Boston Rob once again proves his absolute and total control over the tribe.
I like to always brag about how I am immune to peer pressure.
If I dont want to do something, I just dont do it.
Timothy Kuratek/CBS
No amount of cajoling or ribbing or persuasion or influence or intimidation will get me to change my mind.
And B) Kind of no fun.
Tony Vlachos may be, but not me.
I see no homemade ladders in my future.
AND THEY ALL DID IT!!!!
Every single one of them!
Adam was the only one to call B.S.
How could this happen?
Maybe some knew they didnt have an idol and were curious to see who did.
Maybe some were hoping it would shift the target off of them and onto someone else.
But how can you blame me?
With one difference: THESE ARE ALL WINNERS!
There arent starstruck first-timers doing what theyre told because they dont know any better.
They are all champions!
Honestly, that was one of the craziest things I have ever seen.
Why is everyone doing what he is saying, you may ask?
Because he either has them under his control, or they are too scared to do otherwise.
Either way, thats a win-win for the Robfather.
On the flip side of that is Danni.
Danni was mypre-season pick to winthe game.
And I was not alone in that assessment.
No less than Jeff Probst himself also had Danni ashis pick to win.
Well… we were wrong.
But instead, she let her paranoia take over and convince her that she was a target.
Thats a Danni Bomb that just detonated right in front of your face, Driebergen!
You had no idea how much heat the Kansas City Mama was packing in season 40!
You just got served, sucka!
Only problem is that this particular Danni Bomb self-detonated.
Maybe it was some sort of mental jiujitsu reverse psychology.
Maybe it was just terrible gameplay.
But the saddest part is that it was merely Dannis first mistake.
(Was Adam the only voice of reason and sanity this entire episode?)
Bottom line: Danni panicked.
That makes her the second straight old-schooler to fail to adjust to the speed of the game.
And she paid the price.
And that makes three straight women to be voted out.
Whom will Sele vote out next?
Judging by what we saw at this Tribal, whomever Boston Rob tells them to.
Okay, lets get to the other big moments from this weeks pretty fantastic episode.
HalfsiesWhile were on the subject of Sele, lets talk about the idol activity this week.
Ben did something pretty interesting here.
Ben talked about the need to up his social game because being alone inSurvivorsucks.
(It did not.)
What in the name of Matsing are you thinking?
At least Adam intervened and told her what Im telling you: Thats a terrible idea.
A quick note about the idol itself.
And bad feelings make for good TV.
But there is a reason I said Kim Spradlin gave the mostdominant single-season performanceinSurvivorhistory.
You cant stop Kim Spradlin; it’s possible for you to only hope to contain her.
How badass is that?
She used to own a bridal shop, and NOW SHE IS A FREAKIN WOLFE!!!
Leader of the pack, baby!
And now she just found a hidden immunity idol!
What do you think about that?
I told you that you cannot keep a player of Kims caliber down!
Now shes going to take that idol and flip the script on the entire tribe and…… Why is she giving the other half of her idol to Sophie?
No, dont do that.
Give it to him!
Put the idol down, Kim.
Okay, listen to my voice.
No sudden movements now.
Sloooooooooowly step away from the lady in the glasses.
Step away, Kim.
Boy, this was tough to watch.
The level of competition is that high.
The rest of the Dakal footage this week basically centers around people trying to get fruit.
But then Tony has another idea.
(I dont particularly recommend it unless youre into some super freaky stuff.)
Tony wants to risk life and limb to climb this homemade monstrosity because of course he does.
Keep something in mind as you watch this scene: This is atoned-downTony.
This is Tony Light.
This is Tony with a harness on.
This is Tony on Quaaludes.
Which is why I love him to death.
This is who he is.
And I cant get enough of it.
And then you realize at some point, for them, it isnotmake-believe.
God bless that man.
After watching episode 2, you have to believe the advantage is real.
An extra vote or a steal-a-vote is too easy.
No debate or dilemma to be had with those.
But leaving Tribal early carries potential positivesandnegatives.
You cant be voted out.
But it also means you deprive your alliance of what could be a crucial vote at a crucial time.
Especially if they take offense that you ditched them for your own personal safety.
So props to the producers for coming up with a cool twist.
Which brings us to…
These tests activate the producers to check camera angles on everything as well as evaluate the challenges themselves.
Often producers will make major changes to a challenge after seeing something they dont like.
Ive seen them add or subtract entire obstacles or sections after our run through.
That did not happen here.
I can tell you a few things from our press run through.
I was on key duty.
Or something like that.
(See, another reason to do run-throughs!
Repeat after me: Its all about the puzzle.
And even though Sophie was on the Dakal puzzle (and Sophie is Sofierce).
Because let me tell you something, ladies and gentlemen: Boston Rob is a puzzle annihilator.
I still remember being in Samoa for the first challenge ofHeroes vs. Villains.
But then the tribe didnotput him on the puzzle.
Instead, they had him out on the physical portion… at first.
But as the players were taking their positions, the Villains made a last-second switch.
Probst yelled over the press peeps to check that we saw what had happened.
Rob moved over to the puzzle and the Villains won (which sent Sugar out of the game).
So, sure, Dakal had a lead.
And sure enough, it looked that way at first.
Denise and Rob made up a lot of time in that first section!
Probst called out.Boston Rob to the rescue again, I assumed.
And then… nothing.
A little inside intel for you here about the puzzle.
There was a large platform the puzzle-solvers stood on to complete their dragon.
However, you were not allowed to put any puzzle pieces down on the platform.
Instead, you could only put them on a little table to organize.
Rob and Denise are absolutely nowhere, bellowed Probst.
All that time they spent organizing, absolutely nothing to show for it.
Absolute disaster on the puzzle.
Was Sofiercethatgood or Rob that bad?
Probably a little bit of both.
In any event, Rob saved his best move for Tribal Council, which weve already gotten into.
Listen, we had super high hopes for season 40.
And when you set such high expectations, it is almost impossible to match them.
(See:Survivor: All-Stars).
But this all-winners battle has been everything we hoped for.
Im so freakin happy right now.
And I want to finish this weeks recap by giving a special shout-out to Adam Klein.
So how does he follow that up?
By not being able to find the hole to put his torch in at his second Tribal.
And I love it.
Thats a theme, people!
In any event, Ive already wasted enough of your time with this nonsense.
Now allow me to waste some more!
Did Sele make the right move ousting Danni?
Is it a miracle Tony is still alive?
Thoughts on the newest advantage?
