A challenge takes down three contestants in an unprecedented Survivor massacre
So, wait, Im confused.
Scot Pollard does or doesnotlike cheerleaders?
Are the Cleveland Cavalier Girls planning a boycott?
Credit: Monty Brinton /CBS
Are the Indiana Pacers Pacemates considering a strongly worded statement?
Oh, but you know whats happening here, right?
IVE BURIED THE LEDE!
It was dramatic television that actually had me gasping Oh my God!
intermittently at my television.
We would not have believed our eyes!
We would have not believed what we were seeing!
Instead, most of us knew it was coming, which is a major bummer.
And thats a shame.
Okay, so much to get to with this, so lets break it down from a few angles.
The Brains tribe won easily, followed by Beauty, with Brawn in last.
But that was almost irrelevant.
It is what happenedafterthe challenge that matters.
First Debbie collapsed due to heat stroke, causing the medical team to jump in.
Just as she started to recover, Caleb and Cydney also dropped.
This was some scary stuff.
Cydney collapsed and appeared to be in uncontrollable tears while Caleb was alternating between hyperventilating and being unresponsive.
Words you never want to hear.
Caleb was indeed pulled from the game while Debbie and Cydney were fortunate enough to be able to continue.
I had brief digs inSamoaandMicronesiathat werent so terrible, but then there wasGabon.
People were doubled over and panting.
People simply stopping digging, completely spent.
It was brutal, pushing you to the very edge of utter exhaustion.
Go back and watch it in the premiere episode and see how the Fang tribe fared.
But heres the thing: That digging pit took us maybe about 15-20 minutes or so to get through.
This one in Cambodia was three times that.
And heres the other thing.
And that may be where the producers misjudged.
The Mayhem
What a chaotic scene.
Not one, not two, butthreedifferent people collapsing.
And all of themafterthe challenge was completed.
But right as Debbie started to feel better, then things got really scary.
He went down, as well, and began panting.
For Probst and medical, this must have felt like a nightmare scenario.
Where do you go?
What do you do?
Whos in worse shape?
Usually when an emergency happens, medical is rushing in to treat it and the cameras to capture it.
Everyone else hangs back.
But when you have three different crises, it becomes an all-hands-on-deck situation.
Everyone on the crew is essential!
Umbrellas, coolers, water find a spot to help!
And thats what we saw.
They are for the crew (who can be there for hours before the players even show up).
But here all those items became lifesavers for the players.
(Where art thou, Ado & Ramona?)
We need a helicopter for evac, he finally told Probst.
Go back and watch the way he says it.
Its actually scary as hell.
Hes not playing it up for cameras.
This is not manufactured drama like we see so many times on so many reality shows.
you’re able to hear the natural concern in his voice and see the concern on his face.
This is no joke.
Medical was not even close at the time but rushed there and nursed her back to health.
I watched them do it.
So the moment was fleeting is what Im getting at.
The Aftermath
Debbie and Cydney were able to continue.
This is as far as youre gonna go, Jeff told him.
Weve got to take care of you.
Youre a warrior, dude.
Im glad you were out here.
CBS overruled him and forced theBig Brotherstar into the cast.
In the end, Probst was glad they did.
And why wouldnt he be?
The self-proclaimed Beast Mode Cowboy was indeed a beast in challenges.
The Beauty tribe was predictably devastated when they received the news that Caleb had been pulled from the game.
They were no doubt very concerned about his well-being and all seemed to genuinely like the guy.
First off, hes a number.
You are going to need all the numbers you could get when a tribe contraction and/or merge happens.
Because no way you let Caleb get to the end.
I say, do it!
Id love to see how Caleb does getting to play out a full game.
Fortunately for her, she was able to barely get past this.
Caleb, on the other hand, was not so lucky.
Odds & Ends
A few other things to hit on before we wrap things up.
He did not talk trash or insult the others, who had clearly outmaneuvered him.
But he also walked off and isolated himself by lying down away from the shelter.
I heard what you all said tonight, and Im going to take it to heart.
Also, how incredible is my smile right now?
You dont have to believe one word of that, but you say it.
Peter didnt hurt himself here, but he certainly didnt help himself either.
In their (mild) defense, I do get their frustration.
It doesnt even matter who is to blame: Just say, Sorry, Alecia.
I was just really tired and shouldnt have said that, and guess what?
Thats all you had to do.
Instead Scot came back with, Youre trying to tell an NBA champion how to be a teammate?
What team have you ever been on?
Okay, first off, thats mean.
!And that you logged exactlyzerominutes in the entire playoff run for said championship team?
Look, Im not trying to diss and dismiss; just making the NBA is an enormous achievement.
NEXT: Alecias last stand
- Did you all notice Jasons super-sunburned shoulders with bandages/coverings on them?
So thats on him.
Or, inSurvivorparlance, Worlds Apart.
Then the two other folks would go into the water and dive down to get more puzzles.
All these pieces would be used to assemble a snake puzzle.
Probst was amenable to it as long as Alecia agreed.
Of course, Alecias astute refusal meant that once we went to Tribal, the entire ceremony was perfunctory.
I dont think theres any chance theyre voting anybody else out.
I dont know if Ive ever seen a Tribal that was this clear cut.
And yet I still root for you.
Jeff Probst telling someone right to their face that theyre a goner?
By the way, has the Brawn tribe been one of the biggest buzzkill bummer tribes of all time?
Just a swirling sea of negativity every time we have gone there.
Its too bad because I find the other two groups pretty intriguing.
So here we are now, a month into the new season.
We lost Caleb, which is a bummer because he was great for the show on multiple levels.
And for moreSurvivorscoop, follow me on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
What did you think of the triple medical emergency and how the crew handled it?
Where does Calebs collapse rank in terms of scarySurvivormoments?
And are you Team Alecia, Team Scot/Jason, or Team Neither?
Hit the message boards to weigh in and Ill be back next week with another scoop of the crispy!
