Survivor: Episode 9

Throughout the whole episode I was convinced that the Heroes would somehow fail at slipping E. Russ the hidden immunity idol. Either they'd lose the challenge, or they'd somehow be kept apart - something must happen, I told myself, to stop this train wreck from happening. Sadly, I was wrong. The incompetence of the Heroes is astonishing. I loved the part where Candice and Amanda both realize that slipping him the immunity idol is a terrible decision, but decide to let it happen anyways. The next episode will be very interesting; we'll get to see what the repercussions of the hidden immunity idol swap will be. From previews it seems apparent that the Heroes will smell foul play when they see Parvati still around. But will they actually do anything about it? And even if they do act, and take Sandra and vote for one of the remaining Villains, they have TWO immunity idols to protect themselves with. I'm guessing that Jerri will end up being the collateral damage of the next week.

Another FAIL of this episode was that the Villains voted out Courtney instead of Sandra. I'm not sure why they did that. First of all, Courtney is my player, so they should have left her in for that reason. Secondly, Sandra is much much smarter than Courtney, and she's capable of making moves that Courtney is not. I'm hopeful that the Villains will be punished for this mistake. It looks like in the next episode that Sandra will at least try to switch over to the Heroes side. This is a good play not only because she can dominate those guys in the vote and mentally, but because she really should have been on the Heroes tribe from the start. This woman is not a villain!

The merge is going to be really interesting because it's going to pit many players' ponies against each other. Parv v. JT, Sandra v. Evil Russ, Rupert v. Jerri, and Candice v. Danielle. I'm the only player who's ponies are actually in an alliance together! So many of these cage matches are at the same level too. Parv and JT are the "captains" of each alliance, Sandra and Evil Russ are the "brains", Rupert and Jerri are the "cargo", and Candice and Danielle are each "dark horse" threats. I definitely get the feeling that there'll be a couple episodes where the only names that will be bandied about will be from one player's stable.

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 93 points
1. JT (30 pts)
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (36 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 74 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
[3. Coach (30 pts)]

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 58 points
1. Colby (18 pts)
2. Amanda (20 pts)
[3. Courtney (20 pts)]

"Gorbag" Bag: 42 points
1. Rupert (18 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (18 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 40 points
1. Evil Russell (28 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (10 pts)

"Moonwalkers" Moon: 28 points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (16 pts)
4. Candice (-2 pts)


Rankings:

1. B2B - if this team keeps finding hidden immunity idols the rest of us are completely screwed. On the plus side, JT and Parvati are not in an alliance together, so I feel confident that they both won't make the final 3. On the negative side, if even one of them makes the final 3 it's probably enough for Doug to lock up a victory. Still, a lot can happen when going from 10 players down to 3, and both players are known as threats, so it is possible that they will both only make the jury. Hopefully that happens soon, so the rest of us have a chance to catch up!

2. Bridesmaids - So close! I came so close to sneaking Courtney into the merge, but alas, the Villains voted her out in the 11th hour. Colby and Amanda could get me the victory, but it all hinges on them either growing brains or starting to listen to someone smarter than them. Their greatest strength starting with the merge will be their likeability, so I'm hoping they won't start stepping on other players' toes in the next few weeks! I'd be very happy to see a Candice, Colby, Amanda, Sandra alliance get together later in the game...

3. New Rook - Courtney's in a good position because I feel like the Heroes + Sandra are going to start eliminating Villains, but they'll constantly fail when trying to get rid of Evil Russ. It was huge that Sandra made it to the merge - she's got the time and the ability to put herself in a much more secure position. Russell, on the other hand, thrives on the brink, and that's where he'll be come merge time. Out of all the teams that are left, I think Courtney's is the most capable of getting both her players to the final 3. Unfortunately, that's what she'll need to have a chance at winning, since neither of her players are known for winning individual challenges.

4. Moonwalkers - Moon's dark horse team is doing really well, considering the circumstances. Candice and Danielle both seem to be laying low while still having a full understanding of what's really going on. There is a huge point deficit for Moon to make up, though, so he'll need more than just a victory from a pony to get him the victory in the pool.

5. Gorbag - Jerri is lost and confused, and Rupert is most confident about things the things he's most wrong about. He thinks that the Villains are in an all-female alliance, and he thought he was their best candidate for a challenge where he's spend most of his time putting all his weight on a broken toe. Delusional? Yes. A future winner of this game? No.

6. Dachui - It's disappointing that only one of their players made it to the jury, but it's cool that the one who did is Coach. This guy steals the show even when he's not playing!