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It’s time to take it to the advanced level
Survivor: Fiji finally started tonight, with one tribe, no luxuries, and as many uncertain alliances as ten people can bring to the game. This is the move that could save the season, the way the mutiny saved Survivor: Cook Islands. I’m not sure there’s much of an advantage to those who have spent time on the deprived Ravu beach, because old alliances are much more important than survival skills. Even though the original Moto chose Tribal Council over giving up their luxuries, by this time anyone who’s left would happily sacrifice all the toothpaste and toilet paper in the world for another three days in Fiji.

Mookie has totally misplayed the hidden Immunity Idol, first by keeping it to himself rather than letting Alex and Edgardo share custody, and then by blabbing to Dreamz that they had it. If they weren’t going to tell him as soon as they found it, it’s a bad decision to tell him later, after the merge, when shifting alliances and suspicions will definitely make it harder for him to keep the secret. I don’t think anyone who knows about the two idols has played them wisely, but that’s probably because there’s no precedent for using them under the new rules.

The plans for the “Four Horsemen” of the old-new Ravu to infiltrate the former Moto members might have worked, if it hadn’t been for a couple of errors. The first was Mookie telling Dreamz about the idol, which alienated Alex and Edgardo. The second was Alex’s insistence that they keep Stacy, after they had agreed she would be the second to go. That ticked off Mookie and especially Dreamz, who had been dismissed and mistreated by Stacy when they were together on the original Moto. They both figured they would be behind Stacy in Alex’s pecking order.

The other major factor that derailed all plans was the twist at the Immunity Challenge. One tribe, two teams? As anyone who’s been paying attention would have guessed, the team that got Yau-Man won the challenge easily. It took him no time at all to analyze the situation and figure out how to use the tool to retrieve the puzzle pieces. The losing team, with no time to strategize, imploded on the vote by Dreamz to go along with Alex and get rid of Michelle, instead of working together against Stacy as he and Mookie had talked about earlier. There can’t be much hope for the Horsemen now, especially with Earl, Cassandra and Yau-Man back on the beach eating steak and strengthening their ties.

The funniest thing tonight was seeing everyone get so excited about going back to the Moto beach, as if the couch and beds and all the furnishings would still be there. They apparently forgot that they were instructed to bring only their personal items to Exile Island for the merge. That should have tipped them off that they weren’t going back to the lap of luxury. What a letdown that must have been.

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