Survivor Heroes vs. Villains: Boston Rob vs. Russell, part one

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’ second episode is all about the Villains … and it’s very specifically about two Villains in particular.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains has a rather dramatic moment basically from the get-go in its second episode, and that dramatic moment helps kick off the focus of the major pre-merge Villains storyline.

Said big moment of this episode had to do with Boston Rob. He named the episode, “It’s Getting the Best of Me.” His frustration with the shelter led him to overwork himself and actually pass out in the woods. Medical had to come in and take a look at him. He said he’d had some “crybaby-itis,” he made Jeff Probst laugh, and he was back in the game. All in all, it was pretty simple.

Unfortunately, the combination reward and immunity challenge turned out to mostly be physically-oriented … which seemed to suit the Heroes, but just wait. Rupert, Courtney, and Randy all took a seat and let the other 16 players roll cubes.

When Survivor takes the chance to show some pre-challenge strategy, you know it’s about to matter. In the case of the Heroes, the tribe all agreed to listen to J.T.’s wisdom, using the key phrase “one voice.” The problem was that Stephenie continued to try and offer advice, while the Villains listened to Boston Rob. As you can imagine, this led to the Villains taking the win and the tarp.

All of this contributed to “King Russell” (his nickname, which … no) going and killing a wild chicken to one up Boston Rob and getting a confessional whining about how he didn’t like the other man “being in charge.” Keep an eye on that one, since that storyline over on the Villains leads into the pre-merge.

Meanwhile, James led a campaign against Stephenie, while she, Tom, and Colby attempted to sway Cirie and Candice. That extended to Tribal Council, where things got particularly heated.

Alas, Stephenie went home with six votes to Amanda’s three, and Probst didn’t even have any pithy commentary at the end.

Next: Survivor and Game of Thrones

For our next look back at Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, it’s time for one of those challenges that isn’t always super-fun to watch anymore.