Four episodes in and we’ve had four home-runs this season on Survivor! I can’t even remember the last time a season was this thrilling pre-merge, so I’d go out on a limb and guess that all Survivor fans in the Twitterverse and Blogosphere are happy as clams. However, according to Abi Watch 2015 – Abi-Maria is STILL in the game. I repeat: STILL in the game. Since I promised last week that I wouldn’t bitch about Abi for 1,000 words every post, let’s just get into the guts of the episode…including that fiery tribal!

Chaos Kass has a heart. Listen. I get it. People dislike Kass. People strongly dislike Kass. But for the same reason that Abi has her fans, I found Kass to be an unpredictable treat to watch in Cagayan. And now we’re getting a redemption story? Kass has read “How to Win Friends and Influence People”? Kass is making Kelley a birthday gift and not fashioning a fake idol? Who doesn’t love a redemption story, people!?! (Let’s be serious – we sure aren’t getting one from Abi! BAH, there I go again!) Regardless of whether or not Kass is sincere about her efforts to change, I still like what she’s doing. Russell Hantz sucked hard because he played the same game twice in a row and lost for the same reasons. At least Kass is trying something new, and I commend her for that.

Tasha and Savage for Presidents. Both of them. Multiple presidents. VIVA TASHA AND SAVAGE.

Holy EFF, that Savage vs. Deitz vs. Jeremy challenge! Watching this 1 v 1 v 1 “Hero” challenge was a Survivor fan’s wet dream. Seriously. Three super well-liked macho men going nuts in a challenge to feed their starving tribes. Savage vs. Deitz at the very end was a battle for the history books. The Survivor Gods must have been watching with a Cheshire Cat grin on their faces – I know I was! I felt bad for Jeremy that he came up short, but damn, was that good TV. And we were just getting started…

An epic immunity challenge and tough loss for Angkor. If I was ever on Survivor, there are two challenges I would fear: 1) is eating that damn balut (aka – the developing duck embryo that Probst assures us is a Philippine delicacy…Google this is you aren’t familiar!) and 2) a blindfolded challenge. Being blindfolded sucks and I’d probably end up going all Keith on this one (but seriously, dude – get your ears checked!). Those blocks looked heavy and the puzzle looked hard, making this challenge a doozy! It’s also pretty whack that Angkor has no food and no supplies, so needless to say, this group is on the eternal Struggle Bus. Watching them run out of gas was heartbreaking, but tis the game – and back to tribal they go.

This season keeps on delivering – TRIBAL COUNCIL, OMG. With Abi now flipped over to Tasha and Savage’s side, the vote was coming down to either Varner or Woo. Although I’d love to drink some beers with Woo, I never liked him as a castaway. He’s clueless, aloof, and believes the last thing that the last person he spoke to said – every. time. Watching him put up a fight against Varner was refreshing! THERE’S THE WOO I WANT TO WATCH! Both men fought like the champs they are – Varner went so far as to plea to every single person on an individual basis! It was a back and forth ping-pong match as Woo and Varner fought to get the last word in, with Woo even pleading to Abi-Maria just seconds before getting up to vote himself. I don’t mean to sound all Jeff Probst here, but I’m going to do it anyways: THIS IS HOW YOU PLAY SURVIVOR.

Goddammit, I love this season. Did I mention that yet?

Varner sadly, regrettably gets the axe, which is crushing in a way. The guy was so compelling and animated, stealing the show week after week! He will definitely be missed, but what a huge, huge character to be voted out of the game so early. There’s probably going to be a lot of happy castaways on the other sides once they find out. Unless their name is Terry or Kelly Wigglesworth – if so, it’s time to regroup!

One last thing about Varner – apparently his injury was a much bigger factor to the situation than shown on TV. Head over to EW.com’s Survivor Talk for more on that!

Final Thoughts:

Are Spencer’s days numbered? We watched Monica hear out Spencer’s ramblings for a while, as she simultaneously cut him down in an interview segment. No one seems to trust the kid, nor do they seem to like him much. If his tribe loses immunity next week, we could be seeing another fan-favorite exit through Probst’s back door (wait, that just sounded wrong).

THIS SEASON IS JUST…ERMAGERD! Dalton Ross nailed it saying:

The ability of this program to continue to astound, excite, thrill, and shock over 15 years in is downright absurd. It actually makes me feel sorry for all those folks that stopped watching because they thought they had seen it all or because they’d suffered through one or two less-than-spectacular seasons. You know those people: the ones when you mention Survivor that go, “Oh, is that still on?” even though they know good and well it is still on because they still see the ads all the time. Yeah, those people. They try to make you feel dumb for continuing to watch. If only they knew what they were missing. But they don’t, because they bailed. Their loss.

PREACH IT, Ross.

Until next week, Survivor fans. (And hopefully there’s more JOE, amiright!?)