Thursday, May 13, 2010

I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S INCREDIBLE COCKINESS OR COMPLETE STUPIDITY. I'M LEANING MORE TOWARDS STUPIDITY: Among the things Survivor fans know by now -- so, presumably, the players know this too -- is that who you choose to take on a reward challenge (and who gets left behind) should be decided on strategy, not sympathy. The disgruntled left-behind can organize (Sandra/Lill/Darrah v. Fairplay/Burton), and leaving behind someone as paranoid and narcissistic as Russell ... sheesh. So things were going to get spun around this episode no matter what, but certainly the way this three-on-three played out.

We were also reminded, of course, that loose lips sink ships and that the only way two people can keep a secret on Survivor is if one of them has already been voted out, so way to go, Person Who Actually Managed To Keep A Secret On Survivor.

Also, this episode was about "experiencing the blowhole." Well, Russell: referring to your fellow competitors as "a bunch of unappreciative little bitches" makes you not a "Survivor villain," but a real-life one. Congratulations, asshole.

Added: Probst: "If I had told you at the beginning of the season that the biggest letdown would come from our most celebrated hero, nobody would have believed me. Yet, as mentioned earlier… Colby is still in the game and if he makes it to the final is probably the odds on favorite to win the money. Crazy."

19 comments:

  1. I am 75% on Team Sandra now and 25% on Team Jerri, but holy crap is Parvati a badass at endurance challenges.

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  2. Maggie9:44 PM

    I'm mostly rooting for Sandra, but can't believe that I found myself rooting for Jerri a bit too. I am annoyed these three women couldn't get their act together and vote for Russell. Colby obviously isn't a threat.

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  3. Carmichael Harold9:54 PM

    I'm kind of shocked that I'm rooting for either Parvati or Sandra, two of my least favorites coming in. They've probably played the two most impressive non-Russell games (and maybe even more impressive), and Russell is un-root-able.

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  4. Daniel Fienberg12:54 AM

    Parvati's dominance at endurance challenges makes the episode where she handed Immunity Idols to Sandra and Jerri all the more impressive, because she clearly handed Danielle the Immunity Challenge win that she'd have taken easily.

    Team Parvati! And not just cuz she's my favorite foxy boxer...

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  5. Adam C.7:19 AM

    Ditto on Team Jerri or Sandra (in that order), much to my surprise. Rationally, I know Parvati has played the best game and deserves to win. Might be tough for her to get votes from the Heroes, though.

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  6. Also, I need to note the awesomeness of Donaldson v. Donaldson. That was great.

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  7. Steph9:15 AM

    I'm pretty sure Colby was asleep during Tribal. Someone please tell me this is an act with him.

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  8. Adam C.9:56 AM

    COME ON, REID!!!!!

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  9. I have to assume they're balancing their hatred of Russell with their desire to take him to final 2, where there's no way he could win. (See, i.e., Ponderosa, where they all talk about how much they dislike him; see also, last season.)

    I did wish Russell would articulate the strategy he seemed to have for getting rid of the 3 women who'd cheated him out of time with his wife, given that it was a 3/3 split at that point. Lots of big talk, no appreciation of math.

    Finally, I'm reminded of the TWoP summary of a previous Survivor season, with a previous Rupert-sees-his-wife moment, where the recapper (probably Miss Alli, I'm too lazy to check) commented that Rupert seemed to be trying to prove that he loved his wife more than anyone else loved their family members. Charming.

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  10. First off, I think it's final three, not final two, and Russell's strategy has to be bragging about being the master strategist and assuming it won him last time too. And, yes, if you're everyone else you assume he's getting no votes there and it's worth bringing him along.

    Colby has to win both immunities, I assume, to get there, and that's not happening. The question is once it gets down to a four of Parv, Jerri, Sandra and Russell, who's most likely to be the target of the other three? Probably Parv, right, because of how well she's openly played the game?

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  11. Not that different from the brothers on Race last season, although Reid was considerably less into the arguing.

    "COME ON, DAN!" "SHUT THE @#*& UP, SAM!"

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  12. Maggie11:23 AM

    Maybe you'd want to bring Parvati - on the grounds that she's already won and so people might not vote for her to win another $1 million over you?

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  13. Jim Bell11:52 AM

    I agree with the strategy, but wonder if Sandra will buy into it based on how much she seems to hate Russell. Interesting Matchup with Parvarti, Sandra and Russell being three of the best social players ever in this game. Unlike the tone of the post though, I appreciate Russell for being an asshole. I don't find him unrootable at all. What you see is what you get reminds me of someone else I very much like.

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  14. You can be blunt without calling women "unappreciative little bitches."

    Sandra's also won the $1M, so she probably would want Parv there. But remember, because it's a F4 voting for a F3, you don't just get to drag one person in but need a coalition of three to knock the fourth out (or face the PROD, right?).

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  15. Has anyone else in the history of Survivor found a HII, NOT TOLD ANYONE ELSE ABOUT IT, and then used it successfully? (Okay, Sandra didn't actually need to play it last night, but there was no harm in her doing so, and in fact, there was a lot of AWESOME in her doing it that way)

    It always amazes me how people instantly start yapping about the HIDDEN immunity idols when they have them. No, people! It's a secret!! You use it when nobody is expecting it. Duh.

    My respect for Sandra grows with each episode. Kinda in inverse proportion to the hatred I feel for Russell.

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  16. Jim Bell3:15 PM

    I don't disagree that he shouldn't have used the slur.

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  17. Jim Bell3:16 PM

    I didn't watch the reveal of the vote tally, was it a 4-2 vote or would it have been a playoff situation had she not played the idol?

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  18. 4-2. Just Rupert and Colby.

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  19. Adlai6:37 PM

    I think Colby is only "the most celebrated hero" in Probst's house. He didn't even win! But he sure does perform masculinity.

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