Screaming at the Screen - Damnbueno's Survivor 42 recaps
Ep.2: "Good and Guilty"
By Damnbueno | Published: March 17, 2022
Survivor 42 Episode 2 Recap/ analysis

Good and guilty

Okay, let’s see, where did we leave off last week?  On the Ika tribe, Tori found out she wasn’t as good a covering her Idol hunting tracks as she thought.  Rocksroy was bossy and uncooperative. And Drea is collecting game Advantages. On Taku, Jonathan was looking like a Challenge Beast … and acting like one too. Maryanne is exploding with enthusiasm and likability (which is why I think she’ll get booted soon), Jackson got medevaced (or is that pre-medevaced?), and we barely know what Omar and Marya sound like. And on Vati, Daniel has a bum shoulder, Mike has kept himself out of the spotlight, and Chanelle gives me good vibes, but I’m not sure why. Drea, Maryanne, and Jenny went to shipwheel Island, but we don’t know what they told their tribemates about it. Lindsay, Drea, and Hai got bloody and muddy during a challenge, but we don’t know what they told their tribemates about that either. And finally, last week’s promo for this week’s episode hinted that Drea and Mike are in trouble, which to me means they’re the two safest players this week (y’know, ‘cause the promos are nothing but lowdown dirty, lies).

Here's a few random notes gathered from my Episode 1 rewatch: Omar has an Emu shirt. I wonder if he sells Liberty Mutual Insurance? (above). Maryanne sobbed uncontrollably when Jackson left the game. I haven’t seen crying that hard since Kat was blindsided in One World. When Jackson got on the boat to leave the game, Probst was nowhere to be seen. I guess he couldn’t stick around long enough for Jackson to gather his things. So much for touchy-feely, sensitive Probst. Oh, and we DID hear Marya and Chanelle speaking last week. Marya got 46 words in — including “Sorry guys,” ”What? You guys rock,” and “Get out!” In comparison, Chanelle was all over the episode. Chanelle got 79 words in.

And away we go…


*I don’t miss the “previously on Survivor” teasers.

*Romeo thinks Tori is in trouble. So much for Drea being in trouble in last week’s “Next time on” promo.

Crab hunting

*Hey, Chanelle is getting to speak more. Why don’t they just knock that crab the f*** out? I figured out what I like about Chanelle — it's her quiet confidence. She doesn’t get too high or too low. A lot of winners (Earl, Kim, Yul, Chris D., Erika) benefited from playing this way. Jenny is doing the same thing.

*Hai doesn’t want any crab? If I’m there, I’m saying “Cool, that’s more for me.” I wonder if Hai is gonna wander off like Jenn in Worlds Apart and find an Idol?

*Nope, he got down on some crab. I think that was smart.

*Marya is getting tired of Maryanne’s constant energy high. So is Lindsay. I figured someone would get annoyed with her.

*Omar just came up with a great cover story if he goes Idol hunting. “No, I was off praying.” I don’t think he’ll use it, though.

Drea over-shares

*Drea tells Tori and Swati she’s got an extra vote? “Nooooooo!!!!!” She just weakened herself. Advantages and Idols become less powerful when people know you have them. Moments like these are why I called this column “Screaming at the Screen.”

*Sure enough, Swati immediately starts plotting against Drea, and brings Tori in on it. Of course, Tori is all in. She knows she was in trouble at the last vote. She’ll vote for anybody not named Tori. I still think the Promo lied, and Drea is safe for this episode. But she just set herself up to be blindsided soon.

*Mike wants an Immunity Idol Directional sign? Who does he think he is, Ben Driebergen?

*Don’t open that Beware Advantage, Mike! Oh well. Mike: “No matter what, I’m stuck with this.” I couldn’t have said it better.

*Jonathan makes a necklace and bracelet for Omar. I think he should have made a phony Idol with that stuff.

*Marya’s story about her brother was touching. At least fans won’t claim she only won because of sympathy votes. She didn’t save that story for Final Tribal Council.

Mike and Daniel

*Mike tells Jenny he got an Idol. “Nooooooo!” Then he tells Daniel??? “Nooooooo!” Now two people know he doesn’t have a vote. He’s a sitting duck. Mike, what are you thinking? 

*Mike can’t find his note? Yeah Mike, if I were you, I’d try to “lose” this (dis)advantage too.

*Then he shows the note to Daniel, who now has much more info to use against Mike.

*Daniel: “I have all the knowledge without any of the risk.”

*Sure enough, Daniel spreads the info to Chanelle. Mike, this is why you don’t tell anyone when you find something powerful. People instantly want to remove that power. Daniel has already figured out how to keep Mike neutralized. This doesn’t happen if Mike keeps his mouth shut.

Maryanne and Taku

*Maryanne is so loveable. She’s got to go.

*The smart player won’t be the caller in this challenge. Something tells me Maryanne will get this job.

*It was smart for Daniel to sit out. With his bad shoulder, being blindfolded is almost a death wish. Jonathan, Lydia and Drea take the spotlight roles. Jonathan is making a habit out of this.

Lydia, pointing

*Lydia is pointing while she’s shouting. I guess she forgot they’re blindfolded.

*I remember once when they ran this challenge before, someone left their puzzle bag on the mat. But I’m not sure if the caller had to lead their blindfolded tribe all the way back.

*Damn, I was typing when Rocksroy got hit. Did he take it in the family jewels? That’s another reason you don’t want to be the caller.  He’ll never forget this one.

*Is this one of those moments when Probst says the challenge is thisclose, but its actually t-h-i-s-f-a-r-a-p-a-r-t? I often watch challenges with the sound down so I can avoid Probst’s misleading commentary.

*Nope this one was actually pretty close (at least for 2nd place).

*Taku goes to Tribal Council. Like I said, last week’s promo was pure BS. Mike and Drea were as safe as they could be this week.

*My gut says Marya is in trouble, but I won’t be at all surprised if Jonathan leaves. If some anticipate a swap, and want to remove the clear challenge beast while they have a chance, he’s a goner. Maybe Jonathan has done enough setup work to remove the one player he thinks he hasn’t connected well with. If I’m Jonathan, I go after Marya.

*Omar is worried about others playing their Shot in the Dark. I think he’s a smart player. Nobody on Zach’s tribe seemed to think of this at all.

*Marya wants Maryanne gone because she can’t handle being around her for 26 days. Others will feel that way too. Maryanne needs to tone it down. She might have to use her Extra Vote just to stay alive.

*Lindsay: “I want alliance partners that don’t panic.” There’s hope for Survivor players named Lindsay. So far, she’s the most solid Lindsay I’ve seen. Most of the other Lindsays were the ones doing the panicking.

*Fans will hate it if Maryanne gets booted. But if she leaves, I get to gloat. Last week, I said she wouldn’t last long (I’m leaving this line in the column even if she doesn’t get voted out).

Maryanne talks

*Tribal Council. Did Probst pronounce his name “Omer,” as in rhymes with “Homer?”

*Jonathan reminds me of Joel from Micronesia. But he’s a lot smarter, and a better player than Joel, who got blindsided.

*Maryanne is rambling like Christian in DvG. She can’t turn it off.  She’s doomed. Maryanne — “I can go longer.” Maryanne, that’s your problem in this game.

*I’d rather have Marya around for my personal game sanity. She’s a more dependable alliance partner, and doesn’t appear to be an intense competitor. I could beat her. Then again she’s more likely than Maryanne to figure out how to get rid of me.

*We could see everyone writing “MARY” and still not know who’s leaving.

*Marya should read some faces before Probst reveals if she’s safe or not. She might know who she can trust if she stays.

*Marya’s gone. My gut says she just didn’t socialize enough. On a tribe of 6, you need to be solid with at least 3 other players. I don’t know if Marya was solid with one player. At least she got more than 46 words this episode.

The “Next time on Survivor” teaser really didn’t tell me much. So I’m gonna guess we’ll get either a payoff on the Drea and Mike teases from Episode 1, or Maryanne leaves.


Recap: I still want to know how those Day 1 challenge players explained why they were bloody and muddy, and what Maryanne, Drea and Jenny told their tribes after returning from their journey. It must have been very inconsequential. I might have to demand a flashback sequence.

I’m liking what I’m seeing from Chanelle, Jenny and Omar. They’re all showing those subtle “medium” moves that are usually required to win the game. They do enough to keep Probst from praising them too much, but they give him enough to keep themselves out of the spotlight. If you want to win the million, you don’t want to be noticed much at all this early. So far, all of them are playing the middle pretty well. That being said, watch one of them get booted after being swap-screwed.

See you in the comments.

damnbuenoDamnbueno got his nickname in 8th grade Spanish class when his friend shouted out "You're pretty damn good at Spanish." The teacher insisted he say it in Spanish, so the friend said "Esto es damn bueno en Espanol." The nickname stuck. These days, when he's not forgetting his 8th grade Spanish, Damnbueno is indulging his obsession with all things Survivor. Reach him in the comments section here at True Dork Times.

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