“These things just fall out of the sky.”
Twists upon twists everywhere!
But they have also often seemed to overwhelm the show.
Shantel Smith competes on the third episode of ‘Survivor 41.'.Robert Voets/CBS
However, there has been hope among many that the show would at least scale back.
Look no further than this week’s episode.
Once you take out the commercials, the episode run time was 43 minutes.
Brad Reese on ‘Survivor 41’.Robert Voets/CBS
The first 19 of those 43 minutes were spent almost entirely on idol- and advantage-related material.
That’s 19 out of 43!
It’s sounds like I’m bashing my favorite show on the planet, but I’m really not.
Evvie, Shantel, and Deshawn compete on the third episode of ‘Survivor 41’.Robert Voets/CBS
Legend has it that the thing George Lucas least cared about while making theStar Warsfilms were the actors.
Any director paying any attention to their cast would have put a stop to that.)
The cast used to be the stars onSurvivor.
Jairus (a.k.a. JD) and Shantel on the third episode of ‘Survivor 41’.Robert Voets/CBS
(In the very early days, they were even bigger than the host.)
But now we see them reacting more to twists than to each other.
And when theydoreact to each other, it’s almost always in the context of an idol or advantage.
He Gets an Advantage!
She Gets an Advantage!
EVERYBODY Gets an Advantage!
Like Brad said… these things just fall out of the sky.
I say “discovered,” but it’s not like she was freakin’ Juan Ponce de Leon.
As I wrotelast week,there is an underrated thrill in watching people playSurvivorbadly.
The dude just wasn’t made for this game, which makes him brilliant casting.
More of this, kindly.
If all chose tarp, they all got a tarp.
If they all chose steal-a-vote, they all lost their next Tribal Council vote.
I don’t know, I lost track at some point.
Anyway, Brad got the steal-a-vote, which I am positively sure will be put to absolutely fantastic use.
It was also historically significant.
And I have to say… it felt weird.
That said, hearing Probst bellow “Come on in!”
for the first time, it did feel like it was missing something.
Namely, a syllable.
So no matter what side of the debate you fall on, it just ends up being distracting.
My proposed solution: Don’t say anything!
Think about it: Do you miss the line when they started out in the water like last week?
You won’t miss it on land either.
Speaking of talking, Brad attempted to activate his shared idol at the challenge.
Broccoli grows little bunches on small trees."
On one hand, that is terrible.
On the other, I’m actually half-surprised he even remembered what vegetable he was talking about.
DAMMIT, BRAD IS SUCH AMAZING TELEVISION!
WHY DOES HE HAVE TO BE GONE SO SOON?!?!
Oh, right, because he’s awful at this game.
Since Brad messed up his line, does that mean he would not have gotten his idol?
Wouldnobodyhave gotten their idols because all three lines were not said properly?
Does a new clue get planted at Ua that needs to be found?
To Shoe or Not To Shoe
Sometimes I think about truly insignificant things just way too much.
(Hence the mere existence of these recaps, I suppose?)
But what Ireallywant to talk about more than anything are shoes.
Some Dream Teamers were, others were not, so that was no help.
Instead of focusing on the actual challenge, all I could focus on were my stupid shoes.
Honestly, I was paralyzed by my fear of making the wrong choice.
Not like a creepo or anything.
I’m not sure.
I will now share the fruits of my labor with you, even though exactly nobody asked me to.
First off, Genie, Heather, and Erikadidwear shoes.
Of course, they weren’t competing, so I suppose that does not count.
Of those who actually competed, seven people wore shoes and five did not.
So what do you prioritize?
But here’s where it gets interesting.
I don’t know.
I should go kick a water bottle like Genie after losing a challenge.
The dude is so likable.
And he’s so excited to be out there and pumped to be playing.
As the Mafia Pastor said herself: “He’s sloppy.”
And it did become obvious at Tribal Council that JD was the one staying.
But it was subtle.
This week was the opposite.
Instead, a stunned Brad was cut loose.
Those are valuable assets to have.
We’ll have to see if the Mafia Pastor put the right name on her hit list.
So it’s back to the ranch for Brad.
But before you head out yourself, just a reminder about some of our goodies.
you could also find the link on my Twitter@DaltonRoss.
