Reality TV

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  These old words of wisdom were proven true again on last night’s Survivor.  As the tribes arrived for the reward challenge, Jeff told them it was time to mix them up a bit.  In my preview earlier in the week, I was hoping that Natalie and Ozzy would be on the same team.  What happens?  They are both captains of their teams.  Sigh.  Once the teams were chosen, they looked like this: 

Malakal–Ozzy, Amanda, Joel, Erik, Cirie, Tracy, Chet, Ami. 

Airai–Jonathan, James, Parvati, Eliza, Alexis, Natalie, Jason, Kathy.

The tribes may be different, but some things are very much the same.  Such as:

James just can’t escape the immunity idol.  Okay, that happened before the switch, but it’s still a little eerie.  James’ downfall in China had everything to do with that idol.  He was told where it was but he failed to play it at tribal council.  Who is the first person Ozzy tells about the immunity idol?  James.  I guess he’s not worried about James doing anything foolish like….gee, I don’t know….using the idol? 

Sounds of jungle love may still ring through the islands.  It seems that even Mark Burnett can’t break the bonds of true love,  even with the mixing of the tribes.  How relieved is James that he’s on the same tribe as Parvati?  How relieved is Ozzy that he’s still on the same tribe as Amanda?  How relieved is he that he’s still on the same beach as the one where he hid the idol? 

Chet sucks at challenges.  I felt bad for the guy after the reward challenge too, but let’s face facts–physical challenges are not his strong suit.  The reward challenge had two tied-together members of one tribe chasing two tied-together members of the other through a maze.  If they caught them in under 1 minute, they got a point.  If not, the other team got the point.  First to three points wins steaks with all the fixings.  With the teams tied 2-2, and the reward on the line, Malakal put Joel and Chet out on the course.  Brilliant.  After Jonathan and Ami hurt their knees, I thought Chet was going to end up with a concussion with Joel dragging him around like a rag doll.  Needless to say, Malakal lost the challenge.  Not that it matters, because… 

Ozzy’s tribe eats.  If Ozzy doesn’t catch more fish than the Gorton’s Fisherman to feed his tribe, his girlfriend is catching 4-foot sharks.  I’m swear their kids are going to have gills and a dorsal fin.  While they were eating Jaws, Joel said that he would prefer the shark meat over the steaks that Airai won in the reward challenge.  He may be saying this to make himself feel better about losing yet another challenge, but if you’ve never had shark meat, it’s good eating. 

The women play Joel like a fiddle.  The immunity challenge involved a shocking twist.  The tribes had to put a puzzle together!  When’s the last time they had a challenge that didn’t involve a puzzle?  I’m beginning to think that the best way to prepare to be on the show is to do nothing but crosswords and sudoku.  After Malakal lost (and why wouldn’t they?  Joel apparently isn’t allowed to win a challenge) everyone assumed, just like last week, that Chet would be the one to go at tribal council.  Cirie heard about the plan to “get rid of the weak” and got to work.  You see, unlike Denise on Survivor: China, Cirie has foresight.  She saw that eventually she would be considered the weak one and would be gone.  Just like Tracy last week, Cirie convinced the powers that be (read: Ozzy and Amanda) to vote out someone else–namely Joel.  For a guy who went through this with Tracy just 3 days earlier, Joel just doesn’t get it.  I started this piece by writing that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  At tribal council, another adage came to mind–he who lives by the back-stab, dies by the back-stab.  Joel was blindsided, and Chet lives to fight another day.  If you can call it that. 

Tune in next week for another round of previews and power rankings!  May the tribe speak clearly to you!