Survivor BBB: Episode 9 & 10 Notes

Survivor BBB: Episode 9 & 10 Notes

GALLERY

Episode 9

Tony’s blindside of LJ in the last episode was a big move. It was definitely a smart move to get rid of LJ. He was one of the biggest threats to win the game. However, Tony risked alienating his alliance. I expected much more fallout than occurred after tribal council. He explains that he kept it a secret between Woo and he in order to ensure that only a few people knew about it and could screw up the plan. As a result, Trish accepts and agrees with Tony’s premise even though she really likes LJ. Kass is only concerned about whether it was just a one off move by Tony to eliminate LJ or whether he intends to switch to the other alliance. Since he responds that he is sticking with the alliance of 5, Kass is not concerned about the move as her position improves with one less person in her alliance. Nevertheless, Jefra is shaken by the turn of events. She has been aligned with LJ since the start of the game when they started on the Beauty tribe. He has carried her to this point of the game. Consequently, she no longer feels safe without him, especially when her own alliance turned on him. As such, she is the critical piece of the episode as she can force a 4 to 4 tie and drawing of rocks if she switches sides. This fact clearly makes Tony uneasy. If Jefra flips, there is also a chance that someone else flips to vote him out to avoid drawing rocks. As we know, drawing of rocks is a random way to eliminate a player during a deadlock while players generally want to control their own fate. Of course, the special idol is out there and has not been found yet. It is another element that will loom large the rest of the game.

The Courting of Jefra

The reward challenge puts Jefra, Tasha, Spencer, and Jeremiah on the same team. They win and enjoy a barbecue in a gorgeous cave. During this reward, Tasha, Spencer, and Jeremiah work on recruiting Jefra to their alliance. As an added bonus, the group also receives letters from home. Jefra sees the letter as a sign for her to join the other alliance. For her, it makes a lot of sense. While switching only offers a 4 to 4 tie that results in drawing rocks, I believe she is at the bottom of her alliance because of her association with LJ and her clear objection to Tony voting him out. On the other hand, she would lose to Tasha or Spencer if she goes to the end with either one. However, she has not done much in the game and does not have much of a case to win against anyone else in her current alliance anyway. As a result, it makes sense for her to switch and make a big move to start to build a case of why she should win the game. Of course, she is in a good position to be dragged to the end by either group assuming the other players recognize that she is an obvious goat that gets no votes from the jury.

The Special Idol

Since the merge, the players have been aware of an idol near camp with special powers. Presumably, they have all been searching for it whenever they can. As Tony feels heat for voting out LJ, he has extra pressure to look for and find it. He uncovers it during the episode. We learn that the idol is special because it allows the holder to use it after the votes have been read but it cannot be used on another player. I hate this idol. This idol has been in the game in previous seasons. It was deemed too powerful and its power was limited so that a player had to use it before the vote was read. It was a fair compromise and makes the game very exciting. It is a cat and mouse game with the holders of the idols and the other players. A player can still use the idol to change the game or protect himself but the other players could blindside him and eliminate him with an idol in his hands. Of course, there is nothing more embarrassing than going home with an idol. This special idol removes that situation as Tony cannot get blindsided with his idol. Accordingly, it removes any suspense whether he will make it to the final four. Although Tony is entertaining, I hate that this idol gives him so much power and detracts from my enjoyment of the season. It is the consensus of every viewer of the show. I have not heard an opinion that supports this special idol. Hopefully, it is gone for good after this season.

Trish’s Brilliant Social Game

While Tony has been the loud and driving force of his alliance, Trish has also played a brilliant game with her social skills. Earlier in the game, she saw that Kass was upset with Sarah and swayed Kass into joining the alliance. In this episode, she realizes that Jefra is upset about LJ’s elimination. As such, Trish is masterful in calming Jefra’s fears and pulling her back into the alliance. She alleviates Jefra’s distrust in Tony by calling him out in front of the alliance and making him promise to stop his duplicity. As a result, Jefra feels safe again and reneges on her promise to join Tasha, Spencer, and Jeremiah. Trish’s social game has been subtle but brilliant. Tony would not have been as successful and gone so far without Trish. If she makes it to the finals, I hope she is able to articulate these contributions and get credit for them.

Tribal Council

When Jefra returns to her alliance, she foolishly tells Jeremiah that she will stick with her original alliance. It does not make strategic sense. Tasha wins individual immunity. Consequently, Jefra’s move allows Spencer to make a play with the immunity idol on him or Jeremiah which gives them a 50% chance to eliminate someone on Jefra’s alliance if they guess correctly on who it votes for and use the idol to null the votes. On the other hand, Tasha, Spencer, and Jeremiah should have made an effort to convince Jefra to switch sides again. At the very least, they should have tried to get her to disclose who her alliance will vote for so they can use the idol accordingly. However, they do neither and are left with a 50% chance of guessing if the vote will be against Spencer or Jeremiah. At tribal council, Spencer uses the idol on himself. I agree with the move. He has no indication of who the other alliance will vote for and he is the bigger threat. As such, it would be embarrassing if he used the idol on Jeremiah and he got sent home because the votes are actually for him. When Spencer goes to present Jeff the idol, Tony pulls out his idol to confuse Spencer. While Tony boasts that it is a fake idol that he flashed to trick the inexperienced “young lad” to play the idol on himself instead of the real target “Jeremy”, I do not believe it did much to sway Spencer’s decision. In the end, Tony’s alliance chooses wisely and votes out Jeremiah.

Episode 10

As usual, Kass is condescending and arrogant after tribal council. She boasts that she knew Spencer had the idol because he was too nice during tribal council. Moreover, she states that she knew he would play it one himself because he is a 21 years old male, which means he is selfish. Of course, it is ridiculous that she openly speaks her mind in this manner all the time. She is a clueless social player and her strategic mind for the game is questionable as well. I have no doubt that Spencer would have played the idol on Jeremiah if he had an inclining that the vote was going to be for him. If he is unsure about the vote, he needs to play it on himself. Kass is irritating. She has become irrelevant since she flipped at the merge. Tony is in complete control of the game now.

Survivor Auction

The auction is always a fun moment near the end of the season. The players are given $500 to bid for items. A lot of players bite early for the food they are craving. However, the smart players wait for an advantage in the next immunity challenge or a clue to the hidden immunity instead. As Spencer and Tasha are clearly the next targets, they wait. Tony waits too. I need to give him credit. He already has the special hidden immunity idol which will prevent him from being blindsided. No one would blame him for bidding on some food. However, he stays true to himself and continues to play the game hard. When Jeff gets to putting the advantage up for bid, Tony bids the full $500. However, Jeff notes that anyone willing to bid $500 will also get a chance at the advantage. If there are multiple players bidding the maximum, rocks will be drawn to choose the player that gets the item. Only Spencer and Tony bid, they draw rocks, and Tony draws the black rock required to get the advantage. I was very curious to know why Tasha did not bid. However, she makes an excellent point in her confessional. She was hoping that Jeff would have one more auction item: a clue to the hidden immunity idol. Although the advantage was the last item auctioned, Tasha makes a very smart move. If a clue was auctioned afterwards, she would have won it unopposed.

The advantage turns out to not be an advantage. Instead, it is a clue to a hidden immunity idol. It is the regular idol that went back into the game after Spencer played it. Accordingly, Tony finds it and has the special idol and the regular idol. With two idols in the game, he is guaranteed to go into the final 4 since the special idol can be played after the votes are read.

Sparking Tony’s Paranoia at Camp

Since Tony was the only one in his alliance to forego food at the alliance and wait for the advantage so that he could keep it away from Spencer and Tasha, he is already mad at his alliance for forcing him to be the only one in the alliance to sacrifice at the auction. In addition, Tasha knows that Tony is very paranoid and makes sure that he sees her with the rest of the women so he can trick himself into believing there is a women alliance that will go after him. Of course, Spencer is a smart player and also puts thoughts into Tony’s head by pointing out that Jefra was planning to vote him out after the LJ vote. Of course, Spencer is telling the truth because Jefra was about to switch alliance. In addition, he takes it a further step by telling Tony there may be an all women alliance. Tony’s paranoia finishes the rest of the job himself as he looks for and believes in signs that are not really there. When Tasha wins individual immunity again, Tony cannot even move to vote out Tasha to stop an all women alliance. As such, he has to turn his sights on his own alliance and targets Jefra.

The thought to move against Jefra is not terrible. She did want to vote him out and is not his strongest ally. Nevertheless, he does get trick into it by Tasha and Spencer. However, Spencer goes into the jungle to look for the idol. As a result, it reminds Tony that Spencer is a much bigger threat in the game than Jefra. Tony is forced to choose between stopping a perceived women’s alliance or one of the biggest threats in the game.

Tribal Council

At tribal council, Tony brings up the fact that Spencer told him people in his own alliance are trying to vote him out. As such, he wears his hidden immunity idol on his neck to show the rest of the tribe that they cannot vote him out. He also points out that Jefra has been named the potential traitor. Jefra admits that she is upset about the LJ blindside and that she thought about voting out Tony. She should have thought up a better response because that confession sealed her fate with Tony. Tony and Woo vote with Tasha and Spencer to vote out Jefra.

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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