TDT.com | S11 : Survivor Guatemala Spoilers

Episode 2: "Man Down"

Jump to: RC | IC | Boot

Filmed: June 30 - July 2 (?), 2005
Airdate: September 22, 2005

Episode 2 vidcaps (newest sets below) \| Full gallery: Click here
Vidcaps: Ep2 20-sec TV ad vidcaps Aired 9/18/05	Vidcaps: Ep2 Gary solo ad vidcaps Aired 9/17/05

Episode description

Watch the CBS web promo. (Real media; added 9/16/05)

CBS: "- One Survivor is appalled when a nest of ants are served up for dinner in a tribe desperate for protein.
- Lacking any sympathy for ailing tribemates, one Survivor starts complaining about the weak ones being lazy and getting pampered.
- Leading into the second Tribal Council, one Survivor fights back when their work ethic is questioned by tribemates."

REWARD CHALLENGE - Water challenge, collecting bags/ Yaxha wins?

As usual, there are copious amounts of future challenge images in the Ep1 intro sequence. The trick, at least until the web promo comes out, is figuring out which goes where. We are still unsure of the order, but at least the mud challenge (below) appears to have something that could be immunity idol-like near Jeff Probst. Plus, we hear Probst saying something about "four days and no water, really taking its toll" in the context of this challenge.

The challenge below, as revealed in the web promo, appears to involve a series of head-to-head races (most likely in relay format) through a mini obstacle course, and on to collect color-coded bags, which are attached to a dome-like structure over water. Who wins? Hard to say.

What's the reward? It's partly visible on the table above Jeff Probst in the picture at right. Looks fairly small, approximately book-sized and -shaped. Our guess is that it's fishing hooks and lines, which would bookend nicely (if Yaxha wins) with Yaxha's (presumably pre-RC) search for bugs, and with the shot of four people in a canoe at dawn/ dusk (below). We think we see Gary and Jamie in that boat. Biancaxxx seems to be thinking along the same lines, and detects a hint of blue on the canoe. So maybe Yaxha wins here, putting Lydia to use, and the rest of the tribe out of their bug-hunting misery? Unless they fail to catch anything, of course.

REWARD CHALLENGE vidcaps - Click to expand

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Tugging in the mud/ Nakum wins?

Upon further review, the mud challenge does indeed appear to contain an Idol-Like Object. So this is the IC. That's the easy part.

What is the challenge? That's far less clear. It looks like there may be both group and individual parts. The group pull, with both tribes pulling against each other, presumably to get into their own"end zone," would appear to be first. But we also see Gary racing to fall on top of Judd. What's that about? Your guess is as good as ours.

Perhaps the simplest idea is a variation on one Corvis posted at MeSS: the two teams are struggling to get to their respective endzones. Each endzone has a flag. Our guess is, if someone can touch the flag, they get to unclip from the tether, and the first tribe with everyone unclipped wins. But there is strategy involved: if you unclip your strongest players first, the rest of the tribe gets dragged back to the other end of the field. So there is a constant battle to stay strong. That's how we'd do it, anyway. But we're not sure it really fits the shot of Brandon and Judd looking down, since Judd is later shown in a one-on-one battle with Gary.

So who wins? Again, not sure. Yaxha, sans Gary, is shown looking at something (Gary vs. Judd? Probst?) And Brandon and Judd are shown looking down (both literally and figuratively). Finally, there is a shot of Judd with his arms above his head in the opening credits. We note that his face is more muddy in the opening credits shot than in the shot with Brandon, so it probably comes after his bout with Gary. He starts off grimacing, but ends up in either a smile or a "Why me?" expression. Even if it is a smile, does a solo victory equal a collective Nakum one? Maybe.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE vidcaps - Click to expand

BOOT/ Amy?

For simplicity, we'll just assume that Judd really does have a victory pose in the opening credits, and that Yaxha makes its first trip to TC this week. That gives us four boot candidates. Let's tally up the evidence against, old-school style:

Amy	Gary	Jamie	Lydia
- Shown bringing up the rear in the Ep1 hike. - Probst described her (pre-game?) as a mix of Jolanda and Twila. Steph booted Jolanda the first chance she got. - In Ep1 hike description, Probst says "It's going to be long [camera cuts to Jim]. It's going to be hot [cut to Amy]." Suggests she's next.	- He's made himself a leader, despite Rafe's clear warning in Ep1 that this was unwise. - We see him fulfilling the title words, gasping for breath with a shirt over his face, presumably at the RC. - Gary's attempt to stop Judd in the IC appears to fail, making Gary the goat. - Shown falling into water in ads (above). - In the web promo, shown whining about food, right before Brandon says "You just gotta man up." - Flood of Gary-only football ads before Ep1 and Ep2.	- Criticized Steph (in a confessional) in Ep1. - Steph called him lazy in Ep1 Insider video.	- Smallest person on tribe. - Probst very negative about her chances in pre-game assessments. - Web promo shows her in RC, covered by the word "Desperate" (above). - Shown bringing up the rear in Ep1 hike.

Seems to be an edge to Gary in the negatives department. In his and Jamie's favor, however, is Probst's claim (post-game) that the Ep1 hike taught the contestants not to go booting the strong players first. Whether they remember that four days later remains to be seen, of course. But Gary is one of the "stars" of the show, and as such, probably needs a little more of an exposition of why he's booted than he got in Ep1. And Probst seems to suggest that Jamie has a story to develop as well. So that leaves the two women brining up the rear in the Ep1 hike.

Between Lydia and Amy, we'll have to pick Amy. Lydia is at least successful in the RC (she's shown bringing back a bag), whereas Amy is just sitting it out. And as we plan to get around exploring in detail at some point, the camera cuts during Probst's speeches, especially in Ep1, are usually there for a reason. So we turn to Amy's local press for comfort: "Coppola, who was working the front desk, fielded calls from several off-duty officers who couldn't make out which one O'Hara was among the 16 contestants." Hopefully they'll have more luck this week.

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