder about the toughness at the Beauty and Brains camp - especially Brains, where morale has to be at an all-time Survivor low. I mean, it's not every season that we get to talk about (quite possibly) the worst tribe in the 14 year history of the show. And, oh by the way, what the hell are they gonna do for food now? I'm tired of waiting, let's get to the action!
We begin after Tribal at the Brains camp. Spencer congratulates the girls on the move and tells us that Garrett was so bad at the game; they kept the chick that threw out their food over him. Sasha confirmed for Spencer that if Garrett had just allowed conversations, J'Tia would have gone home. Sasha tells us that she plans to get the girls together to dump Spencer. Kass tells us that she didn't know who to vote for at Tribal and decided that she didn't want to play with Garrett and that J'Tia might now be loyal. Yeah, right!
Over at Brawn, Tony is telling us that he's all alone in the game. While everyone sleeps, Sarah and Tony are sitting around the fire and he confesses that he's a cop. She tells him they're good. Sarah tells us that she always trusts cop-dar. And just like that Cops R Us is born (#copsrus). And what better way to cement your newly found alliance? How about a lie? Tony tells Sarah that Cliff and Lindsay want to get her out, which, of course, they never said. He tells her it's basically them against the world, and for now, she believes it. Cue the rain...er...storm. Torrential downpours fill the rest of the night and it starts to take its toll on everyone. Trish is doing her best to keep the fire going, but it looks like a losing battle to me. We head to the credits with Tony saying that the sun will come out in the morning.
Yeah, not exactly. We come back from break and the wind and rain are still at it the next day. Tony's still out gathering fronds trying to keep the shelter from being destroyed. Woo seems to be enjoying his Survivor experience, despite being cold, wet and windy. Lindsay is taking the weather very hard, which doesn't bother Sarah at all. So, with Tony's comments echoing in her ear, she's getting more and more upset so she confirms with Tony what happened. He says that they were talking about getting out Trish but changed to Sarah because she's smart. Sarah tells us how she trusts Tony 110%. This is a bummer because in a little more than two hours, Sarah is my favorite person in the game and it would seem she's got a bad fall coming.
Finally, we check in with Beauty. They're also quite downtrodden. Jefra seems on the verge of breaking down. She tells us, through tears, that life is horrible right now with no fire, food or sleep. LJ tells us that with all of Jefra's complaining, it's only a matter of time before he and Jeremiah have to work on the shelter. He's very irritated that the girls are just useless, but he knows better than to tell anyone but us. Rather than sitting around in the shelter through the storm, LJ decides to head over to the rocks Morgan came from on the very first day. He says she had no reason to be there, so maybe she had an idol clue. And sure enough, he followed the less-than-clever Survivor cameraman right to the hidden idol. That makes three. All idols have been found. (Of course, Garrett's could be anywhere.)
We come back from break to the Brains tribe. The rains have finally stopped on Day 8 (#awesomecrab). Spencer and Kass are checking tree mail and it comes in the form of a little Buddha. The clue tells them that the challenge involves tossing buckets of water and that the winner gets immunity and something to make their shelter drier. As they prepare for the challenge, J'Tia asks how much rice they're going to cook. Tasha tells us that she has a lot of nerve asking about how much rice to cook after pouring out 95% of the rice. She suggests that the tribe practice for the challenge. Kass wants to mess around in the shelter and Spencer says he's dehydrated. Tasha tells him that of all people, he should want to practice. Eventually, Spencer and Tasha head to the ocean with coconut shells to practice tossing water to each other. Kass finally joins them as does J'Tia. Their practice takes us up to a...
Probst Sighting! The other tribes are blown away to see Garrett was the one voted out. Today's challenge will have them getting water from the ocean and passing it from tribe mate to tribe mate. Once their bucket is full, it'll release a metal ball. That ball will then be used to work through a vertical maze. Winner gets immunity and a tarp, mosquito net, blankets and pillows. Second place team gets immunity and a tarp. Brawn tribe sits out Tony and Lindsay. Beauty sits out Jefra and Alexis. Survivors ready?
The first person has to actually toss the bucket of water. The next person also has to toss the bucket. Then the third just tosses the water. A couple minutes in and Beauty is winning, Brawn in second and the Brains tribe in third ("as usual", says Probst). Tasha and J'Tia are having issues communicating and Brains are falling out of this one. Beauty tribe is the first to finish with the water and start on the maze. Brawn then drops their bucket and begins working on the maze. Beauty has a huge lead at this point, but Brawn is trying to catch up. Two people have to work together on the maze, which makes it a bit of a challenge. Brawn has now caught up with Beauty. Brains finally gets to the maze right about the same time Brawn finishes it. Brawn wins immunity and comfort. Kass and Spencer are working the maze for Brains and they're actually catching up with Beauty. Jeremiah and LJ have lost it on the maze and just like that, Brains wins immunity and a tarp! LJ and Jeremiah took a massive lead into the maze portion of the challenge and they let it slip away to both of the other teams. I wonder if that will affect the vote tonight. Hmmmm...
We come back from break to a celebratory Brawn tribe. They are thrilled with all of the gear they brought back. Sarah tells us that they work well together and know how to stay calm under pressure. Tony is right away looking for a hidden idol clue. And whadaya know, there was a clue in the hammock. He secures the clue to make sure that no one else has any information on the hidden idol but him.
We're back at Beauty and it's time to play, "It's anyone but...um...I don't know." Alexis tells us that they're a mess after the storm, the challenge and now Tribal Council. LJ decides to ask the tribe is anyone wants to go home. Of course not. He then tells us that he, Jeremiah, Alexis and Jefra are all of the same mind and that Brice needs to be the vote. LJ feels he's the more dangerous player. Brice tells us that he has his trust in Jeremiah. He asks Jeremiah if LJ said anything and Jeremiah denies it. Brice tells Jeremiah that Alexis is the vote. Morgan tells us that Jeremiah is with her and Brice and that they need to get Jefra to flip with them and vote out Alexis. Jefra suggests LJ as the vote, but Morgan thinks they need him for the challenge. Jefra tells us that she has no idea who Jeremiah is with. Both alliances seem to think he's with them. So Jefra goes to Jeremiah and he tells her he is not with Brice and Morgan, he's with her. He tells us that he is just stuck between these two alliances.
We come back to Beauty and Alexis is suggesting that they should split the vote to try to see if there's an idol. So, what she's suggesting is that they force a three-way tie. Boys are voting Morgan, girls voting for Brice. Jeremiah tells us that if this actually happens, he'll be in a good place to split off his vote and take out Alexis, though he hasn't totally decided what he's going to do. He's worried the most about whose trust he's going to lose when he finally makes his decision.
Beauty arrives at Tribal and light their torches. "Fire represents life in this game. When your fire's gone, so are you." Ah yes...music to my ears, even though it's the second time I've heard it, I still love to hear it! Jeff starts off by asking Morgan about being put in the beautiful tribe. She loves it. Brice is happy to be put in with the beautiful tribe. Jefra says the first couple of days were like a big party. Then the storm came and everything changed. Everyone's paranoid now after not talking strategy for the first few days. Brice says that there were strategy talks and you can see groups getting together. He says he's worried that he and Morgan are being left out, and also that Alexis hasn't talked to him at all, so he feels that she is gunning for him. Jeff then asks if that means he's eyeballing Alexis. He feels that everyone should pull their own weight at camp. Jeff asks Brice if there's any idol talk. He says people have been talking about idols. Morgan says she's concerned about it, but she feels comfortable with how things should go tonight. Jeremiah says he thinks he knows where it's going tonight, but it's gonna hurt.
With that, it's time to vote. We see Morgan's vote for Alexis. We see Alexis' vote for Brice and we see LJs vote for Morgan. Looks like the split is on, eh? I just wonder if Jeremiah stuck with the plan or not. Jeff's tallying the votes. First vote - Alexis. Second vote - Brice. Third vote - Morgan. Fourth vote - Alexis. Fifth vote - Brice. Sixth vote - Morgan. And there it is - a three-way tie.
Alexis, Brice and Morgan will not vote, leaving Jeremiah alone if he wants to flip the script. I can only assume that he didn't think this through too much beforehand. As it is, he pretty much has to stick with LJ and Jefra now, or he'll be seen as a traitor. I have to think that Brice is a goner. But it is time to vote. Jeff only has to read two votes and they're both for Brice. It's a shame, too, as I thought Brice had a great chance to go far in this game. As it turns out, the numbers weren't with him and he was seen as too much of a strategic threat. Overall, this was quite a boring episode of Survivor. A new idol was found, a new alliance formed and a pretty boring Tribal Council ensued. Hopefully, the game will pick up some more steam next week.
Speaking of, which... next time on Survivor, the Brawn tribe is talking the unthinkable, throwing a challenge. And we see a whole bunch of clips of blindfolded people running into stuff during a challenge. No groin appears to be immune. Looking forward to sharing every nut shot with you next week. Until then, take care.