S29.E10: This Is Where We Build Trust

[Tara Ariano]

A castaway trades a reward for security in the game. At a chaotic tribal council, the first immunity idol is played.

[peachmangosteen]

"A castaway trades a reward for security in the game." Because that worked out so well the first time.

[blackwing]

Happy to see that this is a new episode, it seems usually Thanksgiving week we get a recrap episode.

Only Keith and Jon have idols.

[Shelby]

What species of animal was that, shown at the very beginning in night vision?

[susannot]

Good episode.  First of all, how awesome is Reed?  I predicted to myself at the beginning of the IC that he would win, because I assumed he might have had a dance background and he looks flexible.  He had such a Zen, calm approach to that really hard challenge. Super impressive!  I'm rooting for him.

 

Second, Iiked John and Jacklyn better following the revelation that she can't have children,and their adorable interactions with the little Nicarauguan boys.  However, he lost me again with his alpha-male arrogance in dropping out of the IC first.

 

Double idol play!  Fun.  Good job Nadiya for keeping yours hidden.

 

Afraid for Reed.

 

Who voted for Wes, and why?

[truthaboutluv]

DAMN...Keith you are a moron!!! This is what happens when one has to align with idiots. That was actually a damn good plan that would have worked. But thanks to idiot Keith basically blabbing at tribal and making Jon nervous, he played the idol and the plan backfired. Sucks for Alec and Reed because now the target is on them because they were the ones working the plan. Idiot...man this is as frustrating as Kass' stupid flip last season giving power to Tony's alliance. That was going to be an awesome blindside. Now Jon and Jaclyn are still sitting pretty with all this power. Ugh...

 

Who voted for Wes, and why?

 

 

Two of the alliance of 5 voted for him. That was the plan Reed set in motion - he was going to convince the 5 that he and Alec were with them and that they would split the votes 4 to 3 with Keith and Wes so they could flush out Keith's idol. In actuality, what happened is 3 of Jaclyn, Baylor, Missy, Jon and Natalie voted Keith and two voted Wes. And then Reed, Keith, Wes and Alec voted for Jon which would have been four votes and Jon would have gone home. But thanks to Keith's big mouth, Jon got nervous and played his idol so the votes against him didn't count.

Edited November 27, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[riley702]

THREE frickin' idols? And Natalie is the only one still holding, but Baylor knows, so everyone knows. And Natalie, if you were up for Jon being blind-sided in another TC or two, why try so hard to save him now? Let it happen and let Reed take the blame. Idiot.

[PaperTree]

Damn you Natalie!  I so wanted Jon gone.  

[jb0495]

Nadiya should have kept her mouth shut & she would have gotten both Jon & his idol out! They could have worried about Keith/Wes & the idol later.

Stupid. Very stupid.

Now she needs to sway someone else to vote out Jon since Wes isn't there & hope that Jon doesn't win immunity.

[riley702]

What species of animal was that, shown at the very beginning in night vision?

Looked like a sloth.

[mojoween]

What the frak? Why did Natalie tell Jon to play his idol, if she was so gung ho on getting him out?

As the episode went on, I surprised myself for rooting for Wes and Keith and not for Jon. And Wes was getting better looking the scruffier he got so that sucked.

Jon is too muscley to stay up there for long. I have tendonitis in my shoulder so that would have been my worst nightmare.

So there is a Survivor kitchen behind the challenges? "Well, Jeff, after three hours I would like pizza, wings and ice water" and out comes pizza, wings and ice water. I hope she got to eat it all.

Even though I am upset with Natalie, I still am so happy she has an idol. I hope she gets far.

Why on earth would Reed mention Wes and Keith possibly having an idol if he was on their side for one TC? I feel like everything that happened in the first 50 minutes didn't really happen because TC was the total opposite.

[ElleryAnne]

That was entertaining.  I was rooting for Reed's plan to play out, but as soon as he mentioned Keith possibly having an idol, I figured the plan would fall apart.  You could see the minute he said it that it made Keith nervous.  When your real alliance-mates know you're lying to fake alliance-mates it doesn't do well to make your real alliance-mates wonder if you're just stringing them along.

 

Jeremy and Josh were getting quite a kick out of it all.  If tribal went on much longer, Josh would have a bruise on his leg from the number of times Jeremy slapped it.

[cooksdelight]

Crazyass bigmouth Keith. Crazyass bigmouth Natalie. Geez!!!

Jeremy, "Oh snap!" LOL

[ottoDbusdriver]

While it made for interesting viewing, there's too many idols -- they were at least 3 available to be used during that TC (Jon, Keith, Natalie -- am I forgetting any ?)

Edited November 27, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[riley702]

Who voted for Wes, and why?

 

Jon and Jaclyn because they were splitting the vote as planned between Wes and Keith.

DAMN...Keith you are a moron!!! This is what happens when one has to align with idiots. That was actually a damn good plan that would have worked. But thanks to idiot Keith basically blabbing at tribal and making Jon nervous, he played the idol and the plan backfired. 

Jon wasn't the one tipped off - Natalie was. Had it not been for her, I think he would have sat on it.

 

(Jon, Keith, Nadiya -- am I forgetting any ?)

 

It's Natalie, not Nadiya. She's been gone quite a while, now. ;)

Edited November 27, 2014 by riley702

[LizBug]

Looks like there may be an all female alliance forming.  They just have to keep getting the guys to split their votes.  

 

Didn't people already know (or strongly suspect) that Keith had an idol after someone went through his bag last week?  And most people knew that Jon had an idol.  And Baylor may know that Natalie has an idol but I don't think anyone else does at this point.

 

Anyone think that one of the idols played may be hidden again?

Edited November 27, 2014 by DallasGypsy

[cooksdelight]

Anyone think that one of the idols played may be hidden again?

Yes, on Exile for sure.

[Haleth]

Yes, several great shots of the sloth.

That TC was bananas. Josh and Jeremy had a great front row seat to more acrobatics than a Cirque du Soleil performance.

It was hilarious how Baylor and Jaclyn were off the posts and sprinting toward Probst before he even got the word "cookies" out. And then Wes running for wings.

Edited November 27, 2014 by Haleth

[Straycat80]

What an effed up tribal council! Keith and his big mouth basically telling everyone he had a plan with Reed. Natalie telling Jon to play his idol and she was wanting him out. And why was Alec sitting there with his mouth open the whole time?

Reed had a great plan, I was so looking forward to Jon going home. Thanks Keith for screwing it up. Dumbass!

[truthaboutluv]

Why on earth would Reed mention Wes and Keith possibly having an idol if he was on their side for one TC?

 

 

He was trying to make the alliance of 5 feel more comfortable in the plan he'd set up to split the votes, thinking that Keith would play his idol. And to make them more secure that he and Alec were in on that plan. Thing is yes, he didn't anticipate Keith's panicking enough from that one statement and basically flat out stating to stick with the plan. Especially as Keith knows, from what we saw last week, that the other players pretty much suspect or know he has the idol because he knew someone went through his bag. So I don't see why Reed saying that would make him so nervous.

Edited November 27, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[ShadowSixx]

I tell ya these are the worst bunch of people to play Survivor ever. I thought Jon would be out of there but Natalie had to go and ruin it. Don't know why she would want to keep him in the game. I know she wanted to wait until next TC to get him out but it was just bad on her end.

 

In TC you never ever mention the word "Plan" Keith, cause that's when everyone started scrambling and Reed messed it up by giving everyone the look and started yakking, cause Reed, Wes, Alec, & Keith all voted for Jon so the plan was intact and should have just kept quiet so Reed and Keith messed up their own game plan and Natalie telling someone else to play their idol, especially a strong player and manipulator like Jon. Oy vey.

 

Keith tried giving it to Wes, but Wes didn't want it. I liked Wes, he's just silly and didn't really play the game, he was just there. Talking about eating 58 nuggets in 5 minutes and then talking about Two and a Half Men. Too bad, now there's absolutely nobody to root for, they're all IDIOTS!!! I don't give a damn who wins this season.

 

It shows immunity didn't mean that much to them when they so easily hopped off to eat. I don't know why Jaclyn hopped off over milk and cookies, she just won an award challenge to eat popcorn, ice cream, hot dogs, etc. so she's rather stupid too.

[BigRedCheese]

 

Natalie telling Jon to play his idol and she was wanting him out.

 

She was, but I think she thinks she can control Jon, and Reed is too much of a wild card for her. I think she was right to tell Jon to play it, gives her a little more control in the game.

[riley702]

Didn't people already know (or strongly suspect) that Keith had an idol after someone went through his bag last week?  

Yes, and Reed waved the wrapper with instructions all around, so what was the point of Keith lying and saying he'd never unwrapped it? Don't lie when it isn't necessary - too hard to remember what you've said to whom.

[LanceM]

She spelled it out when talking with Baylor. Wait another tribal or two to whittle down the numbers then get rid of Jon.  

[Lantern7]

I think Natalie won the game. She found an idol, the other two got cashed in, and there's no guarantee that another would be put into play. And she has the alibi of being on the stupid rack (or whatever you call it) for three hours, trying to "win" for her alliance. And she only stepped down because Probst put damn near everything on the plate.

 

"Wes . . . the tribe has spoken"? No, Jeff, two people (Jon & Jaclyn) "spoke." Seriously, though, I loved the multiple idol play, because of all the negated votes. I can't hate Wes or rain on him because I would've dropped off for the wings. And I don't even drink beer. Besides, compared to the Wes I usually have to put up with (on The Challenge), this one was downright peachy.

 

I liked the reward. Turns out few Nicaraguans have played the majors, so it's not exactly a hotbed. Still, it was nice for the winning team (and Missy) to get to play ambassadors . . . and better them than John Rocker. And I think we may have seen Jon or Jaclyn's winner edit with their talking of her malady. I'm still hoping Natalie wins though. Survivor shouldn't be a couples-based show.

 

Who said the title quote? I liked Wes' end speech better . . . "You gotta risk it to win the biscuit." Not really

relevant to how he played the game, but I think it's folksy enough to warrant an episode title.

 

ETA: I don't think this is the worst group ever. I believe the finalists' absolute values are very low in terms of like/dislike, but I don't think the gameplay is that bad. They're not even the worst players to compete in Nicaragua.

[cooksdelight]

The only part of Natalie's plan by telling Jon to play the idol is now he no longer has one, and will be playing that much harder for immunity. Backfire in the making.

[riley702]

She spelled it out when talking with Baylor. Wait another tribal or two to whittle down the numbers then get rid of Jon.  

Get him out when it drops in your lap. Don't try to micro-manage the game; be flexible and go with the flow. These are an idiotic bunch - it's not going to be hard to whittle down the numbers.

[LizBug]

As much as Natalie wants Jon out, she wants Reed out that much more.   And, if she can get rid of them both while making them believe that she has their best interests at heart, the more likely she'll get their votes ... if she gets to the finals.

 

Looking forward to the double episode next week.

Edited November 27, 2014 by DallasGypsy

[RedheadZombie]

Yes, on Exile for sure.

 

It will be interesting to see if any of these idiots shows any gameplay.  Will anyone volunteer to go to EI?  Will anyone other than Jon get to choose who goes?

[BigRedCheese]

But if Reed is in the driver's seat, she might be flowed right into the jury, she wants to use Jon and Jaqulyn to whittle the numbers down first. Will it work? who knows, but gives her a better shot than hoping Reed doesn't come after Jon's gone.

[PaperTree]

What an effed up tribal council! Keith and his big mouth basically telling everyone he had a plan with Reed. Natalie telling Jon to play his idol and she was wanting him out. And why was Alec sitting there with his mouth open the whole time?

Reed had a great plan, I was so looking forward to Jon going home. Thanks Keith for screwing it up. Dumbass!

I think Natalie's plan was to keep Jon so next week she could use the remaining guys to go after Jon, thus making her queen bee of a girls alliance.  The flaw is thinking she can later get Missy or Baylor out once the guys are gone.

 

I wish Wes had taken the idol.  Keith deserved to go for being such an idiot and blowing up a great plan.

 

Alec, mouth open and thousand yard stare, I think that's just his default position

[phlebas]

"Sometimes you gotta risk it to get the biscuit."  - Wes

 

Thanks, Wes. Getting biscuits sounds like a much more intense activity in Louisiana. 

[LanceM]

I think Natalie's plan was to keep Jon so next week she could use the remaining guys to go after Jon, thus making her queen bee of a girls alliance.  The flaw is thinking she can later get Missy or Baylor out once the guys are gone.

 

 

What makes you think she wants to get rid of MIssy and Baylor? Seems that would be a good final three for her.  And given that she called Baylor her "number one" this episode I think you can write those two in the F3 right now.

[leighdear]

Natalie flushed out 2 idols with 1 comment to Jon.  And remains in control of the 3rd, that only Baylor knows about.  That was a pretty good play.

 

I still can't stand her, but now she'll remind Jon that he owes her every.second.of.the.day from here on out. 

[susannot]

I tell ya these are the worst bunch of people to play Survivor ever. I thought Jon would be out of there but Natalie had to go and ruin it. Don't know why she would want to keep him in the game. I know she wanted to wait until next TC to get him out but it was just bad on her end.

 

Yesss, ShadowSixx.  I thought it was me and I just wasn't following anyones' strategy.  Which I haven't, because I haven't been interested enough.  Now that I am slightly interested, I can't follow anyones' strategy.

[awaken]

Best episode I've seen yet this season. First time I've been able to tell who's with who and follow the voting strategizing. Didn't quite realize th a t Natalie was with Jon though!

Why is next week 2 hrs?

Wes will not be missed. He was a nonentity in the game for me.

Edited November 27, 2014 by awaken

[Wouldofshouldof]

Who voted for Wes, and why?

 

Jon and Jaclyn because they were splitting the vote as planned between Wes and Keith.

 

Yeah, but which knucklehead spelled it Wess?

Who voted for Wes, and why?

 

Jon and Jaclyn because they were splitting the vote as planned between Wes and Keith.

 

Yeah, but which knucklehead spelled it Wess?

 

 

Sorry - seeing double!

Edited November 27, 2014 by Wouldofshouldof

[Wandering Snark]

I think that Nat was in a win-win-win situation there having aligned herself with Baylor (and by extension Missy) she got an in with J&J by telling him to play the idol if he did or didn't. If Jon didn't play his idol and went home she could tell Jac that she tried to tell him and that could swing her vote to the all-girl alliance and it's smooth sailing there on. He did play it so she gets credit for the save and can use Jon like she said for a vote or two. She drew out his idol leaving her the only idol holder. So I think which ever way things went her toes were tapping.

[candall]

Reed's right--Keith is clueless about strategy.  It was perfectly in character for "the plan" that Reed would toss out some speculation about Keith & Wes having an idol.  Too bad ol' Spitty Keith had an attack of nerves and felt he had to announce that everybody should just stick to The Plan.

 

I wish they'd had a wide angle shot of that moment--the top of Reed's head blowing off while most of the alliance were saying "And what plan is THAT?!"  And Alec just continued to look slackjawed on oxy.

 

I think Nadia's vigorous face rubbing was because she caught on right away and she was trying to decide whether her best bet was to let Jon die or to save him.   And in the end, she wimped out and took the middle road:  "You should play your idol. <shrug> Up to you."  (I hope Jon doesn't take all the credit for that.)

 

Excellent TC!

*********

ETA this question:  why didn't Reed approach Natalie about ousting Jon?  She blamed Jon for orchestrating the elimination of Jeremy last week and was bitter about that. 

 

. 

Edited November 27, 2014 by candall

[ShadowSixx]

Yeah, but which knucklehead spelled it Wess?

 

That knucklehead is Jon, who spelled Wes' name incorrectly. When has Wes ever been spelled with two S's. It's just as bad as when in S22 Phillip couldn't say or spell Francesca's name.

[susannot]

Franquesca was the best.

[BigRedCheese]

Did I miss something, or did they not even show Wes at Exile?

[cooksdelight]

Did I miss something, or did they not even show Wes at Exile?

You didn't miss anything. He probably sat there staring off at the sea, not moving, not saying anything.

[MarquisDeCarabas]

Yeah I think this is going to backfire on Natalie eventually maybe not immediately but I don't know Missy will want to keep Natalie, Baylor might but I think as soon .as Baylor tells Missy that Nat has an idol Missy will go after her.

 

Jon spelled it Wess

[PaperTree]

What makes you think she wants to get rid of MIssy and Baylor? Seems that would be a good final three for her.  And given that she called Baylor her "number one" this episode I think you can write those two in the F3 right now.

It looks like a Final 2 this year.  There are now 3 jurors and 8 remaining castaways.  I think there was one stray even jury once.  So being a single with a couple at F3 is more dangerous.

 

Alec is the perfect goat for any single to take.

Edited November 27, 2014 by PaperTree

[North of Eden]

Natalie for MVP! Between finding the idol and saving Jon she deserves it! And if Jon turns on her now he would be a complete douche since if not for her he could have gone home. I'm still mad a Jon for his betrayal last week but I was happy for anything th at would foil Reed's plans since the show is veering dangerously close to going from the Josh Show to the Reed Show. Also I could have gone my whole life without the image of Reed in a ballerina pose after his win...WTF.

 

If I could advise Natalie it would be NOT to trust Baylor. I super slowed down the scene of them  digging for the idol and it was in Nat's hand but Baylor appeared to be trying to snatch it away before they stood up and ran away. I believe if Baylor had physical possession of it Nat would not get it back.

 

One last thing I don't understand was if they are so hungry why were Jackyn and Baylor still drinking/eating those cookies by the time Wes got his wings. YOu would think they would gobble them down.

Edited November 27, 2014 by North of Eden

[ihartcoffee]

Did I miss something, or did they not even show Wes at Exile?

I noticed that too! Must have been a bore!

[blackwing]

Amazingly thrilling tribal council. One of the best in recent memory. Natalie had fantastic instincts to surmise that Reed was lying to them. Keith was the one to tell Reed to stick with the plan but Reed tried his best to assure Jon they were still good, and Jon believed him. Jon owes everything to Natalie.

I am really loving Natalie now, she is my favourite and I want her to win.

I am so sick of Reed and his voice and his winks. That IC was tailor made for him. Dancer, good balance, flexible, tall, long arms, lean. I'm surprised Nat lasted as long as she did. She's kind of chunky and she is a bit top heavy. Kudos to her.

Natalie seems like she will stick with Baylor and Missy. She would be wise to get Reed or Alec out first before turning on Jon. Because if Jon goes, it'd be Reed/Alec/Keith v Nat/Missy/Baylor and Jaclyn would be a swing vote. Numbers aren't there yet.

[milner]

I thought it was poor at the award baseball game that the survivors were all sitting in the stands eating popcorn and ice cream with children right beside them with neither. Surely Survivor can afford some ice cream etc. for a group of kids?   Or did I see it wrong?

[Wandering Snark]

Agreed milner that 'award' didn't exactly give me the warm fuzzies. Something was off about it or the way it was presented... including them pigging out in the stands.