TV-Reviewed

Talk about your big episode. “Taste The Victory” was the very definition of it! This had everything from gluttony to betrayal. It’s Survivor. We expect nothing less.

It’s somewhat rare for Brandon Hantz to not be at the center of attention in an episode. He’s been the central character in many of this year’s episodes. Coach and Ozzy were actually front and center.

Stacey’s comments at the duel may seem damaging, but I suspect everyone knew that Coach was running the show on his tribe. It was Albert that was really thrown under the proverbial bus. Albert has done a very nice job of sneaking under the radar of people. I think his free pass is going to come up eventually. Someone’s going to be gunning for him once the merge comes. Albert is simply too much of a physical threat to keep around.

The pig competition for immunity will no doubt have people talking. I can’t believe they put a pig on a spit and had everyone trying to tear it apart with their teeth. It was bizarre, painful, and absolutely disgusting to see these people go through it. It came as no surprise when several people complained about sore teeth, jaws, gums, and lips. The human body isn’t accustomed to tearing an animal apart like say a coyote may.

John Cochran and Jim Rice

Cochran really disappointed me when he made that joke about getting oral herpes. He tried to explain it, but there’s no way you make that joke. Think it, but don’t say it. There’s no way that joke goes over well, especially when everyone’s in a sour mood from losing and everyone is in pain.

The plan to break up Ozzy’s little alliance was fraught with danger. Survivor is a numbers game and if you don’t have the numbers, you’re not going to accomplish much. Somehow it worked out for Cochran, Jim, and Dawn. They got Elyse out and now Ozzy looks like he’s given up. I’m really curious what Keith and Whitney are going to do next week when it was obvious that they didn’t vote along everyone else. They went off and did their own thing by voting for Dawn.

I loved this episode, even with its disgusting pork-pulling competition. The strategy is definitely getting interesting. We’re not just seeing the weakest members being plucked out of camp. We’re seeing good, hard-thought out Survivor strategy taking place and I’m excited to see where this all goes.

Rating: 8