Survivor 20: Episode 7

The mighty battle was waged and after the dust settled, Evil Russell emerged as victor. This was an awesome example of how much potential this game truly has. Both Russell and Boston Rob proved their mental toughness and ability to completely manipulate other people. Danielle and Parvati both earned themselves "best supporting actress" nominations as well for the way they leaned on Jerri. This truly is an all-stars cast: it's like watching LeBron go up against Kobe, but in a game that's much more subtle.

It's going to be fun to watch the collapse of the Villains - I have no expectation that they will win many more challenges. Russell is not a leader that can win this tribe points - he thrives on dissention and paranoia. The more his tribe splinters apart, the better he does. Boston Rob was the real leader of his tribe and it's really unfortunate for them that he lost this war. However, as someone who is supporting the Heroes and Evil Russ, I was really pleased with the outcome.

And speaking of the Heroes, what a turn-around they're having! I thought it was premature for Probst to be talking about how the Villains were getting whooped, but now that Boston Rob is gone, I think his statement will be accurate. Colby's attitude change was huge, and I think that all 5 of the remaining Heroes can make it to the merge easily. Once again, it really comes down to when they will merge. Will it happen next week? If so, Sandra and Courtney have ties to Rupert and Amanda respectively, and they could easily jump ship and give the Heroes the majority of votes. If it's a couple episodes from now, they may have a 5 v. 5 showdown of epic proportions. I can't believe I'm actually thinking that the Heroes could even the count - just two weeks ago this seemed like a pipe dream!


What If?

Candice continues her point-winning streak, earning 5 more points last night. Since Moon has now purchased her, I'm going to stop keeping track of this, but wanted to do one last point comparison. Since the beginning of the game, Candice has earned 18 points through our system. While no one would have been able to win all of those points, had Courtney bought her after Episode 2, she would now be officially out of debt with +1 points! Had Bag bought her the week afterwards he'd be at -4 points (as would Moon had he bought her after episode 4 and not after episode 6). Doug and Dachui would still be at -10 points, which is where Moon is currently. I think it was a smart buy by Moon, but we'll see HOW good as the weeks progress.


Current Standings:

"Douchey" Dachui: 64 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
3. Coach (20 pts)

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 63 points
1. JT (12 pts)
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (24 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 42 points
1. Evil Russell (28 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (12 pts)

"Gorbag" Bag: 34 points
1. Rupert (10 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (18 pts)

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 32 points
1. Colby (10 pts)
2. Amanda (12 pts)
3. Courtney (10 pts)

"All Blacks" Moon: 20 points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (16 pts)
4. Candice (-10 pts)


Rankings:

1. B2B - JT and Parvati are two of the three players currently in control of this game. They are a force to be reckoned with and I think that it will be very difficult to get them out of this game. Combine this security with the massive amount of points B2B already has, and this team will be tough to beat. Obviously anything could happen - see example #6: Dachui - but both are conniving, attractive attractive players who have no qualms about backstabbing anyone. Given the chance, will Parvati betray her "savior" Evil Russell?

2. New Rook - Evil Russell's coup d'etat was huge for New Rook Courtney. Unfortunately it means that her other player Sandra is now in serious danger. It also means that her team probably won't be winning a lot of points until the merge... unless Russell starts finding more immunity idols. I think this team will go through a point-earning drought for a while, but it has the capability to go very deep in this game. Russell has worked his way out of every possible "death" scenario, does he have it in him to make it to the finals yet again?

3. Bridesmaids - I still have all 3 of my players, which is a minor miracle. All of their names have been brought up to be voted out and yet they are dodging bullets left and right to hang around. I feel like Courtney will be Russell's next target at the beginning of the next episode, but Sandra will probably piss him off more in the long run, so I hope he gets rid of her first. But really my success hangs on Colby and Amanda keeping the Heroes tribe on top once the merge happens. Is it possible that one of my players will finish in 2nd place AGAIN?

4. Gorbag - I gotta say, I didn't think both Jerri and Rupert would still be in the game at this point, but Jerri is turning herself into an important, pivotal player. Rupert's alliance seems secure, and with an upcoming merge I think they can both safely fly under the radar. This team is really starting to grow on me, and I've only ranked them this low because I have more players and I think that Gorbag will have a tougher time winning individual challenges, not because I think they won't last long. Does anyone else think that Jerri's hair looked fantastic in the last episode? Long, unwashed hair really suits her!

5. All Blacks - Moon is in the hole with his purchase of Candice, but that doesn't mean he's out, just down. Buying Candice was crucial for him to have a chance to win this game. It's just that he now has a lot of ground to make up to get himself back into this competition. What will Moon name his re-vamped team? Will he go with the brilliant suggestion of"Michael Jackson"?

6. Dachui - While Dachui leads in points currently, they only have sad old Coach to keep their team afloat. They have no chance of buying Candice now, so they're going to have to depend on an emotionally unstable flip-flopper. I think he could win some individual challenges and maybe even make top 3, but it's going to be hard for Dachui to maintain their lead while everyone else has 2 or 3 players earning them points. How many more times will Coach cry this season?