Survivor: Cagayan - Episode 11 Part One
Havoc to Wreak
By Jim Van Nest, Survivor Analyst
May 11, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Previews suggest that Kass, Trish and even Woo are starting to plot against Tony this week, not that it'll matter one little bit. If Tony gets too worried, he can play his normal idol or he can just wait for the votes to be read and play the TP idol. Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing this. The smugness that will be on Kass' face when she sees Tony get all the votes...and how fun it'll be to watch it disappear when Tony gives the idol to Probst. It could possibly be a magical Tribal tonight. Well, what are we waiting for, let's get to it!
There will be lots of 'splainin' to do when they get back to camp after the Jefra blindside. Kass is, not surprisingly, pissed off about the vote. She compares Tony to a mafia Don. As she's doing that, Tony asks her and Trish if they want an explanation. Trish, of course, completely understands. Trish, you're KILLING me here! How many times has he completely left you out of the loop on his plans? And every time you get back to camp, you "totally understand." Understand this: the game is being played around you. Tony is playing (and winning) this game around you and you're letting him do it. She even gives his reason for him - because Jefra wanted to vote him out, so she had to go. Ever the good soldier, Trish will continue in this game...of that I'm sure.
Kass, who I can only assume was shunned from the cool girls' table at lunch, hates being left out. She hates having stuff happening at Tribal that she doesn't know about and isn't in control of. Essentially, she doesn't like the chaotic nature of Tony's game. She tells Tony that she realizes Jefra was on the outs and that he's a hothead. Tony suggests that it's not being hotheaded to get rid of someone who was trying to get rid of you. In her defense, in the midst of a huge pile of nonsense, Kass does make one good point. Tony's so worried about Jefra trying to get him out, but why isn't he worried about Spencer and Tasha trying to eliminate him? He justifies it by saying that Spence and Tash never promised him anything. Jefra did. And when he makes a promise, he keeps it, until that person stabs him in the back. Back to the nonsense, Kass, who oozes condescension out of every one of her pores, accuses Tony of getting old out there and being condescending to everyone. Hello, pot, I'm the kettle...you're black!
The next morning dawns with the guys sitting around the fire talking, while the ladies are in the shelter seemingly still asleep. The guys are talking about Tony's life as a cop and how he never gets nervous. As they talk, Spencer tells us that he thinks Tony is lying about everything he says out there. He's playing harder than anyone else and that makes him dangerous and tough to work with. If the Tony/Kass bickering didn't reach ludicrous speed, it completely goes to plaid this morning. I guess Spencer is up earlier than normal, because he asks if he really sleeps this late every day. Tony says he's surprised that Kass isn't up, because she's always up a lot earlier. He suggests that maybe she's not feeling well and that's why she's sleeping in today.
But AHA - that sneaky sneakster Kass is actually faking sleep so she can hear all the dirt Tony is talking about her. She tells Tasha that Tony is talking crap about her. Tash, God love her, plays right along. "He talks stuff about everybody." At this point, this festering feud between Tony and Kass can only mean good things for the Spencer/Tasha duo. By this time, the guys are back to listening to more of Tony's super cop stories. But Kass is hell bent that Tony said she was a bitch and wanted to get her out. Now, this show is heavily edited. I suppose it's possible that Tony did say this stuff and the editors decided it would be funny to not show it and make Kass look delusional. OR...it's possible that she heard her name and has jumped to conclusions that they're saying bad things about her, even though they weren't. Having made her plea to the girls about how much of an ass Tony is, Kass takes to the confessional, telling us that now she hates him even more.
The girls finally get up and Tony asks Kass about sleeping in. She confesses to him that she wasn't sleeping and that she heard everything he said about her. She says that he knows what he said and so do Spencer and Woo, since they were there. Woo, as we all know, cannot hide true emotion and he is shocked at what she's saying. If that doesn't say something to you, nothing will. But Tony tries anyway. Spencer tells us that Kass completely misheard Tony and that he never said a bad thing about her. He says that it's one of the rare times in this game that Tony has been telling the truth. "Am I gonna clear up the situation? Noooo!" Spence loves this like a fat kid loves cake.
Tony, still trying to clear the air, says that he really wasn't talking about her...he thinks about her all the time, but he wasn't talking about her. He tells us that he just wants her to stick with him so he can take her to the end and getting all the votes. Kass tells us that the way Tony is playing, these other people are like cult followers. She doesn't want to be a cult follower. The problem with this is she can't be a cult leader as no one will follow her. Whether she likes it or not, she's destined to be a follower in this game...or the next person sent to Ponderosa.
We come back from break and apparently the shenanigans between Tony and Kass aren't done yet. He tells us that he doesn't like to have people mad at him and he wants to try to smooth this over with Kass before she gets the idea to try to take him out. So he goes to her on the beach and asks her if she was joking with him or if she really thought he was talking about her. She tells him that she knows what she heard and he needs to stop lying. It's odd that maybe the one time Tony is telling the truth, she won't believe him. But, that's the bed he's made...now he's lying in it. With two idols in hand, I don't know why he's so worried about it. Kass tells us she likes that Tony is imploding. She likes chaos. Whoa, wait a second. You LIKE chaos? More specifically, she likes chaos that she feels that she caused. Because Tony's game has been nothing but chaos and she hates that and hates him. This whole discussion is ridiculous and I can't believe this is the best footage they have for us from these three days. SOMEthing else had to be going on, right?
They continue to take jabs at each other about their age, how they act, etc. Finally Tony suggests that Kass might vote for him. She says she will write his name down. And off he goes, "Write my name down and you'll go home." They go back and forth for a bit until Tony says that he has the special idol. Naturally, no one believes this. As Kass continues to say she just wants to get one guy out, Tony keeps telling her, "You can't." When asked to show the special idol, he refuses...which only leads to the doubt among the rest of the group. She refuses to believe his claim that she can't vote him out and, "Just like that, Tash and Spencer; you guys move up another notch, huh?" Ugh, can't we just move on to a...
Probst sighting!! Today's challenge is a team challenge. Each team has a wall of puzzle blocks set up. The first part of the challenge will be to knock down the other team's wall. Once one wall is completely knocked off the platform, that portion of the challenge will end. Then one person from each team will need to rebuild their own wall. First team to rebuild their puzzle wall wins the best reward of the season. They've gotten away from this reward in past seasons and I'm so glad to see it back. The winning team will get to be Survivor Ambassadors to a local school. They will bring all sorts of school supplies for all of these elementary school kids and some extra supplies for the school itself. They'll also get burgers and hot dogs, but that's not really what the reward is about. Worth playing for? Of course it is.
The teams are broken up as Spencer, Kass and Woo against Tony, Trish and Tasha. The challenge starts off and the sandbags they're throwing don't do too much damage. Looks like they're gonna have to dig a little deeper and throw harder. After all the destruction takes place, one puzzle (Tasha, Trish and Tony) is completely destroyed and the other only has two pieces left, but they're not where they started, so this really comes down to Spencer vs. Tasha in solving the entire puzzle. Tasha jump out to a big lead on Spence, but starts to slow down as she can't find the right pieces. Spencer, now getting a lot of help from Kass, starts to catch up. As Spencer blows by Tasha, it becomes clear that this won't even end up being close. Spencer, Kass and Woo win reward! Tony, Trish, Tasha - Jeff's got nothin' for ya.
We come back from break to join the challenge winners as they get to the school. Before they even get out of their bus, all these kids come pouring out into the courtyard and they're SO excited to have them there. They get out of the bus and start handing out book bags and basketballs and recess equipment to all these kids. Spencer tells us that he doesn't even really like kids, but that this was one of the most amazing experiences he's ever had. And then something happens. We've watched Woo (hang dai, brother Woo, hang dai) and he's been goofed on a bit because he's young, naive and doesn't seem to have too much of a handle on what's going on in the game. I've compared him to Fabio as a fun loving surfer dude who doesn't really have many cares in the world. And then, this reward happened. The next scene is just amazing. Everyone seems to be under some sort of tent with a stage up front. Woo takes to the stage and transforms. It's like Bruce Lee meets the Harlem Globetrotters. First he does some martial arts demonstrations, then it's basketball. He gets Spencer involved; he gets kids involved. He becomes a true showman. I shudder to think of how this reward would have looked if the other team won. Woo HAD to go on this reward and I, for one, am so glad that he did. As they leave the kids and head to get their food, Woo is still going on and on about how great the kids are and how excited they were.
Kass has other ideas, though. She wants to talk game. She suggests that it's time to flush the idol. So she comes up with a plan for her, Spencer, Woo and Tasha to work together and split their 2 votes between Trish and Tony. Assuming Trish and Tony will vote for Tasha, that would cause a three-way tie and Tony would end up using his idol and then Trish would go home. Or something like that. I don't know what makes less sense...her plan or the fact that she took her plan to Woo, of all people. He's Tony's right hand man. For someone who prides herself on being so much smarter than everyone, she sure seems to have missed the mark here.
Spencer is hesitantly on board with the plan. He has trusted Kass before and been totally screwed, but at this point, the only hope for him and Tash is to exploit this rift. Woo, his aforementioned confidence fading, is back to seeming like he's lost. "You want to vote Tony before Tash?" Kass goes on to say that they could make a final three pact right now and be well on their way to the "most fair" final three, where no one has the advantage. There she is...the Queen of Delusion. I'm not sure anyone gets a vote other than Spencer in a Spencer/Woo/Kass Final Three. But whatever you need to do to sleep at night, Kass. Spencer tells us that working with Woo is nerve wracking, because he's very non-committal. When asked straight up if he's in, Woo says it's definitely something he'll consider.
I'm of two minds on this topic. On one hand, stopping and considering the option is WAY better than just jumping in with both feet into any alliance that presents itself, so bully for Woo for wanting to think this through. However, as we saw with Jonathan Penner a couple seasons ago, that alliance window may only be open for a minute and if you don't climb through fast enough, it may close on your fingers. Woo tells us that it's the time in the game where big moves need to be made and even though he's been with Tony from day one, it's something he'll consider.
Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Part 2. In the meantime, follow and/or Tweet me: @vannestjc.