An "Insider" Look at Survivor: Guatemala, Episode 4: Just Another Pretty Face

I love this show, I really do. I especially like the cool location and inventive challenges, as I’ve mentioned many times. What I’m really starting to hate is the repetitive theme. Oh, it’s hot. Steph’s team loses. Vote out weak chick. Lather, rinse, repeat. It’s getting kind of old. I know in six weeks we’ll forget who the first four boots even WERE, but it’s a long haul getting from here to there, let me tell you, especially when I have to see the tedious bits here AND in the episode.

Brooke’s Final Words: She was only out there 11 days, but it’s been incredible. She did a lot she didn’t think she would be able to do. She’s proud of what she accomplished. Of course, she learned a lot about herself, that she was stronger than she thought she was. Can the interviewers please ask them different exit questions?

She thinks she got judged by a couple of people on the other team just because she went to law school. They didn’t really give her a chance to prove how strong she is. Except for all those challenges, you know. It’s a stereotype that she would just have book smarts, but if she were able to stick around she could have proven she had a lot of outdoor smarts and she grew up camping. Her new team members didn’t see that. OK, first, outdoor smarts does nothing for you in this game, watching one episode would teach you that. Second, JUDD was one of the ones who most wanted you gone, and you had 11 days to convince him.

She doesn’t regret telling people that she went to law school – she didn’t want to play the game where people didn’t know the real Brooke. If law school got her voted off, so be it. Listen. Law school had NOTHING TO DO with you being evicted. ZERO. You were perceived as weak. I love these interviews where they have no clue what just happened. You can tell she EXPECTED to go home because of her background, and will frankly be shocked when she learns otherwise.

It stinks to be voted out so early, she has a lot of strength and endurance, and she might be the healthiest person on the tribe. She wishes the girls on her original team good luck.

Brooke, the Day After: The experience was more difficult than she imagined, starting with the 11-mile hike. There wasn’t enough water, and the heat was outrageous. But at the same time, she was surprised that she had so much energy and how well she was able to adapt.

For someone watching at home, it’s impossible to describe how hard it is to do a challenge for two hours in the sun. It’s not like at home where you go out and exercise, you’re rested, you’ve got a good meal, and come home and clean up. There’s no break out there. There are no comforts at all. She’s got a point.

She was surprised at how well she held up. She expected a lot more people to get injured or bitten than they did. Put your trust in Mark Burnett, o unbeliever! The women showed how strong they were when all the men got sick on the hike.

She’s upset that she got voted out when she did. She wasn’t sick, she was doing great at challenges. On one hand, she’s glad she went out before she did something stupid, on the other hand, she’d rather go home for screwing up a challenge than to have her teammates tell her she was too smart. Ahhhhhhh. That’s what they told her. And she totally bought it, which is ironically all the funnier.

The corn tasted great at the start, she was ready to eat anything. And then it became a matter of “in one end and out the other,” and that was so miserable that no one wanted to eat the corn. I’m SO glad I found that out. You still can’t describe to someone what it was like.

She’s walking away a lot stronger. She was impressed with the women, and with Jim, who all outlasted the men (who were carrying a lot more weight, which no one ever seems to mention.)

Hey, guys, next time kick out someone interesting for a change. I’m getting tired of Sorority Girl Wrapup here.

Too Hot to Handle: It’s hot. In Guatemala. I’m shocked.

Jeff Does It Again: The tribal swap, or more to the point, the slavish clinging to former tribal lines post-swap, is getting to be as tired as complaining about the heat this year. Yes, it makes sense. Yes, we see how stupid it is this episode. But Mr. Super Genius Mark Burnett needs to come up with a way to avoid it. The swap was supposed to prevent Pagongings, and it simply hasn’t.

I still say the way to do it is what he started to do in Palau – put everyone on one beach, one tribe. Except this time, keep them there for about 15 days. THEN split them into tribes, royally screwing with most alliances, and then put them back together when there are six or seven left.

I’ll give them this – they made the swap itself a little more interesting this time.