The complicated history of race on reality TV leads two players to take an emotional stand.
Soooooo, that took a turn.
Have a little fun.
The cast of ‘Survivor 42’.Robert Voets/CBS
Make a few jokes.
Eat a little Applebee’s.
Possibly throw in a mildly disparaging Fishbach reference.
Omar Zaheer and Rocksroy Bailey on ‘Survivor 42’.Robert Voets/CBS
It’s a reset for me.
This was a game changer."
Next thing we knew, Maryanne was telling Tori “I can’t write Drea’s name down.
Tori Meehan on ‘Survivor 42’.Robert Voets/CBS
I literally cannot.
I walked into Tribal, I saw two Black people, I cannot write her name down.
I am so sorry.
I literally can’t.
Morally, I cannot write her name down.”
Make no mistake: This was big stuff.
White people could never say or do that if they saw two white people on the jury."
The white players were nottryingto exclude the Black ones.
But they didn’t naturally include them as easily either.
And that’s something they don’t even have to worry about.
Everybody can just be themselves.
We have to be ourselves, but then hold back a little bit."
That’s 100 percent true.
OnSurvivor, one of my favorite pre-game interviews ever was withFrancesca Hogi.
She played, got voted out first, played again, and got voted out first again.
Which is what made the Cookout’s mission to crown the first BlackBig Brotherwinner last summer so inspiring.
It’s what madeDeshawn’s dilemma last seasonabout whether he was playing for himself or his people so fascinating.
Scenes like this have always been the lifeblood of the show.
Nothing exists in a vacuum.
Drea was already suspicious before Tribal that the vote was heading her way.
She said she was going to play her idol.
The second she does that, Tori is next in line.
Either way, Tori goes home even without the entire Tribal Council discussion.
“Jonathan: “Youarebeing aggressive.”
That comment makes Jonathan seem focused more on himself than what Drea and Maryanne were going through.
This is why Probst is so damn good at his job.
The dude reads the room and adjusts accordingly.
They always say the key to being a greatSurvivorplayer is adaptability.
It’s also the key to being a great host.
Because I have nothing better to do, Iwrote more extensively about thisa few years back.)
Anyway, sorry for the Probst ramble.
But he made the right call.
It would have been supes awkward to transition into regular voting there.
Probst has said for years that he loves to put the game in the contestants' hands.
And this time, it felt right.
So how does that play out once everyone reconvenes back at camp?
Watching that play out next week will be super interesting.
“Does anyone want to admit to writing down my name?”
he inquired in a semi-tizzy while trying to unmask who had thrown a completely powerless vote at him.
I was actually surprised to see Hai lose his cool like that.
My man needed to make like George Clinton and chill like funky dollar bill.
- While I’ve never been accused of being particularly manly, I am a man.
But even I didn’t get Rocksroy’s obsession with forming a men’s alliance in the game.
But what was the indication one was forming here?
First Lydia turned on Jonathan.
Then they voted out Lydia.
Then Omar, Hai, and Mike turned on Rocksroy.
Then Jonathan and Lindsay tried to take out Drea.
- Is there anything Jonathan can’t do when it comes to challenges?
Usually folks that strong struggle in balance competitions especially ones with small, narrow footholds.
If this dude starts dominating puzzles, he truly is not mortal.
- I don’t understand what the hell happened with that first Tribal Council vote.
I mean, I do to a degree.
Hai and Mike are the ones I don’t get.
So why did they make the move on Rocks?
I don’t really get it.
- I will say this for Rocksroy: He is a unique human being.
I will say that his reaction upon being blindsided was not what I expected.
That this the beauty evil beauty of this game.
- So, Tori was the second victim this week.
But I suppose we’ll never truly know.
But I do know this!
Plus, confirm towatch this powerful deleted sceneof Romeo coming out as gay to his entire tribe.
Definitely worth a looksee as well.
