The Awesomeness of Tracy (Hey, Who Knew?)

Survivor 16:4 Micronesia minicap

Okay, so I love when this happens. Every now and then, a contestant on Survivor totally surprises me by NOT letting things flow as they inevitably will. Once in a while, a castaway will realize that the nothing's going to change unless he (or, in this case, she) does something to change them...and then actually tries to do just that! It doesn't happen nearly enough, but when it does, it's a beautiful thing to behold, and that's exactly what this week was.

So onto the recap...a moment of silence for Yau (sigh) and then onto this week...over in the Favorites camp, Cirie is questioning Ami about why the latter wrote the former's name down at the previous night's tribal. Which, Cirie? Give it a rest. You won, Yau (sigh) is gone and all of this is just overkill. So let's move on....

Jonathan and Cirie bicker about which one is more devious and manipulative, as if either of those characteristics is a bad thing in a game like this. Bottom line - Cirie won the round, Jonathan lost his alliance, and neither of the two trust each other. Ho hum, hey?

An eel washes up on Fan beach and meets an untimely death by beheading. (A bit of foreshadowing, or just dinner? You decide.) Chet is, once again, doing just about nothing, which the rest of the tribe notices and is none too happy about. Go figure.

Someone else is doing nothing as well, back in the Favorite's camp. That someone is Little Eliza, prompting James to rethink their decision to off Yau (sigh) when Eliza is obviously the weaker link. He rants to his alliance mates (can I call them the "Love Bugs"? Okay, I won't.) that they made a mistake folding to Cirie's will when Eliza is useless, and Eliza's all, "Hello? I'm still here" which, yeah, that's why they're upset. Hee.

Reward Challenge. Jeff Probst explains that four members of each tribe will swim out to a floating platform and move coconuts up a tube. There are ten coconuts, each with a letter painted on it. The swimmer will take one coconut, toss it into a bin and then return to the beach in turn. When all ten coconuts are in the bin, they swim the bin to shore, where the four remaining tribe mates unscramble the letters to form a word.

The reward? Chicken. No, not that player from last season...but three hens and a rooster. The Fans sit out Chet (because the legend lives on) and the race begins.

Marine Boy - er, Ozzy - and Jason are first in the water, with Ozzy staying underwater to move all the coconuts to the end of the tube, a strategy that makes things easier for the other, less-water-friendly tribe mates. The strategy pays off, and the Favorites get their coconut bin to shore long before the Fans leave the water. Cirie, James, Amanda and Eliza are the puzzle solvers, and James speculates that the word is "triumphant." It is, they are, and the Favorites win the fowl prize.

Kathy is once again headed for Exile Island, with Ozzy going with her this time. Lucky Kathy; there's no way she's winning this thing, but at least she gets to spend some quality time with each of the favorites, who are mini-celebrities, at least in the eyes of the fans. Ozzy teaches Kathy to split a coconut before he splits - telling her he's looking for food, but actually going on his own idol search. Kathy is so star struck she doesn't suspect a thing, and not only does Ozzy find the idol, but he has enough time to fashion a make-shift fake idol as a nod to Yau (sigh). Seriously, what did Kathy think he was doing all that time? Should we even go there?

Back at camp, Cirie has decided that, after orchestrating the outser of Yau (sigh), the next move is to off the rooster. Eliza tells the rooster she knows how he feels....her head is on the chopping block, too. She tries to make some headway with Parvati, telling her she'd be loyal to the end, unlike Jonathan. Who just happens to overhear this lobbying.

Immunity Challenge. This one involves strapping yourself into a six-point hub, secured by six locks. Castaways need to unlock themselves, then maneuver through a maze collecting bead necklaces along the way. When they collect six necklaces, they hand them off to the two remaining tribe members who place them on a decoding wheel and decode a three word phrase. Got it? Okay, let's go....

The Favorites easily unlock and maneuver, just as though they've been here before. They hand off their necklaces before the Fans really get started, and - despite Jeff's urgings that the Fans are still in it - Eliza and Cirie solve the puzzle before they even collect all their necklaces. "Tribe Stays Intact"....the winning tribe, that is. The Fans are headed to Tribal Council.

But first, some juggling and maneuvering of their own. Joel and Mikey B. are planning to pick off the weaker, older alliance - first Chet (because really, who would miss him?) then Kathy, then Tracy. Which in most seasons would be exactly how it would go. Tracy urges Chet to get in the game and fight for his life, but he continues to do nothing....so she does it for him.

Tracy casually throws the idea of voting out Mikey B to Joel (precisely the person who would want to hear it, thinking this would prove his ultimate dominance of the tribe). Joel says they need Mikey for the challenges, and Tracy challenges him by saying he's letting Mikey call the shots. She says he's just rolling over which makes her angry. Of course, what really makes Tracy angry is seeing the writing on the wall, and that if things play out as they seem to be, she'd be the third to go. Still, this move? Absolutely brilliant.

Tracy continues, pointing out Mikey is still out to get Joel for the Mary vote. She adds that the three "outcasts" can join with Joel and help him avoid this now....but won't be there to help if they're picked off. And then she leaves it like that, which again - brilliant. It's all about planting seeds here, peoples.

Tribal Council. Jason says the tribe will be stronger after the vote. Joel says it's important to keep strong for challenges. Chet admits he's not strong at all. Jeff calls for a vote, but Jason pushes pause so he point out how important this vote will be to their future. Get a grip, Jason. Didn't you read the rule about never interrupting Jeff?

So now, they really go to vote. And the tally: Chet, Chet, Mike, Mike, Chet, Mike, Mike, Mike. Jason can't believe it; heck, what happened to the plan?

All hail Tracy, new queen of Survivor. Finally, someone sees the writing on the wall - and knows how to edit it.

NEXT WEEK: Tribal mix-up. I can't wait!!!

( Add your comments )

Recent Entries:
· Survivor Gabon Premiere (The Second Hour)
· Survivor: Gabon
· The Academy Has Spoken

[ READER COMMENTS ]

The Awesomeness of Tracy (Hey, Who Knew?)

Add your comments...

We kindly ask that you keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Abusive or inappropriate comments or comments that are specifically promotional in nature may be removed.