‘Survivor: Philippines’ review: Abi-Maria Gomes and the great cultural divide

Is there any doubt at this point that “Survivor: Philippines” is easily one of the best seasons in years? We’re not sure just where it will land until we release our season rankings following the finale, but so far this is a thing of beauty. Part of this is luck in that we lost some of the duller characters early on, but everyone is a gem among the cast now. We especially have to applaud the show for getting so many great women for the second straight season (Lisa, Denise, Abi-Maria), especially when they went so long without any.

Before we get to the actual content of this episode, we have to share what is without a doubt the most hilarious “Survivor” moment of the week: Carter not knowing the difference between a manicure and a pedicure after he, Malcolm, Pete, and Abi won the reward challenge. Who is this guy? This is the one joy that producers have gotten out of him all season … though it still doesn’t make up for him staring blankly into space for the vast majority of the season. (Then again, he also did feed Malcolm grapes while celebrating his reward.)

Now … we have to turn to a decision that is almost as puzzling. Why in the world would Penner not commit to a final three deal with Skupin and Lisa? This is a guy who is playing for his third time, but it once again showed off that there is one thing that he has never learned: sometimes, being theatrical is not always the best course of action. This decision to “wait and see” rather than make a pact may end up causing Penner the entire game, and he only has himself to blame for it as Lisa and Skupin instead went with their second option for an alliance: Malcolm and Lisa, and despite this being a final four deal, it’s still a little touchy given that the two pairs do not fully trust each other.

Just as we said during our preview article, this was an immunity challenge that, even in spite of Penner’s mistake, that Pete really had to win. Abi made the target even bigger on her back by once again demonstrating a complete lack of social skills, but she had an immunity idol to save her own life. Pete had nothing except a giant ego. Carter was instead a victor, which meant that we are going to be privy to many more hands vs. feet gems moving forward in the game.

We will at least give Pete a little bit of credit here for one thing: he at least tried his best to make something happen after the challenge. His campaign following the challenge was smart and simple: if he could get the right person to join them in an alliance, a split vote could mean that Malcolm was sent home courtesy of Abi’s idol. However, Skupin was the only person at least marginally interested in this … and Malcolm was aware of the plan. This campaign was made even more hilarious by Abi’s ridiculous assertion at tribal council that she came across as mean because English was not her first language, and this back-and-forth with Jeff Probst about whether or not she is misunderstood was almost as great as the entire campaign by Pete. Plus, it brought us the best footage of Denise since the merge.

Sadly for Pete, all of this pushing by him was not enough to keep him in the game. Abi played her idol, and thanks to Skupin not making a move for a change, the self-proclaimed mastermind ended up going home. Will we miss him? Sure, but it’s hard to say that we wanted him to stay over Malcolm. As a matter of fact, everyone is so good this season that save for Mr. Manicure, every one of them will be missed.