Survivor Kaoh Rong - Episode Recap
Episode 8 - The Jocks vs. The Pretty People
By Jim Van Nest
April 11, 2016
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Even the episode title suggests that the Brawn and Beauties are going to battle it out and it's likely the Brains will be in the middle. Which is how Neal's evac could have actually killed a game changing alliance. If they make the move last week and vote out Aubry - it seals the bond between the Brawn and Beauties and likely leads to a Brains Pagonging. Instead, nothing was consummated, which again, leaves everything up in the air tonight. It certainly looks like it could be explosive, and I can't wait to get to the episode. So, let's do just that...
We begin tonight's episode right after Neal leaves. Joe feels like his game is in trouble now, as are Debbie's and Aubry's. Kyle tells us that Beauty and Brawn are still locked in and that the plan is to still split the vote, because they're not sure that the idol left with Neal. Aubry tells us that there's very much a high school feel in camp right now. The jocks and the pretty people are hanging out, while the nerdier people are outcast. But she's looking for cracks where she can get in there and take them down.
We come back from break as Day 20 dawns on the Dara tribe. Kyle is telling the tribe about his daughters and his younger daughter, Chloe, who has autism. He said he didn't really plan on talking too much about his kids, but they asked him. He tells them about all the therapy and the how all of their money goes to hospitals, doctors and therapists. And while I don't think he's using this to get ahead in the game, Cydney sure does. She's worried that now that people have seen his soft underbelly, he might be someone they'll want to vote for at the end. Um, Aubry - there's a crack. You should probably check that out.
This leads into a Probst Sighting! Today's challenge will divide the tribe into two teams. Each team will need to get one member across a course using only two poles for them to step on. So they step on a pole, move to the second, and the rest of the tribe has to move the first pole around front for that person to take the next step. The teams are Julia, Scot, Nick, Tai and Debbie against Aubry, Joe, Kyle, Michelle and Cydney. Oh yeah - they're playing for ice cream. Ugh.
The challenge starts and Julia and Aubry are on the poles. Julia and her team really have a good groove going, while Aubry falls in at least three times. She swaps out for Michele, who proves it's not that easy as she falls in twice and swaps out for Cydney. Julia is pretty far along and almost at the first platform when she wobbles a little bit. With one more small step, Julia makes it to the platform. Meanwhile, Cydney has fallen in a few times. Once all of Julia's team gets on the platform, they all take off to the final tiny platform where they all have to get to the top and stay there for three seconds. Oh yeah, Aubry is back on the poles again but still hasn't made it one step. Scot is the base of the tower and the yellow team just piles on and wins in one of the biggest blow out challenges in the history of the game. As yellow gets ready to have some ice cream, Aubry laments the team she picked and how she is just going from one bad decision to the next bad decision.
We come back from break as the winners get their spoils. Oh, by the way, the ice cream cart is actually back at camp, so the losing team could sit there and watch the other team enjoy their treats. To their credit, they're doing a pretty good job of not rubbing it in. All of a sudden, Kyle shouts over that it's okay if they want to get rowdy; they won ice cream. Michele doesn't really care for that. She feels that he thinks he's running the show and she isn't too fond of that. Um, Aubry - there's another crack. Talk from the ice cream team turns to family. Scot tells them that his mother isn't doing well and that part of why he's out here is to continue to help his mom and his brothers, who aren't as well off as he is from his NBA money. Julia tells us that she really feels a bond with Scot right now, even though they couldn't really talk strategy.
The next day we join Julia, Tai, Michele and Cydney as they try to take the boat out for a spin. Scot and Kyle are seeing this and wondering if there might be some sort of all girl alliance. Nick isn't worried about the girls bonding together. When the girls get back, Nick takes Julia aside to see where she is. She straight up tells him that there's no all-girl alliance. Cydney sees this talk and is just blown away by how stupid he could be to have these talks right in front of her. So Cydney calls the guys out for "checking up on them." She says they could have just come to her.
So, Kyle takes her aside to ask her what the deal is. Kyle throws Nick under the bus about the girl's alliance, even though it wasn't Nick. Cydney tells him that he needs to recognize who he's dealing with. She ain't one of them other girls, "Don't check me, boo." She tells us that she doesn't care. She'll blow up the whole game and start telling about idols and every damn thing. She continues to tell us that the plan is to split the votes 'til the Brains are all gone...but if the guys have to go, they have to go.
And just like that, it's another Probst sighting! Ooh, this looks like another "who can stand in one place the longest" challenge. They'll balance on a small perch while holding onto a handle behind their head with both hands. If either hand comes off the handle or either foot comes off the perch, you're out. Last person standing wins immunity. Interesting note - no one is wearing shoes. I can only assume that's because they were told they couldn't.
Five minutes in, Jeff asks if anyone will own up to feeling it. As he keeps talking, I can only assume he's gonna offer some food or something. He tells them he's bringing food, but this will be a one and only opportunity to step down. As he goes to get the food, he tells them not to step down until he gets back. Before he gets back with the food, Julia loses it and drops out. She gets nothing. Jeff brings out a tray with pizza, hot dogs, brownies, chicken legs and some orange drink. Before he counts down; Joe, Scot, Kyle and Michele drop out to eat. Tai, who's really hurting, opts to stay in.
Jeff chats with the group and Tai and Nick basically tell Jeff that they want to stop the Brains from winning as they're outnumbered. Right away, Debbie and Aubry drop out. As they drop out, Nick also steps down. Jeff asks him about it and he says he was just waiting for Brains to drop and that he's finally gonna go to Tribal. He just hopes it's not bittersweet. Scot tells him that it won't be. He says, "No, I know."
From the perch, Cydney did NOT like to hear that response. So, we're left with Tai, who is really hurting, and Cydney, who hasn't moved. Tai tells Jeff that he just wants to see how far he can push and that Cydney may look real strong now, but she could still break. At the 40 minute mark, Cydney shows the first sign of struggle and Tai is quick to point out that she's feeling it now. And within less than a minute, Cydney drops out of the challenge and Tai wins individual immunity. As we head to break, he tells us that Beauty will be voting for Debbie and Brawn will be voting for Aubry.
And now it's time to play, "It's anyone but a Brain." Nick tells us the same plan that Tai told us. Nick decides he needs to try to take Aubry under his wing. He tells her that they're splitting the vote tonight. He tells her the entire plan and suggests to her that she should probably vote Debbie. He tells us that he didn't plan to be that arrogant with her, but she understands the game. He also says that there's nothing she can do about it - unless, of course, she can come back and blow everything up.
A little later on, Cydney tells Debbie that she wants to talk to her and Aubry before Nick gets back. She doesn't like his arrogance, and he rubs her the wrong way. She tells them she wants to take out Nick. Debbie and Aubry are in. But they're gonna need some more numbers if this is to happen. In the water, Julia and Michele ask Cydney if she feels good about the split. Cydney asks how attached to Nick the girls are. She says that she didn't like how he acted at the challenge and she wants to take him out. Michele likes the idea a lot, but she isn't sure if now is the time to turn on him or if she should stick with him a little longer. As they head to Tribal, we have a lot of things going on. There's the vote split original plan and there's Cydney's "girls take out Nick plan"... then there's Michele's "I don't like the take out Nick plan" plan. I honestly have no idea who's going home. I just know it won't be Tai.
We start Tribal as Michele and Nick light their torches for the first time. Debbie breaks it down that it's everyone against Brains. Nick chimes in that she's exactly right and that they will be splitting the vote tonight. There are not a lot of important things said; it's just a whole bunch of Scot, Jason and Nick being arrogant and a lot of looks being exchanged between the girls, until Jeff asks Tai about talk of idols. He says that they weren't even sure there were idols, until the talk of Neal having an idol came up. And then he drops the bomb, accidentally of course, "And we heard something about the Super Idol, when two idols merge together to become a super idol." He also says that it can be used after the vote.
Dude. Only four people know about the super idol. The three people that had the idols and Scot. Debbie uses this as a way to suggest to Julia that if she didn't know about the Super Idol, she must be on the bottom and now's the time to do something about it. There's some more chatter, but Tai's Super Idol bombshell sorta rules the day. And with that, it's time to vote. We see Kyle's vote for Aubry, Debbie's vote for Nick and Nick's vote for Debbie. Let's read the votes.
Aubry. Debbie. Nick. Aubry. Jason. Nick. Nick. Nick. Seventh person voted out and the second member of our jury... Nick. Let me see...how many unwritten Survivor rules did he break, just this week? Um, stepping down from immunity. Um, acting like an arrogant douchebag. Um, telling the person you're voting for that you're voting for them. Um, giving away the entire plan AT Tribal. Basically, everything that could possibly be done to get yourself voted out, he managed to do in half a day's time. Congrats, Nick. You ended up right where you belong. Ponderosa on the jury. Blog about that! It should be mentioned again, though, someone voted for Jason. Turns out it was Tai voting for Jason. Can't wait to see how that plays out.
Next time on Survivor: after a blindside, the guys decide to turn to some Russell Hantz tactics and hide gear and equipment in an attempt to starve out the girls. And oddly enough, it appears to work, as Aubry starts casting a doubtful eye on Julia, who she thinks is playing both sides. I don't know what to think about all this other than it looks like we're gonna ramp up the villain edit for Kyle and Scot and set up the girls as underdogs. I should also mention that Aubry is getting a hardcore winner's edit right now. She's acting as our chief story teller and at this point in the game, either means she's next to go or she goes all the way to the end. Can't wait to find out...catch y'all next week. 'Til then, take care!