Kelly Shinn, Alina Wilson, Ben “Benry” Henry, Brenda Lowe, Chase Rice, Jud Birza, Kelly Bruno, Matthew “Sash” Lenahan, NaOnka Mixon, Shannon Elkins,Dan Lembo, Holly Hoffman, Jane Bright, Jill Behm, Jimmy Johnson, James “Jimmy T.” Tarantino, Marty Pimobo, Tyrone Davis, Yve Rojas are all back…

This new show started with a recap of how the final five became the final five.  Pretty great, right?

Who will it be?

The first challenge saw the survivors answering questions about Nicaragua and collecting puzzle pieces.  You win?  A guaranteed 1 in 4 shot at a million bucks.  Not to shabby, right?

Fabio fell behind early with Dan.  Big trouble.

But eventually, in a shocker, Fabio took it.

Wow.

And now, he who was last is first…and the key vote.

Gotta love it, right?

At tribal the castaways went around and around as to who is the biggest threat.  But in the end, it really is hard to tell who has made more enemies and friends on the jury.

In the end, Dan was the one going home.  In his exit interview, he had absolutely nothing good to say about anyone left at Libertad, least of all Holly and chase.  No surprise, right?  Sour grapes make strange wine.

The next day’s tree mail was an invitation to the ceremonial burning of Survivors past.

Along the way we got to hear from those who have departed the game.  Purple Kelly said that she is not a quitter in the outside world and NaOnka said that she feels she was the smartest player.

Then again, only time will tell who will be remembered for what in Survivor.

Time, and the fans…although I suspect time will be kinder.

In the final challenge, the survivors had to balance a sword on a shield with one hand and stack coins on the handle with another.  Coins fall?  Your chances fall.

Holly and Chase were the first to lose their stacks.  In the end, Sash seemed to have the better stack, but Fabio pulled it off.

Amazing…another immunity.

Around camp, things were crazy.  Fabio was clearly enjoying his role as the godfather.  Sash, Chase, and Holly all plead their cases, and, at least with Chase and Sash, Fabio really seemed to see right through them.  To Chase and Holly’s credit, they both came clean with Fabio about their likely votes for him had he not won immunity.

Going into the final Tribal, it was still unclear what Fabio was going to do.

Is that a credit to Fabio or a credit to the Survivor editors?

At the final Tribal, Chase, Holly, and Sash made their final pleas.  I was still in the dark when Probst tallied the votes.

It was Holly…she would be the 9th member of the jury.  As much as I hate to see her go, it had to be…she was the biggest threat to Fabio and his million dollar quest.

Face it, she had the most friends.

The guys ate their last day feast of eggs, bread, jam, and orange juice before burning down the shelter.  Then, off they marched to tribal.  They took their seats before a very serious looking jury.  Chase, Sash, and Fabio each made their best opening statement, arguing they played good strategic games or good social games.  Each told the jury they really enjoyed playing the game with them.

I’m not sure what that argument will do.  It sure made NaOnka scowl.

Each member of the jury stepped forward to address the three guys.  There was a whole mix in there of emotions.  Some people really enjoyed the chance to address the guys and were very complimentary.  Others, like Dan, were incredibly angry and unpleasant.

In the end, this is Survivor, like it or not.

Going into the commercial, it was really hard to tell who would go home with the money.

When we got to L.A., there were some tense moments as it was a close vote.  Chase got four votes, Jud “Fabio” Birza got 5.  It was incredibly close, but in the end, I think the right person won.

Fabio was my and my viewing partner’s pick.

This season we learned that you can do what it takes to get to the end, but you might not succeed.  Thanks for teaching us that, Sash.

Thank you all for a great season!

The end of Survivor Nicaragua is near.

Chase Rice, Jud Birza, Matthew “Sash” Lenahan, Dan Lembo, Holly Hoffman, and Jane Bright return!

The show started with a nice homage to Chase’s wayside alliances, including his vote for Brenda, his relationship with NaOnka, and his vote for Benry.  Nice, Chase.  What will you do now?

The night after tribal saw Fabio talking to the camera, telling us that he is only “playing” at being naive.  Really?  We’ll see Fabio.  I love ya, but the end is coming and this is going to be the real test of smarts…outsmarts, as it were.

Tree mail brought word that family was in town (courtesy of Sprint EVO product placement, of course).  The Survivors went to the challenge and discovered mothers, husbands, and sons awaiting them!  And they were going to participate.  The Survivors had to swim for letter tiles and give them to their family to solve.  It was a close race, but in the end, Chase and his mom Connie won, and Chase decided to take Holly (and her husband) and Sash (and his mom) on the reward:  A cruise with food.

Nice.

There were some tears and sour grapes, especially from Fabio, but Chase made his decision and that was it.

It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out later on.

Back at Libertad, Dan, Jane, and Fabio exchanged sour grapes.  On the reward, Sash, Holly, and Chase feasted on their three-person alliance.  It’ll be interesting to see who jumps ship from one side or the other to make the vote 4-2.

Day 36 brought an immunity challenge.  All blindfolded, the Survivors had to make their way to a station with a shield.  Using touch, they had to memorize symbols on the shield.  Then, still blindfolded, they had to go to another station and put symbols in order on another shield.

It was close until Fabio took the challenge…an impressive win that he sorely needed.

Back at camp, it was all craziness.  Sash, Chase, and Holly decided that Jane was too dangerous too keep around.  Fine, right?  Except that when Jane approached the group about it, she was greeted with silence.  No one wanted to lie to her, so they told her that yes, they were going to vote her out.

Her revenge?  She dumped two buckets of water on the camp fire.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst dug and dug and finally got wheels spinning for Dan, Jane, and Fabio that they should form an alliance and vote for Holly.

Would it work?

No.

In the end, it was Jane out the door.  All she said was “y’all have fun.”

I’m sure she meant it, too.

Jane, let me say this:  In Survivor, you can play the best game and be the nicest, most straight-up person.  But in the end, that can be more damaging and threatening than muscles.

Though, it will probably serve you well in the rest of your life.

These folks are:  Kelly Shinn, Ben “Benry” Henry, Chase Rice, Jud Birza, Matthew “Sash” Lenahan, NaOnka Mixon, Dan Lembo, Holly Hoffman, and Jane Bright.

Oh, and of course, Jeff Probst.

Everyone seems to be scrambling here at the beginning, eh?

NaOnka and Purple Kelly both had horrible experiences in all of that crazy rain.  Na told the camera that she has a health issue that is made worse by the rain.  Purple Kelly just seems like she wants out!

This is really wreaking havoc with the alliances.  Sash seems to be aligned with Holly, Jane, and Chase, but he told the camera that he doesn’t really trust that group as much as Na and Purple Kelly.

You better figure it out Sash or you’re going to be sitting on the Survivor Ponderosa pine with Brenda.

At the reward challenge, Libertad was divided into two groups.  They had to untie a “Gulliver” and take him through a series of obstacles without dropping him.  The winning team would go to see a sneak preview of “Gulliver’s Travels” starring Jack Black.  Nachos, hot dogs, and candy await.

After a speech tying the movie plug to Survivors digging deep on the show, the games began!

At the challenge, it was neck and neck pretty much the whole way, but in the end, the blue team crossed the line first.  After, NaOnka announced that she was leaving the game that day.  Then, Purple Kelly announced the same thing.

Probst was understandably shocked.  He said he would give them the afternoon to think about quitting.  To think about 11 more days.  To think about a million bucks.

Then, the bomb dropped.  Jeff said if one member of the winning team would stay behind from the reward, the whole tribe would get tarp and rice.  Holly stepped up, giving Na a chance to really prove something to Libertad.

Na didn’t volunteer, and Holly told the camera she was shocked, feeling like she may have “misjudged” NaOnka.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

At the reward, NaOnka told the camera that she gave 110% in the challenge and that she didn’t want to give up her place in the reward.

Ok.

Anyhoo, the movie started and we got to see clips of Jack Black playing…Jack Black…and there were hot dogs, drinks, and candy galore.  It looked pretty good.  Maybe I’ll have a movie/popcorn/candy/hot dog night.

At Tribal Council that night, Jeff called Na out on her decision to go on the reward instead of taking one for the team.  She said she wanted to “go out with a bang” and that she felt good about her decision.

Then, he asked Holly and Jane about life and goals and they both said that it is important to be people who pushed for their dreams and were willing to work hard.

But, in the end, it had little effect.  Na and Kelly both quit, opting to have their torch snuffed.  Needless to say that didn’t go over well with Jeff, Libertad, or the jury.

So, it’s now a 1 in 7 shot for a million.  Hard to believe that two people walked away, but then again, I’m not there.  I’m not in the rain and the misery.

Na said in her exit interview that she has no regrets about how she played.  Kelly said that she feels bad that some were sent to the jury even though she decided to quit the game.  I guess, in the end, each person has to decide what their goals and their breaking points are.

And when they conflict?

Well, that’s Survivor.

It must be the mid-show hiatus.

Kelly Shinn, Ben “Benry” Henry, Chase Rice, Jud Birza, Matthew “Sash” Lenahan, NaOnka Mixon, Dan Lembo, Holly Hoffman, and Jane Bright return, but in footage we didn’t see the first time around.

Brenda Lowe now resides at Ponderosa.  I’m sure that Marty and Alina are thrilled.

Imagine what that two weeks is going to be like.

___________________

The show started with Jeff Probst taking us through the review…how it all started, how it all divided, and how it all merged.  There was also a Jimmy Johnson shot in there.  I miss that guy.  I wish he was back on the show!

The rest of the extra footage was great…great because we got to see how much was misjudged, especially by Alina.  On the first day she told the camera that she was happy she was on the younger tribe, as she felt they would bond easier than the older Espada.

Yeah…right.

Sorry about that Alina.  I think you would have been better off on Espada.

By the end of the first night, Espada seemed to be coming together better, but the best part was when their shelter bed collapsed at night.  I know I shouldn’t laugh, but…I did.

There were some interesting insights — especially into sleeping arrangements.  I smiled when Jimmy Johnson stepped forward to arrange the sleeping quarters on Espada.  I guess in a survival situation, every detail needs to be accounted for.

Meanwhile, at La Flor, Holly gave us some insight into her strategy style…not good.  Even Jimmy T. said she was going off the deep end, and when T. tells you you’re going off the deep end, then you probably have to think about your approach.

We got to see Purple Kelly talking a little bit.  In fact, in just a few minutes, she talked more than she’s talked all season.

Marty and Tyrone had a scuffle about fire…but really about so much more.  Leadership was on the line, and so were egos.

Jane gave us a great look into her game face.  She caught a fish on her own and cooked it in secret…eating it in secret.

Nice.

She said that she prepared for the game by restricting her calories and using a sauna to get used to heat.  And, well, something sure seems to be working.

Then, there was Marty…he found himself in a bad situation on his new tribe and he went from ruling the roost to struggling for his life.  This is the age old issue, folks.  If you think you are strong, you know that just around the corner lies a blindside.

Brenda?  Hello?

As the show progressed, we were also treated to NaOnka’s flour squirreling episode and a review of how Brenda found herself at Ponderosa.

But in the end, only one thing is certain.  It’s gonna be quite a race to the finish!

Night after night of player suffering is boiled down into one neat hour, and Kelly Shinn, Ben “Benry” Henry, Brenda Lowe, Chase Rice, Jud Birza, Matthew “Sash” Lenahan, NaOnka Mixon, Dan Lembo, Holly Hoffman, and Jane Bright return.

The show opened with Brenda and Sash reminding us how much they are in control.  However, a night 24 talk at Libertad between Jane and Holly revealed the urge for a power play.

Isn’t this how it always goes?  They who hold the power so tight often lose it by night.

Bad rhyme, I know.

Hey, a commercial for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Nice!

Holly and Jane really put the pressure on some of the other players (Benry, NaOnka, Chase) to dump either Brenda or Sash.  Talk about big targets on backs!

The first challenge was reward.  Barrels, rope, and planks to build a bridge across the beach.  If you win?  A trip to a volcano for pizza, drinks, and brownies.

That sounds pretty good.  Can I go?

Seriously.

In the end, it wasn’t even close.  The blue team rolled it like crazy across the beach and headed off in their helicopter for reward.  Neither Sash nor Brenda went on reward…but Jane did.

Great opportunity for strategy!

It didn’t take long for strategy talk to start at the volcano.  NaOnka pulled Fabio aside and formed an alliance with him against Brenda.  Fabio was on board, gleefully, telling the camera that he was looking forward to flying under the radar as other get voted off.

Power move by Na, smart approach from Fabio.

Meanwhile, back at Libertad, Brenda, Sash, Holly, Dan, and Benry arrived to find everything burned to the ground.  Goodbye tarp, chests, food, and morale.

Yikes.

It was a crazy day of talk around camp.  Chase went right to Brenda and told her about the plan to knock her off.  She took it cooly, with confidence that she could take immunity.

Na went from person to person about how no one can trust Chase, and she stirred up a big pot against him.

At immunity, players had to lean on a platform while holding a rope.  Every few minutes they had to change hand-to-knot positions until they went into the water.

Chase, Jane, and Benry took it down to the wire.

Yup, Jane.  Good ol’ Jane.

Eventually it was down to the North Carolina contingency — Jane and Chase.

You read right.

Jane was about to let go, but Jeff Probst encouraged her to hang on.  Good thing, too.  In the end, she held on for victory as Chase tumbled into the water.

I guess one never knows how much strength they have until they are pushed to the outer limits.

Good one, Jane.

There was a lot of scrambling around camp, but none of it by Brenda.  She decided the best approach was to play it cool, which may have backfired in the end.

At Tribal Council Brenda called NaOnka out for bailing on the alliance.  Na said it wasn’t her idea to ditch out, but Brenda didn’t buy it.

Probst baited Purple Kelly into speaking for the first time in a long time and Kelly admitted there was so much she didn’t know…she said she was learning a lot at Tribal!

When the votes were cast, Sash held tight to his idol, refusing to help Brenda.  In the end, she was sent home with nothing more than an “ouch” as her torch was extinguished.

She got cocky.  She didn’t scramble.  That’s a bad combination.

When you build a powerhouse of cards, eventually it blows over.

Right Sash?

(Here is a copy of my digest from another site.  Enjoy!)

More Survivor!

Kelly Shinn, Ben “Benry” Henry, Brenda Lowe, Chase Rice, Jud Birza, Matthew “Sash” Lenahan, NaOnka Mixon, Dan Lembo, Holly Hoffman, Jane Bright, and Marty Pimobo return.

Alina Wilson is having a good time at Ponderosa.

___________________

At the start of the show, we got to re-live NaOnka’s fruit/pan theft as well as Marty Pimobo’s outburst at Tribal.

The Marty/Jane feud marches on and Alina marches off.

___________________

Libertad day 22 saw the night fire still burning.  Na had some words to the camera for Marty.  She didn’t agree with Marty’s attack.

Others around the fire also didn’t agree with Marty’s nutty beatdown.  He probably made a lot of enemies at Tribal.

Jane said she’s going to start calling him “Farty.”  Ha!

Classic.

Libertad day 23 saw Sash and Marty at the watering hole.  Marty was back on his “Tell me who wrote my name down” kick.  Marty actually thinks he “cleared the air” at the previous night’s Tribal.

Huh?

Marty, you didn’t clear the air…you only fogged it up.  Chances are they’re gunning for you.

But then again, maybe not.

Fortunes change.

Jane told the camera she wants to take Marty to the woodshed “and whip his ass.”  That would probably get killer ratings.

Whaddya think?

At the reward challenge, two teams had to navigate obstacles to get keys to unlock three locks.  First team to raise the flags would be taken to a canopy zip-line tour and BBQ with chicken, steak, chips, and pie.

Oh, and beer.  Can’t forget beer.

The random team selection ended up women versus men.  Wild.  Chase was unable to participate due to numbers and ended up backing the women.

Jane started to wear down near the end of the challenge and cost her team valuable time.  In the end, she was just too exhausted to keep up.  The men took the challenge and took reward.

Purple Kelly had a hard time with the loss, saying she was hungry.  None of the men wanted to give up their spot.  The women, plus Chase, headed back to camp.  Marty criticized Chase for going with the women, but in the end, that might pay off in votes and alliances.

The men clearly enjoyed their day of zip-lining and…fooding.  Marty enjoyed his planning.

Planning…a word that we really love to hear when we watch Survivor…because it never goes the way they “plan.”

Back at Libertad, Brenda criticized Chase’s choice to the camera, saying he should have chosen the men.

I’m not sure I agree.  I think that move could get him some good will from all the women…all, of course, except Brenda.  There was a lot of talk about Brenda and whether she could be trusted.

Chase tried to talk to Brenda about the game and Brenda kept her silence.  Brenda lost little time in criticizing Chase again to the camera.

This game is amazing.  People really show their colors…who they are deep down.  People can get power through being moody and angry, and I think Brenda illustrates that.

Maybe I’m right.  Maybe I’m wrong.

Maybe in the end, it doesn’t matter.

Tree mail brought news of a memory challenge.  These are always the great equalizers.  Jeff Probst showed symbols to the group, and they had to reproduce the sequence with cubes.

Brenda took the individual immunity with naught but her memory.  The rest of Libertad was clearly happy for her.

Were they just showing happiness or were they cheering because Marty didn’t win it?  Ah, who can tell?

The hot talk around Libertad was NaOnka.  Marty’s name was also tossed about.  Marty approached Brenda about a Jane blindside with a NaOnka leak to flush the idol.  Brenda told the camera that she agreed that Jane is a threat, but then she added, “Sash and I are running the camp.”

Brenda and Sash had their clandestine beach meeting where they savored their perceived power.  These are great moments, because it is often those that perceive the greatest power that find they are the lowest later on.

I hope that happens down the line.  It’s always nice to see the least become first.

At Tribal, Alina blew in clean and carefree as the first member of the jury.  But the heat was on for the rest of Libertad who are not carefree at Ponderosa.

Probst tried to ferret out the intra-tribal strategies, continuously poking the sore spots and picking the scabs.  Jeff brought up the food stealing issue with NaOnka.  Na defended herself, and then Marty jumped in, calling NaOnka a liar and a stealer.

Na burst out on a rant against Marty, saying he “sucks” and that she can see through him.  This triggered a war of words and defensiveness that got more and more uncomfortable.

Jeff said he was “speechless” that Na is still in the game even though she goes off.

She sort of agreed.

Wow.

The real cherry on top was when Na flipped Marty off on his way back from voting.

Wow.

The final vote went: Jane, Marty, Jane, Jane, Jane, Marty, Marty, Marty, Marty, Marty.

Wow.

Some of the men looked pretty shocked.  And, to top it off, the idol didn’t flush.  It’s pretty clear that, as of tonight, Na is going to move along to the final as an insurance policy.

But then again, that can all change in a second.

Marty said that it “absolutely sucks” to not be in the game but that he would not have changed the way he played.

I think that’s a good call.

So, what can we take away from this week?  Sometimes the loudest and most threatening person is, in the end, the least threat…especially when it comes to collecting votes for a million dollars.  If you aren’t the nicest person, and you need a jury vote, make sure you are sitting next to the person who looks a little less nice.

They’re back, folks.

Kelly Shinn, Alina Wilson, Ben “Benry” Henry, Brenda Lowe, Chase Rice, Jud Birza, Kelly Bruno, Matthew “Sash” Lenahan, NaOnka Mixon, Dan Lembo, Holly Hoffman, Jane Bright, and Marty Pimobo return for more sandy punishment!

Jill Behm is gone.

Who will be next?

___________________

NaOnka, Marty, and Sash were in the spotlight in the opening scenes.  Marty admitted that he feels very exposed.

We were treated to a picture of buzzards circling.  Are they circling Marty?

But just when all seemed lost for Marty, Fabio appeared with tree mail.  What was in that scroll?  News of the merge!  Yes!  They finally made it to the merge, which definitely favors Marty.

Just when things were darkest…

The merge brought the tribes together.  A food chest contained new red buffs and food.  Marty stepped in and named the tribe “Libertad” or “Freedom”…and he told the camera it was a new start for him.  Although, Marty stepping in and just renaming the tribe on his own seems like business-as-usual for Marty.

NaOnka and Brenda immediately got together and filled each other in on all the things that had gone on in the two camps.  Everything was laid bare.  There really doesn’t seem to be a lot of loyalty on either side…at least no unilateral loyalty.  Everyone seems determined to feel it all out again.

Chase and Jane immediately formed a bond, as they are both from North Carolina, and both have experienced significant losses in their recent lives.  That could be a very important bond later on, and could potentially outlast the game.

Drama didn’t take long to rear it’s head.  Na cooked tortillas for the tribe, but told the camera she was angry that everyone was eating before her, and that she got a small tortilla.  As punishment, she stole a pan and flour and took it into the jungle where she hid it for her own use.

Later, when Holly and Fabio confronted her, Na insisted she didn’t take it.  But the weight of evidence was against her, and Chase and Alina convinced her to come clean, which she did.  She fessed up to what she did, leaving some to move on, and others to stew in frustration.

Sash approached Na and told her that he has her back.

Why?

Well, Sash reasoned that if he can take Na to the end, her flour/pan act might keep her from getting votes at the end, thus presenting no threat to him.

Nice play, Sash!

At the immunity challenge, the players had to hold metal handles with tension around a rod.  If they lost their grip, the rod would fall and break a tile, knocking them out.  The last man and last woman standing would be the winners.

One by one they fell, until only Jane and Fabio were left standing.  Interestingly, Jane stayed in the challenge to see if she could outlast the men, which she did.  It looks like Marty won’t get his vote-Jane-off wish just yet.

It was a fascinating day on the beach.  Everyone scrambled like crazy to stay around.  I lost count as to how many times the groups swapped and flopped.  Sash asked that everyone lay off Marty for the week so that Sash wouldn’t have to go back on his word to Marty about the idol and the vote.

Eventually the group relented.

At tribal, fireworks went off.  Dan called out NaOnka and Alina for stealing food, Marty called out Jane for being a good social player and a huge thread, and Jane called out herself for being a pawn, arguing that should buy her new life in the game.

Nice play, Alina.

Unfortunately it was Alina going home.  Jane was visibly displeased with this, as she has argued all along that Marty is a huge threat.

And she’s right…how many times do you get a chance to vote out a threat like that?

I suppose what we learned from this week is that groups often make moves as a group while at the same time, each individual is gunning secretly for himself.  I donno…maybe that’s the story of life.

The only question is…how much damage do we leave in our wake?

I celebrated by eating just a few pieces of candy…some M & Ms.  I love M & Ms.

That’s about the extent of it.  I went to two Halloween parties over the weekend and that was a lot of fun, but tonight?  Well, tonight was just a time to chill out.

And to eat a little candy.

It’s not my favorite holiday on the calendar.  Although, that’s ironic, because I am a fan of candy.

Did I mention I love M & Ms?

I did mention that, didn’t I.

And tomorrow?  Well tomorrow is November 1st.  Another month.  More holidays (Thanksgiving!) and more treats (Turkey, stuffing, etc.)

So you see Halloween fans?  There’s more fun just around the corner.

And, hopefully, M & Ms.

(A reprint from my post at another site!  Sorry about that, but alas, life and Survivor often conflict!)

Join us live at 7pm (in the West) for the Survivor Nicaragua blog.

Kelly Shinn, Alina Wilson, Ben “Benry” Henry, Brenda Lowe, Chase Rice, Jud Birza, Kelly Bruno, Matthew “Sash” Lenahan, NaOnka Mixon, Dan Lembo, Holly Hoffman, Jane Bright, Jill Behm, Marty Pimobo, and Yve Rojas return.

Tyrone took a wrong turn last week.  Who will be next?

___________________

We open on day 15 at Espada with Dan dropping the bomb on Holly that he is considering walking away from the game on his bum knee.

Holly, needless to say, was not happy at all.

She told the camera she feels Dan needs to suck it up and finish the game.  Will Dan heed that advice?

The first challenge was for individual immunities.  This was important as both groups would be going to tribal council.

In the end, it was Jill and Holly who won their respective immunities.  In the ring toss, it was Jill who won the feast for her tribe — a feast of chicken and beef kebabs that is likely needed on day 15.  What’s more, the winning tribe would get to eat that feast while peeking in on the other group’s tribal council.

Things got crazy at the camps.  Marty lied to Fabio, telling Fabio he was a chess grandmaster (in an attempt to seize tactical control).  Fabio showed the world why Young vs. Older is such a great idea…Fabio fell for the lie hook, line, and sinker.

Meanwhile, Yve plead her case to NaOnka and Alina to save her neck against Dan’s bad knees.  The editors did a good job this week keeping us in the dark about whether Dan was really committed to getting out the game.

I think it would be a shame for Yve, a great player, to go home because Dan, an ambivalent player, played both sides of the fence.

A La Flor, rumors buzzed and buzzed with the votes swinging from Marty to Jane to Kelly B.

Crazy.

Going into tribal, there was no clear consensus…perfect time for Jeff Probst to go poking around.

He probed Marty about Marty’s decision to reveal the idol.  Marty defended that decision, but admitted that he is having a hard time finding trust in his new tribe.

When Jeff Probst went to count the votes, Marty didn’t play his idol.

Bold move, Marty.  Bold move.

Marty voted for Brenda and had some harsh words for her in the camera…will they be prophetic words?

Hard to tell.

When the votes fell, it was a tie:  3 votes Marty, three votes Kelly B. (Brenda got two votes).

There was no tie breaking challenge.  It was simply a re-vote for everyone (except Marty and Kelly B.)

In the end, Kelly B. was voted out, and her final interview was calm…she seemed to see it coming.

The Espada crew came up next, and it was basically a brawl between Yve and Dan…lots of name-calling, accusations, and personal attacks that culminated in nothing definitive.  In the end, Yve left.

It was a crazy week on the beaches, but we were treated again to that unbelievable phenomenon of Survivor: the mental game.  Survivor takes us well beyond the survival shows on Discovery.  In Survivor, you don’t just want to survive…you want to beat the other guy.  You want to send them to safety while you stay in the wilds.

That’s the story of the greatest reality show ever, right?