Survivor 34 Episode 3 “Survivor Jackpot”

“My name’s Caleb and I’m perfect!”

Well, that sucked!

In many ways, tonight’s episode of Survivor was a pretty typical episode.  It’s still early in the game and alliances are still being made.  Even though all of these players have been on previous seasons, we’re still getting to know them as far as this season is concerned.  It’s always amazing to me how certain players can be brilliant during their first season and then end totally screwing up during their second season.

Tonight started out with the big tribal shakeup.  The two tribes were split into three tribes.  Personally, I’m never a fan of the whole three tribe thing.  The show has a hard enough time focusing on just two tribes.  When it has to deal with three, that inevitably means that whichever tribe isn’t constantly losing and going to tribal council is going to be shortchanged as far as the show’s attention is concerned.  I also think that they’re doing the shakeup a bit too early this season.

But, no one asked me.  Instead, everyone met on the beach and randomly grabbed new buffs until we ended up with the following three tribes:

Mana

Caleb

Brad Culpepper (Formerly Nuku)

Hali

Sierra (Formerly Nuku)

Tai (Formerly Nuku)

Debbie (Formerly Nuku)

Nuku

Aubry (Formerly Mana)

Michaela (Formerly Mana)

Sandra (Formerly Mana)

Malcolm (Formerly Mana)

JT

Jeff Varner (Formerly Mana)

Tavua

Andrea (Formerly Nuku)

Cirie (Formerly Nuku)

Sarah (Formerly Nuku)

Ozzy (Formerly Nuku)

Zeke (Formerly Nuku)

Troyzan (Formerly Mana)

The most interesting thing about the new tribes was how lop-sided they were.  On Tavua, Troyzan was the only former member of the Mana Tribe and, as such, was the automatic target of the five former Nuku members.  On the new Nuku tribe, JT was the only previous Nuku member and now found himself being targeted by five former members of Mana.  And finally, on the new Mana tribe, Caleb and Hali found themselves outnumbered by four previous Nuku members.

On the new Tavua Tribe, Troyzan went searching for an idol and he found it.  Or, I should say, he found a clue that informed him where the idol would be hidden during the immunity challenge.  Troyzan managed to grab the idol without anyone noticing, which should give him a little peace of mind.  It’s interesting.  I couldn’t stand Troyzan during his first season but I really liked him during this episode.  Maybe it’s because he’s now the underdog.  It’s hard not to root for someone to survive when they’re outnumbered 5 to 1.

On the new Nuku Tribe, JT had less luck finding an idol.  Sandra, for some reason, was obsessed with eating a goat.  I’m glad that the rest of the tribe did not agree with her.  Don’t get me wrong — if it’s day 26 and you’re out of rice, eat whatever you have to eat to survive.  But this was Day 9!

Add to that, those goats were adorable.

Meanwhile, on the new Mana Tribe, it was pretty obvious that Hali and Caleb were the targets.  After they lost the immunity challenge, they went to tribal council and it really wasn’t a shock that they voted out Caleb.  Obviously, he’s a much stronger player than Hali and Survivor is a game where you have to get rid of the strong players in order to win.

BUT STILL!  IT SUCKED!  POOR CALEB!

To be honest, I’m not sure if I would have called Caleb a game changer.  If anything, he was a really likable guy who broke everyone’s heart when he had to be medically evacuated during his previous season.  But, regardless of whether he deserved to be called a game changer or not, Caleb is one of those players who you always want to see go far because he just seems to be such a decent human being.  Judging from his two seasons on Survivor, Caleb has matured a lot since his time on Big Brother.

But that’s the way Survivor works.  The likable players don’t always win.  Sometimes, the players that you’re most excited about end up getting voted out early.  If not for the tribal shakeup, Caleb would not have been voted out.  It was bad luck but then again, so much of Survivor is all about luck.

So, goodbye, Caleb.  Peace by with you.

Lisa Marie

NEXT WEEK — TWO TRIBAL COUNCILS!  DOUBLE THE EVICTION DRAMA!