LAST EDITED ON 10-10-10 AT 06:47 PM (EST)

The recap told us that Jimmy Johnson had emerged as a leader but Marty was envious of the Coach’s star-power…
On the Younger tribe, Brenda… was at the top of the food chain…
<Brenda’s confessional about people coming to her was replayed>
Kelly B and Alina were at the bottom of the food chain but they had a clue to a hidden immunity idol…
At the challenge, the younger tribe took a big risk by not using the MoP…
…And the risk paid off because, while Jimmy T distracted the older tribe, the younger tribe cruised to victory…
After the challenge, with total disregard for Kelly B’s artificial leg, Na’Onka tackled her in order to get a new clue to the HII…
…She shared the clue with Brenda…

At TC, Jimmy T was gunning for Jimmy J…
The Coach and Dan were thought to be the weakest players but only Jimmy would admit to it…
…So, between Marty’s alpha-male coup and Jimmy’s honesty, the Coach was sent home.
Jeff’s comment of having to fill huge shoes was replayed, the camera directing that question to Jimmy T and Marty.

The recap really wasn’t kind to Jimmy T, probably in case he still had some fans out there! Did Tyrone miss all those shots because of Jimmy’s comments? That’s what the editors wanted us to believe!
Marty’s actions continued to get negative comments. Jeff could have said that Marty had to act before Jimmy J’s influence and charisma became too dangerous but Marty was defined as being envious. Marty is truly being set-up.
In the younger tribe, Brenda continued to get strong positive comments from Jeff while Ben didn’t see his MVP performance at the challenge mentioned.
As if it was necessary, Jeff reminded the viewers that Na’Onka was evil and that KB and Alina were underdogs. Note that Brenda was closely associated to Nay, both mentioning her as an ally and sharing the clue. That is worrisome for Brenda’s future.

Espada
Night 8

Under thunder and lightning, the tribe looked miserable.

Jimmy: “The leadership that Jimmy Johnson supplied was nothing. He gave a couple of cheerleader speech that any chucklehead could do…He wasn’t going to be in my alliance so I’m not going to miss him too much.

Jimmy proceeded to annoy the whole tribe with his songs and his hugs.

Marty: “Jimmy T is putting on the Jimmy T show…. He’s trying to do the best he can…but that’s who he is. He’s a loudmouth. This game tries your patience in so many ways and that guy is so obnoxious. All you need to do with Jimmy is just give him a bit of rope and he’ll hang himself from the nearest branch.”

The episode’s outcome was summed up in these two confessionals and I find it interesting that the editors went out of their way to show that Marty wasn’t going to simply let Jimmy hang himself; he’d be putting together a lynching party.

Espada
Day 9

Holly observed the desolation left after the storm.
Jane commented: “Some place in Nicaragua must have had 8 or 10 inches of rain and all that water… has found its way back to the ocean.”

Dan: “The entire beach is covered with debris. In fact our beach front here is gone…The ocean is all filled with mud. It’s really a mess.”

As Dan continued complaining, Jane was shown laughing.

A woman said this place was jinxed.

Jill: “Food is a huge issue; it’s terrible. Our bay that we were supposed to do the fishing in is completely washed out…We have no food and no means of getting it. We are down to 2 cups of rice a day and our ration is going to put us down more than that so yeah, we’re pretty sick about it.”

Jimmy T showed Holly how a pelican catches fish and he tried to do the same thing with the net. He wasn’t successful to say the least!

Jane: “I do believe everyone of us is going to miss Jimmy Johnson. I’m going to miss him because he was as good a fisherman as anybody. Every team I’ve ever been on had a captain and a co-captain and they made the decisions based on the ability of the tribe. I’m hoping somebody is going to step up and say I want that role.”

Jimmy would do just that over and over again but the others wouldn’t listen.

LaFlor
Day 9
Na’Onka: “I didn’t even know that it rained last night until I woke up and tried to climb out of the shelter and it was a little wet. I slept that well. Brenda has the immunity idol clue right now and she’s been trying to decipher it. We’re going to try to look for it today but these clues are really hard to figure out.”

While Alina was watching...

...Brenda told Na’Onka what she had learned. Following Brenda’s directions, Na’Onka was able to dig the key out of the ground. In their excitement, Nay told Brenda: “This is the key to our life in the game.”

But Na’Onka in private, said: “The immunity idol is mine, it’s mine, it’s mine. It doesn’t belong to anyone else. Brenda helped me find it but, ultimately, I figured it out and it’s mine. The immunity idol is in my sock and it’s not going anywhere. I came out here from South Central LA and it’s finally hit me: There’s a million dollars on the line. I’m not going to let anyone stand in my way. I’m not going to let a one-legged person stand in my way. As you can see; one shove and she’s out of there.”

As they walked on the beach, Brenda told Nay not to tell anybody about the idol.

Strange that Brenda didn’t get to say anything about the idol and what she thought about it being in Nay’s sock. It could be that the only thing we needed to see was Brenda’s cleverness and we didn’t hear more from her because that idol will have no impact on her game.

Kelly B and Alina were reflecting on the loneliness of the game, Alina saying the hardest thing was to pretend to like Nay.

Alina: “Kelly B and I have built a good relationship. I really like her she is such a nice person. The way Nay treats her, it makes me so furious. She tackled the girl with one leg. Like, how sick is that?”

The two traced Nay and Brenda’s footsteps in order to find the idol. Nay followed them.

Na’Onka: “I’ve been watching Alina and Kelly B running around like wild banshee looking for the immunity idol… The idol has already been found…so what do I have to lose? Nothing. I’m going to try to scare them because they are weak. If I get in their head and they’re scared, they won’t know what to do.”

Nay confronted them, even telling Kelly she didn’t like her.

Alina: “Nay is psycho. Kelly B never did anything to Nay, never, except go for the same clue.”

Kelly: “Nay’s a bully. I can’t think of anything else to call someone who knocks you over. I don’t know if she’s worried about me finding something out there. She wanted a reaction out of me and I wasn’t going to give it to her but at the same time, it’s really hard to contain yourself.”

Na’Onka: “I don’t need a charity case on the jury because she will, for sure, not vote for me to get the million dollars. So, messing with Kelly B mentally might even force her to quit the game. And screw your leg. Keep it away from the fire.”

That was an interesting quote to insert in the episode that precedes a break-down by Nay as seen in the upcoming previews. Does Na’Onka quit instead of Kelly B? That would be the ultimate, laugh in your face, revenge.

Espada
Night 10

The tribe was having another difficult night. Jill, Marty and Tyrone were trying to keep morale up which led to Marty’s suggestion that Tyrone should be the leader, their voice during the challenge. All agreed except Tarantino.

Jimmy: “Marty’s definitely not a big Jimmy T fan. It must stem from insecurities because I’m an easy going guy. He wants to be in ultimate control and nobody says anything. Every time I try to give some input, he tries to mildly, humbly shoot it down.”

Should we put weight to this coming from Jimmy? It certainly doesn’t paint a nice picture of Marty’s leadership abilities which, continuing from our previous episode’s theme of “Taking Charge is a Huge Mistake”, puts him in danger. What we do see clearly is that Tyrone isn’t the only one seeing Marty as being in charge. The whole group probably does. That is even worse for Marty.

Tree Mail told Espada that the next challenge would be done blindfolded. They chose Tyrone as their caller and, after Jill suggested and Jimmy repeated the suggestion, the tribe practiced.

Tyrone: “We ought to get the W and the other tribe isn’t a factor to me. I’m confident that, if we give 110% of our best effort which is discipline and listening, I think we’ll do better because we are more disciplined and we’re older.”

Marty: “I nominated Tyrone last night as the leader for the challenge and, by the way, I knew it would rile Jimmy T. He’s like a three year old. JT is delusional. He suffers from both paranoia and delusions of grandeur.”

The Challenge

We had a general view of LaFlor reacting with surprise at Jimmy Johnson’s elimination.

After a short huddle, Ben told Jeff that LaFlor would be using the MoP.
Dan sat out for the older tribe while the two Kellys sat out for LaFlor.
Brenda was the chosen caller. That meant she’d have to go up against the determined Tyrone.
(BTW, her use of calling out groups 1, 2 and 3 was much smarter than calling out names. Why hasn’t it been done like that before?!)
Jeff’s comment told us what we needed to know:
- “Brenda is very calm as she calls out the younger tribe.”
- “Marty takes a fall”


(Hummmm)

- “Jimmy T and Holly have been wandering around for a long time with no items.”

That last one got one of the funniest lines of the evening when Tyrone muttered: “Damn that boy don’t listen.”
(Brenda enjoyed it as much as I did!)

With Sash and Chase bringing back the chest, Jeff said: “The older tribe in complete disarray.”

Espada
Day 11

The ants were all over a large beetle, the image telling us that a big character was about to get the axe.

Dan said the challenge was tough, that the MoP was the difference.
Tyrone used that to lift the tribe’s spirit, saying the young tribe needed the advantage to beat them.
Jimmy once more demanded playing time.

Tyrone: “Jimmy T, he’s digging his own hole. Every time we have a challenge, he’s very negative afterwards.”

LaFlor

The tribe rejoiced over their reward, Ben held up the tarp saying: “The thing we wanted the most”.
Fabio added: “Purple Kelly can sleep now.”
It was nice to have some news on those people but then Chase had to open the fishing box and we were back to game talk:
Chase: “As soon as I opened the fishing box, I saw a rolled up piece of paper and I knew it was a clue. As soon as I saw that, I shut it. Everyone went over and looked at the tarp…I grabbed the note, folded it up and put it in my pocket. Brenda is a very close ally of mine. I probably trust her more than anyone out here”
<Just then, a spider devoured a small insect caught in its web...

Poor Chase!>

Chase took Brenda out for a walk in the jungle, telling her he had the clue in his pocket, adding that he trusted her and “If we get this idol, we’re gold.”
(I know it isn’t part of editing analysis but it cracked me up to see Chase walking through the jungle with a fishing net!)

Brenda: “Chase found the third clue. He figured out where it should be if it was there. I felt so bad because he is my buddy.”

She told Chase: “I have to tell you something.”
Chase, like many guys in love, didn’t realize that, when a girl says I have to tell you something, it’s going to be bad news! So he went on about it being 8 yards that way or 8 yards west…
Brenda had to tell again that he had to listen to her. She revealed the secret that Nay had the idol.

Chase: “You cannot trust anyone in this game but sometimes you have to. Na’Onka and I don’t have a great trust but we do have Brenda between us so, as long as Nay isn’t coming after me then that’s fine.”

Chase wanted to know if he should tell Nay what he knew which worried Brenda: “If I betray her, we are all screwed up”

Brenda: “If word gets out that I told Chase, Nay won’t trust me anymore because I betrayed her trust which is big because she is the one with the idol.”

Finally, Brenda received some distancing from Nay: We are told that she is with Nay mostly because Nay has the idol and Brenda can become one of Nay’s targets. Is it enough distancing though?

Espada
Day 11
Jill: “We’re digging around for sea urchins. We’re really hurting for food and this it about it. You get this tiny little blob of salty protein but it’s really good and they add a bit of flavor. We are down to sea urchins.”
Marty was shown eating one while others looked on.
Jimmy T realized that Marty wasn’t “contributing to the company part.”

Marty: “I just had 2 or 3 tiny ones.”
JT: “2 or 3 over here, 2 or 3 over there…What about the rest of the team? Come on man, be a team player.”

Marty: “He tried to call me out as non-team player because I ate a couple of sea urchins and I didn’t contribute sea urchins to his net. He just doesn’t get this game. You do that and that’s the perfect way to insure your destiny in this game. JT trying to tell me I’m not a team player and calling me out in front of the whole tribe? That is the equivalent of putting a gun to your mouth, pulling the trigger and blowing your brains out as far as I’m concerned.”

Jane told Holly: “I’m writing Dan’s name down… I’m going to hate losing Danny because I love his one liners...That’s what Coach put down and I think Coach was sending a message to us, to vote the next weakest link out.”

Jill was also telling Marty they needed to vote out Dan because he sat out again.
Marty wanted to keep him because he was their swing vote. He asked her if she was voting Jimmy T and she answered “whatever you say” again.

Marty: “The main thing is that Danny does not go home. I tried to drill that into Jill and I think she gets it. Do I wish Danny was stronger and better? Yeah, it would be great but, after tonight, people will understand that it doesn’t matter what they want to say whether Danny is weak and why I am protecting him. It’ll be numbers and numbers speak for themselves. The numbers will dictate the outcome of the next three tribals and I know I can count on him.”

Put this confessional in light of the upcoming preview and you realize that Marty sounds a lot like Silas here. Tribe unity is meaningless, his numbers are all that matter? It doesn’t work that way.

Marty: “Jimmy T drives us all crazy. He drives everybody crazy...If I don’t have to listen to him at anymore tribal councils, it will be a blessing.”

What about listening to him in Loser lodge? Oh! The irony if Marty was to join Jimmy T soon!

Jill and Tyrone talked and the big guy wanted to eliminate Dan because “he has a hard time walking.”

Jill: “I’d like Dan to go because I’ve always been for a strong team but he’s intrinsic to my alliance so I’m not sure I can do that. I love Dan but he sits every game so, you know, what are you going to do?”

Jill told Marty she didn’t think she could swing Tyrone and make him vote JT.
Marty talked to Tyrone. He called Jimmy T a cancer, a train wreck.
Jimmy was still demanding one shot at a challenge to Holly and Yve.

Yve: “You know, sometimes silence is more powerful than speaking and it’s a social game too. JT appears, verbally, to be secure but he’s insecure. When someone of that stature and that accomplishment doesn’t trust he is enough, I can’t trust that he’s going to be enough down the road. I’m a mother and I don’t coddle my kids that much.”

This time, by showing that Yve’s opinion was different to Jane, Holly and Tyrone’s, the editors were telling us that the decision wasn’t as clear cut as the last one. Jimmy T isn’t Jimmy J after all so he doesn’t get the same tribute.

Before leaving for TC, Jimmy T had the last interview: “You never know in this game. I’m scared that it might be me…”

Tribal Council
Asked about the challenge, Tyrone said: “We went with our plan and it worked out well but I think the MoP…”
He couldn’t continue because neither Jimmy T nor Jeff believed him.
Still, Marty agreed that the MoP was the difference.
Jeff made it clear that it wasn’t close. He also pointed out that Dan sat out, yet again.
<Holly reacted to that>
Dan: “…Put me on a level ground and I’ll go up against anybody. Why would I want to do something I know I’m not good at and possibly hurt the tribe?”
Jill said Danny’s condition factored in the vote, adding: “I’m tired of losing.”
Jimmy T said they had to mix it up. “Everybody knows I wanted one opportunity to lead our tribe in an immunity challenge.”
Asked if he was open to giving Jimmy T a shot, Marty answered: “Not necessarily, no. As a tribe, we felt that Tyrone should be the guy calling the shots. I don’t think it’s always necessarily some incredible leadership quality. We had Jimmy Johnson; it doesn’t get any better than that as far as leadership. You got a stressful situation here. There is zero tolerance for paranoia, delusions of grandeur and popping off. Everyone right now is trying to be as patient as possible but it’s been stretched to the limit.”
Jimmy said: “Jeff, I’m offering, they don’t want to accept. It’s fine but what type of success this tribe is having right now?”
Holly interjected: “All he is asking for is a chance. Let him try. How do you know that the 6th person on the bench doesn’t have the ability of the 1st person if you don’t give him a chance? That’s the way I look at it.”
Tyrone said Jimmy T would have value to the tribe if he changed. He added: “He has value now as it is even though he isn’t a follower. He would have more value if he was able to be a follower.”
Jimmy T said he was man enough to take that role and take good advice.
Tyrone appreciated that but Jeff realized it was hard for Jimmy to say that.
The fisherman got emotional, asking for a minute to regroup.
Tyrone extended an olive branch.
Jimmy said he was a man of honor and would be a good worker bee.

The tribe’s vote showed that Marty’s alliance didn’t give him a second chance.
What I found the most telling was to see Jane’s reaction when Jeff said Jimmy was eliminated...

...The editors had to blur her mouth because she obviously let out an expletive. She had voted against Dan along with Holly and wasn’t pleased by the results.
Marty was pleased; the camera showed his smug smile as Jimmy walked through the graveyard.

The Story

In Espada, we have the Marty show. Everyone is revolving around him but there are strong indications that he will not succeed. No one was really in agreement with his decision; some even showed their disapproval with their votes.

I also noted that the images of misery, of suffering through the bad weather, were all from Espada. In comparison, LaFlor was “only a little wet.” Often, the people complaining about the conditions aren’t to be seen as worthy Survivors.

In LaFlor, the volcano is still spewing some smoke but their winning streak means that the seismic activity has diminished. It’s notable that Purple Kelly and Ben still haven’t received a single interview while Sash hasn’t made much of an impact. If we compare with Galu where the reason for hiding Kelly and Brett was because we weren’t supposed to like Laura’s alliance, then we have to wonder what the editors want us to think of LaFlor’s alliance and its members.

LaFlor doesn’t have the leadership problems seen in Espada. This is a tribe shown to work well together as we saw when Chase and Ben alternated without any grumblings or distractions in the previous challenge and how they naturally followed Brenda’s directions during the latter one. This is a tribe made up of individual stories. The primary story has been the individual reactions to Kelly B’s handicap and the secondary story has been Brenda’s experience. Note that the two stories only intersected when Nay told Brenda how she felt about Kelly.

The Characters

The Tourists:

Purple Kelly: All we learned was that Kelly will finally be able to sleep. I was hoping she would wake up! It’s becoming obvious that her lack of airtime is tied with the way she will be voted out. We are being told not to attach ourselves to this character.

Sash: We don’t even get to see his “million dollar smile” so he too will probably be a casualty of the game.

Ben: The only interesting part of his edit is that he’s the one telling Jeff what the tribe will do before challenges. He appears to be the reason why LaFlor is a well-oiled machine but he gets no credit for it.

Dan: Showing him on the bench while his tribe went into complete disarray told us that Dan is really only enjoying the sights, not really participating in the game. Even if he was called an intrinsic part of the alliance, the viewers know better and realize he is only intrinsic in demonstrating the errors in Marty’s decisions.

Jud: He is losing his story so one has to wonder if he was really only used as comic relief earlier on. The switch should let us see if his plan to appear unthreatening works. He still has time to have a breakthrough episode so we will keep an eye on him.

Yve: We only hear what she thinks of the other participant so her own role in the game isn’t important. After being on Jimmy J’s side last week, we didn’t hear anything from her about that this week and she was the only one shown to agree with Marty’s decision. That is either to show us she is able to adapt or that her story has no continuity. For now, I think it’s the latter.

The Good Guys

Kelly B: I think that the audience wanted to see a reaction from Kelly B as much as Na’Onka wanted to provoke one but we didn’t get it. Alina has been more vocal than the one that is the focus of Nay’s wrath. There is a serious lack of substance in Kelly’s story.

Tyrone: He was the one to tell us that the older tribe felt confident about the challenge. He was the one that wasn’t supposed to switch to Marty’s side. He was also the one that offered an olive branch to Jimmy T but, in the end, he still voted Jimmy T out. The episode showed that Tyrone can be manipulated and can be arrogant himself. Not a good presentation for someone who had a nice story going up to now.

Holly: So, Holly did survive the first big storm of the season but it really wasn’t part of the story. I was expecting something from her saying how happy she was to have proven she could do it but it wasn’t brought up at all. She’s not even used as a boot possibility when you know they have the ability to throw in someone’s comment that Holly’s an option. It’s starting to look like the reward Holly will receive for persevering will be to come out of this with more confidence in herself, not with the title of Sole Survivor. Still, we can’t forget that Jimmy J’s last words, “win the million” were addressed to her.

Jill: She continued to tell us about the events of Espada but we didn’t get the same hints that she could be the one manipulating Marty instead of the other way around. In fact, we heard two troubling things for her future chances: She told Marty she didn’t know if she could do this for 28 more days and she meekly gave in the Marty’s decision even if she had Tyrone’s backing. Her presentation this week didn’t do anything to advance her story, instead it put her back to her episode #1 edit where she couldn’t make a decision.

Chase: Finding the idol clue was the only reason to show him so that’s what makes me think he is part of Brenda’s story not the other way around. We still see him as the nice guy that probably puts too much trust in Brenda even if he is aware of the dangers of trusting anyone. Now, he hopes Nay won’t come after him?? I do believe the spider imagery will apply to Chase: Like that insect he will be eaten alive.

Jane: She still gets a very favorable, albeit light, edit. We see that this woman can survive out there, laughing even when the whole tribe is miserable. That could be part of the winner’s story. She’s also the conscience of the audience, reminding us how Jimmy J was valuable, how their tribe needs someone to step up and we saw what she thought of Marty’s decisions. If Jane isn’t the winner, I suggest she’ll be the last Espada standing.

The Main Characters include 2 Villains and 2 audience Friendly Players:

Na’Onka: She has the idol and she decided to play mind-games with Kelly, hoping to scare her into quitting. That’s what we get in this post-Russell era. But, as noted above, does Na’Onka quit herself? The laughs from the viewers would be loud, the story complete, if Jeff were to ask the boat to come and get her. Even if she doesn’t quit, such a big antagonist will have trouble finding a niche in a new tribe.

Marty: I am struck by the parallels between Marty and Jimmy T. Both wanted Jimmy J voted out, both wanted to be the leader of their tribe and both were said to suffer from insecurities; Jimmy from Yve, Marty from Jimmy T himself. Now, Jimmy was loud while Marty has been acting quietly but I wonder if what we heard for one could apply to the other also. Marty’s own confessional about JT (“Jimmy T is delusional. He suffers from both paranoia and delusions of grandeur”) could certainly be repeated word for word about Marty himself. The image of Marty eating when the others were just standing there wasn’t flattering at all for him. If Jimmy T didn’t realize that calling Marty out wasn’t good in this game, Marty should have realized that eating while others were “really hurting for food” wasn’t good for his game either.
I am expecting Marty to “take a fall” just like Jeff said during the challenge!

Alina: I am really fascinated by Alina’s story. In what really should be a Na’Onka versus Kelly B story, Alina is getting all the best interviews. She’s become Kelly’s defender, the one telling us that Na’Onka is psycho. Add the fact that we were told Alina was the dangerous one and we have many of the ingredients for a winner’s story. The only thing missing is Alina’s long term plans. All we hear from her is the here and now but maybe her long term plans will come out after we have a resolution in the Nay/Kelly war. For sure, I am expecting Alina to wind up on Marty’s tribe after the switch. Now, will she return to her initial intentions and want to vote him out or will she change her opinion of Marty just like she has done with Kelly B.? If Marty’s leadership had been shown to be more enlightened, I’d say there was a possibility for the two coming to an understanding but Marty is exactly like Alina told us he was so I believe she will be part of his downfall.

Brenda: Not only do we see people coming to her for important plays in the game but she has their trusts. As Jeff noted during the challenge, Brenda kept her calm which is how a clinical player operates. She is part of an alliance that contains quite a few neglected players (Kelly, Sash and even Ben) and she is still closely connected to Na’Onka so one can’t be too confident about her future until those situations are resolved. A first step was taken when we heard that Nay wanted to keep the idol for herself and not share it with Brenda and later when Brenda told Chase she was worried about Na’Onka’s reaction about her secret being out. From a game perspective, that put them in a bit of a conflict, something her story really needs.

ETA some revealing pictures.

Thanks Tribe!