Siberia Gets Into the Thick of It

Siberia is an all new concept of television from NBC: a hybrid between a reality competition and a supernatural mystery action flick that keeps us guessing!  While I am no fan of reality competitions, Siberia has managed to pull me in and get me addicted to what it's selling.  For a full review of the premiere and second episode visit Siberia Finds a Common Bond: Reality Competition & Action/Mystery Flick and Siberia Goes Deeper into the Woods, but let's take a look at the important events from the newest episode, "Lyin' and Tiger and Bare", that really stepped it up a notch as we learned more about the characters and their eerie surroundings. 

• The group starts to become more comfortable with their habitat and each other with an impromptu swimming trip.  While it began with just Carolina and Johnny appearing to form a bond, the others quickly joined in. Although Esther chose to show the group all she has by skinny dipping (let's be real, she walked around naked most of the time before even getting into the water) and Miljan showed off his flamboyant briefs, others were more modest as Daniel and Irene decided to stay fully clothed, watching from the sidelines, as their own budding romance begun.  Sabina also chose to not participate and found more interest in a large paw print, different from the earlier encountered beast.
• Their food shack was set on fire.  Whilst watching their entire food supply burn to the ground Miljan pointed the finger at Johnny, questioning him as he was the first one at the fire.  After the flames had diminished, Daniel brought up the fact that there was not enough glass to account for the jars they had counted and rationed.  However, the rest of the group seemed to put the idea that the fire was set intentionally out of their minds and focused their anger on attacking Neeko.  He had suggested that the food be portioned out and kept safely in the shed.  With hunger pains causing agitation amongst the group, tensions ran high.
• Thankfully the Revealer blasted it's fog horn sounds just in time, giving the group a much needed bow and arrow.  While both Johnny and Sam give the weapon a try, it was Irene, who until now hadn't shown any skills helpful to the group, who was the only one able to wield the weapon with accuracy.  She teamed up with Johnny in an attempt to utilize his tracking and hunting skills with her arrow accuracy.  However, while Irene had taken archery classes, she'd never killed anything before and contained no desire to do so.  She came to Neeko with this concern and his pep talk wasn't particularly compassionate, instead it went more like: we need food, you're the only one who can shoot, and it needs to be done.  Nevertheless, Irene decided to take on the mission for the group and together her and Johnny are able to track down a family of deer and Irene hit her target dead on.  Irene's squirmishness got worse after she successfully killed a young doe and Johnny proceeded to cut off it's head and drain the animal's blood.  Johnny posed the idea that because they did all the work, and as such, they should keep their prize and not share with the others.  Irene was totally against this and insists on sharing their catch with the entire group, I fear her optimism concerning her opponents will hurt her in the long run. 
• Sam had the idea to use Irene's pantyhose as a rudimentary net in an attempt to catch fish.  He was unsuccessful and his feelings, compounded by hunger, reached a breaking point when Natalie made it her mission to chastise him any chance she got.  During his expedition, he saw a portion of the brush move like a large animal was in the nearby woods, it appeared to be the same area where Sabina had previously found the paw print.  He also discovered a bracelet in the shallow waters that was a love token marked for Anne in 1908, likely belonging to one of the disappeared settlers, he keeps it with the hope it will bring him luck.  I don't know how good an idea this is, as it clearly didn't grace its previous owner with good fortune.  
• Suddenly Natalie and Annie came running back to the settlement instructing everyone to get inside that they had seen a tiger.  While some members doubted their claim and suspected the girls of attempting to scare them, it also occurred to the group that the producers could have intentionally had the beast on a chain to rattle their nerves.  However the girls remained adamant that what they saw was real and no hoax.  Neeko informed them that earlier, when gathering firewood, he had come across a speaker posted high in the tree, that it was all part of the scare tactics and it also explained the strange noises they had herd their first night in the camp.  He insisted it was a controlled environment and they wouldn't put them in real danger.  However, everyone seems to have forgotten about Tommy and if these are just tricks set up and they really are safe then how did one of the contestants die?  Daniel wasn't interested in any of this as he was blinded with concern for Irene, who was out in the woods with a huge target on her back, the bloodied dear.  With the wild animal loose, attracted to the smell of blood he ventured out alone to inform Jonny and Irene of the impending threat.  This might have won Irene over as she saw his actions as brave and it was clear he cared for her.  Upon their return, the group feasted on the deer and all emotions diminished with their hunger but this didn't last for long.
• The following day, Carolina took Neeko aside and informed him that she had seen Johnny hiding in the bushes and they proceeded to investigate.  We also saw Johnny doing this earlier in the episode and he claimed he was gathering flowers in an attempt to woo Carolina.  They returned to the campsite with their findings: the missing jars from the shed wrapped in Johnny's shirt.  Everyone became infuriated with the realization that Johnny had stole the food and set flame to the structure.  However reveled only to the viewers, we see video footage from inside the food shed, learning that Carolina was the real culprit thus setting Johnny up.  But why?  At first the burning of the shed made everyone turn on Neeko, but then she chose Neeko to help her "uncover" the food making him the hero and Johnny the bad guy.  I suppose she just wanted to try to raise the tension in the camp in order to win the competition.  So much for her looking down on Esther and her ruthless way of playing the game.  Perhaps it's like Carolina said in the first episode, the universe rewards you for your actions and hopefully we will see it punish Carolina for hers as well.
• In the shocking conclusion Neeko finds Sabina alone in the woods, when he confronts her as to what she's doing she shows him a mauled tiger, leaving no doubts that it was real, but she poses the question, "What could do that to a tiger?".  This has everyone wondering, what should they really fear in the woods?   

Once again on Siberia we have learned that all is not what it seems.  We saw different sides of Natalie, Daniel, Irene, Johnny and Carolina in this episode and I am sure more surprises are just ahead involving not only the characters' secrets but the mysterious past of their settlement in Siberia that is ever so slightly creeping into their present stay.  Tune in Monday's on NBC and check back here for weekly recaps, reviews and predictions, enjoy!