Everyone who has been dying to hear strategy talk from the woman who makes LEGO memes about Reality TV, you're in luck! This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Rob Cesternino about this week's episode, so check out my debut appearance on #RHAP, on the Richard Hatch (!!) podcast.
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| This pic will make sense once you listen. |
Now to recap...
Katie is pretty sure she's doomed after the alliance of 7 just voted her Mom out.
Ciera asks her Mom to *please* avoid conversation about strategy & just continue to let Tyson run things.
But in a confessional, Ciera says:
The Redemption Island duel is a repeat of the grappling hook/table maze challenge from South Pacific, which Ozzy won, sending Cochran home for really reallz. On RHAP, I mentioned that every single time I see a grappling hook on Survivor, I imagine Coach tucked into bed, weeping into a bearskin blanket, clutching his grappling hook tightly. He 100% uses a grappling hook more often in his daily life than I use a remote control.
Vytas & Tina finish the challenge, & Aras leaves the game for really reallz. Probst tries to drag out the bro-drama, but Aras isn't giving up any tears this time. Vytas gives the Hidden Immunity Idol clue to Katie, after he diplomatically says "I plan on winning a few of these here, so it'll definitely be passed around." Katie keeps the clue, which is useless as the idol has already been found by Tyson.
Later on, Tyson takes his shirt off.
Ciera sits her Mom down to try to explain to her that at some point, one of them is going to have to go, & it should be Laura. Ciera says she came into this wanting to sit at the end with her Mom, but now she realizes "It won't happen. It's not practical." After the difficult conversation, Laura ends up feeling proud of her daughter. MOMS.
The next morning, Katie rushes out early to search for the idol that's no longer there. Laura sprints across the beach to catch up with her, & both start digging for an idol that's not there.
Back at camp, Tyson is realizing that he's seen as "the big bad wolf", & to keep those voted out on TEAM TYSON, he needs to adjust his game. He wants to get Ciera on board with voting her Mom off. Laura is like Cool beans & Tyson is like That was easy.
The Immunity Challenge is another iconic Cochran challenge - holding onto a rope while leaning back as long as you're able. Monica wins Immunity, & with it, a feast of hot dogs, burgers, & pop. Everyone knows it sucks to win a Reward Challenge after the merge, so when it's combined with an Immunity Challenge, it's really shitty. The dreaded "Choose one other person to share it with" sucks balls. Monica is in a lose-lose situation, & tearfully asks if she can forfeit the reward so everyone else can partake. Now, of course this was a strategic play, but she really doesn't have another option. This might not help her get further, but by not choosing any one or two people, she's not burning anyone either. Caleb acknowledges that the move is probably political, but "Monica's a Mom, so I think it comes from the heart."
This is the double-edged sword that Moms in Survivor face. Monica can get away with a strategic move like this because MOM...but Dawn was seen negatively, also because MOM, as according to all the awful people on the internet, & Malcolm in Caramoan's Final Tribal Council, "You can't be the warm Mother of 6 who stabs people in the back." YES YOU CAN. MOMS CAN BE ALL OF THESE THINGS. So can Dads, but nobody seems to look at Skupin or Penner as duplicitous when they strategize because DAD. Why is that? Parenting is parenting, & let's not forget that a good chunk of parenting is lying. Elaborately. To your child's face. Often. About everything. Why you can't have that. Why you can't go there. What Mom's talking about on the phone & can you please just give me some privacy already. I mean, just think about the Christmas season alone. SO MANY LIES.
My own Mom had a different theory.
"People who have bodies like that do not eat hot dogs. She's probably a vegan." - my Mom, re: Monica
#Survivor #BloodvsWater
— Lisa Ferreira (@MomOfKai) November 21, 2013
So, who knows? If Probst had instead offered a veggie feast with all the fixin's - all the kale, green apples & kombucha she could consume - perhaps she would have just said "Tyson, get on over here & share this with me." WE'LL NEVER KNOW.
Back at camp, Ciera tells Katie of Tyson's plan to vote out her Mom. Katie says she's playing the idol anyway, & Ciera lies, telling her she knows she doesn't have it because she found the idol, & Katie just folds. As Ciera later told her alliance:
Ciera tries to convince her alliance that since Katie doesn't have the idol, it's no biggie to keep her Mom for one more week. Tyson knows how dangerous leaving a pair together would be, so he decides to stick with voting out Laura.
At Tribal Council, Aras shows up super-handsome & somehow pulls off a pink tank.
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| Werk it. |
There is a back & forth over whether having your loved one in the game is an asset or a liability at this point, & then it's time to vote. Probst reads the votes, & one of my favourite Survivor tweets of this season marked the occasion:
did anyone else see the bulge in probst's pants when he saw that ciera wrote "mom" on her parchment? #promotionalgold #survivor
— Ali Lasher (@lashtweets) November 21, 2013
Yes, Ciera voted out her Mom. I can only imagine that Probst is bummed that Blood vs Water wasn't aired on a Spring season of Survivor, as that finale usually lands on Mother's Day. WHAT WERE YOU GUYS THINKING?
Comment below, on twitter (@MomofKai) or on this blog's Facebook page!
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