Survivor: Thailand - Second Week Scorecard and Observations

A few weeks ago, a sports announcer said the true indication of where a football team stands is how it does during the second week of play. Could that also be true of Survivor as well? Some strong first impressions were made during week one: Some good, some bad, and some, well, fatal, if you're John. But did anyone change radically during the second episode, or were previous impressions merely solidified?

First let's take a look at the Soak Jaw tribe (and judging from the previews for next week, someone from one of the tribes may be doing just that). Jake, who put the tribe together, seems to be doing everything right. He's in great shape for his age (61), and also seems to relate well to a tribe that is younger than his kids. He's turning out to resemble Rodger more than B.B., but isn't afraid to speak his mind to the camera about who is and isn't working. However, he seems to be able to clam up around his tribe, at least as far as we can see. Get used to him, because he'll be here for awhile. And it will be a sad day on message boards all across cyber-space if and when he gets the boot.

Last week, Robb may have set a record for greatest number of viewers irritated during the first week. He didn't get too much camera this week. While that's a blessing for the audience, it probably means that we'll see a lot of him in the coming weeks. On the previews, he's already shown trashing another player, presumably one on the other team. This week, Jake cited him as one of three people not eating much.

Last week, Jed came through big during the puzzle challenge of the immunity, catching up with and passing a flustered Ghandia. But his tribemates noted the went he tended to go off by himself. He seemed to do his cause even more harm this week by not helping with the shelter. His explanation was that spending time building the shelter was "frivolous," but it didn't seem too frivolous when it started to rain now, did it Jed? He explained to the camera that if they partake of the water he brings, he's free to partake of the shelter they build. Regardless of whether or not your point is valid Jed, you better hope the others don't catch wind of this attitude.

Ken, the NYC cop with the great first name who got applause during week one, deserved some this week as well for playing with a level head. Yes, he has had some justifiably harsh things to say about some of his tribemates, but only to the camera.

Penny, the Lone Star beauty, came up big during the reward challenges, leading her blindfolded teammates to victory. So far, we haven't seen much from her in confessionals, so she may be just keeping quiet, or at least that's what we're supposed to believe. By the way, just in case it comes up, the CBS website may list her as engaged, but according to a small item in the local paper, she was married on September 1. The event was given a small amount of space and didn't really stand out from the other wedding announcements. And predictably, there was no mention of the show to be found.

No confrontations for Shii Ann this week, and nobody wanting to see her hands. And of course, no luck for the spoiler sites that listed her as the next to go. Was she even on this episode? Oh well, certainly she'll have some big moments in the future, for better or worse.

Erin has smartly not sulked about being that last one picked, and has been more than willing to do her share of work. She did have a painful-looking moment when she slipped right before doing her part of the immunity challenge. But the tribe won anyway so it's all good.

Last week, Stephanie stood out by showing her "ta-tas." This week, she stood out by showing her arrogance and stubbornness. First, she wondered what the others would do without her and Jed making the food. Then she refused to come in out of the rain, literally, and is now paying the price in the form of a cold. Unlike the unfortunate Tanya, Stephanie's health problems are her own doing. If she doesn't shape up in a hurry, both physically and mentally, the "gleam in her eye" Jake saw when he picked her may be totally wiped out soon at a tribal council near you.

Now, what about the Chewy Gum tribe? Well, let's start with Jan and her pigtails. It's been said that men don't like to ask for directions, but Jan and Helen seemed averse to even taking directions along, leaving the map behind. They ended up paying in terms of lost time, extra energy expended, and nerves frayed. One of the most telling moments was when Helen was lugging the heavy water container back to the boat, and found Jan lying on her back in the water. Not exactly the team-player image there.