Survivor Guatemala: Survivor Live Recap, Episode 3

It’s time for the next episode of Survivor Live, CBS’s Internet interview show with the most recently booted contestant(s) from Survivor: Guatemala. The show is hosted by Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly and Survivor: Amazon winner Jenna Morasca. My own occasional comments are enclosed in square brackets like this [I see the headlines - Make-Up Artist Smeared on Survivor!].

This week’s guest is Brianna Varela, the young makeup salesperson from New England. She looks really hot!

As usual, proceedings begin with Dalton welcoming Brianna to the show. His first question is to ask if she knows what a pick is now. Nope! Jenna doesn’t know either. Dalton tries to explain it to Jenna, but realizes she’s hearing, “Meow, meow, meow, meow,” and Jenna admits she was thinking about her lunch. Jenna thinks the use of plays is too complicated.

Dalton mentions that this was a very tough challenge, and it is very hard to remain energetic in 114 degrees of heat. Brianna admits, “I wasn’t there mentally, I wasn’t there physically, I wasn’t there emotionally. I was checked out.” She was frustrated that her team was yelling “pick” without it meaning anything to her.

The hosts comment that it looks like her alliance is falling apart. Brianna says that as time went on, the others were becoming “more bossy, more gossipy and catty.” Jenna thinks that Brian and Rafe are thinking less about challenges and more about strategy and looking ahead. [Being down 5-1 in challenges so far, maybe they should think about them just a little more!]

Brianna admits that she didn’t enter the game with a plan and wishes she had. She didn’t intend to lie to someone’s face, although she was willing to be vague. Dalton notes that vagueness didn’t work for Christy from Survivor: Amazon or Dolly from Survivor: Vanuatu.

Jenna thinks strength is over-valued in this tribe and that Morgan and Brianna were better choices to keep in the game over Amy, with the sprained ankle, and Lydia, who needs a hip replacement. Brianna agrees. She admits she’s no physical threat, but didn’t have a sprained ankle, either. Jenna worries what they’ll do if there’s a puzzle challenge.

Brianna doesn’t know why her tribe disliked her so much. She thought she was friends with Stephenie, but after seeing the show and some of her confessionals, “some of her comments she said, they hurt!” [Brianna was definitely out of the loop in her tribe’s politics.]

Dalton asks her about Jamie’s comments, but we don’t get an answer. Jenna feels Stephenie’s judgment is clouded and she shouldn’t have called out Lydia and Brianna at tribal council.

When asked by Dalton how long it was that Brianna was happy that Stephenie was in the game, she says, “It lasted up until last night!” and, “She played me, she played me good.”

Our first caller today is Donna from PA. She wants to know why Stephenie wasn’t voted out right away; she’s so annoying. Jenna says she doesn’t find Stephenie annoying, but she’s just too strong a player. Brianna reminds us that Jamie wanted Stephenie out right away, but notes that now she’s getting bossy as she plans to pick everyone off. Jenna thinks the teams could get along without her or Bobby Jon, but does say that she’s playing a better strategic game this time around.

Steve of Seattle doesn’t know what a pick is either but wonders if Brianna’s boot is a result of Gary wanting to boot the younger ones first. Brianna didn’t think so - she thinks it was her poor performance in the basketball challenge. She knew Jamie and Lydia didn’t like her. She says she did well at other challenges and was a hard worker around camp.

[I was unable to watch Survivor Live when it aired this week, and I’m doing this recap from the CBS archive posted on their Survivor section, where it’s split into three segments. So at this point, the clip will not play any further and we lose everything from this point up to the first break. I am not impressed. I think we’ve lost about four minutes of chat. Sorry!]

Resuming with segment two, they start with the “Open Letter.” Each week’s show features an “Open Letter” from the castoff, where they can rant against someone or something that ticked them off during the show. Dalton offers Brianna a chance to address the game of courtball. She says:

Dear Courtball,

You suck. I thought you were going to be fun
Really, you let me down.
I’m very disappointed in you.
Why would you be so hard on me?
I don’t like you. Sorry.
Don’t ever tick me off again.

Love, Brianna

Our hosts love the letter, and Brianna feels better!

Jenna thinks Jamie is a jerk for saying that Brianna was neither crazy nor pretty. [I agree. Not only is he wrong about “pretty,” but that was totally classless and I want to be there when his momma sets him straight!] Jenna surmises that he was playing to the camera.

John from Boston wonders if she was edited fairly. He notes the “lazy” theme this year. Brianna says she pulled her weight in camp. She cooked all the meals but one, gathered firewood, and tended the fire. She didn’t think she was shown as lazy, just not physical in the challenges.

Dalton thinks everyone is going to seem lazy compared to Lydia. Is that keeping her in the game? Yes, Brianna thinks. Jenna thinks it’s being overplayed; you’re not going to starve without her. Dalton notes that strength isn’t always that important, citing Pearl Islands. Jenna points out herself [saving me the trouble].

Jerri (no, not that Jerri) from Florida asks if Brianna was ready for all the wildlife. She saw crocs and howler monkeys, but she never saw any of the big cats like cheetahs or pumas. She wishes they’d show that Jamie was afraid of the bugs and spiders and always thought he heard a puma at night.

The crocs were no joke. Jenna thinks CBS wouldn’t set them out to be eaten, and noted the use of underwater cameras. Brianna says they were directed, “Do not go in the water. Do not make a routine near the water.” But she follows that up with the news that they were washing in the same place and same time each morning!

Josh from Tallahassee asks if Brianna would do the show again. Yes, in an instant. She enjoyed the experience and would learn and take even more out of it. Dalton asks what she would do differently. Jokingly, Brianna says she’d pick a different tribe and different cast. Her serious answer is that she wishes she’d gone in with more strategy.