I've heard Boston Rob say it and I think even Jeff Probst may have said it, but there have only been 21 different winners of Survivor, not 22. Let's not forget that Sandra won twice.
Also, leave me your comments on who you think will be the two returning players in Survivor: South Pacific. Here are a couple I'd like to see:
Big Tom and Ralph - It could be called Survivor: Subtitles.
Rob C and Shii Ann - Not really, but I know Rob is not a big fan of hers. I would like to see Rob C. come back again though.
Phillip and Coach - I've heard this one before and it would be interesting. I think our heads might explode though.
Mike Skupin always come to mind as someone who should be given another shot.
Personally I hope they go back a few years and not pick someone too recent. Really, I'd like them to drop the returning player thing all together for a while, but that is just me.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Survivor Redemption Island - Episode 14 (Finale & Reunion Show) - And The Winner Is...
This season was the battle of the hats: The Fedora vs. Red Sox Ball Cap. Of course that match up was ended early by the Zapatera tribe throwing a challenge and voting the Fedora out early. It was a shame because it would have been fun to see them go after each other again, but I'm not sure Russell would have been victorious this time. This is of course assuming that Zapatera didn't obliterate Ometepe. I personally don't buy the line of thinking that throwing the challenge caused Zapatera to spin downward out of control, especially since they won the next challenge. Anyway, enough of that and let's get to the finale.
We start out with Grant arriving at Redemption Island and he has a great attitude. We see that Rob has a heart and is sad that he had to vote Grant and to me it seemed like Rob was a little emotional talking about it in the confessional. It's too bad that Grant held that against him during the reunion show and I hope that they can work out their differences and be friends and not take a page out of Lex's book, from after the All Stars season.
Rob is thinking that Ashley will be voted out before the returning RI person, unless Grant comes back or assuming Ashley wins immunity, which usually happens when they show those types of comments.
Matt fell in love with RI. It is home and says what a blessing it was and that he was bitter first but it has passed. I cannot say enough good things about Matt and his character. Being a Christian myself, I have to say that while Matt wasn't perfect, he handled the situations presented to him in the best way he could and in a way that would be pleasing to God. Through the experience his faith grew deeper and the world got to hear the good news in a real way. Mike also grew deeper in his faith, which is awesome. That was what God cares about, not who wins the game and I don't think God orchestrated Matt and Mike not winning the challenge, that was just each of their skill sets didn't allow them to win. While it would have been a great end to RI to see Matt return again, it would have been painful to see him voted out a third time. Andrea also says that she is a major underdog in the duel, which is a true editing clue that she will win the duel.
RI Duel was probably a lot more difficult than it looked. They had to balance a vase on a board and using only their foot, keep the vase from falling off. Grant first out, then Matt followed a little later. Mike and Andrea battle it down to the end and both have some great recoveries but in the end Mike could pull it out and Andrea returns to the game. The biggest mistake in this challenge is watching the others because it takes your focus off what you are trying to do. I think it could have been a different game if instead of being side by side, they were more shaped like a plus sign, with their backs to each other, but I think it was better the way they did it and of course easier for Jeff to see the action.
Grant, Matt and Mike all had great comments and don't seem bitter at all. They all seem to have grown personally through the experience of Survivor and understand it is a game. Of course we saw at the reunion show that Grant was a little bitter towards Rob, but I'm thinking that feeling really started happening after he was watching the show instead of when he was out there.
Back at camp Andrea makes some comments that I thought may have gotten her voted out before Ashley, regardless if Ashley won immunity or not. Sadly today I can't remember exactly what she said, but you can watch it again online to see. Andrea then starts telling the girls that the people on RI wants to vote for Phillip to win the show, which was a lie, but not a bad strategy when you are trying to make something happen.
Natalie and Ashley are talking and it certainly seems that Natalie wants to be loyal to Ashley and wants to turn on Rob. At this point I think she is seriously considering flipping on Rob and even confirmed it was a possibility she would have, but didn't because her and Ashley knew Rob had the idol. She said that at the reunion show and that surprised me, since they didn't show it and I thought Rob had kept it secret, but in the end, it probably was the best move by Rob to do so, since they knew he was going to play it and when he did, it wasn't a shock. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.
At the first challenge, which I thought was pretty lame, the Survivors had to walk across a balance beam and get bags of numbered pieces. There were four bags, each containing more pieces than the previous bag. They had to empty the bag and put the pieces in numerical order (they were numbered 1 - 100) before retrieving the next bag. It was close but Ashley won immunity with Andrea within 5 or 10 pieces of finishing and Rob within 15 pieces.
With Ashley winning immunity, it seems pretty obvious that Andrea is probably going home and Ashley and Natalie confirm it by agreeing to vote for Phillip after Andrea is gone. As we watched, we didn't know that anyone knew that Rob had the idol and he made it seem like he wasn't going to play it, because he likes to take risks. We then see Andrea try to talk to the girls about forming a voting block to get Rob or Phillip out, while Rob and Phillip take a walk (Phillip is informing Rob how Natalie and Ashley were off talking at the edge of the woods for a long time). Natalie once again seems like she wants to turn on Rob and the editing would make you think she will, but she doesn't.
At Tribal Council, there is a moment where Rob looks concerned about some of the comments that were made so he makes a smart move to play the idol. It turns out he didn't need to play it though, and to the view it seemed that it may have been a mistake to play it since now everyone knows he kept it from them. In the end it would have been worse not to play it and get voted out, so I still think it was smart to play it safe. Phillip was happy about Rob playing the idol even though it he didn't know for sure that Rob had it, but he suspected it. Andrea gets voted out 3-2.
I find it interesting that both Matt and Andrea voted out twice in the same season, when they were initially so tight but then had their falling out. And there lies the flaw in the RI concept, because it is extremely difficult to reenter the game and have a shot at staying and it both cases, the returning player was the first to get voted off. In this case though, it was only because Ashley won immunity.
Back at camp Rob lies to Natalie and Ashley saying that he was taking them to the end and they will vote out Phillip next. Of course we know that really isn't going to happen, it was just to give Ashley some comfort, before they go to the challenge.
Before we get to the final challenge, I have a couple observations:
The final immunity challenge has Rob, Phillip, Ashley and Natalie having to go through a huge maze to collect 4 bags of puzzle pieces. At the start Everyone but Natalie gets the first bag relatively quickly. Natalie does eventually get a bag, but I don't think she got any more (maybe one more). Phillip couldn't get his last bag, but Rob was getting to the bags first and Ashley was following him. Rob starts the puzzle first and it looks like Ashley might win, when she gets the correct work in the last spot, but then she second guesses herself. Rob talks to her about working together, but that was short lived and Jeff Probst stated the obvious, that you can work together, but only one of you can win immunity. Rob and Ashley neck and neck and Rob pulls it out and wins final immunity!!!!! Rob cries with joy!
Rob gives Amber the credit for encouraging him to try again and he says no matter what happens now it is ok, win or lose. Now he has to convince the jury to give him the money even though Amber already won once.
Back at camp, Ashley is feeling good about TC as both her and Natalie think Phillip is going home. Then Rob talks to Natalie and says that Ashley has made friends with a lot of the Zapatera tribe and she would be more dangerous to have in the final 3. Natalie is feeling conflicted about voting for Ashley but tells Rob she will do it. It wasn't real convincing though and I thought we might see a tie breaker challenge at TC between Phillip and Ashley. That didn't happen.
At Tribal council, Ashley put the final nail in her coffin when she admitted that she feels she has the best chance to win in the final 3. Whether that is true or not we may never know, but I think that comment made it a lot easier for Natalie to vote for Ashley. Welcome to the Jury Ashley! It was also good to see that she doesn't seem bitter.
Day 39 at camp and Phillip talks about how great grandfather told him he would get to the end. Phillip thinks he can convince the jury that Rob is behind it all and to vote for him, but everyone knows Rob was in charge. He doesn't stand a chance. Natalie is extremely proud of herself and feels that at 19 she is a good symbol for her generation. She played her role in the game very well.
Now comes the best part of the show, Phillip says he wasn't proud to wear plumb underwear and he burns them in the Fire! My question is why did he wear them then, there has to be a story in their somewhere. So Phillip goes free balling it to final TC.
Here are my thoughts on the Opening Statements:
Natalie - She is loyal, stuck with Rob, good social skills. Coat tails is what it says to me and give the money to Rob. I think this is where her inexperience shows through.
Phillip - Says he revamped his strategy on day two and decide to be the villain so that everyone would want to take him to the end. He said he wouldn't be sitting there without Rob. Phillip claims he implemented Rob's plan, which is laughable. He basically said give the money to Rob.
Rob - Great opening remarks. He said what needed to be said, didn't apologize for the way he played the game and spoke with the experience of playing 4 times will give you.
After the opening comments were done, it pretty much gave you the impression it would be a landslide, but we still had the jury questions to come. The question would be, do we have a bitter jury or not and will they reward Rob or give it to Phillip, or more likely Natalie? Let's take a look at each jury member.
Andrea - Starts with Phillip and asks who is the real Phillip, as they saw several different Phillips out there? Phillip didn't really answer the question. Andrea asked Natalie about betraying Ashley and not trying to get something going to get out Rob and Natalie responded saying that while the friendship was real, the game is not about the friendship, it is for the million dollars. That certainly seems like a vote for Rob.
Ashley - Was bitter towards all three of them, but starts with Phillip. She tells him that she is sick of Phillips voice and he is not to respond to her. That of course sends Phillip over the edge and he says to say your peace but don't tell me what to do. At the time I thought she still might vote for Natalie, because she didn't seem happy with any of them.
Grant - He asked Natalie to explain her alliance with Rob, which I thought she did a good job at. He made it clear that Phillip wouldn't be getting his vote, so it appeared another vote for Rob.
Ralph - He says Natalie can't do anything without Rob. He was surprised Phillip didn't have a whole chicken on his head by now. He then asked Phillip why he never spoke to Ralph and Phillip did a great job of answering that question. He said it was to prove he was loyal but that he admired Ralph and that outside of the game or if they were on the same tribe, they would probably get along well. This definitely influenced his vote for Phillip, which I'm not sure he was planning on to begin with.
Matt - He asked Rob how he handles being a liar and feels he doesn't know who Rob is. Understandable comments from someone of faith. Didn't have a feel for who he was voting for.
Julie - She said no one played a respectable game and asked rhetorical questions to the group. To Natalie, "Do you think your parents would be proud of the way you played?" Julie said as a mom, she wouldn't be. She asked Phillip if his son would be proud, which he answered he would be. She told Rob that as a father to teach your daughters to be strong women. Again it wasn't clear who she was going to vote for.
Mike - He started by saying that he was closer to God than before and thanked Matt for the conversations they had. He then asked all of them what they learned about themselves? Natalie said she learned alot about camping, and that she is strong, more capable than she thought. It provided confidence and she appreciates her family more. Rob responded that it was time to stop playing games and that this would be the last day he plays Survivor. Phillip said he could stand on my own, as an outcast and that he was a beacon in the shepherd family. I thought all were good answers and wasn't sure which way Mike was leaning on the vote either.
Steve - He congratulated Rob and Natalie on surviving the elements and making it to the end. To Phillip he said he was sorry for him, who you is and what he had become. Clearly not a Phillip vote.
David - Now for something completely different, David is what a juror should be. He talks to the jury, not to the final 3 and says you should vote for Rob because he played the best strategic game ever and you all bought into it. David gets what this game is about and I'm not sure of how many people on the jury changed their votes because of what he said, but it certainly didn't hurt!
It's time to vote... they only show two votes and Ralph votes for Phillip David votes Rob.
As the transition to the live portion of the show, Jeff comes out and he reads the votes. Only 6 of the 9 votes are read, and they were:
Rob.
Phillip
Rob
Rob
Rob
Rob!
Rob wins 8-1 (the 3 that weren't shown had to be for Rob, otherwise they would have been shown, to add drama)
The reunion show had David proposing to Carolina from Survivor Tocantins and she accepted, Jeff bringing in a current federal agent to vouch for the fact that Phillip really was a federal agent. Phillip and Steve making up and Grant still harboring bitterness towards Rob. The disappointing part about the reunion show as that Jeff didn't make an attempt to get to everyone like he usually does, so many people sat there and didn't get a chance to speak.
We got a preview of the next season and RI is coming back and so are two players. Not sure if they will be people from this season or not, but it will be interesting to see.
My overall thoughts on the season, while many did not think it was a great season, I think it was an average season. For me it was fun watching Rob be the master of the game and to watch Phillips antics. Other than that, the cast was pretty blah. Matt was the only other bright spot and he got to really be a focal point thanks to RI, something that we never would have seen otherwise and God's message wouldn't have been proclaimed like it was. I'm hoping they tweak RI next season and only have it go until the merge, then get to the reward challenges, etc. Ultimately, I hope this is the last season they do RI, because ultimately I don't think it stays true to what Survivor is about. When your fire goes out, you are done.
As always I look forward to next season, but look forward to the break as well. I will blog if I see something interesting related to the show and you can still follow me on twitter (http://twitter.com/survivorpurist) as I will be updated that more frequently than the blog, on the off season. So until then... the Tribe has spoken!
We start out with Grant arriving at Redemption Island and he has a great attitude. We see that Rob has a heart and is sad that he had to vote Grant and to me it seemed like Rob was a little emotional talking about it in the confessional. It's too bad that Grant held that against him during the reunion show and I hope that they can work out their differences and be friends and not take a page out of Lex's book, from after the All Stars season.
Rob is thinking that Ashley will be voted out before the returning RI person, unless Grant comes back or assuming Ashley wins immunity, which usually happens when they show those types of comments.
Matt fell in love with RI. It is home and says what a blessing it was and that he was bitter first but it has passed. I cannot say enough good things about Matt and his character. Being a Christian myself, I have to say that while Matt wasn't perfect, he handled the situations presented to him in the best way he could and in a way that would be pleasing to God. Through the experience his faith grew deeper and the world got to hear the good news in a real way. Mike also grew deeper in his faith, which is awesome. That was what God cares about, not who wins the game and I don't think God orchestrated Matt and Mike not winning the challenge, that was just each of their skill sets didn't allow them to win. While it would have been a great end to RI to see Matt return again, it would have been painful to see him voted out a third time. Andrea also says that she is a major underdog in the duel, which is a true editing clue that she will win the duel.
RI Duel was probably a lot more difficult than it looked. They had to balance a vase on a board and using only their foot, keep the vase from falling off. Grant first out, then Matt followed a little later. Mike and Andrea battle it down to the end and both have some great recoveries but in the end Mike could pull it out and Andrea returns to the game. The biggest mistake in this challenge is watching the others because it takes your focus off what you are trying to do. I think it could have been a different game if instead of being side by side, they were more shaped like a plus sign, with their backs to each other, but I think it was better the way they did it and of course easier for Jeff to see the action.
Grant, Matt and Mike all had great comments and don't seem bitter at all. They all seem to have grown personally through the experience of Survivor and understand it is a game. Of course we saw at the reunion show that Grant was a little bitter towards Rob, but I'm thinking that feeling really started happening after he was watching the show instead of when he was out there.
Back at camp Andrea makes some comments that I thought may have gotten her voted out before Ashley, regardless if Ashley won immunity or not. Sadly today I can't remember exactly what she said, but you can watch it again online to see. Andrea then starts telling the girls that the people on RI wants to vote for Phillip to win the show, which was a lie, but not a bad strategy when you are trying to make something happen.
Natalie and Ashley are talking and it certainly seems that Natalie wants to be loyal to Ashley and wants to turn on Rob. At this point I think she is seriously considering flipping on Rob and even confirmed it was a possibility she would have, but didn't because her and Ashley knew Rob had the idol. She said that at the reunion show and that surprised me, since they didn't show it and I thought Rob had kept it secret, but in the end, it probably was the best move by Rob to do so, since they knew he was going to play it and when he did, it wasn't a shock. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.
At the first challenge, which I thought was pretty lame, the Survivors had to walk across a balance beam and get bags of numbered pieces. There were four bags, each containing more pieces than the previous bag. They had to empty the bag and put the pieces in numerical order (they were numbered 1 - 100) before retrieving the next bag. It was close but Ashley won immunity with Andrea within 5 or 10 pieces of finishing and Rob within 15 pieces.
With Ashley winning immunity, it seems pretty obvious that Andrea is probably going home and Ashley and Natalie confirm it by agreeing to vote for Phillip after Andrea is gone. As we watched, we didn't know that anyone knew that Rob had the idol and he made it seem like he wasn't going to play it, because he likes to take risks. We then see Andrea try to talk to the girls about forming a voting block to get Rob or Phillip out, while Rob and Phillip take a walk (Phillip is informing Rob how Natalie and Ashley were off talking at the edge of the woods for a long time). Natalie once again seems like she wants to turn on Rob and the editing would make you think she will, but she doesn't.
At Tribal Council, there is a moment where Rob looks concerned about some of the comments that were made so he makes a smart move to play the idol. It turns out he didn't need to play it though, and to the view it seemed that it may have been a mistake to play it since now everyone knows he kept it from them. In the end it would have been worse not to play it and get voted out, so I still think it was smart to play it safe. Phillip was happy about Rob playing the idol even though it he didn't know for sure that Rob had it, but he suspected it. Andrea gets voted out 3-2.
I find it interesting that both Matt and Andrea voted out twice in the same season, when they were initially so tight but then had their falling out. And there lies the flaw in the RI concept, because it is extremely difficult to reenter the game and have a shot at staying and it both cases, the returning player was the first to get voted off. In this case though, it was only because Ashley won immunity.
Back at camp Rob lies to Natalie and Ashley saying that he was taking them to the end and they will vote out Phillip next. Of course we know that really isn't going to happen, it was just to give Ashley some comfort, before they go to the challenge.
Before we get to the final challenge, I have a couple observations:
- There are too many puzzles in Survivor these days. It seems like almost every challenge has a puzzle element to it. While I enjoy the puzzles, I really think there should be less of them.
- There wasn't a fallen comrades portion of the show and I think this is the first time they haven't done that. I suppose they could have done it, but didn't show it, since they had the duel from RI, that took up that time. I'm sure that was how it was, but maybe not.
The final immunity challenge has Rob, Phillip, Ashley and Natalie having to go through a huge maze to collect 4 bags of puzzle pieces. At the start Everyone but Natalie gets the first bag relatively quickly. Natalie does eventually get a bag, but I don't think she got any more (maybe one more). Phillip couldn't get his last bag, but Rob was getting to the bags first and Ashley was following him. Rob starts the puzzle first and it looks like Ashley might win, when she gets the correct work in the last spot, but then she second guesses herself. Rob talks to her about working together, but that was short lived and Jeff Probst stated the obvious, that you can work together, but only one of you can win immunity. Rob and Ashley neck and neck and Rob pulls it out and wins final immunity!!!!! Rob cries with joy!
Rob gives Amber the credit for encouraging him to try again and he says no matter what happens now it is ok, win or lose. Now he has to convince the jury to give him the money even though Amber already won once.
Back at camp, Ashley is feeling good about TC as both her and Natalie think Phillip is going home. Then Rob talks to Natalie and says that Ashley has made friends with a lot of the Zapatera tribe and she would be more dangerous to have in the final 3. Natalie is feeling conflicted about voting for Ashley but tells Rob she will do it. It wasn't real convincing though and I thought we might see a tie breaker challenge at TC between Phillip and Ashley. That didn't happen.
At Tribal council, Ashley put the final nail in her coffin when she admitted that she feels she has the best chance to win in the final 3. Whether that is true or not we may never know, but I think that comment made it a lot easier for Natalie to vote for Ashley. Welcome to the Jury Ashley! It was also good to see that she doesn't seem bitter.
Day 39 at camp and Phillip talks about how great grandfather told him he would get to the end. Phillip thinks he can convince the jury that Rob is behind it all and to vote for him, but everyone knows Rob was in charge. He doesn't stand a chance. Natalie is extremely proud of herself and feels that at 19 she is a good symbol for her generation. She played her role in the game very well.
Now comes the best part of the show, Phillip says he wasn't proud to wear plumb underwear and he burns them in the Fire! My question is why did he wear them then, there has to be a story in their somewhere. So Phillip goes free balling it to final TC.
Here are my thoughts on the Opening Statements:
Natalie - She is loyal, stuck with Rob, good social skills. Coat tails is what it says to me and give the money to Rob. I think this is where her inexperience shows through.
Phillip - Says he revamped his strategy on day two and decide to be the villain so that everyone would want to take him to the end. He said he wouldn't be sitting there without Rob. Phillip claims he implemented Rob's plan, which is laughable. He basically said give the money to Rob.
Rob - Great opening remarks. He said what needed to be said, didn't apologize for the way he played the game and spoke with the experience of playing 4 times will give you.
After the opening comments were done, it pretty much gave you the impression it would be a landslide, but we still had the jury questions to come. The question would be, do we have a bitter jury or not and will they reward Rob or give it to Phillip, or more likely Natalie? Let's take a look at each jury member.
Andrea - Starts with Phillip and asks who is the real Phillip, as they saw several different Phillips out there? Phillip didn't really answer the question. Andrea asked Natalie about betraying Ashley and not trying to get something going to get out Rob and Natalie responded saying that while the friendship was real, the game is not about the friendship, it is for the million dollars. That certainly seems like a vote for Rob.
Ashley - Was bitter towards all three of them, but starts with Phillip. She tells him that she is sick of Phillips voice and he is not to respond to her. That of course sends Phillip over the edge and he says to say your peace but don't tell me what to do. At the time I thought she still might vote for Natalie, because she didn't seem happy with any of them.
Grant - He asked Natalie to explain her alliance with Rob, which I thought she did a good job at. He made it clear that Phillip wouldn't be getting his vote, so it appeared another vote for Rob.
Ralph - He says Natalie can't do anything without Rob. He was surprised Phillip didn't have a whole chicken on his head by now. He then asked Phillip why he never spoke to Ralph and Phillip did a great job of answering that question. He said it was to prove he was loyal but that he admired Ralph and that outside of the game or if they were on the same tribe, they would probably get along well. This definitely influenced his vote for Phillip, which I'm not sure he was planning on to begin with.
Matt - He asked Rob how he handles being a liar and feels he doesn't know who Rob is. Understandable comments from someone of faith. Didn't have a feel for who he was voting for.
Julie - She said no one played a respectable game and asked rhetorical questions to the group. To Natalie, "Do you think your parents would be proud of the way you played?" Julie said as a mom, she wouldn't be. She asked Phillip if his son would be proud, which he answered he would be. She told Rob that as a father to teach your daughters to be strong women. Again it wasn't clear who she was going to vote for.
Mike - He started by saying that he was closer to God than before and thanked Matt for the conversations they had. He then asked all of them what they learned about themselves? Natalie said she learned alot about camping, and that she is strong, more capable than she thought. It provided confidence and she appreciates her family more. Rob responded that it was time to stop playing games and that this would be the last day he plays Survivor. Phillip said he could stand on my own, as an outcast and that he was a beacon in the shepherd family. I thought all were good answers and wasn't sure which way Mike was leaning on the vote either.
Steve - He congratulated Rob and Natalie on surviving the elements and making it to the end. To Phillip he said he was sorry for him, who you is and what he had become. Clearly not a Phillip vote.
David - Now for something completely different, David is what a juror should be. He talks to the jury, not to the final 3 and says you should vote for Rob because he played the best strategic game ever and you all bought into it. David gets what this game is about and I'm not sure of how many people on the jury changed their votes because of what he said, but it certainly didn't hurt!
It's time to vote... they only show two votes and Ralph votes for Phillip David votes Rob.
As the transition to the live portion of the show, Jeff comes out and he reads the votes. Only 6 of the 9 votes are read, and they were:
Rob.
Phillip
Rob
Rob
Rob
Rob!
Rob wins 8-1 (the 3 that weren't shown had to be for Rob, otherwise they would have been shown, to add drama)
The reunion show had David proposing to Carolina from Survivor Tocantins and she accepted, Jeff bringing in a current federal agent to vouch for the fact that Phillip really was a federal agent. Phillip and Steve making up and Grant still harboring bitterness towards Rob. The disappointing part about the reunion show as that Jeff didn't make an attempt to get to everyone like he usually does, so many people sat there and didn't get a chance to speak.
We got a preview of the next season and RI is coming back and so are two players. Not sure if they will be people from this season or not, but it will be interesting to see.
My overall thoughts on the season, while many did not think it was a great season, I think it was an average season. For me it was fun watching Rob be the master of the game and to watch Phillips antics. Other than that, the cast was pretty blah. Matt was the only other bright spot and he got to really be a focal point thanks to RI, something that we never would have seen otherwise and God's message wouldn't have been proclaimed like it was. I'm hoping they tweak RI next season and only have it go until the merge, then get to the reward challenges, etc. Ultimately, I hope this is the last season they do RI, because ultimately I don't think it stays true to what Survivor is about. When your fire goes out, you are done.
As always I look forward to next season, but look forward to the break as well. I will blog if I see something interesting related to the show and you can still follow me on twitter (http://twitter.com/survivorpurist) as I will be updated that more frequently than the blog, on the off season. So until then... the Tribe has spoken!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Survivor Redemption Island - Episode 13 - Luckily I'm Not An Ordinary Man!
The show starts with Natalie showing she is sticking with Rob, but she has some allegiance to Ashley. This is good for Rob and not so good for Ashley, or so it may seem. Rob said he has waited 10 years to get to this point and has to keep control of the game. He is thinking Ashley is the one to vote off after Natalie comes to him about her.
Andrea joins RI and hugs the others and passes Matt up. Matt and Andrea have a disagreement on dirty looks vs. googly eyes. After that, it's time to go to sleep and Ralph is a dork about the shelter and makes Andrea sleep outside on the ground.
At the duel, Ralph takes an early lead in the maze portion of the challenge and gets to the puzzle with a sizable lead. Mike finishes the maze next and then Matt and Andrea finish closely, with Matt having a slight lead. At the puzzle Ralph is clueless and quickly loses his lead and once again Mike comes in first in the challenge. Matt and Andrea both finish at almost the same time, again Matt slightly ahead of her and they both stay in the game, Ralph becomes a jury member and that is what he deserves for carrying on the childish action about the shelter with Andrea. Rob says he wants the RI twist to be over so it isn't a factor any more, which of course makes sense. I hope it ends at the beginning of the finale on Sunday.
Back at camp, a talk about the remaining rice and how to portion it comes up and Ashley seems like she is the only one that doesn't want to eat more of it. Phillip lives up to his crazy self and goes off on the girls about how they don't need as much because they don't burn as many calories. He knows these things because he is well read, but Ashley says they are normal girls and need more. The girls did have it wrong though, in thinking that Phillip was saying they shouldn't eat, but Phillip just continues to play a poor social game, but cements himself in the final 3, should he stick together with Rob.
Ashley wants to make a move to get Grant out and she talks to Rob about it. She makes sense about not competing against Mike and Grant, Rob doesn't like it and doesn't want to vote Grant out yet. Rob tells Grant about Ashley's idea and Grant is definitely set on getting Ashley out and Rob seems to be on board. Phillip certainly will be on board too. Natalie is the question mark, but I think she'll stick with Rob.
Rob talks to Natalie and convinces her that he has her back and says that Ashley is trying to corrupt innocent Natalie, which I think is hilarious since Rob is doing the same thing by having Natalie play games with Ashley.
At the immunity challenge, Grant starts out quickly and looks like he has got this thing figured out. Rob and Ashley are right there as well and Natalie can't get it going. Probst actually tells Natalie to stop trying once everyone is out to get their last bag. Grant starts to have trouble with the last bag, even though he is the first to go for it and Ashley and Rob duel it out until the end. Ashley wins immunity and picks Natalie to share in the reward. It was a dumb move on one hand, because it almost costs Natalie the game. If I'm Ashely, I take Rob. At the end Jeff says be nice to your waiter, which makes me think he will be the waiter, but it is two locals and the comment doesn't seem to make sense to me.
Rob talks about his power once again and that no one man should have this much power in the game, but then he says he is not an ordinary man. Classic Rob! I love how he is so cocky to the cameras, but doesn't play that way in front of everyone else.
At Tribal Council, it comes down to Natalie and Grant and Grant gets sent to RI 4-1. Since Jeff didn't mention that this was the last time Rob could use his immunity idol, I'm assuming that once the RI person comes back (which I'm assuming will be at the beginning of the finale) in the game Rob will still have one more chance, which is good and it could save his butt. Grant seems to have a good reaction to being voted out and isn't sure if it is Rob or Phillip that turned on him. Rob can probably convince Grant Phillip turned on him, either if Grant returns from RI or on the jury.
Since Rob has another chance to play his idol, it was smart to keep it, but if it was the last time at this TC, it would have been smarter to sneak the idol to Natalie and have everyone but Natalie vote for Natalie, and Natalie vote for Grant, then it looks like Natalie was just sitting on an idol. I think that would have been suspicious though, so it may have backfired. Either way it didn't happen so it doesn't matter.
heading into the finale, we are going to have one heck of a duel on RI, with four very strong competitors. Grant has done very well at the challenges in the game, although he hasn't won one in a while. Mike has ruled RI since he got there and will be tough to beat. Matt who had a long streak and has been kept alive by the fact that only one person has been eliminated from RI each week. Andrea who is also good at the challenges.
I hope that Matt comes back, just because it would make a great story on how he survived every duel on RI, but if he does, I'm not sure he'll get to the end. How humiliating to be voted out 3 times in one season. My next choice would be Andrea, because I don't think she would get the votes, even if she made the final 3, then Grant and lastly Mike. I don't want Mike for the sole reason that if he is in the final 3, he wins because he is Zapetara and that is a poor way to vote.
The previews show all sort of mayhem with everyone seeming to be breaking all alliances and going their own way. Phillip says all things must come to an end, is he talking about his alliance with Rob or the alliance between Ashley and Natalie. Ashley and Natalie say it is just the 3 of us, but we don't know who the third person is. Is it whomever comes back from RI or is it Rob?
Here is how it needs to go down:
Rob needs to win immunity or use his hidden immunity idol to insure he stays in the game. Best case scenario he does both and gives the idol to Natalie or Ashley. I say Ashley because after listening to Rob Cesternino's last podcast, he thought it is smarter to take Ashley to the end over Natalie, since Ashley has annoyed more people. I tend to agree with that feeling. The person who comes back from RI, again this is assuming they come back at the beginning of the episode, should be the one voted out, unless they won immunity, in which case you vote out either Ashley or Natalie, whomever Rob decides to keep.
That would leave four remaining, Rob, Phillip, Ashley and Natalie or Rob, Phillip, RI Person and either Ashley or Natalie. The RI person needs to be the next to go if they are still in the game and don't win immunity, if they do win, then Ashley or Natalie will go, unless Phillip does something insanely stupid that makes Rob not trust him.
The final 3 should be Rob, Phillip and Ashley (or at worst case Natalie). If the RI person makes it, then they win, unless it is Andrea. Matt would be a lock to win it, so would Mike. Grant probably would win, but no guarantees. This final 3 would give Rob the best chance to win, but it really depends on how bitter the are towards Rob or if they have respect for him. It also depends on who was the biggest bad guy of the final 3. If Rob is perceived as bad and not just playing a great game, he won't win. I will be shocked if Phillip wins, but he did say he is a good talker. I'm thinking it would be too little too late with him. Natalie or even Ashley could walk a way the winner, if Rob is hated or even if he doesn't get the votes merely because he has played 4 times.
In the end, Rob is the only one that has played the game and while he has had to be the bad guy, he has a pretty good social game too. This season will be most satisfying to me if Rob wins and second will be if Matt wins. Matt only deserves to win because he lasted the whole time on RI, not because he is a good Survivor player. No one else has played the game to win, but could we have another Survivor Somoa and the role of Russell will be played by Rob? I hope not.
So until Sunday... the Tribe has spoken!
Blog
Andrea joins RI and hugs the others and passes Matt up. Matt and Andrea have a disagreement on dirty looks vs. googly eyes. After that, it's time to go to sleep and Ralph is a dork about the shelter and makes Andrea sleep outside on the ground.
At the duel, Ralph takes an early lead in the maze portion of the challenge and gets to the puzzle with a sizable lead. Mike finishes the maze next and then Matt and Andrea finish closely, with Matt having a slight lead. At the puzzle Ralph is clueless and quickly loses his lead and once again Mike comes in first in the challenge. Matt and Andrea both finish at almost the same time, again Matt slightly ahead of her and they both stay in the game, Ralph becomes a jury member and that is what he deserves for carrying on the childish action about the shelter with Andrea. Rob says he wants the RI twist to be over so it isn't a factor any more, which of course makes sense. I hope it ends at the beginning of the finale on Sunday.
Back at camp, a talk about the remaining rice and how to portion it comes up and Ashley seems like she is the only one that doesn't want to eat more of it. Phillip lives up to his crazy self and goes off on the girls about how they don't need as much because they don't burn as many calories. He knows these things because he is well read, but Ashley says they are normal girls and need more. The girls did have it wrong though, in thinking that Phillip was saying they shouldn't eat, but Phillip just continues to play a poor social game, but cements himself in the final 3, should he stick together with Rob.
Ashley wants to make a move to get Grant out and she talks to Rob about it. She makes sense about not competing against Mike and Grant, Rob doesn't like it and doesn't want to vote Grant out yet. Rob tells Grant about Ashley's idea and Grant is definitely set on getting Ashley out and Rob seems to be on board. Phillip certainly will be on board too. Natalie is the question mark, but I think she'll stick with Rob.
Rob talks to Natalie and convinces her that he has her back and says that Ashley is trying to corrupt innocent Natalie, which I think is hilarious since Rob is doing the same thing by having Natalie play games with Ashley.
At the immunity challenge, Grant starts out quickly and looks like he has got this thing figured out. Rob and Ashley are right there as well and Natalie can't get it going. Probst actually tells Natalie to stop trying once everyone is out to get their last bag. Grant starts to have trouble with the last bag, even though he is the first to go for it and Ashley and Rob duel it out until the end. Ashley wins immunity and picks Natalie to share in the reward. It was a dumb move on one hand, because it almost costs Natalie the game. If I'm Ashely, I take Rob. At the end Jeff says be nice to your waiter, which makes me think he will be the waiter, but it is two locals and the comment doesn't seem to make sense to me.
Rob talks about his power once again and that no one man should have this much power in the game, but then he says he is not an ordinary man. Classic Rob! I love how he is so cocky to the cameras, but doesn't play that way in front of everyone else.
At Tribal Council, it comes down to Natalie and Grant and Grant gets sent to RI 4-1. Since Jeff didn't mention that this was the last time Rob could use his immunity idol, I'm assuming that once the RI person comes back (which I'm assuming will be at the beginning of the finale) in the game Rob will still have one more chance, which is good and it could save his butt. Grant seems to have a good reaction to being voted out and isn't sure if it is Rob or Phillip that turned on him. Rob can probably convince Grant Phillip turned on him, either if Grant returns from RI or on the jury.
Since Rob has another chance to play his idol, it was smart to keep it, but if it was the last time at this TC, it would have been smarter to sneak the idol to Natalie and have everyone but Natalie vote for Natalie, and Natalie vote for Grant, then it looks like Natalie was just sitting on an idol. I think that would have been suspicious though, so it may have backfired. Either way it didn't happen so it doesn't matter.
heading into the finale, we are going to have one heck of a duel on RI, with four very strong competitors. Grant has done very well at the challenges in the game, although he hasn't won one in a while. Mike has ruled RI since he got there and will be tough to beat. Matt who had a long streak and has been kept alive by the fact that only one person has been eliminated from RI each week. Andrea who is also good at the challenges.
I hope that Matt comes back, just because it would make a great story on how he survived every duel on RI, but if he does, I'm not sure he'll get to the end. How humiliating to be voted out 3 times in one season. My next choice would be Andrea, because I don't think she would get the votes, even if she made the final 3, then Grant and lastly Mike. I don't want Mike for the sole reason that if he is in the final 3, he wins because he is Zapetara and that is a poor way to vote.
The previews show all sort of mayhem with everyone seeming to be breaking all alliances and going their own way. Phillip says all things must come to an end, is he talking about his alliance with Rob or the alliance between Ashley and Natalie. Ashley and Natalie say it is just the 3 of us, but we don't know who the third person is. Is it whomever comes back from RI or is it Rob?
Here is how it needs to go down:
Rob needs to win immunity or use his hidden immunity idol to insure he stays in the game. Best case scenario he does both and gives the idol to Natalie or Ashley. I say Ashley because after listening to Rob Cesternino's last podcast, he thought it is smarter to take Ashley to the end over Natalie, since Ashley has annoyed more people. I tend to agree with that feeling. The person who comes back from RI, again this is assuming they come back at the beginning of the episode, should be the one voted out, unless they won immunity, in which case you vote out either Ashley or Natalie, whomever Rob decides to keep.
That would leave four remaining, Rob, Phillip, Ashley and Natalie or Rob, Phillip, RI Person and either Ashley or Natalie. The RI person needs to be the next to go if they are still in the game and don't win immunity, if they do win, then Ashley or Natalie will go, unless Phillip does something insanely stupid that makes Rob not trust him.
The final 3 should be Rob, Phillip and Ashley (or at worst case Natalie). If the RI person makes it, then they win, unless it is Andrea. Matt would be a lock to win it, so would Mike. Grant probably would win, but no guarantees. This final 3 would give Rob the best chance to win, but it really depends on how bitter the are towards Rob or if they have respect for him. It also depends on who was the biggest bad guy of the final 3. If Rob is perceived as bad and not just playing a great game, he won't win. I will be shocked if Phillip wins, but he did say he is a good talker. I'm thinking it would be too little too late with him. Natalie or even Ashley could walk a way the winner, if Rob is hated or even if he doesn't get the votes merely because he has played 4 times.
In the end, Rob is the only one that has played the game and while he has had to be the bad guy, he has a pretty good social game too. This season will be most satisfying to me if Rob wins and second will be if Matt wins. Matt only deserves to win because he lasted the whole time on RI, not because he is a good Survivor player. No one else has played the game to win, but could we have another Survivor Somoa and the role of Russell will be played by Rob? I hope not.
So until Sunday... the Tribe has spoken!
Blog
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Survivor Redemption Island - Episode 12 - Giving it your all!
First off let me tell you that I love the family episodes and the emotion they bring to the tribe.
Ralph and Steve joins RI and they start talking about the final 3 and they realize that if one of them get to the end, especially if it is a Zapatera member, they have won. I agree with that statement, which is why it is extremely important that Rob and co. send the correct people to RI.
After the tribe returns to camp, Natalie gets emotional about having to start turning on each other and she is missing her family. Rob comforts her and states that he just has to keep everyone happy. That's a tough thing to do when you have to vote most of them out and they will likely be blindsides. Might be better to tell them beforehand and even make up a story as to why they are getting voted off.
Before the duel, Tree Mail arrives and it is a Sprint phone. Videos from family to watch before the duel. Of course that gives everyone the fuel they need to continue in the game. The crew on RI also go a phone too and they got to see their family videos as well. I'm not sure how I feel about this since they have been voted out and should they get the reward, but then again, being on RI is no picnic and technically one of them is still in the game, so I guess it is ok. Matt is energized by the chance to see his brother and vows to do what it takes to win. During the duel, here is how it went down:
Mike, starts the duel with an early break, no one else gets a break.
Everyone breaks a tile on the second round.
Everyone except Steve breaks a tile.
Mike wins the duel and family time.
Matt and Ralph also advance. Steve joins the jury.
Now Mike has a tough decision. He can forgo a visit with his mom and give to Matt and Ralph or give the visit to everyone else left in the game. He chose to give the visit to the 6 remaining in the game. Mike says that he prayed and asked God to help him win and he said that the decision is what God wanted him to do. He denies there was any strategy involved. I admire his character and I believe he was telling the truth. Ralph was upset that Mike gave the family to the 6 and would have preferred Mike keep it for himself, if he wasn't going to share it with him and Matt. Matt admits he couldn't give the visit to 6 remaining, but didn't say if he would keep it or give it to Mike and Ralph.
With the family back at camp, Phillip says will dominate the rest of this game. He told his sister that he is prepared to go crazy. I want have we seen then, if he hasn't been crazy up to this point? Rob never stops playing the game and even while his sister was there (Amber was pregnant, which is why she wasn't there), he was still planning his moves. We didn't see a lot from the other family members.
Leading up to the challenge, Rob states to the camera that he will work his butt of to prevent Andrea from winning. Editing 101 says that either Rob or Andrea is going to win the challenge and sure enough, Rob pulls out the exhausting win. You could see that everyone was spent, but Rob left it all on the field and came away with the victory. Andrea and Grant were very close to Rob in the challenge, but could quite pull it out. Definitely a tough challenge to have this late in the show, but really it would be very tough to do earlier, since there would be so many more people.
Phillip says in an interview that he is a good at talking and that he can convince the jury to vote for him, but at Tribal Council Jeff points out he is an idiot, at least from a strategic standpoint. Everyone at TC is convinced they are safe and thus the blindside occurs and takes Andrea out and send her to RI.
My thinking is Rob made a mistake here. While Andrea is good at challenges, I would have tried to approach it with Grant to send him to RI, saying he has the best chance of winning against the others that are there and making it back into the game, thus preventing a Zapatera member or Matt from reentering the game. All that would have been true and if Grant did lose and didn't come back in the game, then that fits into Rob's plan too. Andrea definitely would have been the next one on my list to go, so it could still work out ok.
Rob's best chance to win is to have Phillip and Natalie sitting next to him in the final 3. If Matt or any Zapatera is in the Final 3, I think they beat whomever the other two are. I think Grant may be the only one left in the game that has a small chance of beating Rob.
With two episodes left, I think that RI will continue and the person voted out next week will go to RI and the final RI duel will put the person returning into the game with 4 players left, leaving the final episode to eliminate 2 people and round out the jury. At least that is how I hope it happens. I don't feel that the RI person should be brought back and automatically gets in the final 3, but coming back with 5 left in the game, they can become a huge swing vote and be used to knock out someone, maybe Rob. Although I'm really hoping that Rob wins this season, because he has played the best game and deserves it.
If I was Rob, I would vote out the people in the following order:
Grant
Ashley or whomever returns from RI
Ashley if the RI person gets voted out, otherwise the RI person
Final 3:
Rob
Phillip
Natalie
Rob will probably have to use his hidden immunity idol next episode or it will be no good. Rob should not play it unless he doesn't have immunity and he has a feeling they may switch on him or if they want to vote out Phillip (or someone else he wants to save), then he can give the idol to them. Otherwise, it will only cause animosity with his tribe mates because he held it and didn't tell them.
So another good episode and I can't wait until next week. So until then... the Tribe has spoken.
Ralph and Steve joins RI and they start talking about the final 3 and they realize that if one of them get to the end, especially if it is a Zapatera member, they have won. I agree with that statement, which is why it is extremely important that Rob and co. send the correct people to RI.
After the tribe returns to camp, Natalie gets emotional about having to start turning on each other and she is missing her family. Rob comforts her and states that he just has to keep everyone happy. That's a tough thing to do when you have to vote most of them out and they will likely be blindsides. Might be better to tell them beforehand and even make up a story as to why they are getting voted off.
Before the duel, Tree Mail arrives and it is a Sprint phone. Videos from family to watch before the duel. Of course that gives everyone the fuel they need to continue in the game. The crew on RI also go a phone too and they got to see their family videos as well. I'm not sure how I feel about this since they have been voted out and should they get the reward, but then again, being on RI is no picnic and technically one of them is still in the game, so I guess it is ok. Matt is energized by the chance to see his brother and vows to do what it takes to win. During the duel, here is how it went down:
Mike, starts the duel with an early break, no one else gets a break.
Everyone breaks a tile on the second round.
Everyone except Steve breaks a tile.
Mike wins the duel and family time.
Matt and Ralph also advance. Steve joins the jury.
Now Mike has a tough decision. He can forgo a visit with his mom and give to Matt and Ralph or give the visit to everyone else left in the game. He chose to give the visit to the 6 remaining in the game. Mike says that he prayed and asked God to help him win and he said that the decision is what God wanted him to do. He denies there was any strategy involved. I admire his character and I believe he was telling the truth. Ralph was upset that Mike gave the family to the 6 and would have preferred Mike keep it for himself, if he wasn't going to share it with him and Matt. Matt admits he couldn't give the visit to 6 remaining, but didn't say if he would keep it or give it to Mike and Ralph.
With the family back at camp, Phillip says will dominate the rest of this game. He told his sister that he is prepared to go crazy. I want have we seen then, if he hasn't been crazy up to this point? Rob never stops playing the game and even while his sister was there (Amber was pregnant, which is why she wasn't there), he was still planning his moves. We didn't see a lot from the other family members.
Leading up to the challenge, Rob states to the camera that he will work his butt of to prevent Andrea from winning. Editing 101 says that either Rob or Andrea is going to win the challenge and sure enough, Rob pulls out the exhausting win. You could see that everyone was spent, but Rob left it all on the field and came away with the victory. Andrea and Grant were very close to Rob in the challenge, but could quite pull it out. Definitely a tough challenge to have this late in the show, but really it would be very tough to do earlier, since there would be so many more people.
Phillip says in an interview that he is a good at talking and that he can convince the jury to vote for him, but at Tribal Council Jeff points out he is an idiot, at least from a strategic standpoint. Everyone at TC is convinced they are safe and thus the blindside occurs and takes Andrea out and send her to RI.
My thinking is Rob made a mistake here. While Andrea is good at challenges, I would have tried to approach it with Grant to send him to RI, saying he has the best chance of winning against the others that are there and making it back into the game, thus preventing a Zapatera member or Matt from reentering the game. All that would have been true and if Grant did lose and didn't come back in the game, then that fits into Rob's plan too. Andrea definitely would have been the next one on my list to go, so it could still work out ok.
Rob's best chance to win is to have Phillip and Natalie sitting next to him in the final 3. If Matt or any Zapatera is in the Final 3, I think they beat whomever the other two are. I think Grant may be the only one left in the game that has a small chance of beating Rob.
With two episodes left, I think that RI will continue and the person voted out next week will go to RI and the final RI duel will put the person returning into the game with 4 players left, leaving the final episode to eliminate 2 people and round out the jury. At least that is how I hope it happens. I don't feel that the RI person should be brought back and automatically gets in the final 3, but coming back with 5 left in the game, they can become a huge swing vote and be used to knock out someone, maybe Rob. Although I'm really hoping that Rob wins this season, because he has played the best game and deserves it.
If I was Rob, I would vote out the people in the following order:
Grant
Ashley or whomever returns from RI
Ashley if the RI person gets voted out, otherwise the RI person
Final 3:
Rob
Phillip
Natalie
Rob will probably have to use his hidden immunity idol next episode or it will be no good. Rob should not play it unless he doesn't have immunity and he has a feeling they may switch on him or if they want to vote out Phillip (or someone else he wants to save), then he can give the idol to them. Otherwise, it will only cause animosity with his tribe mates because he held it and didn't tell them.
So another good episode and I can't wait until next week. So until then... the Tribe has spoken.
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