Survivor – Finger lickin’ bad

Survivor finally got its mojo back this week! After two weeks of dull shows with a single challenge, things were shaken up this week with a tribe swap-e-roo and two pretty awesome challenges. The swap was pretty shocking because some tight alliances were broken up, namely Brenda and NaOnka. Oddly enough, NaOnka’s rival Alina became an ally once they were chosen to move to the Espada tribe.

The reward challenge was deceptive in its looks and rules, but proved to be a little too tricky for the new La Flor tribe. Marty basically lost the challenge for them and then had the cojones to reveal to his new tribe that he had a hidden immunity idol. Target, meet Marty. The immunity challenge was probably one of the most amazing challenges we’ve seen in quite some time, with three people strapped to a wheel and dunked under water, and both challenges came down to the wire at the end with La Flor winning immunity (lucky for Marty and his immunity idol).

I’ve been hating on NaOnka since day one because of her awful behavior — especially towards Kelly B — and her attitude. She’s been on a one way trip to crazy town, but something finally broke her down — the weather. I don’t know how I’d function being exposed to torrential rain and cold for hours at a time, but because Nay has been so hateful I hoped that she would act on her desire in the heat of the moment to quit. Then something strange happened at Tribal Council … she became human and vulnerable and almost (almost) likable when Jeff asked her what had been the hardest thing in her life up to that moment. To see her talk about her divorce, the blame she laid on herself — a part of me agreed that she probably was to blame if she was anything in married life like she is on the show — and the acknowledgment that she had a better support system on the island than she had at that point in her life was really a humanizing moment for her, and it may have saved her life in the game.

So while Nay was becoming a reasonable person, Tyrone was becoming a tyrant … at least to the new, younger members of his tribe. As an older member of society, I can understand Tyrone’s directives at camp about putting the machete back and bringing wood back whenever anyone left camp. Basic rules of consideration really, but the younger members of the tribe found Tyrone to be a little overbearing. To make matters worse, the new Espada won the reward challenge — two chickens and a rooster — and everyone but Tyrone wanted to eat a chicken before going to Tribal.

Tyrone thought it was a waste to kill a chicken at this point in time, so he sat back pouting while it was being prepared, seemingly wanting no part of it. But who joined in when it was time to eat, and felt secure enough to take the largest portion? Target, meet Tyrone. I believe that if NaOnka had not broken down at Tribal she would have been gone, but it was the chicken that did Tyrone in. I’m glad things finally kicked into gear this week, and here’s hoping the show stays on this exciting roll!

“NaOnka seems like a high school girl.  She’s irrational and crazy, and she just seems like she’s on her period all the time.” – Alina

Clacked by Chuck Duncan
on Oct 14, 2010 @ 09:00 EST5EDT