Surviving the Cook Islands, Episode 2: Three Little Words

In the first episode of this 13th season of Survivor, the contestants found out what the rest of us already knew – that they were divided into four tribes by ethnicity. The Hiki (African-American) tribe lost the first challenge and Sekou was sent packing.

How will the tribes get along as they spend more time together? Which tribe will lose immunity this week? And who will join Sekou? Let’s find out!

We begin back with Hiki on day four as they try to start a fire using the flint they got at Tribal Council. They try. And try. And try. Not so much luck. Hmmm. Maybe Sekou knows how to make fire. Oh wait, they can’t ask him because he’s gone! Finally, Rebecca manages to get some sparks lit up and Hiki celebrates the fact that they have fire and will get to drink water!

Speaking of water, over at Aitu (Latino), there are several people spear fishing, spearing crabs, grabbing clams, and generally getting a good meal together. After the teamwork, Cristina talks about being a police officer and how she was shot and almost lost her arm. Cecilia thinks Cristina is a role model. What’s left hanging in the air, or maybe on Ozzy’s face, is the question of how this will affect the game.

But we’ll have to wait to find out, because there are chickens on the loose. Billy sees them and the tribe is trying to figure out how to snag ‘em. No, these are not the two lost by Jessica at the Raro (Caucasian) tribe, but wild ones. The tribe creates a chicken trap using a net. Cristina hopes a chicken will walk on it and they’ll pull it up, trapping the chicken inside. I hope she ordered the net from Acme Net Company, because that’s a Wile E. Coyote idea – and Ozzy agrees. He says he’s trying not to shoot down her ideas, but they’re coming from somebody who has not done a lot of camping, like he has.

When Ozzy puts forth his idea, which he seems to do in a pretty nice way, Cristina gets all pissy and “whatever”y and tells us Ozzy acts like he knows everything. Um, maybe that’s ‘cus he does in this case. Just a thought. Ozzy says they just don’t click, probably because he’s 10 years younger than her, and he understands and would probably get a little pissed off if he had a 14-year-old telling him what to do.

So they set up the trap Ozzy’s way. Basically, it’s a tent with bait inside. When a chicken walks in, they drop it the rest of the way. Lo and behold, it works! Take that, Cristina! They cook up the fish and chicken, but Cristina walks away, upset. Oh get over it.

At the Puka (Asian-American) tribe, they have chickens wandering around too. They try a version of the same trap, but with a crate instead of a net. The crate, with bait under it, is held up by a stick, which is in turn attached to a rope. The chicken walks in, they pull the rope, the chicken is caught. Actually, they catch two at once! Looks like the device was Yul’s brainchild, which should surprise nobody who read his background.

Yul and Becky talk strategy, with Yul saying he trusts her. He tells us that she is a lawyer, but she does a lot of non-profit work and so it seems likely to him that she isn’t just in the game for the money. Also, both are Korean, which Becky says makes it that much easier to bond. She already thinks of him as something of an older brother.

Finally, we visit Raro, where Jonathan is returning from his time on Exile Island. He says it was “really terrible,” but he’s happy that everybody is glad to see him come back. He didn’t find the idol, and then on top of it he finds out that his tribe essentially didn’t do anything while he was gone. They didn’t improve the shelter or make a decent floor, so he suggests working on those right away. You know, I tend to agree with him, but I’m not sure coming back and taking charge right away is the smartest of moves.

Jessica and Jonathan get to work, but Parvati, Adam, and Candice are busy gossiping and playing around. Jessica says something to Adam, who says he thinks it’s a dumb idea – why would they sleep better if it’s raised? Jessica says it was wet and cold. So what, Adam wonders, will be changed by a raised floor? Jessica states the obvious (to everybody but Adam, that is) by saying they won’t be on the wet ground.

Adam’s voice starts getting louder – apparently because logic isn’t his strong point, perhaps he can get his way by yelling. He wants to know what the other two women think, because they need to decide things as a group. Ah, so you can bully them. Gotcha. But they don’t take his side, with Parvati saying she thinks it would be comfortable and they’ve already started. That doesn’t stop Adam, though, as he continues to rant about it being a crazy idea. So it’s a group decision… until the group sides against him. What an ass.

Adam’s cuddle-buddy Candice pulls him aside and tells him he needs to be careful and he shouldn’t make Jonathan an enemy. Adam assures her that he won’t. Too late, dude.