Welcome to Instant Reactions, a new weekly feature where I’ll be giving my immediate thoughts on the latest episode. These are unedited, unfiltered feelings on the episode, mostly written during the commercial breaks.
Good golly, Miss Molly!
That clam attack last week WAS foreshadowing! I brushed it off in Edgic as just a bit of jovial fun. Damn. Rest in peace, my number one draft pick. I guess that subtitled “Molly is so perceptive” from the premiere episode was meant to be ironic?
So what did Molly do wrong to deserve such a vicious blindside? It seems like she became too comfortable in her position and didn’t realize that the rest of the tribe saw her as the queen sitting atop the Survivor throne—after all, there can only be one Survivor Queen, and she’s chilling on the Island of the Idols.
I think she was also lured into a false sense of security because of Jason’s idol-searching blunder and Noura’s abrasive personality. On paper, those two appeared to be the obvious targets, so she kind of let her hair loose (and it’s glorious hair) and in turn, let her guard down.
This blindside now puts Jack and Jamal on the outs… and given how often we saw Jamal napping on the job this episode, I don’t feel too confident about his future. But don’t listen to me… I picked Molly FIRST on my draft team!
Oh, and how painful that Molly got voted out by an alliance named after her favourite TV show (mentioned in her cast bio). #FreaksAndGeeks
Noura the Implorer
Oh boy. Hurricane Noura coming in strong. I can see now why that ex-boyfriend is an ex. I’m just kidding… kind of. This episode started off like a 101 in how not to play Survivor. I mean, I get being annoyed with lazy tribemates, but complaining about people sleeping at night and demanding that they do something?!
But even though Noura is full-on—and I mean FULL-ON (the Rocky work-out style yoga class and yelling at people to “LEVEL UP!”)—I don’t think she is as disliked on her tribe as it initially seemed. Yeah, she’s kind of bats**t crazy at times, but I also sense a vulnerable side, which she touched on slightly at Tribal Council when she opened up about her past. If she doesn’t fit in somewhere she will intentionally “fit-out.” In that moment, you could see she had support from some of her tribemates… and survived the vote, so she’s clearly doing something right.
The relationship with Jason is interesting too, even if I am kind of scared for Jason’s life. Survivor has seen its fair share of odd couples over the years, and it looks like Jason and Noura (Joura?) is the latest one to add to the list.
Living the Superfan Dream
Three cheers for Chelsea this episode—ruining male egos one day at a time. As a Survivor superfan, you can’t ask for a much better episode than that. In one fell swoop, she started the fire and found a Hidden Immunity Idol (upping that women idol find tally). No #PurpleChelsea this season. And it was pretty much the perfect idol find—in the cover of darkness while having a legitimate excuse to be rummaging around the forest.
Adding to the idol business, Kellee also got her hands on one this episode (boosting that tally again), albeit under much different circumstances. Her trivia test idol has a limited shelf life, but it could certainly come in handy given the precarious early game when swaps could be on the horizon. Also, plus points for hiding the idol in her HAIR!
Let’s hope these ladies put these idols to better use than the women in Survivor: Edge of Extinction.
Trivia Night with Rob & Sandra
Look, Island of the Idols is goofy AF—we all know that by now. But you know what? I kind of liked it this week because it put an emphasis on the social game. Yes, Kellee’s test still resulted in her gaining an advantage, but the lesson here was about listening to people and making genuine bonds and connections.
The social game is a facet of Survivor that gets lost these days with the abundance of adavantages and twists. So I really appreciated this moment to highlight what is probably the most important part of Survivor, even if it was under the guise of a ridiculous twist. This is the kind of lesson Russell Hantz needed before he played Survivor.
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I thought it was a great episode for all the reasons mentioned above. Another blindside, off to a good start. I’m sure there will be a lag somewhere but tribes are equal in many ways. Just here to enjoy the ride.
Wasn’t the subtitled comment last week made by Lauren? If so, that could have been sort of showing Lauren was aware of Molly being a threat.
The episode arc editing is.as good as the players this far.
Within the recent few seasons, players are finally playing the selfish game needed to win the season. Being part of an alliance is becoming more and more a liability than an asset.
So apparently Molly’s tarot cards failed her big time!