Philippines: Episode 11 "No One Else is Getting a Hug"

We have reached the point in the game when people are really rallying for jury votes.  After Pete was sent to Ponderosa, Skupin took it upon himself to do some damage control with Abi.  All he did was offer sympathy by asking her how she is holding up.  In my opinion, he was doing this to try to build an emotional bond with her.  He knows that her days are numbered, and as far as he is concerned, he is in a final four position.  I do not think that he actually cares that much about her, but was simply demonstrating some crafty jury management skills.

I'm not sure why, but the food auction is one of my favorite parts of the game.  Maybe it's because we get to see how hungry the castaways actually are?  It could be because Probst always presents them with covered trays of suspense.  Who knows?  Regardless, each castaway was given $500 to bid on whatever they so wish.  Denise spent all of her money on the very first item, which just so happened to be pancakes.  Skupin spent all of his money on the second auction, which consisted of wine.  Skupin isn't even a drinker.  How does that even make sense?  Honestly, I would try to spread my dollars as much as possible.  There were a few people who were able to buy multiple items.  The thing I liked most about this challenge is Abi used her money to buy "an advantage in the game."  I had a feeling that something would save Abi tonight and that Carter would be the one sent packing.  Let's see how accurate I am through out the duration of this episode.

Abi clued the audience in that her advantage in the game is actually advancing to the final round of the next individual immunity challenge.  Abi made the very wise decision to make it seem like she received a clue to the hidden immunity idol.  Abi made the remark that people seem to think she has been playing the game too honestly, so now it is her time to lie. She lies to Malcolm about having the hidden immunity idol.  I think this is an extremely clever way to scramble.  She knows that the members of the six-person alliance will now have to figure out who is at the bottom of the alliance.  If Skupin, Lisa, Malcolm, and Denise remain strong, it would leave Carter and Penner in the bottom two.  Carter has been very consistent in indidivual immunity challenges.  If he does not win tonight then he should be the one to go home.

The members of the Dangrayne tribe meet Jeff Probst for the individual immunity challenge.  He asks Abi to read the note in front of everyone, and she tells yet another lie by saying that the note had two parts.  The first being that of the fake hidden immunity idol and the second being about how she has automatically advanced to the final round of the challenge.  Tonight's individual immunity challenge was the most exciting one thus far.  I am expecting them to continue to be nail-biters until the finals.  Carter and Penner joined Abi in the final round of the huge maze.  Carter and Abi were neck-and-neck the entire way, but Carter simply did not have enough gas in the tank to pull out the win.  It often feels like I have a woman's intuition.  I had a feeling that Abi would pull through, and the gang would realize how dangerous Carter is.  Carter will win individual immunity all the way until the final three if they do not decide to slit his throat tonight.

I have had my ups and downs with Lisa during this entire season.  One week I dislike her, and then the next I feel like she is making one of the best moves of the season.  Then the following week I think that she has no strategic gameplay whatsoever and is just an extremely lucky individual.  Lisa flipped on her alliance, yet again, and told Penner that they were planning on voting him out of the game tonight.  Lisa informs Penner that he needs to "do the magic" that he does.  Penner decides to target Denise in order to break up her powerful alliance with Malcolm.

This was yet another tribal council this season in which I had no idea who would be going home.  Carter's name was not even brought up, so I guess I should admit that even I have flaws.  Haha.  Penner tries to throw Malcolm and Denise under the bus in order to stay on the island for three more days.  Lisa, Skupin, Denise, and Malcolm held strong and voted out Penner in a 4 to 3 vote.  I was completely shocked when Penner was voted off.  I screamed at the television and clapped like a mad man.  I thought that Penner would make it to the final three.  Now, it is literally anyone's game.

I am not sure if I am giving Lisa too much credit, but it may have been strategy to tell Penner about the alliance.  She made it very clear that she previously approached him about an alliance, but he declined.  Lisa may be one of the biggest master manipulators to ever play this game if all of the things she has made thus far has been strategic.  (Much like "accidentally" finding Malcolm's hidden immunity idol a few weeks ago).

I know I say this every week, but I am ridiculously excited to see what happens next.  Will Malcolm have an opportunity to use his hidden immunity idol or will he be blindsided before he gets a chance?  Will Abi continue to act like she has an idol in order to extend her life on the island?  When will they finally get rid of Carter?!  Oh, and did anyone notice how ridiculously good-looking Pete looked tonight?  Just saying.  Until next time. . .

Eliminated:  Jonathan Penner, the 50-year-old Writer from Los Angeles, California

Philippines: Episode 10 "Whiners are Weiners"

 

(I just wanted to mentioned that I am going to start writing articles for the website tvfishbowl.com.  These articles are going to consist of my weekly blog updates, as well as other posts regarding Survivor, American Idol, and The Real World.  I am really excited about this new endeavor!  It will give me more exposure, and I will be able to write about things that I love!  Wish me luck!  In addition, Rupert Boneham recently started following me on Twitter.  I almost shit my pants when I saw this.  Haha.  Enjoy my recap!)

    The beginning of this week's episode reminded us of what happened last week.  Skupin made the decision to flop on the Tandang tribe in order to break up the powerful alliance of Abi, Artis, and Pete by sending Artis home.  Skupin informs us that he is aware of the fact that people must make big moves in the game of Survivor in order to make it far, and this is just the first one he intends on making.  Let's see if he capitalizes on any opportunities this week.

     I understand how Lisa is is trying to play the game.  She feels the need to explain every move she makes to everyone. Clearly, she is trying to make herself out to look like a hero. She wants everything to be justified so she can be rewarded the million dollar check at the end of the game.  Lisa decided to side with a final six alliance with Penner, Denise, Skupin, Malcolm, and Carter.  These five individuals have "shown her more grace" than her previous Tandang alliance, so the new alliance makes her feel better about herself than aligning with this season's biggest villains.  I also wanted to point out that when Lisa was "breaking up" with Abi, I could not help but notice that Abi was drinking out of something that looked like a wine bottle.  Where did this even come from?  Is it water? Is it wine?  Did I miss something?!

     Honestly, the challenges this season are boring.  This week's reward challenge consisted of two teams.  The red team was Abi, Carter, Malcolm, and Pete.  The yellow team was Denise, Lisa, Penner, and Skupin.  The object of the challenge was for the teams to flip over three drums (basically tires with a cover), and the fastest team to do this the three times would win the reward.  This is the point in the game where the winners are rewarded a spa day:  showers, massages, and an afternoon lunch.  The teams were tied two and two, but the red team pulled out the win.  I know that if I ever participated in a challenge like this, the only thing I would really be worried about winning would be the food and drinks.  Jeff Probst, you had me at "cocktails."  Game on!

     Upon returning back to camp, Abi immediately started rubbing people the wrong way.  She was very adamant about informing the other castaways of every detail about spa day.  If she has ever watched the show before, she should know that gloating about reward wins is a huge Survivor no-no.  It's just common courtesy to be as humble about the experience as possible. In addition, she also mentions that since she knows that she will be leaving soon, she will not be cooking for the tribe for the remainder of her stay.  She believes that it is time for someone else to step up to the plate since she had been the personal chef for the previous 26 days.  I am not sure what kind of game Abi is trying to play.  She constantly complains about every aspect of the game.  She even picks fights with people for no apparent reason.  Is it likely that she wants to be considered one of the biggest villains of all time?  If so, then this wish is coming true.  Is her plan to be so obnoxious that she gets taken to the final three?  Honestly, if I was playing the game with her, I know that I would gladly take her to the final three with me.  She is so disliked by everyone else that she has absolutely no chance at winning the game.  If we have learned anything in seasons past, one part of the game is making it to the end, but the other part of the game is "jury management."

     I love how proactive Malcolm is being.  Malcolm proposed to Skupin a final four deal that would also include Denise and Lisa.  I think this is a huge, huge move that Skupin and Lisa should make.  They were originally at the bottom of a final six alliance.  Now, they have an opportunity to make it to the final four.  However, Lisa is skeptical about Malcolm's position in the game.  She is more interested in being in a final three alliance with Skupin and Penner.  I can see how final three sounds better than final four, but it truly depends on who you go to the finals with.  Lisa claims to be a huge fan of the game, but often times makes moves that make me question that.  Going into the finals with two veterans is almost like a death sentence.  I do not see Skupin winning this game.  However, Penner has not had to lie.  In addition, he has triumphed over adversity considering people have been trying to get rid of him from the very beginning of this game.  Lisa might not get votes from Pete, Artis, or Abi considering she broke her alliance with them.  So, in my opinion, Lisa is in way over her head if she thinks she can beat Penner in the finals.  Lisa approaches Penner about the final three alliance and Penner informs her that he doesn't want to make any promises.  She eventually decides that the final four alliance with Skupin, Denise, and Malcolm is her best best.  I completely agree with this decision.

     The individual immunity challenge allowed Denise to prove herself yet again.  I truly believe that she is one of the most dominant female competitors this game has ever seen.  Denise, Carter, and Skupin made it to the final leg of the challenge with Carter winning individual immunity.  Prior to the start of this week's episode, I had a feeling that it would be Pete or Carter going home this week.  Carter is a huge physical threat considering he has won two individual immunity challenges this season.  I definitely see him going home as soon as he does not win one.  As far as Pete's concerned, his alliance with Abi really is the thing that sealed his fate.

     If the six of Carter, Denise, Lisa, Malcolm, Penner, and Skupin wanted to get rid of Pete or Abi this week, the best move they could possibly make would be to split the votes three and three.  We all know that Abi has a hidden (or not-so-hidden) immunity idol, so why not split the votes to ensure that one of them goes home?  Abi could use the idol on herself thus ensuring Pete's fate.  Or, she may not use the idol, the votes will be tied, then they decide to vote her off - - getting rid of the biggest pain in the game, as well as flushing out the hidden immunity idol.

     Pete came up with an amazing idea this week.  He knew that the plan was to the split the votes.  Why not try to get someone from the other alliance to flop?  He approached Skupin about the idea of voting off Malcolm.  Malcolm is arguably the most charismatic guy on the show this season.  His entire tribe (with the exception of Denise) was wiped out.  He is a huge physical threat, and he has a hidden immunity idol.  It only makes sense to blindside him at this point in the game.  He is feeling secure enough at this point that he will not play his idol.  So, Pete's brilliant plan would flush out two idols and get rid of someone who no one should want to sit next to in the finals.

     Abi was completely destroyed at tribal council this week.  This was the very first time throughout the entire season that I actually felt bad for her.  Probst blamed cultural differences and unawareness on why Abi expresses herself differently than everyone else on the cast.  She says that she had no idea that no one liked her, that she was perceived as an idiot, and was not supposed to interact with others the way that she does.  Denise mentions that Abi is someone that she would not want to take the finals because she does not believe that Abi is deserving.  She believes that the absolute best players should be the ones in the finals. Honestly, I see how this can be viewed as noble, but I would play the game in order to win the million dollar prize.  Being one of the best players, in my eyes, is playing strategically enough to know who you can beat at the end. So, I completely disagree with Denise in regards to this aspect of the game.

     Abi ended up playing her hidden immunity idol.  Skupin did not flop on his alliance, so Pete was the 11th  person to get voted off this season.  I do not agree with this decision.  However, there are too many people who are too worried about how they are being perceived and too worried about "making the right decision" that they aren't willing to make the big moves.  As aforementioned, Skupin stated that he knows you have to make big moves in order to win this game.  I'm beginning to wonder when he is going to start making some big moves.  I am very interesting to see what happens from here on out, though.  I would love to see Abi win the individual immunity challenge next week so the other six would have to start eating each other.  Until next time. . .

Twitter:  the_timgilmore

Eliminated:  Pete Yurkowski, the 24-year-old Engineering Graduate from Holmdel, New Jersey

Philippines: Episode 9 "Learning Curve"

     - - I wanted to warn everyone. . YES, my blog does contain spoilers.  Someone said something to me last week about ruining the show for the west coast.  As a matter of fact, I don't say who is booted until the end of my blog, so maybe you should stop reading when you realize that I'm talking about shit that you haven't watched yet.  #Idiot.  PS:  I will continue to post pictures of Peter until he gets kicked off.  I did this two seasons ago with Keith (South Pacific) if you guys recall.  :)

     So, I decided that I'm going to go back to how I was when this season started.  I'm going to hold no reservations and speak my mind 100%.  You will find me much more entertaining...I promise!  Let's get this shit show started. . .

     I saw a tweet from RC earlier today that made me cringe.  I deemed it worthy enough to post in my blog. 

RC Saint-Amour ‏@RC_Survivor

"Q. Were you bitter about being eliminated...A. RC: I was definitely okay with it all because I got to live my dream.." http://www.o-seas.com/survivor-philippines-exclusive-interview-with-roberta-rc-saint-amour-realitywanted/ …

 

     Okay, so, was your dream to be the first member of the jury?  You played a good game when you first got there, but you tried too damn hard.  You allowed Abi to play the game for you.  What a joke.  My dream is to play the best possible game anyone has ever seen, be the most dominant gay man who has ever played the game (physically and socially), and WIN.  If your dream is to end up how you left the show, then you are selling yourself a little short, sweetheart.  Just sayin'.

 

     I think that tonight is the night that Lisa decides to break up the posse of Artis, Pete, and Abi.  Honestly, I think her best bet is to give Artis the boot.  I'm at the point where I just want to refer to him as "the black guy."  He isn't even worthy of being called by his name.  He has done absolutely nothing this entire season.  The fact that he is still in this game is a disgrace.  Pete already knows that people are gunning for him, so why not mix things up a little bit and get rid of someone who may not be expecting it?  I am not a fan of someone who just sits in the shadows the entire game and suddenly makes the final three.  I'm hoping Artis goes tonight.  Although, I would not be upset to see Carter go, either.  He is cross-eyed and wears red pants for crying out loud!  Then again, splitting the vote between Abi and Pete would be great, as well.  Making her use her idol while getting rid of that terrible twosome?  Hmm, one of those three will go home tonight (Pete, Carter, or Artis). Anyway, let's get back to reality and focus on tonight's episode. . .

 

     The episode opens up with the Dangrayne (I don't even know what color to highlight their name.  Is it black or purple??) tribe coming back from tribal.  Abi is freaking out because Penner voted for him.  I'm glad Penner was honest about voting for her.  She is a lunatic, and the fact that he voted for her will probably throw her off whatever game she is playing.  Carter is talking non-sense about something. . . I'm not sure, he looked really high.  Why did you guys not tell Penner what was going on?  You could have at least tied it up!  Anyway, Jeff went home, no loss there. 

 

     The thing that pisses me off about Lisa is that she is playing a really good game....HOWEVER, she is trying to portray herself as a honest Christian woman.  There's a reason why you played Blaire perfectly.  Have you admitted to anyone that it was your gameplay to hang everyone's clothes up to dry in order to see if they were hiding anything?  You're not fooling me, lady!

 

     The next scene opens up with Lisa and Penner talking about how insecure Lisa is.  This entire scene proves my previous point about how Lisa has been acting.  She wants to play the best possible game she can play, but she wants to be portrayed a particular way.  We all know how you feel about gay people. . . we know that you are hateful.  Don't try to be someone you're not.  The fact that she even cried about this makes me want her to leave.  It's funny how quickly I can change my mind about this game, right?  Lol.

 

     The reward challenge was not that exciting.  Abi did not participate...AGAIN.  Did you do anything while you were there other than bitch about everyone and everything?  You even had the audacity to do your toenails while the challenge was going on.  Did anyone else notice that?  Haha.  Anyway, I really liked Penner's strategy about getting the bags out for the rest of his teammates.  The person following him was cross-eyed. . . of course it was a brilliant plan.  I'm pretty sure Probst told Malcolm to take his time getting the last ball into the basket in order to make things look more interesting.  Oh well.  Malcolm, Penner, Carter, and Denise won the reward challenge.  Side note:  Pete was looking pretty hot in the mud. . . just sayin'. :)

 

     I think the reason why America loves Malcolm is because he is just a genuine person.  During the reward, he made several comments about how he needed to reexamine his life.  Pouring drinks for girls in the bar was not fulfilling enough. . . blah blah blah.  Malcolm does have a heart of gold and if he would find a seashell or a rock to shave off that wretched mustache, maybe I'd have the hots for him like I do Pete.  :)  Speaking of. . . the ONLY thing I like about Abi is the fact that she refers to Pete as "Peter."  Love that!  Lol.

 

     So, these individual immunity challenges are very anti-climatic this year.  My downstairs neighbors probably thought I lost my mind when I was laughing my ass off when Probst said:  "Obviously there will be a learning curve to this."  Was he taking a jab at Pete's intelligence?  I'm thinking 'yes.'  Who cares, though?!  Pete has pretty amazing abs AND he has a college degree in..... something? So that's A-okay in my book.

 

       I think I realized why I dislike Penner so much.  He's one of those people who thinks he is smarter than everyone else.  I've met several people like this in my life.  They just talk and talk to you like you're an idiot who is believing every word.  Well, there is a reason why Penner is good for this game - - because he is surrounded by people who believe his bullshit.  (I'm that type of person in real life, because I find people to be easily influenced) Once again, Lisa soaked up his nonsense prior to the tribe walking into tribal.

 

     I'm not even sure what to say about tonight's tribal.  Lisa made herself out to be a victim, while Abi made herself out to be immature, arrogant, over-confident. . . must I go on?  Seriously, girl, you're in your 30's and you have no idea what is going on around you.  Get your shit together.

 

     I just wanted to say. . . once again . . .that I had no idea who was going home prior to my blog post.     Apparently the people playing the game this season actually know how to play the game.  The fact that Artis left tonight was amazing.  If my neighbors didn't think I was crazy for laughing at Probst's comment about Pete, then they sure as hell thought I was crazy when it was revealed who was leaving tonight!

 

Until next time. . .

 

Twitter:  @the_timgilmore

 

 

 

Eliminated:  Artis Silvester (he doesn't even spell his last name right), the 53-year-old Computer Engineer, from Terry Town, LA.

    

 

 

 

Philippines: Episode 8 "Lisa's Law"

    The episode opens up with Penner asking the former Kalabaw members why they voted for him.  Honestly, it seemed like Jeff and Denise were just trying to cover their own asses by giving him bullshit excuses.  I thought it was clever of Penner to ask them what was up just so he could see where their heads are and hopefully have an idea of where to go from here.

     Jeff and Lisa's plan of action seems simple enough.  They intend on getting rid of the two veterans, then team up with Malcolm, Denise, and Carter to get rid of the villains of the tribe - - Artis, Pete, and Abi, which should not be hard to do considering no one can stand them.  I think it's a very solid plan, but those are only two votes.  In addition, you have to look at your end game and see who you are most likely to beat in the finals.  Russell Hantz is a perfect example of this.  It'll be interesting to see if anyone else goes along with them.
 
      In tonight's reward challenge, I thought that the blue tribe (Artis, Pete, Skupin, Abi, and Carter) were going to be the clear winners.  This was not the case whatsoever.  Denise continues to impress me with everything she does.  She completely annihilated Skupin in the water.  The yellow tribe ended up winning a nice little feast.

     From week to week, Peter either says something very moronic or he says something that actually makes sense.  Tonight, he actually said a few different things that made sense.  He thinks that the Tandang tribe should stick together in order to vote out the remaining members of Kalabaw.  I think this would be the best way for him to go.  The members of Kalabaw have been together since day one (with the exception of Denise) so they do have some sort of allegiance to one another (if you don't consider the fact that they tried to blindside Penner last week, haha).  He also mentioned that he would love to get rid of Abi's immature ass, but knows that if he's sitting next to her in the final three that she will not receive any votes.  I'm very glad that people are actually considering the end game this early on, much like Lisa is.  In so many of the recent seasons, people have been playing with the mindset of just making it to the finals or making it to the final four or five.  They haven't had the mindset of what needs to take place in order for them to receive more votes at the end of the game.  Lisa is a very intelligent woman and knows (much like Pete) that you have to consider all facets of this game.  You will not want to be sitting next to another worthy opponent - - a good guy - - when it's all said and done.

     Lisa and Pete have exactly the same idea on what needs to happen - - Tandang should stick together.  Lisa feels that she would fair better against either Pete, Abi, or Artis in the finals then almost anyone else in the tribe, which I completely agree.  She intends on targeting Malcolm due to the fact that he is a strong physical player and has a hidden immunity idol.  It would be the perfect time to blindside him and flush out the second idol.  I think it's a brilliant idea, and it'll be interesting to see if that is what happens at tonight's tribal council.  Penner is not a target this week due to him winning the individual immunity.  So, it'll be interesting to see what transpires.

     The scrambling that took place before tribal council was the biggest scramble I have ever seen in the history of this game.  Everyone thought it was a done deal that Malcolm was going home, then Pete decided to make me look like an idiot by asking Malcolm about the hidden immunity idol.  Then, things shift to Jeff, then to Pete.  It is interesting to see the dynamic of this team because everyone has such a strong mind (well, with the exception of Carter).  I cannot believe that Pete would even confront Malcolm about the idol.  If it's true that he had it then take the opportunity to blind side him.  If it's false, then a strong competitor will still go home.  It's a win-win situation.  He was never a part of the original Tandang tribe, anyway.

     Tribal was very intense.  Malcolm made the best decision he could possibly make.  He knew that his head was on the chopping block, so why not just go ahead and admit that you have the hidden immunity idol?  I thought this was amazing because at this point no one knows whether or not he's actually going to play it or not.  I knew that it was the right decision NOT to play it because he didn't need to.  Everyone else was too scared to try to cast a vote for him.  It's like rolling dice.  Malcolm escaped the vote, still has his idol, and now it's out in the open.  He could play it at any point, so blindsiding him is going to be that much more difficult.

     It was revealed that there was a second hidden immunity idol floating around, as well.  When Probst asked if anyone else had an idol, Abi revealed that she had one.  Honestly, I don't think this was the best decision she could have made.  I think she could have kept quiet about having an idol.  Her name wasn't on the block and probably will not be on the block for a very long time.  It will be interesting to see what happens next week.  I honestly think at some point people are going to split votes between Pete and Abi in order to flush the idol and get rid of the other person.  Hopefully I am right about this just to prove how bad of a decision Abi made tonight by revealing her secret.  Yeah, people will not vote for Artis, Pete, or Abi at the end of the game, but at some point you have to figure out which one or two you want to take to the end.  You will have to break up that threesome at some point or they will dominant the game all the way to the final three.

     I am very glad that Jeff got voted out tonight.  In his final interview he mentioned how he has made about 60 million dollars in MLB.  He said that he wanted this so badly despite the fact that you don't even actually get a million dollars.  He just has a really smug attitude, and I am glad that his ass is off my TV screen!

     P.S. - - what is up with Penner's lack of awareness.  Is he actually clueless as to what is going on?  Why in the world did he vote for Abi?  Haha.  Was he just throwing his vote away or was he that unaware of what was truly going on.  In closing, Lisa continues to impress me every week...and she is slowly pulling ahead of Malcolm and Denise as far as fan favorite is concerned.  Can't wait to see what she decides to pull next week.  Is it time to break up that three-person alliance?  I'm thinking yes!

Eliminated:  Jeff Kent, the 44-year-old retired Major League Baseball player, from Austin, Texas.

Until next time. . .

Twitter:  @the_timgilmore