Reality TV Thoughts

Joe Hunter Vs. Rick Devens? That’s a rivalry I did not see coming! Survivor 50’s second episode continues delivering in entertainment and drama! Gastrointestinal distress, bag searches, leg cramps, another Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol being discovered, the reigning champion getting knocked out, there is so much to unpack this episode!

The Kalo Tribe: The Dragonslayer Almost Slain by the Ocean

Unfortunately, like in the premiere, Kalo gets the least amount of content out of the three tribes in episode 2. Of the little content they do get, Coach is the star. First of all, at the reward challenge, everyone is saddened to see that Kyle has been pulled from the game. We get an especially heartbreaking reaction from Kamilla. Although she did not want Kyle competing alongside her, he’s still her friend and someone she shared a unique experience with on 48. In this solemn moment, Coach is the one to unintentionally lighten the mood. After Ozzy connects Kyle’s med evac to him hurting his back at the supplies challenge, Coach decides this is the best time for him to call out Ozzy and tell everyone the ‘truth’ about what happened at that supplies challenge. He claims that he is playing the game the exact same way he’s always played it, with honor. Ozzy snarkily replies that he is playing it the same way he did on South Pacific, where their rivalry famously started. Side note, cutting to Emily’s reaction to Coach essentially doing what she did at the marooning of Survivor 45 was a nice touch. After a pretty epic water challenge in which Kalo scores a tarp and small camp essentials kit, Coach decides he wants to fish with Jonathan. Jonathan tells him of this beautiful coral reef, which Coach tragically does not get to appreciate. That is because, minutes after entering the water, Coach gets a cramp in both of his legs and needs to be rescued by the water safety crew. The rest of Kalo’s reaction to this is hilarious. Mike White gives a comical retelling of Coach’s incident in confessional, Charlie is completely shocked to see Coach barely able to walk, and Dee calls him “old and dismantled.” Unfortunately, the rest of Kalo does not get anywhere near as much content. Tiffany is irrelevant the whole episode, Chrissy’s only content is of people criticizing her motherly nature, and Kamilla doesn’t even get a single confessional about Kyle. The Dragonslayer is amazing, but hopefully the rest of Kalo will get a chance to shine, especially with a swap coming next episode.

The Vatu Tribe: Bag Searching a Bit Too Early

On Vatu, Aubry is clearly on the bottom of the tribe. Even despite Kyle’s early exit completely changing the tribe dynamics, it seems everyone besides Aubry has some kind of connection. Q brings Rizo into the main alliance to replace Kyle and confesses to him that he lost his vote. Rizo is overall trying to tone himself down after coming in a bit too eager. And worst yet, the core alliance devises a plan to search through Aubry’s bag to make sure she does not have an idol. Genevieve notices that Aubry is taking her bag everywhere and fears a potential idol. With Q on lookout, she searches through Aubry’s bag only to find… nothing. Nothing to worry about, Aubry doesn’t have the idol guys! Almost directly after the bag search though, Christian finds the Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol on Cila and sends it to Aubry! Aubry is ecstatic and emotional to have received this gift. This idol could be exactly what Aubry needs to turn her game around. After getting voted out with an idol in her pocket on Edge of Extinction, Aubry is going to make sure to not make the same mistake twice. She could be in for one of the greatest underdog runs in Survivor history! Beyond the Aubry of it all, Colby is determined to prove himself in the challenges once again. His strength in the immunity challenge, pulling the 200 pound snake to the checkpoint with everything he had was amazing to watch.

The Cila Tribe: Everyone Hates Honesty and Integrity!

Joe Hunter actually providing entertainment? Who knew that was possible. Before we can get to that though, we have to address the elephant in the room: Christian’s crappy khakis. While helping Joe with fire, Christian craps his pants, something that despite being deeply embarassing, he takes lightly and even calls the messiest move in Survivor history on ChatBCC. Back to Joe, everyone seems to be tired of Joe’s whole honesty and integrity schtick, especially Rick Devens. When Savannah suggests to Devens in alliance between herself, him, Christian, and Joe, he is not pleased. In front of Joe, he whispers something to Savannah, which Joe does not take kindly to and confronts Rick about. Rick is annoyed with Joe about this and in confessional says he does not want to work with Joe and deal with all of this honesty and integrity stuff. He is not that kind of player, he loves flashy gameplay with idols and advantages. In the midst of all of this, Christian humorously rocks Joe in the hammock as he tries to calm him down and keep him from going after Rick. After Cila loses immunity yet again, the tribe dynamics continue to get more interesting. Emily still wants to go after Ozzy, but Cirie puts in the work to protect him and shift the target away. After Cirie tells Ozzy that she thinks people aren’t targeting him anymore, he thanks her with his extra vote. In confessional, Ozzy says Cirie’s social game is amazing, especially compared to his own. Also, this is Cirie’s first advantage! Savannah catches onto Cirie swaying the target away from Ozzy and tries to tell everyone they should stick to that plan. Rick and Joe’s rivalry gets so heated that everyone is considering switching the target to Joe. At tribal, Joe claims that the beef is squashed to quell everyone’s fears. In the end, it is a unanimous Savannah vote, as the distrust of her going on the journey seemingly did sink her game. A kind of disappointing end to all of the drama on this tribe, but that’s not the actual ending. Before tribal, Rick and Christian devised a plan to use Christian’s Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol clue and a fake idol to plant a fake advantage at tribal council. Seconds after Savannah’s torch has been snuffed, and it’s time to go back to camp, Christian takes a fake fall so real you’ll doubt it was truly intentional. It distracts everyone just long enough for Devens to hide the fake advantage in between rocks. near the fire. Will this fake idol lead to a chaotic, messy moment down the line? Or will it be just as disappointing as Sophi B.’s knowledge is power? Hopefully the former.

Savannah: Doomed From the Start?

Coming into Survivor 50, Savannah was by far the player I had the lowest expectations for. She was a great player on 49 with a slightly villain-like personality, but coming into 50, I believed too much was stacked up against her. Being outed at the winner of 49 (which nobody had seen at that point), no one knowing how she played, and not being able to pre-game. Yet she surprised me in her short stay. She survived the first tribal council and seemingly was not even a consideration to go home. Unfortunately this episode, it seemed she was just an easy person to boot for Cila, especially given the unknowns of the journey. She still had great moments this season, though. Beating one of her Survivor idols, Colby, in the journey, catching on to Cirie’s gameplay, and her beautiful monologue about learning to embrace her true self throughout her Survivor journey. I’d be happy if she got a third shot where the odds weren’t completely stacked against her from the start.

A Worthy Follow-up

After how amazing the premiere was, episode 2 continues to deliver. Different gameplay styles colliding, new creative advantage strategies, and the Dragonslayer of it all. The only weakness is the underediting of the women, which was especially noticeable in this episode. Hopefully, this issue can be lessened in the following episodes. With a tribe swap coming up, new dynamics are sure to form. And unfortunately, a fan favorite is sure to be swap screwed. It’s all in the name of the game though, so bring it on!