Gaaaaaaaaaaaah! Some crazy business going on last night, my friends! TWO, count 'em, TWO Survivors left our show last night. So fun! There is so much to talk about.
Let's start with Eeyore... I mean Rupert. Rupert is mad at Russell. Rupert is mad that Russell swore on his kids' lives that he'd do something or other (unimportant)... and of course Russell did not live up to his end of the bargain. Now don't get me started, but those of you who read this know that it's one of my particular pet peeves about Survivor when people get all high and mighty about how the game is played. My own opinion is that there's nothing in the rules that says you can't lie. In fact, the motto is "Outwit, outlast, outplay." To outwit means to "get the better of a person by superior skill, craft, or ingenuity; to prove too clever for." I'm pretty sure that's exactly what Russell is all about, non? The motto is not "Be morally superior, outlast, outplay" right??? I mean, it's not to say you can't CHOOSE to play the game without lying to anyone & in fact that can be a good strategy too. I'm just saying it's not the only strategy and it's NOT REAL LIFE. It's not wrong to lie in a game where outwitting your opponent is the point.
And let's remember shall we, that Russell is on a team called the VILLAINS. If you, Rupert, choose to believe what Russell says, then ummm.... you're a fool. Let's consult our dictionary again.... Villain, n. "An unprincipled or depraved scoundrel; a man naturally disposed to base or criminal actions, or deeply involved in the commission of disgraceful crimes." OK. So it's not like Russell's a con man who hid the fact that he's a villain. That's the name of his team!!! Sheesh.
Right. So Rupert decides that he just can't sit by and let Russell be a villain. Rupert needs to have a talk with Russell. Now, there could be a lot of ways to approach this situation. Rupert picked the worst way possible. He said something about Russell being "a disgusting human being." Well, I don't know about you, but Russell's response (to smirk and shake his head and tell Rupert he's a dumbass) was fairly justified given what we know (see paragraphs above re: outwit and villain). And I really didn't mind it when Russell told us that Rupert should "pack up his tie-dye" and go home. Hee.
So I'm sort of a Russell fan again. I know, I've been fickle. But honestly, Russell is playing the game HARD. And ego or no ego, the man plays the game better than pretty much anyone else. But now I'm thinking that Russell might have the same trouble as last time in the end.... but more on that later.
The first immunity challenge was one where everyone has a bucket attached to their hand which they have to hold above their heads. Well, Jeff brings in treats. I have never seen so many people bail for treats. And people whose status in the game is not at all solid.... Colby, Candice, Jerri, Sandra.... these people should NOT be giving up immunity for cookies. Parvati won. Parvati does not NEED to win, but Parvati is smart and knows darn well that your time could be up at any point and immunity is always a good thing. Also Parvati is thinking ahead and knows she can use these things in the end (look how well I played the game... look how many challenges I won....) Colby on the other hand.... dude needs to get off his high horse and get back to Rachel Ray. Ugh. (On a side note... I often wondered if the girls get to shave their armpits... the answer is no.)
The "big twist" was that the whole bunch of them got to hear the clue to the hidden immunity idol. So everyone went searching when they got back to camp. Sandra found the idol and immediately re-hid it & didn't tell anyone else. Clever. Rupert put a rock in his pocket and did his best to try & make everyone think it was the idol. A good play for Eeyore. Even Russell thought he had it. So the plan was to split the vote between Rupert and Candice. Rupert and Colby got wind of the plan & were thrilled at the idea of getting rid of Candice, who they were also disgusted with for jumping ship. In Tribal Council, Candice didn't do a great job of defending her actions. Should have just laid it out - you guys are losers, why should I stay with you when I had an opportunity to get in with the winners? In the end, though, it turned out to be a bad move, as the Villains didn't need her any more (did they ever really?) and the Heroes hated her for flipping. Candice, out. I don't miss her. She's boring.
Next challenge. An obstacle course of sorts with a puzzle at the end. Russell won. Then comes the crazy stuff. Russell decided to try to turn Parvati and Danielle against each other by telling each of them that the other was plotting against them. Now, this could turn out to be either the most brilliant move ever, or one of the dumbest. Russell does not know that girls talk to each other about these things and tend to stick together when they feel like they're being bullied by a dude. So neither Parvati nor Danielle was having any part of it. BUT, the seed was sown. Russell had Colby and Rupert's vote for Danielle. And he got to Jerri, who told the girls she wouldn't change her vote. Russell played on her fears, though, and she switched. And Russell remained calm at Tribal, and Danielle cried. No one likes a cryer (see: Sugar.) Brilliant play. Danielle was voted out. And honestly, I don't miss her either. I never liked her - she's a mean girl. One of those. Yes. And her breasts were really distracting.
Now here's the thing. That move has made the Parvati-Russell alliance break apart. Now it's girls vs. boys. And this is the environment in which Parvati thrives. It'll now be Parvati, Jerri & Sandra vs Russell, Rupert and Colby. (Yes, I believe that Colby and Rupert will be foolish enough to believe Russell again.) AND, the bigger picture is for Russell - if he does make it to the end - who does he take with him? Who can he beat? I think his initial plan was to take Parvati, who people don't really like and who's already won. But she is charming and has more social skills than Russell. More people like her by the end of the game than at the beginning. Sandra might be a choice because I'm not entirely sure how many people like her and her game play strategy is not so overt. She has also won a million already, so you'd have that against her, but her husband's a soldier in Afghanistan... she'd get some sympathy votes. Then there's Colby. You could make a pretty good case that you played the game WAY better than Colby. Everyone played way better than Colby. The only reason Colby's still in the game is that he goes along with whatever others are doing and is not a threat. He doesn't win challenges (not even close!) and he hasn't thought of any strategy. If I'm Russell, I bring Colby. The only possible pitfall here is that the jury doesn't think like you & I. The jury is easily swayed by the "morality" argument as we saw last time when Natalie beat Russell. The jury also tends to vote more based on likability vs. how well you played the game. So what if you're the best player ever... we don't like you. You never became our friend. You lied. And now Russell's main allies (Parvati & Danielle) would probably even vote against him. Russell is in a pickle.
OK - long post today. My only other comment is that I am loving Courtney and her fashion stylings every time she shows up on the jury. Seriously, how many suitcases of clothes does she have? AND the best was Coach in his t-shirt with his band's name on the front: DRAGONZ. Yep. If you haven't watched Ponderosa yet (you can watch from the CBS Survivor website) you really, really owe it to yourself. Trust.
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