Survivor Episode 12

Clip of the Week:


Last week on The Best Episode Ever:
Aitu pulls Jonathan over and they vote out Nate without Yul even having to think of the hidden immunity idol. It's beautiful. Oh, and Candice and Adam suck.

This week on Hey, Let's Auction a Bathtub This Season:
So I could say that I haven't been on the ball with recaps because of dead week and finals here at school. However, that is not the case. It's because I recently got Insaniquarium Deluxe and have not been able to stop playing. I just this program called Fishinator, in which you can change the number of shells you have and then proceed to buy as many fish as possible. It's taken up a little bit of my time. Just a little.

Back to Survivor.. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to do an actual recap or do speaking points. I rewatched the show yesterday and took some good notes. Hmmm. Let's do speaking points. We need to talk about 1) Jonathan's betrayal, Raro's response and Jonathan's response to Raro; 2) Auction; 3) Yul revealing that he has the Idol; 4) Who is the leader of the Aitu Dream Team; 5) Immunity; 6) Food fight; and 7) Jury manipulation and interaction.

1- Jonathan's betrayal, Raro's response and Jonathan's response to Raro:
The very beginning of the episode shows Jonathan quietly talking to Candice about flipping. Candice seems fairly ambivalent about the vote and says she understands Jonathan's reasoning. He explains to her that either he was going home or she was going home. Candice seems to possess some particular brain cell the rest of Raro is missing. She acknowledges the possibility that Yul has the Idol and is willing to think a little deeper about the game. Not saying that I like her, it's just, how do Adam and Parvati think it's impossible that Yul has the Idol?

Adam and Parvati piss and moan about how Jonathan is a rat and Jonathan could really care less. He tells them that Yul has the Idol and then sits back and shakes his head incredulously when they insist that it isn't possible. Here's my question. If Yul doesn't have it, then who does? I don't even remember who's been to Exile. Jonathan doesn't have it. Adam doesn't have it. Nobody that's left had it. Candice doesn't have it. Now, if Candice doesn't have it, it's pretty obvious, wouldn't you think. She's been out there enough times to have dug up the entire island and relocated it. I'm pretty sure she would know if there was a hidden immunity idol still there.

2- Auction:
I love the auction because it usually involves some good prizes and some bad ones. This auction was a little disappointing in some ways but as far as the twist goes, it was excellent. So as they walk in, we see the little money pouches and the benches and I scream "auction!" The gist of Survivor Auction is everybody's given the same amount of money to start with ($500) and bidding starts goes in increments of $20 minimum. Some items are covered, others are not. Sharing money is okay but sharing the prize is not. This is a great rules because that crap about three people sharing a pizza from some other season takes away the strategic part of the game. The auction can end at any time.

So in this auction, what basically happened was Jonathan took everything because people were being cautious. First, he gets a hot dog, fries, and cold beer. He spills some beer on people, which is hilarious, and since they're not allowed to share food, I bet they weren't allowed to lick the beer off of themselves. Haha.

Then, Jeff pulls out a bathtub. Yes. A bathtub. They decided to auction off a hot bubble bath and chocolate cake on the side. Parvati eventually wins it, but not before Jonathan pushes the bid up. Jeff wonders if Jonathan is just trying to get Parvati to spend all of her money. Knowing Jonathan, I bet that was it. He's quite a strategic player. It's too bad his downfall is his obnoxiousness.

From the moment that Parvati won the bath, the entire show became so much funnier. Everybody knows I like Parvati. Her stock has gone way down after this episode and I no longer want her to do well. However, that said, I think she will be the last remaining Raro member and outlast Jonathan and perhaps Ozzy, if Becky is thinking what I'm thinking. Parvati has never watched Survivor. How do I know this? She just doesn't know some of the fundamentals. She doesn't really know how to play the strategic game. She didn't know that some of the items in the auction would be covered. She probably doesn't know what the jury is. She just makes these comments sometimes that make me wonder if she'd even heard of Survivor before she was cast.

Anyway, the best moment in this episode was when Jeff offered a sealed note that would give its winner power in the game. Did anybody watch Survivor Guatemala when Danni won something similar? It led to her win in the immunity challenge and her eventual conquering of the entire game. When Jeff offers up power, you take it. Bidding starts and Aitu is interested. Yul tells Becky that he'll give her whatever money, showing who wears the pants in that relationship. Candice then asks Adam if she can have some money, showing who wears the pants in that relationship. Eventually, Becky wins it with $640 bid.

What Becky's prize entails is she gets to send someone immediately to Exile Island and take all of their money. Yul then informs us that Candice and Adam both have $500. Becky of course sends Candice for just about the fourth time in a row. All together.. hahaha. Now, I wonder if Becky used all of her money and borrowed $140 from Yul or if Yul gave her all of his money and she now has a gazillion dollars. Never mind, I think Yul still has money. That's a stupid question. I just wanted to say "I wonder who wears the pants in that relationship" again.

As Candice leaves for Exile, Parvati gives the best expression ever. It's in my clip of the week. I don't know if anybody else finds it as funny as I do, but her face totally says "sucks for you, but at least it's not me" as she frowns and scrubs her back. Hahaha.

Ozzy wins never-ending ice cream for $420. Jonathan gets pizza for $240. Sundra chirps in for a bid of $140 that gets her a sea cucumber from their beach. I kinda wished there were more of these prizes like in seasons prior. They're always funny. Unfortunately, Sundra got the gag prize instead of Adam or Nate. I know Nate's not here anymore, but I can still wish he had spent $400 on a cup of sea water or something. Jonathan then gets mouthwash for $100. Nobody else seems to want it. Nobody else sees the logic that the auction is now ending, either.

3- Yul revealing that he has the Idol:
It's way too late to be writing, but I have to somewhat finish this so I can write up a Top Model recap the minute I am able to watch the entire episode. I saw part of it today when I was at the school Coffee House for a study break, but I didn't have my notepad. Plus, no recap is good after just the first viewing.

Anyway, so Yul revealed that he has the Idol. This was perhaps his only big mistake thus far in the game. I think it would have been a much better idea letting Adam and Parvati think that Jonathan was lying about Yul having the Idol and jumping ship for no reason. The minute Yul reveals that he has the Idol, he reveals part of his game. The Idol is a huge tool for manipulation in this game and now there is a reason for people to look at Yul. Before, he was just part of the minority that was desperately trying to get some help. Now, he's seen as a puppet master and manipulator that used the idea basically to threaten Jonathan into switching. All of a sudden, Yul isn't just trying to be diplomatic. He's playing and he's playing hard. And the minute he mentions it, Becky's face is totally "oh no you didn't." She did not want that out there.

4- Who is the leader of the Aitu Dream Team:
That brings me to this point. An excellent podcast that I listen to called Armchair Survivor (http://survivor.tubecasts.com) talked about who the leader of the Aitu tribe really is. I've been saying (or at least thinking) for awhile now that Becky is really the new Amber. I'm sorry, Becky, that's a horrible comparison since she wouldn't hold a candle to you (is that even the saying? I'm tired..) in this game. Yul and Rob Mariano, though? Play the game much differently and are different types of personalities, but the two of them are definitely in the top three best Survivor players ever. (Yes, I think Morasca is the best. I know a lot of people don't like her, but don't think worse of me because of that. She actually gave up an immunity necklace to Heidi once and managed to not get voted off herself. That's pretty incredible if you ask me.)

Here's how I see it. Yul is the leader of Aitu. He's the one with the speeches that bring everybody together. He's the one whispering motivational words. He's the one who appears to be leading the team. However, when it comes down to it, he answers to Becky. I wouldn't say Becky is the leader because she does not act like one. This perhaps makes her the smarter player. She is very good at knowing when to speak. She doesn't need theatrics and she doesn't need attention. She is one of few people who have both played this game well and also not played to the cameras. She is what she is and I love that. She sometimes has unpleasant expressions on her face but that's just her being her. She's not trying to look good on TV. That's just what I think.

5- Immunity:
I want to address the fact that Parvati was the first one to move on to the second round. I watched the episode for a second time a few days ago because I couldn't remember what happened enough to write a recap. Anyway, so the immunity challenge is about numbers. They have to remember numbers that are related to what has happened in the game and then add/subtract/multiply/divide them. So it's like take how many times somebody's called Jonathan a snake, divide it by how many times Candice has gone to Exile, subtract the number of brain cells in Nate's head, and then add the square root of the number of fish Parvati has gutted.

That wasn't actually part of the challenge, but I'm just trying to reason out how Parvati, Adam, Jonathan, and Candice did so well. So the best part of this challenge, which I unfortunatetly didn't notice until I rewatched the show.. When Parvati raises her flag and moves on to the next round, she has to squeal before Jeff even looks in her direction and announces that she's moved on. It's like Jeff had no faith in her whatsoever. After she squealed, he looked so shocked. It was classic. Jeff's no Anderson Cooper, but he has had some amazing moments, especially this episode.

So Parvati, Jonathan, and Adam move on and Candice just barely loses to Adam. Then they have to do a second set of numbers. I must have been the number of times Adam and Candice have kissed, divided by the number of girls Adam has banged since being on Survivor, minus the number of people from Big Brother that Adam reminds me of. Oh, sorry. I just think Adam is like Howie. They have the same demeanor. The answer to that problem I gave, by the way, is "way too many" divided by "2" minus "1." I guess Parvati knew part 2 right away, but the other two were more difficult.

So Adam won immunity. If anybody is reading this to find out what happened, you are so out of luck because I am having concentration issues and this recap has been ridiculous. My roommate talks in her sleep sometime and I just thought she was telling me to be quiet. Ah, my life.. so strange.

6- Food fight:
This was one of the lower points in Survivor history. First of all, let's address the food issue. At this point, I think if you're not catching the fish, if you're not helping cook the fish, if you've never touched a fish before it was cooked, if you're spending your time being awful and rude, you should not have the privilege of eating. Here's what I say. Next time someone brings in fish, hang half of the fish to Raro and say, "Here's your food. We're giving you half of what was caught. There's more of us than you, so we're being generous. You can cook first if you want." Being completely nice about it. Just lay it out there. You need to earn your food. This isn't your mother's house. We don't just serve you.

Moving on. The one thing that makes me the most uncomfortable is when someone calls me out about talking about someone else. SO unnecessary and uncomfortable. If it was so rude, you could tell that other person in private and then that person could choose to come talk to me. I hate that. It's like, shut up already. All I have to say.. Can it, Candice. It's such an uncomfortable situation and always makes the person doing the calling-out look really immature. I hate it. Yul responded very well and luckily he isn't an ass, because that could have turned really heated and ugly real fast. For me, that was the moment when it was obvious who should go home.

7- Jury manipulation and interaction:
This tribal council was really weird. There was a lot of interaction with the jury, but I wonder if that's because there were many more shots of the jury in this episode. Maybe it was all editing because the jury was more animated. Who knows. Either way, though, I don't like the players indirectly addressing the jury. I don't like them putting on a show for the jury. I really hope Brad, Rebecca, and Jenny see through this.

Anyway, I want to go to sleep now. It's late. Even for me. So it's confirmed that there will be a final three. I don't think this is news because the finale is announced for next next Sunday. I will be home-home. I just want to make some predictions. I think the final three will include Yul and Becky unless something drastic happens. I want to say Sundra's the third. However, if Adam does not win immunity next week, he has a good chance of leaving. If he does win again, though, Jonathan will probably go. Then, I can see Parvati sneaking through to the final three. I say Becky wins. Mostly because she's my favorite. And my predicting Top Model correctly does not mean I have any clue about Survivor. It's the most unpredictable.

Thanks for the comments, those three of you who have left some. I'm glad to have some feedback. Whatever will I do when these current shows all end next week? I might have to start recapping Veronica Mars. Hmmm. Or maybe I'll do a couple Blasts from the Past. I can pick my favorite episodes of certain shows and recap them with the help of many screenshots and video clips. That could be good. I guess we'll see. Or I'll end up watching Law and Order reruns, poker tournaments, and a lot of Bravo and Food Network on my TV at home and get really lazy. That sounds more like me. Anyway..

Until next time..