Photos
Video
Long-awaited merge makes for good TV on 'Survivor: Gabon'
All right! Now things are getting interesting around here! Double blindsides, power swings, and the impending merge have given new life to this previously dull season. Let’s hope the rest of Survivor: Gabon lives up to the promise of last week’s episode. A clear favorite is yet to emerge and the true natures of some of this season’s survivors are still secret. The power vacuum in the old Kota alliance, the extent of Sugar’s gamesmanship, and Kenny’s ability to rally tribe members to his side are all big question marks. Hopefully, we will have these question marks turn into exclamation points in the coming weeks.
Losers rejoice. Kota returns to camp after the vote, and Crystal, Susie and Ken are quite proud of the feat they achieved in voting off Marcus. Ken feels firmly in control of his tribe. As Bob dryly points out – the science teacher may be history. Yes Bob, that is a joke, and don’t think that I won’t steal it for a recap at some point in the future.
Mount Randy, ready to blow. Matty is pacing his camp like a caged bull. He’s eager for a merge to change his fortunes. Tree mail comes and the clues indicate that the upcoming challenge will involve golf balls and sling shots. As the tribes gather for the challenge, Fang sees that Marcus has been voted off. Predictably, Corinne and Charlie take the news very hard. Corinne doesn’t think Marcus deserved to be voted off. I’ll have to check the Survivor Bill of Rights, but I think her legal point might be contestable.
At stake in the challenge is a cultural reward in the form of a visit to a Gabonese village. Tribes must fire super-sized golf balls across an improvised course and into holes. The tribe which takes the fewest number of shots to get their ball in the hole, wins the hole. Best two out of three holes wins reward. The tribes are tied up after two holes, and stay close as they both approach the final hole. Kenny over-shoots the hole, opening the door for Fang. Fang couldn’t be closer to the hole for their final shot, but that doesn’t stop Randy and Matty from arguing about how the shot should be played. After a tense moment, the loggerheads finally knock the ball in and Fang wins a challenge. Even after the win, Randy is still fuming over Matty’s perceived poor teamwork.
Fang chooses Bob for the trip to Exile Island. Corinne hopes that he will be able to find an immunity idol there and save himself should Kota go to vote again. Bob’s own fate is in his hands, perhaps. That’s about the best he could have asked for.
Faux-mmunity. Fang arrives at an African village for their reward where they are bathed and clothed by the villagers. Matty is enjoying a win after a long string of Fang losses. Charlie and Corinne are still bumming about the departure of Marcus when the villagers lighten the mood by getting everyone up and dancing.
Meanwhile, back at Kota, Ken gets his boat stuck on a branch in the water - I kid you not. Despite his insufficient seamanship, he does manage to bring home three fish for his hungry mates. Ken is feeling pretty strong, and happy about the fact that he is at camp with three women. Frankly, Ken gives the impression that he’d be happy to be with any woman anywhere. I guess there’s something to be said for not being too choosy.
Bob searches for an immunity idol, but the clues lead him to a dead end. Apparently, Sugar’s idol is the only one in the game. Undeterred, Bob fashions his own idol from found materials. It actually doesn’t look that bad, and I’m sure Eliza from last season would be pleased that it isn’t JUST A STICK! It should be good fun seeing how he plays it.
Ready, set, merge! Tree mail predicts that a fire-starting contest will determine immunity. Randy predicts that if it’s an individual challenge, Crystal is sure to lose. Randy sure as hell does have a beef with this woman. Maybe Jerry Springer can host the reunion show.
At the challenge, tribes are dissolved and merged. New buffs are handed out (Bob makes a snappy bow tie out of his) and the fire-making contest is indeed going to be for individual immunity. Our nine heroes get to work, with Susie and Sugar the first to get their flames going. The race quickly narrows down to the two ladies and the flames start licking at Susie’s string first. The string breaks, Susie wins, and she is safe from the vote. Randy believes that either he or Crystal will be the next member of the jury.
A spoonful of Sugar. The new tribe returns to old camp Fang after the merge to find refreshed food supplies and they chow down. Before long, Charlie and Randy set Crystal as their target, and they realize that they need Sugar's vote to get her out. The Kota 4 go to work on Sugar, and she appears to be swayed. Kenny’s alliance indentify Charlie and Corinne as the major threats, and Kenny’s personal grudge against Charlie dominates the debate. They pitch their alliance to Sugar, who soon believes that she can’t trust either side. Well, she certainly shouldn’t be trusting Kota 4, but her fortunes don’t look that much better with team Kenny. Still, she has the idol.
At tribal, Jeff probes Randy’s behavior at the reward challenge and attitude towards Crystal. Randy blames Crystal for Fang’s early losses, and she and GC for introducing a ghetto atmosphere to Fang's first incarnation. IMO, Randy is doing himself no favors with his rants; even Randy’s own alliance doesn’t appreciate his inflammatory comments. Randy next calls out Kenny as a threat, and Sugar acknowledges that the excessive amount of time she’s spent in exile has detached her from either faction. She thinks long and hard before writing a name down. Crystal gets four quick votes, but Charlie’s name comes out four times in a row as well. Jeff reads the final name, and Sugar has (for now) allied herself with Ken. Charlie heads home.
Wow, Randy’s kind of a dick! Maybe a racist dick, maybe even a sexist dick. We’ll just have to see how far his dickitude ranges. Not that I’m a big Crystal fan, but overwhelmingly negative attitudes have a way of being punished on Survivor – there is little reward for being a dick. On the flipside, dicks are more fun to watch. Dicks make the game interesting and unpredictable. The table has been laid – Kota 3 on one side and the Super Smash Bros. crew on the other, with Sugar in the middle. Her decision to weaken the alliance with which she has (arguably) the least chance of getting to the final four with was a move in the right direction. Playing them against the other alliance, breaking off pieces of both to form her own alliance would convince me that she does know what she’s doing, and that more than luck has got her into the position that she currently enjoys.
A good move for Sugar now would be voting off Randy next(basically everyone there wants him gone)then team up with Bob, Susie, and Corinne for final 4. This will break down the alliance of Ken,Matty,Crystal.
Steven | Nov 13, 2008 9:35:25 PM | #I am not even sure where to begin. Well, at least Survivor is staying true to form by the castaways voting out all the attractive males early. And there goes the fourth in a row, Charlie. Whats left to look at..Susie's ever-present cameltoe? At least Charlie will get what he wanted...some alone time in the jury house with Marcus. Bow-chicka-wow-wow! LOL.
Sugar is going to be known as either one of the dumbest, most gullible player in Survivor history by basically believing everything told to her...or she is playing a shrewd shrewd game, The jury is still out on that.
I love Bob's fake idol...its looks better than that piece o' crap the Producers carved out!
Kenny needs to go. He has been SEVERELY underestimated. Crystal needs to go also. I am over her whiny holier-than-thou routine. She must have got her gold-medal in blubbering.
Even though our fair recapper brands Randy as a Dick, I think I am gonna root for him now. Whats not to like about a guy whose only commentary about the person he is voting for is simply..."Bitch!" Gotta love it! I also don't think Randy particularly minded that Jeff had to point out Randy voted for Crystal. I think Randy would have rather given his vote verbally than have to limp over to the voting booth. Just a thought.
Next week...that rogue elephant in the lake thinks Kenny is a peanut and tries to "shell" him. Mass pan-delerium ensues.
DJintheATL | Nov 13, 2008 9:37:53 PM | #Yeah, what was up with that "Bitch" remark? I could care less what is said, but isn't this a family show and shown at 7p.m. Central time? I was shocked and had to rewind my DVR and put close captionings, oddly enough they quoted everything but the "Bitch" part. I came to check if I heard right, it seems I did.
Jason | Nov 13, 2008 11:07:27 PM | #anyone catch the "in memory of Marge Boesch" at the end in the credits??
That's Survivor Borneo's very own Rudy Boesch's wife.
chris | Nov 13, 2008 11:35:47 PM | #
'On the flipside, dicks are more fun to watch. Dicks make the game interesting and unpredictable.' True but they usually lose in the end.. and like all school yard bullies Randy is due for a beat down !!
MDD | Nov 14, 2008 12:13:32 AM | #I cannot believe Randy whipped out "posse," "gang" and "bitch." What a racist asshole. I already couldn't stand him but now I want to beat him with a tube sock full of woodscrews.
Bob's idol is amazing and I think Sugar is deceptively sly.
Bob and Sugar Final 2!
Andrea | Nov 14, 2008 2:38:49 AM | #Well.. i was rooting for charlie... just because he was a likeable guy and always with a smile on his face... in this case he was ousted for no reason, which now pitts me against sugar... it was probably smarter to align herself with charlie... saving charlies ass would have won over "marcus's" old alliance, which would have turned into "sugars" new alliance... a super alliance! instead she went for the weaker... shame! so now im rooting for Susie! I hope Charlie gets revenge on sugar while in the jury.. and alone time with MARCUS!!! LMAO
soldier in iraq | Nov 14, 2008 4:46:28 AM | #I'm so dissapointed with this season. I have no one to root for - Bob is the only likable person left. Yes, Randy is an ass, but you know, he tells it like it is. The way they are showing Kenny, he probably goes in the next episode or 2. He's getting too cocky.
I wouldn't mind a final 4 of Bob, Corrine, Randy & Sugar.
Jenn R | Nov 14, 2008 6:25:50 AM | #Wait, Randy stated that a woman hadn't come on to him in 20 years? How could that be possible?!? LOL
I'm getting fed up with this season's cast. This is one of those years where real losers (Crystal, Ken, Susie) are able to gang up and vote out actual successful-in-life people (Marcus, Charley, Ace). I think Crystal is one of my all-time least favorite Survivors ever. If she was good at anything other than complaining, I wouldn't feel that way. I think she was shocked when Randy took her challenge and actually said exactly what he thought of her. I'll bet that doesn't happen to her in real life.
I've seen every episode of every season of Survivor, but I'm getting close to turning it off this year.
Cornelius | Nov 14, 2008 6:57:57 AM | #C'mon people. It was a brilliant move from Kenny (and his alliance) to get rid of Charlie when they did. I too liked Charlie. But this is not a game of "liking" people. He was in a strong alliance with Corrine and Bob and needed to be split up. I loved how Kenny talked to Sugar and she finally saw the light. Corrine is really bad at last minute strategies. She's so full of herself. It was great seeing her expression when Charlie got the boot!
Sugar is not as dumb as the rest think. She's pretty much in control of the votes now. She has to align herself with the right people to go further. And I think she's done that.
I also think Randy is a racist bigot. But hey, he's fun to watch. And he's now pissing everyone off. Bad for Randy. Good for Crystal.
Peace.
JVice | Nov 14, 2008 7:08:23 AM | #while i don't love this cast----at least it's getting good-----sandra has been the ONLY survivor to win that i've actually liked----i'd much rather watch a bunch of losers fighting it out then a bunch of boring people like marcus and charlie.
tim | Nov 14, 2008 7:18:16 AM | #THANKS, Chris...I was wondering.
Kate2 | Nov 14, 2008 7:51:29 AM | #Ken and Crystal are playing the game well, but the Kota alliance just made it a lot easier for them. Where was Bob when Corinne was trying to win Sugar's vote??? Bob is reasonable and Sugar probably would both look up to him and listen to what he had to say. Instead, Corinne is making the pitch, and she herself said she has treated Sugar poorly up until that very minute.
And as much as I cannot stand Crystal's whining, sense of self-importance, and general challenge sucking, Randy behaved far worse this episode and probably sealed his fate as well as his alliance's.
At tribal council, I kept thinking of the merger scene from the finale of Mad Men: Who would play Don and who would play Duck? As much as Crystal tried to mess it up, Randy said "No, I'm more hysterical and ridiculous than you!"
Sorry, Sugar is just plain dumb. Last week she was crying over being lied to and fooled by Ken and Crystal into voting off her one ally, Ace. But she went right back to them.
Watching this episdoe, I felt like Fred Sanford on Sanford and Son: To Randy, Crystal, Corinne, and Sugar, I kept shouting, "You big dummy!!!"
Frank | Nov 14, 2008 8:12:21 AM | #Why would Sugar want to look out for Charlie and his alliance? They sent her to Exile Island three times in a row. They have never respected her or her role in the game. Sugar did the right thing. She needs to keep her emotions in check though. Weakness is not attractive.
To Soilder in Iraq | Nov 14, 2008 8:49:03 AM | #Well said "Soldier in Iraq". Sugar did the right thing. Charlie and Corrine have never respected her role in the game, but have continually gone to her for her "vote". I have a feeling that Sugar will be continue in being a major player in this game.
JVice | Nov 14, 2008 8:57:05 AM | #charlie is happy he gets alone time with marcus.
friday | Nov 14, 2008 9:37:21 AM | #Say what you want about Randy but i hope he sticks around because at least he stirs the pot. Boring people are so not fun to watch (re: Survivor: Vanuatu...*groan*)
Corinne should have left the campaigning to Bob considering she had been a bitch to Sugar for the 25 days prior. Her ploys to get Sugar's vote just look desperate.
I had a feeling it was Charlie's time to go based on the fore-shadowing in the recap of Charlie busting Kenny on the Idol business. They made such a big deal out of the Crystal/Randy rivalry that you knew neither of those two would go.
I also have a feeling Bob's Idol is going to be a factor in an upcoming Tribal...hopefully to someone in the Fang's alliance's detriment.
djintheatl | Nov 14, 2008 10:05:22 AM | #I did not like Randy when the season first started because he always seemed to be so negative, bitching and complaining about everything and everyone.
However, his self-deprecating manner and dry sense of humor have grown on me. The whole furor over his use of phrases like "ghetto", "posse", and "gang", among others shows a lot of people are taking political correctness a little too far. Also, people may be reading to much into his comments. Simply using the above terms doesn't make someone a bigot or a racist. It may make them a dick, or a jerk (as Andrew labeled him), but not necessarily a bigot or a racist. This could also be Randy's attempt to throw some votes his way while his alliance targets someone else.
I agree that Crystal has to be one of the worst players in "Survivor" history, along with Kenny. These two have added absolutely nothing (other than Kenny's one win over Bob earlier in the season) to either competitions or anything else.
Matty also proved himself to be nothing more than a male version of Susie - willing to align with whomever has the power. When Ace and Sugar were on Fang, Matty was all too eager to join with them and vote out Kenny and Crystal, and now he is aligned with them? Has their game play increased since he made his alliance with Sugar and Ace? No, the power has just shifted is all.
We may also be giving Sugar too much credit here. Much like Matty and Susie, she is just going whichever way the wind blows. Since everyone knows that she has the immunity idol, if Crystal and Kenny were really smart, they would engineer a tribal council that would allow the idol to either be played or given to someone and have Sugar voted out. The longer that Sugar keeps that idol, the more likely it is that she will make it to, at least, the final four.
Jay | Nov 14, 2008 10:06:53 AM | #Saying that Kenny has nothing going for him doesn't make sense to me. This guy has somehow managed to convince 2 different people to turn against long-standing alliances: Sugar against Ace and Susie against her entire tribe. In Susie's case, he pulled it off in a few hours after they mixed things up. He is obviously skilled at persuasion. That said, his over confidence might bite him in the butt in the end.
As for nasty players - I think Corrine is far worse than Crystal because she thinks she is better than everyone and is quite rude to people all the time. Even Randy doesn't bug me as much because he is just crazy and socially inept. Corrine is malicious for the fun of it.
PM | Nov 14, 2008 10:43:51 AM | #Heyy JVice...my big brother friend...
I agree sugar did what she needed to do for...i think at this point I would like Bob to win...
Linda | Nov 14, 2008 10:50:07 AM | #Hi Linda! It's been a long time. Great to see you on this comment board.
PM, I agree with you 100%. Kenny has become one of my favorites. Good player without boasting about it to the others. Although he camera-talks to us all the time about being a like a little rat in the corner. Priceless. And Corrine one of my least favorites. Her time is almost up.
JVice | Nov 14, 2008 11:07:42 AM | #Again, you all are giving Sugar too much credit. Kenny basically lied to Sugar and she believed him. Does that mean that he is good at persuasion or that Sugar isn't as smart as people on this board like to think she is?
As far as Susie goes, even Randy was concerned about Marcus's possibly elimination because Susie is erratic and jumps from one side to the other on a moment's notice. Again, I think we are giving Kenny too much credit for "turning" Susie. It's possible that she had already decided to eliminate Marcus and just waiting for the former Fang members to approach her. If you already know what you are going to do, it doesn't take a lot of persuasion to get that person aboard.
Kenny has to be the most annoying player in a long time and I can't wait for him to take his place on jury - even though he should have been sent packing a long time ago.
Jay | Nov 14, 2008 11:40:12 AM | #I don't think Kenny is annoying. Or I should say, he's not as annoying as many of the others (Randy, Corrine, Ace, Crystal).
I think he's a very good player. He's using his head a little more than others and thinking ahead. He's counting on Crystal - for now. He knows she's not liked so he's using that to his advantage. We've seen time and time again that the winner of Survivor is not necessarily the cutest or physically strongest. It's about your strategy and about using other people to get you further along.
Sugar may not be the brightest torch on Survivor, but whatever she's doing is working for her. She still has the hidden immunity idol and is playing with the power group of the moment. Very smart.
JVice | Nov 14, 2008 11:47:42 AM | #Please don't call these last two boots "blindsides". They're not. Everyone knew that the vote was going to be split up 4-4 with Sugar as the deciding vote. There is nothing "blindside" about it. A blindside happens when someone has absolutely no idea that they're getting voted out.
Christopher | Nov 14, 2008 11:51:26 AM | #Corrine is a very unpleasant person and Randy IS, in my opinion, racist. I'm rooting for Suzie to win this game. She's a hardworking, underprivileged woman, and look how far she's already got, with good outlook on the future.
cactus | Nov 14, 2008 12:50:24 PM | #
Zap2it Twitter Talk
