Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance Recap
Episode 14 - Lie, Cheat and Steal - Part 1
By Jim Van Nest
December 22, 2015
BoxOfficeProphets.com
So, let's set the table for tonight. Six people are left. Jeremy has to be the front-runner at this point. He has an idol and has never been the target. His biggest threat is Spencer, but they seem to be working hand in hand in this game, which means Jeremy may never be challenged. Spencer has been Jeremy's right hand man (or has Jeremy been his?). Spencer has some big kills on his resume and I would be interested to hear his final three speech. He is a challenge threat and has no protection of any kind. So, he'll be relying on the bonds he's made to carry him to the end. Tasha has been right there with Jeremy and Spencer for the bulk of the post-merge. She was left out of the loop once, though, and that might mean that she's not in as good a position as she thinks. I think she'll have a hard time selling her game to the jury at this point as she seems to have benefited from Jeremy's and Spencer's games.
Kimmi has been the ultimate coattail rider. She's made small moves here and there, but she would only have been considered the decision maker a couple of times. I think she would have the toughest sales job ahead of her. Keith has never been more Keith than he was last week. He forgot Tasha's name, made a weird reward choice, spit a few times and once again, voted for the wrong person. I don't know what his total is, but I'm sure he holds the record for "most votes voting for the wrong person." And yet, he stays in the game. He's a challenge beast and could very well screw up Jeremy and Spencer's plans to go to the end. In a regular season, Keith is so likable that a Final 3 appearance would guarantee him the win. But in this season, I can't see the jury rewarding him for having no idea what was going on, ever. He and Kimmi are at the bottom of the totem pole for "most likely to win this season."
And finally, it's Kelley Wentworth. I list her last because that's pretty well where she's been all season. She has played the most Sandra-esque game since, well, Sandra. Kelley has been a vote for hire this entire season. As long as it wasn't her, she has been willing and able to float on the wind from vote to vote. The one time she hit people's radar, she had the biggest idol play in Survivor. And, oh by the way, she has ANOTHER idol in her bag right now. So, if they come for her again, she'll be ready...again. If I were laying odds on the winner of this season, I'd have even odds on Jeremy and Kelley. I'd have Tasha and Spencer right behind them, and then Kimmi and Keith way back in the background. Okay, have you all read my rambling enough now? Let's get to the action!
The episode begins, naturally, with a live shot of the finale audience?? C'mon now. Every minute spent live with Probst and the audience is one less minute that can be spent on the people we actually want to see. Stop it now! Get to the damn show. Once Jeff finally stops wasting our time, we get the full on season review. Okay, so the show FINALLY begins and we're back at camp after Tribal. Keith does not understand the vote for Abi. He says that he'd want to be sitting next to her at the end and everyone else should too. Spencer tells him that's EXACTLY why she had to be voted out. The thought that she could possibly take his spot in the Final 3 hasn't caught up with Keith yet. But it will.
Spencer tells us he's thrilled that Abi is gone. Back at camp, "You just said, I'd rather sit next to Abi than Spencer. That's a reason for Spencer to vote Abi out," Spencer explains. Kimmi tells us that with Keith and Kelley firmly planted on the bottom, this could be her opportunity to swoop in and make something happen. A little while later, we join Kimmi and Kelley in a hammock talking strategy. She tells Kelley that she thinks that the two of them and Keith could make a deal. If she can get Jeremy, Tasha and Spencer to split the vote with her (idol paranoia abounds) that she could flip sides and her third vote with Kelley and Keith could decide who goes home.
This is actually a brilliant plan. All she has to do is get her alliance to agree to split. That shouldn't be too hard, considering they've been splitting all season. The hard part here might be to get Keith involved here and not mess it up. Talk about the potential for another "stick to the plan moment." As Kimmi prepares to secure the Final 3, we head to the opening credits.
And we're back with an on-island Probst sighting! We get an aerial shot of a massive immunity challenge. Lots of steps will prove to be daunting I'm sure. They'll race to collect a bunch of puzzle steps. They'll use those steps to make their way up this huge platform. Once at the top, with all steps in place, they'll have to do a slide puzzle. First person to complete the slide puzzle wins immunity and a one in five shot at a million dollars. Jeff lets them know that from here on, none of these challenges are repeats. There will be no advantages or second chance stories the rest of the way.
Everyone starts off and it's a pretty even challenge as Spencer, Jeremy and Tasha are just ahead of the others as they all complete their first section of steps pretty quickly. The hard part of the challenge is that you can only take one step at a time. If it's wrong, you have to go back down to get another step. As Jeff explains this, Jeremy and Tasha both have a wrong piece and head back down. Spencer is now leading the way as he hits the third section of pieces. Jeremy is wrong again, leaving Kelley as the only challenger to Spencer right now. Spencer places his final step as Kelley heads down for her second-to-last step.
Spencer starts working on the puzzle and Kelley gets her final step and heads up. Jeremy is next to the top, followed by Keith. Tasha is next, but pretty much out of it. Kimmi is ever farther behind. Kimmi finally gets to the puzzle, but Spencer and Kelley are making huge progress on the slide puzzle. And just like that, Spencer finishes the puzzle and wins his third individual immunity. As we head to break, Kelley tells us that she's putting all her faith in Kimmi to save her and Keith. If they let Spencer, Jeremy and Tasha continue on, everyone is screwed.
The tribe gets back to camp and congratulates Spencer on his win. Tasha is thrilled. That means that Keith and Kelley are both vulnerable. Meanwhile, Kimmi is headed off to get some water and asks Keith to help her go get it. At the watering hole, Kimmi makes her pitch to Keith. She tells him they're gonna split votes, but she will join them to vote out Jeremy. Back at camp, Spencer is asking Tasha what Kimmi's doing. He mentions that she had a long talk with Kelley in the hammock last night and now she's asking to talk to Keith. That doesn't sound right to them.
Meanwhile, at the watering hole, Kimmi is telling Keith that Jeremy, Spencer and Tasha would NEVER expect something like this. She tells him that all he has to do is vote Jeremy. Kelley is on board and she'll make the third and deciding vote. As we're hearing Kimmi, we flash back to camp and Kelley walks off. Spencer looks at Tasha and points out that Kelley just went to join them at the watering hole. Tasha says she thinks it makes Kimmi feel good to air-quote "play." Honestly, Kimmi IS playing. She's just doing it all wrong.
Kelley joins Kimmi and Keith and confirms that Jeremy is the play tonight. They're going to play it off by saying they're voting for each other. Kelley is super excited about this plan. If it works, it locks them into the Final 3. And c'mon, if you're Kelley Wentworth and you're sitting in the finals with Kimmi and Keith - you may as well start figuring out how you want to spend your million.
The next conversation we see is the core alliance: Tasha, Spencer, Jeremy and Kimmi talking on the beach. Spencer brings up splitting the vote and Kimmi is all over it. Girls vote Kelley, guys vote Keith and it's a done deal. Jeremy tells us that they're worried about an idol, so splitting the vote makes perfect sense to guard against it. As Kimmi leaves the conversation, Tasha declares another player "a rat." What's the deal? Was Survivor Australia just full to the brim with rats? That's both players from that season that Tasha has declared a rat.
Anyway, Spencer tells Jeremy what Kimmi's up to. He says that her plan is to get them to split the vote and then she'll join the other two and vote out either Jeremy or Tasha. He tells Jeremy that they CAN'T split. Jeremy doesn't believe it. He says that Kimmi is with him and they need to stop "bugging out." Next up, Jeremy talks to Kimmi as they rock in a hammock. He asks her if she's solid in voting for Kelley, because if she flips now, it messes up everything. She confirms that she's with him and gets very emotional and teary eyed over the thought that she would bail on the alliance. Jeremy tries to calm her down by telling her that he believes her.
In confessional, Kimmi lets us all know how easily she can go from normal to shedding tears. She totally duped Jeremy and he bought it, hook, line and sinker. Jeremy tells us that his alliance is strong and with idols out there, everything could mess up. He is really hoping to save the idol for the next Tribal. He goes to Spencer and tells him they have to split the vote. Spencer tells him, again, that Kimmi isn't with them and a vote split right now would kill them all. They have to all vote Kelley. He's sure Kelley doesn't have another idol. Egads, Spencer. So right, yet so wrong. Even though he's sniffed out the plot, if Kelley plays her idol, it's all for naught. Unless, of course, Jeremy decides to play his, just in case. Spencer tells us that when it gets to five, the three-person alliance controls everything. And if they don't get this vote right, they'll all be sitting there saying that they almost had it and made the wrong call.
We get to Tribal and the jury comes in, looking all mad and stuff. I wonder if they practice before they come in. Anyway, we start with Jeremy. Does he feel the game tightening around him? He says that the voting blocs are going away and being replaced by a tight alliance. Kelley sees it as she and Keith are on the bottom and the other four are tight. Tasha doesn't necessarily agree with that. Kimmi believes that the vote tonight is between Keith and Kelley. Keith says that he's planning to do anything to get that one more step.
Jeremy and Spencer admit that there's a lot of idol talk. Spencer tells Jeff that the four-person alliance had made a deal to split the votes. He says that he, Jeremy and Tasha are not good to split the votes anymore. He acknowledges that he purposely left Kimmi out of that. He says they're voting three strong on one person and Kimmi can either get with them or draw rocks. The jury loves this!
Kimmi is frustrated that because she talked to someone out of the alliance that now she's being threatened. Keith says that they just need to do what they planned to do and that we're likely looking at a showdown. As he's talking, Spencer mouths to Kelley, "You're good." Probst, of course, picks up on that and asks Kelley about it. She says that she doesn't trust Spencer because she trusted him last time. He says that he totally understands, but now is time to get on board, or they're going to rocks. It should be mentioned here that, with the necklace around his neck, this is the royal "we"; because Spencer will be immune from a rock draw. He seriously has nothing to lose here.
Jeremy still doesn't think all of this is necessary. He thinks they could just stop this and start making their path to the Final 3. Jeff asks Kimmi about being out on an island right now. She says that she's not in the top three. Jeremy says that she's not necessarily right about that. Keith and Kelley insist that she is #4 on the pecking order. Jeff then asks each of them if they know how they're voting. They all say yes, and it's time to vote.
We see no votes as they're cast, but it should be mentioned here that both targets have immunity idols in their pockets. The problem is, Kelley is freaked and almost guaranteed to play hers. Jeremy, however, wants to hold his for one more vote. Will that greed make him hold his idol? Or will he play his idol, too, and setup our first no-vote tribal? As a super fan of the show, you know I'm hoping for the no-vote tribal.
Jeff's gonna tally the votes now. He comes back and asks the all-important question: anyone want to play an idol? After a few seconds, Kelley says, "You know what Jeff, I don't have any idea what's going on. But I know I don't trust anybody here." And she stands up and takes her idol over to Jeff. Your move, Jeremy. He looks at Spencer and says, "I told you." Jeff confirms the validity of Kelley's idol, so no votes for Kelley will count. After another pause, "Hold on, Jeffrey." Jeremy stands up and takes HIS idol over to Probst. BOO YAH!!!! Jeff confirms Jeremy's idol and now begins to read the votes. When all is said and done, there are three votes for Kelley and three votes for Jeremy.
Right away, everyone is wondering what the hell happens now. There are no votes. What do we do? Jeff announces that for the first time in 31 seasons, there are no votes that count. Then they do their best American Idol impression - find out what happens...after the break.
And we're back so Jeffrey Seacrest can tell us what America chose...oh wait a minute. Wrong recap. Jeff recaps what's going on and says that the only recourse here is to have a revote. Spencer still has immunity from the necklace. Jeremy and Kelley still have immunity from their idols, so the only people eligible for the vote are Kimmi, Tasha and Keith. Also, since this is unprecedented, everyone will revote. Jeff gives them a second to talk about it. Jeremy wants to know who voted for him. Spencer tells him that he knows who did it. It was Kelley, Keith and Kimmi. Kimmi is trying to confirm that the vote is now for Keith, but Jeremy wants no part of it. Now that he knows Kimmi turned on him, he's ready to vote.
As Jeff sends Kimmi up to vote, Jeremy is all mouth. Tsk tsking her, telling her he's so disappointed in her. And frankly, he should be. He sat there and told Spencer and Tasha they didn't know what they were talking about. Kimmi would never turn on him. And then, not only did she turn on him, but she tried to vote him out? He's pissed! We get a nice shot of Jeremy skipping up to the voting urn and the jury looks appalled at that - which I find interesting, considering everyone gets pissed when their ally turns on them. Half of them are still sitting in Ponderosa pissed off that someone stabbed them in the back. And, it's time for Jeff to read the votes. After reading the votes, we're tied again! This time it's three votes for Tasha, three votes for Kimmi. Uh oh, now what?
Looks like they'll be given a chance to revote and someone can change their mind. Jeff polls the group and it doesn't look like anyone wants to change their vote. Now what? Rocks? Well, Spencer, Jeremy, Kelley and Keith will need to discuss this and see if they can come to a consensus on who to vote out. If they cannot come to a unanimous decision, it'll go to rocks. Let's reset this: Spencer, Jeremy and Kelley have immunity. The rules of a Survivor rock draw say that the people locked in the tie will not have to draw rocks, so that takes Kimmi and Tasha out of it. The only person left is Keith. So, if no consensus can be determined, Keith will be the next person voted out of the game. Are you frickin' kidding me? This is the perfect storm of Survivor vote confusion. This is awesome!
Spencer starts the talks; by saying it's either Keith or Kimmi going home. Keith asks if Tasha's out of it, then. Spencer says yeah, Tasha isn't going home. Kimmi makes a plea to stay, but it's falling on deaf ears with Spencer and Jeremy. After a small discussion, Keith decides that Kimmi is a single mama and they should just send him to the house. Kelley is not digging that idea at all. She asks him, "Are you serious?" Jeff asks Keith if he is voluntarily bowing out. Before he can answer, Kelley speaks up again. She says he shouldn't just give up. He says he's not, but he doesn't want Kimmi to have to go as well.
Jeff breaks it down by confirming that Spencer and Jeremy are not changing their votes. So, it's either Kimmi or Keith. Kelley asks Keith if he wants to stay and he's hemming and hawing because he knows he's next on the block, so it seems silly to him to stay. She tells him he doesn't know what will happen and then she decides she wants Keith to stay. And with that, Jeff goes around all four and all of them agree that Kimmi should be the next person sent to the jury. She is the 14th person voted out and the eighth member of the jury.
I feel kinda bad for Kimmi on this one, but if she had used even the slightest bit of discretion, her move would have paid off. She had the right idea and the right people to do it. She just blew it in the execution. If you've never gone off with Keith by yourself before - don't do it now. Figure out another way to make that happen. She was transparent to Spencer and that totally blew up her game. The crazy thing is, because of Kelley's idol, the plan still almost worked. If not for Jeremy having one, it definitely would have worked. Or if they had targeted Tasha, the plan would have worked. She was SO close to having a major move on her resume heading into the end game. As it ended up, Kimmi heads to Ponderosa to reunite with her buddy Fishbach.
And just like that, kids, we're down to five. I think this is a good place to split the finale article up, so I'm going to sign off for now. Be sure to check back tomorrow for the final installment of Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance where we'll break down what's sure to be an insane final five. Until then, take care!