Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X'ers - Episode Recap
Episode 10 - Million Dollar Gamble - Part 2
By Jim Van Nest, Gen X-er
November 30, 2016
BoxOfficeProphets.com
And right on cue, Day 29 is dawning; David meets up with Bret and Sunday on the beach. He tells them that he also doesn't feel like they're the next to go. He asks them if they still feel like Jay should be next to go. They agree. At this point, Bret and Sunday are agreeing with everything. David tells us and then tells them that he feels Zeke is playing the best game and that after the Jay vote, it might be time to focus on removing Zeke from the game. Bret tells us that he's already signed on with Zeke, and that he knows what David's about and he's not trustworthy. In Bret's opinion, David needs to go as soon as possible. So Bret grabs Zeke and tells him that David is coming for him. Zeke tells us that it makes sense that they would be targeting each other. They also discuss David having an idol and agree that whatever they do, it has to be kept super quiet or David will freak out and play his idol.
We come back from break and David and Zeke take turns breaking down the rivalry between them. Zeke said that everyone knew this war was coming, so it's time to see who has what troops. Zeke goes to Adam and Hannah to try to win them over. Hannah says that she really likes and trusts David, but she's been playing with Zeke for a month now. Right now, she seems to be keeping her options open. But what's really happening, I think, is that she doesn't know what to do, so she's hoping something will help to clear it all up for her. And just like that, it's time for a...
Probst Sighting! Today's challenge will see the tribe broken into three teams of three. Their feet will be tied together and their arms bound to their side. They will have to take turns slithering through the sand and up a slight hill. Once through the entire course, they'll have to put together a snake puzzle. The winning team will be taken by helicopter on an aerial tour of Fiji and then flown to a Survivor picnic where fried chicken, mac and cheese, and all the fixin's await. There are 10 of them, so one person will not participate. But unlike the last challenge, this time the person not participating will automatically get to go on reward.
Teams are drawn and they are: Hannah, Jessica and Adam vs. Will, Ken and Jay vs. Sunday, Zeke and Bret. David drew the white rock, so he will be going on reward no matter what. Hannah, Will and Sunday start off the relay. I have to say, seeing that Will starts to lose his shorts almost immediately, they might not have thought this one all the way through. Will and Hannah finish their leg first and Ken and Jessica take off. Finally, Sunday gets done, and Zeke heads out. Jessica is really struggling, while Ken cruises to tag in Jay, who goes through even faster.
Bret takes off for the final leg for Orange about the time that Jay, Ken and Will start on the puzzle. Jessica tags in Adam and he makes up a huge amount of time. Bret gets to the end, also losing his shorts along the way, and they've begun working on their puzzle. Due to Adam's crazy fast run, all three teams are now working on the puzzle. While two teams struggle with the puzzle, the Bret, Sunday and Zeke team finish the puzzle and win reward! And how perfect is it that Zeke and his arch nemesis, David will be going on the reward with the very two people they are both trying to recruit to their side? Ah, you gotta love the Survivor Gods, right?
After the commercials, we join the victors on their helicopter ride. Both Zeke and Sunday REALLY wanted to win the challenge with the helicopter ride. Once they hit the beach, they all dine and the drinking starts. Bret and Zeke comment on how they've become drinking buddies as of late. As they're pounding the beers, David oddly gets up from the table to take a walk. Um, what? Why would you ever leave these people alone together? Ever?? But he does and Sunday actually heads out for a walk as well, leaving Zeke and Bret alone at the table.
What happens next can only be described as inspired. It's an amazing and poignant scene that could only happen on something like Survivor. Bret decides to really bring Zeke into his confidence, "I will tell you, you're not the only gay guy out here." Say what?? Apparently, Bret is also gay. He says that he didn't plan to hide it, but when he landed on the beach with the manly men like Chris and Ken, he decided to keep it quiet. The conversation that happens here does more to support the whole Millennial vs. Gen X theme than all of the challenges, Tribal Councils and Probst's awful attempts to show the divide between the generations combined. Zeke never thought about hiding the fact that he's gay, while Bret comes from the older generation that used to keeping that stuff quiet. He admits that he's never had any trouble from the people he's told, but it's all in his head.
Zeke tells us that he owes such a debt to guys like Bret and his generation. He says he wouldn't have been able to come out at 15 if not for the fights and struggles that Bret's generation went through. Bret was in the military during "Don't Ask Don't Tell," and he's just used to living without people knowing. Zeke says that he's so glad to see Bret opening up and getting to reap the rewards of what he's sown. In all seriousness, this may be one of my favorite scenes in Survivor in years. Maybe ever. It's so real, so raw and just such an amazing conversation - seriously, they couldn't have written a better scene to really highlight the differences between Millennials and Gen Xers.
As they finish this conversation, Sunday comes back and they start talking game again. They all agree that David has to go. Zeke tells them he can get Jay and Will on board, which gives them five. He also feels he'll be able to pull in Hannah and Adam to complete the vote. But the only way they can pull this off is if the plan is kept completely secret from David.
We join the reward-ers as they return to camp to see the non reward-ers. Hannah tells us that she pulls David aside really quick. She tells us that she has decided to go with David. Zeke is condescending and can be a flip flopper. She tells David that Bret and Zeke have been talking about him and the fact that he has an idol. Hannah tells David that since she's down with Zeke, she thinks he'll tell her if David is the vote. They talk about the idol, and David says that the idol is not for one of them. David is totally freaked out, feeling like his game is blown up. He decides that they should go for Zeke and let the votes come on him. Then he'll play his idol and Zeke goes home. Hannah stops him short there saying that she wants to chat with Zeke. If he has any idea that she's working with David, she'll be screwed.
On Day 30, it's time for another Probst Sighting. Today's immunity challenge will involve maneuvering a handle through a maze, on the opposite side of the door, so they can't see the maze. Once solved, the handle will come out with a key to unlock the door they're behind. Once out of the door, they'll have a Survivor slide puzzle to work. Honestly, this is the most boring of challenges as it turns out to be a complete blow out. Long story short - Jay blows through the maze and the slide puzzle before anyone else gets even close to getting out of the maze. Biggest ass kicking in a challenge I've seen in a long, long time.
We come back from break for a sweet game of "Will It Be David Or Zeke?" Jay is pumped up about having the immunity necklace. He does tell us that even though he has an idol, he'll be keeping that for himself - which you would certainly expect. I'm not sure what allows David and Jessica to be left completely alone in the middle of camp, but they start to talk. David tells Jessica about his talk with Bret and Sunday and how screwed he is because of it. Jessica tells us that she will join him in voting for Zeke even though it's his own fault he's in the place he's in. Ken tells us that he will also be voting for Zeke. They've been together since the very beginning, and that won't be changing.
Trying to shore up votes, Zeke finally takes Hannah aside to let her know he's gunning for David. He tells her that David is a likely winner and has an idol, and then he asks her if she would consider David one of the bigger threats in the game. Hannah is SO bad at this game. She can't look at him, she can't answer him. She makes it painfully obvious that she is with David. He tells her that what's happening here will determine whether she plays the game with David or with him. He tells us that it was glaringly obvious that Hannah was not with him. And if she's with David, she's now his enemy. David has an idol, so the vote tonight could just as easily be Hannah.
Zeke moves on and tells Will that Hannah is not with them and he thinks they should vote Hannah. He also rounds up Sunday, Bret and Jay. So, he has five - but that's only enough for a tie. The next talk we see is Hannah and Adam. She lets him know about all the drama that's been going on. Adam tells us that he's with her, but she's so nervous that it makes him a little leery. David and Hannah get together to break down the numbers. They also have five - so we're headed for a tie. She tells David that she is pretty positive that Zeke will be coming for her and that David should play his idol for her. David suggests that if all this happens and he plays the idol incorrectly, there will be a 5-5 tie and they'll go down to a rock draw. As the group heads to Tribal, David tells us the same thing about the rock draw and says that this is the toughest part of his game so far.
Jeff starts Tribal by reminding them that they all felt 100% about the last vote and he wants to see how many feel 100% now. None of them raise their hand. Jay is the only one who is feeling safe tonight. As he talks, you see Hannah whispering to Adam. David starts talking about the trust cluster thing and Bret gets really offended by it. He says they need to stop that nonsense. It's all about whom you can trust and is what you were told the right thing.
And then it turns ugly as Bret and Zeke take turns poking fun at David for his anxiety and crying. David points out that this is a personal attack and he's never attacked anyone. Hannah also takes offense and you see Sunday pointing at Bret as if to say, "Knock that shit off." Jeff asks Adam what he's thinking. He says he's super nervous and he's not sure what's happening now. Jessica is also confused with what is happening. As Ken talks, we see Will and Sunday talking about sticking to the plan. Hannah asks Sunday what the plan is and she whispers back, "Ken." Adam is sitting right there picking up all of this conversation. At this point, I don't know what's happening and I don't think they do either. One thing's for sure, after Bret mouths off at Ken, it's probably best that we get to the vote before he acts like an ass to even more people. NOT a good look for Bret at this Tribal at all.
And with that, it is time to vote. We see none of the votes, but we do see a VERY large bug of some type land on Taylor in the jury box and threaten to carry him off. Jeff tallies the votes and asks about immunity idols. After a long pause, David steps up to play his idol. As he comes to sit down, Adam tells him to hold up. He tells David that they were all whispering about Ken. So David claims the idol is for Ken. When the votes come up, Ken gets none of them. As she expected, Hannah is the target. The votes are totaled up and it's five votes Zeke and five votes Hannah. We have our tie. So, we'll now revote. Hannah and Zeke will not vote.
As the voting begins, Zeke whispers to Jessica, asking her if she's really ready to go to rocks. He tells her he realigns with people all the time. A few seconds pass, and Hannah practically begs Jessica to vote for Zeke and not to vote for her. It would seem that Jessica's vote is the only live vote in the room right now. Jeff tallies the votes again. This time it comes up four for Zeke and four for Hannah. Jeff tells them they have one last chance to avoid going to rocks. If everyone can agree on either Hannah or Zeke to go home - that person will go home. If they cannot come to a consensus, Hannah and Zeke will become immune and they will join Jay and Ken. The remaining six will draw rocks.
Will steps up, trying to get everyone to agree that neither person is worth taking a rock and going home. They all do agree and David speaks up to say that Zeke is playing the best game and he should be the one to go. He tells them that if they feel he's that much of a threat, they can vote him out next time, but tonight, it has to be Zeke. After a whole bunch of talking and arguing, they do not come to a consensus and this Tribal Council will go to rocks.
Will, Bret, Sunday, Adam, David and Jessica will all draw rocks. The white rocks will remain in the game; the black rock will go home. Everyone draws rocks, with Jessica grabbing first. When they all reveal, it's Jessica. She pulled the black rock with the first pick. She is distraught - like, practically bawling as she leaves Tribal. And Jeff gives us a new hashtag, #TheGameHasSpoken.
As she heads down the ramp, she tells us that she now has to will her Legacy Advantage and as she promised a while back, she wills it to Ken. Remember this advantage will come into play on Day 36...and this Tribal is happening on the night of Day 30. So, Ken's there at Day 31 - he only has to make it 5 more days to cash it in. I don't know what to say about going to rocks here. I can see both sides of the equation. I think in the case of David's alliance, going to rocks was the way to go. David, Ken and Jessica are super tight and it seems like Adam and Hannah are all in with them now. On the Zeke side of this, I'm not so sure it was smart to go to rocks. Zeke flips week to week. Hell, he flipped two times tonight!! Jay? He's a free agent as is Will. Bret and Sunday are super tight and maybe they're locked with Zeke. But ultimately, David has/had an alliance, Zeke has votes. So, overall, I don't think it was a horrible move for Jessica to go to rocks. If they win and one of Zeke's people leaves, that gives them the 5-4 advantage in the game and with their tight alliance, which might have been enough to work.
Next time on Survivor: David gets a glimmer of hope and it comes in the form of a deep voiced high schooler. Will looks to become a playa at the final nine. And it looks like it's the family visit episode...which brings to mind Adam's reward stealer. Okay, seriously. I've seen some dumb moves on Survivor, but if this dude actually steals the family visit from someone - that would go down as one of the dumbest moves ever. I guess we'll all have to come back next week to see how it plays out. 'Til then, kids, take care!