Survivor Cagayan-Episode 4 Recap Featuring Leslie Nease!
Survivor: Cagayan continues this week with the fourth episode of the season! After an entertaining episode it’s time to recap it! Joining us, we have our resident recap expert, Jarryd, plus Ben and the Ozlets chime in with their thoughts as well! Oh, and we’ll even speak to a real expert in our good friend Leslie Nease from Survivor: China!
(If you haven’t watched this weeks episode yet, clicking the link below will spoil the hell out of it, so if you don’t want to be spoiled then don’t click the link!)
This week on Cagayan, one tribe tries to throw a challenge, some nut-busting hits and how did the chicken lay the egg?
We return to camp with the Beauty tribe after they have voted out Brice. Morgan confesses that she is extremely frustrated by the nights events and labels Jeremiah a “a coward”. She asks Jeremiah in front of the tribe why he voted out Brice when he and Brice had tried to her her onside to vote with them. Jeremiah explains that he was in an alliance with Alexis, Jefra and LJ first and he wanted to be loyal to them and because Brice was a very good social player. Morgan does her best to do some damage control, explaining to Alexis that the only reason she voted for her is because Jeremiah had come to her wanting to take LJ out, but said they needed to take out his “right-hand girl” first because they needed LJ to win challenges. Alexis admits that she is skeptical of Morgan’s comments but states that they could be realistic and therefore she’ll be keeping an eye on Jeremiah who is a “big target”.
Morgan throws Jeremiah under the bus. (Image Credit: CBS)
The morning of Day Nine see’s the Brains tribe receive Tree Mail revealing an upcoming Reward Challenge with a food Reward. J’Tia admits that it is extremely important that she performs well in the challenge considering she destroyed the food supply and should have been sent home for it, yet is now stuck with hungry people. Once again, the Brains tribe gets some practice in before heading to the challenge.
Time for a first solo Reward Challenge this season and since Caramoan! I must say, it’s well overdue!
For the challenge, one tribe member assumes the role of caller, standing on an elevated platform. Two tribes members are blindfolded and tied together and have to go out into the playing area and collect five items as they are directed to them by the caller. They will then return the items, placing them on a hoist, using it to lift the item up to their caller with the help of a third blindfolded tribe member. Once five items have been collected, the two blindfolded tribe members will have to go out, collect the final item, (their tribe flag), and then hoist it up to their caller. The first tribe to finish wins three egg laying hens and one rooster, whilst the second tribe to finish wins twelve eggs; with the last place finishes receiving nothing. Sitting out of the challenge are Sarah and Woo for the Brawn tribe and Morgan for the Beauty tribe.
The tribes compare for the Day Nine Reward Challenge. (Image Credit: CBS)
The callers for the three tribes are Alexis, Cliff and Tasha respectively. For the Brawn tribe, Lindsey and Tony are collecting their items whilst Trish is their hoister. Jefra and LJ are on the course for their Beauties whilst Jeremiah is their hoister and Kass and Spencer team up again for the Brains, leaving J’Tia to be their hoister.
The Beauty tribe are first to collect an item, followed by the Brains whilst Cliff sends out Lindsey and Tony to the item that is furthest away first. The Beauty tribe collect item number two, closely followed by the Brains, who are struggling with hoisting their items up to Tasha. This trend continues, with the Beauty and Brains tribe maintaining a one item lead over the Brawn tribe. During the challenge, there are some big collisions with both each other and obstacles, which could have resulted in both LJ and Spencer not being able to become fathers, with both copping hits in a delicate area. Towards the back end of the challenge, the Beauty and Brains tribe are out collecting their flags whilst the brawn tribe retrieve their fifth item. The Beauty tribe are back first and have no issues getting their flag up to Alexis as they claim Reward. The Brains tribe continue to struggle with their hoist as their flag falls off and J’Tia has to place it back on, costing them a lot of time. This opens up the door for the Brawn tribe who hurry out to retrieve their flag. With the Brains tribe sinking, Lindsey and Tony return with their flag and unlike the Brains have no such trouble hoisting it up to Cliff to claim an unlikely come from behind victory much to the disappointment of Spencer.
J’Tia struggles in the challenge as Lindsey and Tony race to keep the challenge alive for the Brawn tribe. (Image Credit: CBS)
The Beauty tribe arrive back at camp along with their four new companions. LJ confesses that the victory “picked up” the tribe and they had a lot of fun. Inside a bag of chicken feed, Jeremiah comes across a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol. The entire tribe is gathered around him when he finds it so he reads the clue aloud. LJ remarks that he is extremely relieved that the Idol is safely in his possessions as the clue was very specific which LJ assures us would mean it would be found today and used as a “group Idol”, which would be “problematic. Talk then turns to their new pets with Alexis asking whether the rooster needs to “get it on” with the hens in order for them to lay eggs. LJ can’t believe what he’s hearing, labeling the girls as stereotypical beauties. As the girls continue to discuss how the hens produce eggs, the tribe decide to eat one, with Jeremiah using his ‘farm skills’ to kill the chicken. Morgan tells the camera, that whilst she was thankful Jeremiah killed the chicken, she still doesn’t like him because he’s a “big fat liar” who is “dumb as rocks” and who is “not beautiful” and therefore, shouldn’t be on the Beauty tribe.
Alexis and LJ listen intently as Jeremiah reads a clue to the location of the Hidden Immunity Idol. (Image Credit: CBS)
Over at the Brawn tribe, Cliff tells Lindsey that they have to stick together because sooner or later there are going to be some blindsides. Sarah confesses that the pair worry her and that after hearing Cliff was trying to target her, she wants Cliff out. She approaches Woo and explains that she wants anyone on their tribe but Cliff to win the money because he doesn’t need it and he has to go if they lose. Woo tells Sarah that he would be onboard with the plan before confessing that whilst he really likes Cliff, this is his game and he needs to affiliate himself with the majority and take his chances in the game. Tony see’s the pair whispering together and presses Sarah to tell him what is going on. Sarah explains that “Woo is with us” and is onboard to take out Cliff. Tony is pleased by this, confessing that the moment he lied to Sarah about Cliff and Lindsey plotting for her demise, it changed the game and has now put four against two. Sarah makes Tony swear on his badge that he is telling the truth to her. Tony does so, but with little sincerity, explaining to us that he will “lie, cheat, steal and do whatever it takes” in order to win the game.
Sarah tells Woo that Cliff has to go. (Image Credit: CBS)
The Brawn tribe receive Tree Mail on Day Eleven about the upcoming Immunity Challenge. It hints of a basketball style challenge which the tribe assumes Cliff will dominate in. Cliff himself says that after playing so many years in the NBA he hopes the challenge is a “walk in the park”. Sarah speaks to Trish about throwing the challenge. She confesses that she never wanted to throw a challenge because “it doesn’t work” but states that they can’t have Cliff around come the Merge. Trish is on board with the plan as Sarah continues to explain the reasons behind her decision to throw the challenge – “Why get rid of numbers? He’s not our numbers”. Sarah tells Trish that they can easily pull it off because Lindsey won’t be competing so she and Woo can perform poorly. Sarah then goes and inform Woo about the plan. Woo is uneasy about the idea, stating that he can Cliff have performed constantly well in challenges and complains about not knowing what he should do.
“We need to throw the challenge”. (Image Credit: CBS)
There’s no time for Woo to decide because the challenge is upon us. The challenge will take place out in the middle of the ocean on a platform. One at a time, a person from each tribe will have to dive down and release a buoy, then take it back to their platform. The buoys range in depth, starting at only three feet, (.9m), under water and progressing to fifteen feet, (4.5m). Once all five buoys have been collected, the tribe will have to shoot them into their basket on another platform. The first two tribes with five buoys in their basket win Immunity. With Jeff reminding the tribes that the same people can’t sit out of back to back challenges, Lindsey and Tony sit out for the Brawn tribe, with Alexis taking the spot on the bench for the Beauties.
The Brawn, Beauty and Brains tribe compete in the Day Eleven Immunity Challenge. (Image Credit: CBS)
We get underway and J’Tia, LJ and Woo are first in the water for their respective tribes. LJ is first back, followed by Woo. Jefra then enters the water followed by Sarah. Jefra is quick to return with the second buoy for the Beauty tribe whilst J’Tia heads back empty handed for the Brains tribe. Tasha heads out for the Brains whilst Morgan jumps in for the Beauties and Sarah finally manages to get the second buoy for the Brawn tribe. Tasha and Morgan both return with buoys whilst Trish, (like Sarah), struggles for the Brawn tribe. Jeremiah jumps into the water to collect the fourth buoy for the Beauty tribe whilst Kass returns empty handed for the Brains tribe, with arguably their best challenge performer, (Spencer), finally entering the water. Trish returns empty handed for the Brawn tribe, Spencer comes back with the Brains second buoy whilst Jeremiah comes back with buoy number four. LJ returns to the water and makes quick work of the final buoy, whilst Tasha and Cliff attempt to release their tribes third buoy. Tasha returns with nothing with Spencer heading back out. He quickly gets the third buoy as does Cliff, with both returning to dump their buoy. Woo jumps in for the Brawn tribe but Spencer heads straight back out to collect buoy number four. Jeremiah and Morgan begin shooting for the Beauty tribe and land two buoys quickly. Spencer and Woo return with their tribes fourth buoys, with both men heading straight back out. The Beauty tribe still hold a massive lead and Jeremiah makes it count, landing their final three buoys to clinch them first place.
She might have labeled him “as dumb as rocks” but Morgan still loves Jeremiah after an Immunity win. (Image Credit: CBS)
Spencer returns with buoy number five. Tasha begins shooting but struggles so an exhausted Spencer has to take over. Spencer lands two quick baskets as Woo returns with the fifth buoy and Cliff begins shooting. Cliff doesn’t shoot the house down but quickly levels the scores at two-two as J’Tia costs the Brains a ton of time as she struggles to get the rebounds and return the buoys to Spencer. Cliff lands two more shots, but Spencer hits back at four-three. Unfortunately for Spencer, he’s not up against a nobody, he’s up against a man who has played countless minutes of close basketball who knows how to close a game out, and Cliff just does that, as he shoots the Brawn tribe into second place and sends the Brains tribe back to Tribal Council. On the way back to camp, a confessional from Sarah plays as she admits that they “tried so hard to blow the challenge”, basically gifting the Brains tribe Immunity but the Brains tribe “sucked” and didn’t deserve to win.
The Brawn tribe win Immunity? – You wouldn’t know by looking at Trish and Sarah. (Image Credit: CBS)
Arriving back at camp following the challenge is a very annoyed Spencer. He claims that he has been performing well in challenges but the tribe is letting him down. He continues saying that the girls have succeeded in gaining power on the tribes but by doing so have run the tribe into the ground. Spencer speaks to Kass and Tasha pleading with the that he is a asset and J’Tia is hopeless. The pair agree but Spencer wonders whether they are just “patting me on the back on my way out the door”. Spencer departs and Kass and Tasha weigh up their options and decide that keeping Spencer around is the better option but they won’t disclose this to J’Tia incase she does something else crazy.
Spencer makes his pitch to Kass and Tasha. (Image Credit: CBS)
The girls tell J’Tia that they have her back and that Spencer is going home. J’Tia says she appreciate this and that she will always be loyal to them. This leads to Tasha questioning whether they are making the right decision because Spencer isn’t likely to be as loyal as J’Tia in the event of a Merge or Switch. Kass describes Tasha as a “pendulum” that is constantly changing her mind. She says she needs to “make a decision and live with it” and that whatever they decide to do, both options are risky.
Kass and Tasha consider their options. (Image Credit: CBS)
Tribal Council gets underway as both Jeff and the tribe are speechless. Jeff questions J’Tia’s effort in the challenge. She claims she did the best she could and that she is a physical person but swimming isn’t her thing. Tasha doesn’t agree with this as she replies that J’Tia has let them down in a lot of challenges and they are constantly trying to find a “minimal role” for her in each one. Jeff asks whether this makes J’Tia the “weak link”. J’Tia says that there is a different between the weakest in challenges and the weak link because the purpose of the game is to outplay and outwit. Jeff points out that she forget to mention outlast – which non of them will be able to do at this point of the game. Tasha explains that Spencer is the better challenge performer but J’Tia is a more loyal person and that’s why it’s a difficult decision. Kass reveals that J’Tia dumping the rice doesn’t make her disloyal it just means she’s a “hot head who made a bad decision”. Spencer points out that this unpredictability on J’Tia’s behalf, is bad for the group.
As Tribal Council goes on, it becomes apparent that Kass and Tasha aren’t listening to what J’Tia and Spencer have to say but instead are discussing the vote between them. Spencer admits that as a fan, he loves it, but being involved in it is bad. Kass mimics Spencer, saying that fans will be pleading them not to do anything stupid but in reality, “what is stupid?” Spencer says as a super fan, not having a real chance to play the game is devastating, but with Kass and Tasha still having a private conversation, he changes tack and tells them he’ll be loyal and will help them to win challenges, they just have to give him a chance.
With that, it’s time to vote. Jeff collects the votes and reads them. Spencer and J’Tia both receive a vote each, then J’Tia receives two more, thus voting her out in a three-one vote. As she goes, Spencer whispers to Kass and Tasha that they “made the right decision” and that “I’m with you one hundred percent”.
J’Tia… the tribe ahs spoken. (Image Credit: CBS)
In her final words, J’Tia admits she was surprised she lasted this long and whilst she understands why she was voted out, part of her hopes her former tribe is unsuccessful in the game.
Next week, with the Brains on the brink of extinction, it’s time to switch it up!
Survivor Oz Sweep
Inappropriate Probst!
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Ben’s Opinion
Another decent episode keeps this season in full swing!
Have to say I’m sad to see J’Tia go. I’m hearing people call her ‘the worst player of all time’ but there is no way she is. She managed to survive tipping rice out and then survive being bad in challenges for 4 episodes. If she was THAT bad she would’ve been first boot. And just like people argue you can only say the ‘winners are the best players because they have won’, you could always argue that the first boots are ‘the worst because they were voted out’. But I’ll still sit here and sulk that she has gone, but at least Spencer was saved!
Next week I have to say I’m sad to see a tribe swap. My hopes for keeping a three tribe season at three tribes till the merge obviously has gone out the window, but it really was to be expected. I hope it’s a clean swap, 7 people on 2 tribes with a random swap rather than some pre-determined dissolve or something similar. I guess we’ll see shortly how it goes!
Bring on another week! This season is turning out to be a good one!
Jarryd’s Opinion
Finally, she’s gone! How J’Tia lasted eleven days is a complete joke; she is the definition of a hopeless Survivor player! Personally she might be a very lovely person, but if I had of been on the Brains tribe this season, she would have gone home at the first Tribal Council and if she somehow survived that it would have been the second. I have no sympathy for the Brains tribe, they made poor decisions and Spencer, (who I disliked pre-season but has emerged as a player), has had to suffer because of it.
I don’t think I’ll be alone in saying that I loved the fact we had a solo Reward Challenge! I’ve missed having two challenges in an episode. Obviously last season with Redemption Island we had a Duel, (which are hardly as entertaining as challenges), but for the first three episodes this season we had combined challenges. Huge props to the challenge team for coming up with both this and the Immunity Challenge because I thoroughly enjoyed both of them – especially when Cliff hit the “game winner” after Sarah and Trish did everything they could to lose.
I’m a bit bummed that things are getting switched up next week, I would have liked the three tribe format to continue to the Merge. Unfortunately it’s not the case yet it will help Spencer. It’ll be interesting to see the new dynamics and how many tribes will still exists; they could still have three tribes just even out numbers.
I’m liking both Sarah and Tony less and less. Sarah started the first two episodes so well yet has swallowed Tony’s lies so easily its hard to believe that she’s a police officer. You’d be ecstatic if she arrested you because she’d believe anything. I want to see more of the Cliff and Lindsey relationship because it’s interesting. Woo shocked me a lot this episode turning on Cliff so easily for an alliance that would turn on him even quicker because he’s so strong in challenges. It’ll be interesting to see whether these people are forced to work together after next week’s potential swap.
Morgan needs to get over her her issue with Jeremiah because it won’t help her in the game. I was very happy we got to see a little more of Alexis this week, (even if it was about chicken eggs), and LJ is still very much getting what I feel to be a winners edit. I’ve got my fingers crossed that the majority of the Beauty alliance will remain together at the Switch because out of the majority alliances left in the game, they are the one’s I’d like to see go the length of the season; think about it, if the Brains make it all the way it’ll be “The Spencer Show” and if the Brawn majority go all the way to the end it’ll be “The Tony Show” – I don’t really want those two to be running things for a third of the season.
This season has certainly delivered so far so lets hope the switch up is a good thing for the game and doesn’t end it early by one major alliance taking over the game due to bad luck at a switch! Fingers crossed for Lexie and LJ!
Nick’s Opinion
Well after a brief interlude into Immunity town, the Brains tribe boarded the bus back to Tribal Council and a gleeful Jeff Probst, always there to point out that the Brains tribe aren’t that smart after all. So smug. Yes Jeff, we all know how much you love Colby and he’s hardly the biggest tactical genius in Survivor history is he? At least Tasha and Kass put their heads together and made a good decision. Forget about loyalty vs. tribal strength, voting J’Tia out was common sense and had been so on their last two trips to Tribal Council. Spencer’s point about unpredictability is a very good one. If you are relying on crazy to keep your alliance together, prepare to enjoy the delights of Ponderosa sooner rather than later. So farewell J’Tia. For the sake of humanity, I hope she is a better nuclear engineer than she is a Survivor player. Although Homer Simpson also works in nuclear power. Perhaps Survivor twenty-nine will be J’Tia vs. The inanimate carbon rod?
Onto the Beauty tribe. What a strange dynamic here. I can’t tell where this group is going to go. Is Jeremiah getting a positive edit or is he being set up for a downfall? I can’t tell, but Morgan is in no mood to forgive. Players that hold early grudges don’t usually do too well either; it’s time to let go and instead find a new alliance. But something tells me we haven’t seen the last of “chicken with its head cut off” behaviour from this group. Still, to bounce back from a seemingly unlucky loss to win two challenges on the bounce is impressive. And the Brawn? OK, let me get this off my chest. Can everyone stop gushing over Sarah? Exactly what is she doing that’s so great? She seemingly got fed a decent lie from Tony and never questioned it. Now she wants to throw challenges? Whatever people are seeing in her is lost on me. Watch her go on and win the game now that I have said that. But perhaps this episode is the start of Woo’s glorious ride to the top. If he wasn’t giving you Fabio vibes before, he should be now. What a lovable moron. One of my favourite Survivor archetypes. And just one point on that challenge – what part of that was meant to favour the Brains tribe? Not only was there no puzzle, but there was a basketball shooting section, and the Brawn tribe has Cliff Robinson! If we are going to have a “Brains” tribe, at least ensure the challenges have a section that favours them.
And so my Survivor Oz pool pick marches on, only just. This was a make or break moment for Spencer. I see him going a long way. We all expected to hate him, but most people are buying into his story now. I can taste that Survivor Oz money already…
Colin’s Opinion
Probst’s final words about unpredictability really ring true for this season. In so many ways, Cagayan is shaping up to be an unpredictable season in strategy, storytelling and personalities. Just when I think I have a personality figured out, like Woo, he switches allegiance and totally catches me off guard. The editing and the storytelling this season has been throwing me off as well. I was one hundred percent on board believing that Brawn was about to successfully throw a basketball themed challenge with a pro basketball player on the team. It was somehow more dramatic to have their attempt to throw it blow up in their face.
As for the quickly diminishing Brains tribe, I have to say there is one area they have proven to be smart in and that has been Tribal Council. As odd as it sounds, voting out David and Garrett before J’Tia was probably the smartest move and voting out J’Tia was again the smartest move, whether Spencer remains loyal or not. The fact is, a three person alliance is doomed come a Tribe Switch or Merge anyway, so why worry about loyalty. The real issue I would have been considering is how likely the members of the other tribe would have been to work with them, in the event of a Merge or Tribe Switch. Nothing screams scheming power players more than an all female alliance keeping their worst performer and voting out their strongest member. If they had kept J’Tia, I don’t see anyone on the Brawn or Beauty side being comfortable working with them. Keeping Spencer at least makes Tasha and Kass look like they can put a team ahead of their own interests. I hope it pays off for them, because despite their poor challenge performances, I’m still rooting for someone on the Brains tribe to take the million.
Jimmy’s Opinion
One of the basic, golden rules in Survivor is that you do not go around making two separate alliances. Your very own tribe will perceive you as being ‘wishy washy’ in making the hard and tough decisions, as was the case with Jeremiah. I loved how Morgan called him out in front of the whole tribe after they returned to camp after voting Brice out at the previous Tribal Council. Jeremiah admitted that it was a better decision for him as Brice was a threat because of his superb social skills. I think that Jeremiah put a huge target on his back as his fellow tribe mates has suddenly realised that he doesn’t show any loyalty or is trustworthy. I hope to see him go soon as I am not a big fan of Jeremiah.
There is only one thing I have to say about both the Reward & Immunity Challenges… J’Tia, really! She is absolutely hopeless in the challenges. She is probably one of the worst challenge participants in the history of Survivor. The Brains tribe was cruising along and were on their way to finish in second place. But J’Tia couldn’t handle the stress of the challenge and cracked under pressure. She only had a minimal job to do in the challenge and she couldn’t figure out where to place the flag on the platform so it wouldn’t fall off. This led to a slight opening for the Brawn tribe who ended up finishing in second place.
It happened again at the Immunity Challenge. The Brains tribe were in clear second place and wouldn’t you know it, J’Tia cracked under pressure yet again. Somehow she couldn’t get the ball back quickly to Spencer. I mean, really? It was so frustrating to watch – ARGH! If I was Spencer, I think I would have lost my cool right there and then. In the end, it was a shootout between Spencer the nerd up against NBA star, Cliff. Despite Spencer putting in a good effort, he just couldn’t beat Cliff. Thank goodness the Brawn tribe came in second place as I would have hated to have seen Cliff go. There was talk among the Brawn tribe of throwing the challenge. The plan was working if not for J’Tia’s poor showing in the Immunity Challenge. I must admit, I have been quite surprised with the Beauty tribe in both of the challenges. They seemed to be working well together as a team.
So, it was off to another Tribal Council for the Brains tribe. I had a funny feeling that the Brains tribe would vote out Spencer, but some sanity did prevail and J’Tia was voted out. If it had gone the other way, I would have been absolutely livid. J’Tia is like a cat with more than nine lives but thank goodness she is gone!
Next week looks like it’s going to be very interesting with the tribe switch-up. I can’t wait!
Survivor Re-capper: Leslie Nease
Each week we’ll bring you the viewpoint of a former Survivor contestant to hear what they think of the episode and their thoughts for the rest of the season!
Our third recap features Leslie Nease from China with special guest host Noah, as she discusses her thoughts on the season, why she isn’t a fan of ‘Cops R Us’, her thoughts on J’Tia and comparing her to her game as well as talking up her thoughts on Todd and his recent battles and commending Noah on his interviewing skills! Leslie then answers our final set of 5 questions as follows:
TIP TO WIN: Woo
DARK HORSE: Lindsey
NEXT TO GO: Tasha/Kass
TRIBE THEY WOULD BE ON: ‘Fun/Normal’ tribe
PLAYER MOST SIMILAR TO: Kass
Join us next week as we are joined by Nina Acosta from from One World to help us recap the fifth episode of Cagayan!
Survivor Oz 
Depending on how they split the tribes I think going in with a strong disadvantage might actually help the Brains tribe. Members of either old tribe might think that they need them in order to vote out the other tribe. Also every single vote this season has been made thinking far into the future. With their tribal performances who would want to vote out the Brains who seem to be no challenge threat. Plus Brawn has never been to tribal and Beauty has went once. This means that there is a lot of annoyance between tribe members built up by now. In the end Brains still might go home but I am not so sure about it. If any of the tribes could climb out of the deficit in this situation it is the brains tribe.
J’Tia the witch is finally gone, the best part of this episode. I hope Sarah, Jefra & LJ will be spared on this tribe swap 😦
Morgan is a major bitch! FYI, not everyone can be manipulated by your t!ts so don’t act like Jeremiah made the wrong decision coz he did not. Blame yourself for not trying harder to get the votes you need to be the topdog. #SoreLoser
Can wait til Morgan gets the boot. I have a feeling this tribe swap will not help her at all. I hope Morgan, Lindsey or Cliff will leave this week. Stoked!
P.S. to Morgan, as if you’re that beautiful as you think are. Look at your boobs or yourself 1st before you judge people. How dare you say Jeremiah is not beautiful enough to be on the tribe. Jefra is even prettier than you bitch.