Sooper Sekrit Aliants of Everybody
Friday, April 03, 2009 at 12:21pm by Maggie
This secret, all-powerful inter-tribe alliance of four isn’t working out so secret.
The merge is approaching so everyone on Jalapao is worried about entering with bad numbers. Taj is afraid she’ll be voted out so she wants to approach JT with the knowledge that she has the immunity idol, because this will make her more valuable than Sydney. She and Stephen discuss it, and Taj agrees not to tell JT about their alliance with Brendan and Sierra. I think Stephen is very worried about his boyfriend JT finding out that he’s not been 100% honest with him.
As it turns out, Jalapao loses the reward challenge so they miss out on a barbecue at a beautiful waterfall, but so does the member of Timbira who is chosen to attend Exile Island. This time the Secret Alliance doesn’t choose each other. Joe is chosen from Jalapao, and he chooses Erinn from Timbira, BECAUSE SHE’S HOT, and he has a CHARM STRATEGY. What. A. Knob.
Anyway, during the reward, Coach douches it right up by saying that he wouldn’t begrudge Erinn this reward, except that he totally would, because these are the people he wants to share the reward with, not her. Is Coach really unaware that his entire tribe thinks he’s the world’s biggest douchebag? Yes, this is among the million things of which he’s unaware.
At Exile, Joe and Erinn come up with the same idea that Brendan and Taj came up with oh so long ago. Meanwhile, Taj knows they’ll receive all the clues to the idol, so she and Stephen collect bits and bobs and Taj fashions a fake idol and tucks it under the Treemail skirt. Sure enough, when Joe returns to camp, he pretends that Erinn did not share the clues with him, makes some obvious and lame excuse to get away and makes a beeline for the Treemail statue. Taj tries not to laugh.
Unfortunately, at one point JT has his hands in the crate containing everyone’s bags and finds the REAL idol. He tells Stephen, who tells Taj, and they play it off as best they can under the circumstances…trying to make JT feel like he’s always been meant to be in the know and JT is happy to have a strong alliance and the use of the idol.
The immunity challenge is indeed lost by Jalapao. JT and Stephen talk to Joe and try to get him to vote out Sydney, but Sydney is too good-looking for Joe to consider voting out. He insists Taj is the one to go. I know in his mind he’s got a Sydney-Erinn sandwich going on and I think to myself, how fun to just flip around and get rid of Joe? YES, LET’S.
In the end, Stephen and JT keep their word to Taj and Sydney goes home, to Joe’s dismay. But it’s cool, because he has the secret immunity idol! Ha ha ha.
1. Jack said ( Friday, April 03, 2009 at 2:28 pm )
I was thinking it might be Joe to go too, because (I’m not sure if this is a spoiler because it’s been all over the news, but to be safe) Probst keeps yammering on how there’s a record number of blindsides this year. I don’t really mind Joe, but he was definitely thinking with the little head and not the big one. Sydney is more valuable than Taj because she doesn’t have relationships and will be committed to your tribe… that is currently outnumbered… which will put you out in another vote or two?
And it was from the recap show last week, not last night, but I’m still laughing at Erinn calling Coach a jackass. Her delivery of that line just cracked me up.
2. Jack said ( Friday, April 03, 2009 at 2:30 pm )
My apologies – I tried to wrap that one comment from my post in spoiler text, but it didn’t seem to work. Hopefully it’s nothing too spoiler-y.
3. Maggie said ( Friday, April 03, 2009 at 2:41 pm )
No worries, Jack.
4. freakgirl said ( Friday, April 03, 2009 at 3:07 pm )
When did “blindsides” become the new thing? Isn’t every vote a blindside? I know sometimes they do tell the person who’s going. But I thought “blindside” meant they voted out someone who was 100% sure they were perfectly safe, were constantly reassured by their mates, left their stuff at camp, didn’t bother using the immunity idol, etc.
Not complaining to anyone specific, but doesn’t it seem like “blindside” has lost all meaning? Sort of like “threw me under the bus” and “I’m not here to make friends.”
Probst has also mentioned several times that there’s a medical evacuation. The seemingly random scene of Joe’s knee has me wondering.
5. Maggie said ( Friday, April 03, 2009 at 3:15 pm )
Yeah, that’s why I didn’t think Jack’s comment was at all a spoiler. Most often the person who is voted out might suspect he or she is the one who’s going, but very rarely do they know for sure. And I think in most cases, even if you’re told who to vote for and you vote as the group seems to want you to vote, you’re still uncertain as to whether you’re really “in the loop” or not.
Joe’s leg made me feel sick! That is a bad infection. It might only be a small sore, but if it’s red from knee to ankle, that’s bad news.
Would it be ridiculous for each tribe to be given a little first aid kit at the start of the season? I don’t understand why infection has to be a character here. I don’t think some cotton balls, iodine and rubbing alcohol are out of line. And why didn’t Joe call on a medic or something? What’s the rule on Survivors calling for medical attention?
6. freakgirl said ( Friday, April 03, 2009 at 3:20 pm )
I think if you call for medical attention, you have to do what they say — i.e. leave the game if they say you need treatment. I don’t know if that’s true, though, it’s just something I have in my head. Also, people start to see you as a liability. Not that it will matter if they’re merging.
And I agree, why do gross infections have to be a character on this show? I would never survive, anyway. Every time I get bitten by a bug, I get infected. Could you imagine what would happen to me left alone in the jungle? I WOULD DIE, I WOULD.