Stick a fork in the Stealth Alliance. It is officially done. After all the plotting and planning, the alliance was swept aside as the Forza tribal politics and loyalties shifted back and forth. Brendan Synnott was blindsided at Tribal Council by his trusted alliance mates Taj Johnson-George and Stephen Fishbach.
Although left out of the loop, Sierra Reed remained true to her partnership with Brendan. As shown in the promos for next week’s episode, Sierra is left twisting in the wind and becomes the subject of ridicule by The Almighty Coach and his sidekick, Tyson The Wonder Boy.
The Survivors at the start of the broadcast were:
The Forza Tribe
STEPHEN FISHBACH
TAJ JOHNSON-GEORGE
JAMES "JT" THOMAS JR.
TYSON APOSTOL
DEBRA "Debbie" BEEBE
ERINN LOBDELL
SIERRA REED
BRENDAN SYNNOTT
BENJAMIN "Coach" WADE
Episode Eight: "The Biggest Fraud In The Game”: Highlights
Forza Tribe – Night
Everyone is up late and sitting around the camp fire. The Almighty Coach decides to “share part of his life” with the others and tells them a story of how he was kayaking down the Amazon rivers, was kidnapped by pygmies, beaten with sticks and barely escaped with his life.
Coach: I will never forget what it is like to be stalked by another human being.
Brendan: I don’t believe this guy any more. If I cannot believe his stories, how can I believe him?
Forza Tribe – Day
The Almighty Coach performs his pseudo Yoga while the others scoff at him.
Brendan: Coach is doing his warrior poses again.
Coach explains to everyone that the exercises he was doing were taught to him by Tibetan monks. Methinks Coach has watched “˜Batman Begins’ a few too many times.
Sierra to Coach: You looked hilarious.
The Almighty Coach: Sierra is nothing more than a bowel movement made by the dragon I am going to slay.
Erinn and JT meet by the riverbank. They both think Joe was a great guy and miss him. Erinn: In some ways, I like your tribe more.
Erinn: I am right in the middle of things and have room to move around.
JT thinks he can use Erinn to his advantage later on. She might be able to help him turn the game around.
Reward Challenge
The tribes are divided into three teams: Brendan, Debra, JT versus Sierra, Erinn, Stephen versus Tyson, Taj and the Almighty Coach. It is another throw a ball, bust tiles game.
Reward
A white water rafting trip, lunch and the power to send one person to Exile Sand Dune.
Result
The throws are so bad, the producers edit down the challenge for us.
Winners: Brendan, Debra, JT.
Stephen is sent to Exile Sand Dune.
The Almighty Coach to Stephen: Be the wizard.
Exile Sand Dune Happenings
Stephen surprises himself by making fire. Stephen Potter works magic. Who knew?
Forza Tribe – Day
What is it with these people? Now, Brendan believes that JT deserves to be in the finals and doesn’t want him to be sent home. Brendan convinces Sierra and Taj to go after the Almighty Coach and Tyson The Wonder Boy.
Immunity Challenge
The players make it through an obstacle course while attached to ropes.
Reward
Immunity from the Tribal Council vote.
Result
The winners of the first heat are Tyson, Brendan and JT.
Winner: Tyson.
Pre-Tribal Council Happenings
Tyson thinks it would be funny to kick Brendan out. It would allow him to boss Sierra around all the time.
Brendan: It is time for the Exile Island Alliance to take control of the game. Taking out The Almighty Coach will be the biggest blindside of the game.
JT is sure he is controlling the game as both Brendan and The Almighty Coach need his support and vote.
The Almighty Coach: It is time to cut the head off the dragon. Leaders are born. Tonight, we find out who is The Chosen One.
Tribal Council Happenings
Erinn thinks Tyson is the class clown. JT thinks the Almighty Coach has the best campfire stories. Jeff Probst asks Coach if his stories are true. He claims they are but he gives everyone the PG version. The Almighty Coach says he has survived hurricanes, sharks and crocodiles.
The Almighty Coach votes for Brendan and mentions something about being a dragon slayer, in case you haven’t heard it the first million times. It is not shown who Stephen votes for but he says: This is my wizard light shooting you back home.
Final Voting
STEPHEN FISHBACH: BRENDAN SYNNOTT
TAJ JOHNSON-GEORGE: BRENDAN SYNNOTT
JAMES "JT" THOMAS JR.: SIERRA REED
TYSON APOSTOL: SIERRA REED
DEBRA "Debbie" BEEBE: BRENDAN SYNNOTT
ERINN LOBDELL: SIERRA REED
SIERRA REED: BENJAMIN "Coach" WADE
BRENDAN SYNNOTT: BENJAMIN "Coach" WADE
BENJAMIN "Coach" WADE: BRENDAN SYNNOTT
Tribal Council Victim: BRENDAN SYNNOTT.
On the next ‘Survivor’ (Television): Coach tells Sierra that she “made her own bed”. Tyson also mocks her. Sierra is shown crying.
Powell’s Thoughts
Adios, Stealth Alliance. Did anyone really think it would survive? For me, there were just too many mitigating factors including the members’ allegences to their previous alliances. A good idea in theory but it rarely works in practice.
“Be the wizard”. One of the best “˜Survivor’ lines ever. I almost choked on my pop hearing that little quip from Coach.
Could Stephen Potter’s fire making wizardry foreshadow a tie-breaker challenge at a future Tribal Council? I wouldn’t be surprised.
The brief scene with JT and Erinn forming a loose bond will play big in future episodes. It has been rumoured for some time that Erinn betrays her original tribe mates at one point or another.
Those public attacks on Sierras by The Almighty Coach and Tyson The Wonder Boy could be the Dynamic Duo’s undoing. Could their cruelty turn the tribe against them? It might happen if Sierra turns on the waterworks for the right people.
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