Episode Report Card Sara M: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Gone Fishin'
By Sara M | Season 21 | Episode 4 | Aired on 10.06.2010
Probst decides that Marty and Tyrone are either crazy or just trying to make themselves feel better and decides to make fun of Dan for a while instead. "You sat out of the challenge. Yet again," he says pointedly. Dan refuses to be ashamed, saying that mud is hard for him with his knee, but he'll "go up against anybody" as long as it's in favorable conditions. Probst points out that they're in a rain forest, so it's basically always going to be too muddy for Dan, and maybe he's "too much of a burden" on his tribe. Dan says he's only sitting out because he doesn't want to hurt the tribe, and he'll do it again, too. And he can if they keep doing these combo reward/immunity challenges and setting them up so that even the tribe that is down in members still gets to sit one of them out.
Probst asks Jill if Dan's knee issues factor in when deciding who to vote out. Jill claims that they do, and she's sick of losing challenges, especially after getting rid of an "NFL coach." The mention of Jimmy Johnson delights Probst, who asks Jimmy T. if it's "frustrating" to be without "leadership" after voting Jimmy Johnson out. I still fail to understand why Probst is so obsessed with tribes having leaders and assuming that Jimmy Johnson lead Espada, which I don't know that he really did. Jimmy T. says what Espada is doing right now obviously isn't working so they should try "mixing it up." And how, Probst asks (as if he doesn't know what Jimmy T.'s answer will be), should Espada mix things up? Of course, Jimmy T. thinks they should let him "lead" in an immunity challenge, but he says that no matter how many times he asks for this privilege, they won't go for it.
Probst then goes right for Marty and asks him if he's "open" to letting Jimmy T. lead the tribe in a challenge. "Not necessarily, no," Marty says. He continues that the tribe agreed that Tyrone should call the shots at this last challenge, and it's not always about being the best "leader" or having the most "leadership qualities," as evidenced by the fact that they voted out Jimmy Johnson. You have to be able to work with everyone in the tribe, Marty says, which means being "paranoid" or suffering from "delusions of grandeur. " Marty says that everyone's patience with Jimmy T. has been stretched "to the limit." Although I think he means that Marty's patience with Jimmy T. has been stretched to the limit, as other tribe members don't seem to be quite as fed up with Jimmy T. as Marty is. Jimmy T. claims that it's "fine" if Espada doesn't want him to lead them, but they might as well since they're sucking so bad without his amazing leadership skills. And then Holly speaks up to defend Jimmy T., saying that all Jimmy T. is asking for is a chance and they should give it to him before deciding he can't do it. This pumps Jimmy T. up somewhat, and he says he's a "valuable contributor" of both food and comfort, but apparently the rest of his tribe doesn't see him that way.