SURVIVOR: Nicaragua Recap – “Fatigue Makes Cowards of Us All”

Previously on SURVIVOR…

The contestants were split into two tribes. The Espada tribe members are all over the age of 40, while La Flor is comprised by those under 30. So it’s young vs. old (or relatively old) this season. Another twist? The Medallion of Power is now in play.  The tribe that’s in possession can use the MoP in order to gain certain advantages during competitions. Once it’s used, it’s passed to the other team. Last week, Espada opted not to use the MoP and ended up in tribal council. Wendy was sent home. Advantage: La Flor.

One other thing…as you may have noticed, the producers are obsessed with Jimmy Johnson this season. The coach has received so much air time that I’m not sure we’ve even met all his other tribe mates. It’s actually quite annoying and I’m not sure it’s going to end until he gets voted off the island.

It seems we’re seeing more of the same as tonight’s episode picks up. Jill explained that the Espada tribe meets every morning to decide the tasks for the day and assign duties. From the perspective of the audience, it’s really Coach Jimmy telling people what to do. Marty was quite fine letting Jimmy J. sticking his neck out on the line by assuming command. Jimmy T., on the other hand, wasn’t too pleased that people seem to be so focused on Coach.

Over in La Flor, the young’uns were still sounding like a bunch of fools. Sash made the statement that his father is black so therefore he’d like to take as many minorities with him to the end. SURVIVOR as a political and social statement? C’mon now. Then again, this is the same guy that includes “Dating Beautiful Women” as one of his hobbies in his player profile so….

Kelly B.’s prosthetic leg continued to be an important topic for some members of La Flor. Kelly (but really her leg) seem to be a target. Her tribe seems to think that (a) she’s not physically fit enough to help the team, and (b) she’s a complete charity case/pity party rolled into one. They all apparently assume that because of her disability, she will automatically be awarded the $1M from the jury.

This is the problem with this game. These contestants land on the show and start thinking 20 moves ahead rather than focusing on the opportunities and threats right in from of them.

Back on the other side of Island de Loon, Holly needlessly snapped at Jill over eating snails. She then proceeded to grab the snail pail and dump it out. After hearing her tribe make fun of her behavior, Holly decided to steal Dan’s $1,600 shoes, pack them with sand and throw them in the ocean. Um, what?! This chick is insane. Who does that? And more importantly, does she not realize this guy is in her tribe and his shoes might be helpful in future competitions? Competitions that, if won, could keep her in the game. I continue to be mesmerized by the asshattery of these players.

Have I mentioned it’s only Day 4?

Tyrone: Holly keeps getting stranger and stranger. And every time she speaks, it becomes more evident that she’s crazy. So I’m gonna keep one eye on her and the other eye on my shoes.

Who knew that foot coverings could cause so much strife. Over in La Flor’s camp,  NaOnka seems to have lost a sock, and she’s lashing out at everyone, being nasty and calling them “bitches.” Seriously? And if that wasn’t enough, she decided to steal Fabio’s socks. What planet is this chick from? More importantly, are these contestants going to be this annoying all season? Oy vey!

Just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, Probst pulled the tribes together for a competition. Nice timing, Jeff.

Tonight’s immunity and reward competition was a multi-level game involving mud, balls, hay and barrels. Espada opted to use the Medallion of Power to gain the competitive advantage in this challenge.

Probst’s color commentary was marvelous tonight, offering up this gem: “Kelly Bruno trekking through that mud! Artificial leg not bothering her at all!” Oh, Probst!

Using the MoP resulted in a win for the older tribe. Espada won immunity and fishing gear as a reward. That’s a BIG win! Good things continued for Espada when they collectively found a clue to the hidden Immunity idol. Jimmy T proved valuable in figuring out most of the clue, but while everyone was out searching, it was Jill who solved the last piece of the puzzle. She knew where the idol was hidden, but rather than going to find it herself, she opted to tell Marty (with Danny standing right next to him) where to search.

Um, huh?! The idol is crucial to the game. Why would you essentially give it to someone else?  Jill claimed it was part of her game strategy and wanted to share her knowledge as a way to gain trust with Marty. Hmmm…I’m not sure I would have played that card, but okay.

Marty found the idol, and with a gleam in his eye, kept repeating to Jill: “I found the idol! I found the idol!” but quickly corrected himself by saying “We found the idol!” No, I think you were right the first time, Marty.

So it was La Flor who went to Tribal Council tonight and it was fun! fun! fun!

The first T.C. for La Flor and they were all up on each other. Shannon was pissed at Chase for possibly breaking their alliance and siding with Brenda. He’s just talking and talking and spinning out of control. Even (Fabio) Jud, who is in Shannon’s alliance, told Shannon to cool off or risk putting a big old target on his back.

A fired-up Shannon continued to dig his own grave and, when called out on it by Sash, he turned to him and said, “Hey, I’m going to get this out of the way right now. Are you gay?”  WTF?!  First off Shannon, did you not read my post? I just said that Sash lists ‘dating beautiful women’ as one of his hobbies. Second…really?! May I ask once again – WTF?

As the rest of Shannon’s alliance shook their heads in shame, he wouldn’t relent and continued to reveals himself as a jackass by saying “New York is full of gay people.” Even Probst is shocked. He asks him about it and all Shannon has to say is “They got a lot of them, Jeff. More than they do in Louisana.”

One look at Jeff’s face conveys the sentiment of everyone in the tribe and everyone watching at home – um, is he serious?!

But wait my friends…it ain’t over yet!

The focus shifted to NaOnka and Fabio. NaOnka is a complete bitch who has nothing but self righteous attitude flowing through her veins. She’s unbelievable. You have to wonder how people like her get through life. Aren’t they afraid of falling off the high pedestal they’ve put themselves on?

The back and forth prompted Fabio to desperately ask, “Can we just vote?!” HA!!

They did and when the votes were cast, it was Shannon that was the first member of La Flor voted off the island.

Sucker!

Nice job, La Flor. I still think you are all annoying but at least you got rid of Shannon and his narrow mind. A round of applause.

Is it just me or are both tribes slightly demented? They really pulled in a bunch o’ crazies this season. I’m hoping both tribes get it together or it’s going to be a long and frustrating season of SURVIVOR.

Thoughts on Shannon’s ousting and the revealing Tribal Council? If you were in Shannon’s alliance before Tribal, would you have thought it best to stay with him during the vote? And what about Espada? Holly and the shoes? Batshit crazy that one.

I’m really hoping that some of you are watching SURVIVOR this season and want to talk. I’ll be so bummed if not.