First stop – Gabon.
For the second episode, things are shaken up a bit. And what’s more exciting for me is the fact that Gabon’s second episode had an effect on me, which I haven’t seen in a while – the challenges literally had me up on my feet (oh yeah, how geeky of me! haha).
The reward challenge was purely physical, and I love it! Aside from the post, the castaways had to rely on pure brawn to outdo each other. For their first taste of victory, Fang had to experience a little bit of comfort in their life at the jungle. As for the equally adrenaline-pumping (or is it just me?) immunity challenge, I thought Bob had no competition in figuring out the combination to the lock. Turns out, Ken (the professional video gamer) had something between those ears too. As a video game writer, it leaves me to think as to whether or not video games help improve your analytical skills or Ken was just innately good with Math? (grin) Whichever is the case, I was glad to see the Fang tribe intact for another day.
Sailing over to Koh Tarutao for Survivor Philippines, the latest boot was the most shocking so far. While am rooting for Naak tribe, Gigit was one of the least I had expected to get booted from the Jarakay tribe at this early in the game. He might be the oldest, but he was built for the outdoors and he’s undeniably smart (ehem, a UP alumnus! 
).
Now that Gigit is out, I couldn’t care less anymore who exits next from the blue tribe, as long as JC and Kiko are safe. Gigit’s ouster can be categorized as a blindside, knowing that Gigit was confident going into tribal council that he had a solid alliance with most of them. Turns out, it was a landslide vote against him! That’s what I’m talking about! At least, we see more conniving, plotting, and bold moves! This was certainly a step towards a more cunning strategic game in Survivor Philippines, particularly within the Jarakay tribe. To know whether this was a good strategic move or a poor one, we have yet to find out.
