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It’s episode two of a new “Survivor” season and the losing tribe is divided over which player to vote out — but before we get to that, let’s peek in at Reem on the Edge of Extinction Island.
Reem, who was voted off last week, finds herself alone on a pretty barren piece of ground. This season, for the first time, torch-snuffed survivors are given the choice to stay in the game by going to Extinction Island, or cashing in their chips and hanging out at Loser Lodge for the rest of the contest.
This was a surprise twist that the players weren’t informed about ahead of time, so no one knows what they’re getting into — or even where they are headed. Instead, after being voted off, they walk down a path and see two signs, one giving them the chance to continue, the other the option to call it quits.
The island, which has limited food and shelter, is truly grim, but if it gets too tough the castaway can raise a sail and be rescued.
We’re treated to Reem going through the five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance — in about 15 seconds. But then she starts “improving” the shelter and dreaming of a dramatic return, until she realizes there’s no time frame on her island stay. She could be there forever, for all she knows, kicking off another round of speed grieving.
The rest of the episode is less dramatic. Kama wins its second Immunity Challenge, taking home the immunity idol and fishing gear. Manu comes close, but Keith’s inability to swim very far or accurately toss rings dooms the tribe.
When the episode started, almost everyone on Manu was gunning for Wendy, who had the nerve to be friendly to Reem. Returning player Kelley was particularly targeting Wendy, who returned the favor, trying to convince other-returning-player David and first-timer Rick to vote off Kelley.
Post-challenge, Wardog, who was going to vote for Wendy, goes gunning for Keith, which makes sense as Keith is the weakest link. Chris, however, appreciates how loyal Keith is and he values that more than keeping the tribe strong. He mounts a campaign to blindside Kelley, and manages to draw in David, Wendy, Rick and Keith.
But Wardog is not giving up on taking out Keith, calling him a detriment to the tribe, plus Kelley has a bigger target on her back than he does, and he wants to hide behind her.
In the end, it is Keith who gets voted out, uttering an impressive string of “dangs,” When he gets to the signs spelling out his options — go right to leave the game, go left to catch a boat — and despite whining for the past two episodes about how he’s wanted to play “Survivor” his entire life, he can’t decide whether to stay or go. He begins beseeching God to give him a sign, to which we can only presume God shrugged and said, “Dude, there are two signs right in front of you.” We’re only paraphrasing, of course. Dang.
Next week: The medics make their first appearance to treat what appears to be a player’s serious injury, and Reem complains she hasn’t had anything to eat in three days but a couple of bites of coconut, and if someone doesn’t show up soon, she’s going to raise the sail. We can only hope this is not an indication she is considering cannibalism.
Details of the game
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- It’s a good thing that Kama won immunity, because we’re pretty sure Aubry would have been considered for torch snuffing. She’s a target because she’s a returning player — nobody loves a double dipper — and because she’s trying so dang hard, telling everyone how they remind her of her. No one is buying the flattery she’s selling.
- Early on we picked Victoria as the most clueless player, and she’s not disappointing us. While everyone is on a hunt for hidden idols, Victoria moans that she has no idea how to search for them — all the trees look basically the same, she says.
- Lauren is this season’s second lucky winner of a hidden idol or advantage. She did it by thinking like a hidden immunity idol and asking herself where she would hide herself if she was a hidden idol. Don’t make us say that again.
- Kama seems set to go on an immunity challenge run that won’t end until the producers mix up the tribes. Joe and Livermore Eric are killing the tasks for Kama, and we’re just enjoying the view.
- Wardog continues to annoy us by referring to himself in the third person.