LAST EDITED ON 10-16-10 AT 04:04 PM (EST)

ETA: Sometimes I love typos: Time will tell if these are Editing Thoughts or Idiotic Thoughts!!

During the recap, Jeff told us a slightly different story than the one we had seen:
The Older tribe had lost 2 of 3 challenges and struggled at camp…
<Jill seen, telling us of that food was in short supply>
…but none of this fazed Marty who was practically giddy about being the tribe’s undisputed Svengali.
<Marty: Those who want to be with me, jump on board but do not mess around with me because I am playing this game for real”>
At the Younger tribe, Brenda was the mastermind…
…and her ally Na’Onka was the camp bully.
Na’Onka’s main target was Kelly B, the tribe mate with an artificial leg.
She knocked her down and yelled at her.
<Alina’s interview, calling Nay psycho was replayed>

When the older tribe lost yet another challenge, Jimmy T nominated himself to be leader. He wanted to get rid of Dan. Holly and Jane agreed.
We then see an new interview by Jane: “I think that the person who might be in danger would be Danny.”
But Jimmy’s politicking challenged Marty’s ego.
<Marty once more shown eating alone>
At Tribal Council, Marty lobbied hard against Jimmy T and it worked.
Now, Holly and Jane are in deep trouble.

The recap told us that Marty should be considered evil. Saying that Jimmy nominated himself as leader, a complete distortion of events, could have been a way to soften Marty’s image but he was called a Svengali, we heard that his ego was challenged and we saw him once again eating alone after Jill had told us of the dire food situation. We don’t get the same spin we used to have with Russell: As powerful as he is, Marty isn’t to be considered a great player.

Brenda didn’t fare much better, being closely associated with psycho Nay.

The ones that came out of this recap looking even better than before were Holly and Jane. Their vote for Dan had been seen as personal choices on their part but now it was part of Jimmy’s politicking, putting them directly in Marty’s sights, thus setting them up as underdogs.

I would have titled this episode:

Something Completely Whacked Out!

Espada
Night 11

Holly: “I had no idea that Jimmy T was going tonight at Tribal Council. I was shocked. Most of the people I talked to, said they would vote for the weakest link. Let’s face it: Physically, Jimmy T could do handstands over Danny and they say they want to keep the tribe strong? It does upset me. I’m on the outs and I know something’s got to change.”

Now, not only is this bad for Marty’s edit because we have someone presenting a solid case against his decision but we also see that Marty didn’t even bother keeping players in the loop and that is dumb.
Although it doesn’t say much of Holly’s observational skills, it does reinforce her as a player, someone who wants to make things change in her favor.

Espada
Day 12

Marty: “Tribal council last night was a slam dunk… So, you can’t get cocky in this game but, I’m in control finally. I’m in control of this tribe. If you can see two tribals ahead in this game, that’s pretty good and, if you can see them with the level of certainty that I have; even better.”

He told Danny they were safe for the next few councils since Holly and Jane would be voted out. They agreed Holly and Jane signed their death certificates by voting against Dan.
Marty’s words were then shown on screen for emphasis: “That shows you how few people came into this game and know how to play this game, that are not thinking strategically. It’ll be Holly next.”

Marty: “Holly and Jane, they will have to go. It would take something extraordinary, off the charts, completely whacked out to disturb my plans.”

Just then, Marty sat down with his back facing us, the perfect target for a knife!

It made me think that Marty will be blindsided before the next two or three Tribal Councils. Wouldn’t it be perfect if the two characters Marty called out would make it in the finals?!

LaFlor

Na’Onka: “I’m so proud to be on my young tribe. We the bomb! My solid five right now are myself, Purple Kelly, Brenda, Chase and Sash. We are controlling this entire game right now. Kelly B and Alina are about to get voted out. I have it all planned in my head. I already see the win. We have the tarp, I have the hidden immunity idol and I got my hair done, got my shoes cleaned, I got my swag! If I look good, I feel good and I’m gonna do good.”

This interview shows that much of Na’Onka’s bravado comes from her insecurities.

The Challenge…and the Twist!

Na’Onka was the one shown reacting to the news of Jimmy T’s elimination while Brenda was heard laughing at Marty who looked “rough”.

When Jeff said “drop your buffs, the first words heard came from Purple Kelly: “I’m gonna cry right now.” Then Yve was heard saying: “Damn”.

Of all the shocked faces, Jeff turned first to Marty who said: “I was definitely not counting on this. Not now: too early.”
Jeff noted Jud’s shock:

“Man! We were on such a roll and we just wanted to keep on winning. It’s back up in the air.”

Holly and Brenda picked the captain’s rocks.
Brenda, excited to be a captain, decided she wanted Jane, Jill and Marty to come to LaFlor.
Holly picked Alina, Benry, Chase and Na’Onka.

Giving back the expired MoP, Yve still looked shocked as she exchanged glances with Marty, now standing on the opposite mat.

Na’Onka said it would be hard being away from her “family” while Marty was happy to be on the winning side and in the plush camp. Yve still looked over at him, the camera suggesting she felt abandoned.

Jeff noted twice that Jill and Jud were playing well together, something to keep in mind if we ever see them talking strategy.
Jeff said: “You can’t ask for better than this: New tribes and it’s going all the way.”
After Marty had a “nice save” he dropped the ball for LaFlor so Espada won the chicken.

Tyrone: “Today, we got new people in the tribe. If I had my way, I would have loved to stay with the old tribe because we had a good little machine going but, another dynamic is that we have pretty girls running around and there may be some flirtation going on.”

Tyrone started telling everyone about Espada’s “system”.
The youngsters weren’t impressed.
Alina: “Tyrone is definitely the leader of this tribe. He started telling us we have to do this and we have to do that. It is very “Older Tribe.”

Na’Onka: “In LaFlor, we didn’t have any rules and now Tyrone is trying to tell everybody what to do. Don’t think you are a gangster ‘cause you’re not.”

Holly said Benry and Chase reminded her of her son while Alina was like her youngest daughter.

Holly: “This switch has been phenomenal for me. I relate to the kids well. Coming back, the kids were very receptive to me and I hope I can keep them and tell them that I am honest to them. I think I have a better chance to go further at this point with the kids than I do with Dan, Yve and TD. So, strategically, if the kids come to me with an idea; 100%, I’m on board.”

Smartly, Alina said she felt she didn’t lose anything by switching.
Holly said she was with Jane and nobody else.
Alina said: “You lost Jane but you gained us.”

Na’Onka: “There’s only 4 of us here with 4 Espada but Holly wants to team up with us so we will have the numbers with 5. I’m going to go wherever the numbers go. It’s pretty ironic that Alina and myself got pulled over to Espada. Alina and I, our relationship has changed a whole bunch. This is our home now and we have to make do with what we have.”

Going for a walk, Holly, Na’Onka and Alina shared a connection.

LaFlor
Day 12

Jud: “The old switcheroo! I was pretty stoked how it worked out actually. I was dreading the switch because I felt comfortable in the original LaFlor tribe but the way it worked out was pretty right on! We picked up Marty, Jill and Jane who are all super cool and, numbers wise, the LaFlor tribe are 5 and 3; it looks good!”

After saying he was thankful for being picked, Marty started talking about chores; Jill added scheduling and saying their days start at 5:30AM.
The young ones reacted like the Mall Rats!
Brenda, expressing the opinions seen on Kelly B, Purple Kelly and Jud’s face said: “The laFlor tribe, we’re really chill.”

If we were wondering which approach the editors wanted us to prefer, Jane quickly informed us: “Well, I like these kids! They think like me. They seem to be more relaxed. My tribe was all about schedule, schedule, schedule.”

Addressing Kelly B. and Brenda, Jane said: “Listen, I’ll give you the pow-wow: Don’t trust the two over there. (Marty and Jill) They are constantly talking.”

Jane: “I would have voted Marty and Jill out a long time ago if I could have because Marty and Jill have been as tight as ticks.”

Marty talked to Jud about Immunity Idol clues. He learned about the incident between Kelly B and Na’Onka. Marty was surprised Nay didn’t share the clue. He said he wouldn’t have forgiven that sin.
Jud answered: “We’re the young tribe. I guess we don’t really know what we’re doing.”

Taking the bait, Marty gave us his impressions: “It seems to me this tribe hasn’t had a lot of leadership. At Espada, I got control of that entire tribe and not necessarily by being a leader but by being a player.”

To the whole tribe, Marty said he hadn’t lied in the game and he added: “I have an immunity idol.”

Marty’s interview went on: “I thought it was important to show that I had the idol. I think Jane would probably tell them so why not play it upfront and try to get something out of it.”

Brenda in interview: “I think Marty is so arrogant. He just whipped out the immunity idol. OK. No BS, I have the idol. We’re sitting there like wow! So impressed but in our heads we’re going: Are you stupid? He’s coming into our home and he’s already setting up like he’s the king. He has a lot of balls. That is the dumbest thing he could have done."

"Hello-o!"

With these two confessionals setting the stage, I’d say that Marty and Brenda won’t make the merge together. One of the two has to fall at the hands of the other.

Espada
Day 13

Benry: “The resources around this camp are definitely slim. They built that shelter right off the ocean; we’re getting a crazy wind. They got a high roof and there is no shortage of rain here today and it doesn’t look like there’s any sign of stopping.”

Na’Onka: “The rain out here is hideous. I don’t like the rain and I’m worried about my head because, when I’m cold and I’m not doing too well, I’ll lose it…I don’t want to quit.”

Alina: “Na’Onka seems like a high school girl. She’s irrational and crazy and she seems like she’s on her period all the time. Rain is not that big of a deal here: We’re on a beach, we’re wet anyway so who cares? I’m actually relishing in it, just keep checking out. It’s better for me if you want to go home because one less person I have to battle against.”

Chase joined the two in the shelter and comforted Na’Onka


As he hugged her, Chase told her a very touching story about his dead father and a rainbow.
The rain continued all day and all night but despite repeating she wanted to go home, Nay was there for next morning’s challenge.

The Challenge

Marty told Jeff he was happy with the switch because they wound up in the Taj Mahal of camps. Jane agreed.
Diplomatically, Alina responded: “I wouldn’t say we went to bad but we bonded in a different way because we were wet instead of dry.”

During Jeff’s explanation, we had a close-up of Nay which told us she had no intention of going under water!
Despite the fact that it was good strategy to slow down, allowing time for the women to aim for the bowl, Jeff’s comment made it seem like Espada was not doing well: “Espada, really slowing down, LaFlor is moving twice as fast…Brenda with another nice job.”
Finally, Jeff realized what was happening: “Espada going even slower now, trying a different strategy and it’s working. LaFlor is spinning fast but missing their bowl.”

Fabio won it for LaFlor.

Na’Onka: “I knew that we were going to lose, I felt it. You know, I’m not a quitter and I don’t want my students to think I’m a quitter but I’m skinnier and I’m losing fat. I think I’m done.”

Espada
Day 14
Na’Onka: “I believe that Espada is cursed. You get the pick of the litter and you’re still losing… It’s crazy but I’m not nervous at all about tribal council. I made it this far and, if I continue going, kudos to me but I don’t care. I really want to go home. I’m over it.”

The tribe, despite Tyrone’s wishes, decided to eat one of the chickens.

Holly: “It seems that everybody wanted to eat the chicken except for Tyrone. Sometimes it’s hard to go against Tyrone. Tyrone is a little intimidating but I think we need to start standing up to Tyrone.”

Tyrone: “If I had it my way, I say we keep the chicken…but it wouldn’t be smart to rock the boat right now.”

Holly: “I noticed that, as we were boiling the chicken, Tyrone: He stayed in the back…but as soon as it was time to eat the chicken, he was right there.”

Benry: “We had plenty of food for everybody and, everybody took a mediocre, regular sized portion, meanwhile you had Tyrone, in the corner, just feasting and it was blatantly obvious that he had gotten more chicken than the rest of the tribe. He is becoming more and more obnoxious…”

Benry went on: “Tyrone, granted he is a very physical player and he could benefit us in some challenges in one way or another but he is not the easiest guy to be on the same tribe with. I think that cutting him loose tonight would absolutely bring us closer together but it worries me a bit that Nay is hanging on by a thread. She is struggling. She almost threw the red flag last night and she isn’t doing too well. I don’t know if she’s all there, mentally right now.”

Alina told Yve they were thinking of voting out Nay.

Alina: “Everyone at camp is aware that Na’Onka has had a rough couple of days. It’s not going to be a big deal that we’re going to have to send Nay home. We should just be happy that we have Holly. Myself, Chase, Benry and Holly, we’re definitely in control of this game. So, we’re going to have to decide who goes home: Tyrone or Na’Onka. I’m going to have to wait and see what everyone else wants to do.”

I wonder if the part about controlling the game was put in from the next episode just to add suspense for this vote. I think Na’Onka will have a relapse and they will send her home then because it wouldn’t make sense for Alina to have so much confidence in Holly before their first vote together. Only after seeing Holly vote out Tyrone would that kind of trust be warranted.

Tribal Council

Asked about the new dynamics, Alina said: “Coming together was nice at the beginning…but the old LaFlor tribe…we had our way of doing things…so there’s a little bit of turf war. Now that we’re on Espada’s turf, we have to go by their rules.”
Benry added: “Tyrone seems to be the boss-man around Espada.”
Asked about being the leader, Tyrone said: “It’s a huge responsibility. People come to you for answers…I definitely feel qualified to be the leader of this tribe.”
<Alina had quite a few reactions shot during Tyrone’s speech.>
Alina said Tyrone’s rules made her feel a little bit like a child.
Tyrone said he simply wanted to introduce them to the camp that, if it was perceived otherwise, it was due to the generation gap.
Alina, really taking on the role of narrator by being Jeff’s go-to woman, said: “The nights are tough. Especially the last two have really been rainy.”
Na’Onka agreed: “I didn’t think it would be this difficult.” She went on saying it was worse than getting a divorce, messing up her marriage but being grateful that, here, she had a support system. She told Jeff: “I wanted to quit. I was at my breaking point yesterday.”
Asked if he wanted to act as nurturer or be a player and use it to say “see ya” to Nay, Benry said he didn’t know what Jeff meant.
Yve knew what Jeff meant: “Why are you here? If you start to break down again, am I going to align with you and then see it again?”
Na’Onka ended the discussion by saying that there were a lot of smart people on the tribe, some who knew when to talk and when to shut up.

Benry voted, saying: “It’s time to dethrone the king of Espada! Benry’s here.”
Na’Onka didn’t do like Shawna or Ashlee before her by throwing her vote away as she did vote for Tyrone.
Jeff was impressed that they pulled off their first blindside. As he said so, the camera showed the three LaFlors that sat in the center and then went to Alina. It didn’t show Holly even if she played a big part in that blindside.

The Story

One more player who took charge has been voted out. Therefore, hearing that Marty is acting like the King of LaFlor and that Benry is taking over in Espada should tell us something bad could happen to them. However, Marty has an idol.

What was more interesting was to see three of the four women in danger at the start of the episode, Jane, Holly and Alina wind up in such favorable positions immediately after the switch. Jane and Holly were targeted by Marty but they now have the capacity to get rid of him and his allies. We should see more explosions at TC. Alina, on the other hand, made up with Nay which is even better in a social game.

The Characters

It’s interesting to note which players found new wings from the switch, which players lost their stories, which stayed as much in shadows as before and which ones remained in the spotlight.

Who are You?
Purple Kelly: We continue to see her reactions once in a while but she still doesn’t have a role in this story.

Sash: He’s the one that made the alliance with Na’Onka but we didn’t hear his thoughts at losing an ally. He’s another player who will only get the spotlight when it’s his turn to leave.

Dan: He lost an even more vital ally than Sash but we didn’t hear from him either. His vote against Tyrone showed that he can adapt but for how long? We don’t hear his thoughts on the game and he has no long term storylines. Of course that doesn’t mean he can’t stick around but it does mean he can’t win.

Yve: Yve didn’t have a part to play in this very important episode. Her only notable moments happened at the challenges when we saw her looking longingly at Marty. It told me that she is lost now that she has been separated from him. Yve seems to be the perfect example of a coattail rider: She was first attached to the hip to Jimmy J so much so that the coach was sure he could have formed an alliance with her, Holly and Jane to counter Marty’s move against him if he had known about Marty’s intent. Then Yve gravitated towards Jimmy T until she realized his insecurities. Next came her short-lived attachment to Marty and now she clung to Tyrone, not giving herself a chance to be in the loop. Without protectors, she will likely be voted out. However, if she makes the merge and reunites with Marty, she could go a long way but her story doesn’t have the substance, the personal touch of a winner.

Disappearing Act

Jill: We see that Jill is simply one of Marty’s minions. She lost her role of narrator and she didn’t comment on the new dynamics. She had to realize that Marty could become a target and that it would affect her own game but we only saw her standing firm by his side, as tight as two ticks.

Kelly B: Kelly’s disappearance from our screens is very troubling for her future. This should have been her “release” episode as she broke away from her tormentor but, instead, she became insignificant. The Espada players had to share their thoughts on how well she has done despite her handicap but it wasn’t part of the story of this episode. How can it be the story of the season?

Chase: Even if he didn’t have an interview, Chase got to share a very personal and touching story. What do we make of this? Not much. Chase remains on the story’s perimeter, not at its center. Losing Brenda should have caused him some worries but we didn’t hear from him.

Start Me Up

Benry: Finally, we heard from Benry but I didn’t particularly see his interviews as good for his future. This tourist’s first words were to criticize the new accommodations. He was pictured as an upset customer complaining to the hotel manager that the new room isn’t satisfactory! Then, it was his words that the editors used to explains Tyrone’s elimination. Tyrone was a fairly positive character up to now so Benry is stained by what was presented as his decision. Tribal Council probably didn’t encourage his fans either: Not only did he act too dumb to understand the game in Jeff’s eyes but he decided to take charge with his “Benry’s here baby” as he voted to dethrone Tyrone.

Jud: He got close to Marty. His words: “We’re the young tribe. I guess we don’t really know what we’re doing” had to please Marty to no ends. “The Dumb Blonde” and the “Puppet Master” brought back together? It has a sort of “déjà vu” feel to it but I think this was the reason for the ground work to Jud’s edit: Marty will underestimate him and will pay for it. What does it tell us about Jud’s long term prospects? We’ll have to wait a bit to see if Jud aligns with Marty or if he contributes to the Puppet Master’s back-stabbing. Somehow, I’d have more confidence in Jud’s chances if he were to align with Marty because then this story would have a long term development…and we’d have to revise everything we read of the story up to now. Jud back-stabbing the Puppet Master would be much more fun in the short term however.

For the following players, The Song Remains the Same

Marty: His arrogance and dumb play really stood out in this episode. First, we realized he had upset Jane and Holly by voting out Jimmy T without telling them. Then he told everyone on the opposing tribe that he had the idol. He was worried that Jane would have told LaFlor about it but the only reason she would have was because Marty treated her as an outsider.

Is Marty the shooting star that Ace was? Ace was THE Svengali of Survivor and he didn’t make the merge. Marty is presented as this season’s Svengali and we hear that he is the target of the other player in charge, Brenda. Although I was leaning towards Brenda coming out on top of this confrontation, the battle hasn’t yet begun so that outcome, for me, is still up in the air. So much of the season’s outcome rests on which one of these two players make it to the merge that I prefer to sit back and wait rather than predict. I will say that, if Jane’s presence and her desire to vote out Marty contribute to Brenda’s chances, (both in the actual vote and in the edit because of Jane’s likeability) it is troubling to see that Brenda’s allies, Sash and Purple Kelly, are obscure characters as if already casualties of war. Could that be the answer? They wind up as Marty’s target instead of Brenda, one of them becomes the victim of the idol. That way, both Marty and Brenda could make it to the merge. Not since Amazon has a switch brought so much interestingly unpredictable dynamics.

Na’Onka: Why did Holly pick her? It was a simple thing that the editors ignored: Na’Onka shook her hand after winning that water-pouring challenge head-to-head against Holly. We weren’t meant to see that some people out there actually liked her. What we see is the “Drama Queen”. In this episode, after losing her swag, she added the desire to quit to her score sheet. As noted above, I think she will have a relapse because it would fit better with parts of Alina’s interview. Alina would know that she still controls the game with Holly, Chase and Benry only after Holly had voted out Tyrone, not before she had shown them she could be trusted. Therefore, much of Nay’s story was part of the Alina-Holly story and served to leave a little bit of suspense after Tyrone became the target. We learned nothing new about Na’Onka since we knew her role wasn’t destined to last to the end of the game.

One more thing that makes me think Nay will eventually quit is that she didn’t even mention her Immunity Idol as protection. Usually, we are always reminded of who has the idol and how they plan to use it. By hearing nothing, I believe this idol will be simply wasted.

Brenda: She didn’t lose her story after the switch which bodes very well for her. The problem with Brenda is that so much of her story HAD to be shown: She found the MoP, her alliance with Chase had to be shown to explain Shannon’s boot as did her alliance with Nay to explain the discovery of the idol and now she was the one that the rocks designated as captain of LaFlor. I still don’t see any manipulation to her edit except to present her as a likeable character despite some unsavoury or ignored allies. The outcome of her battle with Marty will tell us if she was a big short term story arc or a nice, slowly developing long term story. I still believe she will win the battle because Marty IS arrogant but, in these post-Russell days, who knows what the editors want us to think of cocky arrogance? We do know that, except for Parvati, Survivor hasn’t been kind to female puppet-masters with sweet smiles.

Emerging Stars

Jane: This sympathetic player called two powerful allies “ticks”. That is very revealing of what the audience should think of the power couple. Jane has been repeatedly shown as an enthusiastic player: We see that she is having fun…

We see her happy dances, first with Tyrone a few episodes ago and now with Jud…

Episode #1 was titled: Young at Heart and no one has been more deserving of that title than Jane but is it enough to be the story of the winner? More likely she gets a tribute edit; the story of a hard-working woman who gave it all. Just making it to the end after being Marty’s target would be something completely whacked out!

Holly: She started the episode upset at her tribe’s choice and conscious that things needed to change. Did they ever! By the end of the episode, Holly was telling us she saw herself going further in the game by aligning with the kids.

It’s interesting to see that other players have had breakdowns. We saw Jimmy J having a tough time on day 1, Jimmy T said this game had him beat after 3 days, Jill said she didn’t know if she could last 28 more days, Na’Onka wanted to quit and the previews let us see that Danny wants to pack it in. All this tells me that Holly’s breakdown is being put in perspective: Everyone had their moments of weakness. If Holly is our winner, that will be the answer we will get when we ask if she deserved it because she wanted to quit.

As for her story, we had that animal imagery where Jimmy T told Holly to be like the pelican, to wait and look for the right moment to strike. Most of the cameras visits to the laFlor camp were preceded by images of a group of Pelicans. It didn’t take long for Holly, the observant pelican, to team up with the youngsters from LaFlor. We could say that they were like birds of a feather! Now that Holly has found the courage to stand up to the intimidating Tyrone, she probably can stand up to anything on her path.

With that in mind, seeing her aligned with Alina has my complete attention, making them my top two contenders.

Alina: Compared to Benry, Alina always had a role in this story and, after being the narrator of the KB/Nay fight she became the narrator of New Espada. More importantly, after being an underdog, she finally found herself on the right side of the numbers and we have always seen her as a savvy player. Note that she said she would have to see what others would want to do instead of saying, like Benry did, that Tyrone had to go. Her story has the consistency needed for a winner. It would also be a perfect ending if, as Na’Onka’s target at the beginning of the episode, her new alliance with one of Marty’s targets enabled her to make it to the end.

Such powerful editing manipulations tell me that Alina could very well be our winner.