Australian Survivor Report Card - Titans v Rebels - Episode 16
Featuring jokes that don't land, popcorn, popcorn advantages, creating vulnerability and advantages
Previously on Australian Survivor: Cursed cars caused competition, Eden’s education erred extraordinarily and recruiting Rebels rescued Raymond
Here’s the report card for the sixteenth episode of Titans v Rebels
Jokes That Don’t Land
Grade: D
There’s lots of chatter after the previous Tribal Council. And, by chatter, I mostly mean jokes that don’t quite land (Raymond) and lies (everybody else).
Raymond laments his inability to craft an Australian Survivor joke that others find amusing. Oh, my sweet garden imp brother. We’ve all been there. The thing to do is plough on, regardless. Ignore the haters and get back on the comedy horse. (The comedy horse, of course, being Mr Ed. Or possibly Alex and Mark in a pantomime horse costume. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t want to see that. Come on, producers. Sort it out.)
And if the regular folk don’t understand your contrived X-Men references? Screw them like Magneto counter-attacking in a Bunnings.
Popcorn
Grade: C-
But there’s no time to wallow in poorly received jokes. There’s an auction to attend, and Raymond, following my advice, clambers straight back on the horse. (‘Get off me,’ mutters Alex. ‘What are you doing?’ adds Mark. ‘We’re not even wearing the costume.’)
Raymond’s latest gag? He’s going to buy a giant box of popcorn for $400, spending pretty much all his money, just so he can do the ‘eating popcorn’ meme through the rest of the auction.
He chomps down enthusiastically as Valeria demands JLP stop the auction once she is top bidder. He munches with gusto as JLP helps himself to some pizza and beer. He chews with childlike delight as Feras is forced to indulge in basic oral hygiene.
It’s good material from Raymond, and, as a reward, he finds an advantage hidden in the popcorn.
What kind of advantage? An advantage that could easily backfire and send him home, of course. The Australian Survivor producers hard at work yet again on their own comic material.
Popcorn Advantages
Grade: C-
Here’s how the Popcorn Advantage works. If you think you’ve got every single person to vote for you at a Tribal Council, then, before the votes are read, you play the Popcorn Advantage. It then effectively functions as an idol, negating everybody else’s votes, leaving your vote as the only one that counts. But if even a single person doesn’t vote for you, all votes are counted as normal and the Popcorn Advantage does nothing.
Oh, and Raymond has to use it within the next three votes.
This is a perfectly good and silly advantage, rich in comic potential. Even more so, when you contemplate the idea that you could ever convince this backstabbing, wildly messy, delicious cast to ever all vote for the same person. (Kelli excluded, obviously.)
Creating Vulnerability
Grade: F
A classic game of Frustration Rope Towers sees Kitty win immunity, after Aileen’s tower of frustration tumbles a couple of steps from victory.
This is a problem for Aileen, because Kirby, congenitally unable to stick with the Rebels alliance for longer than a single vote, is suddenly back working with the Titans. And she’s determined to take out Aileen, because that will make Feras ‘vulnerable’.
Hey, do you know who’s also vulnerable? People voted out of the game, that’s who. They’re hella vulnerable. Almost never win. (Although, hello, Hayley Leake, if you’re reading.)
There are all kinds of cross-alliances and sub-alliances and intra-alliances going on, and it’s all very confusing, what with the lying and the denying and the ‘oh, now why is Caroline crying?’
Analogies
Grade: D
In the end, Alex decides on a new ploy. He won’t think too hard about the vote. He’ll just wear (but not play) his idol and see who everybody realigns with next time around. Maybe that next vote will be easier to understand.
He explains this in an analogy to JLP: “You know how in school you sit together with your friends. But then sometimes you have a fight with a friend because they sit on top of you because they think you’re half a pantomime horse, even though you’ve never worn a costume, and so for a few days you go sit with another group and find out what they’re bringing for lunch - maybe a wrap or leftover stir fry. Or pasta! But as refreshing as it is to sit with the new friends, you know when the bell—”
JLP interrupts him. “How long is this analogy going to go for?”
Alex checks an imaginary watch. “About fifteen more minutes.”
“In that case, it’s… time to vote.”
“For Aileen,” adds Kirby, in case anybody’s forgotten. (Three of them had, so this is good play from Kirby.)