SPOILER ALERT: The following discussion contains spoilers for episode two

If you’re yet to read my analysis of episode 1, you can do so here. 

Episode two is in the bag and much like a specially marked coconut, it was chock full of gameplay. But the headline everyone’s talking about is Taylor and Figgy sitting in a tree.

Love Goggles

 

It’s been a while since we’ve had a survivor ‘showmance’, (ugh, let’s make that the last time I use that portmanteau). Fig-Tay outing themselves as a thing brought total drama island to Vanua camp. Whether it was the “mackin’ in the shack” that for some reason turned Michaela against Figs or something else we don’t know. Their altercation seemed to come out of nowhere. Someone who certainly wasn’t happy that his boy was bailing on him on bowling night was Jay. Though again, I’m not sure how much of this was personal and how much was strategy, give me your thoughts in the comments. Regardless, it was clear there was a lot of uncertainty in the camp. The cool kids aware that they only had four, and it seemed that any animosity, disrespect or mistrust directed toward Figs was enough to put her head on the chopping block. A quick aside. I am a little confused that any fallout from the tainted kiss was not directed toward Tay. Millennials or not it seems to me that the patriarchy still has life left in it. Anyhow, for mine it appeared that Mackfest 2016 certainly precipitated the strategy that was to come.

Casual Hook-ups

So Adam and Zeke don’t realise that Jay is in on the cool kids? That doesn’t seem right. Or are they just so naïve that they don’t realise just how tight he is and that he will talk to his Triforce (which incidentally has now been renamed a ‘trifecta’ yet still seems to have four people in it. Let’s stick to the one moniker please Jay, you’re making me do extra work here). So Jay talks to Michelle, who points out to Jay that this will flip the numbers (d’doy) and seemingly gives him the job of getting *cough cough* Michaela and Figs to kiss and make up (Figs’ lips be working overtime this episode). And props to him for making that happen, coming up with a story that Mari was going to vote Michaela next after Figs. Michaela being Michaela she does zero fact checking on this (I’m already confident enough to make my first prediction of the season, Michaela won’t win). All of this results in Michaela voting with Figs, yet there’s clearly still animosity between them at tribal. Had Michaela done any fact-checking then I think things would have shaken down a little differently. Not that I’m saying Michaela’s vote would have necessarily changed, she could assume that Mari was lying to her if she checked with Mari. But had she checked with Mari, Zeke, Adam or Hannah, there’s no doubt that one of those guys would have talked to Mari, and Jay (and/or Michelle) would have been outed as a snake and the not-cool kids (everyone outside of the triforce and Will) would have galvanized. Meanwhile, Michelle is working on Will as he seems to be a floater, and of course we learn later that he votes against Mari. Whether it was by design or accident, Hannah is asked to flip while in Council. If this was by design then this was very clever. Had they approached Hannah earlier then there’s a big risk that she would have informed the rest of the not-cool kids. By doing it at tribal, Hannah doesn’t have that opportunity. It also means she doesn’t have time to think about it. It turned out that both Will and Michaela voted Mari and so the cool kids didn’t need Hannah’s vote. So Mari goes and Figgy stays (7 votes to 3).

Walking in with The Bunny

 

So I’ve heard it said and read it written over the past week that Figgy is the second coming of Parvati. I for one was all set to give her the nickname ‘Parvatwo’, unfortunately, we didn’t actually see any gameplay from her tonight, so I have to reserve that handle until I see that she has really earned it. Or is it that she’s got things locked in so tight that she doesn’t even need to play hard, she can have her minion do it for her? I suspect it’s somewhere in between, that she actually did have some strategic conversations of her own to try and save herself, we just didn’t see them, as it was more fun to watch Michelle and Jay (JayChelle?) do it instead. Where to for Figs from here? Well, it’s pretty clear that she has a really strong four, and with the other five seemingly fractured things are looking pretty tidy for her. I imagine that there will be some fallout directed toward Hannah from the not-cools, and we don’t know exactly where Will fits into all this, but as long as she can keep her four tight and bring in just one other, she should survive at least a couple more tribals.

Will has Grace 

The young Will it seemed had plans other than voting out Mari until he was approached by Michelle. Whether these plans were because of an alliance with Mari and/or the other not-cools or just borne of voting Figs as it seemed where the numbers were going is unknown to us. Either way I thought he showed great openness and honesty and dependability in saying to Michelle that he had to think about it as flipping his vote so close to tribal could mess the flow of his game. It seems he is in a pretty good position now then. Voting with the cools but having not necessarily given his alliance to them, he could easily flip back to the not-cools if it suits him. He’ll have to play this position smartly though lest he come off as wishy-washy and bad for both groups’ games. His deliberateness and patience will only get him so far before it is seen as volatile. He might soon have to choose an alliance and tell them he’s with them, or more entertainingly, tell both the cools and the not-cools he is with them and choose one at tribal. Which would be the best for him. Hard to say without knowing the fallout from Hannah’s and Michaela’s decisions to vote Mari. He’ll need to keep a close eye on where those numbers go, and follow them. Perhaps forming a duo with Hannah is a good move, a solid two is a more attractive recruitment proposition than an indecisive one. Also gives the two of you more power within that alliance of four or five.

Best Version of Myself

Based on the “next time on…Survivor” scene, it looks like Zeke and Adam are pissed that Hannah flipped her vote and left them in the lurch. Zeke this is not the “best version of yourself” anymore! Damn I hope they don’t go too far with this. That could be just enough to nudge Hannah into the cools, and if the cools are smart they’ll scoop that up that number pronto. Zeke and Adam really are in a tight spot now, I can see that they’ll have to scramble if they wanna stay alive in Vanua. That means, first of all, staying tight with Hannah. I don’t think this is outside the realms of their capability, but they’ll have to play softer than telling her how pissed they are at her. And unless they can get Hannah, Will, AND Michaela voting with them, they are in a lot of trouble. This is a pretty tall order. The only other option I see for them is to get Jay on board and I see that as a much longer shot. I guess it’s possible that they could convince Jay that Figgy is a threat to TayJay and that Jay could use them to break up Fig-Tay. I can’t see it happening though. Good luck not-cools. Speaking of not-cools…

Put de Idol in de Coconut, Seal it on up.

Tonight was another great episode for David. From finding the hidden immunity idol (nice one production, that was kinda cool), to his unlikely alliance with Ken, to starting fire, everyone’s favourite skinny white bald man got plenty of airtime. We saw him come up with a great cover story for his idol expedition, ok maybe it wasn’t that great, but he’s trying, and it worked and that’s what counts. A really genuine piece to camera about how Paul’s health issues are good for his game. Other than David there really wasn’t anything happening over on Takali, and I’m just fine with that I’m really growing to love The David Show.

Until next week, I got nothing else for you. Head back to camp.