Survivor Nicaragua Recap: "Even When I Was In Iowa I Wasn't This Cold"

This season of Survivor has had me worried that we were in for another Survivor: Thailand. To be fair, the cast was behind the 8-ball from the get-go thanks to the worst “twist” in Survivor history, but the anger-inducing NaOnka, and the petty whining of Jimmy T., along with the Older Tribe showing that they certainly are not the wiser tribe…well, this season needed a big move to keep my interest.

Last week’s preview teased that we were finally going to see a Tribal switch-up. Would alliance-mates get split up? Who’s eating all the chicken? And just how cold is it in Iowa, anyways?

My Random Thoughts:

- Tonight’s episode started back at camp after Tribal Council, with Holly wondering why Jimmy T. was voted out over Dan. She pointed out, “Let’s face it, Jimmy T. could do handstands over Danny”, and I think that every Survivor viewer out there thanked Espada for voting Jimmy out, just so we weren’t subjected to actually seeing that. If you didn’t already have the visual in your head…you’re welcome.

- If you hadn’t seen already that there was going to be a Tribal Switch this week, the overconfident ramblings of NaOnka and Marty would have told you that it was coming. Interesting that the two players with Immunity Idols were the ones gloating.

- At Tribal Switch, Jeff Probst commented that Jud/Fabio had a look of shock on his face. Um…Jeff, that’s what he looks like all the time. Like someone is constantly telling him jokes in Cantonese.

- Dan, meanwhile, looked like an Oompa Loompa after he took off his buff and was standing on the beach. Seriously…if you pvr’ed the episode, go back and look.

- The Medallion of Power is kaput already? What a raw deal for the “Older” Tribe who just got it back. The elimination of the MoP should be the proof that this Old vs. Young idea was horrible.

- The reward challenge was essentially Plinko for chickens. It was a pretty close contest, but new La Flor member Marty dropped two balls to give Espada the win. Perhaps not the best way to endear yourself to your new Tribe. I mean, they’re already terrified of your out-of-control hair (what is happening there?), and now you lose the challenge for them. At this point, I was thinking to myself, good thing he has the Idol.

- After the reformed tribes got back to camp, Holly immediately tried to bond with the younger castaways, or surrogate children, as the ‘Mom’ hat was whisked out quicker than you can say ‘Crazy Lady’. Remember this is the woman who ran around camp in the first hour telling everyone ‘I trust you” for no reason, before inexplicably stealing shoes and sinking them in the ocean.

- NaOnka played along with Holly’s mother hen bonding, telling her “I like your energy”, which I interpreted as “I’m not gonna mess with you because you have two legs and no socks for me to steal.”

- Did you see Chase’s face when Holly mentioned that she was from South Dakota? It was a creepy grin before saying, “There’s sure some good huntin’ there.” What an awkward moment.

- Kelly B finally spoke! Although the only thing she said was “It’s awesome to have you here.”

- Marty, what is wrong with you!? Why are you telling people about the Idol? I’m regretting him as my choice more and more every week. (Jim, I might as well pay up on our bet right now.)

- Breaking down in the rain is neither ‘hood’ nor ‘ghetto’…and watching NaOnka whine about the rain and cold made me realize again what a drama queen she was. And then Alina summed it up perfectly by explaining “NaOnka seems like a high school girl. She’s irrational and crazy, and she just seems like she’s on her period all the time.” I’m starting to really like Alina, and I think this Tribal Switch will be good for her.

- The Immunity challenge (and let’s all revel in the fact that we got both a Reward and Immunity challenge in this episode) was in a word: awesome. Perhaps the best challenge I’ve seen in the history of the show. I loved it.

- What’s with all the talk from NaOnka about quitting or getting voted out? Has she forgotten that she has the Immunity Idol? Where the hell is it, anyways? Is it still in her shoe?

- Tyrone sealed his own fate with chicken-gate. When will people ever learn on this game?

- For the second week in a row, a Dr. Phil session breaks out during Tribal Council? Come on…this is about the game, not your divorce or your personality issues. And for a part of the show that is so heavily edited, why are we seeing so much of it? I sure hope there’s a team of therapists at the reunion show for these basket cases.

- I think the show may have turned a corner this week. The Tribal Switch was badly needed, and hopefully it will inject some life into the rest of the season. But I really don’t want to see more therapy sessions and players wanting to quit. Give me more water wheels and giant Plinko boards.

Next Week: Dan gets homesick, and another twist?

One final note for this week. With the increased traffic this blog has been seeing in recent weeks (1000+ hits/week and rising – Thank you!), there are bound to be some critics and those internet beauties who love to find fault in everything they can. I understand that my blog is not for everyone, and if you’re looking for an in-depth recap and analysis, this is definitely not the place. If you’re looking for a dose of commentary with a side of sarcasm, available as soon as the episode ends, then you’ve come to the right place…and I’m glad you’re here.

The reason I mention this is because one person criticized my recapping style as “a haphazard mess of ideas.” So, I figured I would include the following, from http://www.thesaurus.com/:

Haphazard: Adjective, without plan or organization. Synonym – Random.

Idea: Noun, something understood or planned. Synonym – Thought.

So…essentially, “a haphazard mess of ideas” would be…Random Thoughts. Exactly as advertised.

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And make sure you head on over to EW.com and read Dalton Ross’s recap (he’s the best in the business, by far), and Jeff Probst’s blog. They’re both always worth it.

Thanks for reading.