First, thank you Suzzee. It's quiet in here but hopefully it picks up. Here is what I saw this time:

The recap, predictably, focused on the 2 stars and the returning players.
Swann was the last to be introduced and we heard him repeating that his tribe mates will have to run with him or be overrun by him.
Kent mentioned his injury.
Jeff told us that experience was key because it enabled Swann and Penner to find the clue to the Hidden Immunity Idols.
But for Penner, we heard Kent saying that they shouldn’t let a veteran win.
At Tandang, Jeff told us that RC and Abi were all smiles and we heard RC saying: “We could win together.”
We saw the formation of the alliance of 4 as they made Lisa the early target.
<Mike was shown frowning>

At the first immunity challenge, Russell’s bossiness backfired.
However, Zane shifted the blame on himself.
<Denise was heard saying that they couldn’t have weak players>
Malcolm and Angie called out Russell at Tribal Council but, in the end, Russell barely escaped.

The picture we had of Russell during episode 1 was correctly reflected in this recap so the viewers are told to expect his early elimination.

What I found most interesting was Jeff’s narrow view of what experience meant. To him, it meant that the two veterans found the clue to the idol but those two veterans were the ones in trouble. Mike’s experience served him well to get in the majority alliance but that was barely mentioned.

In Tandang, we heard that RC and Abi could win together but this episode would show that they aren’t 100% together. That puts an interesting twist on their long term potential and we’ll have to come back to it after their big scene.

It seems that Lisa’s fate in the game rests on Mike’s shoulders. That’s what his frown indicated when RC targetted the former teen star.

We weren’t reminded that Dawson recognized Kent but Denise’s importance in Matsing was shown as we saw the confessional she gave just before TC.

Crash and Burn

Matsing – Night 3

Russell had a confessional after thanking his tribe for keeping him: “I knew my head was potentially on the chopping block. I got into this tribal chief thing where it was my way or the highway and it almost got me booted out. My strategy going forward is to step back and let them rise and fall on decisions that they make. If we crash and burn, they will be on the chopping block instead of me.”

We stayed with Matsing to set up the episode’s elimination: The rains arrived and Angie needed Malcolm to keep her warm. Roxy noticed.

Angie: “It’s so cold. If it wasn’t for Malcolm, I would have frozen to death. There’s nothing going on between us, it’s just that you need to cuddle up to someone.”

Malcolm: “When I first saw Angie, I told myself: “Don’t get booty blinded. You’re here to play Survivor and make a million dollars and go home.but there’s no denying that she’s a good looking girl.”

Roxy: “I wake up in the middle of the night and Malcolm and Angie are cuddling. It’s the same game that’s set up every time and, with Angie, it’s a boobie trap and Malcolm’s falling for it. As a tribe, we need to know what’s going on because those two are dangerous. One has got to go, period.”

It didn’t take long for someone in Matsing to make a decision that would lead to her elimination. Maybe Roxy should have decided to go with the couple instead of against them!
As for the editors, they weren’t very subtle in presenting this week’s story. Can we find something inside this episode’s “crash and burn” theme that will help us for the long term? If there were some subtleties in this episode, we’ll have to dig deep to find them!

Tandang – Day 4

RC: “The weather is horrible. Everything is soaking wet. I was nervous about the rice getting moldy so I put my hand in to make sure. I had looked inside before to find the clue but I didn’t see it but this time I found it right away. Lisa was looking over my shoulder so I hope she didn’t see my face or that I didn’t give anything away.” RC told Abi to meet her at the well because she had found the clue. Her confessional continued: “Sometimes I feel that Abi could potentially use me in the future but I feel that I can use her, get her on my side, solidify her with me then that will be the strongest twosome, at least in our tribe.” The two agreed that they trusted Peter and Michael but that this was just for them. We then had another confessional from RC who was now wearing a different bra. That montage tells us just how important this scene was: “Me and Abi, we clicked from day 1 but since we haven’t had Tribal Council, our alliance hasn’t been tested. I shared the clue with her so that should be proof enough that I really trust her and no one else in this game.”

Splicing Confessionals Together.

Abi-Maria: “It’s great that RC wants to share the clue with me. I was very lucky to catch her finding the clue because she had no other choice but a side of me tells me to be careful.” She spotted RC with Mike as her confessional continued: “I don’t know if I can trust RC all the way because I feel she is getting a little too close to Mike. I catch them whispering a little too much, I catch them switching conversations when I walk in. If she screws me over, that’s it, she’s dead to me.”

Abi confronted RC who replied that Mike was like a father and she added that Abi and Peter were also close.

RC had a confessional from a different spot than the previous two: “I thought Abi was my number two, I thought she could handle it but she can go off like that and it really makes me nervous. She thinks I could be making sub-alliances but I’m not. I don’t know how to prove that to her.”

If we apply the crash and burn theme to this scene then we can have serious doubts about RC and Abi-Maria winning together. Paranoia is one of the biggest cause of crashing in this game and, as RC pointed out, they haven’t been to TC yet. Abi’s temper could cost her the game or it could bring RC’s game to a crashing end. However, Tandang didn’t even go to TC in this episode so their story could take time to play out. RC’s expression at the end was one of resignation. Can she handle Abi? That could be her story.

Kalabaw – Day 4

Kent: “I’m struggling a little bit with this weather...Survivor is going to be a long season for me…I know how to wait people out… The way things are going with my knee, sitting around and watching the rain fall could be good for me right now.”

The girls proposed making a checkerboard in the sand next to the shelter, much to Jonathan’s chagrin.

: “The down side of all this rain is that the idol is right in our camp and I can’t get them out of our shelter. I need 10 minutes just so I can dig around and find that damn idol. It’s there, it’s waiting for me but I can’t get to it!” Soon after, the tribe decided to go to the cave, leaving Jonathan behind. “Luckily, they are so concerned about the rain that they all went to the cave. The camp is empty. I’ve never had an immunity idol, I never had individual immunity at all… This is a clue to this game. I got to find this thing before they come back to camp.” The women came back to camp, looking for the flint so Jonathan had to explain what he was doing: “Dawson comes up to camp so I made up this insane story that I lost my glasses and I had to get them because the rain washed my contact lens out which was a ridiculous lie. Can’t find it, it’s right under my nose. I’m getting more and more frustrated until a light bulb comes on: If I had opened the clue, where the clue was, on top of the rice, is a little bull with a very prominent nose.” (Note that Jonathan changed shorts when he finally found the idol. How long did it reallytake him?) “For the first time in 3 tries, I have the Hidden Immunity Idol. It’s fantastic! You have the immunity idol and you feel you can dance forever. Nothing can touch you now. Of course, that’s not true. I know a lot of guys that thought they were going to dance all the way to the million and they got blindsided but those are mistakes that…listen… that’s a mistake I am not going to make, I hope.”

Unfortunately, the scene ended with Jonathan doing a little dance, jumping around and bolting out of camp. Can we say that he will crash and burn even with the idol? He’ll need allies and this idol isn’t as powerful as the one during his first season. We did see him talk to Dawson rather amicably (“that’s wonderful, sweetheart”) but is it enough to build something?

Matsing – Day 5

Roxy: “I wake up on day 5 and Malcolm and Angie are cuddling, again. I want one of them out. Malcolm is clearly more useful…I knew I needed to get Russell on my side.”

Russell: “Where people sleep in the shelter is pretty telling and Angie, a hot young chick… Survivor couples? You want to whack that thing down real quick.”

During a prolonged black and white sequence, Roxy went to Denise to expose the pair.

Denise: “Roxy sees Angie and Malcolm as a couple, as this big threat…but Malcolm and I are in an alliance. I think part of it is just a 24 year old guy wanting to snuggle up to something that is really nice to snuggle up to but now there’s a huge target on their back.”

This was an observation from a professional sex therapist! Do you need a diploma to know that 24 year old guys like good looking chicks?! All kidding aside, this confessional gave Denise the upper hand in her alliance with Malcolm because she was shown being more aware of the lurking dangers.

Malcolm’s confessional showed that he was a step behind: “This morning, there’s this very strange vibe going around camp. I’m not sure what’s going on. The tribe is talking about me and Angie snuggling up and they could see that as a threat potentially and, if that is the case, we could be in trouble.”

Tandang – Day 5

Lisa had a confessional while the tribe was talking about the food they missed: “I’m an introvert by nature so I don’t do well with chit-chat…I’m very, very shy…but in real life…I don’t let anybody in.”

Lisa walked out of camp to be alone which the tribe took as a move to look for the idol. RC seized the occasion to solidify a vote against Lisa and, strangely, Artis was the one that the camera focused on the most, suggesting once more that he will fall instead of Lisa..

Abi-Maria: “I think Lisa is a little bit sneaky. She’s just an outsider. I think she doesn’t try enough to connect with the tribe. We created an alliance and she wasn’t part of it because she wasn’t connecting with anybody else.”

Lisa while sitting alone at the water-well, had another confessional: “I don’t feel like I am fitting in. I’m already on the outside and don’t have somebody that I could trust or talk to.” The whole tribe laughed at Lisa’s predicament while her confessional resumed: “Maybe I’m not able to play this game.”

It’s not good that Mike’s role in Lisa’s story wasn’t mentioned. We were led to believe that he was someone that Lisa could trust but that wasn’t shown this time. It could be a story in waiting or it’s a dropped story. The latter wouldn’t be good for him.

Matsing – Day 6

Russell: “The last time I played Survivor, it was raining…now it’s raining again.”

Malcolm: “I haven’t been this wet in my life…Russell’s on fire duty while me and Denise are trying to keep the shelter in one piece while Roxy is just out of it…Her mind’s not in it and everyone’s noticing it.”

Roxy: “Being in seminary school and being of Christian faith, I thought God would give me great strength in this game…but I am not in my comfort zone at all. I haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep since I got here.”

Finally, the sun showed up so Roxy thanked God in prayers.
Russell told Denise he was surprised that Roxy didn’t have more character.

Denise talked about her views on Roxy’s faith: “I’m respectful but it’s just not my gig. I don’t pray for anything. Anything that’s going to get me to the end of the game, it’s going to be me.” This confessional was stressed for good measure by another one from Denise taken at another time: “We have another challenge coming on and not once does my mind go to: “Please God help us win this challenge. No. Dig in, dig deep and make it happen.”

The Challenge

Abi and Dawson sat out for their tribes.
Denise, Lisa and Dana were the designated callers for their tribe.
Neither Angie nor Roxy wanted to run twice for Matsing (but I thought they were runners!)
Of note, RC and Katie ran for their respective team, an indication that those two are perceived as the strongest women.
Malcolm did a good job, catching up on Artis and RC.
Kent’s knee wasn’t an issue as he ran twice and Kalabaw ended the race with a lead.
Jeff and Penner, RC and Pete and Russell and Malcolm worked on the puzzle.
Tandang were first to finish and the camera focused on Lisa’s instructions as if she was the key to the win.
Despite Probst saying that communication would be key in the challenge and that no one in Kalabaw was listening to Dana, Kalabaw finished second even if Matsing made it a race.

Russell showed his frustrations, slamming a puzzle piece to the ground. He told Jeff: “I’m pissed off. I’m sick of people saying “I can’t do this, I can’t handle this.” Either go hard or go home. Forget these other tribes. They can’t beat us or they shouldn’t be able to beat us.”
Jeff replied with the obvious: “Yet they have, twice.”
Russell’s answered: “Because these folks haven’t decided that they are unbeatable and that they can do this. Get your head out of your butt or go home.”

Malcolm, quite negatively, was shown during Russell’s rant as if it applied to him. Denise on the other hand, was shown approving Russell’s words as they connected to her confessional before the challenge.

Matsing – Day 6

This was the 4th scene from Matsing in this episode and all 4 centered around the upcoming vote. How much set up is needed these days? Do the editors think we are that blind? Personally, I think it would have been fun to see more of Kalabaw and Tandang but all we saw from them centered around the hidden idol. Forgive me if I don’t relate all the confessionals leading to the vote because, frankly, it’s very repetitive.

Russell: “…Angie, 20 year old beauty queen, says “I don’t think I can do this” and then Roxy says: “I didn’t have enough water to drink today.” Roxanne has been really successful at making herself a target…but I need Roxy. Every time something happens in camp, she tells me about it. She’s the one that told me about Malcolm and Angie…If Roxanne goes, I’m like, screwed.”

Roxy: “…Fraternization…spoils a group.”

Malcolm: “I thought it was a done deal that Roxy was going home.” (Duh!) “…a good looking blond girl…I’m not going to push her away but now I’m afraid it’s going to come back to bite me.”

Russell talked to Denise about his talk with Roxy, adding that Angie wasn’t that innocent and “if Roxanne goes, I’m next.”

Denise gave us the only interesting confessional of the whole segment: “At this point, Roxy and Russell are definitely aligned and I know Malcolm and Angie are aligned. I’m caught in the middle of all of this. I can’t put my finger on it but there is something about Roxy that I just don’t trust. At the same time, even if I have my alliance with Malcolm, if someone is snuggling and I’m the odd one out, I’m on the bottom and I don’t want to be on the bottom.” Denise told Russell that she warned Malcolm about being “blinded by the headlights” which was the episode’s title, Then her confessional continued: “The problem is there are pros and cons about keeping both but I’ve got to do what’s best for me so, again I feel pretty sure what my vote is going to be but it’s a long way to tribal Council and I’ll have to figure it out.”

Tribal Council

Jeff immediately turned to Russell and his show of emotions at the challenge.
Russell said “this means a lot to me.”
Denise said she understood Russell’s accusations.
Asked what she would change about the tribe, Roxy said they should work less in camp (!!)
Like everyone in the audience thought, Denise said that Roxy didn’t make sense.
Asked the same question, Angie said that she would like the tribe to have cookies.
(!!!! Where do they get these people?!)
Jeff must have been glued to his seat because he didn’t fall over. He did turn to Malcolm for his reaction to the cookie answer.
Malcolm tried to be diplomatic but Jeff wouldn’t allow it.
Russell explained that Survivor was new to Angie and she would have to learn to give everything in each challenge.
Roxy said there was more than friendship between Angie and Malcolm.
Jeff’s look intimidated Malcolm.
Malcolm explained that they were snuggling, that Angie was like his little sister.
Roxy found that creepy, adding that Angie was like a boobie trap (which would have made for a good title in itself)
The two girls agreed they wouldn’t cuddle next to each other
Jeff asked Russell about his thoughts on the duo soon to form half the tribe.
Russell said it was the tightest alliance you could have in this game.
Jeff tried to get a reaction from Angie even telling her to wake up but she didn’t get into the argument.
Malcolm said he also had a good relationship with the group.

In the end, Roxy was voted out 4-1 so even Russell voted against her.
We saw Malcolm giving Roxy an ironic little wave as she walked away.

Jeff ended the council saying fortunes can change very fast in this game.

The Story

Was there any progression to the story in this episode? The second episode of most season is rarely a great one because its scope is usually limited to reaffirming the stories introduced in the premiere and maybe introducing some new characters. Here? We had nothing except Matsingsanity which had been thoroughly exploited in the premiere.
Is Kalabaw hidden before showing us a great story? It feels more like they are being ignored.
Tandang’s story got a little twist this week, That was the only interesting moment of the episode because the rest centered on (or should I say between) Angie’s breasts.

The Characters

Artis, Carter, Katie, Dawson and Dana received nothing new and they had nothing coming in.
At most, we can say that Artis looks more and more like the first player that would be eliminated in Tandang.
We were told that no one listens to Dana so she shouldn’t play a big role in the season.
Dawson may become close to Jonathan. There was affection in his tone when he talked to her as she was leaving for the cave but will it lead to anything?

Michael was mostly absent from this episode but we heard that he was like a father to RC. In an episode that centered so much in Matsing, his absence may not mean much and his story is expected to resume next week.

Set Up for the Crash
They come in two types; Those we want to see crash and those we hope will survive:

Angie looks like someone that doesn’t know anything about the game, asking for cookies during Tribal Council. Mostly, she seems to be intimidated by the camera, not knowing what to say.

Russell said it himself: With Roxy gone, he doesn’t stand a chance. Of course, Angie would have to be let go first if Matsing goes right back to TC. All-Stars had 4 episodes before the 3rd tribe was dissolved into the other two so the players should be expecting a similar schedule. Lose the 3rd IC and Angie goes. Win the 3rd but lose the 4th and Russell becomes expendable…maybe. Despite how it works out, Russell’s story doesn’t feel like a long lasting one.

Pete: We barely saw him but we heard that he’d shoot Lisa just like he’d shoot a stray dog. That wasn’t meant to endear him to the audience.

Abi Maria: We mostly saw that she was paranoid during this episode. Her worries about RC weren’t warranted. In real life, being suspicious is a good thing because it keeps you on your toes but, in editing, it isn’t a good sign that we saw her insecurities, especially when it was all in her head.

Jonathan: He had a very nice scene but I heard him say that, after finding an idol “a lot of guys thought they were going to dance all the way to the million” and then I saw him doing a little dance himself so that can’t be a good sign. I expect that Jonathan will survive a little while longer but he is set up to crash despite finding the idol.

Lisa: Just like Angie, Lisa is set-up to crash and burn. The audience would expect her to be voted out if Tandang goes to Tribal Council but I don’t think she will. Angie is shown as a dumb player but we heard that Lisa is a smart player and that she is able to bond with people so I expect her story will take on a new trajectory before long.

Dangers are Lurking:

Jeff: He is the leader of Kalabaw: He led them to the cave and he led them during the challenge, running two legs and solving the puzzle. Despite that, most of his story centers around the condition of his knee. If Kent was to make it to the end, we would have heard more from him and it would have centered around his strategy instead of his knee. Add that Kalabaw is not the tribe of interest and we can say that Jeff won’t make it to the end. Will he fall to Jonathan’s idol? Maybe but anyone in Kalabaw should know that the idol has been found and he told us that Survivor will be a long season for him.

Malcolm: He had a good premiere but he lost his focus, falling for the cute girl in the bikini. Yes, he can outlast his snuggling partner and his story can have more chapters than this one but he unnecessarily put a target on his back and that shows a lack of game savvy.

RC: Did RC make a fatal mistake by trusting Abi-Maria? Maybe, but most probably this was part of the doubt that we see for players that are destined to go far. The audience got to know RC in the first two episodes and now we can connect with her as she faces a potential dangerous situation. We heard that she could win with Abi but can she win without her? How will she handle the hot tempered Brazilian?

Denise: Her story stands in sharp contrast to Matsing’s foolishness. I’d even say that we spent all that time in Matsing so that we could hear her marvelous confessional where she put herself in the middle of the two couples and where she had to make the decision that was best for her. Denise should find her way to the end even after Matsing crashes and burns.