Carolyn yes, Carolyn!
pulls off two big moves as the game gets reshuffled.
That’s what everySurvivorplayer should constantly be asking themselves.
Jeff Probst on ‘Survivor’.Robert Voets/CBS
What Would Jeff Do?
That may seem to be a weird consideration.
After all, for all his talk, expertise, and dimples,Jeff Probsthas never actually playedSurvivor.
Carolyn Wiger on ‘Survivor 44’.Robert Voets/CBS
Why should you spend so much time thinking about howthatguy would playSurvivor?The answer: You shouldn’t.
You should think about how that guy wouldproduceSurvivor.
Because that is exactly what Probst does.
Josh Wilder on ‘Survivor 44’.Robert Voets/CBS
Okay, let’s set the scene so I can explain what the hell I am talking about.
Instead, they were told that they had to join another tribe.
And Sarah and Yam Yam over on Tika certainly didn’t appear worried enough about Josh finding one.
Josh Wilder on ‘Survivor 44’.Robert Voets/CBS
Which is absolutely, positively crazy.
Becauseof coursehe had an idol.
Of course theyallhad idols.
Carolyn Wiger and Sarah Wade on ‘Survivor 44’.CBS
Because you oughta think: WWJD?
What Would Jeff Do?
Or, more precisely, What Would JeffNotDo?
Losing Carolyn this early would have been a tragedy of Wanda Shirk proportions.
Did Tika win an unaired coffee reward or something?
The crazy thing about Carolyn is that… she’s not crazy!
She’s actually playing this game and playing it dare I say well.
But damn, if Carolyn has not been showing us something in these first few weeks.
Losing her would have been a crime.
And losing Yam Yam would not have been much better.
Honestly, it should be a casting requirement.
I actually should start doing that myself.
And, with that, Dalton is now going to move on to the next paragraph.
Here’s an opinion from the national spokesperson for Severe Gastrointesstinal Distress.
In fact, I think it’s kind of awesome.
But one thing I knowSurvivorproducers like to do is look ahead.
And that’s where I’m slightly concerned.
Part of the fun of immunity idols is the pageantry.
It’s fair then to wonder: Can that ever happen again after season 44?
Does Ben Driebergen brag about Ben Bombs if he’s worried his bomb might be a dud?
This might be real.
It might not be.
Guess I’ll play it and we’ll see."
You want smug satisfaction.
If everyone starts hedging their bets and waffling and wavering, that makes not-as-good TV.
Look, I could be wrong.
And you’re able to certainly edit around some of that on television.
But it is kind of like why I always argued against Redemption Island and the Edge of Extinction.
The Tribal Council vote-out is the most important and dramatic moment of the episode.
Anything that can possibly neuter or weaken that moment does a disservice to the show.
Will that happen in the wake ofSurvivor 44?Possibly.
As forthisseason, however?
Stay on Target
Hey!
Look everyone, it’s Stephen Fishbach’s worst nightmare: attempting to hit a target via slingshot!
Of even more note is that the aforementioned slingshotting took place in a reward challenge.
That is not a misprint.Survivorwent old school and actually gave us atwo-challenge episode.
Clearly, the highlight was Carolyn missing repeatedly and yelling at each and every miss.
Anyway, Soka won (again) and Ratu took second place.
But as far as the game mechanic itself of sending Josh, Jaime, and Carson to new beaches…
They all got idols, so they didn’t get screwed.
And it mixes things up for viewers.
No complaints at all.
Oh, but poor Jaime.
You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?
Soooooo, here’s the thing: Jaime has two idols.
But she doesn’t know that.
But which idol will she play?
That’s probably what producers are hoping for.
It’s probably what most viewers are hoping for as well.
But I am not most viewers.
What I crave more than anything is televised awkwardness.
Like, say, an unreciprocated high-five.
He also feels like the only person on this entire season ofSurvivorwho knows how to dive into water.
Those keys appeared aloteasier to grab than in seasons past.
Don’t let Lauren’s miss fool you.
I actually think she somehow managed to jumpdowninstead of up.
Too easy, I would argue.
But I still love a water challenge.
The mixture of belly flops and awkward falls off balance beams is simply intoxicating.
Phony Baloney?
And I can’t stop thinking about those two and wondering what wasreallygoing on at that Tribal Council.
But here they were bickering.
“But don’t get offended by that.”
‘It’s all good, man," responded the clearly offended Carolyn.
“It’s not like the first time you’ve ever said that.”
Ooooooooookay, that drama ramped up from 0 to 60 pretty damn fast.
And then something very interesting happened.
And whether to stand up or sit back.
This is the exact dilemma every singleSurvivorplayer faces at pretty much every step of the game.
If I was out there, I wouldn’t either.
“I did not come out here to be told what every plan was,” Carolyn told us.
“That’s not going to get me anywhere.”
Either way, it should be fascinating to see how those two get along back at camp.
And speaking of Sarah, we’ve got mychat with the eliminated contestant right here.
Dalton is now done writing his recap.
