Episode 1
And We are in the South Pacific! I really like the fact that the show's producers are running with 2 gimmicks that proved amazing last season: Redemption Island and bringing back 2 players from before. Redemption Island because it allows players to take more risks knowing that they can redeem themselves and the previous players add very interesting wrinkles. Last Season Bahston Rahb (Say it in the Boston accent with me) submitted the best overall season in Survivor history, he tore through the game like he was Shaq in his prime and the rest of the participants were Shawn Bradley trying to guard him. How did he do it? He used what he learned in his previous outings, combined it with the 'Russel' strategy (finding the good looking girls, allying with them and running show, this strategy is the best by far and everyone has tried to replicate it, only Boston Rob managed to do so successfully) and used his charm to control the game. Clearly the game has evolved since season 1 and these days it is all about the strategy, if you slip up at any point you lose. I could go on about what makes this show great but it will probably be better if I just throw in tidbits with my thoughts here and there. Without further ado lets get to the breakdown of the first episode.
We began with the usual sequence of the survivors getting to the beach, awkwardly talking to each other and sizing everyone up. But what is this? Russel's nephew is on the show? Well then. Brandon, who's job description reads: Russel Hantz's nephew is vowing to not be like his uncle and to his credit, he seems sincere so I guess we just have to wait and see how he plays it. Also our 2 returning players: Coach the Dragon Slayer who plays with honor and integrity (if you watch game of thrones you know how that played out for Ned) not the best combination to win this game. Our second player: Ozzy, a challenge super-star. Usually tribes ride guys like him to the merge then cut him off for being too much of a threat (I hate this but that is the game). Other interesting castaways that stood out in this sequence were as follows:
-The cattle farmer- somehow I did not catch his name throughout the episode, but apparently he trained for this through running and working out. This is a nice example of how the game has evolved. Going into it you know what is coming somewhat and you can prepare, I feel that people in the earlier seasons did not think that far ahead.
-John Cochran- This guy had me very excited, he is a Harvard Law student (a HUGE nerd) and he has a love of the game that is mind boggling. He claims that he knows so much that he could win off of his Survivor knowledge, I would be lying if I said that I did not get a serious 'Moneyball' vibe from him.
-Christine- She's a teacher and she also took a direct shot at both Coach and Ozzy, calling them 'temporary players' she went on to look for the hidden immunity idol as soon as she got to camp. Last season someone tried this and was voted off first... I guess not everyone learns, I think Coach will knock her out of the game the first chance he gets.
So in typical Survivor fashion we get an immediate reward challenge, a one on one contest between Coach and Ozzy. Even before the challenge began both tribes really wanted Ozzy on their side, Coach took notice and basically admitted that he is already playing with his back to the wall. As for the challenge it self, both guys were even until the puzzle at the end. Now, I wont speculate to the difficulty of it, but if you have played video or computer games you have come across this kind of puzzle (too tedious to explain here). Both guys struggled... a lot. Ozzy immediately asked for help from his tribe mates and ultimately won the challenge with the help of his tribe. On the other hand, Coach was basically alienated with the exception of a woman called Edna who plays it smart here and allies herself with the guy who knows hot to play this game. At the camps the defacto leaders were Ozzy and Coach and they took on different philosophies. Coach got his tribe to work right away, going for the 'let's bond through work' approach, while Ozzy suggested they all go for a swim and bond through 'chilling'. Of course we had the one really emotional and uptight player (Dawn) who bitched (away from everyone of course) that they should be more organized. My thoughts on Ozzy's strategy; he is appealing to everyone's good side and is playing the social game right now, I think he is looking ahead to the merge because he feels very confident in staying so far. The swim session also gave us the chance to meet some other players including: Mark, a retired NYPD detective he is also gay, and let the tribe know about this, kudos to him for being comfortable with who he is. We met Jim, a guy who is a medicinal marijuana dispenser-er (I wish I made that up) and is apparently a really good poker player. Semhar, a poet who Ozzy basically fell in love with. While this was happening, the Dragon slayer found himself alone with 4 other people and immediately formed a 5-person alliance. 'temporary' my ass.
The first immunity challenge of the season was very entertaining and came down to the wire. After navigating an obsticle course as a team, the tribes had to shoot coconuts into a big basket. Once filling the basket so it would make a bag of rocks rise, they win. This put a lot of pressure on the 'shooters' (3 from each tribe) and wow did they deliver. Makayla from Coach's tribe (think Parvatti with skill in challenges) missed once maybe, Ozzy did really well and some guy called Keith (Ozzy's tribe) played like Kobe against the raptors, he did not miss. The once person who was awful was Semhar, she was too exhausted to throw the coconuts and essentially made her team play with a man-down. Keith almost single-handedly won it, but in the end they suffered a heart breaking loss. Keith looked like Kobe in 06 after the challenge (he had the look of: wow! who am I playing with here?). To make matters worse (and to make Ozzy look like Phil Jackson in 04 against Detroit) Jim spared no time in criticizing Semhar which lead to a confrontation at camp. It was at this point that I jotted down: Semhar: out on the paper I was taking notes on. You can't cause drama at camp! Do you not watch Survivor?! Some last second politics pitted John against Semhar, with Semhar getting the boot for her lack of work around the camp (also a big no-no) and the awful performance in the immunity challenge. So what now? Let's have a look, this is a 2-episode examination after all.
Episode 2
Quick hits for this one, I had no idea it was this late when I was writing this.
-Ozzy found the hidden immunity idol at his camp, he continues his strong start, getting to the merge wont be a problem for him.
-Brandon confides in Coach and tells him who his uncle is, to Coach's credit he remains a class act and they maintain their alliance, also, Brandon's Christian values have placed Makayla in his cross-hairs and he wants her out. He even compared her to Pavratti! (good to know someone else noticed). On another interesting note, Makayla plays Women's pro Football, which explains why she is out-performing most of the men in challenges. Brandon also displays some inner Russel by lying to coach, give him 4 episodes, he may become Russel yet!
-Stacey- Choke. Just an absolute choke, she had the immunity idol clue in her hands and did not notice! Christine found the clue but waits way too long to start looking for the idol.
-Jim tries to get a 5-man alliance going in Ozzy's tribe and is carrying himself like a super genius. Not a good formula for success for him.
A mad scramble in the Upola (Coach's) tribe results in Coach firing shots at tribal council. He tells the group about the scheming and about who wants who out. Of course this leads to a huge argument and Brandon finally confesses (the mistakes some of these players have made so far would make Jay Triano proud). The ensuing vote results in 4 different players having a vote cast against them and Christine (yes, the same Christine who called Coach a temporary player) is out. I wonder how many people were surprised by this, I'm going to go with the same amount of people that think Cole World and Watch the Throne suck, 0.
So next episode its Christine versus Semhar on redemption island, neither player will win the game, so I would not be getting too excited about it. See you again in 2 weeks.
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