10 Thoughts On… Survivor: Blood vs. Water – Episode 4 Review

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1. There is no question in my mind that the best players in this episode were the Culpeppers. While I know many will probably agree with my assessment that Monica was one of them, I don’t think that my selection of Brad will be a particularly popular one. Let me explain. While Brad has strategically been one of the worst players this season, he still exercised quite a lot of control over his tribe (at least up until his elimination). That signals to me that what we aren’t seeing is how good his social game was to ingratiate himself with the men of his tribe. In addition the way he reacted to his exit should be applauded. He was not bitter at Caleb and Vytas flipping and accepted his pre-jury dismissal with grace. He even didn’t hold a grudge when he arrived at Redemption Island to join the two people who had treated him so poorly earlier in the game. I am a big Brad fan and I believe that the season certainly suffers from an entertainment perspective without him there.

2. While we certainly know what the power alliance is on the Favorites tribe, now that Brad has been eliminated, where does this leave Monica? Will she remain on the inside like Tyson did when Rachel left?

3. Whenever Favorites compete against new players, the competitions are almost always a joke. The Faves have already had done them before (and in the case of some of the players this season, had more than one attempt). Since Survivor challenges don’t really change all that much, this is a huge advantage. While you could argue that the Loved Ones have been in every competition, the closeness of each challenge doesn’t really matter because they still ended up losing each one. This is something that Survivor will have to figure out a way to fix in future seasons.

4. I never suspected Hayden to be the replacement for Penner and Cochran as the narrator of the season. He is certainly looking more and more like the golden boy this season and is only being shown in a positive light. There is no question he does well.

5. Similarly, I also applaud Hayden for his loyalty of sticking to Brad and realizing that keeping him as a shield in the game was the right move. While Vytas also cannot be faulted for not wanting to risk the purple rocks that a tie vote would bring, I thought Hayden being willing to risk a tie shows that he knows what he needs to do to win and doesn’t mind taking a risk when it is necessary. Props.

6. I am shocked at the lack of airtime Kat is getting. Clearly one of the most entertaining personalities this season and certainly the eye-candy (on a season that really needs more hot girls) of the season, I don’t understand why we aren’t seeing more of her. Anyone else?

7. I would like to see a switch happen. Is it too early?

8. Whether they play together or not, it’s very clear to me that Vytas will be Aras’ downfall this season. Regardless of whether Vytas votes him out or not, the Favorites are like sharks who are already circling Aras just because his brother is still in the game, and Tyson’s confessional where he discussed his concerns about Aras’ brother still being in the game was a heavy foreshadow.

9. Apparently the next episode features one of the bigger blindsides this season. I believe that the Faves are due for a loss and it will be one of them.

10. I am totally rooting for Brad in the Redemption Island duel.

Murtz Jaffer is the world's foremost reality television expert and was the host of Reality Obsessed which aired on the TVTropolis and Global Reality Channels in Canada. He has professional writing experience at the Toronto Sun, National Post, TV Guide Canada, TOROMagazine.com and was a former producer at Entertainment Tonight Canada. He was also the editor at Weekendtrips.com.