Who’s the Poison Apple Now?

“I think Coach is used to being a leader, but I think that it is a role that Brendan does better.” – Erinn Lobdell, in reference to Benjamin “Coach” Wade

The third episode for CBS’ exciting new season of Survivor Tocantins was living up to the hype that host Jeff Probst single-handedly started (thank goodness!). At least, we, Survivor fans, have more to be excited about, especially after CBS has confirmed that two more Survivor seasons will be on the way, thus you can expect to watch Season 20 (how is that possible?), if you’re such a fan. Not complaining though. Anyways, off to my episode analysis…

Brendan finding the hidden immunity idol at the treemail.

Good: The highlight of the episode for me has got to be Brendan finding the hidden immunity idol. At least now with his tribe all shaken up after losing three challenges (and two people) in a row, plus Erinn and Coach’s unending word war between talks of trust and leadership, he knows that he’s in safe hands in this game, provided that he’s smart enough in flushing out the idol. Knowing Brendan, I can be confident of that. Another bright side to this episode is Taj and Brendan’s plan (while on exile) to form a ’secret alliance’. It would be interesting to have two players from opposing tribes to plot this out together and have something to look forward to come merge time. I mean, members of the opposing tribe might enter the merge thinking it is going to be one tribe versus the other in a ’survival of the fittest’ scenario. But this ’secret alliance’ formation is going to deliver ‘the biggest upset in Survivor history‘, as Taj would put it. Strategy is definitely shaping up real fast.

Bad: Coach. During Jeff’s pre-show assessment of Coach, he pointed out how he’s never seen any previous castaway so full of himself, except of course Richard Hatch, as Ben Wade (or Coach) is. Truth is, I have no problem with Ben being in-love with himself. I just wish he has the actions to back it up. But so far, he’s been all talk and no action. And his performance hasn’t been as impressive as his resume appears, so far. I am glad that Erinn is stepping up to him and trying to put him in his place. Erinn’s reference to Coach being the leader of the Timbira tribe probably took a huge hit on Coach’s ego that prompted Jeff to respond. Funny, funny, funny!

Jalapao tribe working together in building the staircase for the Immunity Challenge.

In-Between: Timbira was initially my favorite tribe, thanks to Brendan and Tyson. However, Jalapao’s recent success in the game is quite impressive. They are the ones showing more unity and strategy in the challenges. JT and Joe are leading them during these physical challenges while the rest are hanging in there. And I do believe there’s more upfront game involved in Jalapao, while the Timbira camp is filled with so much drama and animosity. This should set the stage for an exciting episode this week as we see the continuation of the battle between, no not Timbira and Jalapao, but Erinn and Coach.