Alabama on ‘Survivor’: An idol a day
By Wade Kwon‘Survivor: Tocantins,’ episode 7 recap
Can “Survivor” fight off the mid-season blahs? Still two evenly matched tribes, still two players from Alabama, still plenty of colorful characters left.
Has James Thomas Jr. of Samson found another ally? Will Debra Beebe of Auburn continue to coast unnoticed?
Who found an idol? And who revealed an idol? Find out, after the jump …
Arts and craftiness: Taj, above, makes a fake idol;
she shows J.T. the real idol after he had already found it.
Idol, idol, who’s got the idol: You may recall that Taj found the Hidden Immunity Idol at Jalapao, then gave it to Stephen for safekeeping. Which means technically that Stephen controls the idol.
And last time at Timbira, Brendan admitted to Sierra that he found the Hidden Immunity Idol.
Two new people went to Exile Island, receiving enough clues to find the idol with little effort. Taj, always three steps ahead, works with Stephen in fashioning, yes, a fake Hidden Immunity Idol.
In the process, she hides the real one (apparently from her ally Stephen as well), only for J.T. to find it lickety split.
He tells his buddy Stephen, who tells his sneaky ally Taj, who tells J.T. she found the Hidden Immunity Idol.
J.T. feels secure and trusts Stephen and Taj, who have been playing him all along.
Uh oh.
When pigs fly: J.T., above, tosses a ceramic pig,
passing it along to Sydney and Stephen.
Reward challenge: Teams build barriers in 5 minutes lashing poles together. Each team then tosses ceramic pigs through the barrier constructed by the other team. The team that collects the most pigs, undamaged, after 10 minutes wins food food food.
Jalapao falls behind early, but then it becomes a dead heat tied at 8, then up to 13. But at the last second, Timbira slips one through, winning 14-13.
In a change of pace, Timbira picks Joe from Jalapao to visit Exile Island (instead of frequent flyer Taj). Joe then picks Erinn to accompany him, which means no feast for her. And yes, he believes he can charm her into flipping her in case of tribal merge.
Trade secrets: Joe and Erinn get a clue on Exile Island;
Joe finds Taj’s fake Hidden Immunity Idol.
Idol du jour: At Exile Island, Erinn receives the long list of clues for the Hidden Immunity Idol and deduces that two exist, one at each camp. She decides to buddy up with Joe, revealing the clues and ensuring she has at least one ally in the enemy camp.
Joe plays dumb back at the Jalapao camp, then makes a beeline for the hiding spot, as Taj and Stephen look on amused. Bingo! Joe finds the (fake) Hidden Immunity Idol.
Taj, former pop star, but current super genius.
Nom nom nom: Clockwise from upper left,
Brendan, Debbie and Tyson dig into their reward.
No waves: Timbira, minus Erinn, enjoys its mountains of food, including burgers and beer. They hit the water to swim, float on innertubes and relax.
We’ll all float on: Debbie, left, and Sierra splash it up.
Debbie says, “Manners were out the window. Eating as much as we could, we were like animals.”
Which makes the earlier drama seem, well, pointless. It was one scene: Coach bickering with the rest of the tribe over how long to cook the beans.
Straight shooters: Tyson, above, and J.T.
square off in the Immunity Challenge.
Immunity Challenge: One member from each tribe uses a slingshot to break three tiles in a row, which yields three bags of puzzle pieces. Two members from each team then assemble the puzzle to win.
The two MVPs, Jalapao’s J.T. and Timbira’s Tyson, take the slingshots. The two tie at two bags each, until Tyson nails the third one. A panicking J.T. misses more shots, but doesn’t trade out with any teammate.
J.T. nails the third, but by then, Timbira’s lead is substantial.
Timbira wins its third straight immunity.
Sixth out: Sydney, by a vote of 3-2.
Voted out: Back at camp, J.T. blames himself for the loss. But it comes down to Taj vs. Sydney. J.T. figures he should keep Taj around, since he believes Taj will hand if over if he’s in trouble. Hmm.
Then, J.T. figures that he can still boot Taj since Stephen’s the real possessor of said idol. Hmm indeed.
Joe has assured Sydney she’s safe. Taj has assured herself she’s safe.
At Tribal Council, J.T. points out that if the merge happens soon, Jalapao’s going in at a 4-6 disadvantage. Taj says she can work Timbira to Jalapao’s advantage, while Sydney claims she’ll stay loyal to her own tribe.
J.T. is in the driver’s seat and must decide which one to vote out.
He sticks with his newfound buds, as Sydney is voted out 3-2.
Will J.T. continue to trust Taj and Stephen, who have promised a Final Three alliance? Will Team Secret stay intact?
[Video and photos to be added.]
“Survivor: Tocantins – The Brazilian Highlands ” airs at 7 p.m. Thursdays on on CBS 42.
Previous: Episode 6 – Two weeks unnoticed
Next: The merge. J.T.: “We’re sitting ducks.” (Episode 8 – What has 10 heads and 19 legs?)
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Back up for grabs … more “Survivor: Tocantins” at survivor.wadeonbirmingham.com.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 3:29 pm
Great recap…..I was just wondering why do u think they have kept Taj knowing her husband is a millionaire ???
Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 4:23 pm
Thanks!
Do you mean Taj’s Jalapao tribesmates? Probably because it would be game suicide if they ever find out.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 5:06 pm
But they already know, remember when they all found out who her famous husband was. I thought that was her sucide when she admitted who he was but they have kept her regardless.
Im gonna like the merge coming up, its not gonna be 6-4 split, remember the secret 4 person team with Taj, Steven, Sierra and the pretty boy. Cant wait to see how that turns out.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009, 1:17 pm
Good point. I appreciate readers who remember these details when I don’t.
It’s been awhile (that I can recall) since we’ve seen a bigger tribe pick off a small tribe post-merge. I’m sure someone will flip things around.
Friday, April 10, 2009, 2:53 am
[…] Alabama on ‘Survivor’: An idol a day Wade | Good point. I appreciate readers who… Tribal | But they already know, remember when… Wade | Thanks! Do you mean Taj’s Jalapao… Tribal | Great recap…..I was just… […]