Surviving the South Pacific, Episode 2: “I’m the Biggest Fool in This Game”

Stacey says she never talked to Coach about Mikayla so his honesty and loyalty “just failed.” Um, the problem is that he never said he talked to you – just that he heard it. He may be wrong (and he is), but that doesn’t make him dishonest or disloyal. Coach points this out as well.

The two women want to know who told him this and start to push it. Brandon, obviously (to us) afraid that Coach will answer, asks them to “simmer down.” Yeah, that’ll work.

Albert speaks up, saying he didn’t tell Coach anything about them because they never shared that information with him. But they need to pay attention to their string of logic – they are saying he’s being disloyal but he’s actually demonstrating that very loyalty by not giving away who told him! This use of logic seems to stun Stacey.

Albert continues that the hidden immunity idol started the paranoia, and Probst wonders if they looked for it as a group or did people scatter around. Coach says he knows Christine was looking for it the very first day and then was digging around again today.

Probst says Coach threw Christine under the bus for a second time, to which she responds, “He’s good at that.” She says he’s obviously threatened by her, and Coach sarcastically replies, “Totally.” But Probst wonders if any of it goes back to her comments at the start of the game where she said he was only around temporarily. She says yes and mimes crying, as if he’s being a baby, saying he feels hurt. Coach continues the sarcasm, saying he loves her Long Island attitude.

Probst says there is a question that hasn’t been asked yet – and it’s one he’s surprised Mikayla hasn’t asked: Did Christine or Stacey actually say they were voting against her? If she goes out tonight, it will be the quietest exit he’s seen in a long time.

So Mikayla looks at them and asks if it’s on their mind. Both say they never said they were writing her name down. I know they’re telling the truth, but they say it in such a way that it sounds like they’re parsing words. She asked if it was on their minds, but they answered that they never said they were writing her name – that’s not what she asked!

As Probst is about to move along, Brandon raises his hand and sighs heavily. I can’t believe this – tell me he is not about to come clean! But he does indeed! He says he told Christine and Stacey to vote out Mikayla. The women immediately jump on this and say he was the one who said it and they were never going to do it. Coach sighs. Probst smiles huge and says, “Mikayla, welcome to Survivor.” She can’t believe it either!

Probst says with all these factions in the tribe, how does she make sense of what’s happened? Christine thinks they are a happy family – she thought she was part of it, but— Probst interrupts to say she doesn’t know that she isn’t. You never know who is telling the truth, so does it worry Albert that he doesn’t know where anybody stands? Albert says they all got more information than they bargained for, but it’s great when people reveal themselves. Character will come to the surface no matter how hard they try to mask it.

With that, Probst says he has “no idea” what will happen, but it’s time to vote. We see none of the votes. Probst tallies them and calls for the idol, but nobody brings it out. So it’s time for him to read the votes: Sophie, Edna, Christine, Stacey, Christine, Stacey, Christine, Stacey, and… Christine! She looks a bit surprised while Coach turns and gives her a smug smile. And after all that, Mikayla didn’t even receive Brandon’s vote! So much for his multiple guarantees.

After Christine’s torch is snuffed, Probst tells Upolu that they are only five days into the game and already the biggest obstacle for this tribe is trust. They’re going to have to work on that or they’ll be coming back a lot.

As Christine heads to Redemption Island, she tells us that she doesn’t know what happened at Tribal Council, but she thinks “Coach had a heavy hand in the voting process.” Ya think? She doesn’t know what Coach’s problem was (gee, maybe it was you flat-out telling him that he was a target from the get-go) but “he’s a tool.” She gets to camp and has to shake Semhar a couple times to let her know that she has company.

The voting went as follows:
Stacey: Sophie (I was wondering who the heck cast that one)
Christine: Edna (kind of what I figured, though it doesn’t seem very bright)
Edna, Rick, Sophie: Stacey
Mikayla, Albert, Coach, Brandon: Christine

Next time: The pressure is on Ozzy, as he seems to make a mistake in a challenge while Whitney thinks he’s up to something and Jim thinks they should protect against the possibility that he has the hidden immunity idol. On Savaii, Brandon wrestles with the truth while Sophie calls him “a devious jerk,” Coach says he lets things get to him, and Brandon says it’s a “constant battle” for him between good and evil.

I’ve said before – repeatedly – that what happens at Tribal Council rarely matters in terms of the vote. And here we saw it again. Coach’s alliance came in with their plan to target Christine with a backup of Stacey. Despite everything that went on and the revelations that Brandon was lying, they still voted that way. (And I truly have no idea what Stacey or Christine was thinking in regards to their votes. It seems they had no idea either.) Any repercussions will come next week.

As we wait for that, be sure to keep checking back here at Reality News Online for all of our articles, including Teeuwynn’s and Kari’s Insider video recaps, Chris’s Missing Intelligence Award, Sarah’s Big Picture strategy column (returning after a season’s hiatus), my look at Why Christine Lost, Brian’s rankings, and William’s prediction for next week!

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