SURVIVOR: Nicaragua – ‘Pulling the Trigger’

I know we’ve got a long way to go before the $1 million winner is revealed, but SURVIVOR really needs to pick up the pace. This is the second week in a row that I found myself bored out of my skull.

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before…

Jimmy T. is complaining that his tribe won’t let him show his leadership skills. NaOnka and her nasty attitude are busy bullying her tribemates. Dan is complaining about his physical ailments. Kelly B’s artificial leg is the subject of conversation. Brenda is walking around the beach looking all kinds of hot. (I didn’t want it to be all negative.)

The events above could describe pretty much any episode from the season thus far. The story remains the same. The producers seem intent on focusing on a few players while others are barely getting any screen time. Maybe the producers are just mourning the loss of Jimmy Johnson. Who knows. But as Dan and I discussed during the last TV Talk Podcast, the game of SURVIVOR presents natural drama, the producers shouldn’t try so hard to look for it.

As for how the game changed as a result of tonight’s series of events…

Brenda figured out the last part of the clue to the hidden immunity idol and shared it with NaOnka. These people really are dumb. Whoever is in possession of the idol is the only one that controls it. If Brenda figured out the last part of the clue, she should have set out on her own to find it.  Instead she gave crucial information to NaOnka who then found the idol and claimed it as her own. Again, dumbass.

In the blind leading the blind challenge, once again Espada came up short. They lost the immunity/reward challenge and had to hoof it to tribal council for a little group chat with Jeff.

Going into T.C., the team was torn between sending home Jimmy T. or Dan. Marty was pushing for the annoying Jimmy T., while Jane , who was intent on keeping the strongest tribe possible, put the soft push on her team to vote off Dan. The discussion at tribal council revolved around Jimmy T.’s need to be a leader when what his tribemates really needed from him was to follow.  An emotional Jimmy agreed to the latter, and in doing so I think he may have swayed a vote or two.

In the end, it wasn’t enough. Jimmy T. was voted out of the Espada tribe and off the island.

Marty is controlling the Espada tribe now, and I feel it’s to the detriment of the tribe. It seems as if his overall strategy is to pick off those who (a) pose a threat to his leadership, and (b) he just doesn’t like. Marty, this is SURVIVOR, not ‘Lord of the Flies’. Of course Marty wants to keep Dan around, Dan is a desperate ‘yes’ man. He knows he’s not contributing to the tribe so he’s going to do whatever he can, and more importantly what everyone wants him to do, just to stay in the game. I wasn’t a fan of Jimmy T., but he could have helped the tribe more in the longer run than Dan and his bum knee.

I wish Jill would get off her ass and step up. I think she has the real potential to effectively lead Espada.

Of course all this game talk might be a moot point.  Next week’s previews seem to indicate that the two tribes are merging. Is it me or does it seem really early in the game for that?

Where are my fellow SURVIVOR fans? Would you have sent Jimmy T. home? What does Espada need to do to turn things around? Is it too late with the merge seemingly taking place next week?

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