Originally posted Thursday, February 28, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Being a human shield may be a terrible thing during a war but on “Survivor,” it’s a positive - at least in the early going.
Returning player Kelley Wentworth knows she's a major target given her style of play and the fact the first timers believe her "time has passed," so to speak. During Tribal Council, she pointed out that she's a great shield for others to hide behind and she's also a great challenge player.
Several of her teammates were hungry to blindside her but she managed to avoid that fate because 19-year-old pre-med student Keith Sowell dug his own grave with his poor performance on the immunity/reward challenge.
Keith can barely swim and he failed miserably on the ring toss. As a result, Ron Clark's team Kama remained whole while Manu had to suffer a second loss in a row.
Wardog understood the need to get rid of Kelley but Keith is such a weak link during challenges, he felt that at this stage, Keith was more expendable. And that whole "shield" topic came up again. While his ally Chris Underwood pondered taking out Kelley, he was convinced by Wardog to stick with the plan and get rid of Keith.
In other words, the need to stay strong for challenges at this point superseded anything else because they can't really afford to lose again.
Keith was super disappointed - until he came across the "Edge of Extinction" sign. He pondered a bit and asked God for guidance. We don't know if he'll go or not.
Other notes:
- Ron Clark, Atlanta’s educator, got only a few moments this episode in part because it was all about the other tribe. There was a point where he channeled his Ron Clark Academy choreography skills to create a super corny dance to do before the reward/immunity challenge. (They chose not to do it in the end.)
The others seemed to go along with the dance just fine. Aubry Bracco said she had to fake her enthusiasm. Speaking of Aubry, her charm offensive with various castmates is not going over well because she is offering the same pitch to each person and they are not feeling the sincerity. If she makes it to merge, it will be a miracle.
- The producers showed Reem arriving at Edge of Extinction, where there were barely any supplies or food. She spent three days there with just a bit of coconut and said if nobody else shows up, she might just raise the flag of surrender. Otherwise, she has a shot at coming back into the game, which none of the players back at camp know about.
- David Wright, another returnee, seems to be less of a threat than Kelley and hasn't been targeted in the Manu tribe. He is bonding with Rick Devens, the Macon newscaster with the perfect "dad bod."
- Lauren O'Connell, a Kelly acolyte, found the first immunity idol and kept it to herself. It didn't appear she told anybody about it. Smart.
- Did they not show the Tribal Council votes? Instead, they showed Reem on the island. Who voted for Wendy? Who voted for Kelley? (Probably Wendy?)
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