Survivor 45 | Ep. 2
Oh wait, the previously on Survivor is BACK!!! Believe me, I know that people were going bizirk about this, so my two second opinion of it is this, it’s nice to take 30 seconds and give the audience a refresher on what happened a week ago. If Survivor junkies make more of, so be it, nothing illegal about it.
On with the episode…
LULU - Nght 3
Sean has a ton of respect for Hannah and her decision? I get that you are feeling like a “lu lu lemon” Sean but come on now. Hannah quit and we will no longer talk about her starting now. She deserves nothing more from anyone.
The night after Tribal has Emily breathing an unexpected breath in the game. She would have been voted ouit. Credit to Sabiyah for having the strength and control of her emotions to commuicate to Emily some realities that I don’t think Emily has had anyone or many people point out to her.
OPENING CREDITS ARE BACK!!!
First, I’m glad that we get the main titles so that no fans out there have to create some version of it that feels like a knock off. Thank you 90 minute episodes!!! Also, good job by Survivor giving fans a taste of the “old school” Survivor with bringing back a simple 40 seconds of nostalgia for Survivor fans to reconnect to. Well done. Between the previously on Survivor and the main titles, it feels like 2007 all over again, and for a lot of superfans, it tastes as good as a juicy cheeseburger “with all the fix-ins”.
REBA - DAY 4
Jay is thinking like the game creators when she approaches the task of decoding the symbols on the REBA sign. It feels like the code is decodable without Austin’s Beware Advantage decoder.
“DIG IN THE FALLEN PALM TREE X”
Feels like decoding it was doable enough but after seeing Austin use his paper decoder from the Beware Advantage, it would have been SUUUUUUUPER difficult. DIG, IN, and THE would have been probably decipherable, but FALLEN, PALM TREE, and X would have proven near impossible. Like Jay, I would have died trying.
BELO - Day 4
Uncle Bruce is spreading his second chance at Survivor wings - crushing the fire making and winning over Jake. But, Bruce cannot help himself and be more like Dad Bruce. He is delivering unsolicited advice all over the place and it seems like there’s a split. The girls at BELO aren’t about the Dad Bruce life. The novelty of playing the game with “Bruce” is officially worn off and if I was on BELO and we had the old guy, the Dad guy, being Dad, you better believe that it would be used against him immediately. I would not care that he busted his head open 13 seconds into 44.
At least one BELO member is smelling BS with Uncle Bruce. It’s interesting that Katurah is narrating Bruce and his “mini celebrity” status at BELO and frankly with the Survivor community and she feels like Mugatu in Zoolander (2001) trying to alert the masses that Ferrari and Blue Steel were the same thing! 🤣
Keep pushing Katurah. Keep your skepticism up on Uncle Bruce. Trust your BS radar. He will bust his “game’s head” open again soon. Uncle Bruce, I love him and the story, but I don’t feel confident in the prospects of a deep run. Zero chance he wins, ZERO!
LULU - Day 4
Kaleb and LULU go out on the hunt for Emily who is desperate and public enemy #1. She had a horrendous start to 45 by breaking all the unwritten rules of keeping it close to the chest the first, I don’t know, at least 7 seconds of the game.
However, It’s interesting to see Emily accept her place in the tribe and just go for it. Plus, what’s more interesting is that everyone else is using the stink around Emily to conduct their own search for the idol/advantage. Kaleb, Sabiyah, Sean, and even worthless Brandon have a shield to protect them against blow back for idol hunting.
Oh goodness. Here come more tears…
Brandon finds the Beware Advantage (damn it) and of course he doesn’t want to open the advantage (pathetic) and instead he HANDS IT TO SABIYAH!?!?!. This guy is unbelievable! Obviously, she has no issue opening it. Neither would I. The LULU clue has a hole cut into it and tells Sabiyah to put the paper over the map of camp. Pretty cool how the idols include tasks and are different at each camp. Probst wasn’t lying when he said you have to earn everything in Survivor in the new era.
One thing you don’t have to earn in the new era, is information. Now, in typical new era Survivor, Sabiyah tells Sean and Kaleb to “solidify the alliance” about finding and opening the Beware Advantage. Why tell everyone else on the tribe but Emily? (Keep the target on her via exclusion) Does Sabiyah not want to be tied solely to Brandon? (I sure as hell wouldn’t!) He is the last person to anchor yourself to.
REBA - Day 4
We get introduced to Julie (playing the role of mama) and Dee as they are bonding and looking for a third. She sees Drew as a “son” in the game and tries to bring him in. Quickly, the four of Julie, Drew, Dee, and Austin are coming together. The typical "I’m with you 100%” notions are thrown out there and castaways are able to check that box on their Survivor bucket lists. It won’t last, it never does, and especially at REBA where the morale is high and the confidence is soaring like a jet plane. Tough to get to know REBA thus far because they have had the most success. This seems to happen in the early stages of 3 tribe Survivor.
At the moment I’m wondering how REBA and BELO will handle success and as a result not going to Tribal. I say this because LULU feels like the worst tribe and the weakest tribe. It isn’t close either. Sure, a challenge can come down to a puzzle, but after seeing LULU’s performances thus far in challenges, I think they are headed back to Tribal Council again soon. Like later this episode. I could be way wrong and the challenge could skew to a LULU strength that may be part of the iceberg beneath the surface that we haven’t see yet, or maybe a twist like a tribe swap can level the playing field early on. My guess it won’t and LULU will be losing another member.
BACK AT LULU
Kaleb is emerging as the most intriguing player at LULU. He is literally coaching Emily of how to play Survivor and is teaching the viewer about how a good player approaches the situation of Emily. Very Yam Yam of him. He shows compassion, validates who he has learned her to be, and seeing the value of how bringing her into his sphere of influence is an advantage. He def talked to Yam.
It’s not surprising that Emily works in the financial, stocks, and data analyst world. She thinks in terms of numbers and clearly has an attitude that is engrained in her. Having said that, like when Drago was cut in the Rocky IV fight, I feel like Emily is having her human moment. She is not a machine, she’s a human being with emotions and the game of Survivor combined with a second chance is breathing less contaminated air into her game’s lungs.
From watching every second of the new era, following these castaways on social media, and engaging in the Survivor community, the show is clearly aimed at telling real stories about real people experiencing real emotions and vulnerabilities. Emily’s vulnerability is a breath of fresh air into the viewer’s lungs too not only for her character arc but also to serve as a learning moment that we too can reset, let down our guard, and allow others to help us navigate a space that we are struggling with. Survivor has changed and this type of moment is the proof.
BOAT COMES FOR ONE PERSON FROM EACH TRIBE
REBA - Drew
LULU - Brandon
BELO - Bruce
Footnote: Katurah getting more and more sick of Bruce and his antics and his act is growing on me. I love that she “sees through it” and I can’t wait to see how she decides to play that out.
JOURNEY
I’m getting sick of Brandon and his “performance anxiety”. He can’t even walk down the beach without falling. They have 3 minutes to solve a combination lock puzzle but have to risk their vote to play. The prisoner’s dilemma is back with a twist.
Bruce - PROTECTS his vote
Brandon - RISKS his vote to play
Drew - RISKS his vote to play
I love that Brandon is so badly trying to check a Survivor bucket list item and he is failing, AGAIN! Drew on the other hand, is winning and earns the advantage. Brandon failed at matching tiles and has no vote. He reminds us about how he literally gave up the Beware Advantage
Drew wins Safety Without Power and it’s good until final 10 and increases his standing in the game.
The journey was both surprising and not surprising. Not a surprise for the Jekyll and Hyde - Drew and Basile - to risk his vote to gain the advantage and be successful, especially after he self proclaimed himself to be the smartest player in the history of Survivor. Sorry Cochran.
Not a surprise to see Brandon literally fall on his way to the combination lock game. Not a surprise to see him risk it to win the advantage. Finally, not a surprise to see him fail. Brandon seems to be just one of those guys who is going to fail and hit bottom before he can ever climb himself back up to neutral. He would be lucky to gain back that much ground. No surprise that Brandon has no strengths in this game. He loses his vote. 🤣
The surprise was Bruce. He decided to play it safe and not play. Maybe Uncle Bruce can’t lie to his nieces and nephews back at BELO, or more significantly, we are seeing Bruce’s weakness as a player, when faced with actual gameplay, he doesn’t have it. He plays it safe. He fits into the provider role. Bruce isn’t a strategist.
Drew returns to camp to a REBA surprise party and decides to tell the truth. Drew is now rewarded with Austin confiding in Drew that he found the Beware Advantage. Once again, nobody keeps their mouth shut in the new era. However, it’s early in the game and an advantage like Safety Without Power doesn’t have the same spectacle of a Hidden Immunity Idol so sharing the truth was the better move. I can’t believe I feel that way.
BACK at BELO
Brando makes his grand introduction by bonding with the girls by wearing his buff tube top. Look, Brando is 22, super skinny, wears glasses, wears a subtle aloha shirt, and on the surface does not pose as a strategic threat. Especially with macho alpha guys like Bruce and Jake around. He knows it and is leaning into it. It feels like he is going to be able to bond with both the girls and the guys. It feels like people will underestimate him and think they can control him. I’m not underestimating him.
Kellie too is placed in the “What path do I take?” hot seat at BELO. On the one hand, she can be going with the zodiac buddy girls (Katurah and Kendra), and on the other hand, also be able to camouflage in by “bro-ing” it up with the boys (Bruce and Jake). She’s a nurse. She has to literally get along with everyone.
So, what are we learning here?
It feels like Kellie and Brando are those swing votes/in betweens that will find trust on both sides of a vote or with everyone on the tribe. They feel like the castaways with a silencer on their rifle. They won’t try to “run camp” like a brawn would (Jake or Bruce) and they aren’t the ones that are going to initiate the conversation of “we should be in an Libra/Virgo alliance” (Kendra) because they are the people that the others will come to, feel comfort with, and be underestimated. Keep your eye on them.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
The drone camera shot of our first water based challenge is spectacular as per usual. It’s blue. It’s clear. It’s amazing.
Dive in and swim to platform.
Climb to top of tower, grab a club, and jump off smashing a tile.
Retrieve the key and swim to a 3 tier balance beam (see Cirie in 34) and swim to final platform.
Use keys to unlock puzzle pieces and complete a CORAL puzzle.
REWARD
1st - Large Fishing Gear
2nd - Basic Fishing Gear
Last - Tribal Council
New twist - nobody can sit out in back to back challenges.
LULU makes me eat my previous words and gets to the puzzle first.
LULU - Brandon & Sabiyah
REBA - Drew & Julie
BELO - Kellie & Brando
And then Jeff blows up LULU’s struggles at the puzzle making my prediction seem to be actually correct. The battle between REBA and BELO comes down to the wire with REBA inching out BELO by a nose and they both throw a Secretariat like Belmont performance in comparison to LULU. LULU stunk up the joint. First to the puzzle and literally got about 7 pieces together and finds themselves back at Tribal and without flint.
Kaleb resuscitates my investment in him as a long term player with his analogy of LULU to the Cleveland Cavaliers when LeBron left the first time. HAHAHA. Instantly, Kaleb would have been my guy on LULU if I was playing. I love a sports analogy and this is a good one. My hope is that he will not only make it through the abismal LULU tribe phase but make a deep run in the game. My hunch is he will like LeBron when he went to the Heat or returned to the Cavs and went to the finals every year.
PRE-TRIBAL SCRAMBLE - Day 5
Brandon is playing the pity, feel sorry for me, and this is my dream card. Enough of this guy. On the other hand, Emily sucks and she’s the “easy” vote. Brandon doesn’t have a vote, nor does Sabiyah. That means Sean, Kaleb, and Emily are the only ones with a vote.
The “power” alliance of LULU (Sean, Sabiyah, and Kaleb knock down the idol from the tree only to reveal an idol within the wax of a candle…but they have no fire.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Though this is absolutely hilarious, my strategic brain is screaming at Sabiyah to walk into Tribal Council and walk to the fire in the middle and burn the wax down to reveal the idol!!! Come on Sabiyah.
Emily is desperate and makes a play at building trust by giving her Shot in the Dark to Sabiyah. I appreciate Sabiyah being dubious of Emily. Sabiyah doesn’t trust Emily and thinks that Brandon would be loyal. However, the reality is Brandon is the ultimate challenge liability.
Kaleb on the other hand, despite his alliance with Sabiyah and seeming triad with Sean, is building an alliance with Emily. Looks like he may be leaning to cut Brandon and try to avoid a third straight Tribal.
Decision time - vote out Brandon to keep the tribe strong or vote out Emily and elevate loyalty.
PREDICTION: Brandon gets voted out 3-0 (Emily, Kaleb, and Sean vote him out unanimously)
TRIBAL COUNCIL
I still can’t believe that Sabiyah isn’t melting the idol free from the wax. She is literally surrounded by fire and since they suck and will never get flint, now would be her best chance to melt the idol out.
The choice is clearly Brandon or Emily.
Brandon is making a case as to why he sucks at Survivor. He is literally reading the list of why he should be voted out and all he can say is that Emily is someone that has had problems. In comes Kaleb to smooth things over with Emily. Sean plays it up too.
Is Jeff calling Brandon the waterboy??? Is that an insult to Bobby Boucher? I think so.
To me, Emily has more depth and more meat on the bone for her story in 45. Brandon has worn out his welcome of sucking at every aspect of the game and the challenges. When he speaks and says things like “I want to stay LULU strong” it doesn’t land with me. It feels like he is just a Survivor geek, and if that’s all you are, it doesn’t translate to the actual game. He knows that Survivor isn’t actually meant for him other than as a fan.
Can we vote this guy out please?
VOTES (Yay, nobody quit)
Brandon 3
NO VOTE - Brandon, Sabiyah
Hallelujah! The best part of Brandon getting voted out is that he “lived his dream” yet didn’t even get to cast a vote. HAHAHA. He thinks it’s really cool to get his torch snuffed, and he’s right, but not when he is the one getting it snuffed. Go back to the couch and your gamer chair Brandon, let the people who should be on Survivor, be on Survivor. Keep being a fan because that’s the only thing you do well in regards to Survivor.
Thanks for reading this week. Appreciate the support. Be sure to outlike, outcomment, and outshare the rest all season long. I will be writing about each episode all the way through to the announcement of the winner of Survivor 45. See you next week for hopefully a much much much better episode.
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