grrr

[verbicide]

This is what happens with Survivor. It starts off, and there are some very cool competitors. And I root for them. But midway through, the miscreants band together and vote off the decent plays one by one.

Brandon (who I can't believe I've grown to sorta like) took a walk yesterday, when post merge the old members of Nakum banded together for the predicted Pagoning.

I want to shake Cindy, Lydia, and Rafe, who clearly detest the thuggish Judd and Jamie. I wish Brandon, Danni, and Gary had done more in terms of convincing that group (using whatever emotional ploys required) to take down the Trifecta of Annoyance (the two Js plus Steph, who has at least been portrayed as less whiny in the last couple of episodes).

Bobby Jon continues to show himself for the lunatic he is. Jamie does not bring out his good side. But Jamie ...it's remarkable. You think he's stretched to the far-reaching edges of Tool-dom, but each week he surprises with new lows.

(Quick recap for cable-less Rich)

After last week's tribal council (where poor Amy was voted out), Yaxha was told to go straight to the Nakum camp. They uncomfortably woke up Nakum, where they were treated like crap. Jamie made a point of smugly saying there wasn't any room in the shelter, so they'd have to sleep out of it. Dick. Then the old Yaxha tribe collected wood and did their best to help, but old-Nakum sat around watching them and in the cases of Jamie and Judd, feeling superior. Rafe was shown the most as feeling ill over the whole deal.

The tribe was told that there is an individual immunity idol hidden out in the jungle. If found, the findee can use it at any immunity challenge, and they don't have to let anyone know they have it until it's found. There was much searching, but to no avail.

The first individual immunity challenge (except for that earlier one Rafe won) involved balancing clay pots on one's head. The twist was, that at the beginning of the challenge, the contestants had the option of...not competing. If you felt reasonably safe that you weren't being voted out, you could head to the picnic table ladened with food and pig out. Jamie, Steph, Lydia, Rafe (all Nakum) opted to eat. Judd, Cindy (Nakum) and Gary, Bobby Jon, Brandon, and Danni (Yaxha) all opted to compete. Danni was the only one out after an hour, and it switched to a tie breaker, where instead of having to stand with the pots, they had to get to the top of a flight of stairs without using their hands, and without having the pot fall off. Gary won immunity.

During the whole thing, Jamie was bluntly trashtalking about how it's 6 vs 4 and how his tribe plans on just voting people off one by one. Judd was clearly pissed. Probably both by hunger and frustration and watching Jamie make a total ass out of himself. The editors tried to build up suspense that everyone was so pissed at Jamie that they were going to vote him out and not Brandon, but tragically it was not to be. Brandon left with dignity. He looked so sad and anxious during tribal council, I wanted to hug him. Jamie had made it clear that Brandon would be voted out next, and then Bobby Jon.

Despite all their talk about how pissed they were at Jamie, every single Nakum voted for Brandon.

I'm really hoping that sometime next week Rafe and Lydia grow a spine and cut a deal with Gary and Danni and vote out Judd, Jamie, and Steph. Bobby Jon is (according to Nakum talk) the next to go. Then Danni, then Gary. I just hope they're wrong.

It was a frustrating episode. The Yaxha camp had been a pretty nice place with nice people who got along. Another theme in this episode was how miserable and whiny the Nakum camp is. Yaxha is definitely hurting. Ugh.