Survivor: Exile Island – Survivor Live Recap, Episode 7

Let’s start off this article with another trivia question. This one is about Gretchen from season one, and it seems appropriate for the occasion of the merge. It is: in considering all the players booted out in the merge episode, what is unique about Gretchen? As usual, the answer will be near the bottom of the article.

The show starts with Dalton warning us to wear face masks in case there are any stray machete chops. Ha! He welcomes Nick to the show. Nick has cleaned up well; he’s quite the handsome fellow.

Nick admits his departing words were “very un-Survivor-esque.” Nick explains that he saw this as his chance to say something meaningful instead of making some petty statement about being backstabbed. His statement was more was more about where he was in his personal life and his efforts to “find himself,” and hoped it might help other kids in a similar situation. Me, I guess I’m too old, not only did I not really understand it; I doubt I properly represented it here.

Nick related that as he left tribal council he tossed Cirie socks that were actually hand-me-downs from Dan. Cerie’s were worn out and it’s cold at night, so any clothing is appreciated.

Jenna notes that the preview showed a stretcher and a helicopter, but we never saw them in this episode. The way the ad was worded, it actually said those things were “coming up,” but it was never promised to be this week. However, I was hoping we’d see them too.

Joking about Nick using the machete on Bruce, Dalton tells Nick, “Violence is never the answer.” Nick says it was a case of, “Two people doing very little thinking.” Nick was very upset when it happened and describes it as the “lowest point of the game” for him, which encourages Dalton to run the clip. I note that although Bruce is bleeding and in obvious pain, initially Cirie and Danielle showed no desire to leave a perfectly dry shelter, go out into a rainstorm, and see if Bruce is intact. I guess they were hoping he’d stumble over and pass out somewhere dry instead. (To their defense, they did eventually get up to check on Bruce.) Nick says had it been anyone else but Bruce he’d probably have ended up in Panamanian court.

Again the show is giving away buffs for interesting callers. We’ll see what the secret is to winning buffs later on.

The first caller is Don from Toronto, who asks if Terry should have lost the immunity challenge on purpose, used the hidden immunity idol to stop block the vote, and thereby gotten rid of Shane. Nick agrees and so does Dalton. Jenna is not as sure. She knows there’s a long way to go to get to the end of the game and Terry needs to keep his own self in the game.

Dalton points out that if Terry holds the idol too long, it will be of no real value. Nick thinks Terry was truly playing for the team at that stage and that’s why he feels Terry might have made that move.

Taylor from Virginia skipped school to call in, claiming to be sick. He wins a buff! He asks if there was anything that Nick saw on TV that he was unaware had happened. Nick was surprised Casaya were pathetically scarfing down the rice just before La Mina came, and also that the line between the two tribes had been drawn so definitely. He admits he’d have done the same thing, though.

Jenna gives credit to Casaya, who are sticking together and winning the game even though they are so dysfunctional. She feels it’s too early for anyone like Bruce to make a move. Sadly for La Mina, she’s right.

Nick says Casaya was “easy pickings for a good leader.” He confirms that it is indeed Aras who is running the tribe, and that he’s a good leader. Further, the more Shane steps up and runs meetings, the better it is for Aras. Nick says Aras has his greatest influence ion the three women. I see many similarities with Survivor: Thailand, where Brian stepped up to lead a group of willing others and with a little good fortune, parlayed it into a nice chunk of change.

Over a clip of last night’s challenge, Nick says they were always leading in challenges but could never close the deal. Puzzles caused them trouble, and they may have yielded to the pressure of their own expectations of winning.

Dalton shifts attention to the “Time Capsule” feature. Essentially, contestants recorded a message to themselves two days before the show started and it’s being played back now. Nick had several hopes – that it turned out to be all he expected, that he’s proud of what he did, and that his cocky attitude didn’t get in his way. He also hoped he’d learn about himself and have lots of smiles. Jenna says she never saw a cocky attitude from Nick, who says his cocky attitude is proportional to his calorie count – the lack of food affected his attitude.

The next call is from Matthew in Michigan, who asks if Nick had any reservations about voting off either Ruth Marie or Dan. Nick says it was easier to vote out Dan. Ruth Marie was a trusted ally, no liability in challenges, and therefore “that was tough for me.” Voting out Dan was easier because he was a victim circumstances and “dropped the ball on a couple of challenges.” My recollection is that Nick hadn’t outperformed Dan in a few of the challenges, but no one brings that up. Dalton talks Nick into believing that his deal with Dan was for final four, and that’s what he got.

Nick “still loves D-Dano” and is currently wearing Dan’s belt from the game. As they are both very tall, Nick was grateful for Dan’s offer to give him his extra clothing. I can tell Nick that he’s also lucky he has more game-worn stuff for celebrity auctions!

Dalton asks, if Terry hadn’t flipped on Dan, would the vote have been two-two? Yes. Nick says Terry knew what was best for him (Terry) in the long run.

Segment two begins with Nick’s “Open Letter,” where the castoff is given the opportunity to rant against someone or something that the hosts figure ticked them off during the show. Nick’s letter is to Terry. I can’t give you the exact wording of this one because it’s long, he rambles in the middle, he speaks very quickly and it’s repetitive of earlier chat. The gist of it is that he wishes Terry had used the “underutilized” hidden immunity idol to force a Shane boot. There’s actually nothing new from Don’s call (above).