I have a beef.
Not with a person, mind you.
Or else youll get your ass kicked.
The cast of ‘Survivor: Winners at War’.Robert Voets/CBS
Somewhat surprisingly, Ive never had my ass kicked.
Because I try not to have beefs with people.
So I have beefs and plenty of them but withthingsas opposed to people.
I have beef with the entireGood Wifearc involving Kalindas creepy Canadian husband.
(And I love Canada!)
I have beef with the top-hat Linda Perry wears in the 4 Non Blondes video for Whats up?
(In fact, I have beef with that entire song.)
And I have a beef with what happened in the battle-back competition on this weeks episode ofSurvivor.
First off, an acknowledgement.
And I like to think I have held to that promise.
The log task was one of the best segments in the history ofSurvivor.
I may have almost cried, but thats none of your business.
I also have been a big fan of the Fire Tokens addition.
But that has also created a problem.
(I like to call it that because that is the name of the season.)
This was the installment in which the Redemption Island twist was introduced.
(Hence the name we just spoke about.)
That means if you were voted out first (Hi, Francesca Hogi!)
you had to win six different duels to get back in the game.
While if you were voted out the day before the merge (Sarita White, come on down!
), you only had to win one duel to reenter.
Now lets fast forward to season 40.
In fact, the first six people who went to the Edge of Extinctioneachgot at least one Fire Token.
Yet Parvati and Yul who lasted longer than all of them did not.
So let me ask you a question: How in the world does this make any sense whatsoever?
This season actuallyrewardedpeople for being voted out early in the game andpunishedthem the longer they stayed.
Frankly, that is ludicrous.
Go check it out in ourweekly Q&Aand see if you agree with him.
Of course, as you all know, I am not a fan of advantages in challenges in general.
I like a level playing field.
I want to know how legends match up against one another when they are all on equal footing.
Thats where you get the real drama.
When Rob and Tyson have advantages while Parvati and Yul do not, then wheres the fun in that?
Youll never find out whos the better team that way.
Ugh, it drives me crazy.
(By the way, will we ever have football again?
I miss sports.)
But you know what drives me evenmorecrazy?
The way Rob and Natalie used or, more precisely, didnotuse their advantages.
There were options to take up to THREE advantages in the challenge, with each costing one token.
Look, I get it.
But whats the point of buying an idol if you cant get back in to use it?
I was flabbergasted to see Rob and Natalie not buying all three advantages at the challenge.
So Ill let it continue to beat up the contestants living there instead.
Last thing I want to say, because sometimes this is a valuable reminder for all of us.
So when I get on my high horse and start criticizing something, its all a matter of perspective.
Its just one persons opinion.
And its all from a place of love.
And that is ultimately a verygoodthing.
And that beats indifference any day of the week.
Thats the big picture, folks!
Either way, he looked excited.
She wasnt doing this.
Binge and Merge
With the merge came the traditional merge feast, and lots of chatter.
Now, on first blush nothing huge happened in these first days on the new Koru beach.
We heard Denises name being floated because she was the newly-crowned Queenslayer.
So that meant taking out the under-the-radar players.
Whom they identified as Nick and Wendell.
Cut to this weeks competition, and the last three players?
Winning immunity raises your threat level as it is.
Because I have no freakin idea!
And one of thelastthings we saw before Tribal was Jeremy doing everything in his power to drive the vote.
Didnt necessarily seem so.
The truth is, that edit was kind of unfair.
I still loved it.
The Tribe Breaks Up With Wendell
This is the defining vote tonight, said Denise at Tribal Council.
Its so exciting and why I love merges.
Another thing I loved about this Tribal Council was Tony.
Its easy to get caught up in all of Tonys wacky schemes and zany hijinks.
And, when he wants to be, articulate!
Tony Vlachos is a gift that just keeps on giving, sometimes in surprising ways.
I know that, but do you?
Thats taking a shot at Wendells self-awareness.
The bad news is he got booted over to the Edge of Extinction.
Or, you know, beach.
Okay, weve got some goodies for you this week.
Goodies like my weeklyQ&A with Hostmaster General Jeff Probst.
And goodies like theaforementioned interview with Wendell Holland.
But now its your turn.
What do you think about the Fire Token distribution at the Edge of Extinction?
How do you feel about Tyson being back on the tribe?
And about Wendell being off it?
