If you are looking for a Survivor recap with a specialized focus on the weekly exploits of one John Hennigan, you’ve come to the right place. After each episode, until Hennigan either wins the show or is eliminated, we’ll recap his best moments and highlights in a column we like to call, “Johnny Survivor.”
Urban dictionary defines the word brochacho as “A person who is so amazing you just can’t think of another way to describe them. Also another term for a Bro, or someone you’re really tight with.”
John Hennigan on Survivor Episode 5/6
Well, that’s how one person described brochacho because of course, Urban dictionary is sourced by all kinds of people and as it would turn out, Webster’s dictionary doesn’t have a definition because brochacho, is not a real word. Surprising, I know. But after the past two weeks, if it were to be a word, the photo accompanying the dictionary definition would be some image of John Hennigan, Dan and Christian broing out. And in case anyone is wondering, that’s also not a word or phrase, though it should be.
#Survivor introduces… pic.twitter.com/gcOruizjU9
— SURVIVOR (@survivorcbs) October 25, 2018
Ever since the Davids and Goliaths merged into three new tribes with distinct identities, Hennigan’s Tiva tribe seemed to be the strongest and as it’s turned out, the most cohesive. In the episode four recap, I talked about the makeup of Tiva as such: “On paper, it looks like Tiva is probably the strongest of the three tribes. Dan is a strong competitor and he’s got an immunity idol, and then there are John and Allison, both of whom were voted as their team’s strongest members at the beginning of the season and were chosen to take part in the initial challenge. On the David side, Gabby and Christian are two intelligent competitors. Plus, they are really the only two Davids who ended up on a team with an alliance member.”
That description remains mostly accurate except Dan now has two immunity idols, one of which no one knows about, not even the Brochachos. And as for the strength of Tiva, that has seemed to be accurate as well. Tiva is the only tribe to not have gone to a tribal council as of episode six and has won two of the three immunity challenges in that span as well.
Our first Tiva sighting in episode five saw the tribe enjoying what must have been the first nice day on the island in what seems like the entire season so far. Well, the first sunny half hour maybe. Before any of the tribes could take advantage of the brief glimpse of sun, the clouds returned and the storm was not far behind. As it turned out, that storm was a cyclone.
“An hour ago we were enjoying the sun and then clouds blew over and it got real windy,” John said as footage of the impending storm was shown. “We started getting pelted with sand and rain. Everything is soaking wet and everyone’s freezing and now there is a river of water that is going through the bottom of our shelter. It’s completely flooded…From the beginning of the game we’ve sat through rain and crazy weather but this is undeniably crazier than anything we’ve ever seen. This is a very serious situation.”
But it was perhaps Christian that had the best line in regards to the storm and its role in the game. “We’re all Davids today, that’s the Goliath.”
The Mayor of Slamtown and the city’s future comptroller weren’t the only ones who noticed the severity of the situation. Jeff Probst and his team did as well and for just the second time in Survivor history, the storm was bad enough to warrant an evacuation of the island. When the tribes returned two days later, the shelters were all obliterated, something that served as a reminder of just how intense this game of Survivor can be.
When it came time for the reward challenge, Tiva took an early lead, something of the norm, but Dan struggled in the slingshot portion of the challenge, allowing Vuku and Jabeni to catch up. By the time John took his first shot, Tiva was merely playing for second. For the first time since the tribe swap, Tiva went back to camp with nothing.
But that didn’t mean that their spirits were down. In fact, things were seemingly pretty good in Tiva as they rebuilt their shelter and John and Dan inducted Christian into their group, which Dan had named the “brochachos.” This was probably the best moment of the episode as the look on Christian’s face alone was priceless. He was thrilled to be part of the group and even named himself the “Head of Awesome Stuff…The HAS, like an avocado.” Because brochacho sounds like avocado and Christian so perfectly pointed that out as only he could.
Just one Brochacho supporting another Brochacho. 👍🏻 #Survivor pic.twitter.com/eyRczSxqqS
— SURVIVOR (@survivorcbs) November 1, 2018
In the immunity challenge, it was the newest brochacho that was the hero of the day. After John dropped his ball on the maze, Christian took over and finished the challenge second behind Alec and Vuku.
It’s easy to remain in good spirits when your tribe is winning, much as Tiva has done and continues to do. In week six, not only did they win the reward challenge of cooking supplies and kebobs, but they also won the immunity challenge. All the while, the Brochachos continued to establish themselves as a fun little alliance. Christian even fed John, yes you read that right, in what was a first-time experience for both men, and which prompted Dan’s reply, which also so happened to be the name of the episode, “Aren’t Brochachos just adorable?”
Yes Dan, yes they are. And because they’re so adorable, here’s John showing Christian how to moonwalk. You’re welcome America.
But of course, not everyone thinks the Brochachos are God’s gift to Survivor and while the three bros continue their bonding, Alison and Gabby have opted into an alliance of their own. Now, none of this may matter because as the previews for episode seven aired, it’s time for the merge and for the game to really begin.
Early on in the season, John thought Natalie was someone he could work with but she’s gone, leaving his strongest alliance members as the Brochachos. And that’s not really a bad thing given how well the group has seemed to mesh. With the merge, Goliaths will be back with Goliaths though so it will be interesting to see how the Brochachos survive, along with other David/Goliath alliances that have been formed over the last few weeks.
As for now though, long live the Brochachos, Survivor’s quirkiest and yes Dan, most adorable, alliance.
Make sure to check back next week for our episode seven recap and then tune in to Survivor, every Wednesday at 8 PM ET on CBS to see more of John Hennigan and the Brochachos.
Missed anything? Want to catch up? Check out our previous two John Hennigan recaps here:
Survivor Episode One
Survivor Episodes 2-3
Survivor Episode Four
