Insights on Survivor: Blood vs Water Episode 4

Last week on Survivor Blood vs Water was intense with Tyson confronting Brad Culpepper at Redemption Island arena for being the architect to Rachel's ouster and this week was equally fired up! New layers continue to pile up each week and it's exciting to see how it all ties up in the end.

Read on to find out what my thoughts are about this episode and some insights into the game moving forward...

image: insidetv.ew.com

1. This week's episode experienced a plateau after having an intense start with the Redemption Island arena confrontation between Candice and Brad (what else is new?) and tribal council that went bananas (more on this later)! First off, Monica comes to her husband's defense when loved ones of the voted off castaways were attacking him at the arena. She made an excellent point, however, that Brad was not the only person who voted for these people but rather they voted as a tribe. John retaliated with a warning to his former tribe mates to watch out for Brad because he isn't someone to be trusted. Duh. He also pointed out that all of the castaways sent to Redemption Island were Brad's idea - well, it wasn't but he took all the blame for it. And I cannot see why Brad is willing to take the blame although at this point there is not much he can do to mend that reputation!

2. Oh Monica... I feel your pain for what your husband has gone through. But he's not a victim here - he shot himself in the foot and all the dirty laundry is coming back to haunt him. In fact, I don't think it was a smart move at all to openly declare to everyone at the Redemption Island arena that John made a mistake in trusting him. Really? In front of everybody else with whom you are competing against? Brad should really learn to censor himself before opening his mouth next time.

3. Sad to see Marissa go because she seems to be a great character and a hardcore competitor. She was simply put in an unfortunate situation having to fight her way back into the game. And a wrong kind of Redemption Island challenge at that! I mean, going up against two doctors in a puzzle that requires concentration and analytical skills seem to be right up Candice and John's alley!

4. The move to throw the hidden immunity idol clue into the fire was somewhat of a shocker to me. But a smart move for Monica to deflect the target that the Cody's are trying to put on her. I thought for sure that Candice and John would be the one to throw the clue to the fire. The immunity idol is, therefore, a curious factor going into the merge. Is anyone going to have the balls to look for it? Can they find it without a clue? Obviously, no one is going to be willing to get that clue from here on out as it automatically puts a huge target on the recipient's back.

5. Candice also shoots herself in the foot. Not only was flipping out on Brad a classless move, despite my adoration for Candice's physical prowess at Redemption Island or her entire Survivor stint, I think that she dug her grave deeper with that tirade at Redemption Island. She not only makes an enemy of Brad but also of Monica while simultaneously alienating herself from either of the tribes. It therefore makes all of her work in Redemption Island pointless because even if she goes back into the game, she has basically no one to work with. John has a better chance than her to align with some people if he makes it back into the game, but even then the chances are quite slim.

6. Tyson's injury seems to be improving, which is good for me because I picked him as one of my favorites to win! In fact, he even competed in a strenuous challenge despite having a sling on one of his shoulders. But he is trying to play up his injury to get less work around camp. Heh. That guy is so smart, huh?

7. Speaking of Tyson, it seems that a strong duo is building up between him and Gervase. We already know that they are both part of the five-person alliance at Galang. But going off on a secret rendezvous wherein they'd become "coconut bandits" was a really light and funny break from all the chaos that we were bombarded with earlier in the episode. It'll be interesting if this bond will go beyond simply sneaking out to drink coconut water.

8. Caleb makes the BIG move! Obviously, there are a lot of pro's and con's for everyone involved with this particular move. Starting off with Caleb, the moment Brad came up with the idea to blindside John last episode might've fueled that mistrust going on between the two of them (probably more so from Caleb's end). But he blatantly declared that he trusted Hayden and Vytas, but not Brad, during tribal council. Hayden also points out that once that trust is broken, it'll be difficult to regain especially in a game like Survivor wherein trust is hard to come by. Going back to last week's vote, the moment Caleb realized that Brad was willing to vote out his own (of the five-person male alliance at Tadhana), he might've felt vulnerable that he would be the next target. It also did not help that Brad openly expressed voting out someone who no longer has a loved one on the other side to prevent irking them out (again his own loud mouth costing him). I thought it was ballsy to do it out loud at tribal council, in front of Brad and the rest of the tribe, because it puts the other two guys up against the wall. Should they jump shift or stay loyal to their kingpin? Obviously, Vytas switched his vote on the re-vote while Hayden stayed true to Brad (but not without thinking over long and hard).

9. Caleb totally saved Ciera and most of the shock stems from the weird editing that showed little to none pre-tribal council. The gain he can get from this move is that he can control his own fate in the game. He no longer has to play second fiddle to Brad and putting his fate in the game in his hand. It'll be too early to tell if that move paid off. But if he and the other two guys can stay loyal, I still think that one of the two girls are in trouble should they go to tribal council next episode. 

10. The big question going into the next episode: is Hayden in trouble? I don't think so. He becomes the biggest physical asset in the tribe now that Brad is gone. But it certainly hurt his game to some extent because he has nobody to hide behind. Kat is not in a good spot in her own tribe, too, so it will be a challenge for them to get the numbers once they merge and they decide to work together (if both are still there). At least he can find consolation for having produced the episode title for two weeks in a row, right?

11. An even bigger question next episode: how will Candice and John handle Redemption Island with Brad? It'll be a sweet revenge on either Candice or John's part if they can boot him out. But the preview shows Monica offering Brad the opportunity to swap places. Will he take it? More questions to be answered (or not) next episode...

Did you like Episode 4 of Survivor Blood vs Water? Who do you think played the best strategy this week?