Survivor: Blood vs Water Episode 12 Notes

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Redemption Island & Hidden Immunity Idol

Before the challenge, Caleb will not look at his former tribe that voted him out. He tells Jeff Probst that a man’s word is worth something in the South but apparently not in Utah or Philly [referring to Tyson and Gervase]. While Gervase has no problem rubbing salt in other players’ wounds, he is absolutely correct when he points out that Caleb and Hayden plotted to vote Tyson and Gervase out first. As such, it is a case of being a sore loser when Caleb questions the integrity of Tyson and Gervase. The challenge is between Laura, Tina, and Caleb. However, there is no suspense for me as I saw a CBS trailer during Sunday football with Caleb sitting on the jury. The challenge involves building a house of cards up to 8 feet. You can win by building past the 8 foot marker or being higher than the other players after 30 minutes. Of course, Laura finishes first easily. As such, Tina and Caleb race to the top or to have the higher structure when time expires. While Caleb is ahead late, I simply wait for his stack to fall down. Once it falls, Tina just waits out the timer to survive.

As Laura finishes first, she gives the clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol to Ciera again. Unlike the previous times, Ciera wisely keeps it instead of burning it. As Tyson played the idol in the last tribal council, she knows for certain that the idol is back up for grabs. Ciera makes the decision to share the clue with her alliance which includes Tyson, Gervase, and Monica. It is another smart move. Everyone knows she has the clue so she cannot conceal it. By sharing it with her alliance, they can find the idol and keep it away from Hayden and Katie. Accordingly, her alliance searches for the Idol. Eventually, Tyson finds it on the branch of a tree. Similar to the first idol he finds, he wisely keeps it a secret. Possession of the idol allows him the comfort of targeting whoever he wants without the fear that he will play the Idol. Of course, it is a tool to also keep him 100% safe in case he feels in danger. If the other players know, he will be a target. As such, Tyson has used the Idol very well this season. When Tyson finds the idol, he hysterically puts the Idol in his pants as he notes that it is the last place anyone would expect a bulge. On a serious note, he is relieved to find the idol so it cannot be used against him. Moreover, he confesses that he needs to win because it is the only way he can justify not swapping places with his girlfriend, Rachel, when she got voted out. While Tyson has been a jokester most of his Survivor career, he truly loves his girlfriend. It is some of the rare times he is serious and vulnerable when he speaks adoringly of Rachel.

Hayden Scrambling

I am very impressed by Hayden’s play the last two episodes. He tried to stage a coup against Tyson that failed last week with Caleb’s ouster. As a result, he knows he is the next target and has nothing to lose in scrambling hard. When they get back from camp after tribal council, he immediately calls out Tyson by saying everyone is playing for second and Tyson will win if he gets to the end. Of course, Tyson knows he is in control but he does not want someone pointing it out so the other players target him. Hayden’s aggressive play does open options for him. Gervase takes exception to Tyson being the perceived winner as he feels he has been Tyson’s partner in crime. As such, Gervase entertains a pitch from Hayden to get rid of Tyson. If Hayden can convince Ciera and Gervase to switch, they can outnumber Tyson and Monica 4-2. However, it just does not make sense for Gervaes to backstab Tyson as it does not put him in a better opportunity to get to the end. His strongest allies in the game have been Tyson and Monica. Hayden and Katie are just trying to save their own skins. While the endgame is important as Tyson is the favorite to win the jury, you need to get to the end first for the opportunity to plead your case to the jury before worrying about winning votes. Nevertheless, Gervase tells Hayden he will consider switching if Hayden can guarantee that Ciera will go along with the plan. Accordingly, Hayden tries to convince Ciera. While she listens, she admits in a confessional that she has no intention to switch alliances. As a result, Hayden is fighting an uphill battle. Nevertheless, Hayden is an excellent communicator, strategic player, and a competitor. He won Big Brother and is not someone to ever count out.

 

Immunity Challenge and Reward Decision

The challenge involves balancing a ball on a stick through a three part obstacle course. At each part, another piece is added on to the stick to make it longer and more difficult to balance the ball. I would have enough trouble balancing the ball on a stick while walking. I cannot imagine how frustrating it is to do it and get through an obstacle course at the same time. After they finish the obstacle course, the players have to use sand bags to knock off nine bamboo targets. During the challenge, Gervase and Monica break away from the rest of the pack. Monica has been a challenge beast this season but Gervase is able to squeak out the win.

As the winner, Gervase has a difficult decision as he needs to pick two people for the reward to eat ice cream. He picks his core alliance of Monica and Tyson. I do not agree with the decision. He definitely should have selected Monica as she has been insecure in the past. Accordingly, she may have become paranoid and turned against Gervase if he excluded her. For a similar reason, Gervase should have picked Ciera. Tyson is his closest ally and would not have turned against Gervase if he missed out on ice cream. As a result, Gervase should have made the strategic decision to bring Ciera with him to the reward to make her feel safe in her alliance with Gervase and Tyson. While this decision alone does not lose Ciera’s loyalty, Gervase’s terrible performance in the Tribal Council later makes this decision a problem.

Wild Tribal Council and Rocks

Going into the Tribal Council, the 4 person majority alliance appears poised to vote out Hayden. However, he does not go down without a hard pitch to Ciera that she is number 4 in her alliance so she should join Katie and him to form another final 3. While Hayden performs superbly with his argument, he is aided by ill advised comments by Gervase and Monica. First, Jeff asks Ciera why she was not chosen for the reward. Ciera is not upset as she has been part of the other rewards. However, Gervase foolishly adds that Monica and Tyson are part of the original Galang tribe and he has put his “blood, sweat, and tears “ in them. As the discussion continues and Ciera starts to feel like she is number 4 in the alliance, Monica tries to argue that 4 is better than 6 which reveals Ciera is 4. Moreover, Gervase counts off the alliance and inadvertently ends with Ciera as 4. There is a moment of comical relief. When Hayden uses the term “rustle feathers” instead of “ruffle feathers”, Tyson interrupts and points out that Hayden messed up the term and used the name of a person “Russel”. It is a very funny moment that also unnerves Hayden a bit. Nevertheless, it is evident to Ciera that she is 4 so she forces a tie by voting for Monica with Hayden and Katie. After there is a deadlock, rocks are drawn between Tyson, Ciera, and Katie to decide who gets voted out. As Gervase has immunity and Hayden and Monica were voted for in the deadlock, all three are exempt from drawing rocks. In the end, Katie pulls the white rock that votes her out.

For Hayden, the tie and drawing of rocks are great. He would have been voted out. Instead, he is safe when there is a deadlock and the other Survivors need to pick rocks to vote someone else out. Moreover, Tyson is completely blindsided by Ciera’s flop and does not use his idol. Accordingly, Tyson is at risk of getting vote out because of Hayden’s work on Ciera. Although Katie picks the wrong rock, the tie is also good for her. She would have been voted out anyway in the next Tribal Council. As a result, it is worth a shot for her as Tyson could have selected the white rock. For Ciera, the decision is a lot more complicated. If she believes that she is number 4, she needs to do something. However, I do not know if drawing rocks made sense. The last vote was the time to make a move against Tyson. She could have joined Hayden, Caleb, and Katie to outnumber the other alliance. As she missed her chance, I think she should have played out the scenario of getting to the Final 4. At that point, someone will return to the game from Redemption Island and her mom, Laura, is the favorite to return. If she has her mom in the Final 5, they have a chance to sway Gervase or Monica to vote with them as Tyson is the favorite to win the game if he makes it to the end. As such, choosing to tie and go to rocks puts her at risk to be voted out when she would have definitely been safe for a couple more Tribal Councils. Although she did not select the white rock, she is now a clear target for the alliance of three due to her betrayal.

The decision to keep the deadlock is a ballsy move for Tyson. First, he has the hidden immunity idol. If he switches his vote after the tie to vote out Monica, he would have been safe this Tribal Council and the idol keeps him safe the next Tribal Council as well. While the odds are with him as he only has a 1/3 chance of getting voted out and a 2/3 chance that someone not in his alliance gets voted out, the 1/3 chance is a little too much considering he has an idol. Moreover, he is the favorite to win. Consequently, the decision to proceed to rocks in an attempt to preserve his Final 3 alliance takes a lot of guts as he has the most to lose. However, another reason he might have been willing to go to rocks is Redemption Island. Even if he gets voted out, he is strong at challenges and would have a legitimate chance to return to the game. Nevertheless, there is a reason that it is only the second time that players have allowed their fate to be decided by rocks as no one wants to leave their fate in the hands of pure chance. It is very exciting to watch and this episode is exhilarating.

Pat Wong

About Pat Wong

Patrick is a contributor for Rookerville. He is an avid sports fan. Before joining Rookerville, he was part of a defunct New York Yankees message board, NYYankeefans, where he was its top poster and was inducted in its Hall of Fame for his contributions. Patrick is also a passionate fan of movies. He has enjoyed reading movie reviews over the years and is excited about the opportunity to review movies.

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