Survivor: Nicaragua - "Fatigue Makes Cowards of Us All"

Holly deals with the stress of the game by filling Dan's shoes with sand and hiding them in the water.

Photo Credit: CBS

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Survivor'
Season 21 - Episode 2
"Fatigue Makes Cowards of Us All"

Let's get the obvious out of the way: Shannon is a complete d-bag and I'm very happy to see him voted off this week. I knew he was trouble with the misogynistic comments he made during the premiere. This week he tries to "bro" and bully his alliance into voting out Brenda, verbally attacks Chase right after Jeff's first question at Tribal Council, and then questions Sash's sexuality. Plus, he has the nerve to whine about loyalty and someone's word. He was so bad, that two members of his alliance, Kelly B. and Benry, quickly jumped ship and voted him out. Good riddance.

NaOnka was lucky that Shannon came off as such a jerk, because she wasn't very pleasant either. She threw a fit about a missing sock and then steals a pair of Jud's. She seems to believe that Surfer Boy thinks he's smarter than her, when he's about as smart a log. He's a frikkin' puppy. Seriously, there are worthier targets for one's disdain.

The older tribe isn't without it's own amount of crazy. Holly felt extremely guilty about voting off her way-too-early alliance, Wendy "Please Love Me" Jo, last week. She doesn't believe Jill, the ER doctor, when she's told that the snails are okay to eat and then dumps the bucket. Throwing away food is a cardinal sin on 'Survivor'. Then she thinks that Dan is talking bad about him and she proceeds to fill is alligator skin shoes (by the way, who brings expensive shoes to a game where you'll be stranded on a tropical beach for potentially a month, anyway?), and dumps them in the lagoon. Not feeling satisfied with her insanity, Holly comes clean to Dan and the rest of the tribe. She wants to quit, but Jimmy Johnson talks her off the cliff. She maybe nuts, but the older tribe needs the numbers.

At the immunity challenge, the seniors wisely use the Medallion of Power, which gives them a much needed advantage to win. Along with the Immunity Idol, they also take away some fishing gear that has a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol in it. Since everyone was there when the clue was discovered, they start working on the puzzle together. Jill figures it out first and tells Marty, who happens to be standing next to Dan. Marty and Jill run off and find the HII, which will probably make for a pretty smart alliance. So far, they seem to be two of the more savvy players on Espada.

It's still too early to make any predictions, but the Jill/Marty duo (Jillarty?) could be very powerful if they rope in two or three more people. Dan might get hauled in due to his proximity to Marty when Jill told him the solution to the puzzle. I say bring along Tyrone and Yve, the two of the youngest and strongest members of the Espada.

As for La Flor, who knows. They are a complete mess at the moment, but they're better off, at least as far as morale is concerned, without Shannon. Brenda is certainly smart, but it's too early to tell if she is Parvati level. Benry is quiet... almost too quiet. Sash and Kelly B. seem to have some wits about them, too. Now, if the four of them got together...