Survivor Tocantins episode 2
Last week, Carolina was blindsided by Jalapoa and Sandy was spared. But is Sandy still on the outs with her tribe?
This week…conflict in tribes, a physical challenge, an exile island twist, and another blindside…
Jalapoa is eating termites...just shows just how critical the conditions are in Survivor that leads castaways eat just about anything.
Sierra aligns with Brendon. They look for the hidden immunity idol. Sharing the power of the idol is a good move, because it only guarantees you safety once, and after you play it, you are vulnerable unless you have allies. They are caught by Debbie whilst looking for an idol, and there clever lie might have saved them…for now…
Coach and Candace butt heads around camp. In a confession, she says that his ego will be his downfall… I have a feeling that this is a small taste of the size of coach’s ego… He wants to play a noble game and keep the strongest players, but will the rest of the tribe do the same?
Taj tells her tribe that she is Eddie George’s (NFL) wife. This may be a risky move. In this game, knowledge about another player is power and if you share anything about yourself with another player, they could use this information against you. On the flip side, in order to bond with your tribe, you need to socialize with them.
The challenge…
This really physical challenge that involved tribes battling each other in the water for a ball to score a point makes me think that these tribes are well matched, because both tribes played outstandingly and the win was really close.
Tyson, Brendon, Sydney, JT and Stephan scored points for their respective tribes…and Jalapoa wins immunity.
Sydney, whom I suspect will player the flirt card, like prior winners Parvati and Jenna, also has an athletic side. She could also be a serious threat to win this game.
This football-like challenge may be seem sentimental to Taj, whose husband is on the NFL. She played very hard here. Also, the castaways, Sierra and Sandy, who the tribes initially perceived as week, were also tough in this challenge.
I predict a rivalry for challenge dominance emerging between Tyson and JT…
The Exile Island twist...
The winning tribe sends one member of the losing tribe to Exile Island and that person must chose a player from the winning tribe to accompany them.
Brendon is chosen from Timbira and he selects Taj from Jalapoa
The two have to select an urn, one of which contains a clue for a hidden immunity idol that is hidden back at camp.
Brendon is in a really good position… he is allied with Sierra on his tribe… he has a clue to the first immunity idol with Sierra…and now he has a clue to the second hidden immunity idol. By sharing the clue with Taj, he strengthened his place in this game. Post merge, he already will have a good relationship with Taj, which gives him some safety in this game, and if he and Taj both find the HII’s, they have two powerful weapons. Brendon lies to his tribe about not finding the clue, which Coach falls for.
If there is a HII hidden at both tribes and the exiled castaways receive one clue, it can be assumed that the idols are hidden in places that are common in both tribes…treemail comes to mind first. Remember in China, James gained possession of both HII”s because both were hidden in the archways in both camps.
Another twist…Brendon is given the opportunity to switch tribes. This is a grand opportunity if he is on the outs with his tribe, because switching tribes to could help him escape the vote. But Brendon does not feel like he is on the outs with the tribe, so he doesn’t consider switching. I’m not sure how long this window of opportunity remains open for, but if Brendon can somehow get the HII on Timbira and then switch tribes and find the HII at Jalapoa, he will have even more power.
This twist is similar to the Mutiny Twist in Cook Islands, which saw Candice and Jonathan jumping ship to reunite with Parvati and Adam….a risky move. Remember, if you flip flop through alliances, you can easily flip flop back and bitter jury members are not very forgiving…
Right now, Brendon looks like the biggest strategic threat to win this game…but like I mentioned last week- anything can happen…
Jt comes across as the tribe leader. He was also a dominant force in this weeks challenge as he was last week. As mentioned in my last week’s blog, this target that he is putting on his back puts him in a shaky position in this game. But he seems to be forming a close friendship with Stephan, which could keep him safe…will this alliance last?
Back at Timbira…
Sierra is on the chopping block once again for being on the outs with her tribe from day one.
Candace annoyed with Coach’s antics, targets coach, and allies with Erin.
Coach is playing a dangerous game by making references to his tribe mates as “cancer” and the “poison apple”. If he continues his to be a dictator, he minions could turn around and retaliate against him (as Candace does), or he could piss too many people off and not get enough jury votes to win at the end. Coach is a college girl soccer coach, not a survivor femme fatal coach…
Heading to Tribal, Tyson wants Sierra out, Candace wants Coach gone, and Coach is planning to vote off Candace.
Debbie speaks about trust. She comes across as good hearted, but also possibly too comfortable and confident about her safety in this game. In this game, you have to be a little paranoid and take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Coach may also be the same…
The votes….Candace is blindsided and Coach gets another ego boost in outplaying her…
Erin is now playing on thin ice. Her ally, Candace, is gone. Will she be able to save herself, or will she be the next lamb sent to the slaughter house?
The exile island twist and Coach’s attitude received a lot of camera time this week. This could only mean that it will play a big part in the rest of the game….
***Spoiler alert***Coach will become more polarizing day by day. He tries to make a name for himself as “The Dragon Slayer”…wait and see why….
Next time… one of those blind fold team challenges…. Taj starts to form a four way secret alliance. Who could the four allies be?
