Greetings. Today’s Monday (when I’m writing this), and well, meh. And to make matters worse, I have no clue what just happened on Survivor last week. I’ll try to decipher the cryptic code that is last week’s episode.
A couple big things stood out from last week. There’s Brandon’s annihilation of the reward challenge, Judd’s childish behavior, and the surprise Blake vote.
First off, I kinda like Brandon. I don’t know; maybe it’s the fact that he’s so damn good. To see him utterly destroy Blake like he did was awesome. Because of his skill, Nakum was able to leisurely stroll through the rest of the challenge. Of course, that may not have been good for some people (ie, Bobby Jon – later). Any time you clearly win a challenge, it’s never good to over-celebrate, and Yaxha did just that. Cockiness = enemies. Simple as that.
I’m sorry, but while we’re talking about behavior, I just have to bitch about Judd. I want this moron to just go away. I don’t know what he’s trying to prove! Okay, so you’re now lower on the pecking order than two other people, BIG DEAL. I admire the fact that Judd defended his choice; that shows he knows how to act. Admitting is far better than doing nothing when you’ve wronged others. And he did this in a very grown-up, “it was something I had to” tone. But where he went wrong was continuously rubbing it in to Cindy and Margaret. I don’t think he realizes that old Yaxha has no loyalty to him. If Marg and Cindy are nice to old Yaxha, those two could be in the other side’s good graces. If that works, it only takes Cindy to say “hey, let’s get rid of Judd because he’s a pain in the ass,” and suddenly Judd is listening to Brooke bitch at him back at Loser’s Lounge.
God let’s hope so.
And finally, we say goodbye to our beloved That Guy. In what I would say was the first surprise vote of the season, Blake was voted out. And while I finally was starting to like That Guy, it’s funny that he becomes the first boot of the season that wasn’t superficial. He was voted out because of personality differences. And I just want to take this opportunity to gloat, because I think this is my first prediction that was correct. Here’s a look at my preseason impression of Blake:
Blake- Here comes Blake. The only reason I knew that was because he made sure his presence was known well before he showed up. Yep, Blake is “That Guy.” I think I’m going to call Blake ‘That Guy’ until he proves me otherwise. His favorite color is camouflage. Not a color, but a design. My favorite color is not ‘checkerboard.’ Also, he lists WAY too many favorites for everything. Pick something you like and stick to it. He says he likes kissing. Folks, please hold your eye roll till the end. He also says he’s been ‘president of every organization he’s been a part of.’ Now you may roll your eyes in unison. One, two, three… Yes, That Guy has been president of four organizations in his life. Wow. Your merit badge is in the mail. IF That Guy wants to make it past the first boot, he’s gonna have to check everything at the door
15- Blake Towsley. That Guy has small chance at this game. He’ll announce his presence, list what he’s done, then add “didn’t even make the jury on Survivor Guatemala” to his resume.
So I was right. Also, Blake didn’t prove that he was worthless, and it’s kinda surprising given the trend this season. And kinda disappointing, too.
But worth talking about more is the state of Yaxha. Danni single-handedly turned the tide at that camp. She was the swing vote, and chose Brian’s side. This is a very interesting development – one that totally has me wondering ‘huh?’ On the surface, it looks like she thought Blake was annoying too, and got rid of him because of that. Or she succumbed to pressure from Gary. But I digress. I want to believe that something new has come out of Yaxha. Perhaps a new tribe. Danni fully knew that getting rid of Brian was best for the guys on her side, and thus her. But she chose option B, and who knows where that’s going.
It’s interesting because Bobby Jon voted for Blake too. This means that Bobby Jon knew Blake was gone beforehand, and sided with the majority. And that leaves… Brandon (?) out of the loop. All I can do is scratch my head. Does that mean he’s the only one in the minority, and next to go? I doubt it, but it does say that maybe he isn’t in complete control as we thought he was. And where’s that leave the original Yaxha? It means Brian squeaked by, Amy’s a wild card, and Gary’s back in the thick of it. Holy crap, this might turn out to be a good season after all.
On that note, since I am totally confused about this episode, time to conclude with the rundown.
In Memoriam:
18- Jim Lynch
17- Morgan McDevitt
16- Brianna Varela
15- Brooke Struck
14- Blake Towsley (6). Poor That Guy. Shoulda kept that mouth shut. But imagine what’s going on in Loser’s Lounge, as this stud’s got Brooke and Brianna and Morgan to choose from. Of course, if he’s smart, he’ll take all three at the same time. I’m sure the girls will appreciate him being there as another guy, so that Dirty Old Man Lynch can’t be all hands anymore. Godspeed Blake.
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13- Margaret Bobonich (13).
12- Judd Sergeant (8)
Okay, I think Marg is gone this coming week. It sucks, especially because all she did was not be on the right side of a majority. But her saving Grace is that Judd is a douche bag (side note on the word douche bag: watch the Family Guy movie NOW). As of now, Judd’s on the good side of the people in charge. But he is slipping fast, and all it takes is for him to slip juuuuust a little bit more, and suddenly, he’s out. Mom can do this, but it’ll take some work.
11- Amy O’Hara (12).
10- Brian Corridan (14)
I don’t know where these guys stand. I lumped them together because I don’t think any of the Nakum on Yaxha are in danger, neither is Gary. That leaves these two. Amy appears to get injured yet again next week. And Brian last week was way too cocky. He’s the guy who knows how to play Survivor well, but execution of the plan is a different story. “I am platinum.” What the hell does that mean? He did a great job of exposing Blake, NOT. Gary said “hey, let’s get rid of Blake,” and it worked. Brian, you’ve taken credit for mastering the exits of Morgan and Blake, and played approximately 0% of those boots. I’m impressed.
9- Lydia Morales (11). Way to have fun, Lydia. Nothing other than your dance was mentioned, so you may be in the clear, especially with Judd’s asinine ‘tude toward Marg. Keep it up.
8- Cindy Hall (9). I’m excited for Cindy. Either she loses Marg this week, and joins the forces to take out Judd later, or she skips the BS and turns the tide this week against the New Yorker. And since she bleeds Nakum yellow, she’ll do what it takes to make sure her friends win. She’s got no loyalties to anyone Yaxha, so she looks like she’s a major threat to do some damage in a few weeks. Let’s hope so.
7- Rafe Judkins (7). No change at all. That is all.
6- Gary Hogeboom (10). He played his cards well this past episode, by making something new out of Yaxha. He may be back in control. But the beauty of it is that this time, he may be the nominal leader of a totalitarian tribe. Sounds like a good plan. I like this new Yaxha, and Gary’s movin’ on up within it.
5- Brandon Bellinger (2). This is the first time Brandon’s been out of the top two. I think he’s fine, but the fact that it was a surprise to him makes me wonder exactly where he is in the Yaxha power structure. I suspect he’ll go back up in the ranks next week, but for this week, my hands are bound.
4- Bobby Jon Drinkard (4). Bobby Jon is doing very well. The fact that he voted for Blake indicates he is a genuine power player in the game of Survivor, as well as in his tribe. I really wanted to put him higher, but the little reward challenge goofup kept him as is. Someone has his number, and it’s another power player. It will probably be nothing, but the fact remains he still did it. But he’s still in the thick of this game.
3- Jamie Newton (5). How can the guy who rocks a challenge be behind a guy who royally F’d it up? Jamie lost, and his tribe seemed okay with it. He handled the loss like a champ. And he’s still in the top two of Nakum, with his impressive performance in the immunity challenge. I don’t like the guy, especially if he goes after Bobby Jon this coming week. But I must be fair, and he deserves credit enough to be at #3.
2- Stephenie LaGrossa (1). In a perfect world, the bets players would be women, and one womam would be in control of each tribe. Oh my gosh, that’s the case! Steph was even better than Jaime for the immunity challenge, and is still in control of Nakum. She drops because of the way she cried this week. If not for the yellow buff, I would have assumed CBS just reused Steph’s footage from Palau. Yes, she gathered herself well, but that weakness does make me wonder some things about Steph. Only a slight drop in the ranks though.
1- Danni Boatwright (3). All I have to say is ‘!!!’. I’m pumped about this one! Danni the Beauty Queen – the one who has been kicking the ass of the most kickass Survivor Dominatrix ever – is on top of the ranks. There is something about her that is awesome. Both sides of Yaxha trust her, and she’s still strong in challenges. And super hot too. Come one, who couldn’t put her on top.
In other news, my Fantasy Football team just pulled off the biggest comeback of the season because of Edgerrin James’ third TD of the night. And the Colts go to 6-0. I’m awesome!
And that’s it. Sorry for the brevity of this column. Let me know what you think about this past week, since I’m clueless about it.
Until next time, when we discuss the advantages of raking to a leaf blower, stay cool.
~Dora
