Survivor 20: Episode 4

WOW. What an episode! I was so sad to see Cirie go this early; I really admire her game. This is a woman who is old, overweight, always comes into the match seemingly without friends or alliances, and always manages to make it to the final 4... until now, that is. Unfortunately JT was smart enough to realize that she was smarter than him, so he took her out. As Ben noted, this was a good play for JT - he'll do better allying himself with the likes of Tom, another gentleman and winner of the game. But I will miss Cirie! She was a blind-siding queen, and I think we'll lose a few stunners without her around.

Weirdly enough, all the players who've been voted out so far have been 2nd round picks. It probably just a random coincidence, but I'm trying to figure out if maybe there's a pattern or reason for this. If it holds true it means Boston Rob, Tom, or Amanda are next to go. They all seem secure right now, but in this all-stars season it's impossible to predict who is safe and who isn't. I'll do it anyway though - if the Heroes lose I predict Candice will be the next to go. If the Villains lose then I think I'm going with Evil Russell. I wonder, do you think Boston Rob would throw a challenge just to get rid of him? How pissed off is Boston Rob by Evil Russell trying to find the hidden immunity idol?

What If?

Both Courtney and Bag passed up the chance to buy Candice. I can't say that I disagree with either of their decisions. For curiosity's sake, I checked and I think she would've netted 7 points total, so 1/2 her asking price. If they had bought her, though, neither of them would've inherited all of those points. Courtney would be sitting at -10, and Bag would be at -15 currently, since she made no points last night. It'll be interesting to see if either of them would've made it to the black in the long run had they picked her. If Moon passes her up too, then I'll start tracking that as well.

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 45 points
1. JT (7 pts)
2. Tom (27 pts)
3. Parvati (11 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 39 points
1. Tyson (13 pts)
2. Boston Rob (13 pts)
3. Coach (13 pts)

"All Blacks" Moon: 27 points
1. James (7 pts)
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (13 pts)

"Gorbag" Bag: 24 points
1. Rupert (5 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (13 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 24 points
1. Evil Russell (13 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (9 pts)

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 21 points
1. Colby (7 pts)
2. Amanda (7 pts)
3. Courtney (7 pts)


Rankings:

1. B2B: Everything is going right for this team, it's like they've been blessed by Jeff Probst himself. First Parvati was on the chopping block and managed to weasel her way out of it. Now Tom is in trouble and the Survivor Gods lob a miracle his way too! Not only did he not get voted out, he earned 20 points for finding and successfully playing the hidden immunity idol, and managed to work himself into a stable position on the tribe! I imagine that JT could be the next at risk, since switching sides usually makes people want to vote you out, but I'm fully prepared for a medevac to save his good old country boy neck.

2. The Douches: The Douches are in 2nd place solely because the cry-baby dragon slayer is on their team. For the record, Moon, I do not think I'm underestimating this guy's ridiculousness. What was the line he said last night? "I am the Last of the Mohicans. King Arthur. Legend." This coming the day after someone said he didn't pull his weight around camp and that was enough to make him want to quit!! Ben called him a Tom Cruise Wannabe, and I think he's really hit the nail on the head with that one. Although maybe it's Daniel Day Lewis.

3. Bridesmaids: There's a huge gap between the top 2 teams and the rest of us. Right now this is a 2 horse race. I'm ranking myself 3rd because I still have all 3 of my players, which I think gives me a better chance than the others to catch up. I'm getting crushed by Courtney though, who has sat out a challenge in every single episode so far, reducing my score by 8 points!

4. New Rook: Courtney looks like she may be in hot water if Boston Rob gets too mad at Evil Russell. It looks like right now E. Russ would be the next voted out if the Villains ever lost a challenge. But at the same time, I love Sandra's chances at a deep run right now. We don't know a lot about the Villains' dynamics right now since they keep winning, but it seems to me that Sandra is a part of every decision while never seeming like she's actually making any decisions. That's a great place to be at this point in the game.


5. All Blacks: Cirie getting voted out last night dealt a fatal blow to this team. It's only being kept afloat by Danielle's enormous inflatable breasts at this point. James is probably going to be on the outs now that Cirie is gone (I'm expecting a James rant that's as big as his arms) so even if the Heroes make a miraculous come-back and go into the merge with a majority, I see him being one of the first to become a part of the jury. Without a majority, the Villains will probably vote him out even sooner since he's such a threat in individual immunity challenges. Moon now has the opportunity to buy Candice now... I wonder if he will?

6. Gorbag: Gorbag never said anything about buying Candice, so he forfeited the option to claim her. So he's down to his terrible two: Rupert and Jerri. Both seem to be laying low for the most part, but Rupert's honesty at tribal council was illuminating for me. He's just not playing the game. I think he really loves Survivor - he loves the challenges, and seems as happy as a clam around camp - but I don't think he likes the strategizing. One of the reasons we all love him is because of his honesty, but now he's coming across as flaky and absent-minded.