Survivor Nicaragua Recap: "Nobody Likes a Quitter...or Two"

It’s been two weeks since we saw Brenda’s torch get snuffed, so I’m not wasting any time. Seriously, it's December 1, who has time during the Christmas shopping season? Let’s get to it, and find why Jeff Probst teased tonight’s episode as one of his favourite from this season:

My Random Thoughts:

- Previously on Survivor… This was a fantastic ‘Previously’ segment from the King of the Blue Shirts, including: describing the fire as “accidental”, when most would use the term “idiotic”; referring to Purple Kelly as “blindly obedient” to Brenda and Sash; and the dramatic phrase “a month in Nicaragua had made one thing clear: this was no place for the weak”, followed by a recap of who wanted to quit, when, and why. Foreshadowing, anyone?

- In the opening segment right after they returned from Tribal Council, NaOnka asked“Do I look like Boo Boo The Fool?” At least that’s what I think she said…technically, it was “D’Ilooklikebooboodafoo”, so I’ll assume that’s what she said. Well, to answer that question…yes you do. First you talk about how you’re anemic and how the weather is affecting you, and how you want to quit once again. Then you just lowest-common-denominator all of it and declare “My ass hurts.” Yes, NaOnka, you look like a fool. I’m not sure if that fool is specifically named ‘Boo Boo’, but you have looked like a fool since Day One.

- A couple of weeks ago, someone in the Comments section of a message board I post on mentioned that Jane looks like an old Dakota Fanning, and that’s all I can see when I look at her now.

- After 10 episodes of knowing nothing at all about Purple Kelly, since she hasn’t spoken or done anything, how on earth can they expect us to buy into their attempts to turn her into a sympathetic character tonight? Could there be a less sympathetic character than the unknown young girl who says nothing? If this was the way she was going to go out, then there needed to be an effort throughout the season to establish her personality and character if we were expected to care.

- There was so much to talk about in the Reward challenge, I have to give it its own section in the recap:
o Did you see the Mud Pit that was created at the site of the challenge? If the river running through the beach didn’t tell you how bad the rain was, the quagmire (Giggidy!) at the challenge sure did.
o Why did Jeff specify that you couldn’t drop Gulliver during the challenge if you were allowed to drag him the whole way? What’s the difference between dragging and dropping? Is it touching the ground, or actually carrying it?
o The product placement/commercial for Gulliver’s Travels was so lame. I mean, I expect it from Big Brother, and I always expect it on Survivor for the horrible ‘loved ones’ episode when Jeff goes on and on about how wonderful the Sony Palm Pre is (and by the way, that has to be coming soon), but this was over the top. I was waiting to see Jack Black himself come out at Tribal Council to snuff the torches.
o Most of the team challenges this season have had the teams decided by a ‘schoolyard pick’, but why do we never see it?
o Dan was sitting in the giant chair wagging his legs, and then got all excited to learn that there would be unlimited candy at the Survivor Cinema. Ive said this before this season: Dan is an Oompa Loompa.
o Highlights of the challenge included Purple Kelly taking a boot in the face, and NaOnka falling out of the rope tunnel and faceplanting into Gulliver’s crotch.
o Jeff yelled at the teams “Don’t give up.” If at this point in the episode, if you didn’t know someone was quitting, you have a major interpretive problem.
o Right after NaOnka quit, she said “I’m not a quitter.”Is this nutbar for real?
o I liked the sacrifice option that Jeff gave the winning team in terms of the tarp and rice. I was disgusted with NaOnka for not stepping down for the team. One second she’s giving the Hidden Immunity Idol to Chase, and then she’s being selfish again so she can eat Nuclear Cheese and Pop Rocks?

- Holly told Kelly “You’re always gonna be remembered as the girl who quit Survivor Nicaragua 21.” (I love how she threw the 21 in there). No, she’s not…she’s not going to be remembered at all. And if she IS remembered, she’s going to be remembered as the other girl who quit right after the crazy black lady with the weird name.

- In response to Holly telling her to “suck it up”, Kelly responded “I have nothing left to suck.” (too many jokes, pick your own) But apparently that didn’t extend to licking, as Kelly licked around the bottom of her coconut rice bowl like it was a Dairy Queen cone.

- At Tribal Council, Naonka once again proved she is insane by talking about how she would definitely win the game because of her “drive.” Probst then openly mocked her. I love you, Jeff.

- Long story short, they both ended up quitting, and had their torches “smuffed.” Ridiculous. Here’s a question for you, if they had both decided not to quit, what would have happened then? Would there have been a vote right away, with no one having Immunity since there was no Immunity challenge? Or was this a special “Quitters” Tribal Council, just to address that issue? I look forward to Jeff Probst’s blog on Thursday morning (link at the end), where I’m sure he will address that.

- I hate when people quit on this show. Hate it. It’s so absurd that they take the opportunity away from someone else, and you could see how disgusted Alina, Marty, and Brenda were…and rightfully so. But even in NaOnka’s confessional, she still patted herself on the back. I submit to you that she may be the most delusional contestant in Survivor history
Here’s my suggestion on how to deal with quitters: If you quit, you’re gone…period. You’re not on the jury, you’re not on the reunion show, you don’t even get a goodbye confessional. Screw it…if you quit the game, you quit the whole game.

Next Week: Everyone wants to vote for everyone.

Just a reminder that Comment Moderation is still on due to the fact that there are a number of spoilers circulating (I blame a bitter NaOnka for actually leaking all of the info that has been leaked…that’s not a joke). Until the end of this season, I will have to approve Comments before they get posted on here. Rest assured I will post every Comment (positive or negative) that does not contain spoilers.

Also, one final note: I will be travelling to the West Coast for 2 weeks, starting this coming weekend, so that may affect my recaps for both The Amazing Race and Survivor. I think they should all still work out ok, but I haven’t exactly figured it all out yet. I’m hoping it all works out as usual…the only difference is that the recaps will appear later since I will be watching the show on Pacific Time. I will be back home for the Season Finale and Reunion show on December 19th.

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Thanks for reading.

Related Posts:
Survivor Nicaragua Recap by Dalton Ross
Jeff Probst’s Blog
Spoiler TV Recap