Jeff starts the show by saying that someone quit before they even got off the boat. There's a twist on the people who come up with the twists.

Now we know why there's an odd number of people. Was the twentieth Survivor a Latina? Were they going to do the race thing again until this person screwed it up? Reader liz says the answer was given on the TV Guide Channel preview. "The 20th person quit the show the night before competition started. They were going to divide by race but she blew that one." There you go.

I like how they completely erased this person from the show. No name, no camera time, no mention on the web site. Never mess with Mark Burnett.

So one Survivor is MIA, and everyone else seems to have an alias. Boo? Rocky? Dreamz?! What is this, Flavor of Love? Maybe New York was the one who quit.

Jeff flies by and drops off a box. Rocky tries to smash it and fails. Then skinny old Yau-Man calculates its weakest point and pops it right open. Score one for the old guy.

Inside they find maps and blueprints instructing them to build a shelter with a kitchen, outhouse and more. They even get a bunch of lumber and tools.

Sylvia is an architect so she takes change, which makes sense. But she does it in a nice bossy fashion, which isn't making friends. Then, just in case she wasn't condescending enough, she throws around words like "orthogonal".

Erica gets right to work on a young-person alliance by talking with Jessica. The day ends with an incomplete shelter and a rainy night.

Day 2, and the building gets built. We learn Dreamz was the homeless guy. That night he keeps everyone up with his loud talking. Rocky yells at him then goes off to sleep alone.

Day 3 is Challenge time. Jeff asks who has been the leader and they all say Sylvia. She is told to divide the group into two tribes. They end up like this:

The green team: Cassandra, Liliana, Stacy, Lisi (pronounced "lee-see"), Dreamz, Boo, Gary (nicknamed "Papa Smurf" so he doesn't feel left out), Alex (whom Sylvia calls the "sexy guy in the green tank top"), and Edgardo.

The orange team: Michelle, Erica, Rita, Jessica, Rocky, Earl, Yau-Man, Anthony, and Mookie.

The green team is called Moto and orange is Ravu. Sylvia is sent to Exile Island but she's immune from the first vote and will join whichever tribe loses someone first.

The Immunity Challenge is a chariot race followed by a puzzle. The winners also get the shelter plus more stuff including a couch. What kind of Survivor is this? The losers will get sent to a new beach with nothing but a pot and one machete. That's more like it.

Hello Moto takes the early lead but a team stumble gives Ravu the advantage. Ravu is the first to the puzzle but Jessica struggles and Moto comes back for the win.

Sylvia's clue for the hidden Immunity Idol says she has to look back at camp. D'oh.

Erica and Jessica bring Rocky into their alliance. Rocky wants Rita out. But Mookie gets a group together - including Erica - and says Jessica should go because of the Challenge. Erica tells Rocky and the two of them agree not to vote for Jessica.

At Tribal Council Erica says the vote will be to help win the next Challenge. Yau-Man says he hopes they don't vote based on physical strength. Mookie says he'll be voting off someone he thinks Sylvia can replace.

Jessica votes for Rita and Yau-Man votes for Jessica.

The tally reads: Mookie, Rita, Jessica, Yau-Man (nice. A nine-way tie?), Jessica, Jessica, Jessica (I guess not). Being a girlie girl ain't what it used to be.

Next time on…Survivor: Earl throws a machete at a snake. Boo chops his hand and falls out of a hammock.

Jessica tells us, "My torch may have been snuffed here, but I'm sure it's lit somewhere else." As soon as I figure out what the means I'll tell you if it's deep or not.

Pretty good first episode. We had the game instantly rearranged by a quitter, we have the new rich tribe/poor tribe dynamic, and we already have weirdoes with fake names yelling at each other.

THIS IS GREAT!

-Stallion

Back to the Survivor 14 Index
Dang Home