Screaming at the Screen - Damnbueno's Survivor 42 recaps
Ep.4: "Vibe of the Tribe"
By Damnbueno | Published: March 31, 2022
Survivor 42 Episode 4 Recap/ analysis

Vibe of the Tribe

Here’s what I learned from my rewatch of last week’s episode: The Probst love for the Alpha Male hasn’t changed. During the challenge, he constantly praised Jonathan (who was indeed impressive), but wasn’t heard recognizing others. Probst screamed about how Jonathan swam back to help Omar and Maryanne.  But Hai swam back to help Jenny, and we didn’t hear Probst mentioning that at all. Yes, Jonathan held up the ladder as Lindsay climbed up, but he wasn’t holding it by himself as Probst said. Omar was helping him.

When Vati returned to camp after losing Immunity, Lydia asked “What is this journey Chanelle is on?” That told me Jenny didn’t tell everybody about her journey. Lydia was out of the loop. Hai didn’t know anyone had lost their votes either.  That’s a bad move by Jenny. She should have told those two something about her journey as a means of making them think she’d want to work with them. Jenny made herself a natural target for Hai and Lydia. But Daniel sold out Chanelle, Mike and Jenny — the people with whom he was sharing information. As it turns out, Daniel was the first one we saw targeting Lydia. He told Jenny to go after Lydia while Chanelle was on her journey with Omar, yet at Tribal Council, he claimed Chanelle made the choice to target Lydia.

We didn’t get much from the Ika tribe last week, but in a secret scene, I learned 19-year old Swati had no idea who Cher or Aerosmith are, but does know who the Backstreet Boys are … because her mom liked them! How many of you feel really old now?

I’m gonna guess Maryanne, Daniel, and Rocksroy are in trouble tonight. Maryanne because she’s got unloaded weapons people don’t want aimed at them when/if she gets ammunition, Rocksroy because his bossy attitude has become too annoying, and Daniel because none of his tribemates want to have to depend on him after the merge.

And away we go …


*The local news teaser is still discussing Will Smith.  He’s an idiot in my book. It sucks to be a Dodgers’ Catcher or Braves Pitcher — both of whom are named Will Smith. I don’t think we’ll see any of them at the Grammy Awards.  ‘Nuff said. Survivor is on.

*Daniel: “I don’t want to talk now.” He keeps digging his hole. Now is the time to take the abuse, and let them sleep on it. Trying to shut everybody down will only make them more angry with you.

*Chanelle should play it cool, and lead Daniel into thinking she’s not as mad at him as she actually is. She still needs his vote.

Hai

*Hai — “When Daniel said he wasn’t going to rocks, I knew I was in charge.” This is confirmation of how badly Daniel played it.

*Daniel to Mike: “I didn’t play you.” Please, put down the shovel, Daniel.  My friend said it perfectly. I don’t want Daniel as my lawyer.

*Daniel is wondering why Chanelle isn’t getting any blowback??? Is he for real?

*Challenge time. Everybody has to sink one ball?  The Jonathan factor could be neutralized here.

*Why is Lindsay soaking wet before this challenge starts?  Nobody else seems as wet.

Soggy Lindsay

*Rocksroy needs to shut up. If he’s sitting out, all he can do is annoy those who are participating.

*Drea: “He (Jonathan) did it for them." Its not a stretch to think Drea wants him gone ASAP, and she’s telling others why they should want the same thing. And now Tori just called him “Goliath.” Tori even credits Probst with inspiring her nickname for Jonathan. And now Romeo is calling Jonathan “Thor” in confessional. In MvsG, the young’uns called Chris Hammons “The Hulk” because he dominated pre-merge challenges.  If Jonathan doesn’t realize he has to make an adjustment, he deserves his likely 10th place finish.

*I think Fabio is the only player with a nickname to win the million (Please, no mentions of the abomination that was Redemption Island).

*Jonathan thinks his “service” to his tribe is what will keep him safe? Ozzy thought the same thing in all four of his seasons. So did Joey Amazing. So did Hunter, Rupert (Pearl Islands), and several others. When will people realize being the “provider” usually fails? Most players think like Kelley Wentworth in Cambodia: “Joe is the Cabana boy of this tribe. He’s just fulfilling all my needs (she laughs) thanks Joe. I’m so appreciative of everything Joe does around camp, but there’s no way I’m taking that guy to the end.” People will let the provider feed them until they’re no longer needed.

Rocksroy mentoring

*Rocksroy standing over Romeo barking instructions reminded me of Natalie Cole standing over Dan doing the same thing in David vs Goliath.

*Swati just did a great job of setting Tori up to execute Swati’s plan. And Tori didn’t seem to see through it. If it doesn’t work, Rocksroy will be mad at Tori.

*And sure enough, Rocksroy just sold Tori out.  Swati’s plan didn’t work, but she avoided all the blowback. I think this week’s TC drama will be Rocksroy vs Tori.

*I remember this challenge from Winners At War. Parvati couldn’t get her key. Adam had to get all of them. We’ve seen the Fish puzzle too (is it from DvG)?

*With Jonathan and Maryanne pulling their boat, will it go in circles?

*Rocksroy almost face planted in the water.

Fish puzzle

*Chanelle seems to be doing most of the puzzle work.  Vati should look at Taku’s completed puzzle.  That’s the advantage of being in the middle.

*Right on cue, Hai and Mike say “Look at Taku’s puzzle.”

*It was a little too easy to predict Ika would be going to Tribal Council.

*Are things actually turning against Swati? Do these people not realize Tori will sell anybody out at any time? Didn’t they just watch that happen with Zach? Is Rocksroy actually the voice of reason at this vote?

*I’m not sure who is swinging this vote, but I think Romeo is the only one on this tribe smart enough to win the game.

*Swati is showing her teeth at Tribal Council. I like the way she went on the offensive, and caught Tori off-guard. Tori’s comeback wasn’t very effective.

*I’m distracted by Romeo’s shirt.

Romeo's shirt

*It sounds like Rocksroy is on team Swati.

*I’m not sure Swati should have taken her Shot in the Dark.

*Swati is gone, Tori escapes again, and everyone knows Rocksroy voted for Tori.

*Swati: “Boston Rob didn’t win his first season, so maybe you’ll see me winning an All-Stars season soon.” Uhh, Swati, Boston Rob didn’t win in All-Stars. He didn’t win Heroes vs Villains either. He needed three tries and one express ride before getting a “win.”


Recap: Boy did I get that one wrong. I thought Tori destroyed whatever equity she had at the Zach vote.  Two people have trusted Tori with information, two have gotten burned by Tori, two tried to throw Tori under the bus, and those same two got booted instead. Is Tori good at manipulating people, or good at last-minute scrambling?  But either way, she sure seems to be sloppy about it.  While Zach’s apology tour likely buried him, I thought Swati did a good job of adjusting. I think Romeo is the smartest player on Ika, and Omar holds that title on Taku. On Vati, it’s a toss-up between Hai and Chanelle, depending on how they handle Daniel at their next vote. The smartest player doesn’t always win of course, but I’m a strategy nut, and those are the players who intrigue me the most. What do you think?

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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