Episode 41.12

I should tell you some of the winter hiatus plans regarding this blog. You should also note some of the scheduled return of Survivor 42. It does have a return date of March 9 of 2022. This was factoring in the Winter Olympics in 2022 taking place in Beijing, China from February 4-20.

 

Let’s get to the one time challenges from the twelfth season. There were a lot of unique ones this time around and some of them were focusing on a skull theme. They don’t use actual skulls, right? I wouldn’t think that they would be allowed to. What do they use, then? Anyways, there are 11 unique challenges from this season and all but one of them appeared as pairs in the same episode.

 

Skull Crush (reward challenge from The First Exile): In this challenge, contestants had to break open a bunch of skulls, trying to find an amulet. The tribe that doesn’t find one loses and has to exile someone. I think that an individual version of this could be done while social distancing.

 

4x4 (immunity challenge from The First Exile): In this challenge, contestants have to race over a barrier to swim out to a raft. After reaching it, they have to unclip it then race back to shore. Once there, they will solve a brainteaser to release a metal ring from a rope. They have to get their flag out next to raise it to win the challenge. An individual version of this could be done while social distancing. Why is it called 4x4 anyways? Maybe I’ll have to see this again. Are any and all of the challenges on YouTube?

 

A Reptile Dysfunction (reward challenge from Breakdown): If you don’t know what this challenge name sounds like, well, I’m not going to tell you. This might be the worst name of any challenge, although I’ll have to see at the end. It doesn’t even play into Jeff Probst’s ball fetish. Anyways, in this challenge, the tribes would race through an obstacle course to collect wooden snakes that only one member had to hold. The first team to get all six snakes across wins. It is possible and likely that this could be done while social distancing, especially if it were an individual challenge.

 

Anchor Management (immunity challenge from Breakdown): This challenge is a play on the term anger management. In it, players have to bail water out of a boat while others move the boat by moving the anchor forward. The tribes must then hitch the boat to a post while carrying the anchor and a zombie head with the challenge won when you get the zombie head on its body. I don’t think that this could be done while social distancing.

 

Sea Level, Tree Level (immunity challenge from Starvation and Lunacy): In this challenge, there is a task for each of the players in the game. One player is on something like a swing that will be raised every time until they can release a pin to raise the tribe flag. A player on a platform will put things into a barrel to allow this to happen. The other players are tied in pairs and will cross back and forth on balance beams to get water. It is possible, maybe, that a version of this could be done while social distancing. I am not sure that it could be, though.

 

For Cod’s Sake (reward challenge from the episode of the same name): In this challenge, contestants would have to pass different things to each other. Things thrown from one player to another would be a bag of rice, bag of beans, and six large fish, with the heads and tails needing cut off from each fish. They have to get all of their items to the right bin to win. I think that this could be done while social distancing if six feet apart can still allow for players to toss things to each other. What is the optimal throwing distance for a Survivor challenge?

 

Buried at Sea (immunity challenge from For Cod’s Sake)- In this challenge, players would have to paddle around a boat to submerged coffins, grab puzzle pieces from them, then use them to form a skull pyramid with a golden skull at the top. I think that an individual version of this could be done while social distancing. I think that this could work individually.

 

Rock the Boat (reward challenge from The Power of the Idol): In this challenge, contestants would have to take coconuts to a boat, take the boat to a floating crate to get a flag and net, then use the flag and net to get rid of the coconuts. This challenge could probably not be done while social distancing unless they turned it into a relay race or individual challenge.

 

Ups and Downs (immunity challenge from The Power of the Idol): This challenge is done in stages. The players would have to dig a hole under a fence in stage one. The second stage has players using clues to put rocks on a grid before they run over two sandhills with a net maze in between. The third stage has players using planks to cross a bridge before jumping into the water and then up yet another sandhill. The fourth and final part has them going through a cage like network of ladders, dig through a pile of sand, and then go through the exit. I think that this could actually work while social distancing, although I’m unsure of just how complicated this challenge would be and if it would be better broken up into multiple challenges in the end.

 

The Key of Sea (reward challenge from Perilous Scramble): This challenge is complicated sounding and as thus might be hard to summarize. In the first half of it, people have to move around a hitching post and an underwater frame. After making their way to a floating platform, they have to move around two poles then through water hurtles where all of the team mates must do one obstacle. The players then have to run across pontoons, dive into the water to get bags from a crate, and go back to the platform. Once they have all the bags, they have to return with them to the starting line. The second half has them using a slingshot to break hanging titles to win reward. Parts of this, if not all of this, could be done while social distancing. It is hard to know for sure.

 

Hold Your Own (immunity challenge from Perilous Scramble): In this challenge, you have to stay on a plank and hold ropes connecting to increasing weights based on your own pregame weight. If you hang in the air above the water for the longest, you win the challenge. It could be done while social distancing and should be done again.

 

Something that I should mention is that Survivor 43 is not yet filmed like I once thought that it was. I do not know who might be cast for it. It is likely that all of the white players are cast for it. I do hope that there aren’t any gaps between filming seasons again due to the still ongoing pandemic. That is why I felt that they should have recorded 4 seasons this year so there would always be two in the reserve for the future in case they can’t film any in one year. Of course, this could be a problem for the players since I don’t think that you can get the money from the show until after it airs, but you may be required to do taxes on prices beforehand. I’d have to check more of fandom to know for sure, specifically the part on the car curse that might mention it. But enough of my ramblings.

 

In the first segment of the show, Deshawn talks about the emotional tribal council, losing his ally Liana, and how he believes in fate. Danny wants to take out Ricard. Xander talks about his way of getting his way through the game. What, what is the name of the merged tribe? The subtitles were one word, but the tribe flag was two. Deshawn talks to Heather about how race shows up in the game. Erika then talks to Deshawn about the beautiful mess of the game. She wants a woman to win, but it probably won’t happen this time around. Sarah in Game Changers was the last female winner. This is now the 7^th season after that had happened.

 

We get to the reward challenge next. There does not appear to be a loved one letter this time around. I’m not surprised that they aren’t doing a loved one challenge due to the pandemic. Deshawn does not like his lack of loved one letter. The team of Xander, Deshawn, and Erika win the challenge after the other team made bad choices due to fatigue.

 

In the second segment of the show, the reward winners want to get rid of Ricard, but Deshawn isn’t that willing to work with them. Danny is out looking for an idol since Shan’s is gone. An idol could change the game at this point. Of course it would. Don’t point out the obvious. Heather and Ricard notice that he was missing. Ricard thinks that an idol was found by Danny since he is happy. We don’t know if that means an idol was found. He could have just been thinking about sex. That makes people happy. Erika wants to stick with the chicken reward final three. She wants to get rid of Heather. Apparently, she is not sure of how some would see their games as different. Deshawn is glad that Erika is thinking this was as this was a seed that he planted that could grow a million dollars for him.

 

In the third segment of the show, we get to the immunity challenge. Ricard wins the challenge. That is the Murphy’s law of Survivor. Whoever must not win a challenge shall always win said challenge. And I do have to wonder why no one has ever tried what the women in Micronesia did to Erik. Sure, they are not likely to get it to happen again, but it is worth trying, right? Anyways, it is Erika who complains about how there must be a plan b now.

 

In the fourth segment of the show, Danny and Deshawn think that either one of them is the target. Bro! Why would they vote out a bro? It turns out that Danny didn’t find an idol. Ricard looks through his things and doesn’t find it. But he isn’t sure that such a thing really isn’t there. Xander wants to keep a person who could beat Ricard at a challenge. Deshawn might have more connections. Danny admits that he’s an NFL player to Deshawn. Deshawn is okay with getting rid of Danny since it seems like it will be one or the other. Ricard is right about alliances because Deshawn wants his three way with Erika and Heather. That’s what they are talking about, right? I think that’s the threesome.

 

In the fifth segment of the show, we get to tribal council. Deshawn comes in with a grin on his face that Jeff wonders about. He thinks that he’s ready and it’s him or Danny. Ricard doesn’t want to give away anything. Danny talks about why they didn’t get rid of Ricard. Erika said that Ricard hasn’t betrayed her and thinks that she can trust him. Heather is upset that people think that they made the wrong move at the last tribal council. Who you vote out is important.

 

Xander points out that jury management has started. Hadn’t that already started? If you are just caring about it now, you are caring about it far too late. Deshawn points out to Heather that Erika was gunning for her. And this is the truth. Ricard thinks that Deshawn could have ruined a potential alliance with Erika as a result. Jeff points out that Deshawn might not have known whether or not he would have survived without this true kamikaze, in Xander’s words.

 

No idols are played. What other advantages could there be in the game? It is a tie between the two black men. Danny is voted out? What? Why did they pick him over Deshawn? Jeff tells the final five that they are starting over at a new island this very night as they go into the final stage of the game. I guess that last idol is gone. But will something else come in its place, like a different last idol?

 

On the next Survivor, Xander is convinced that the game is his to lose. There will be a wild finish. They cannot let someone get something, probably an idol or some other advantage. What else will go on? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

 

Total confessional count: Erika- 17, Ricard- 21, Xander- 26, Danny- 22, Deshawn- 26, Heather- 5. New confessionals this episode: Ricard- 2, Xander- 3, Danny- 3, Deshawn- 4, Heather- 1, Erika- 4.

 

As we get to the end of this season, Heather remains dead last in terms of the confessional count and she might be the only finale player to start at the worst and make it all the way to the end. However, since I was not counting confessionals at the time I first watched Palau, I may know whether or not we see something like that from Jenn. I will be watching that season again. What I do not know is whether or not I should review any of the Survivor episodes on imdb. Everything on tv.com is gone now, like my Survivor reviews on it. I might talk about this more elsewhere. The people with the most are a tie with Xander and Deshawn having twenty-six each. I honestly don’t know who might win.

 

Planned February blog posts

 

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Not February	Not February	1: Madam Secretary	2: Survivor (maybe)	3: The Good Fight	4: The Good Wife	5: TV
6: CSI: Cyber	7: Elementary	8: The Good Wife	9: Survivor (maybe)	10: CSI: Cyber	11: Survivor (maybe)	12: TV
13: Survivor (maybe)	14: Madam Secretary	15: Survivor (maybe)	16: Survivor (maybe)	17: freebie	18: Survivor (maybe)	19: TV
20: The Good Wife	21: freebie	22: Survivor (maybe)	23: Survivor (maybe)	24: freebie	25: Survivor (maybe)	26: TV
27: Survivor (maybe)	28: freebie	Not February	Not February	Not February	Not February	Not February

 

As you might remember if you pay attention to this blog, you’ll know that I will not be back with the post on the finale on Wednesday as there will only be one service at 7 as it is not a service, but a Cantata. They are only doing it once. I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to see all of it on Thursday, but I can only hope so and hope to have the whole post written outside of the recap before the episode airs. I do now know how much extra stuff I will include that I normally do. But I will try to work that into some blog post over time, if not the one on the finale. We’ll see how much time I have. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.