Michele Fitzgerald, Rob Mariano, Ethan Zohn and Jeremy Collins talk by the shelter. (Wikimedia commons )
This was bound to happen. With a cast of 20 winners, we came into the season knowing that beloved players would leave early. That doesn’t make it any easier. Ethan Zohn became the fourth person voted out this week, and it was heartbreaking. Zohn has gone through bouts with cancer since the last time he played in 2004. He “never thought that he’d be out there again” and he sure played like it. He relished being on the island and should feel the same at Edge of Extinction.
How we get here is convoluted. The episode begins with Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano waking up Adam Klein by tickling him with a leaf. This was a telling microcosm of Mariano’s psyche. He always wants to be in control and is unhappy when he isn’t. Klein wanted to take Mariano’s control, stating in confessional that Boston Rob should “play more like him.” This was the first example of Klein’s cockiness, but believe me, it wasn’t the last. He told Zohn that Shallow was the target soon after, which was foolish because it was a full day before the immunity challenge and Klein didn’t even know that his tribe would go to tribal. Also, Zohn was aligned with Shallow, and Klein should have known Zohn was a loyal player. Klein is a superfan of the show, but he didn’t show it.
On the other tribe, Apostol felt like he was on the bottom. His idea was to throw someone else’s name out as a potential target; he picked Diaz-Twine for her weakness as a two-time winner.
Kwon, to whom Apostol pitched this idea, considered it but wanted “to get rid of irrational players” and considered Diaz-Twine’s game irrational. Once she brought a shark for the tribe to eat, however, Kwon decided she was a benefit. He told her Apostol looked threw her under the bus, so look for her to target Tyson Apostol in the future.
On the edge of extinction, Anderson solved a riddle and had the option to pick any player to sell the advantage to for a fire token, as it was of no use to her on extinction. The catch was that the player would have to sneak into the opposing tribe’s camp at night and find the advantage in one of their torches. The advantage was a steal a vote. Anderson picked Lacina, as hilarity ensued because she recruited fellow cop, Vlachos, to help.
Next was the immunity challenge, which the red tribe won for the third time out of four. Collins, Driebergen, Fitzgerald, Klein and Stapley had a plan to take out Shallow at tribal. Shallow is a Survivor legend, and they knew she was vulnerable since Stapley and Klein had the idol. Klein couldn’t sit still and told Mariano the plan, hoping to gain Mariano’s trust for future votes. Bad move.
Mariano never stands by and lets any of his allies go unless he votes them out himself. Plus, he and Shallow are a tight pair. He wouldn’t be okay with her going home, so Mariano went to Fitzgerald and Collins, imploring them to vote out Klein out.
Both Fitzgerald and Collins were furious at Klein but knew that voting him out would mean losing a number on their side. They devised a plan to both take a number from the old school side and let Klein know that he isn’t running the show. Collins, Driebergen, Fitzgerald, and Stapley blindsided Klein and the rest of the tribe in voting out Zohn.
Klein still thought they were voting out Shallow and was shocked when he saw the result. The right move? It could go either way.
The player of the week is Michele Fitzgerald, who has a chip on her shoulder, as many thought that Fitzgerald should’ve lost her season to fellow castaway Bracco.
I would argue that Fitzgerald deserved her first win, but she is on a mission this season to prove the naysayers wrong. This week was a large step towards that, as she led the plan to take out Zohn and blindside Klein, which accomplishes two goals and cements her and Jeremy Collins as the most powerful duo in the tribe.
Tune in to CBS Wednesday, March 4th to see the fourth episode.
