While this episode didn't have as much in-your-face comedy as the two previous episodes, there was a lot to love here and a little bit to hate. More on that later.
Let's start with the love.
The Duel
Redemption Island was a bit of a love-in with Francesqua and Fabio II. I have to admit I was wrong, though. My money was on Fran to win the big duel, but it turns out that Jesus really was on Fab's side & helped him pull off a victory. Makes me wonder if having a few days toughing it out by yourself really does make a difference? We'll have to see. I enjoyed how 2 people from each tribe were allowed to go watch and then report back to the group. For Tribe Rob it was Andrea & Ashley (Note: for the entire last post, I referred to Andrea as Ashley. Oops. But seriously... all the tiny blond girls always are interchangeable to me... I find it tough to keep them straight. Remember Purple Kelly? Thank God she had purple hair or I'd have no idea who the hell she was til day 30 or so. I even had to just now go to the CBS site to look up if the "other girl's" name is actually Ashley. It is. And none of you called me on my error, so I have to assume that none of you know/care about the difference either.) Anyway, Andrea is pissed about the tribe voting off her BF, Fabio II, so she makes sure to announce that she didn't vote either of the duel contestants off. OK, blonde, sit down! At least she talks. And cries. Poor, poor, doe-eyed Andrea. Thank goodness Pensacola Rob was there to talk to her & explain the vote. He reminded her that 4 people voted for Matt, that it wasn't just him making the decision (smart, right?) and not to worry. I do give her a teensy bit of credit for saying she doesn't trust Rob, but I still can't see her being much of a player... she's too sensitive.
Back to the duel... Steve & Dave got to go for Tribe Russell. They figured they'd tell Russell that "the black girl" won, not "the blonde dude". (Really guys? My boyfriend Jeff called them by their names at the challenge... is it that hard? Wait. Fran-cheese-qua. Yes, maybe it is.) Anyways, I'm not entirely sure what they thought this would accomplish, except maybe just to mess with Russell's head a bit... It didn't seem to. When Russell eventually went to Redemption Island & saw that it was Matt, he just kinda went, "Oh. They told me it was the black girl." Surprise.... (cue sad Charlie Brown music.)
The Throw
Team Russell threw the challenge so that they could get rid of him. This is huge. First of all, it's huge because it could backfire & it at least looked like it was going to (Dang those clever editors... I fully thought the firewoman was going to flip. Did you? More on that later.) Second, it's huge because Russell can still possibly come back. And he will come back mad. It's like poking a bear. You could just let the bear go about his business, eating and sleeping and scratching at his lumps (uhhhhhh, what the hell is with Russell's infected, razor-burned armpits? Ew. And why the hell would a dude shave his armpits in the first place?) and believing he is king of the forest, OR you can go up and poke the bear with a stick. Knowing that Fabio is at R.I. (Redemption Island is so long to type), I think the better choice would have been to get rid of Russell's minions, Stephanie & Krista, thinking that Matt would have a better chance of beating them and getting rid of them for good. The last thing either team wants is for a pissed off bear to end up voting with the other tribe at the merge... a likely spot for them to be reinserted. I don't think Russell's tribe is thinking ahead this way and I really think the bear is going to come back to bite their collective asses. And back to the throw for a sec... the group could have done a better job. David just stood there and LOOKED at the puzzle, while Rob solved it. David could have at least moved a piece or two around. David is not an actor. (Can you imagine if they had Former Special Agent Philip on their team. He would have just announced it to Russell, "They are throwing the challenge. I am a Former Special Agent. I can tell.") Even though Russell called them out for it at Tribal Council, I'm glad that everyone kept up the ruse. David said, "Just because the hands aren't working, doesn't mean the mind isn't." Hee. I'm going to use that in my list of awesome Survivor excuses, right after "I have a dry throat. I'm getting treatment for it."
The Almost-Flip
Julie. She's the "old lady" firefighter. We hadn't seen much of her til now. I can't remember who called her an old lady, but it was probably Stephanie 'cause she's an idiot. At any rate, can we talk for a minute about the fact that Julie is 50? Have you seen her bod? It's AMAZING! (As an aside, I just read that Julie is also an outrigger canoe paddler who has won some serious races. I am a comparatively beginner outrigger canoe paddler, and am now hoping to have a bod like Julie's when I am 50!! Mind you, poolster Lori claims that Julie also has "beady eyes" and I am hoping this has nothing to do with paddling.) Right. So Russell and his followers decide to try to flip Julie by telling her that she has a much better chance with them than she would with the six others. She makes it sound very convincing that she was sold on the idea, saying that yeah, she'd like to go to the end with someone like Russell who had been there before and even did the fist-bump with them to show them that she's in (The fist bump is the new handshake? Discuss.) It was convincing. Even up til Tribal Council... she sat there smirking away... I thought she was smirking with Russell, but it turns out she was smirking AGAINST Russell. Hee. I was so ready to hate her for being stupid, and now I love her for being a fit, beady-eyed, 50 year-old paddler who sticks with her alliance. Yay, Julie!
The Fat Ass
OK, I really don't think Philip has a fat ass. He's weird, for sure. The fuscia Y-fronts are offensive, definitely. But, Philip and his ass saved the day for Boston Rob. Sort of. When they won the immunity challenge, Team Rob got a reward too... some comfort items like beach chairs, blankets, a tarp. Everyone figures there will be a clue to the hidden immunity idol so they all look through all the stuff upon return to camp. As Rob is searching away, he notices the clue in the chair that Philip is sitting in. He tells Phil that the chair's about to break & if he gives it to him, he'll go & fix it. He later comments that he never thought he'd be thankful for Philip's fat ass, but if he hadn't almost broken the chair, he'd have never noticed the clue. Now, that's not to say that he found the idol. He looked and then said, "It might as well have said, "The idol is somewhere."" Hee. Mostly he was happy knowing that no one else has the clue. Again, well played. I am loving watching Rob so much.
The Hate
From the love to the hate. I hate Stephanie so much. She looks annoying, she sounds annoying, she wore green pumps, the "sucks at life" comment, and now this. The cocky, cranky, know-it-all, condescending talk at Tribal Council. And the huge suck-up factor. Did you see her looking at Russell like he's the second coming? Did you see the two of them (Steph & Krista) sitting with Russell in the shade while everyone was working? (Who was it called them Russell's "concubines"? Sarita maybe? Loved it.) Ugh. She's awful. I enjoyed Sarita voting for Stephanie and saying, "You are misguided and rude." Well said, sister!
The Vote
So the six stayed solid and voted 3-3 Russell & Stephanie just in case they had an idol, forcing a re-vote (is that a word? Re-vote?) Then the six all voted Russell. Many shots of Russell's tattoo that says "Keep Hope Alive." I am so hoping that he gets another tattoo that says, "I'm dealing with a bunch of bitches." (Note to self: add this Russell quote to list of Survivor excuses.) While I enjoyed, as I'm sure a lot of you did, watching Russell be NOT in control and get voted out for the first time ever, I'm telling you.... Trust. The bear is very angry.
No comments:
Post a Comment