1. The game that Kim is playing this season has often been compared to the way Boston Rob used to manipulate the other pawns around him in all of the games that he competed on. For the majority of the season, I didn’t think that Kim/Rob comparison had a leg to stand on. While Kim was a good player, I stopped short of calling her great simply because she didn’t face any type of real competition (although, in hindsight, it is this lack of competition that makes her game the most like Boston Rob now that I think about it). With that being said the last two episodes have cemented Kim’s position as perhaps the best female player of all time. While it is contingent on her winning (which I have maintained as inevitable all season long based on her edit), I really think that she might already be the best (not including two-time winner Sandra Diaz-Twine).
2. There can be no argument against the notion that Alicia, Christina and Tarzan should have forced a tie tonight. One of the Survivor arguments that bothers the most is when people say that going to rocks to split a tie vote is a bad move because it might result in a person going home who wasn’t even in danger. This is completely idiotic. Survivor has always been a game about luck, risk and managing danger. Last season, the plan for Cochran to tie the vote was rock-solid and he just made a terrible decision to flip. Alicia and Christina should have definitely tied the vote. At the very least, they would have been unsuccessful and might have gone home because of rocks but at least been remembered as actual players. At most, they would have not only taken out Kim’s most powerful ally but might have also forced Kim to use her hidden immunity idol. If she had, this might have had even greater ramifications on the game as it would have shown the others that Kim didn’t disclose her possession of it.
3. There have been many amazing liars to play the game of Survivor. The difference with Kim is that it appears that she has almost no qualms about doing it and this is what makes her absolutely fascinating to watch. While Tarzan kept telling Alicia not to fall under the spell of her angelic blue eyes, it’s the icy cold blood that runs through her veins that makes her a fascinating case study to analyze in terms of how to play Survivor.
4. I thought that Chelsea made a bad decision to take her proposed final two to the reward challenge with her. It never ceases to amaze me how many players don’t realize the long-term consequence of momentary fun. She might as well have held a sign that said ‘these are the girls that I am taking to the F3 with me and there is nothing you can do about it.’ The only thing I didn’t account for was how easily Kim would convince Alicia and Christina that Tarzan was targeting them (even though it made no rational sense for him to do so considering Alicia is/was his closest ally in the game).
5. Did anyone else feel like Kim almost held back intentionally on both challenges this week just so that she wouldn’t be perceived as even more of a threat? I thought she could have won both.
6. Why was Tarzan wearing Kat’s panties on his head and why didn’t we see more of this footage. If this was Celebrity Apprentice and their brilliant editors, I feel like this would have almost certainly been the focus of the entire episode.
7. At this point, the only way Kim doesn’t get to the end is if Sabrina and Chelsea realize that the jury will reward her for the spectacular game that she is playing. Even if they do (unlikely), I feel like Kim’s Medusa eyes are powerful enough to even get them to tell Jeff not to even include them as part of the F3 and that they just want Kim to win. That is how much control Spradlin has.
8. It was kind of weird seeing a girl on the jury huh?
9. I thought that this week’s episode could have been quite good had we seen a tie vote. When it became obvious that we wouldn’t, the episode became boring quite quickly. The penultimate episode before the finale is supposed to be the most exciting and yet I feel this one seemed more like a throwaway second episode or something.
10. The fall of Alicia will be quite interesting to see. I can’t wait to see how she handles it.
That’s it for me. I will see you all after the finale next week.
If you are interested, I will have four former Survivor winners on The Murtz Show tonight to preview Sunday’s finale. Sandra Diaz-Twine (Pearl Islands, Heroes vs. Villains), Bob Crowley (Gabon), Todd Herzog (China) and Aras Baskauskas will be joining me at 9:30 PM PST tonight to tell me who they think will win the $1 million prize on Sunday. Plus, I will have a special surprise winner as well. Please join us at 9:30 PM PST tonight HERE tonight.
