Let’s hear it for Knee Socks! Sally manages to keep herself alive in a Survivor that is hell bent on eliminating the women. What’s going on here? After four tribal councils, the pool of female constants has been cut in half, while all of the guys still remain. Why the aversion to estrogen and double X chromosomes? Seriously, this is starting to disturb and confuse me. The female winners of this game still outnumber the males six to five, but I think that Exile Island is going to put another notch on the boys’ scoreboard.
Even though Sally, my Minnesota girl (love that accent!), has hung in there after two tribal councils, I think she’s next on the chopping block if La Mina loses again. I initially expected that she would be voted out instead of Misty because she lost the Hawaiian sling. However, her role in the tribe as “the pal” has served her well thus far. I suppose that a girl who can act more like one of the guys stands a better chance of sticking around. Misty tried to be a flirt and Ruth Marie attempted to work hard and stay out of the way, but those strategies obviously backfired.
I would love to see Sally stay in the game the way that Chris Daugherty did in Vanuatu. With seven players still left in the game, he was the only guy and pulled off a victory by letting the women essentially self-destruct. It would rule if Sally did the same thing. However, it’s really too early to tell what’s going to happen, especially since I expect that Casaya will have to go to tribal council once or (hopefully) twice before the merge.
Man, talk about Drama City. Between Courtney’s yoga poses, Danielle’s cleavage, Bobby’s bathroom breaks, Bruce’s samurai chops, Aras’s lectures, and Shane’s tantrums, this has to be one of the most entertaining tribes to ever land on an island. And the best part is that Cirie, the only person who appears to have a shred of common sense (phobia of leaves notwithstanding), just sits back and laughs her ass off at these fools. She reminds me a little bit of Vecepia from the Marquesas, who just looked the other way when drama started to flare up at camp. However, unlike Vecepia, Cirie has a wicked sense of humor and takes genuine pleasure in watching everyone else act like an ass. And at present, I think she’s in a pretty good position. Even though she’s not part of the ridiculous alliance that Shane, Danielle, Aras, and Courtney have formed, she’s not getting on anyone’s nerves, either. True, Cirie hasn’t proved to be much of a powerhouse at the challenges, but I think she’ll be able to work a deal to keep herself safe when she needs to.
I’m hoping that Bobby will, too. He’s slowly emerging from the background this season and so far, doesn’t appear to be doing much. His leisurely behavior made me think of Gervase Peterson from season one and Amazon winner Jenna Morasca, both of whom basically laid around and let others do the heavy lifting. Clearly, he’s irking anal types like Aras, but I wouldn’t say that each nap is a nail in the Bob Dog’s coffin. Not even close. He’s staying out of the conflict and could do some major damage later on. Sure, he offended Danielle by actually using the outhouse that Casaya won at the reward challenge, but I think that girl’s days are numbered. She’s butting heads with two many people.
And speaking of buttheads, I can’t believe that Shane is still around! He’s obviously proved to be a decent athlete in some of the challenges, despite his wimpy lung capacity. The only thing keeping him in the game at this point is his team’s ability to win immunity. Otherwise, I think Cirie, Bobby, and Bruce would have been able to recruit someone from his alliance to vote against him. His presence actually makes me a little nervous. I guess it’s because I can’t stand the thought of a knucklehead like Shane getting far in the game. Then again, I felt the same way about Johnny Fairplay in the Pearl Islands, but loved his one-liners and dead grandma scandal. The difference between Shane and Fairplay, however, is that Shane has already sunk to the low of swearing on his son’s life. Such a bad idea (cough, Twila). Since Fairplay didn’t have any kids, he couldn’t do that and therefore seemed like less of a slimeball. I don’t know. I just wish people would stop dragging their kids into gameplay.
On a different note, I found it interesting that the producers decided to show Terry unearth the immunity on Exile Island this week. I guess I expected that they would keep the discovery of the idol a secret, as they did with Gary last season, but it was also cool to watch him find it. I have mixed feelings about Terry’s possession of the idol, however. On the one hand, I think he deserved to find it and might very well need it later on, especially if Casaya outnumbers La Mina at the merge. However, since he is so well-respected and has a good alliance, I can see him pulling a Tom Westman and winning the whole thing without the added protection. When Bruce was exile the first time, I felt bad for him and hoped that he’d find the idol. However, after he got back to the Casaya camp and started acting like a jackass (i.e., calling himself “a gift from heaven” to the tribe), I was glad he didn’t have it. And his arrogance certainly made his second exile seem like an apt consequence. OK, I had a twinge of pity, but he’s certainly better equipped to deal with the conditions of isolation than, say, Shane.
I can just imagine Shane out on the island, claiming another Thinking Seat and shouting at the birds and reptiles to get the hell away from it. “I just want mine!” Ah, Shane, you’re the star of this season, you know? I’m so glad Burnett found yet another person I can love to hate.
