Survivor: Gabon – Episode 17-13 Review

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10 Thoughts on Survivor: Gabon

1. Hey, what happened to Episode 12?
Well, it was a Very Special Clip Show interspersed with some new footage. I could say I watched it, but I’d be lying.

2. Bob tries to take the high road.
I’m not sure what this accomplished besides perhaps earning Corrine’s jury vote should things come down to that. But given that you were complicit in the plot to oust Randy, I don’t think you earn the right to tell people not to laugh about it. And frankly, Randy was such a miserable bastard in his last few days (or, I should say, moreso than usual) that I can’t say that Sugar and co. earned the right to laugh at him.

3. Reward Challenge
The Bob/Sugar/Crystal team was clearly not a physical threat in terms of walking through muck, but putting cogs together is something clearly in a physics teacher’s wheelhouse. Bob smoked this part of the challenge, and the sliding puzzle was no problem for him either.

4. No Exile Island, but…
Corrine might as well have been there. By not being picked it’s apparent that she was probably going to the jury sooner rather than later.

5. The best reward of all.
I’m pretty sure all contestants look to get to the point where they can see their families. But what they did with them is the most interesting part. Matty proposed, Sugar and her sister spread some of her father’s ashes, others simply spent some quality time with their loved ones… and Kenny talked strategy with his sister. Nice to see his head in the game, but that head is starting to get a bit big.

6. And you thought Randy’s plan was stupid.
Hey, there’s no doubt that Bob’s Idol story sounded plausible, but he and Corrine had to know that they would need to play it or at least show it at Tribal to make the plan work. Well, that and the fact that one of them would need to win immunity.

7. Immunity Challenge.
And Bob did just that, although the ball toss seemed to rely a bit on luck. Still, the more balls you have, the more you could gauge your tosses, and Bob did do that.

8. Corrine and Bob put their plan into action.
So they get Kenny in on this, and Kenny decides to pull in Crystal and they figure it’s a good time to blindside Matty. Now, the smart thing to do would’ve probably been to have everyone vote as expected, have Corrine whip out the Idol and then Matty’s gone, but Ken seems to think too much here. He votes for Matty, ostensibly to show Corrine and Bob that he’s on the level with them – and judging from Corrine’s comments, that seemed to work – but he still makes sure that the numbers focus on Corrine. Bob has to know that his fake Idol is useless now. But anyway, things happen pretty much as predicted and Corrine went home.

9. Did they make the right call?
Probably. Corrine seems to be a cliquey person and I doubt that she could handle someone else controlling her destiny. Getting rid of Matty as a backup was a good idea as well.

10. So who goes next?
Well, common sense again says that Bob goes, but if this group can get their act together they could oust Kenny. Hard to see that happening though, since they’re at 30+ days now and lack of nutrition starts to get to you.

That’s all, see you next week!

Kevin Wong writes for Reality Dish, Prime Time Pulse and Inside Fights. He went 4 for 4 making the playoffs in his fantasy football leagues.

Kevin has been an Insider since 2003, writing on a variety of topics ranging from The Amazing Race to Mixed Martial Arts. His current hobbies include Fantasy Football, Sporcle, travelling, making liberal use of his DVR and wondering what the heck he's gonna do when his two daughters are old enough to date. You can follow Kevin on Twitter (@starvenger).