Survivor: San Juan del Sur - Episode 3 - Recap and Results - Actions vs. Accusations

Recap and results for Survivor: San Juan del Sur - Episode 3 - Actions vs. Accusations:

Welcome to the recap and results for Episode 3 of Survivor: San Juan del Sur -- Blood vs. Water, "Actions vs. Accusations"!

Last week's episode saw the elimination of Val, who tried to pull off one of the biggest lies in Survivor history by claiming to have found two hidden immunity idols. Of course, she actually provided a pretty good explanation for her plan in the deleted scenes for Episode 2, but we didn't see any of this in the actual show. What we saw was John Rocker (who found an idol himself) trying to work with her, having promised her husband, Jeremy, that he would do his best to take care of her. However, Val not playing an idol resulted in a tie vote at Tribal Council, which forced Rocker's hand. He voted to send Val home, risking the consequences of going back on his word to Jeremy. In her exit interview, Val stated her expectation that Jeremy will compete more intensely as a result of her elimination. But will that prove true?

What consequences will Val's elimination have? Can Coyopa break its losing streak? Let's get this show on the road!

Credit: CBS

AFTER TRIBAL COUNCIL

Back at Coyopa, Baylor feels "officially woken up" from feeling she's safe in this game, and says she doesn't trust anyone in the tribe. That said, she says she's open to still working with whoever's game. John Rocker, meanwhile, complains about Val not playing an idol, since he's now going to look like he didn't keep his promise to Jeremy. He's also irked that someone apparently flipped and voted for Val. Josh, just like when he voted for Baylor without her knowledge, immediately admits he was the one who flipped. But he rationalizes that he had to flip his vote, since Val and Jaclyn were trying to get Baylor out. John isn't so sure about the plan, but Josh doesn't particularly care what John thinks anyway, since he's "lost all credibility."

Meanwhile, over on Hunahpu, Drew is snoozing instead of pulling his weight around camp, annoying the hell out of everyone. Jeremy says he was thinking about taking Drew deeper into the game, but is now rethinking that stance. It seems like Jeremy is growing really confident in his power within Hunahpu, if he feels he can dictate who leaves when. But Drew is a special case, since everyone else seems to want him gone too, particularly Keith, who can't believe Drew has the audacity to sleep while everyone else is working.

Credit: NBC

REWARD CHALLENGE

As Coyopa comes in for the reward challenge, Jeremy notices Val isn't there, and angrily mutters, "Whatever, man." Noticing Jeremy's pain, John apologizes, saying he tried as hard as he could to lobby for Val, but couldn't swing his alliance. He admits that he had no choice but to go with the majority. This angers Jeremy even further, as he shouts out a word of warning to the women on Coyopa, telling them that the men are taking over and that they need to change that before it's too late. "Ya'll are next!"

Josh, however, is far less concerned with what Jeremy said than with what John said, as he's stunned by John openly admitting to an alliance with someone from another tribe. I guess that adds to his earlier comment that John no longer has any credibility in this game. That said, John has an idol that no one knows about, so I wouldn't say he's entirely out of this game yet.

In the challenge, Wes takes on his father, Keith. They must balance tiles across a rickety balance beam, stacking them onto a pile. If they drop any of the tiles or fall off the balance beam, they must go back to the start. It's not that different from last week's challenge, honestly. And it somehow manages to be even shorter than last week's challenge, as Wes demolishes his father in the challenge, finally breaking the Coyopa curse and giving them their first challenge victory. Keith and Wes have an emotional moment, as Keith tears up with pride over what a man Wes has become, while Wes tears up upon seeing his father so emotional. I love their bond.

COYOPA WINS REWARD!

They have the choice between fishing gear and blankets, but choose the fishing gear in lieu of comfort. Wes selects Josh to join his father on Exile Island, rationalizing that since he gets along with Josh, his father will too. It's an interesting rationale, although Josh doesn't seem too thrilled about it, even though it comes with an opportunity for a hidden immunity idol clue.

On the way out, John Rocker apologizes to Jeremy again, but he's not trying to hear it.

Credit: CBS

AN EYE FOR AN EYE

Jeremy wants Julie gone now, to pay John back for failing to protect Val. He announces John's identity to the rest of the camp, telling them about John Rocker's homophobic, racist, bigoted comments. This immediately turns everyone against Julie, by extension. Julie recognizes that John's failure has made her a target, and retreats into the woods to cry over her situation, and it's an interesting reflection on how the Blood vs. Water twist changes this game, as some people are judged in relation to their loved ones, whether fairly or unfairly. It's surprising, although not exactly new. Parvati caught hell in Heroes vs. Villains for teaming with Russell, whom everyone hated.

Meanwhile, over at Exile Island, Josh and Keith pick out of the urns, and this time, Keith succeeds in getting a clue. He shares the clue with Josh, but they both reason out that John probably has the idol on Coyopa while Jeremy probably has the Hunahpu idol. They spend some time bonding on the island, and I really, really hope they both make it to the merge, because I dig this pairing. They're just so chill around each other.

Back at Coyopa, Baylor is trying to get back into the good graces of the camp, but that's easier said than done, since all the other guys in the tribe recognize that Baylor is just scrambling to save her own ass. Looks like the dudes alliance is enduring, for now.

Credit: CBS

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE

Each tribe will be separated into pairs that will be tethered together. A pair from each tribe will scramble through the obstacle course to retrieve a ball. They will then shoot that ball into a basket at the top of the course. First tribe to score three points wins. Dale and Keith sit out on their respective tribes.

In the first round, Josh and Baylor face off against Jon and Natalie. Jon and Natalie make short work of the course, retrieving their ball, while Josh and Baylor have a much harder time. Despite shouting "airball!" at Jon for each shot, Josh is unable to shake him. Hunahpu is up 1-0.

That is, until round two: Wes and Alec vs. Missy and Julie is a pretty one-sided affair, as Wes and Alec tear through the course, retrieve the ball, and make it 1-1. In the next round, John and Jaclyn make it 2-1, as Coyopa takes the lead.

In the fourth heat, Jeremy and Kelley are able to even it up, sending us into a final round: Wes and Alec vs. Jon and Natalie. It's a pretty heated battle, as they clash at the center of the obstacle after each miss their first shot. Jon and Natalie retrieve their ball first, Jon takes the shot, and it's a third immunity win in a row for Hunahpu.

HUNAHPU WINS IMMUNITY!

After the challenge, Natalie shouts that Coyopa should get rid of John. An argument breaks out, with Natalie bringing up John's past and throwing it in his face, saying all he does is talk about wins, when all he does is lose. And against the kind of people he was bigoted towards in that infamous article. Julie tries to stick up for John by saying they don't know who he is as a person, but John immediately undoes all her damage control by telling Natalie he'd knock her lights out if she were a man right now. He tells them to take down the course so they can all just fight and have it over with. Although Dale stands up for John, his behavior is appalling enough that even Josh is considering voting out Rocker now, arguing that he's playing erratically. Natalie's approach wasn't exactly elegant, but if it gets Coyopa considering how toxic it is to their public perception to keep Rocker around, then I won't exactly complain.

Credit: CBS

BACK AT CAMP

John is stunned that he was called a homophobe, since his closest ally in the tribe is Josh. He tells people to look at the "actions vs. accusations." But Josh is reconsidering his alliance with John due to his comments, arguing that he might not want to be aligned with someone like John if he doesn't have to be. In a plot to counteract John's attempted blindside against Baylor, Josh gets Wes and Baylor together to organize a blindside against John, saying that the only way this will work is if they get Wes on their side, and keep John from catching even the slightest hint of rebellion. This is all well and good, except Alec doesn't think they should be getting rid of their biggest athlete, which shows a certain shortsightedness on his part since 1) John hasn't been much of an asset to them so far, and 2) they're likely only a week away from a tribe swap anyhow. That said, you can't play your game based on maybes, since the game is always evolving from season to season. But tribe swaps are a pretty regular thing, and a swap should be coming up pretty soon. Ultimately, John is bringing his idol to tribal, just in case.

Credit: CBS

TRIBAL COUNCIL

In recapping the unpleasantness with Jeremy, John says he doesn't understand why he's catching all the blame for what five other people decide. He tried to protect Val, but her actions made it impossible for him to do so. Baylor isn't sure about where everyone stands in the game, and says you can never really be sure, particularly with this tribe, echoing comments from Josh that not everyone seems to have their stories straight. Jaclyn is annoyed that girls are always on the chopping block, feeling that they need to stop picking on her and Baylor. She challenges Coyopa to "grow some balls" and vote out one of the guys. And with that, we vote...

John votes for Baylor and says this is an act that will finally stabilize his alliance. Baylor votes for John right back, saying he's a negative to their tribe. Probst gathers the votes...

BAYLOR
JOHN
BAYLOR
JOHN
JOHN
JOHN

JOHN ROCKER is voted out of SURVIVOR: SAN JUAN DEL SUR!

Credit: CBS

HA! SUCH a satisfying result. John had become an albatross to the Coyopa tribe, so probably going to be a massive weight off of their shoulders not to have his poisonous negativity and alpha male nonsense bringing them down. He may be physically strong, but there's a lot to be said for morale, and how positivity can help motivate a tribe to turn the tide.

In his exit interview, John is surprisingly even-keeled about his elimination, saying that plans don't always work out, but he gave it his best shot and had a great experience.

Of course, if John had shown ANY of that even-keeled demeanor in the actual game, he might still be there. But while it can be useful to take a jerk to the end, it can be just as toxic to your game to ally yourself with a person no one respects, because that lack of respect can often rub off on you unless you've played an impeccable game. So dumping John was the right choice, particularly for Josh, who might be seen by rival tribes as someone who's sacrificed his principles by aligning with a homophobe. This was a good call for Josh and for Coyopa.

But what do you think? Did Coyopa make the right decision? Or should they have kept John around? Sound off in the comments!