Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X - Episode Recap
Episode 2 - Love Goggles
By Jim Van Nest, Gen X-er
October 4, 2016
BoxOfficeProphets.com
When the game WAS on, there was a whole lot of manufactured drama/comments surrounding the different generations. And at the end of the day, it was proved again that being annoying straight out of the gate is the absolute worst thing you can do. Rachel irritated her tribe and was sent packing, while the skittish schemer, David, was allowed to stay even though everyone out there knows that he'll Cochran on them as soon as he's given the chance. Oh yeah, and there's a blossoming love affair on the Millennial tribe - as if the premiere wasn't annoying enough.
Previews for tonight's episode suggest the sho-mance gets deeper on the Millennial tribe, and Dr. Joe will visit the Gen X tribe, suggesting someone may have had a heart attack. Uh oh - not another evac!
We begin tonight's show on Day 5 and the Gen X tribe still doesn't have fire - even though they now have a flint. Paul lets us know that there's a six-person alliance and that David, CeCe and Ken aren't in it. And then, right on cue, David takes the flint and actually starts the fire. So, let's get this straight - we have all these manly men on both tribes and it's Zeke and David that start the fires? And naturally, right after the fire gets started; we're told that David is still the next to go. However, David has decided to go get a bunch of big rocks for people to sit on around the fire. And while he's collecting these big rocks, he decides to search for a hidden idol. And lo and behold, after searching in all kinds of trees and holes, he catches a glimpse of a coconut with some purple paint on it. He cracks it open and inside is the hidden immunity idol. As David gets really excited and starts spending his million, let's roll the credits!
We come back from break to check in with the millennials. Right off the bat, it's all about Taylor and Figgy. They're all smitten with each other - so much that at night, they can be seen and heard kissing and slurping and stuff. Michaela is disgusted by the whole display. And next morning, she calls them out in front of the tribe. Amazingly enough, Figgy doesn't think the tribe sees them as a couple or a bad thing in the game. And she's right, unless you count Michaela and Zeke and Marin and Hannah. And even their boy, Jay, is totally pissed.
First you get a girlfriend and then the next thing you know, you're bailing on your boys on bowling night, he says. Actually, amidst all of the nonsense coming out of Jay - he actually has a pretty good handle on this situation. He compares a power couple to a bullseye for a nuclear missile. "This is not good," he says. And, he's right. Rob and Amber ruined the game for couples all the way back in Season 8. Ever since All-Stars, a couple has been seen as dangerous and a huge target to be broken up.
We head back over to Gen X and Ken is out in the water with the Hawaiian sling, or as he calls it a "sling." Get it? He's from Hawaii. Anyway, while fishing he spears a really good sized octopus and brings it back to camp for dinner. As he fishes, he tells us that making bonds is not easy for him. He's very shy. He tells us that he really relates to David as they're very similar in a group of people. They cement their bond while Ken cleans the octopus, dubbed Octopus Prime. They discuss that they could just accept their fate or they could make a move, and that Paul is running the show. They both agree that Paul is the one they have to go after. As they bond, David decides now is the time to share his idol with his new buddy, Ken. You worry about sharing an idol that quick, but Ken tells us that he is locked in with Dave and that now that they have an idol, they might be able to make the move on Paul.
Back over at the Love Tribe, Hannah is struggling to open a coconut, and Mari tells us that they had no idea how hard this was going to be. While they work on coconuts, Michaela is concerned about Figgy. She's concerned about the power couple. After a while, she finally opens up an argument with Figgy in front of the whole group. It's safe to say at this point that they want each other out. Adam sums it all up for us. He says that you don't come out all blazing, you don't start drama at camp and you certainly don't get into a show-mance. This is not going to end well.
Back over at Gen X, Paul tells us that he has to be in control of the game and that it can't be any other way. Ken talks this up with CeCe and they discuss how they need to get rid of Paul ASAP. As they talk about him, we're seeing scenes of Paul not looking good. Bret tries to get him some water, but he refuses. Meanwhile, CeCe and Ken (who are somewhere else, by the way) are still talking about getting rid of him. As they chat, we see Paul go down. Jessica and Bret try to take care of him and give him some water while he complains about his hands being numb. A producer comes in to check on him and lets him know Dr. Joe is on the way. As they all try to get him to breathe, we head to commercial.
We get back to camp as Dr. Joe makes his way in. They hook him up for a quick island EKG to check the heart. Dr. Joe says that he has enough of the symptoms that they need to check for a possible heart attack. Jeff says that they have a chopper on the way. The EKG comes up clean - no sign of damage to the heart. Dr. Joe says that the diagnosis is likely heat exhaustion and dehydration. There is no danger to him and he will stay in the game.
It's weird to say this, since he was just in camp, but Day 7 dawns and it's a Probst Sighting!! Today's challenge should be a fun one. Players will have to make a short swim and climb up a cargo netted rig. Once at the top, they'll jump off and grab a key. Once they have all five keys, they'll open a box with a pair of non-love goggles. They'll use the goggles to dive down in the water and untie five rings. Once all five rings are untied, they have to play a game of ring toss, hooking all five rings.
Through the first three swimmers, the teams are virtually tied. Round 4 is Zeke vs David and Zeke absolutely blows him away. Zeke sends Adam into the water while David still struggles. Finally David makes it and Jessica takes off, but the Millennials are already getting their goggles. Figgy comes up with the first ring. CeCe jumps in, but can't come up with a ring. Jay comes up with the second ring. Lucy takes a real long time but finally comes up with the first Gen X ring. While Ken dives down, Mari is struggling to get a ring. She and Ken come up at about the same time, Millennials lead 3-2.
Ken gets a couple in a row and the tribes are tied at four rings a piece. Jay and Bret go down to get the fifth rings. CeCe scores the first two rings for Gen X. Jay scores the first two for the Millennials. Then, Ken takes over and scores three in a row. Gen X wins immunity!! Oh yeah, they also get a reward - a tarp. But ultimately, it's all about the immunity. As we head to break, Mari tells us that they plan is to get rid of Figgy tonight without her knowing it is coming.
And now it's time to play "It's anyone but Figgy." Zeke, Mari, Adam and Hannah all discuss that Figgy has to be the one voted out. They pull in Michaela and Will. Michaela can't wait to vote for her. So, this thing is done and settled, right? Well, maybe not. For some unknown reason, Zeke and Adam let Jay know what's going on. They tell him Figgy has to be the one to go. Jay totally understands, but is pissed that his Triforce alliance is being broken up this quick. As they talk, Zeke tells him that they're trying to get Michaela on board and if she's not down for it, she's next. This is all really weird since Michaela is like the #1 person on the Dump Figgy train.
Jay takes it to Michelle and she is blown away that they would want to get rid of Figgy. She is determined to switch the vote and get rid of Mari instead. She tells Jay that they have to get Figgy and Michaela to make up. So, Jay takes the girls to the beach and breaks the news to Figgy that Zeke wants her gone first and Michaela next. Michaela doesn't seem to have any plans to make up with Figgy, but she does tell us that if Jay is telling the truth and she's next, she might have to make a move. As they continue to discuss, it becomes evident that they have to get Will on board to have a shot to flip this thing.
So, here comes Michelle over to talk to Will. She tells him that everyone knows what Figgy is up to, so she's an easy vote later. Will disagrees, saying that he's seen people like Figgy gain momentum and use it to win the game. He cites Parvati and Cochran specifically. Michelle kind of ignores all of that and tells him that Mari is the bigger threat. He says that it's nerve wracking to change votes this close to Tribal. He doesn't commit to vote with her, but seems like he's thinking about it. As they head to Tribal, Michelle tells us she's not sure she has the numbers and she may have to work on something at Tribal Council to make sure this happens.
Once they all come in a dip their torches in the fire, Jeff starts with Adam. He is totally mesmerized by the Tribal Council set. They all are. Mari talks about how much harder it is to play this game with real people rather than avatars on a screen. Zeke is loving life on the island and wants to give the best of himself. Michaela does not really agree with that. As she calls out some things, we see Michelle lean over to Hannah and tell her that she's voting for Mari.
When called on, Hannah calls out the Taylor-Figgy couple. Talk now turns to them having two votes that will not be split up. Figgy and Taylor don't see a problem with it. Michaela is blown away that they feel like they can lie right to your face and expect you to just believe it. Meanwhile, Michelle and Jay are trying to convince Hannah to vote Mari. She wants a reason why, and she's given the ol' "I'll tell you later." Everyone is curious as to what's going on with Hannah and Michelle. Mari finally speaks up to stick up for Hannah, saying that it's probably nothing and that it's just Hannah being Hannah.
With that, it's time to vote. We see Zeke's vote for Figgy, saying that she's way too dangerous to stay in the game. We see Figgy's vote for Mari saying that she hopes she can trust Michaela. And then Hannah heads to the booth and tries to work out the numbers as she stands there. After some time expires, everyone is concerned, and you can see Jeff looking around the corner to see what's up. From what I've learned after the show, she was back there for something like 10 minutes. That's just insane. Remember last season when Aubry voted for Julia and then crossed her name out and switched? Remember how that came back to bite her in the ass at the final Tribal because Julia remembered that Aubry had planned to vote for her? Yeah, if you're going to take that long to vote - you're screwed no matter which way you go because you hesitated for 10 frickin' minutes to cast this vote. So, one side will be pissed that you voted against them, while the other side will be pissed that it was so hard for you to stick with them. Horrible play there by Hannah. And it might not bite her soon, but I have a feeling it will eventually.
Jeff goes to tally the votes and calls for an immunity idol. There are none, so let's read the votes. Figgy. Mari. Figgy. Mari. Figgy. Mari. Three-three with four votes remaining. And all four of them come up...Fig - wait Mari???? Adam and Zeke are every bit as shocked as I am. This vote makes absolutely no sense. I get it, Mari was a threat. She was my winner pick and she had picked up a ton of steam in the community as a potential winner. But we're on Day 7. That's not the time to get rid of her, when you have a massive power couple forming in front of you and they're vulnerable.
Ultimately, Zeke has only himself to blame. Had he not talked about Michaela as the next vote, she'd have never flipped to the Triforce's side in this. And without Michaela, there's no Will and Hannah and Figgy is the second person voted out of the game. Instead, Michaela decided to go with short term self-preservation over long term consequences and keep her nemesis on the island while voting out a potential ally. Unfortunately for Hannah, the delay in voting and then flipping is not going to sit well with Zeke and Adam, who were left holding the bag on this one.
Next time on Survivor: Hannah tries to plead her case and Zeke and Adam aren't having it. And there's a new twist in the game that has players drawing something out of a bag. Will tells us that he wants to be a part of whatever the twist is and he wants to see what Gen X has to offer. There's been a lot of speculation about what could be happening, and with 18 people remaining a straight up swap or merge seems unlikely.
I'm thinking we're looking at a Second Chance like twist where a third tribe will be created and we'll move forward with three six-person tribes - a Millennial tribe, a Gen X tribe and a mixed tribe. And it couldn't come soon enough for players like Zeke, Adam and David. They could really use a switch up. One thing's for sure, it's bound to be #Twist-tastic!! Please be sure to come on back and check out the recap and we'll all see if I can remember how to predict ANYthing. Thanks for reading...'til next time, take care!