Season 2, Episode 6 - "Trial By Fire"

“11 remain.  Who will be voted out tonight?” - Probst

Day 16

As Kucha returns from voting out Kimmi the skies open up and the rain pours down.  But the game rages on and the merger is lingering in the horizon.  The game stands at 6 to 5 in favor of Kucha.  If Kucha wins the next challenge then the possibility of going into a merger up 6 to 4 would put the Ogakor tribe in a likely pecking order.  But, an Ogakor win could even it up 5 to 5 heading into a merge and make the game even all over again.  

Meanwhile at Ogakor, the conversation revolves around food fantasies.  Jerri and Amber are fantasizing about “chocolate” but really about other things, especially for Jerri.  Her energy is spiking and her craving for “chocolate” with Colby is apparent.  

All screenshots via Hulu.

“I may be a lot of things, but I ain’t no Hershey Bar!” - Colby

Colby can only take so much of the food fantasy and resulting “moans” for a meatball sub.  He knows what Jerri is up to because she doesn’t care to hide it, but credit to Colby for, as much as the viewer can tell, not giving into it, and keeping his eyes on the real prize, $1,000,000.

FOOD SITUATION

Chicken Feed, a Kucha delicacy. All screenshots via Hulu.

At Kucha, they have discovered a new Australian delicacy - Chicken Feed.  Which upon cooking over the open fire began popping like popcorn.  They thought having the chickens was the prize, but they seem to be liking the feed even more.  Plus, most of all the tribe is happy and getting along because their food supply is plentiful.

The same cannot be said at Ogakor.  Jerri is still bickering with Keith as she tries to cook up a version of fried green tomatoes.  After some back and forth and some passive aggressive comments, Tina lets out the truth of the situation.

“STOP IT!  BOTH OF YOU OR YOU’RE GOING TO TIMEOUT!” - Tina

Tina has had enough of Keith and Jerri’s bickering. All screenshots via Hulu.

Tina may not be their “mother” but she blasts the two toddlers (Keith and Jerri) and does everything but yank them by the ear and take away their toys.  Ultimately, Tina is the mother of the tribe and is the only one who can get away with blurting out her frustrations like any mother would upon reaching their boiling point.  

“I think one of the problems has to go.  Jerri makes me uncomfortable.” (Tina) Jerri is the clear target for Tina and Keith, but should Ogakor go to Tribal Council, the swing vote again lies in the hands of Colby who also seems to have had enough of Jerri’s condescending comments.

Tree mail brings the news of food in the form of a picnic and the thought of a feast erases all tension at either tribe.  

REWARD CHALLENGE - Blindfolded Tasks

Jeff introduces the reward by offering each tribe a single Dorito and a sip of Mountain Dew.  To win the reward they will need to rely on TRUST.  Each tribe selects one leader to communicate to everyone else.  The leader is on an elevated platform and the rest of the tribe is blindfolded.  The leader needs to navigate the tribe through blind tasks including moving logs, transporting fishing traps in and out of the river, and filling buckets of water from an overhead silo, and finally transporting a basket to a table.     

This challenge is a continuous adrenaline rush with nonstop screaming from leaders Jerri (Ogakor) and Nick (Kucha).  You can feel yourself being brought closer and closer to the edge of your seat as the challenge gets tighter and tighter.  In the end, despite Jerri’s voice and screaming, it wasn’t enough.  Amber was beat out by mere inches by the Kucha tribe.  No Doritos and Mt. Dew for Ogakor.  Colby douses Jerri with a bucket of water.

Day 18

After the loss at the Reward Challenge the energy at Ogakor is refocused onto the all important Immunity Challenge, the potential merge, and the needed win to keep the numbers even at 5 to 5 should a merge happen.  

“Everybody here knows the importance of winning today.  It is a HAVE TO WIN day.  That’s pressure!” - Tina

“If we lose the challenge today that means we will be down 4 to 6.  The other tribe will probably pick us off one by one.” - Amber

“If we don’t pull this thing off today, I don’t think it’s over at all…I’m certainly not going to just sit around and wait to be picked off by Kucha once we merge.” - Colby

“I see it almost as an opportunity to uh, finagle my way into the other tribe a bit, and mix things up, and freak some people out.” - Jerri

Tina and Amber seem to be a student of conventional thinking and gameplay that season 1 taught us.  If your tribe are outnumbered at the merge 6 to 4 then your tribe will be sitting ducks and be voted out one by one until they are all gone.  This happened with Pagong in season one as Gretchen, Greg, Jenna, Gervase, and Colleen were all plucked out of the game one by one by Tagi.  Coming into the merge the game was even at Rattana, but poor gameplay and strategy by Pagong and unified and strong game play by Tagi enabled Tagi to execute exactly what Tina and Amber are worried about should they lose the Immunity Challenge and be underhanded at the merge.  

Colby and Jerri on the other hand are not as sold on the season 1 lessons.  Colby’s competitiveness and win first mentality has him focused on his game.  He is not going to keel over and die easily at the hands of Kucha.  He will go down fighting.  Jerri is also thinking about her own game post merge but is the only Ogakor member to entertain the idea of moseying up to the other tribe.  Notice I didn’t say flipping.  She doesn’t use a strong word like that, but she is at least walking into that ballpark should her game need to.

ALL QUIET ON THE KUCHA FRONT…

As Ogakor’s camp is filed with tension and turbulence, Kucha couldn’t be more opposite.  Mike returns from fishing, Nick is pondering the tribe’s meals for the day, Rodger is descaling fish, Jeff is cooling off in the river, Alicia is gathering firewood, and Elisabeth lounges in the hammock.  The animals are chittering and then Mike is SCREAMING!

Mike throws himself to the ground riling in pain.  Then, he’s sprinting into the river.  Jeff tells us he passed out in the fire.  “He passed out in the fire? Elisabeth asks.

HE PASSED OUT IN THE FIRE!  Can you imagine this?  Me either.  Then, Mike comes out of the river to reveal the damage done to his hands.  The skin on his hands are falling off like a middle school rebel who’s discovered alternative uses for Elmer’s glue.  Except this isn’t glue and there’s no playing around.  Mike is burned.  Badly.

Not the best photo but you can see the skin hanging. All screenshots via Hulu.

Nick is noticeably distraught by what he has seen.  First the pig killing and now this.  He doesn’t know what to do with his hands, so he uncomfortably rubs his head and remains frozen.  Jeff puts his hands on his face as the magnitude of the moment hits him.  Elisabeth, Alicia, and Rodger offer their comfort through encouragement to stay in the water and that medical is on the way.  

“Stay strong Mike” - Elisabeth

Elisabeth gets in the water to comfort him.  Alicia brings him water.  Nick explains to Rodger that he saw him in the fire and thought he was “having a seizure.” 

The medics give Mike an anesthetic to calm him down and they begin to get him out of the water.  Medics wrap his hands and they help him up to the Camera Camp.  As the helicopters arrive and Mike is put on a stretcher to be lifted off, he shares some words with his tribe.  The anesthetic has worked and Mike seems to not feel the pain of the burns.

As the helicopter lifts Mike away the rest of Kucha waves him off.  Then, the emotion comes out.  Nick comforts Elisabeth and Jeff hugs Alicia.  Something very real has just happened.  Something unrelated to the game nor strategic.  A person was severely burned and the cameras caught it all.  

What happens next?  Do you just continue the game?  Does the game stop?  Is Mike out of the game?  Is Mike okay?  So many questions must swirl around Kucha’s head as well as questions about why they are doing this.  You have to think that in the after shock of Mike getting burned, the tribe either collectively or on their own, had some sense of doubt creep in about being on a game show.  That experience was not a game and it wasn’t part of the game they signed up for.  It was real.  It effected them as people.  In that moment they must have thought about what was important to them and I bet “Survivor” wasn’t high on the list.

But, as they say “the show must go on”, and in a game where people being eliminated is paramount, the ripple effects of Mike’s medical evacuation will undoubtedly be felt through the remainder of the game.  Ogakor being outnumbered 4 to 6 at the merge?  Gone.  Kucha being as focused, as confident, and at an advantage?  Gone.  Ogakor wins as a result of the medical situation.  They win in terms of numbers and the intangible effect on Kucha’s morale.

But how will Ogakor react?  Do they see it from a game stand point, human stand point, or a hybrid of both?

“It’s kind of disturbing” is Jerri’s words as she approaches Ogakor with the letter from tree mail.  Amber gasps in response and follows it with a disbelieving “Oh, my God!…That’s awful.”  A somber “Oh, my gosh! from Colby.  And a concerned “Hopefully they’re alright.” from Keith.

The letter from tree mail informed Ogakor that there would be no Immunity Challenge and that the two tribes will merge.  

Ogakor’s tree mail outlining what happened. All screenshots via Hulu.

So, how did Ogakor react?  I think they reacted as any non-directly effected tribe would.  They expressed grief and sympathy, then turned to the numbers and the effect on the game, and closed with expressing hope that the evacuation wasn’t life threatening.  How else could you expect them to react?  They don’t know Mike or the Kucha tribe except for competing against them at challenges.  In the end their reaction matched what the viewer would expect of them.  

HOW DOES THIS EFFECT THE GAME?

I mentioned it before but Mike being medically evacuated completely changes the game.  No Immunity Challenge.  No Tribal Council.  No numbers advantage.  Merge 5 vs 5.  Plus, the advantage for Ogakor of not being emotionally attached to Mike.  Ogakor is helped immensely because they didn’t experience the emotional toll of Mike’s accident.  They weren’t void of compassion upon hearing of the unfortunate news, but they didn’t hear his screams, see his burnt skin dangling, nor did they have to say goodbye to a teammate that is being evacuated on a helicopter.  That matters!  

For Kucha, they were in the driver’s seat.  They had the numbers advantage.  They outnumbered Ogakor going into the Immunity Challenge 6 to 5.  If they win and send Ogakor to Tribal Council, then they get to the merge up 6 to 4 with a stranglehold on the game.  But that didn’t happen.  Instead they lost a tribe member without ever even competing.  The numbers advantage, vanished into the air.  The void of a lost teammate filled with emotion, reflection, and an attempt to refocus back on winning the game and taking out Ogakor.  

Now, the question for Kucha at the merge becomes “Will the tribe come together and outlast Ogakor or will the tribe lose focus, splinter and fall short?  It’s easy to argue either side because of the emotional toll the accident has taken.

CATEGORIES AND AWARDS

1 - Biggest Move

Nick helped Jeff get the basket down before Amber. All screenshots via Hulu.

Nick’s direction to the Kucha tribe carrying the basket during the blindfold reward challenge.  Nick did enough to help the members of Kucha carrying the basket to find the final table seconds before Amber did, winning reward in the form of Doritos and Mountain Dew.

2 - Biggest Mistake

Mike’s mistake with the fire leading to him passing out and suffer severe burns.

3 - Challenge Corner

Blindfolded Tasks vs. ______________.  At least the reward challenge was drama filled and a photo finish.  The absence of an Immunity Challenge was felt.

4 - Trending Up

Ogakor’s chances.  They have been a bit of a roller coaster lately, but with Mike’s medical evacuation from the game, Ogakor has renewed life in the game at the merge.  Also, Elisabeth.  She showed how compassionate she was during the accident and opened up about the emotional toll it took on her.  

5 - Trending Down

Kucha’s chances.  I know that the tribe will either rise up or falter, but I’m betting they will falter.  It’s hard to experience something as emotionally taxing as they did and just bounce back from it, especially in a game that tests you mentally, emotionally, psychologically and physically as Survivor does.  

6 - Hatch Award (Strategy)

Minor award given to Colby for not getting himself involved with Jerri on a “chocolate” level.  Read between the lines.

Colby isolates himself to focus on the game. All screenshots via Hulu.

7 - Best Screenshot

Jeff describes the sounds of the accident and the ripple effects. All screenshots via Hulu.

When you share an emotionally charged and scaring experience on national TV.

8 - Best Quote

“This merge is going to be intense.  Ogakor will be relieved.  I think, that they’ll…I mean I think they’re good people, and I think that they’re going to feel bad, and sincerely have compassion for us and for Mike.  But they weren’t part of that, they didn’t experience it.  They didn’t…hear it.  And so that feeling of, oh, my goodness, it’s going to have to be very quickly replaced with relief.  That we’re merging together ‘cause we had them.  We had them.  They had to have been scared.  They had to have been afraid.  There’s no way we were losing this challenge today, no way.  And, um, we’re going to…we’re going to kill ‘em.” - Jeff

Jeff could win the episode with how real he makes the already jarring experience of the fire accident. His eloquent account of what happened combined with the perspective on how it effects the game going forward was put into the episode for a reason. Years later, his words still register with the viewer and bring the horror of the accident to life.

9 - Who won the episode?

Ogakor wins the episode for the second straight time.  Ultimately, they catch a break in the game with Mike’s accident.  They get to even the numbers headed into the merge without having to compete in an Immunity Challenge and avoid the emotional weight of losing a tribe member due to a medical evacuation.