Survivor: Tocantins

I couldn’t believe that Taj had her head through the hole in the board. If they/she had tripped, it would have been ugly.

I predict Coach forms a "final three" alliance with Sierra and Erin (two people coach doesn't seem to like, which I find ironic)

Sierra and Erinn don't like each other either, so that would be one of the strangest alliances of all time. But it could happen.

I still couldn't stand it if Coach won. If those were the final three I'd vote for Sierra on grounds of "least of the three evils."

If Sierra and Erinn go with Taj, Steve, and JT, they could easily be picked off when it gets to final five. If they go with Coach and Debbie it’ll be even when they get to final four, assuming Sierra and Erinn can get past their dislike for each other and stick together to provide a counter to the Coach/Debbie pair.

So ironically, it is in Sierra’s best interest to listen to Coach’s begging, but considering the way he treated her when she was on the outside, I hope she makes him squirm before accepting any offer.

SURVIVOR RECAP!

Forza (Merged) Tribe: Coach, Debbie, Erinn, JT, Sierra, Stephen, Taj

The Jury: Brendan, Tyson

Losers: Carolina, Candace, Jerry, Sandy, Spencer, Sydney, Joe

TYSON BLINDSIDED & VOTED OUT (HA HA!)

The Forza Tribe returns from Tribal Council after blindsiding Brendan. Tyson cockily boasts about the deviant move, while paranoia engulfs Sierra. “It was probably the worst night I have ever had out here,” says Sierra. “I don’t think I’m a bad person for writing Coach’s name down, although it was a very hard choice to make,” she continues. Sierra then tries to redeem herself by apologizing to Coach for voting for him. Coach lashes back at her, accusing Sierra of making poor decisions. “I knew that Sierra would want to assuage her guilt, massage it, make herself feel rationalized and justified inside. That’s what we do when we make poor decisions in life,” Coach comments, acting like one of those holier-than-thou hypocritical fundies who smugly points out the sins of others while never bothering to take a look in the mirror at their own sins. He then openly declares to Sierra that she will be the next to go. “You pitted yourself against me. Brendan pitted himself against me. Who deserves to go next?” As if going against Coach is some sort of crime.

THE (PHONY) ZEN MASTER

The next morning at Forza, Coach practices his morning Tai-Chi-like workout in the water to celebrate the victory over Brendan. “To defeat a worthy opponent like that at this point in the game – the ‘Piece de Resistance.’ The Dragonslayer has vanquished the dragon once and for all,” says Coach. Coach then unleashes a girlish scream, or "macho primal yell," as he likes to call it. “Over! The battle has already been won. Victory is mine,” he arrogantly proclaims. Boy, am I going to love it next week when he's eating his words.

Back on the mainland, JT feels secure in his “Warrior Alliance” with Coach, Stephen, Taj and Erinn. “Steve and I, we’re happy with the way things are going. We’re happy to see Sierra go next,” JT declares. Sierra scrambles to save herself by explaining her decisions to Tyson. Tyson is not having it, and quickly snaps hateful remarks at Sierra. “I’m not trying to scramble, Tyson, I’m trying to explain my side so that it doesn’t look like I was the mastermind behind it,” Sierra explains. “I don’t think you were the mastermind. I don’t think you’re smart enough for it,” Tyson retorts. Tyson then delivers another menacing blow to Sierra – “You’re gonna be the next to go, and you’re not gonna be able to change that.” Boy, I'm going to love Tyson eating his words even more than Coach eating his.

REWARD CHALLENGE: SWISS CHEESE PLEASE

The Forza Tribe arrives on their colored mat as host Jeff Probst explains the rules. The tribe will be divided into two teams of four. Two people from each team will race out to collect a large puzzle board that has various holes cut out, then race back. The next two tribe members will then repeat this until all four boards have been collected. After all four boards have been collected, the teams must arrange these boards in specific interlocking slots on the ground. Then, by rotating and flipping the boards, the teams must line up the holes to reveal seven vowels, which are located on various lettered circles hanging directly in front of the boards. Once all seven vowels have been revealed, teams must use those vowels and the consonants provided to form a four-word phrase in order to win reward. The winning team will be treated to a performance of capoeira, a Brazilian martial art consisting of various dance-like moves. They will also be treated to a feast. In addition, the winning team will choose one member from the losing team to go to Exile Island.

The red team consists of Erinn, JT, Debbie and Tyson. The black team consists of Coach, Stephen, Taj and Sierra. Jeff yells, “Go!” and the teams race off to retrieve their four large puzzle pieces. Both teams are neck-and-neck as they race back-and-forth, arranging the boards in floor slots as they bring them back to the start. Once all four boards have been collected, the two teams attempt to line the boards up in the correct order to reveal vowels. Both teams have no luck, and race to flip and rotate the boards. The red team is the first successful team when Erinn verifies that all of the holes reveal vowels. The red team then begins working on their word puzzle as the black team falls behind. “Flip that and reverse it,” Stephen directs his team as they struggle to line up their boards. The red team solves the words puzzle, which spells out, “You’ve won a feast.” The red team wins the reward and chooses Stephen once again to go to Exile Island at the suggestion of JT. JT’s plan is to keep his alliance in control of any possible additional hidden immunity idols. Coach huffs that he is very disappointed to not have the opportunity to go on the reward as the elated red team leaves. Jeff Probst mocks Coach's lack of success in challenges despite Coach's constant boasting of his skills. Ha ha!

CAPOEIRA REWARD

JT, Debbie, Erinn and Tyson arrive in a small Brazilian village where an enormous feast awaits them. The foursome immediately devours the food in front of a group of stunned Capoeira practitioners. Debbie reflects on her life as a school principal when she sees a group of children in the village. For a principal, she sure is quite a toady and not much of a leader. She'll have to blindside Coach to get any respect from me. The Capoeira practitioners then perform a dance-like martial art form as musicians accompany the performance with traditional Brazilian instruments. Erinn and the others soon join in by doing cartwheels and kicks, mimicking the moves of the natives. This proves to be a mistake for those whose stomachs are still full, as Erinn becomes sick from the combination of feast and physical exertion. “Gross! I just threw up on my shoe,” she says.

ALL ALONE ON EXILE

While the majority of his alliance enjoys a feast, Stephen returns to Exile Island. He opens the urn and pulls out a clue, only to find that it is an additional clue to the idol he already holds. With the notion that he has no purpose on Exile but to sit and pass the time, Stephen does just that. He sits and tends a fire, lies in the water, and finally lets out a frustrated scream (which is far more manly than Coach's "primal yell"), which echoes across the vast emptiness of the land surrounding him.

BICKERING AT CAMP

Back at the Forza camp, Sierra continues to scramble as she fights to defend her position in the game – this time, with Debbie. “You chose the wrong action,” says Debbie. “Who goes if not you?” she asks. Sierra becomes agitated with Debbie’s reaction, and proceeds to tell her that the conversation is over. “So you’re done with me?” Debbie asks. Sierra bursts into tears and professes that there are other people in the game that are lying to Debbie, which she will soon find out when it is too late. Erinn interjects, “Who’s the other liar?” “No one is talking to you, Erinn,” Sierra pouts. After much bickering with Debbie and Erinn, Sierra finally storms off away from camp. Erinn reflects on the incident, revealing that, despite her negative feelings towards Sierra, she has to agree with her statements about other liars in the game. “Once Sierra is no longer with us, the game will change, and I am the one that is gonna turn all of this on its head. Guilty as charged,” admits Erinn. I'm glad to hear that, Erinn. Now do something instead of just talking, and I'll be impressed.

ONE LAST HOPE

At the Forza camp, Sierra continues to seek an ally. “I was never gonna hurt anyone that I really cared about,” Sierra insists to Coach. “Given another chance I would prove that I am a good person, I am a loyal person,” she continues as tears stream down her face. “The Samurai Warrior, if he did dishonor to himself or his family, you know what he would do?” asks Coach. “He would fall on his sword. Death before dishonor,” Coach preaches. Boy, when he has to eat those words next week, they're going to taste the bitterest of all. (snicker) “Would I be ‘Strong Sierra’ if I did not have this conversation with you? No.” Sierra replies. “Would you give up, Coach, if you made the wrong choice?” Sierra implores. Coach lowers his eyes, reflecting on the heartfelt speech. “It kills me to have this kid here asking me to throw her a bone because she’s going through so much trials,” Coach says. Sierra concludes that her only sure sign of hope is to win immunity in the next challenge.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE: TOCANTINS SHUFFLE

The Forza Tribe walk in to the challenge and arrive on their colored mat as freezing heavy rain pours down on them. Stephen returns from Exile Island and greets his tribemates. Host Jeff Probst explains the rules of the challenge, which is a Survivor version of shuffle board. Each person will have three pucks, and will slide their pucks across the board. The person whose puck ends up closest to the center of the X wins immunity. If a person feels that he or she does not need immunity, they can opt out of the challenge and eat pizza. Stephen, JT and Coach decide to eat for the duration of the challenge while the rest prepare to compete. I hate these "opt out and eat" immunity challenges. Contestants who lucked into a high rank on the totem pole can sit back and stuff their faces while smarter or more likeable, but lower-ranking, contestants have to fight for their lives. UGH.

As everyone shivers from the cold of the rain, the challenge is on. Tyson sets an early mark to beat, but is quickly bumped down by Erinn. Sierra bumps Tyson closest to the X in the second round of puck shots. Tyson then increases his lead. Sierra then knocks Tyson out, putting herself in the lead. With the last shot of the game, Debbie knocks Sierra out of the lead and gets her puck closest to the X. To Sierra’s shock and dismay, Debbie wins immunity.

LAST CHANCE

Upon returning from the immunity challenge, Tyson and JT cheer Debbie on for her first victory. With Tribal Council on the horizon, the Forza Tribe appears to have their mind set on voting out Sierra. “Tonight’s Tribal Council is going to be awesome. I hope Sierra will cry a lot,” Tyson remarks. Hey, Tyson, with remarks like that, you're not being clever or funny. You're just being an ass. Despite needing to be bailed out by a petite 46-year-old woman in the immunity challenge, Tyson shows no humility.

Seeing a window of opportunity, Stephen suggests blindsiding Tyson to Taj and Erinn. The two women agree, and Stephen adds that this might be their only shot to take out Tyson since he does not have immunity. Stephen spreads the word to JT, who is in total compliance. Stephen cleverly points out that, every season, someone goes on a long immunity winning streak. If they vote out Tyson, JT can be that person. When the rest of the tribe members reconvene, Tyson, Coach and Debbie have no clue what is in store for their close ally. Even more on the outs is Sierra, who is convinced that she is going home. As the sun begins to set, Coach instills the concept of trust within his “Warrior Alliance” to JT. JT shakes Coach's hand and swears loyalty to him. I am so going to love the look on Coach's face after the blindside. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” JT concludes.

TRIBAL COUNCIL

Brendan, the first member of the jury, arrives on the bench as Tribal Council begins. Tyson confesses that he loves every member of his tribe except Sierra, whom he clearly is voting out. When Tyson makes another personal insult to Sierra, she loses her temper, whirls around, and punches Tyson in the nose, breaking it. (Not really, but I so would have done that if he'd said that crap about me). In reality, she loses her temper, whirls around, and lashes out at Tyson for his constant badgering since the beginning. Tyson arrogantly continues to make brash comments about Sierra’s character, but she snaps back undaunted.

Coach defends his method of playing a trustworthy game by stating that his word is his bond. He goes on to talk about how he wants to take all the strongest, warrior-like players to the end. When Jeff points out Coach's hypocrisy in voting out Brendan, a strong, noble warrior, Coach makes a lame excuse about how Brendan "pitted himself against him," which is a worthless argument because Coach targeted Brendan before Brendan started targeting Coach. Coach then expresses his complete faith and trust in JT. He's just making this too easy.

With this, the Forza Tribe casts their votes and Jeff reads them. Sierra. Tyson. Sierra. Sierra. Coach and Tyson smirk arrogantly. Tyson, thinking only Sierra voted against him, has already counted his chickens. Then comes a second vote for Tyson. He frowns. Then a third and fourth vote for Tyson. By now, Tyson and Coach look panicky. Sierra looks shocked and hopeful. Jeff reveals the last vote, which is for Tyson, who is now eliminated by BLINDSIDED! NICE! NOW THAT'S HOW YOU VOTE SOMEBODY OUT! Ha ha ha ha ha ha...oh, one more. Ha! As Tyson takes the walk of shame, Coach and Debbie look panicked. Sierra lets out a huge sigh of relief. Stephen and JT give each other the "We nailed him!" look. Brendan, in the jury, celebrates.

I'll be back on Thursday with next week's preview and picks.

Imprison Geithner or free Hatch!

The Ponderosa clips of Bredan and Tyson show them to be having a good time.

Bredan basicly said the next one voted out better have a good attitude or they will not let him/her into “their tribe”.

Ponderosa might be a must see come next Friday depending on who gets voted out.

Sierra and Erinn go with Deb & Coach - Taj or JT gets the boot?

Next week’s show is going to be verrrry interesting.

“I hope she makes him squirm before accepting any offer.”

I hope she makes him squirm, makes a deal with him, and then sets him up to stab him in the back.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Voting off Tyson was a treat to watch. His smugness was wilting fast after the second vote.

If she or anyone else had tripped and dropped the board to the ground, it would have stopped cold and Taj’s neck would have been broken.

I can’t believe that SeeBS doesn’t have a Safety Officer on their crew that’s bright enough to prevent this kind of potential accident. Another challenge was last week when they were hanging on the pole with all those nasty open flesh-gouging dadoes on the sides. Someone could have been seriously injured.

The card game.

One of the activities that didn’t make it into the prime time show.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid20865609001?bclid=20784770001&bctid=19958274001

One way to kill an afternoon.

SURVIVOR PING!

Forza (Merged) Tribe: Coach, Debbie, Erinn, JT, Sierra, Stephen, Taj

The Jury: Brendan, Tyson

Losers: Carolina, Candace, Jerry, Sandy, Spencer, Sydney, Joe

Episode 10 title: "They Both Went Bananas"

Scrambling to save themselves, two castaways sell out a former ally before turning on one another. These must be Coach and Debbie. Is it one of their newer allies (JT or Steve) they sell out, or is it Sierra or Erinn? Already, this is a fascinating situation because we have three people (JT, Steve, and Taj) in a strong alliance, plus four others who are not allied but have the numbers to take out the three if they work together. This could end up going in many different ways. Also, if it is Coach and Debbie who are panicking and scrambling, that'll be GREAT. My main worry at this point is that everyone is going to want to take Coach to the final two, since he'll be the perfect goat.

Reward Challenge: The good ol' coconut chop, where contestants answer insulting questions about each other, then get to chop their opponents' ropes each time they get an answer correct.

Immunity Challenge: Contestants will use grappling hooks to retrieve bags holding balls. The balls will then have to be guided in tilt-a-table mazes.

Spoilers (highlight to see):

Reward challenge winner: Taj

Immunity challenge winner: Stephen

Voted Off: Debbie

I'll be back after the show with the recap.

Imprison Geithner or free Hatch!

Have to disagree with Coach being a goat.

Much as I dislike him and his tactics, Coach is a player who has made some moves. As had Taj, Steve and JT.

Deb, Erinn and Sierra are goats - brought along only for their votes - useful as long as they are needed.

If your pick is right that means Sierra or Erinn (or both) went with the Taj group.

We’ll see.

I SO want Coach to be GONE!
That indulgent helecopter shot circling around him as he posed in the water made me want to puke.

I vote with you.

EVERY SINGLE EPISODE seems to open with Coach in the water doing phony samurai yoga. I want him gone for the sole reason of not having to see that anymore.

Debbie just came off as a big time ass. First time I’ve really seen any of her personality, really. Not pretty.

How can you call it fake...he invented it.

I’ll see in three hours. :-) At any rate, I’m glad America got to see her true colors. Hopefully she stops being liked. I hate it when jerks are admired by the masses. I’d dislike Obama less if his poll numbers were lower.

Glad to see they give you time off from saving the world to watch Survivor. :-)

Tribal council...coach accuses Sierra of having a temper tantrum while in the middle of a temper tantrum. Only thing missing was the stamping of the feet.

I must say....I’m surprised.