New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Previously on Survivor, Marty was happy about all of his threatening teammates being voted off. Then, he was less happy when his primary ally, Jill was voted off due to the fact that two people can’t win an election against seven others. Things got so bad that Marty even admitted that the game isn’t going so well for him now. Perhaps he should have thought about this when he was all gleeful about voting out Jimmy Johnson. You know who’s good at making mediocre teams look good? That’s right. The coach. And we don’t mean Holly here.

Of course, the person most affected by this turn of events was Jill, who of course was the person voted off. She made the unusual decision to decipher the hidden Immunity Idol clue, deduce the location of it, and then tell Marty where it was so he could have it. Marty’s ownership of the Immunity Idol is what saved him in the last vote. The idol was given to Sash, Brenda Purple Kelly and Fabio, at which point Fabio screwed up completely by admitting he would hold onto it in case the other two turn on him. This is something you think to yourself instead of blurting out in the middle of Tribal Council.

Jill was as inscrutable a Survivor as we’ve ever seen, and her failure proved that it is possible to play too far beneath the radar.

Tree mail arrives almost immediately, and we learn that it’s time for the merge. This is good news for anyone under 30, and a promise of a quick and merciful end for anyone over 40 (except Dan. Dan’s immortal). Marty predicts that the younger kids will all be clamoring to get rid of each other. What he doesn’t realize is that he is the only person who thinks eliminating members of his own tribal/alliance is solid strategy. The others presumably see him standing all by himself and think, “Let’s don’t do what Marty did.”

But wait. When the other group gets news about the merge, Benry does indeed confirm that they want to kick Alina out of the game. Alina talks about what a threat Marty is and how important it is to vote him out. Everyone sort of quietly listens but without any tacit approval or agreement.

NaOnka talks. What’s our rule about NaOnka? That’s right. “Let’s not listen.”

When the two tribes come together, the usual excitement is shared and Marty takes it upon himself to choose their new name. They will be Libertad, which is Spanish for Liberty or Freedom. He’s certainly stepping up and taking charge. We wonder how Chase, Benry, NaOnka and Alina will feel about all his rules here in a few minutes.

NaOnka talks. She also tucks some of the celebratory food in her underwear. No, seriously. She pulls a nut out of her pants in a confessional that takes place sometime after the merge feast. It might be the filthiest act we’ve ever seen on Survivor.

Continued:       1       2       3       4