Episode Report Card Miss Alli: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Removal Of Rudy
By Miss Alli | Season 8 | Episode 2 | Aired on 02.04.2004
Chapera paddles. "One! Two!" Hee. It's like they're the varsity, and everybody else is the scrub team that didn't even make JV.
Saboga's boat sinks. Ethan is the big sink-ee, since he's the one in back when it happens. He also remains on the back of the boat bailing, even after it starts to sink, instead of hopping out before they go under entirely, which is what he probably should have done. Mogo Mogo, too, has to stop and bail some more before they can keep going. Hatch is pushing their boat from behind, by the way, and I'm surprised that was allowed. I'd think if everybody didn't need to be in the boat, everybody would have just dragged it back to shore. Back at Saboga, a frustrated Jenna yells at Rudy, "Get your butt up here!" HEY! I don't know what the nature of her relationship with Rudy is, and she's seemed warmly inclined to him in the past, but that? No, Jenna, do not do that. You're annoying me so much less than last time; let's not ruin the nascent strands of goodwill growing up between us.
Chapera: "One! Two! One! Two!" I love them. Seriously. Among other things, for all the things I don't like about some of them, every person on that team hauls ass all the time.
In one of the best shots in the history of Survivor, we now see Mogo Mogo row, row, rowing their boat, despite the fact that it is underwater. Really. They're sitting in the boat, they are in water up to their chests, but they are paddling away. I had no idea that was possible. Saboga, on the other hand, has given up and is just swimming and pushing their boat through the water toward shore. Chapera hits the beach, and Boston Rob hops out and says, "Everybody out, everybody out!" And everybody hops out, and they run the boat up the beach. Alicia raises her arms to welcome her team back, as Mogo Mogo gives up on the paddling and drags the boat the rest of the way. As Chapera carries its boat to the mat, Boston Rob yells, "Say it, Jeff! Say it! 'Chapera'!" It would have been better if he had called Jeff "bitch" right there, but...you can't have everything. Alicia dances and pumps her fist. "Chapera!" says Jeff. It's all big hugs. That was really impressive. They executed that challenge perfectly, and they are enthusiastic and goofy and weird, and their young guy and their old guy have figured out how to work together. I'm telling you, Boston Rob found his leadership gene buried somewhere under his incredible living carnival of sexist bullshit.
Mogo Mogo manages to get its sorry butt across the finish line, so they're also going to be immune. Not so immune is the beleaguered Saboga, destined once again to head for tribal council. Again, there is a terrific shot of Colby and Lex leaning back and collapsing onto the sand at precisely the same moment, and the music crashes to punctuate it. Jerri and Jenna both toss paddles in frustration. The Mogo Mogo folk, by the way, hug Hatch, even though he's naked. Now that's taking one for the team. Ethan sits shaking his head in disbelief ("Who knew you were supposed to keep the bucket?") as Jeff hands out immunity idols to every team that isn't his team. That entire challenge, among other things, was absolutely flawlessly edited and scored. Absurdly good television. I watched it again when I finished writing this paragraph, just for the hell of it.