Survivor: One World Ep. 24.10, “I’m No Dummy”: A bitter Troyzan prepares for war

Survivor: One World Review, Season 24, Episode 10, “I’m No Dummy”
Airs Wednesdays at 8pm (ET) on CBS

After playing his idol and losing his ally, Troyzan and is on his own and ready to battle. Unfortunately, his idea of competing involves cursing out his opponents and rubbing his success in their faces. Apparently, Troyzan isn’t concerned with getting any jury votes. It’s fine to try and win immunity, but he’s no Terry Dietz or Tom Westman. There are still nine players remaining, so Troyzan will need to win six straight challenges to make the end. Even if he makes it there, acting like a jerk is not a good strategy. His immunity win saves his hide this week, but that success will likely be fleeting. Shouting “This is my island!” and acting like a lunatic is wasted energy in a social game like Survivor. It also makes him look foolish to viewers at home. The downside of Troyzan’s win is the disappointing exit of Leif, who seems like a really nice guy. He’s just not a very good player, unfortunately.

This week begins with nine players remaining, which is the perfect time for the bottom group to make a move. Using basic math, the best opportunities for a change arrive when there are an odd number of players. Some of the show’s biggest blindsides, including the dramatic shift in Vanuatu, have happened in this type of situation. Since the dominant alliance of four women (Kat, Kim, Sabrina, and Chelsea) appears strong, there may not be another chance to take them out. It seems like common sense for the others to band together. Tarzan, Christina, Alicia, Leif, and Troyzan can flip the game and take out the top four pretty easily.

There are two problems with this scenario, however. First of all, Christina and Alicia seem fine with riding into the final six with their alliance. They must be counting on the top players to turn on each other. The other issue is Troyzan. Once he starts going crazy, the chances of anyone working with him are gone. Taking a chance and making a move doesn’t make sense because no one wants to ally with a bully. Troyzan’s “competitive juices” may be flowing, but his inability to hold it together dooms this possibility. When he finally tries to make the pitch, only Leif decides it’s the right move. Troyzan begins the episode by picking on Christina, and it’s interesting that Alicia is the one who steps up to defend her former enemy. She seems to have moved past the nastiness, and the duo has stuck together since the merge. This is somewhat hypocritical given Alicia’s earlier behavior, but it’s still a notable change.

Auction! This long-running Survivor reward challenge is back, and teams get actual money to bid exorbitant amounts on food items. Some players are way too hesitant, and Christina ends up with nothing. The big winner is Kim, who gets a shower and toothpaste along with peanut butter and chocolate. Emotions run high when letters from home are offered, and Alicia and Tarzan spend all $500 of their money to read them. The other twist is the chance to buy an advantage in the immunity challenge. Troyzan waits for it and grabs the edge, though Christina has a chance to swipe it. Bidding the maximum amount wins each prize automatically, but few exercise this right. It’s not rocket science! Predictably, Troyzan uses this opportunity to once again act like a jerk. It’s impossible to sit at home and understand how emotions can go overboard in the game, but it’s still really poor behavior.

The immunity challenge is a rehash of earlier challenges, and they’re not super exciting. The first step involves untying ropes, and the top four enter the next round. One of them is automatically Troyzan, who receives that edge for his earlier purchase. Kim, Tarzan, and Christina join him in the second round, which is the “backyard” challenge of bouncing coconuts off a trampoline. Troyzan and Tarzan reach the finals to battle for nickname supremacy. The final task is shooting a slingshot at tiles and knocking out three in a line. It’s very close, but Troyzan edges through for a hide-saving win. This is a rare case on Survivor where seeing the underdog win is disappointing. Afterwards, a surprisingly lucid Tarzan confronts the winner and asks him to be noble, which falls on deaf ears. Troyzan is too busy worrying about finding the idol and taunting the women. If only Colton was around to convince him to give up immunity!

Tribal Council focuses on Troyzan and his plans to switch the second-tier players against the leaders. The editing acts like it may happen, but the women’s knowledge of this plan doesn’t bode well for its success. They split the votes 4-3 between Leif and Tarzan to protect against the idol, and Kim only receives two votes. Looking towards next week, the two guys seem most likely to go home. Troyzan’s antics have pinned his entire hopes on immunity. If he wins, this could mean doom for Tarzan, but he might have some wiggle room. A smart player could decide to keep him around to use as a goat in the final Tribal Council. For pure entertainment value, this is the preferred result. Before the family letters appeared in the reward challenge, he was ready to keep the money for his car’s shocks at home. Tarzan’s delivered this type of wonderful moment every week, so having him around until the end would bring much-needed personality to this unusual season.

Dan Heaton