Surviving the Cook Islands, Episode 1: “Karma’s a Bizzle”

The three women gather on the beach and wonder who the two guys are talking about. Well, they’re talking about the women, of course. Sekou thinks the women will try to vote one of them off, but Nate thinks they’re stupid if they do that. They need to pull one of them in.

The women think Sekou is on “thin ice.” Rebecca thinks he is causing problems with establishing leadership and working together. So the team, they say, could be better without him. Sekou, meanwhile, talks to Nate about how there’s no way the women can do it without either of them. That’s great, pal, but you might want to try to convince one of the women of that rather than preaching to Nate the choir!

Nate says Rebecca and Sundra won’t turn on each other. So they need to pull in Stephannie and get rid of Sundra. Sekou agrees, and then turns around to tell the camera, “my plan and Nate’s plan” is to get one of the women to turn. Your plan? All you did was nod your head!

Sekou pulls Stephannie aside and explains to her that if they vote him off tonight, she’s out next. Why? Because the other two women are tight, “like peas in a pod.” He asks if she wants to be in a tribe with people who are in an alliance based on where they’re from or with people who know how to survive?

Stephannie tells us she knows her vote is the swing vote between the guys and the New York women.

Time for the first Tribal Council. The Hikis arrive by boat and proceed up a long boardwalk to arrive at a shipwreck, where they will actually hold the Council. They each grab a torch and light them – because fire represents life, in case you’re new to Survivor.

Probst welcomes them and begins the questioning with Rebecca, asking if anybody stepped up right away as a leader. Yes, Sekou did and tried to help get the shelter put together. Did Sekou have a plan to step up as a leader or did he look at the tribe and figure he was the best guy for the job? He says he took what he knew and tried to put it into effect. He thinks everybody gravitated towards that, but they worked together well.

What is the feeling of the tribe? Nate says they have beautiful spirit and are like a family. (Mind you, it’s been all of three days.) How do tribes divided ethnically change the game – or does it? Nate laughs and the others join in. Probst wants to know why it’s so funny, and Nate says it’s something you wouldn’t expect. But then he talks again about “representing.”

With only five people, Probst notes that how people pair up becomes very important. What did Sundra notice? She says Rebecca and herself bonded right off the bat, as did the two guys. It wasn’t like Stephannie was excluded, but…

What does Stephannie say about not being in one of those pairs? Well, she says naturally women will stick together, as will men. But she’s “the odd man out.” But they’re all still together.

What does Rebecca look for in terms of her vote? Where they’re weak and what they did wrong over the last three days. With that, it’s time to vote.

Sekou is up first, and he votes for Sundra (writing it as “Sandra”), calling her “our weakest, weakest link.” We also see Rebecca’s vote, which is against Sekou (spelled “Seko”), but she calls him a “sweet, sweet man” but it’s the right move for now. Obviously, we aren’t going to see Stephannie’s vote at this point.

Probst tallies and reads the votes: Sundra, Sekou, Sundra, Sekou, and… Sekou. The female alliance held. See, this isn’t a battle of the races, it’s a battle of the sexes!

As parting words, Probst says if what they said was true and they voted out their weakest link, they should go back to camp a stronger, more organized tribe. As a bit of good news, they are given flint to take back to camp.

In his final words, Sekou says a good leader can instill guidance, and he’s sure he had a real strong effect with is tribe. Er, he did? If so, why’d they vote him out? He thinks they saw he was a real strong leader and now they’ll have a really strong tribe. His torch may be out but his flame is still burning. Alrighty then.

So there we have it, the first episode of Survivor: Cook Islands. So far, certainly nothing to get upset about, though I doubt that will stop the naysayers and complainers.

It’s a little early to get a read on people, especially with the coverage being broken down for four tribes. But Nate certainly has to be worried if Hiki loses again! For that matter, I think Stephannie shouldn’t get too comfortable either. We’ll see soon enough if booting Sekou was the smartest idea.

Next week on Survivor: Cao Boi’s jokes (one of which involves a Vietnamese person with three dogs) get no laughs. And Billy’s slacking drives Aitu to drastic measures that could even involve throwing a challenge!

I’ll see you then! But don’t forget to check back every day here on RealityNewsOnline to see all our extensive Survivor coverage!

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