Along with the multi-Emmy Award winning The Amazing Race, genre pioneer Survivor will be among the reality programs reviewed here on COWD. This 20th season and 10th year of Survivor is already off to a roaring start. One of the great things about these all-star seasons is that we know all the castaways, how they play, and all the minutia that can often bore or distract from the game itself. We have none of that and are racing toward the eventual merge... So let's begin!"Coach bows down to me- He was the one kneeling to me, and I knight him. As the King that I am, I knight the Dragon Slayer to be part of my Kingdom." -Russell
At last week's Tribal we saw JT choose to stick with Tom & Colby over the Micronesia gang which included James, Amanda, Rupert, and the now voted out Cirie. As usual, this episode picked up right where the last left off, with the "Heroes" on their way back from Tribal. This is where the ramifications of JT's choice come into play, as Amanda, a quiet, beautiful, genial, but cutthroat player expresses that she doesn't buy his excuse for voting out Cirie, and that she no longer trusts him regardless. It seems he has burned that bridge and will be with Tom & Colby to the end, with Candice in tow... Or not??? I do think JT's reasoning to the group for ousting Cirie was sound, and if they were playing the game instead of purely the numbers within their own tribe at this point, I think most would've seen the wisdom of his action, whether they trust him going forward or not. Cirie was dangerous, and as mad as Amanda might have been, from every comment Cirie has made, she was just waiting for the chance to return the knife to Amanda's back from their previous experience... so be careful what you wish for.
I'm thoroughly enjoying the challenges this season. They're brutal physically and often mentally as well. The Reward Challenge for this episode saw the return of a very punishing game from just last season. In that challenge, Ben won notoriety as the first ever castaway ejected from a challenge when he knee-capped "Bug-Eyed" Russell. This season the action was just as rough, but without the cheap shots... Or Not!!! Did you see that push into the pylon that Rupert sent Jerri's way? Wow! It must've felt so nice to sink the winning basket for her... Speaking of Jerri, am I the only one who likes her this season? She seems to be a bit more mellow and able to own her role on the "Villains" tribe. I really didn't like seeing her upset at the All-Stars reunion show, so it's good that she's back on the horse.
As bad as Ben knee-capping Russell last season, the real knee-capping was with injury-prone James. A darker presence in Survivor this season, James has seemingly been really angry. I think he was really bummed about his medical evacuation from before and has been so focused this season that it's coming out improperly. His second appearance was supposed to redeem him from the stupid mistake of being voted out while holding two immunity idols from his first go-round... how embarrassing then, that he went out with a cut finger. This third outing holds tremendous pressure for our grave digger, I'm certain. From being hyper-critical to teammates, to just plain dismissive and rude, the new injury can't help his demeanor going forward, though. For his sake, let's hope the rest of the season is torso heavy...
From the idol challenged of James, to the idol sublime of Russell, the king has come through again. I'm not quite sure what Boston Rob's plan is. It's possible that his lack of familiarity with idol play is going to bite him in the end. He may very well have telegraphed his undoing several times over the past couple weeks when he pointed out that he never dealt with idols before. If he has it out for Russell, and he does, and he plans to vote Russell out, that's a problem. The only way to get someone out who has an idol is to blindside them. The other option is to flush the idol and sacrifice one of your own, or split the vote carefully and send an ally of the idol holder home while still flushing the idol. So, instead of this being dangerous for Russell, it's really only dangerous to Rob himself and Parvati as Russell's ally. It's a good thing the Villains haven't had to attend many Tribals...
And the reason they don't have to go to Tribal is that they're really good at puzzles. The Heroes have brawn in spades, but they're totally lacking upstairs, and their votes to send people home only continue to weaken them mentally. At this point, the only hope the Heroes have is for some really physical immunity challenges. Once again this week, it was their undoing.
The loss left them bound for Tribal again and JT in a swing vote position again. He had repaired things enough with James, et al. that they at least somewhat trusted him for a vote going in. Tom & Colby were understandably somewhat confident. Then the vote... They kept the guy who can't run.
I think JT made the wrong choice tonight. Had he stayed with Tom & Colby he could have brought along Candice, and made her more happy. James would've been gone, leaving Amanda and Rupert. Rupert has proven worthless as a strategic player and as a lasting physical one, and Amanda stabs her allies in the back on the way to being second every time through bitter jury votes. How did JT choose wisely? I can't even run the scenario...
What did you think of this week's episode and the vote? Did JT do the right thing?
I'm not impressed with Rupert this season. He seems really goofy. I think JT may have made a mistake because those that he voted with really don't trust him & he should be very careful. I think Colby will go soon because they don't seem to keep those that can help win challenges. You don't win by keeping the weaker players. As usual I'm getting a good laugh at Coach! He's priceless, as is Russell. My favorite is Boston Rob & I hope he stays, if no more than to make the show interesting.
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