I don't have a ton of time today to blog, so apologies if this is a shorter one.
What do you guys think about Jeff's decision to turn on Penner? Now, I'm a Penner fan, as you know, so I didn't like it one bit. Fandom aside, I just think he's too hung up on the returning guys possibly winning. If I were him, I'd worry way more about Malcolm or Denise. I mean, Skupin's likely to get bitten by a shark or hit in the head by a falling coconut. And Penner's not necessarily as 'competitive' in the challenges as dudes like Malcolm or Pete or Artis or Carter. I think it's mis-focused energy. Finally, I think it was a bad idea to do in a solid alliance of 4. Jeff, Penner, Carter & Denise could have pulled in Malcolm, RC and Skupin for a majority. Then you get rid of the big dudes first - Pete and Artis. Then you get rid of Abi because she's horrible. Then you see where Lisa sits.
Lisa. I want to love her... I really do. No, I do love her.... but I'm not sure I'm 100% behind her game play on Survivor. She got totally bullied by the Pete group and now she's 'staying loyal' knowing full well that she's nowhere near the top of the pecking order. If she flipped over, she'd have a really good chance with guys like Malcolm (who had to promise her top-3 if she didn't blow his cover about having the idol. She was 'being nice' by going into people's bags (uhhhh.... that's wrong, right?) and laying out their wet clothes to dry.... thus, finding Malcolm's idol inadvertently. She was so nice and kept saying sorry. And I liked how he calls her the 'Church Lady." Hee.) Also, she had a perfect chance to bond with Penner, who knows that she's a former child star. They get along great.....buuuuut didn't see the need to talk strategy. What? Sigh. Lisa may be one of those people who really is just too nice to play this game. Unless she's got something up her church lady sleeves that I'm not aware of....?
Oh... if you didn't get it already... I probably should have started with the fact that the 2 teams merged into one. That's a bit of knowledge you should have. Also, that one man and one woman were allowed to win immunity. Carter won for the dudes, and Denise won for the ladies. How great was it to see her win something? Go Denise!
So Pete's gang's plan was to split the vote between RC and Penner in case Penner had an idol, which of course he did. And the plan worked because Penner did indeed - thankfully - play the idol. (I loved it when Penner said that he figured his alliance was strong, but if it's not, he's a really bad judge of character and he doesn't deserve to play. He must have felt something was up. Judgement intact.) Penner's group all joined in. Denise voted for Penner. Jeff and Carter voted for RC. Penner and RC voted for Pete. RC was the one voted out. I feel kind of bad for her because she seems like a truly nice gal who's a great competitor and a good Survivor player... who just got on the wrong side of a crazy person. And let's remember that it was Pete who got her there with his trickery. Yeah, I know, smart play, but still mean. And while I'm the biggest defender of 'game-play' vs. 'deserving-to-win'... I still prefer it that someone wins who's not a total a-hole. And I truly don't think they will win in the end. There's still the whole social game... even if Pete or Abi somehow made it to the end, they'd have to get outvoted for someone who's nicer. Al Capone could be up against them and probably get more votes for being nicer.
So where does this all leave us? Penner's on the outs and without an idol, he's gonna have to scramble hard and compete hard. They make it look like he wins... which probably means that he doesn't. I totally want his luck to change, but we'll see. It's not looking good. And if Penner goes, Skupin should read the writing on the wall.... he's already lost his main ally, RC because he was too stupid to leave the yellow-team "family". Ugh... who was it... was it Abi that said in Tribal Council... "Oh we fight, but we're like any family." Gross. A family who has to at some point turn on each other... See? That's the kind of language I don't like in this game. Bleh. And once the Returnees are gone, where the heck do Jeff & Carter figure they'll be on the totem pole? Bottom, that's where. If I'm Pete, I vote Jeff off next 'cause he's my next, most threatening alpha male. Carter's a threat, yes, but he's not super bright. I suppose it's possible Jeff figures he can get Denise & Malcolm on his side.... and maybe he can, but it's a stretch. Denise and Malcolm are playing the game brilliantly and staying perfectly in but out at the same time. They're both so likable and helpful and good at stuff.... yet, they generally keep their mouths shut and go with the flow. It's perfect Sophie-esque game play. They'll wait it out and see which way the wind is blowing. They don't have any huge loyalties to anyone but each other, and yet everyone sort of thinks they are loyal to them. Seriously brilliant. I will be surprised if those 2 don't make it 'til the end. And can you imagine making the choice between the two? Who would you vote for? They're both awesome. Malcolm has the obvious advantage in that he's had an opportunity to make more friends with people who will be jury members. Yet, he's also likely the bigger perceived threat.
Fun, right? Stay tuned and keep good thoughts in your heads for Penner. In the world of 'celebrities' I'd like to have a beer with or have over for a dinner party, Penner is on my list. Wouldn't it be fun to sit down with Penner AND Alan Alda and just listen....
In other news, Lisa was on the Jeff Probst Show this week - have you seen it? It's during the day, so generally I do not see it but was off work this Monday and she happened to be on. It was a pretty good interview - she talked about the Facts of Life (she just got back from spending 4 days at Jo's ranch!!) and Survivor and being the Church Lady who just got divorced after 24 years of marriage. Jeff is going to try to set her up. She's now one of his favourites - you can tell 'cause he calls her Welchel.
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