Survivor: David vs. Goliath

I Am Goliath Strong

By Kim Hollis and David Mumpower

October 11, 2018

You could see the exact moment when his mind when to paranoia.

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Previously on Survivor, Natalie taught a class in How Not to Win Friends and Influence People. Two people unironically calling themselves the “Mason Dixon Line” voted off a somewhat stronger player rather than an ostensibly weaker player. Also, a dude went through another dude’s bag. Alternate name for Survivor: Been There, Done That.

Speaking of Mason Dixon, Christian and Nick are congratulating themselves over the way the vote went, and they’re blaming Gabby to anyone who will listen. They figure they’re sitting in the swing spot and have the ability to decide who goes home next, whether it’s someone from the girls’ alliance or one of Carl, Davie or Bi.

Usually when people get this cocky this early on, trouble’s brewing for them.

Carl and Bi try to figure out who flipped, and Bi figures it was Davie. She trusts Nick (dumb) and doesn’t feel betrayed by anyone except Gabby. It’s a little disappointing to watch these people play right into Nick and Christian’s stupid plan, but it’s early minutes yet.

Over at Goliath, we get a welcome reprieve as we see our favorite John catch a fish for the group. The entire tribe is in great spirits, and people quiz John about whether he still wrestles. Of course he does, but he just wants to be himself here on the island.

They gather a bunch of truly adorable little crabs (John calls his Sebastian) and they race them against each other.

Jeremy claims he’s never seen a wrestling match in his life, which doesn’t really bother John any. John continues with his confessional by pointing out that Natalie has indeed isolated herself from the tribe, but he’d like to try to work with her and keep her in the game through at least the next couple of Tribal Councils.

Meanwhile, Mike and Jeremy bond. First, Mike thinks Jeremy is hilarious, but also likes that Jeremy bosses him around. But Jeremy also shares some personal information with Mike, too. Jeremy’s father has early onset Alzheimer’s, and he wishes that there was a way for his father to know how he has succeeded as a lawyer and made it to Survivor.

Even though Mike thinks Jeremy’s a terrific person, the fact that Jeremy is sneaking around and looking in people’s jackets is problematic. He wants to befriend Jeremy, but worries that he’ll be considered poisonous by association.

While Christian and Gabby obsess over John (it’s okay, we all do it), Carl looks on with disgust. Gabby is clearly crushing super hard on Christian, and claims that he’s her closest ally. BUT he’s Nick’s closest ally! Nick has everyone on board to vote against Gabby. Will Christian choose his weird Dixon friend or his weird potential love interest?

Back over at Goliath, Jeremy is super paranoid about the “side conversations” he’s seeing. In real life, we call these “conversations,” but I guess he figures he needs to shut all that down. Instead, he’s just painted a bigger target on his back.

Angelina thinks that Jeremy definitely has is own self-interest at heart, but maybe he has a point. If he can shut down the conversations, they can stick with status quo and eliminate Natalie. But soon, he starts telling everyone that he found an idol in Dan’s pocket, which causes a lot of people to wonder what’s up his sleeve.

It’s raining horribly again, so obviously it’s time for an Immunity Challenge. (Hello, Probst!) The show’s host blathers on about the rainstorm and then reveals that today’s reward will include “comfort” (i.e. blankets, pillows, chairs, etc.). Natalia and Angelina sit out for Goliath, because Natalie insists she wants to handle the puzzle.




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The first part of the challenge involves unraveling ropes. It starts with Alec versus Bi, who finish their portion in a dead heat. Next it’s Nick, Davie and Lyrsa versus Cara, Jeremy and Mike doing a more complex rope organization task. Still tied after this portion. (And Davie is a beast.)

Carl and Elizabeth are up against John and Dan in a challenge that has them tossing a rope around a pole to pull over a platform full of puzzle pieces.

The puzzle portion of the challenge features Natalie and Alison versus Christian and Gabby. Christian says that the puzzle is a hypothesis. Natalie is useless. Angelina, sitting on the sidelines, sees exactly how the puzzle should be solved.

Since she can’t contribute, the Goliaths lose. Christian solves the hypothesis. Gabby’s crush only grows.

During the challenge, Bi has injured her leg. She’s worried about her longevity in the game, because she has previously injured her MCL in her MMA fighting career.

It’s time to play “It’s Anyone But Natalie.” She says that she did her best in the game and feels bad that they lost on her portion of the challenge, but hopes that everyone will keep her alive. Jeremy tells her that she needs to plead her case with everyone, but he has effectively given up on her.

Alison is pretty pissed off about Natalie’s performance, especially after insisting she wanted to do the puzzle. However, Angelina is thinking that Jeremy is playing too hard, so maybe they should go after him instead. She makes the suggestion to Alison, who isn’t sure about the idea, and John, Dan, and Mike (who’s pretty attached to Jeremy at this point).

To their credit, Angelina’s tribe mates worry that if they keep Natalie, she will damage them all in the event of a tribe swap. They figure that she’ll automatically jump ship over to work with the Davids, which is probably true.

Natalie bull in a China shops her way over to Jeremy, Cara, Dan, and John. She demands that Jeremy walk away while she talks to everyone else. Um…

Jeremy and Natalie argue. And argue. And argue. Cara watches them like a tennis match. Natalie is objectively terrible at this game. Jeremy might have been the only ally/advocate she had. She accuses him during Tribal Council of making him her target.

Basically, Tribal Council is another five-minute extension of their idiotic argument. The rest of their tribe mates sit uncomfortably. Several of them mention that Natalie is difficult to live with, and that perhaps her style works as a boss, but it’s just not a great play here at Survivor. They don’t work for her.

Natalie says that she’s open to constructive criticism, but doesn’t want to hear anything. At one point, Jeremy tries to speak again, but she says, “You’re dismissed” to him. Her only good argument is that she’s weak in the game and it makes sense to keep her and that of course she wouldn’t flip on them in the event of a tribal swap.

Natalie writes down Jeremy’s name of course, saying, “Get off my island” and ending with, “Your skin is gorgeous, darling.” She’s truly bizarre.

Ugh, Jeremy is voted out. He may be the only one who didn’t vote for himself. He and Natalie are both unbearable, but now we’re worried she’s going to hang around to the bitter end.

At least Morrison is still in the game. Welcome to Slamtown, everyone.


     


 
 

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