Here we go. Its officially on between Rob Mariano and Russell Hantz as Survivor Redemption Island kicks off. As always the recap first and than the long lost famous opinions.
Things start out with the two tribes heading into the game on choppers. Probst is on board announcing the games beginning. We get a quick snippet on some of the players. The intro plays and than its onto the beach where the 16 players in the choppers convene. Before they get started, two more players fly in which carry of course Rob and Russell. Rob gets a nice ovation while Russell gets a much different reaction highlighted by Mike saying "oh no." Both guys draw buffs to see which tribe they end up on as Rob goes to Ometepe while Russell goes to Zapatera. After the two guys go to their tribes, Probst introduces the Redemption Island concept which shocks everyone. Afterwards both tribes are sent on their way.
Zapatera is shown first approaching their camp and Russell begins talking about he is going to get it done this season. Russell gives a speech top the tribe right off the bat and tells everyone he is not there to sabotage anyone. They all seem to buy it as the rain falls. The tribe also finds a box of tools as the men start organizing the camp. Soon the shelter gets put together as Ralph begins taking control. Meanwhile back at the Ometepe camp Rob gets the shelter going due to his history in construction. Soon however we get the seasons first bossy player in Phillip who starts barking orders. The women don't take kindly to it, in particular Francesca. Phillip soon tells the girls that he was a federal agent and talks about how he is an expert at reading people's behavior and gives his spiel about how he needs to stay around due to his past.
Soon Kristina starts looking for a hidden immunity idol as she thinks something could be in the tools. Rob soon talks to her about how he knows she is looking for it and to let him know if she finds it. Rob also talks to Phillip about how the men are outnumbered 5-4 by the girls. Phillip soon goes to Kristina and tells her what Rob said to him. Its clear he is already angling against Boston's finest. Kristina seems receptive to this which is a bad early sign for Rob.
Over at the Zapatera tribe, Russell and Stephanie head over to the tree mail and he immediately pushes his plan to her. He offers an alliance and it seems set. Meanwhile the rest of the tribe are talking about how he is already approaching the women about alliances. Mike and David immediately pick up on this and so they talk about getting rid of him before he has a chance to get his claws in the game.
Day 3 soon arrives as Kristina continues to talk about getting rid of Rob. Eventually she heads out and began to look for the idol again. Eventually she finds the idol and she tries to convince Philip and Francesca about booting Rob. An argument soon begins between Phillip and the girls about the direction of their game. He is incredibly brusque with the women and it appears their alliance is finished before it started.
Soon its time for the first immunity challenge as Probst tells the tribe about how it works. Each tribe has to push four blocks along a track to build a base of a temple. Another person uses an ax to release other steps where they will race to the top and solve a puzzle for immunity. The challenge begins and Zapatera takes a quick lead. It appears the Zapatera strength with the extra man cam in handy early as they start the puzzle first. Zapatera begins to slow down some on the puzzle as Ometepe closes the ground. Rob's past excellence in the puzzle shines through but Zapatera's early lead held up to take the idol home. They also take home fire for camp.
Back at the Ometepe camp, talk begins about who to boot out. Ashley talks about how she feels they let down Rob during the challenge. Kristina soon tells Francesca about how she has the hidden immunity idol and she talks about how they have to vote Rob out. She wants to draw attention to herself so that she can play the idol. Francesca however talks about how Natalie is the weak one and that maybe she should go instead. She than talks to Rob directly about the vote as others walk into the area. Rob soon goes into Survivor mode and talks about how he wants Kristina out due to the fact she is a huge game player by looking for the idol and such. He tells the others about this and again talks about splitting the vote. In a funny moment he talks about how last season he got screwed in doing the split vote routine as Francesca and Kristina will be targeted. Meanwhile Kristina shows Phillip the hidden immunity idol and he seems all right with the plan.
Tribal council soon begins as Probst asks Rob about how camp began. He is proud of the shelter and Philip talks about how he is not trying to be a leader. Matt in turn talks about how Philip can be rough around the edges and that his words have not been received well. Kristina admits she is not feeling safe while Rob admits he could go for sure. Soon Francesca drops a bombshell about how Rob is not going anywhere which causes Philip to pipe in about how Francesca told him to vote out Rob. Philip starts to lose it in front of everyone and again talks about how he was a federal agent. He than admits he will change his vote for Francesca. Kristina also talks about how Philip can be unstable and he than reveals that she has an hidden idol. She has to admit it and the rest of the tribe is surprised. Rob is pissed about this and calls the girls out on it. Kristina tries to spin it and say she was voting for Natalie. Ron asks her to show him the idol and he than tells her that she should give him the idol so that she stays. He tells her that if she doesn't give it to him, he in turn cant trust her. She refuses to give it up and the votes get cast. Wow what a tribal council. Surprisingly Kristina doesnt play the idol as Francesca gets sent to Redemption Island.
Now for the long-awaited commentary.
-WOW where do I start? Already we got a ridiculous amount to talk about and its only EPISODE 1!!!!!!!!!!
-All right obviously that was without a doubt THE BEST first tribal council in Survivor history. Nothing will ever approach that again. And its all because of Philip who has to be the nuttiest player ever. I got to say I love the guy already purely from an entertaining standpoint. What a debut. Also was this guy really a federal agent? If so I am seriously worried about the qualification procedures for our country in such a prolific job. Anyone else feel a little less secure tonight?
-Anyways Kristina in my opinion is already the worst player in the game and also quite possibly came in with the DUMBEST plan ever. If you have one of the best players in Survivor history on your tribe, the last thing I would do was try to challenge him in any way, shape, or form. What is the point of that? Yes big moves are needed in this game but on Day 3? Are you kidding with that? I absolutely loved the way Rob called her out in front of the whole tribe and even more when he asked her to give him the idol. It was a huge moment that only Rob could engineer and of course Kristina flunked. Yes she kept the idol but she is not long for this game. She is marked in red dye and no one will play with her now.
-Philip really does have something wrong with him. He is clearly the COACH of this season.....you know the guy who makes you cringe or feel embaressed whenever they open their mouths. His social skills are a joke and he also is not long for the game but I am ecstatic he didn't get sent home so that we can enjoy a few more crazy moments next week.
-I basically knew Francesca was in big trouble when she spoke often during the episode. That's how it goes. Whoever dominated the commentary early on gets the boot. It played to form. She had no game and was sent home due to the fact she was guilty by association.
-I really wasn't worried about Rob going home. That would have been a joke for the season if he got the boot already. Basically Rob did what he usually does. He built the shelter, made friends, and had some big moments at tribal council.
-As far as the rest of the Omtepe tribe, there is nothing to say about them since none of them talked. Next week we will get more into them I guess.
-The immunity challenge was very tight and suspensefull. It looked like a classic Boston Rob comeback but it was not to be. It was hard not to miss the look Russell gave to Rob after the win. The tension was palpable.
-Speaking of Russell, it was surprising he didn't find the hidden immunity idol right away like Kristina did. He should have it next week. Really his first few days were uneventful other than pairing up with Stephanie. And it appears the tribe is hellbent on letting him get his grip on the game. Lets hope they follow through on this as it would be the best thing they ever did.
-Regarding the rest of the Zapatera tribe, Mike is someone to root for due to his past deployments in Iraq. Have the utmost respect for military personnel. Also the hillbilly guy seems fun but I don't like his chances if he picks a fight with Russell. Lets hope they kiss and make up quick.
-The cast is much better looking this season...and of course I am referring to the men. Ladies feel free to post below if the men are good looking this season. Don't know who is my favorite chick yet but in the running are Andrea, Ashley, and Sarita. Yes Sarita in the younger Mrs. Robinson mode. I am a sucker for older women.
-It rains a lot in Nicaragua. Yup good old rain.
-That last comment is a clear indication I am getting tired of typing so I will end it here. Rankings and more coming tomorrow. Check in early. Ciao.
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