Episode 3 of Survivor South Pacific was pretty epic, (actual CBS press photo above) and some of the same themes from Episode 1 and 2 just picked up more steam. The characters this season are really intriguing and I am finding myself enjoying this season a lot simply because of the great cast! I can’t wait to see what happens next.

• First and foremost I loved the duel, especially the pre-emptive Rap Attack from Semhar. Loved watching everyone left hanging waiting for her words of wisdom on relationships and abandonment. Unfortunately no amount of lyrical calming could keep her stump on the stick. Semhar seems like a cool chick, (I personally would have liked to see Christine go home, but I guess she can stay if it evokes funny facial expressions from Coach) and I would love to hear more of her stuff!
• Go Keith and Whitney for both learning about Oz’s idol! – I don’t know what compelled Oz to even talk about the idol this early in the game. I don’t think you can trust anyone with that kind of info until at least near the merge,.. and even then you don’t have to depend on having an ear-to-the-ground if you are good at reading people and have played the game twice before.
• Edna is a perfect henchman to Coach and I love seeing her flit around camp and occasionally smile at random people (as in, the other tribe right before the immunity challenge).
• Brandon Hantz is off the rails. I can’t believe he made it through the rigorous casting process/psychological screening. Perhaps he did, and all of this drama and internal turmoil was foreseen. I can’t judge him too harshly knowing that I had a lot of problems keeping my lies together later in the game and also pretty much told everyone everything too. Survivor is a really tough game, and perhaps lil’ Hantz is in over his head.
• Don’t cry Makayla! The touching little moment in the middle of the episode where Hantz is airing his insane thoughts while juxtaposed over Mikayla crying really hit a cord for me. It simultaneously shows that Brandon doesn’t understand himself and the terrible emotional consequences that creates for others. Beautifully edited, but it really gets at one of the core ideas that drew me into Survivor; the complicated web of personality and choice. ($2.99!)
• Red team bombing the challenge helped me realize I am actually rooting for Coach. It’s true; I am starting to like Coach and a lot of that has to do with the fact that Ozzy hasn’t changed his game. It all looks just like Micronesia 2.0 to me, with Oz playing the leader to his tribe. Go Coach! He looks like a seasoned pro instead of a cocky quarterback. To bad he’s not in my top 4 betting pool. Poor Erik
• While showing the tribe flag over at red team they showed a pile of Bananas. The red tribe has TONS of BANANAS. After 36 days of coconut I would have done anything for one bite of a damn Banana. Survivor is getting soft. Back in my day we ate chicken feed and dirt (true story).
• Run Papa Bear Run!! Probably the only part of the episode I actually LOLed at – such a goofy slack armed run, but carried with such fervor and passion! I love Papa Bear even if he doesn’t win at Redemption, he sounds like a smart interesting guy that just got a bad hand this season.
• I can’t wait to see Cochran in wheeler and dealer mode. I guess I don’t mind mad dash scramble Cochran either. The guy is fun to watch, and I can’t wait until next episode!