Survivor Philippines Episode 10: “That’s What Happens When You Fall Asleep at the Wheel”

When Artis was blindsided last week, I applauded Skupin for finally coming to play. In one of his pre-season interviews, I heard him say that playing under the radar just isn’t his thing and that he would never follow that path. This was evidenced by the big move that he made, which also allowed him to control his fate in the game. Another thing of note was that I previously mentioned how the editing is setting up Pete to fail, and it seems that that is precisely what transpired here.

Image: CBS

Abi and Pete returned to camp from the previous tribal council realizing that all of a sudden it’s two versus six. I am appalled at the way Abi looks at things as if she did nothing wrong. Here’s the thing Ms. Abi – if you are rude to people and you treat them with disrespect, you cannot expect them to be nice all the time. Even sweet old Lisa can reach her toll. And while she did clarify that she has forgiven you, there has to be a tipping point somewhere.

The rest of the tribe has laid out their plans saying that it would be them in the Final Six and after that it’s “game on”. I like how that looks like because majority of the people within that six are likable and root-able. But there’s a part of me that is saying that something is up. For now, though, that six will be intact and that means they are one step closer from successfully decimating the Axis of Evil.

Image: CBS

Quickly, we’re headed to the first challenge of the episode. This looks like a fun and simple challenge. And once again, I had to congratulate the challenge producers for coming up with yet another unique concept. It was easy by design yet very challenging to earn a point as you have to be agile and quick witted to succeed in this. The teams looked mismatched as the young and agile castaways were on the Red Team and the old ones were on the Yellow Team. You can watch the entire reward challenge here.

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Eventually, Carter’s track coaching experience helped him here as he dominated this challenge with his speed and quick wittedness. Not saying that the Yellow team were not witty, it’s just that they had it in the bag before it even started. With the exception, of course, of Abi who clearly sucked at the challenge. It seemed like the perfect reward with lots of food, a great scenery, and a relaxing massage. My favorite scene of this episode happened when Carter was feeding Malcolm grapes while he was bathing and getting scrubbed on. Such a comic relief!

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It wasn’t all fun and smiles, though, when the youngsters returned to camp from the reward. Malcom said it best. “Abi has the social grace of a Mac Truck.” After personally attacking Lisa during the last tribal council, Abi continues on her ways after returning from the reward. She couldn’t quit jabbering about how great the reward was. To endlessly talk about how delicious the food was when the rest were eating unflavored beans and rice was a clear indication that she had no social sensitivity and understanding at all.

A funny thing to note, though, was when everybody else was clearly sick of her incessant talk about the food at the reward, they wanted to divert the attention to Carter. When asked to share about his experience, no sooner than Abi chimed in and continued on with her talk. This girl just doesn’t know when to shut up! I mean, c’mon, it’s not like Carter got the chance to talk much and she steals his airtime. How funny and annoying was that?

Carter Dominates the IC

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For the second time, Carter wins the immunity necklace. Again, another impressive challenge concept that looked simple but very challenging in execution, as Jeff noted. 

Right now, Carter is a force to be reckoned with. He didn’t need it yet but it was crucial to keep Pete or Abi from winning – they didn’t even come close! See how the immunity challenge played out here.

Final Four Locked In

This is the first time that an alliance ever locked into a final four agreement. Some might criticize Malcolm’s decision to lock into this alliance this early, but he clearly said it in his confessional that he has to start planning ahead. Both Skupin and Lisa has many options at this point so by securing that, you have at least a shot at making it happen.

Image: CBS

On the other end of the spectrum, Penner did a terrible job at rejecting Lisa’s offer to the Final 3 with her and Skupin. Let’s just say he might not be interested in cementing that yet, he could have easily agreed to it just so he can keep his options open. And when you do as he did, you lost an opportunity. If you are not willing to commit and you get wishy-washy, people will become suspicious and they will look for somewhere else that offers more security.

As for the tribal council, it becomes the climax to what would’ve been a predictable episode. With Abi’s immunity idol still in play, they are trying to cause some chaos to the six-person alliance’s plan to get rid of Pete and flush her idol. Her confrontation with Denise at tribal council was a rude awakening for Abi. I find it surprising that she does not even get that she’s perceived as unlikeable. And while some might think that Denise laying it out for her during tribal council is crossing the line, I think she needed that to put her in her spot. Yes, Abi, karma is a bitch sometimes.

Bye, Pete!

And with that, bye Pete! I heaved a sigh of relief just as Malcolm did. But you gotta put your faith on the people with whom you’ve aligned with. With his idol being the only one left in the game, that is some major leverage for him coming into the next two episodes. It is, therefore, important that he win immunity next so that he can preserve that and deflect votes his way because he is now the number one threat in the game.

Next week, it will be Abi versus the remaining six. Will she survive without the idol? Or is something going to shake up soon? Stay tuned!