Survivor – Shall we just give Kim the money now?

If you’ve been a long-time viewer of Survivor, then you know that he who talks way too much at the top of an episode about their brilliant plan to stay in the game until the final three will almost certainly be gone by Tribal Council. Spoiler Alert! Tarzan was quite chatty about his brilliant game plan all throughout the episode, revealing some tidbits that had gone unnoticed until now (making one wonder if he really did have this plan, or if he just suddenly came up with the idea … with Tarzan, it’s hard to tell). The biggest bombshell that we learned early in the episode (and the men on the jury learned at Tribal) was that Tarzan was a willing accomplice to getting the rest of the men voted out. Of course, we’ve known something was up since he always voted with the women, but this is the first time he’s admitted to it. We also learned of his plan to advance far enough into the game to get the visit from his wife (had he been eliminated sooner, he would have been stuck back at the Ponderosa — the “resort” where the eliminated contestants stay for the duration of the shoot — with no contact from the outside world), and to get to the final four before he was voted off so he could swing the jury votes Kim’s way. And, Tarzan learned that Kim has total control over the women as they all voted him into the jury.

Yes, Kim has been the real power player throughout the game, despite what Alicia or Kat think of themselves (Kat, a power player would never be blindsided). As was brought up several times during the episode, all Kim has to do is bat her baby blues at someone and they’re basically under her spell. It doesn’t hurt that she can spin a good yarn while doing so, further cementing her status as the power player. Tarzan was crafty while he played Alicia and Christina, but somehow he never imagined that the girls would share information. But they did, with Kim, who took everything they said and spun it around as if Tarzan had said the same things to her. Poor Alicia didn’t know which way to go at Tribal, but Kim and her blue eyes won out as she convinced Alicia and Christina that Tarzan was playing all of them. It still baffles me that any of them would want to go to the finals with Kim, because unless she totally screws up her game, she will be sitting in the final three … and the fact that she still has a hidden immunity idol in her pocket will only cement her position in the finals. The real question is: Can the men (and Kat) totally forgive Kim for being voted out and reward her for her game play? The fact that she doesn’t seem to say too much at Tribal may help her as well because she’s not sitting front and center as the ringleader of the tribe. Come the finals though, she will have to eloquently lay out everything she’s done up to this point and hope no one takes any of her actions personal. If I were a betting man, I would say Kim will be season 24’s sole survivor. You?

Other tidbits from the episode:

• Tarzan campaigned hard with Alicia and Christina to take out Chelsea, and he was thisclose to succeeding (even Kim was on board if the votes were going that way).
• Kim’s game play was nearly blown during a conversation between Christina and Tarzan.
• The reward challenge required the players to spin around, and it’s fun watching dizzy people try to get from point A to point B.
• Chelsea won the reward challenge — an afternoon and overnight stay on a yacht — and she chose to take Sabrina and Kim with her … after promising Christina that she would be her first pick, and nearly getting herself voted out of the game just like Kat’s poor choices last week did to her.
• Tarzan is certain Kim and Chelsea are working together and tried hard to convince Alicia that taking them out and keeping him around was her best bet for winning.
• Kim’s one possibly fatal error is that she doesn’t think anyone is questioning her loyalty to them.
• The Immunity challenge was a repeat of the fish skeleton puzzle, and Alicia just barely beat Kim for the win.
• Kat was none too pleased that Tarzan was wearing one of her shirts at Tribal … and that he had been goofing around while wearing her panties on his head.
• Christina said she was a little upset with Chelsea for breaking her word to her about the reward, but Chelsea countered that Christina had broken her word and that’s why she didn’t pick her to go. I have no idea what promise Christina made to Chelsea that she didn’t keep. Anyone?

So who do you think should be the winner of Survivor: One World? Cast your vote in the poll below and feel free to share your comments with us!

Clacked by Chuck Duncan
on May 10, 2012 @ 02:30 EST5EDT