Survivor Week 3 Recap: What the Heck Did I Just Watch?

As zany and gripping as Wednesday night's tribal council was, it was one of my least favorite episodes in the show's history.

So much felt wrong about the twist and the way it unfolded.

1) Two tribes should NEVER go to tribal council together.

Twists can make the game exciting. And clearly the show wants big moves and crazy things to happen. I'm all for tribe swaps. But I don't like when Survivor messes with its perfect formula to create shameless drama (ie: the Tyler Perry idol).

Obviously life isn't fair and neither is the game of Survivor, but what happened Wednesday night was downright egregious. In no way is it fair for one tribe to get to try to vote someone out from the other. This premise strays so far away from the core of Survivor.

A tribe shouldn't have that kind of power over another. These are decisions that should be left in-house. How can someone outwit and outplay the other castaways that they have zero connection too who can vote them out? This was ridiculous.

2) Jeff should have been more clear with the rules for tribal.

While saying "oh by the way you guys are going to tribal together" makes for good theater, it isn't the right way to present a twist. Jeff should have laid out all the information regarding the challenge and tribal council, before the tribes picked who was sitting out. The castaways should know what they're in for before they receive their punishment. This wasn't right.

3) Where the heck did that idol come from and what happened to the challenge idols?

Last week I shared why challenge idols are great. They come at a price. So why didn't we see any talk of idols before the challenge? How come one easily showed up when Tai needed one, when his tribe was down in numbers? Meanwhile we saw no talk of idols on the other side?

Not to mention, I've never seen a more helpful clue for an idol. The clue literally had an "X marks the spot" drawn on to show exactly where Tai could find the idol. It couldn't have taken him more than 15 minutes to retrieve it.

This whole thing is fishy to me and it makes me question the integrity of the game. From an entertainment standpoint, this tribal council would really only be interesting if the tribe that was at a disadvantage had an idol. Otherwise they get voted out 6-5. Seems a little too unbelievable for me.

4) JT's legacy takes a blow and it's not entirely his fault

JT was one of the most likable players ever. In Survivor: Tocantins, there were confessionals of other players saying they wanted him to win more than they wanted themselves to win. Everybody loved this guy.

He made an ill-advised, risky decision in Heroes vs. Villains and made a similar mistake this time, giving too much power to the enemy. But we shouldn't be too hard on him.

JT was in the worst spot among the players. If just his tribe goes to tribal council, it could potentially be him. Now the other tribe's coming with, and if he votes with his new tribe then everyone is going to be mad at him for "flipping" even though he's on a new tribe and needs to protect himself. But he also wants to integrate himself in to the new group. Either way he comes off as disloyal. But that's not fair because this isn't a merge, and the tribes will go back to being themselves in the morning.

Now he's in a terrible spot and will likely be the next boot. Unless the producers save him with an idol.

One of the biggest problems with all-star seasons is that great players and characters can take a big hit to their legacy. Despite everything great they do their first time playing, people will remember the bad. This shouldn't define JT, not by a long shot.

5) Survivor isn't just about big moves.

In fact, Survivor is more about the small, subtle moves. And for myself as a viewer, I don't keep watching Survivor hoping for the craziest moments and biggest gameplay moves to happen. I like all that Survivor has to offer, and the game is just part of it. I'm drawn to seeing people from different walks of life come together and form friendships, coexisting and creating a new society. I like seeing heart (for instance, Adam and Jay crying together over their sick family members).

But sometimes I feel Survivor turns into something more like WWE than reality. It wagers on the big strategic moments and often loses key characters as a result. Wednesday night was a prime example. So was it interesting? I wasn't bored watching tribal in the least bit. But it felt a little too artificial for me to consider one of the best tribal councils ever.

6) We lose one of the best Survivor fan favorites ever far too early.

Whether it was Sandra or Malcolm, one was due to get idoled out of the game once JT revealed the plan to the opposite side. Instead we keep Sierra and Brad? Both fringe players? Poll the fans and ask who they want to see stay and the answer is easily Malcolm and Sandra. We'd rather see JT and Sandra go toe-to-toe, than have an idol mess it all up. We lost one of the few true "game changers" on the season and we will likely lose another next episode.

From what I observed, I didn't find any flaws in Malcolm's game. He got screwed by a twisted twist and he should be furious. Hopefully it isn't the last time we see him on our TVs. And hopefully this is the last twist that happens in Game Changers.