Survivor: Ghost Island Episode 7 Recap: Easy Pickins’

Being a dick isn’t always a bad thing when it comes to Survivor. Sure, it pretty much prevents you from ever being able to actually win the game, but if you can make it past the first few Tribal Councils, being a dick actually becomes a virtue. Who doesn’t want to take an unlikable person to the end with them? The further a person like that goes into the game, the more likely they will find themselves sitting there at the end. Sitting there with no chance of winning albeit, but making it there nonetheless.

Tonight the big question was: Do we want to bring a dick with us into the merge or would we rather be like Lorena Bobbitt and cut it off before he is able to do further damage? We got the answer to that question tonight, in addition to lots of other big developments that will help set the stage for the coming merge next week.

But before we dive in, as I do at the beginning of every Recap, please heed the following: Remember that this recap assumes that you have already seen this week’s Episode 7 of Survivor: Ghost Island, so if you have not and don’t want to be spoiled, please come back later! It’s important to add too that while we WILL hit on all of the important developments of the episode, this is not a linear “blow-by-blow” recap, and is more of a discussion and reaction of what we just witnessed together.

CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE, AND THIS IS YOUR LAST *SPOILER* WARNING!

Survivor: Ghost Island Episode 7 Recap: Easy Pickins’

Yeah that’s right, I led with a Lorena Bobbitt joke this week. That’s the sort of mood I’m in at the moment. Expect more dick jokes in the coming paragraphs.

Yes it was Bradley who was the surprise blindside tonight, the final victim before next week’s merge episode (I can’t wait!). Although Bradley was in the majority alliance, apparently this dick rubbed people the wrong way, but no one would claim he didn’t have balls (OK, I’m done). Now, it’s important that I’m only using the word “dick” to describe Bradley, because it’s a word that came up on the show, one that he used himself in describing his actions, and it perfectly reflects the way he was portrayed this season. Bradley might be a lovely guy and maybe a part or all of his persona was developed in the editing room, but it’s clear that even he’s aware of his shortcomings. Apparently, he was just too abrasive and disruptive to his tribe to want to keep around until the merge…but it will most likely be a good move to get rid of him. While he would have been a good candidate to take to the end and win against, he’s way smarter than your average goat and therefore could become quite dangerous if not nipped in the bud sooner rather than later.

Survivor: Ghost Island Episode 7 Recap: Easy Pickins’

We’ll talk more about the pending merge in a bit, but let’s get to the real development of the evening: Ghost Island actually mattered! Kellyn was sent there for a second time, but this time around she decided to play the game and risk her vote, unlike the last time where she stood pat. Her odds were increased this time around, giving her a two-out-of-three chance to land an advantage, and she chose correctly, scoring herself an “extra vote” advantage. Was I the only one though, who thought it was lame that the actual artifact she received was the “steal a vote” advantage that led to Michaela‘s demise back in Season 34? The reason I think it was lame was because if the thing is a “steal a vote” advantage, then why does Kellyn get to use it as an “extra vote” advantage? This makes it unlike that artifact altogether, no? Ugh. Nevermind. I’m over trying to make sense of Ghost Island. The good news is that it at least produced something that will hopefully play into things in the coming weeks.

On a side note, eagle-eyed viewers tonight got a glimpse of the Ghost Island urns, and you may have noticed that there are eight unbroken urns remaining now that Kellyn was there twice. Doing some quick math, that means that we can expect Ghost Island to factor in at least up until we are at Final Five! Or is my math off?

Survivor: Ghost Island Episode 7 Recap: Easy Pickins’

The other important occurrence of the night was that two Idols were found. Michael – or should I say, future All-Star returning player Michael – found an Idol when apparently it wasn’t deemed important enough to Angela, Desi and Kellyn to follow him around and check up on him…that’s a rookie Survivor mistake. Elsewhere, Wendell came upon an Idol of his own. For those that are counting, that’s three new advantages released into the game during Episode 7.

The merge coming will definitely be good news for Michael, and also for Malolo, who finally “reversed the curse” of their own making by finally winning an Immunity Challenge. They went to five of the seven pre-merge Tribals, despite the rotating cast of players that occupied the tribe. I sort of liked Desi‘s idea to burn the Malolo flag, and maybe that helped them mentally during the challenge. Malolo will be officially gone next week, and it will be interesting to see if the Malolo curse carries on to any of its original members the rest of the way through.

Survivor: Ghost Island Episode 7 Recap: Easy Pickins’

Episode Take-Away: It was a good episode in that it was the first in several weeks that wasn’t predictable…I really thought they were going to vote out Libby. Bradley had no chance of winning the way he was being portrayed, so in that sense I’m not sorry to see him go, although I did like his villainous character on the show. It was nice to finally see someone go to Ghost Island and have a chance to play a game, and hopefully Ghost Island will continue to factor heavily into the outcome of this season. I liked that we got to see two Idol-finds this week as well, not just because I think it will make things even more interesting post-merge, but because the two Idols that were introduced tonight brought back two of my all-time favorite Survivor memories: The “f***ing stick” and Erik Reichenbach‘s Immunity Necklace. I’ll never forget that classic episode and the way that Eliza delivered her famous line, nor will I forget the embarrassment I felt for Erik as not only did he make the biggest boneheaded mistake in the history of Survivor, but he was literally laughed off of the show by a cackling jury. Good luck to Wendell in trying to hide that thing, but these were two big artifacts that many of us were waiting to see come in to play once we heard the Ghost Island theme of this season.

We’re now officially beyond the “pre-merge” portion of Survivor’s Season 36, which means that we can now reflect back on it and try to get a sense as to what we’re thinking of this season overall. I plan on diving into this topic in more depth on this week’s Podcast, but I’m also interested in hearing all of your thoughts…so hit up the comment section this week y’all!

Strategic Move of the Week: Anything that did not involve uttering the phrase,” I think you just had too much coffee.”

Voted out this week: Bradley Kleihege

Won Immunity: The Green Tribe…and Malolo! Not a misprint!

Vote: No Idols or advantages were played. 4 – Bradley (Dom, Donathan, Libby, Chelsea), 1 – Libby (Bradley)

Survivor: Ghost Island Episode 7 Recap: Easy Pickins’

Next Week’s Episode: Let me say this now…next week’s episode is going to be a doozy! Not only is it the merge episode, which is historically one of the best episodes of each and every season, but there are SO many advantages in play that it is wholly unpredictable. Not only do you have Michael and Wendell with Idols, but Dom has an Idol as well AND the Legacy Advantage…remember that the Legacy Advantage can only be used at certain Tribal Councils, but next week’s Tribal Council is one of those! So that’s potentially four tricks up four different sleeves set for next week. You aren’t going to want to miss it!

Quick Note! Remember to return right here to Reality Tea for my FilmSurvivor Podcast on Thursday, where you can listen to my full exit interview with Bradley Kleihege. I also encourage you to check out my weekly movie reviews (like “Blockers” and “A Quiet Place” this week) as I am also the national film critic for AXS.com and am a movie critic/TV personality in the Detroit area. As always, the easiest way to get all of my Survivor coverage and movie reviews is to follow me on Twitter – @tomsantilli – or on Facebook.

TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF TONIGHT’S EPISODE? DID THEY MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION IN VOTING OUT BRADLEY OVER LIBBY? AND WHAT ARE YOUR OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THIS SEASON NOW THAT WE’VE MADE IT TO THE MERGE?

Photo Credit: CBS/Monty Brinton/Robert Voets/Timothy Kuratek/Jeffrey Neira/Michele Crowe

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