"Survivor 45" Episode 2 Recap - Lulu-oose Cannon
How will the tribe deal with their own worst Emily?
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Last Week: Brandon struggled to get on a boat, Austin found a useful note, and Hannah went home without a vote.
39 26 Days, 18 Players, 1 “Survivor” Blog
Let's take a look at the tribes as they currently stand...
The Belo Tribe (wearing blue)
Brando, 23 - Software Developer
Bruce, 47 - Insurance Agent
Jake, 26 - Attorney
Katurah, 35 - Civil Right Attorney
Kellie, 29 - Critical Care Nurse
Kendra, 31 - Bartender
The Lulu Tribe (wearing yellow)
Brandon, 26 - Content Producer
Emily, 28 - Investment Analyst
Kaleb, 29 - Software Sales
Sabiyah, 28 - Truck Driver
Sean, 35 - School Principal
The Reba Tribe (wearing red)
Austin, 26 - Grad Student
Dee, 26 - Entrepreneur
Drew, 23 - Grad Student
J. Maya, 24 - Singer
Julie, 49 - Estate Attorney
Sifu, 30 - Gym Owner
Post Tribal Shenanigans
Sean is shocked that Hannah threw in the towel and says that he feels like a “Lulu Lemon” because he’s been through the ringer. Oh wow, I’m so mad I didn’t think of that first.
Emily apologizes because it sounds like she’s been attacking her other tribemates. Sounds like?
Sabiyah does not let her off the hook easily and Emily is annoyed because she was pretty sure they were about to send her home. Which…they totally were.
Emily is making the point that she should be able to say whatever she wants at Tribal if she’s worried that she’s going to be voted out. Yes, you can say whatever you want. But, you have to deal with the consequences.
I feel like I’m in a “Freedom of Speech” public service announcement.
Then there’s this weird montage of music and cast members and slow-motion jumping from boats. And each player gets a beauty shot that features their name. It was pretty cool.
At Reba Beach
Sifu is loving life as he’s on a winning tribe and enjoying the Fijian wilderness. He then gets revenge for Stephen Fishbach by kicking and punching a variety of sticks.
J. Maya is thinking ahead. She studies the code on the flag, but she thinks it’s more of a “this symbol means this letter” kind of deal. Which is probably what I would have assumed.
She shares her theory with Drew…or maybe it’s Basile? It’s hard to tell.
Of course Austin has the real key. The clue reads “Dig at Fallen Palm Tree X.”
In other news, Dee’s big toe is way bigger than her other toes. That’s good, then she doesn’t have to worry about Seinfeld’s “Coup de Toe.”
Actually, we laugh, but if they have that challenge later where you have to build a block tower with your feet, she could dominate.
As far as alliances, it looks like Julie and Drew are becoming a pair with Austin and Dee on the side.
At Belo Beach
Bruce shows off some Big Uncle Energy by being able to immediately start a fire with flint. He also has some very sound frond weaving advice.
Jake loooves how funny Bruce is, so the Uncle stratagem is at least working on the only out-in-the-open lawyer in the game. However, our secret lawyer Katurah can totally see through his act.
Katurah also thinks Bruce is a name-dropper, which is evidenced by footage of Bruce talking about knowing Kane. (The Survivor, not the wrestler.) I hate name-droppers. I remember telling Tyson Apostol that the other day.
In alliance news, it seems like Brando is being brought on-board with the September birthday crew. And, Jake and Bruce are aware that there are targets on their backs.
At Lulu Beach
Emily knows she’s on the ropes, so she goes on a little idol hunt. The other four pair up to make sure she doesn’t find it.
Sabiyah tells Emily that they should partner to look for it, but Emily calls her out saying that they don’t want her to find it alone.
It’s like Emily’s inner monologue has a bullhorn. I kinda love it.
Eventually, Brandon is the one to discover the Beware Advantage. However, he doesn’t want to lose his vote, so he gives it to Sabiyah. The first task is similar to Austin’s, but instead of the flag, the clue is on the tribe map. The clue points to a very specific tree. But, they can’t quite figure out the next step.
She brings Kaleb and Sean into the loop, but still no luck.
Later on, it seems like Kaleb is extending an olive branch to Emily. And Emily is starting to appreciate that she needs to work on her social game.
The Island of Excessive Advantages
All three of the tribes are tasked with sending a player on a little boat trip. Lulu chooses Brandon for a reason that isn’t clear. Belo and Reba both do rock/paper/scissors with Drew and Uncle Bruce picking up the win.
On the way out, Bruce is doing wacky dances like the robot. I’m thinking he’s less Fun Uncle and more Michael Scott.
The trio is encouraged to get to know each other, then they’ll have to each choose a path. Bruce is vague saying that the tribe isn’t working as hard as he’d like while Brandon lets everyone know that Emily is on the outs. Drew reads this as Bruce not wanting to work with them.
Each person is treated to a challenge. If they risk their vote, they’ll get to play a game where they try to find the combination to a lock using tiles. They have three minutes to complete this. If they fail, they won’t vote at the next Tribal Council.
Result: Bruce protects his vote, Brandon and Drew choose to play. Drew is successful, Brandon is not. Drew’s advantage is “Safety without Power” allowing him to leave Tribal before votes are cast.
So wait, Brandon bailed on the Beware Advantage to save his vote, just to gamble and lose it now?
Back at camp, Brandon tells everyone the truth about what happened. Sean makes the point that if Brandon can’t do puzzles, what can he do? Well, he’s charming and funny.
Drew returns home to a surprise party. They all rush out of their hiding places and rub his head…for some reason.
He also tells the truth. This encourages Austin to tell Drew about his Beware Advantage. Drew makes the point that he wants Austin to be the JT to his Stephen. Yeah…but that didn’t work out so well for Stephen…
Huh, and Brando thinks Bruce is his Coach. A lot of Tocantins references tonight.
We don’t get to see what Bruce told his crew about the rendezvous, but the September alliance is already on shaky ground as Kellie and Brando are positioning themselves as a swing vote.
Immunity Challenge Time: One by one, the players will dive into the water and climb to the top of a tower, leap off, smash a tile, retrieve a key, they run across a balance beam. Once all the players are through, they’ll use the keys to unlock a coral puzzle. First tribe to complete the puzzle will win a fishing kit and immunity. The second tribe gets a smaller kit and immunity.
Sitting Out: There’s a new rule; you can’t sit out of back-to-back challenges. Katurah will sit for Belo while Sifu will sit for Reba.
Quick Aside: The puzzle is brand new. Screw you, 3-D printers!
Result: Reba is the first tribe to start the puzzle with Lulu and Belo right behind them. Drew and Julie were able to maintain the lead and win it for Reba, with Brando and Kellie taking second for Belo. Lulu seemed very annoyed that Brandon couldn’t figure out that the lines of the puzzle should go in a specific direction.
Pre-Tribal Politicking
During a team conversation, Emily openly points out that either her or Brandon is going home. It basically comes down to Brandon’s loyalty vs. Brandon’s inability to…do…things.
Another point of contention is that Brandon can’t cast his Shot in the Dark if he doesn’t have a vote.
Sabiyah reminds us that she herself doesn’t have a vote as long as the mysterious tree continues to elude her. She goes on an excursion with Kaleb and Sean and they manage to get the idol down. Unfortunately, the idol is encased in wax…and they need to burn the wax away before they can use it.
And say it with me; they still don’t have fire.
I genuinely laughed out loud at this.
You can’t just chip it out?
Anywho, Emily gives Sabiyah her Shot in the Dark to show that she trusts her. I don’t hate this move. Kaleb takes this as a sign that she is someone he can work with.
Tribal Time
The only really interesting thing that came to light was that Brandon had told the tribe that he was good at puzzles. But, he’s convinced he’ll do well at a challenge someday.
Quick Aside: There’s a fire right there, Sabiyah. Put your candle next to it.
Voting Time: Emily votes for Brandon and the rest of the votes are secret.
JPro tallies and returns, he asks if anyone wants to use an advantage and…nobody does. We’ve got one vote for Brandon and the second person voted out of “Survivor 45” is…Brandon.
Verdict: I feel like we really got to learn a lot about the tribe dynamics before the immunity challenge. Go 90-minute episodes!
With so much content before the immunity challenge, it really made me believe that any of the three groups could end up at Tribal Council.
Power Rankings Results: Frannie Marin had Brandon in spot sixteen, while I had him in spot seventeen. So, the current score is Team Marin 16, Team Holmes 17.
A: Kaleb - Very savvy move by Kaleb to get Emily on his side. I certainly wouldn’t mind taking someone to the end who has already annoyed most of the cast.
A-: Brando and Kellie - Keeping your options open is very smart early in a game where it looks like your tribe is going to get to merge with a lot of people.
A-: Drew - Good episode for Drew. The beginnings of a solid alliance and an advantage? Well done.
A-: Austin - I love Drew and Austin as a new era Stephen and JT. But, just remember that Stephen would have absolutely slit JT’s throat if given the chance.
A-: Julie - And rounding out the non-giant-big-toe portion of the Reba majority alliance is Julie. Older players just need to get to the merge, then they’ll have plenty of room to maneuver. And, she has the numbers to make that happen now.
B: Emily - Emily’s honesty is amazing. She knows they don’t want her to go on the advantage hunt and she knows she’s a target, so she just up and says it. Hilarious. And good on her for changing course. I would worry about sharing secrets with her.
B: Sean - It’s kind of tough to see where Sean is in the Lulu alliance. He seems closer to Sabiyah, which would give Kaleb a reason to target him next week.
B-: Sabiyah - She kept talking about Brandon’s loyalty. You think a “Survivor” super fan is going to be loyal? He doesn’t think he’s Ozzy, he thinks he’s Cochran.
C: Bruce - Is Katurah the only person that sees through Bruce’s happy-go-lucky act? I’m betting she isn’t.
C: Kendra - We didn’t see much from Kendra, but we do know she is all in when it comes to the September alliance. So, the fact that Kellie is keeping her options open is bad news for her. Although, that’s such a Libra move. (I have no idea what I’m talking about.)
Incomplete: Katurah, Jake, Sifu, Dee, and J. Maya, - I can’t give you a grade if you don’t show your work.
Welp, that’s it! Check out my exit interview with Brandon on YouTube tomorrow. And, this Monday don’t miss the second round of the “Survivor” Power Rankings as I square off against Frannie Marin!