Survivor: Nicaragua - Turf Wars

Posted by: Paul Little  •  October 14, 2010 @ 3:20am

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

I know I'm sounding like a broken record now, but these castaways really are frustrating to watch! The few that seem likable aren't getting any screen time, and we're just left with a lot of whiny NaOnka, bossy Tyrone, and conceited Marty. And I let out a sarcastic "Yay!" The fifth episode of Survivor: Nicaragua was still entertaining, of course, as has every episode of the Young vs. Old season been despite its unappealing personalities. Oh yes, and it's actually no longer a Young vs. Old season, as the latest twist only lasted until today's Reward Challenge when the two tribes were mixed up (meaning I now have to remember the tribe names).

One name I don't need to remember after today is Tyrone's, as his overbearing and disapproving ways convinced the still-losing Espada tribe to oust him instead of NaOnka, despite her breakdown during an exceptionally rainy day and night prior to the Immunity Challenge. Personally, I would've gotten ridden of the ever-bitchy NaOnka, especially after she basically checked out of the game for 24 hours before deciding she kind of would like to stay in the game. I would think it'd be easier to deal with (and ignore) Tyrone and his know-it-all ways than NaOnka and her pure insanity, but what do I know?

As I said, tonight began with a tribe switch-a-roo prior to the Reward Challenge. "Captains" were randomly chosen (Brenda and Holly) and they each had to secretly pick several members from the opposing tribe to join them on their tribe. This, as often occurs during tribe shake-ups, meant the breaking up of alliances. Marty, in particular, was none to happy about his plans being messed with, while the dominant alliance on the young tribe was also split up, with Brenda losing both her strong allies (NaOnka and Chase) to Espada.

Espada, who had been losing consistently when populated by only the old folks, actually pulled out a win with their new tribemates (taking 3 chickens with them as the reward), but that was about the last time the new tribe came together. After arriving at camp, Tyrone began listing off all the "rules" of the tribe -- which all seemed rather reasonable, mind you, but were doled out in a very authoritative way, irking the four new members of Espada. Holly, meanwhile, was overjoyed to align herself with the new blood, as she knew she was on the outs and next to go prior to the trades. And while it seemed that NaOnka and Alina had put aside their differences to keep the original La Flor together, that only lasted until the heavy rain came, and NaOnka absolutely lost her marbles and wanted to check out of the game entirely.

Over on the new La Flor, Marty was pulling a bit of a Tyrone, wondering what all the rules of the camp were, and astonished that there weren't any. He also decided to tell his new tribemates that he had the Hidden Immunity Idol (hanging it out in the open, even). His reasoning was that they would've found out anyway from Jane, but the original La Flors just took it as a sign of arrogance from the Wall Street exec.

The extremely convoluted Immunity Challenge restored the Survivor: Nicaragua universe to normalcy, as La Flor came from behind to win yet another Immunity. The challenge itself included a weird wheel contraption to swoop the castaways down to gather water with their mouths to spit into a tube, followed by more tile-breaking, with Fabio coming through with the victory. And it was right after the challenge that the chicken poo really hit the fan for Tyrone.

The self-appointed Espada leader was on thin ice with his new tribe, but didn't originally seem to be the choice to be sent home. That honour went to NaOnka, who seemed poised to be getting votes from even her former La Flor tribemates. But when Tyrone was the only person to oppose the killing of one chicken for some much-needed nourishment, sulked about the rest of the tribe's choice throughout the killing and cooking of said chicken, and then proceeded to eat by far the largest share of the meat, everyone had had about enough.

Tribal Council was fairly uneventful, even with NaOnka opening up about her divorce (and how the uber-stormy nights reminded her of that experience). It was obvious that Tyrone was heading home after being called out for his demanding behaviour.

What did you think of this week's episode? Did the producers shake things up too soon, or do you think the Young vs. Old storyline had already run its course? With alliances in disarray, who do you think has the edge now, or is it still too early to tell? Let it out in the comments, and we'll see you again next week!

Tags: Survivor, Nicaragua, Tyrone, NaOnka, Alina, Marty, Brenda, Chase, Holly, reality

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Paul Little is the founder and Managing Editor of ShowbizMonkeys.com. When not interviewing his favourite musicians and comedians, he can also be found putting on and promoting music and comedy events with The Purple Room in Winnipeg, or co-producing the live comedy game shows Pants on Fire and The Great Patio Showdown. (@comedygeek)

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