Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 6

Following a tribe swap, the Beauty tribe became the targets at their new camp. They opted not to get rid of idol holding Tai, making Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 5 Anna’s last.

Peter approaches Tai to tell him he wants to get rid of Joe.

Debbie has decided that Nick looks like a Greek god, which she should know because she has convinced herself that she has also been a model.

Returning to the game, Julia joins the tribe that lost last time, Gondol.

For the challenge, they will retrieve buoys, which will then be shot into baskets. Reward is a picnic. As Michele struggles to grab her buoys, Gondol builds a nice lead. This should be an easy win for the pro basketball player, right? Okay, maybe easy is not the right word. Nick makes a comeback and even passes Scot for a while, but Gondol ends up winning reward.

Peter immediately goes up to Julia to discuss getting rid of his old alliance.

Debbie tells Michele that they should try to get rid of Jason. Nick instructs Michele that they’re not doing that. She’s the target after she blew that challenge, but if she does what he says, maybe she’ll be fine.

Joe notices Peter walking around talking to everybody else and eventually accuses him of trying to get rid of him. Peter acknowledges there’s a certain element of truth to that, as in it’s completely true. Joe knows he’s lying because he is being evasive.

For the immunity challenge, they must climb over a series of obstacles before finally freeing some blocks that must be stacked in a tower. Whatever else happens, it’s all about stacking the tower and not letting it fall and hit anyone in the head and cut them open and make them bleed (as happens to Joe). Chan Loh wins immunity.

Aubry doesn’t trust Peter, with good reason, but she’d rather keep him for now than risk the rest of the tribe having the numbers to take them out next time. Joe reluctantly apologizes for accusing him earlier, and Peter has decided his plan blew up in his face so he’ll go back with the Brains.

Realizing the real power is with Aubry, Tai and Julia approach her. Now she’s the one who wants to get rid of Peter, but Joe doesn’t want to go flipping things around at the last minute.

Even as they get to Tribal Council, there is whispering what the vote is supposed to be. This whispering eventually gets louder, culminating with Scot taking a page out of Keith’s book and telling everyone to just stick to the plan.

Votes
Peter
Julia
Peter
Julia
Peter
Peter

With 4 votes, Peter has been voted off the island. The fact that it’s 4 means Aubry just blindsided Joe.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 7, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 5

First Caleb was the victim of a poorly designed challenge and had to be evacuated from the game in Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 4. Then Alecia, who for some still unexplained reason (Probst tried to explain it, badly) was placed on a tribe that was supposed to be about brawn and consisted of much larger bullies than her, was finally voted off the island.

We now pick up with the same story as before. How easy it is to find hidden immunity idols. This time, Neal is the one who finds one.

The good news for Brawn since they suck so badly is that it’s time to even up the sides, or at least as even as things can be with 13 people. They can drop their buffs.

Chan Loh (Blue): Michele, Cydney, Neal, Nick, Debbie, Jason
Gondol (Yellow): Peter, Tai, Scot, Aubry, Joe, Anna
Red: Julia

The odd woman out is Julia. Who? So far I’ve mentioned her once this season, to say that she was sitting out of a challenge. She will return to Brawn beach by herself and will reenter the game after the next vote.

Chan Loh has two Brains, two Beauty, and two Brawn. Gondol has three Brains, two Beauty, one Brawn.

Beauty girls had an alliance, which has now been split three ways. Peter is relieved because he had played himself right out of the game before this happened.

Debbie quickly forms an alliance with the two Brawn members, and almost as quickly, she calls herself a mastermind. Likewise, Nick approaches Jason to try to form an alliance and get rid of the Brains.

Anna promptly throws Tai under the bus. She assumes the Beauty tribe is the target because Julia’s coming back next.

For the immunity challenge, they will retrieve a net of fish puzzle pieces, untie hook them on to a pole, and carry them to the puzzle platform to complete the puzzle. They are about even on retrieving the nets, but Scot by his own carrying the useless Aubry gains a lead by the time they get to the beach. Regardless, as usual it comes down to the puzzle, which is split between all Brains plus Anna. Chan Loh wins immunity.

Everybody knows Tai and Anna are the targets, including Tai and Anna.

Peter and Joe talk Aubry into getting rid of Anna instead of Tai because he is their primary provider. Despite Aubry being the one trying to get rid of him, Tai has decided he doesn’t like Peter, who he can get rid of with his idol, and he shows it to Scot and Anna to gain their support for this plan. Because of the possibility of a super idol (since Jason has one as well), Scot doesn’t want Tai to play his, which seems dumb.

Tai goes along with Scot’s plan and does not play his idol.

Votes
Peter
Anna
Anna
Anna
Anna

With 4 votes, Anna has been voted off the island. Well, Tai did not get himself voted out, but he did sacrifice what limited numbers he may have had.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 6, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 4

Liz and Peter thought they were in complete control of the game in Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 3. Then Liz was eliminated.

So now we get to listen to Debbie. You thought Peter and Liz were bad? That was nothing. Debbie is talking like she’s the greatest player ever, while continuing to call Peter names.

For the reward challenge, they will race through obstacles, dig under a log, dig up some balls from a sand pit, and roll the balls in a series of targets. First place gets a kitchen set that includes spices and coffee. Second place has a smaller kit with a few dishes and salt and pepper.

This is all about the digging. There is nothing about this challenge that suggests the Brains can win, but they dumb luck their way into finding the balls first and get a huge lead. Brains win reward. Beauty come in second.

It doesn’t end there. Not only is the digging going on for a long while, but it is intense in the heat. Shortly after the victory, Debbie reluctantly agrees to let Joe call medical for her, or rather she tells him no but he does so anyway. They put her in shade and pour cold water, and she says she feels better pretty quickly.

Then Caleb, after leading his team to second place, collapses as well. He’s not as well off as Debbie, for lack of a better term, and it quickly deteriorates. They have to pull out machines and needles for him, and eventually an evacuation is required. Too bad because I thought Caleb was a bit of a putz after his creepy obsession in Big Brother, but he seemed pretty awesome so far in this game. Now I have to find someone to root for because at least half of the others haven’t shown any redeeming qualities.

Cydney falls alongside him. She’s not particularly responsive, but like Debbie she pulls through okay.

I know they test these challenges and even have teams come in for the sake of practicing them, but this particular challenge is clearly a failure.

Back at camp, it’s business as usual. Alecia confronts Scot because at the challenge he told her to keep cheering for him because that’s all she’s good for. So Scot and Jason pull their tag team bit against her again.

For the immunity challenge, they have to retrieve puzzle pieces on land and then in the water. Tai sits out for Beauty; Joe sits out for Brains. Brains are behind like always, but perhaps they can catch up on the puzzle. Brains wins immunity. Beauty places second.

Then Alecia says she tried. Somehow, her tribe twists this into her being selfish. How do you arrive at that conclusion? This is just a deliberate attempt to pick on her for no reason. Like I said, I’m not thrilled with the options now that Caleb’s gone.

Jason offers to do Tribal Council right away and just get rid of her now, but she does not agree.

Votes
Alecia
Scot
Alecia
Alecia

With 3 votes, predictably, Alecia has finally been voted off the island. Now these asshats will have to find a new target to attack.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 5, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 3

Jenny talked herself right out of the game in Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 2, managing to lose the trust of both sides of the tribe by trying to play everyone.

Scot justifies his vote by saying that he promised Jenny he wasn’t going to vote for her.

Tai tried climbing a tree for an idol previously, scraping his chest and making his feet bleed in the process. This time, his plan is to make a tool by tying sticks together. A much safer plan, which works.

It doesn’t end there. There’s a twist. This never ends well. Two idols can form a super idol, which can be played after the votes have been read. This essentially destroys the strategy of whether to play an idol or not, other than it might make someone think twice about playing it in hopes of waiting for another. As if finding two idols is hard.

The Brains seemed to be going after the old people, but Liz and Peter are also thinking that Aubry and Neal are bigger threats. For her part, Debbie wants to get rid of Liz.

Tai starts crying as they kill the chicken. Nick is exactly the opposite, not caring at all. Two extreme sides to the same coin.

Anna approaches Caleb with an offer. She’s going to stick together with the girls. Would he like to join? Okay, so are you sticking with the girls, or do you want to be Caleb’s ally? Whatever the answer to that question, her motivation is to get rid of Nick.

Alecia finds a clue to the hidden immunity idol and calls Cydney over to read it with her. Little does she know that Cydney just got done saying that she shouldn’t trust her at all. While they’re digging, Jason sees them. Proving that Alecia just made a stupid decision, Cydney finds the box with the idol locked inside and sends Alecia away so that she can try to get it. Then Cydney tells the guys because she knows Jason already knows something is up.

Now everybody is on the hunt. Jason finds the clue with a map and runs away and begins to fashion a tool to reach the key. Scot knocks the key loose, and Jason grabs it after shoving Alecia aside.

Alecia says that she can’t trust anyone on her tribe. Ya think?

For the immunity challenge, they will retrieve three bags of rice, maneuver them through a hole, cross a balance beam, open the bags, and use the balls hidden inside to get through a maze. Reward is a choice between comfort or emotional items. Anna and Michele sit out for Beauty; Aubry and Joe sit out for Brains.

Beauty gets off to a bit of a lead on the hole, but it’s all about the maze this week. After a strong start, Beauty is dominating the maze as well. Beauty wins immunity without difficulty. Cydney proves completely useless on the maze the first time, so she switches out with Jason. Then Scot scores after Jason. Rather than giving Alecia a shot, they put Cydney back in, and by a few seconds, she comes out ahead of Debbie. Beauty picks comfort, leaving the emotional items for Brawn.

Peter and Liz are happy to lose. They want to get rid of Neal anyway. Liz tells Debbie they’re splitting the votes and to vote for Neal. Debbie tells Neal.

Peter and Liz are talking like they are masterminds, and they really need to be knocked down a few pegs so that perhaps their minds will be in closer relation to their abilities.

At Tribal Council, Peter reveals why he can trust Joe. He’s a cop. A cop wouldn’t lie, right? Not like Tony, who was also a police officer, and lying winner of the previous Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty.

Votes
Aubry
Aubry
Peter
Peter
Liz
Liz

They do split the vote after all, just not in the way Liz and Peter had planned. The tie leads to a revote, and nobody likes either of the two targets. Aubry thinks Peter is the bigger danger, but Debbie made it very clear during her voting that she is making a personal decision. Even if she is being just unnecessarily mean about both Peter and Liz, she has a clear target between the two.

Votes
Liz
Liz

With 2 votes, Liz has been voted off the island.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 4, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 2

Darnell blew the challenge in Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 1 and was voted off the island in a revote following a tie.

Alecia continues to be paranoid, and it doesn’t seem it’s without reason. Jason is going out of his way to be disrespectful with little provocation.

Tai got busted by his entire tribe searching for a hidden immunity idol. So he goes and searches again. This time, he finds a clue, which leads him up a tree, but he is ultimately unable to make it to the top as his feet start bleeding. This is an interesting twist, although it does favor a certain type of player. Still stupidly easy to find, just difficult to get.

Caleb and Tai are about as opposite as it gets, but despite the fact that they would seem to have no common ground, they have a bromance brewing. The outcome here seems pretty obvious to me. I’m sure Caleb could climb a tree.

Joe is not having much success with the fire. He wastes/loses most of the kerosene, and he ruins the matches. This doesn’t matter for Debbie. She think’s it’s fine to drink unboiled water.

They’re not alone. Brawn can’t create fire either. They have fire supplies or at least flint, yet they’re still all failing. Meanwhile, Caleb started a fire the old fashioned way.

While the rest of her tribe is resting and/or making fun of her, Alecia takes the flint and tries to make fire. 3 hours later, she succeeds.

For the immunity challenge, they will race down the river, retrieve a log, carry it through a series of obstacles, untie some monkey fists, and use them to hit two targets. The first place tribe will win a large fishing kit and a boat. Second place reward is a very small fishing kit. Debbie sits out for Brains; Julia sits out for Beauty. On paper, this challenge seems to belong to Brawn, but Beauty has some muscle to back itself up as well. Brains are lagging as expected, but it comes down to the target shooting. Beauty, Brains, and then Brawn all score a point. Beauty wins immunity. Brains place second. The blame would fall on the target shooter, in this case Scot.

Jenny is getting tired of Jason. He doesn’t do anything but sit around and whine about Alecia all day. However, she’s not so willing to blindside Scot, so she leaves the women up in the air as they head to Tribal.

When they actually get there, she admits that there has been some talk. She’s hard pressed to get support from either side. They think that disagreeing with her will win her over. Alecia tells the truth, and now Jenny’s sights are set on her.

Votes
Jenny
Alecia
Alecia
Jenny
Jenny

With 3 votes, Jenny has been voted off the island. I did not expect that. The ability to trust Jenny is sketchy, but there’s no reason either of the guys should trust Alecia after all the time they’ve spent trying to knock her down. Despite all the time he spends talking smack about her, it’s Jason who decides to keep Alecia.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 3, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 1

For season 32, we return to Cambodia for a second Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty.

The tribes start off with a mad dash on the boats where they can grab whatever supplies they can carry and get to first. They seem to be randomly tossing things and chickens off the boat in complete chaos. Aside from Tai, who wants to protect the chicken because it’s a living thing. Wait until his tribe eats it.

The 18 castaways are divided into three tribes of six.

Chan Loh (Brains/Blue): Aubry Bracco, Debbie Wanner, Joe del Campo, Liz Markham, Neal Gottlieb, Peter Baggenstos
Gondol (Beauty/Orange): Anna Khait, Caleb Reynolds, Julia Sokolowski, Michele Fitzgerald, Nick Maiorano, Tai Trang
To Tang (Brawn/Red): Alecia Holden, Cydney Gillon, Darnell Hamilton, Jennifer Lanzetti, Kyle Jason, Scot Pollard

Cydney says she’s a professional bodybuilder during her introduction, which I’m not sure is helping her or hurting. Scot immediately admits he was a pro basketball player rather than trying to hide it.

Debbie starts off by saying “Blah blah blah blah blah.” Yeah, she didn’t even need to say those words because that’s what I’m hearing anyway.

Caleb is the creepy stalker from Big Brother. Tai thinks people will ask why they put him on the Beauty tribe. I did. Anna is already trying to form an all girl alliance.

Kyle just randomly makes alliances with everybody.

Beauty starts off by letting their chickens escape. After running around for a while they manage to recover two out of three.

Caleb talks himself up, and although his stint on Big Brother hasn’t left too many people with positive impressions, he does start a fire as he claims he can, unlike Debbie.

Tai doesn’t waste any time looking for the idol, and everybody busts him.

Aubry is overwhelmed by the heat and dehydration pretty quickly. If she doesn’t snap out of this soon, she’s useless. Of course, the reality is not so much what she says she’s freaking out about but her explanation. She thinks too much and gets into her own head.

Jennifer actually has something wrong with her and in her head. A bug has crawled in her ear, resulting in pain and bleeding. It’s a little tiny bug that eventually crawls out. I’m surprised something like that doesn’t happen more often out there.

The first challenge requires them to swim out to a boat, retrieve paddles, convert their boats to carts once back on shore, and then choose either a puzzle or ball stacking challenge (both of which average about the same amount of time to complete) to finish. Reward is a fire making kit for the first tribe to finish. The second place tribe will get flint.

Darnell says he wants to be one of the divers. Scot questions him whether he’s sure. Yes, he’s sure. He quickly loses Brawn’s mask. Meanwhile, Beauty has a big lead. They are followed by Brains. Brawn brings up the rear because the mask is kind of important. Beauty falls apart when putting together their cart, allowing the others to leapfrog them. Interestingly, they gave them two choices, not trying to favor intelligence with just a puzzle, but it doesn’t matter because every tribe chooses to do the puzzle. Unlike the last time when the Brains tribe was a group of idiots, this one solves the puzzle first to win immunity and reward. Beauty makes a comeback to win a close race against Brawn.

There’s no hiding the fact that Darnell blew the challenge. The other option would be Alecia, who at first glance seems oddly placed as a member of the Brawn tribe. They assure her that she’s safe. Not content with that assurance, she keeps scheming.

For Kyle, Alecia doesn’t even get a name. She’s just Blondie.

Votes
Alecia
Darnell
Alecia
Darnell
Alecia
Darnell

We have a tie already. Those who did not receive votes can revote for one of them.

Votes
Darnell
Darnell
Darnell

With 3 votes, Darnell has been voted off the island. A fitting end since he is the reason they are sitting there voting.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Kaoh Rong Episode 2, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.