Tag: Flick

Australian Survivor – Mon, Oct 24 – Does she get the Flick?

It’s final four time! We’re down to Flick, that “poor girl” Kristie and power couple-but-it-doesn’t-mean-we’re-in-an-alliance “Leel”.
Before we go any further, can I just boast about this:
jlaptweet

Back at camp, after Flick failed to vote off El, we hardly get any of the fallout chat, which is really annoying as it makes it hard to judge where people really stand. Flick, understandably, feels she’s next.
The next day there’s a bit of awkward chat about what what they are proud about and everyone says stuff like “building a shelter”, “doing well at a challenge”, except El, who digs the knife in a bit about sticking to an alliance (oops – except that one with Magic Matt that was just friends who voted the same).
Everyone’s spirits are lifted by cooking a Samoan lovo but there’s not that much food. Perhaps they didn’t want everyone to get the runs before a challenge.
Lee is more excited about being given tinder for the lovo fire and Flip not at all subtlety asks Lee to teach her how to make the fire. Because Lee is not a Survivor fan he doesn’t twig that Flip’s sudden interest in fire is obviously because she wants to be prepared for a tiebreaker fire challenge and not because she wants to prostrate herself at the feet of the fire guru (which no doubt he is, because he is Lee the almighty).
Kristie, however, has been watching Survivor since she was a kid and knows exactly what Flickety is up to, so she starts paying attention to the fire lesson also. (Side note: Did you know Flick’s partner has a brother who was a Survivor contestant in 2010 this dude )
Flick hopes “Leel” will forgive her planned betrayal and keep her around over Kristie. El tells the camera she did regard Flick as a little sister and in not so many words says she doesn’t really like Kristie: “I think she’s a really nice girl; a strange one, but a lovely girl.” We keep hearing about how Kristie is weird but the camera hasn’t shown it at all, apart from what looked to be an anxiety attack in the game’s early days over what she thought was her missing bag. She’s certainly not weird by US Survivor standards – they’ve had some people on who obviously cheated on the psych exam.
Later, Leel discuss how Flick is weak at challenges and would pick El for final two and they would pick each other, so it would be smart to go with her.
And then we get a cool scene of Kristie, scurrying off in the dark with flint and a coconut husk, trying to make fire while the others sleep. Go Kristie – but, really, what kind of fan goes on Survivor and doesn’t insist on making it at camp once in 51 days. I’m sure all the guys were doing the manly thing and being the fire lords, but who was making the fire when she was on the loser tribe with Sue, Conner and Kate? Kate, I’m guessing (sorry, Conner).

Immunity challenge time
It’s a convoluted one involving bits of previous challenges, including the one where they have to create a long stick to hook a key, walking while rolling on a barrel, and ending on a puzzle. This has Lee written all over it, unless the puzzle is really hard. Flick is off to a poor start and if this was the US show Probst would be yelling: “Flick, falling waaay behind.”
She actually catches up well until it’s the bit where they have to throw something the size of a cricket ball at a specific spot – geez, who’d have thunk a professional cricketer would be good at that?
Lee is first to the final element, the puzzle. Will this be immunity No. 4 for him? El is next, then Flick. JLap isn’t bothering to say what Kristie is up to.
Flick knocks a puzzle piece off the table and by the way the camera keeps lingering on it she hasn’t realised. Is JLap’s next bit of commentary a clue? “She needs to find the pieces; she needs to pick it up.”
El wins, which makes things soooo boring.

Later, Flick tells Kristie she heard Leel whispering about taking each other to final two, which is no surprise. But will Kristie do anything with this info? Flick is scrambling to save herself, reminding El she saved her bacon previously. She asks El to split the vote so she can do a fire challenge with Kristie. But Lee isn’t keen and here we get proof Lee is actually thinking more about strategy than previously shown. “I understand the theory behind it, but that exposes me,” he says, and he’s right. If Flick teams up with Kristie, Lee could well be going home. Flick pinky swears with a cherry on top she won’t even talk to Kristie but Lee’s brow is furrowed. Daddy is not happy with her desperate moves.
“It’s a bit Nick-ish, this,” Lee tells Flick after she makes her pitch. Ah, when will they drop this whole Nick is a snake bizzo. Over it. Flick even pulls out the “I love you”, which could well be true but she forgets her fellow castaways are not following the US Survivor rule book.


Tribal council
Here comes the jury and how skinny does Matt look with the beard shaved! After some chat about alliances, fighting to stay and trust. JLap suggests it’s a good idea to vote off an ally so you can get their jury vote. “I want to win it next to someone I’ve been through the whole time, and someone I can trust,” El says. “So, Lee,” Flip interjects. And El takes the bait: “Okay, Lee. There you go: I’ll be taking Lee to the final,” she says frustratedly. Gotcha! On the jury bench, Nick’s “what the?” hand gestures are a thing of beauty.
Lee tries to distance himself from the declaration but when asked point blank if he promised El a final two spot he can only shrug. You can see the jurors willing Kristie to make a move but all she says is she has to win immunity (despite never having won a challenge before). Nick practically slumps to the ground in frustration and Kylie and JL cover their eyes in horror.


Now, is this all talk or is this how Kristie really thinks? “I can see the jury absolutely cringeing over there, but I’m still in it. I’m going to fight for it.”
Flick responds Kristie has “dug a hole” but still a chance to win the game by ensuring there’s a 2-2 vote between Flick and Lee to ensure a fire challenge. True – or perhaps this is a plan to get Kristie herself out. I can’t see Lee turning on Kristie, though. Hurry up and vote!
The vote: We see Flick vote for “Leeroid”. And it’s Flick going home. It’s hugs all round, apart from a joking “you’re an idiot” to Kristie.

Tomorrow
The finale screens from 7.30pm-9.15pm on Ten. Sadly, Ten is not doing a reunion show straight after, which is modus operandi for the original and is always great fun as there’s none of this “let’s record two endings and make people pretend they’ve won”. Plus, I’d love to see JLap rock up to the Opera House on a jet ski, clutching the urn full of votes. We get a glimpse of the final immunity challenge and it’s fun to see they’ve gone way back to Borneo, the first season of Survivor, for the “standing on a log and touching a pole” challenge. These can go on for hours. (History here)

SO …
I really want to see Kristie take this thing out but her moves have baffled me. If she does freakishly win the final immunity, I’m guessing she will take Lee and that would be her ticket to winning, because she can boast: “I beat this dude – little ole me”.
And for all those Flick’s, Matt’s and Sam’s banging on about how people should have moved against Leel earlier: Where were you guys this whole game? Why didn’t you do something when you had a chance? This is what happens when Survivor goes for 55 days and they don’t mix up the tribes enough – everyone gets too entrenched in their perceived alliances.



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Australian Survivor – Mon, Oct 17

Monday night Australian Survivor chat.

If you haven’t heard already, the Survivor finale screens Tuesday, October 25 (yes – it’s back to a Tuesday timeslot). Channel 10 doesn’t seem to be doing a reunion show (despite a campaign by fans on Twitter), which is a real shame. No doubt there will be the odd contestant pop up on The Project or Have You Been Paying Attention, but it’s not the same as getting to see what everyone looks like in the real world compared to their island style.


The episode starts with the morning after the spa night – we don’t even get to see Flick, Kristie and Matt discussing forming an alliance to vote out Lee and El. What the hell happened – did Channel 10 lose the footage? Does this mean we also won’t see Exile Beach footage?
After a decent night’s sleep at the spa reward and wearing almost-matching black satin nighties, Kristie and Flick pledge their loyalty to each other. Neither one really trusts the other, though.
It’s also morning on Exile Beach and everyone is shitty because they can’t get the fire to light and they are hungry. There’s no talk of idols. Disappointing!

It’s challenge time already!
Lee skips the greeting and opens with: “Not happy with you, Jonathon.” JLap rubs it in my getting the reward winners to extol the virtues of real beds, before revealing the other three went to Exile and got neither food nor sleep. So now everyone feels bad.
It’s another reward challenge and they are competing in teams of three. It’s a twist on a Survivor classic of carrying water over an obstacle course but instead of the usual buckets they are tipping water from a cracked coconut into someone’s mouth. That someone then has to sprint across a balance beam, mouth full of coconut water, and spit it into a tube. It’s Team Spa versus Team Exile Beach. Winner gets an advantage in the immunity challenge. “I will put it in my mouth – I’ve got a big mouth,” Kristie volunteers. Lee and Flick are selected as the spitters proves but Kristie – with her shorter reach and having trouble with the wind – has trouble directing the flow into Flick’s mouth (yes, I really just typed that). Unsurprisingly, despite Sam being on the outs, Exile Beach team wins. Team Spa had better hope the immunity challenge tomorrow involves a puzzle or they’re stuffed.

Back at camp, after 27 hours without food, Team Exile Beach can’t wait to dig in to their black and white glop. But then, for the first time, we get footage of what we’ve known for a while back in the real world: Lee and El are a thing.
“Lee and I have spooned since day one,” says El, saying it was because they were cold to start with and then became something more. Unlike the current season of US Survivor, however, there is no pashing or even hand holding. It’s just sitting on a beach, gazing at the waves and chatting – not even touching. That’s Survivor romance, Aussie style.


Meanwhile, Magic Matt and Sam cement their alliance and are hopeful Kristie and Flick are on board. But then Matt tells the camera something that’s the kiss of death on Survivor: “I have a chance at winning this game, and I’m coming for it.” Noooooo!

It’s Day 49 – that’s 10 days longer than a normal Survivor. Kristie is tossing up between siding with Flick, a known backstabber, and Lee, who she believes has been loyal to her. She has a mini meltdown – which we haven’t seen back since the show started and she thought someone had moved her bag (and it was El who calmed her down then). “You are doing so well – I’ve said that from day dot,” says Daddy Lee.
Flick is a bot worried this sign of emotion means Kristie is going to crack and spill the beans to Mum and Dad.

Immunity challenge
JLap reminds us that Sam has yet to win individual immunity. That’s because he’s no good at puzzles of hanging off/on to stuff. The challenge is a Survior classic: balancing on a triangular pontoon, with no hands allowed. It usually favours girls with smaller feet and good balance, although the last person to win it was Joey Amazing in Second Chances. Here’s a history of who’s won it. This could be El’s challenge if there’s not a guest of wind.
And the advantage is: The Exile Beach three get to start the challenge 10 minutes after everyone else. That is a huge advantage. Someone could fall before the three even start.
And, yes, Flick falls just before the 10-minute ark.
After 90 minutes it’s just Lee, El and Sam and they have to transition to the top for a surfer-style pose. In the past contestants have stood here for quite a while but the Samoan sea is choppy today and Lee hangs on just a few seconds longer than El and Sam to win.

Back at camp the alleged alliance of Lee, El, Kristie and Flick aims to split the vote between Matt and Sam. But, later, Flick tells Kristie that El is the target of the other alliance. Kristie is conflicted and goes for a stroll with Lee, where she confesses all. Daddy Lee looks down at Kristie with his sad, frownie face as she pours her heart out. And then tells her not to worry about the fact he and El are close. Yes, do worry about that fact, Kristie! And it just gets more shambolic from here, with Lee telling El, who tells Flick, who pretends it’s all cool but is inwardly freaking out. Interestingly Lee and El dismiss the notion that Flick has turned against them, when just days ago she flipped on her BFF to join them.

Tribal Council
Matt talks about making moves. Lee talks about how people should not make moves. Sam decides it’s time to throw a few tribal truth bombs a la JL – how his tune has changed. Talk turns to how El and Lee are running the show and over on the jury Nick is loving this.


It’s time to vote but first Lee announces he’d like to use his advantage. Hooray – some actual gameplay. He gets to cancel someone’s vote and, logically he should pick Matt or Sam as they’re definite votes for El.
And he picks Sam.
I’d be tempted to vote El out on the basis of her wearing short pink overalls.
The votes are: Sam, Matt, Matt, El and Sam. Time for the revote (and Matt and Sam can’t vote). Matt looks sick.
Sam’s gone. At least he can reunite with Brooke back at Ponderosa. “All the best, eh,” he tells his fellow tribemates, making the “rock on” sign with his hand.



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Australian Survivor – Sun, Oct 16 – more twisty twists

Well, this one’s pretty easy.

Sunday night Survivor recap
It seems like ages ago hat Brooke was voted off – that’s what happens when Channel Ten reduces our Survivor fix from three nights a week to two. Back at camp after the vote Sam knows he and Magic Matt are in trouble, as they weren’t in on the Brooke vote out. Can Sam mend his fractured relationship with previous BFF Lee? Perhaps once they are back at Ponderosa (aka the dreadfully named Jury Villa for our series) they can lift weights together and make each other protein shakes.


The next morning Flick does some sucking up to Matt to try and smooth things over in case she needs his vote and her version of sucking up involves telling him that she didn’t trust him. It doesn’t go down well. “It’s not just a game he tells her.”
Lee, Flick and El make a final three pledge and decide they will ditch Kristie when needed. It’s totes awks when Kristie then wanders up and they obviously change the conversation. Kristie knows they could be plotting against her. Please, Kristie – find an idol or sort something with Matt because I want you to win this thing.
“I’m just going to run to the dunny,” she tells the girls (yet another saying you won’t hear on US Survivor).
Kristie DOES start plotting with Matt – yay – but how are they going to make it work numbers wise? There is much sketching in the sand with a stick going on. But Flick and El have noticed she’s gone and go hunting. Matt and Kristie hurriedly scrub out their markings in the sand and it seems they have fooled El for now.


Lee, who has an obvious soft spot for Kristie (but not soft enough to shield enough from El and Flick) has a quiet chat to check she’s still on board but it’s hard to know how he feels.
She tells the camera: “I’ve been waiting my whole life pretty much to play and win this game.”
But Matt is right when he tells the camera that Lee and El are the Mum and Dad and Kristie and Flick are the daughters. Geez, Sam has changed his tune from the days of telling everyone they were snakes for talking strategy and targeting each other. He tells Flick – rightly – that if she makes final three with Lee and El they will pick each other, not her. Flick says she hasn’t thought about it but she must have – what else is there to do most of the time on the beach? Finally, we get to see Matt talking strategy and using his powers of persuasian on Flick.

Reward challenge time
Winner gets a spa stay and, hopefully, will get to choose someone to go with them so everyone else will be jealous and start plotting against them. The challenge is a mixture of of a memory game, digging for treasure and, of course, a puzzle. Lee is first one to the puzzle and Matt quickly catches up. It looks like the piles of sand on the table are making the pieces not quite fit but, after blowing the sand away, Matt wins. Who will go with him?
JLap says: “But you won’t find out who that is until tonight, at tribal council?”
In the words of the contestants: “Whaaaaat?”
Oh dear – another one of those twisty twists. Hope it’s more interesting than Exile Beach. And if Matt gets voted out and THEN gets his reward, that will suck.
The majority alliance decides to split the vote between Matt and Sam, in case there’s an idol. Since they are voting 2-2 this is a chance for either Kristie or Flick to flip because everyone knows Lee and El are strong contenders to win and they are a tight couple who would look beautiful doing ads for compression athletic wear together.

Tribal council
They arrive at tribal but it’s not really tribal – it’s the Survivor classic of “how well do you know your tribemates”. Correct answer means you get to smash boxes with an opponent’s name, potentially knocking them out of the challenge. So, we know already Kristie is going to win, right, because we heard Lee say earlier that she had never been on a single reward. Early in the days of Survivor this game tended to make it clear who was on the bottom of alliances and resulted in a lot of hurt feelings, but last time a version of it was played on “real” Survivor Jeff got so cranky with the contestants for not being cutthroat enough (Survivor San Juan Del Sur, where the majority alliance conspired to let Missy win, making for a boring challenge indeed. There’s a whole Reddit thread discussing whether this challenge is too “broken” to be used again here.).
The answers are based on surveys the contestants previously answered (and you have to pick what the group will say) and the answer to “Who most deserves to win Survivor?” was Sam. I guess it’s because he runs a charity. But no-one actually gets it right.
“Who least deserves to win?” The answer is Sam and only Lee gets it right. He smashes a Sam square.


“Who is playing the game more than anyone?” Flick. Four of them get it right.
“Who is flying under the radar?” El (agreed).
“Who is least likely to win the game?’ Sam. There are more questions but we don’t hear them all.
“Who is the most popular player?” Lee (no surprise).
“Who is the least popular player?” Kristie (ouch – poor Kristie – they regard her as an easy target).
“Who do you most want sitting next to you in the final two?” El.
“Who do you least want sitting next to you in the final two?” Sam.
“Who is most likely to blindside you?” Sam.
Oh no – Kristie’s squares are all chopped – guess she’s not going to the luxury spa with Matt.
“Who is the worst listener?” Sam. Flick is right so she gets to go on the spa date with Matt.


Poor Matt – he doesn’t even get to pick who goes on a spa date with him and he won the reward challenge. Luckily, there is a third spot and Flick picks Kristie. This should be interesting.
And then JLap tells Lee, Sam and El they are heading straight to Exile Beach, armed only with a flint. Does this mean we’ll get idol hunting this time? Depends how long they are there for in daylight I guess.


Next time: We see the spa reward winners living it up as they plot against the power couple. and Lee talking about his closest ally: “I have feelings for El inside this game.” Oooh! Will they be Australia’s answer to Rob and Amber (who now have four girls after romance bloomed on Survivor All-Stars).

Soooo, that was yet another episode where no-one went home … Come on, Channel 10. It’s Survivor – someone has to go.
Do we think Flick will really turn against Lee and El? Kristie is looking good to make it to the end and she’ll have a good pitch about being the underdog who made it through without a solid alliance.

Here are my answers to the questions – what would you put?
1 “Who most deserves to win Survivor?” Kristie
2 “Who least deserves to win?” Sam
3 “Who is playing the game more than anyone?” Flick.
4 “Who is flying under the radar?” El
5 “Who is least likely to win the game?” Flick
6 “Who is the most popular player?” Lee
7 “Who is the least popular player?” Sam
8 “Who do you most want sitting next to you in the final two?” Sam (for a goat)
9 “Who do you least want sitting next to you in the final two?” Lee (because he might win on sheer charisma).
10 “Who is most likely to blindside you?” Flick
11 “Who is the worst listener?” Matt (because he was clueless to the Brooke blindside).



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Australian Survivor – Mon, Oct 3 – Jennah Louise make the edit

It seems like Nick was voted out ages ago, but in Survivor time it was just a few minutes. Back at camp besties Lee and Sam don’t hide their contempt for him, which just makes them look like tools who need to move on when they are still in the game and the so-called snake is gone.
Magic Matt ponders over some of the bombs Nick threw at tribal council, when he knew he was going home, including that Matt is at the bottom of is alliance.
Holy moley – Jennah Louise is talking! She and Matt whisper about the accuracy of the truth bombs and Matt agrees Nick was right about “the group and the fractions”. Yeah, how bout those fractions! Matt is feeling a little lonely and is reminded of his school days, having no BFF. Aww – lucky you are now a cool magician, Matt.
Flick goes into damage control mode the next day and flat out lies to Sue: “I’m not in an alliance with Brooke and El.” Geez, Flick – even Sue will be able to see through that. She tries to get Sue to join her posse with the girls and the muscle bros. Which leaves Matt, Kylie, JL and Kristie on the outs. Sue says she’s in, but she’s not fooled: “Not in a fit would I take any orders from Flick, Brooke or El … but I’m in a very weak position here, and I have to lay down dead dog for a bit.”
Sure, play dead dog, Sue (and did you see how bruised her poor knees were>), but even better would be to ally with the other outcasts so it’s 5-5.
I really want to see a tie at tribal so we can have a fire-making competition.
Flick and Brooke have Matt in their sights, as he’s now paranoid and acting weird. Cut to Matt wearing jeans that have been cut into shorts, but he’s still wearing the bottom part of the jeans as leg warmers.
(And look – I tweeted about it and the official SurvivorAU account replied with this!)


Brooke would prefer Kylie gone as she’s a physical threat but she’s letting emotion get the better of her – Kylie is a physical threat but she has no social or strategic game.
Case in point: Kylie still thinks she’s in alliance with Brooke, Flick and Sam.
We are getting a lot of talking heads from Matt tonight, saying how his weakness is wanting people to like him. You and everyone, Matt. I hope you can make it through but the amount of camera time you are getting worries me.
OMG – JL is speaking again! “I’m ready to make big moves,” she says. Yes, JL – please, finally, can someone not let the majority alliance trample them without organising an opposing alliance that’s not a complete shambles.

Challenge time
We get a “Come on in, guys” from JLap, who has a chat about how well the girls are doing at challenges. This one is a three parter with people eliminated after each section
JLap warns that the first four out of the challenge face some consequence, but doesn’t say what.
Kylie, El, Brooke, Sam, JL and Kristie are first across the balance beam section.
JLap tells losers Matt, Sue, Lee and Flick: “You are leaving immediately for Exile Beach.” What! They won’t return until tribal council. So it’s a mini version of Exile Island. It’s a twist that will probably see Matt voted out, as the outcasts what have time to band together – unless someone stands up at council and does the “I’m voting Brooke” thing.
The next part of the challenge involves crawling across a wildly rocking bridge ladder. JL, Brooke and El make it and most then try and knock balls into baskets with a giant stick. And JL wins! Now she’s guaranteed some camera time. Well done.


At Exile Beach
Matt, Sue, Lee and Flick arrive at Exile Beach to find this sign: “You have been exiled but just within reach, immunity is hidden here at Exile Beach … You have until sundown.”
Does this spark a Cagayan-style idol scramble? Seems unlikely. Flick does a lot of talking about how idols just make people targets and seems to have convinced everyone not to look for it. Unlike Exile Island is Survivor seasons past, this beach seems well supplied with coconuts and shade and they’ve been given what looks to be machete and flint.
Flick and Lee have a quick chat about who their alliance could be voting for. Flick: “What do you think?” Lee: (Silence.) Flick: “What did El say?” Lee: “Matt.”
Come on, Lee, it’s Survivor – you have to strategise at some time.
Back at camp they fool Kylie and Kristie into thinking Sue is going, even though why on earth would you get rid of Sue so early when she’s not a challenge threat? Sure, if she makes it all the way to the end she could win but they still have the numbers and Sue has shown she’s not one to build her own alliances.


Tribal Council
The winners enter and then the exiles. I wish the exiles had played with everyone’s minds by rocking up wearing yellow fabric bracelets, but it was not to be.
The first member of the jury, Nick, enters, and he looks very different clean shaven and about 10 years younger.


JLap’s questions tonight are pretty much a rehash of everything Nick said at the previous tribal council about who’s on top.
And then the questions turn to morality and values, which is where Australian Survivor is differing greatly to US Survivor.
Sue: “I always pull myself back because my family are watching and I don’t want to be a bad example to children and my grandchildren.”
I really hope we get a second season of Australian Survivor because we’d get some very differently gameplay.

The votes
We see Sue vote for Kylie and vice versa. Sue, Sue, Kylie, Sue, Kylie, Kylie, Kylie, Kylie and it’s Kylie.
She’s gracious in her exit.

Next time: JL tries to make a move with Kristie. Yes!
And: A grinning Kylie tells the camera she knew she was going and says Brooke is in charge and there needs to be an uprising: “You’ve got to start to play at some stage,” says the person who repeatedly ignored opportunities to do just that.



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Australian Survivor – Sun, Sept 4

Our recorder has blown a gasket so I’m watching live tonight and, darn it, I missed the first few minutes.
Over at yellow shelter Sam and Conner are getting used to their new digs, while Nick (aka Aussie Rob C, but much brasher) and Tegan arrive at blue to find the shelter is soaking wet. Nice welcome.
“I’m out for blood,” says Nick, adding he was surprised Sue (the naughty Nanna) betrayed him.
I can’t wait to see what red tribe’s reaction to the swap is at the next challenge.
It’s night and a storm is lashing the island, leaving everyone – even Chester the chicken – soaking and dispirited. Except, that is, red tribe, because they finally won a challenge and got all of yellow’s previously won comfort items and gear. Cricketer Lee is obviously not used to losing so he’s stoked things are looking up.
Over at yellow, new tribe member Spidey Sam knows he’s no longer the top of the totem pole.
At blue, Flick knows she had a lucky escape. I’m really interested to hear Magic Matt’s take on all this. Nick’s strategy is to be super helpful around camp and he chops up a coconut with ease. We finally get to hear Tegan speak and straight away Brooke gets to work on drawing her into the pretty girl alliance. Tegan doesn’t seem to have much strategy and because she was weirded out by the truth or honesty test (and is a model/personal trainer) I’m thinking she’s a recruit rather than a student of the game. It’s actually in Tegan’s interest to distance herself from Nick, to make him a target should the team go to tribal again, but she doesn’t seem to be doing so consciously.

What the hell is it with Survivor and yoga? Is it compulsory to whip out Downward Dog at the auditions? Pigtails Kristy and Lawyer Phoebe are bending it on the beach and Kristy seems to have recovered from her paranoid “they moved my bag” freakout.


They have a chat about how expendable Model Rohan but Phoebe’s real bond is with El the army chick.
Suddenly Nick is sporting a brown fedora. Where did that come from? He gets to work ingratiating himself with his new tribe and seems to make headway with Magic Matt, who reveals he’s pissed off with the pretty girl alliance of Flick and Brooke.


At yellow, Conner is liking the yellow vibe (and we learn the chicken’s name is Apricot – clever) but he knows he’s in danger because he’s no super human and he thinks the tribe would rather keep Sam. With such big numbers I’d be ditching Sam and keeping Conner, who can more easily be won over to their side.
We finally get some Dreads Barry back story (about his time playing with the Wallabies), so he could be going tonight as he’s treating Survivor like a school camping and ignoring the Outwit and Outplay aspects of the game. And that’s what happen when you recruit people, even if it’s great to see cultural diversity in the cast.

It’s challenge time …
JLap does the “come on in” and red’s minds are blown to realise no-one went home and there was a tribal swap. The challenge contains a component that is a Survivor classic: binding sticks together to create a long pole that can then hook a key.
Conner said he sucked at challenges but, boy, the little fella had some speed on him racing out to the frame in the water.
Blue and yellow get their poles built quickly but they are quite bendy and blue drops their key on the sand and have to drag it. Red has made El and Kat the pole builders – setting Kat up to be in the firing line again? Blue are first to the firemaking station and Nick gets a spark straight away. They win immunity.
Yellow is having trouble getting their fire to build up enough (was Nick their fire starter?) but red still doesn’t have their key off. On the sidelines Lee, Phoebe and Rohan are slowly dying watching the girls try to hook it. Finally they get it but Lee and Rohan must be the best fire builders, otherwise they would have been on the pole building. Lee gets it started quickly and they are doing a good job building it up, sheltering the flame nicely. Well, I’m actually glad, for Kat’s sake, that she’s not in the firing line yet again, as she surely would have been. I just hope that when she is voted out she burns that monstrous leopard print cardy thing in the fire along with her buff.
So, the yellow tribe is going to tribal and Conner and Sam are going to be really worried – there’s no way JLap will be throwing in another twist tonight.

Interestingly they seem to be targeting Conner, without any talk of splitting the vote in case he or Sam has a secret idol. How do they know Kylie had the only one? Conner pitches to the majority alliance that he is desperate to stay and will be a loyal number in future. And it has an impact: Coma Girl Kate is swayed by Conner’s emotion. She throws Barry’s name out as a possibility and it seems some of the others are irritated by Barry’s refusal to “play” the game. And then there’s a curveball: Andrew (in a trilbly, because felt hats are totally suitable for the climate in Samoa) tells the camera he wants Craig out, because he’s a threat. He approaches Naughty Nanna Sue, seeking support. Finally! People who want to make moves and not just hold hands and sing Kumbaya.


At tribal council …
JLap awkwardly questions Sam and Conner about how much it sucks to be on a new tribe and then tries to get some dirt on last week’s Nick blindside. Then he reminds Craig and Baz how bad they were at building a fire in the challenge. JLap has been doing quite well until this episode as Survivor host, but his line of questioning tonight is stilted and they are draaaaggging it out. Not good editing.
I hope it’s Barry.
The votes are read and it IS Barry! Hooray. The question will be whether anyone clued Sam and Conner in to the vote (judging by the vote footage at the end, they did).

Tomorrow night
Kate has a horrible-looking lump under her arm that looks ready too explode, reminiscent of the last season of US Survivor when everyone was sporting pus-filled boils, which resulted in ice-cream maker Neale being ousted on medical grounds. I hope Kate stays – she seems a good egg. And that JLap puts his medical background to good use. Lance it, JLap – that would be grosser than any bug-eating challenge.

What did we think?
Well, it wasn’t as twisty as the last episode and tribal council was boring and awkward, but it’s always good when tribes don’t take the easy option and vote out the newest tribe members, especially when they are people who really want to play. I’m hoping Magic Matt and Nick build up a decent alliance over at blue and are able to pull Tegan away from the pretty girl alliance.



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Australian Survivor recap episode 2 – Mon, Aug 22

Post the first tribal council the reds chat about how Des knew he had it coming. In the pitch black pigtails Kristie starts complaining her bag and shirt are missing and she reckons someone’s moved them because she’s an outsider. Uh oh – if you’re paranoid don’t let it show, Kristie. Although I wouldn’t put it past Des to do a Russell and bury belongings in the sand.
Over at blue everyone’s chilled because they have fire, water and shelter and it’s not raining – plus they won the first two challenges. Secret Squirrel Bianca is waiting for the cracks to appear and has noticed the two younger girls are tight and get on with Spidey Sam. She forges an alliance with firefighter Kylie and hopes to draw in old burny hand Conner.


Finally Kristie’s bag turns up and I wish we’d seen from the edit whether it had in fact been there the whole time. Kristie starts to lose it in a lonely spot in the jungle and good on army lady El for trying to calm her down. Is she losing the plot or did her drama teacher “friend” take it to make his position more secure/
Over at yellow Barry with the dreads finally makes the edit, joking about popping out for a croissant. Poor yellow still don’t have fire, so haven’t drunk water. Nick is licking palm fronds for moisture. He sets to with the flint and finally they get some coconut husk on fire, but they don’t even have a supply of tinder nearby to keep it going. The flame splutters out and Nick is devo.


Drama dude Evan *who is telling people he’s an art teacher) is trying to buddy up to ex-cricketer Lee because he thinks he can outwit him, but Lee of the clingy trunks and over-developed torso has twigged to Evan being a wildcard and is keeping him close to keep tabs on him.

Yellow try again to make fire and, finally, it works. Everyone seems to be chowing down at all the tribes – are they not rationing or were the producers generous for the first season?
Finally, 62-year-old Peter the air traffic controller and ex-military guy gets some air time. He did really well with the physical aspect of the challenge in last night’s episode but is now struggling – and tells Bianca so. He reckons he should leave. Nooo, Peter – we don’t even know you! Meanwhile, Flick and fellow young girl decide fit firey Kylie is totes annoying and should go.

Challenge time
JLap and his sinewy arms are back and he gets red to confess they still don’t have fire, when even the dorks at yellow managed it. The challenge involves, um, carrying, smashing, wriggling, knocking stuff over, yadda yadda. It’s an immunity AND a reward challenge, with the winner getting fishing gear. Runner-up gets a fishing line and hooks. Sue and Peter, the two oldest people yet, sit out the challenge. Can we get an update on Conner’s hand? As a qualified doctor, can JLap check if it’s a serious burn?
Super blues are smashing it in the challenge, yet again, and that poor brunette is going to have so many bruises. And again loser yellow manage to overtake the reds, who are again quibbling about how to do things.


Poor reds then have to do the course again with beefcake Lee as the person being carried. Why didn’t they choose someone lighter? Counting on him to smash all the blocks at the end – I guess he was a bowler when he played Big Bash.
Yellow wins thanks to the throwing of Kate, the women who survived a serious car accident years ago. For blue, weedy student Conner is throwing furiously but he can’t outgun Lee’s mighty guns.


Blue is heading to tribal council. Will Peter put his hand up to go home? Conner is worried he’s on the chopping block due to his challenge performance. Spidey Sam and Firey Kylie pow wow and decide Peter needs to go home because he’s not eating or drinking, even though he’s well liked.
But Bianca is worried that will put her on the wrong side of the numbers, so she tells Conner Flick should go. And he promptly tells Flick. Who then wants to get rid of Bianca.
As magician Matt notes, everyone is going nuts with the scrambling.

Tribal council


Come on – they can’t send Pete home before we discover why he’s wearing crimson pants. JLap is in his tribal uniform of checked shirt and chinos. He tries to find a crack in tribe unity but Flick and Kylie don’t bite. So he probes Pete about his illness, which is explained as not wanting to eat. Conner and Brunette Brooke say they could be in danger for their challenge performance, but they’re not. Hopefully Conner sticks around – he’s a sweetie.
Flick and Brooke tell JLap they’d never considered them being close could be perceived as a threat … der, girls! Have you not watched the show? You need a Malcolm and Denise secret alliance not a sorority sisters alliance.
JLap reads the votes and there’s one for Kylie, two for Pete and the rest Bianca.
Farewell, Secret Squirrel – you would have fared better on another tribe.

Next time
Well, we know Pete is still around because we see footage of him. It looks like there is one of those advantage twists where only a few tribe members are given secret info and have to decide whether or not to reveal it (as seen in the Blue Collar, White Collar etc season). These rarely end well.

Fun fact
I googled who on Survivor has started a fire using glasses, and came across this from an interview with fan fave Yau Man: “You don’t just hold your glasses over dry fiber – it would never work since your glasses are concave lenses and cannot focus the sun. the trick is to put a drop of water on the glass – it acts as a very powerful magnifying glass”
There you go – some sciencey learning.



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